The Extra Who Shouldn't Exist novel Chapter 101

Chapter 101: Chapter 101 : Scamming or getting Scammed

The atmosphere was charged with tension—or at least it felt that way to Alex, who stood still as Evelyn’s cold, emotionless voice pierced the silence again.

"You’re going to the ball with me."

Alex blinked. Once. Twice. Had he heard that right?

"...What did you just say, Senior?"

Evelyn met his eyes with the same calm, unreadable gaze as before and repeated in the exact same tone, as if confirming a fact of nature.

"You’re going to the ball with me."

That did it.

Alex snapped out of his stunned stupor, lips curving upward in a slow, almost smug grin. "Senior... I know I’m the most handsome person you’ve seen until now—no need to hide it—but asking me out on a date using the excuse of the Freshball Ball? That’s just lazy. You know that, right?"

He raised a finger with mock solemnity. "Next time, try being more honest with yourself. You can just ask me out directly. I won’t judge."

A single vein twitched at the side of Evelyn’s otherwise perfect porcelain-like face. Her calm expression didn’t change, but her aura briefly fluctuated—as if she was seriously weighing the pros and cons of murdering a junior in broad daylight.

"You only need to answer in a yes," she said flatly.

Alex blinked again. "Wait, do you mean I only need to answer in yes or no?"

"No," Evelyn replied instantly. "I said it the first time correctly. You only need to answer in yes."

"...What if I say no?"

Evelyn glanced at the holo-display on her wrist, her voice as neutral as ever. "It’s been twenty minutes since you arrived. How much does that make you?"

Alex’s entire face lit up. "That would be twenty million credits, Miss Evelyn," he replied instantly, mentally picturing the balance in his account increasing.

Evelyn’s lips curved ever so slightly into a playful smirk. "You can forget about that."

Alex’s heart dropped.

At the same time, a voice echoed in Evelyn’s mind like a victory trumpet:

| That’s my girl, Evelyn. And this... is checkmate. |

Evelyn mentally scowled.

’Don’t shout in my head, Aurora.’

Meanwhile, Alex’s face morphed from rich-man-smiling to betrayed-victim. "This... this isn’t what you promised, Senior."

Evelyn tilted her head, feigning innocence. "Do you remember exactly what I said, Junior?"

Alex narrowed his eyes. "You said you’d pay me one million credits for every minute I spent cooperating here."

"Exactly."

Alex’s eyes widened. "So you’re saying..."

Evelyn’s eyes gleamed mischievously now—barely perceptible to others, but enough to send a chill down Alex’s spine. "This," she gestured vaguely around them, "does not count as ’cooperation.’"

She crossed her arms, leaning slightly forward. "So you can take it... or leave it."

Alex stared at her.

’So that’s how she’s playing it, huh? Looks like she got me this round,’ he thought with a twitch.

He rubbed his chin.

’But... I don’t need to follow her whims.’

Then his expression changed slightly, a calculating gleam entering his eyes.

’Still, for the future I want—the empire I’m going to build—I need capital. This... this could be an opportunity. If she thinks she can use me, then I’ll just use her right back.’

A slow smirk tugged at his lips, a dark glint flashing through his eyes that made even Evelyn’s emotionless mask falter for a split second. She flinched.

"I’ll go," he said smoothly. "And forget about paying me for the time I’ve been here."

Evelyn’s brows rose slightly.

"But," Alex added, eyes gleaming, "I’ll say yes only if you offer me 50 million credits."

For the first time in her life, Evelyn’s mouth actually hung open.

’Fifty. Million. Credits.’

Her mind blanked for a moment.

That much could buy at least ten top-tier mansions on the outskirts of Avaloria. Most people would be eternally grateful just to be in the same room as her.

But this shameless bastard was charging fifty million just to show up at a ball with her—a beauty others could only dream of going with, someone for whom even the most powerful noble scions would line up.

But this guy was actually charging her for going with him.

’Unbelievable.’

She wasn’t poor by any means. As the daughter of Duke Arthur Williams, wealth wasn’t a concern. She could blow hundreds of millions and not even make a dent in her family’s fortune.

But this was different.

Since enrolling in Zenith, Evelyn had made it a point to be independent—to rely only on herself, to earn her own pocket funds through missions, contracts, and reputation.

The money she was offering now? It wasn’t daddy’s money. It was her own, earned through blood, sweat, and sheer talent.

And spending that on some smug, sarcastic, infuriatingly handsome junior?

It made her feel like the desperate one in this situation.

| Oh hoho, this guy’s cunning too, | Aurora cooed in her mind. | Another solid move from him. Now, my dear Eve... what’s your play? |

Evelyn exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing.

"Thirty."

Alex didn’t miss a beat. "Forty-five."

"Thirty-two."

"Forty."

"Thirty-five."

Alex paused... then grinned.

"Deal."

He extended his hand casually, his smirk more victorious than it had any right to be.

Evelyn stared at it for a moment, then slowly reached out and shook it, her expression unreadable.

Evelyn exhaled the deepest sigh she’d released in months.

’This is going to be more troublesome than I expected.’

In her mind, Aurora’s mischievous voice echoed,

| This is the first time I’ve seen you get scammed. Up till now, you’ve been the one scamming others blind—even your master Aldric Verlane. |

’Will you just shut up?’ Evelyn snapped internally. ’This is all because of you. And that damn Goddess of Light who shoved you into my life, saying you were "a part of her" and would "only help me."’

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