Chapter 937
The entire classroom plunged into dead silence for a second.
Three seconds later, an uproar erupted.
Everyone stared at Caleb as if they were looking at an absolute lunatic.
Their Vanguard class president-the guy who always wore thick black glasses, rarely spoke, and had a barely noticeable presence—had actually stood up.
He was an impoverished student sponsored by the Doyle family, someone Bianca had always ordered around like a servant.
And now, he was standing up, demanding to quit Bianca’s Dreamscape Alpha team.
He wanted to team up with Serena?
Was he completely out of his mind?
Everyone knew Caleb was the Doyles’ sponsored student. He was basically Bianca’s obedient dog.
His talent and skills in computer science were top-tier.
That was exactly why Bianca had placed him directly onto her primary roster, instead of banishing him to Alpha or Beta just to spite Serena.
Yet Caleb actually wanted to break away from Bianca’s team p>
Caleb felt like he was losing his mind, too.
He was a textbook nerd.
He had clawed his way out of the Backwoods against all odds, showing everyone his talent and capabilities.
He had spent all this time suppressing his emotions, swallowing his pride, and surviving day by day under Bianca’s thumb.
He had always told himself that things would be fine once he endured this period.
Once he graduated and left Marington College, things would get better.
But p>
Would they really?
He was a student sponsored by the Doyle family. Could he truly ever break free from their grip?
For the past two days, Caleb couldn’t stop thinking about the scratch paper he had found in the library-Serena’s scratch paper.
The algorithmic formulas written on it were so brilliant they made his scalp tingle.
Even now, just recalling them left him in absolute awe.
Then came her performances in Professor Warren’s and Professor Lewis’s classes p>
Maybe he had been suppressing it for too long.
Or maybe the emotional tipping point had finally arrived.
Caleb stood there, and for the first time in his life, he made a choice for himself. Everyone was staring at him.
He straightened his spine and repeated, word by word, “I want to team up with Serena for the Global Elite University Challenge p>
Bianca slammed her hand on the desk, shooting to her feet and pointing furiously at Caleb. “Caleb did a donkey kick you in the head? You have a perfectly good team right here, and you want to run off and play with a piece of trash p>
Caleb pressed his lips together and lowered his head, remaining silent.
Bianca was absolutely livid. “You
better think real hard about who pays your way! If it weren’t for the Doyle family, that half-dead
grandmother of yours would be
been kicked out of the hospital
long time ago You are nothing but a dog raised by my family!
“If you’re going to be a dog, you need to know your place! Who gave you the guts to
turn around and bite your owner p>
Her words ruthlessly ground Caleb’s dignity into the dirt, crushing it without mercy.
A brutal public humiliation.
Caleb’s face turned deathly pale, his fists gripping the hem of his shirt so tightly his knuckles turned white.
He knew it was a threat.
His family was poor, and his grandmother’s health was failing, requiring constant hospital stays.
The Doyle family had selected him
as a sponsored student, allowing him to continue his education and keeping his grandmother alive on life Support
If the funding was cut p>
Caleb’s body trembled violently, his fists clenched tighter than ever.
Serena slightly lifted her eyelids, shifting her gaze toward him.
Truthfully, Caleb suddenly stepping up to join her team had caught her off guard.
She watched him.
She watched the boy standing by his desk, his back perfectly straight, though his fingers were shaking.
Even in the face of Bianca’s vicious threats, he stood his ground like a stubborn, unyielding dead tree.
Serena shifted her weight, leaning back comfortably against her chair, her gaze resting on Caleb’s face for a few seconds.