Ding! My System Turns Your Arrogance Into Cash

Chapter 9: Stand At The Back!

The campus country club was a place of pure luxury.

Crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, casting a warm glow over rows of plush leather seats.

Nicholas walked through the heavy double doors, his posture upright and full of quiet confidence.

He looked completely different today, wearing the sharp, dark tailored suit from his late-night luxury purchase.

The expensive fabric fit his tall frame perfectly, making several passing students turn their heads in surprise.

"Is that really Nicholas?" a girl in the second row whispered, rubbing her eyes in disbelief.

"No way. He actually looks... incredibly handsome," her friend muttered, checking him out openly.

Nicholas ignored the whispers, walking down the carpeted aisle toward the empty seats near the front.

"Stop right there, Peterson!" a sharp, arrogant voice boomed through the microphone at the front.

Nicholas paused. Professor Lawson stood behind the main mahogany desk, his face twisted in deep annoyance.

Lawson was a proud man, a close personal friend of Chad’s family, and he despised scholarship kids.

"This is an advanced seminar for elite business management students," Lawson sneered into the mic.

"Your name is on the scholarship list, which means you are nothing but a pauper auditor here."

Nicholas kept his face perfectly calm, looking at the professor. "I registered for this seminar legally, sir."

"I don't care about your registration!" Lawson snapped, waving his hand dismissively toward the exit.

"Look at the seating chart. The paying students take priority in the main section of this hall."

"If you want to stay and listen to my brilliance, you can stand at the very back of the room," Lawson ordered.

A few rich students close to the front laughed out loud, shooting mocking glances at Nicholas.

Nicholas felt a small spark of irritation, but he didn't argue or let his face show any emotion.

Let him talk, Nicholas thought to himself, stepping back. His opinion won't mean a thing very soon.

He calmly walked to the very back of the hall, leaning his shoulder against the cold marble wall.

Suddenly, the side doors opened, and Miranda stepped into the country club lecture hall.

Her phone was vibrating violently in her hand, showing Chad's name flashing repeatedly across the screen.

Miranda looked at the screen with deep disgust, aggressively sliding her thumb to reject the call.

She looked up, her eyes scanning the room until they instantly locked onto Nicholas standing at the back.

Her expression switched from total annoyance to a sudden, bright smile full of fake sweetness.

She didn't care about the lecture or the seats; she marched straight toward the back of the room.

"Nicholas! Oh, thank goodness you're here," Miranda whispered, trying to slide into a space right next to him.

"I've been looking for you all morning. We really need to talk about what happened," she pleaded softly.

Nicholas didn't even turn his head, his icy gaze fixed entirely on the front podium as if she were air.

Miranda’s fake smile faltered, her face flushing with a sudden wave of deep, anxious desperation.

"Please, Nico, don't be like this," she whimpered, reaching out to touch his expensive suit sleeve.

"I made a huge mistake yesterday. Chad is completely ruined, and I realize now who really matters."

Before Nicholas could answer, Professor Lawson’s loud voice boomed through the speakers again.

"Well, it seems our back-row squatter is distracting the ladies now!" Lawson mocked, glaring at Nicholas.

The entire crowd of two hundred students turned around in their seats, staring directly at them.

Miranda quickly pulled her hand back, her face turning bright red from the sudden public attention.

"Peterson, since you are so popular, let's see if you actually have a brain inside that head," Lawson sneered.

The professor tapped his tablet, flashing a massive, incredibly complex financial chart onto the projector screen.

"This is a real-world corporate bankruptcy case study of a major international shipping firm," Lawson announced.

"The company has fifty million dollars in debt and only forty-eight hours to present a restructuring plan."

"Tell us, Peterson. How do we save this company from total liquidation?" Lawson challenged, a smug grin on his face.

The room fell into a dead silence, the students staring at the impossible math and complicated variables.

"If you can't answer, get out of my sight and leave the university country club immediately," Lawson barked.

"You don't belong in a room filled with future CEOs and real wealth. Prove you belong, or get out."

Miranda looked at the screen, her eyes wide with confusion. Nobody can answer that. Nicholas is finished, she thought.

Chad’s friends in the front row smirked, leaning back to watch Nicholas suffer a massive public defeat.

Nicholas let out a short, quiet breath, his chest expanding as a surge of absolute confidence filled him.

He looked at the chart for two seconds, his newly unlocked system knowledge processing the data instantly.

He stepped away from the back wall, his shoes clicking sharply against the polished floor.

Nicholas walked down the center aisle with slow, deliberate steps, his imposing posture drawing every eye.

The students held their breath, completely stunned by the sheer, unshakeable aura radiating from him.

Nicholas calmly stepped up to the podium, his imposing posture drawing the eyes of every elite student as he prepares to speak.