From Trash to Treasure: The Sinclair Family's Beloved Genius

Chloe had just gotten out of the car when two upperclassmen volunteers approached her.

"Hi, freshman. Need a hand with your luggage?"

Chloe was about to refuse when a cool voice came from behind her. "That won’t be necessary. I’ll carry her bags."

Gabriel wore a black mask that hid most of his handsome face, leaving only a pair of deep, dark eyes staring unblinkingly at the two of them.

The two upperclassmen had never seen such a look before—it was as if he wanted to eat them alive. They quickly handed over the suitcase, their eyes filled with a trace of disappointment.

After all, eighty percent of the male students in their School of Engineering were still single.

If they didn’t find girlfriends this year, who knew how much longer they’d have to wait.

But the pretty girl’s boyfriend looked young and handsome, and that glare of his... it looked like he wanted to tear them to shreds at any second.

Gabriel had no idea they’d misunderstood. He lifted Chloe’s suitcase and frowned.

"Why is it so light?"

It was practically weightless. He guessed she’d barely packed any clothes.

Chloe explained, "There are plenty of shops around campus. I’ll buy what I need later."

Besides, military training was about to start, so there wouldn’t be many chances to wear her own clothes anyway.

Gabriel nodded, embarrassed.

He had been busy filming every day when he was in college; he’d barely set foot on campus during his four years.

As a result, his own university experience was a complete blank.

"Gabriel, I’m going to go register. Why don’t you wait in the shade for a bit?"

It was the hottest part of the day. A heatwave was sweeping across campus, and even the breeze felt warm.

Afraid of being recognized, Gabriel had bundled himself up before leaving the house. Now, his face was covered in sweat.

This time, Gabriel didn’t refuse. He carried Chloe’s small, green suitcase to the shade and sat down obediently.

Led by the same two volunteers from before, Chloe went to the registration hall. After getting her student ID number and joining the class group chat, she was ready to head to her dorm.

"Chloe?"

Just as Chloe was about to leave with her forms, someone nearby called out her name.

The voice sounded familiar. Chloe turned around, puzzled.

Then she saw Nina Sinclair walking toward her.

Chloe raised an eyebrow and stopped in her tracks.

Nina was wearing a white dress today, her long, wavy blond hair making her look bright and glamorous.

Two months ago, Nina had joined a film crew, and shooting for her new show was now more than halfway done.

The drama she was starring in was getting a decent amount of attention, netizens were excited about the casting, and everyone on set treated her with great respect.

For Nina, these past two months had been the happiest and most carefree of her life.

’Once the show airs,’ she thought, ’I’ll definitely become the hottest actress in the industry. In a couple of years, I’ll go international. I’ll be winning so many awards I won’t know what to do with them all!’

With these thoughts in mind, Nina looked at Chloe with an air of insufferable arrogance.

"Chloe, why aren’t you wearing the clothes Dad bought for you? Don’t tell me you got these from some cheap online store."

After speaking, a flash of disdain crossed her eyes. She glanced down at her own couture dress, then angled her body to show it off to Chloe.

Chloe: "..."

She looked at Nina as if she were an idiot before finally speaking slowly, "Excuse me. Please move, you’re blocking the path."

"What?"

Nina thought she must have misheard. Before she could even process it, she saw Chloe walk right around her.

She stood stunned for a moment before the meaning of Chloe’s words finally sank in. Her mouth fell open, ready to unleash a stream of curses. But a glance at the curious and probing eyes of the people nearby forced her to swallow her words.

She watched Chloe walk away, a flash of hatred in her eyes.

The meaning behind Chloe’s words was obvious—she was calling her a bitch for blocking the way.

"Ex... Excuse me."

Just as Nina was silently cursing Chloe for the thousandth time, someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind.

Nina turned around to see a small, skinny girl with bright, sparkling eyes. She was looking at Nina with an expression of pure reverence, as if gazing upon a goddess.

Nina knew exactly what that look meant.

’Isn’t that the way a fan looks at their idol!’

Nina hummed in acknowledgment, flicking her long hair back. A friendly smile appeared on her face, and her voice softened.

"Can I help you with something, miss?"

As she spoke, she skillfully rummaged through her shoulder bag for a pen. "Should I sign your shirt?"

She had seen other stars on set sign their fans’ clothes before.

’This girl will definitely like me even more after this.’

The girl, however, looked completely baffled. She quickly shook her head. "Uh, miss, I actually wanted to ask you about something."

The smile on Nina’s face froze, and her expression instantly darkened.

But the girl didn’t seem to notice the awkwardness and continued, "You were just talking to the ace. Do you two know each other? Do you know what she likes?"

As she finished, a light flashed in her eyes, and she stared at Nina with eager anticipation.

No matter how slow Nina was, she now completely understood: this girl wasn’t her fan.

Thinking back on her own actions just now, she flushed hot with embarrassment, her face turning all sorts of colors.

She practically spat the words through gritted teeth, "I don’t know her well!"

The other student’s disappointment was plain to see.

Nina was furious, but with so many people around, all she could do was bottle up her anger.

Still, she felt a little indignant and couldn’t help but ask, "You don’t recognize me?"

The student looked confused again but still shook her head. She leaned in to get a better look at Nina and asked uncertainly, "Excuse me, what’s your field of research?"

Nina: "I’m a first-year student."

’I just got into university, I haven’t even had time to learn anything, let alone do research! I never even stepped inside a lab in high school.’

However, the girl in front of her just said, "Oh," with an "I knew it" expression, pushed up her glasses, and walked away, leaving Nina standing there, completely mortified.

---

When Chloe came out of the hall, she found Gabriel, but as she approached, she noticed an icy aura radiating from him. Nearby, Archer was doing his best to shrink into the background.

But as soon as Gabriel saw Chloe approaching, the icy aura vanished, and his tone became light.

"Gabriel, did something happen to upset you?"

Gabriel blurted out a denial, "No."

The words had barely left his mouth when he saw the "I don’t believe you" look in Chloe’s eyes.

Gabriel sighed in resignation and explained, "It’s nothing, really. An actor on set was double-booking jobs, so the director is planning to recast the role."

Chloe understood now.

She remembered from her past life that this movie of Gabriel’s was supposed to wrap up filming in a month. But because the lead actress was double-booking, wasn’t taking her role seriously, and couldn’t get into character, the production decided to replace her at the last minute.

As a result, the whole production was delayed by a full four months.

And in the end, the role in the movie fell into Nina Sinclair’s hands.