Chapter 55: Five Billion Changes Everything

After the knock sounded, a deep voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Director Felix immediately pushed the door open and walked in.

Theresa followed behind him.

Lucas entered last.

The office was spacious and elegantly decorated. Bookshelves lined one side of the room while several certificates and awards hung proudly on the walls.

Behind a large mahogany desk sat Principal Malcolm.

As one of the most respected figures in Silvermont’s educational circle, Malcolm naturally carried a dignified aura.

The moment he saw Director Felix, Theresa, and an unfamiliar student entering together, his brows furrowed slightly.

Before anyone could explain the situation, Lucas walked forward and spoke directly.

"Principal Malcolm, I want to make a donation to the school."

The words instantly caught everyone off guard.

Theresa’s eyes widened.

Although Lucas had spoken about donations earlier, she had assumed he was simply trying to provoke Director Felix.

She never expected him to actually bring it up in front of the principal.

Malcolm was equally confused.

He glanced at Lucas before looking toward Theresa.

"Theresa, who is this student?"

Theresa felt a headache coming.

Still, she answered honestly.

"Principal Malcolm... this is Lucas Gray."

The moment he heard that name, Malcolm’s expression changed slightly.

Of course he knew who Lucas was.

In fact, few ago, Director Felix had brought Lucas’s disciplinary report to him.

The expulsion recommendation sitting on his desk right now concerned this very student.

Truthfully, Malcolm didn’t particularly want to expel anyone.

Unfortunately, Evercrest Group’s influence was too great.

Every year, the school received enormous financial support from Sebastian Vayne.

Scholarships.

Research programs.

Infrastructure upgrades.

Countless projects depended on that funding.

Compared to one student, the school’s interests had to come first.

That was simply reality.

What Malcolm didn’t understand was why Lucas had suddenly appeared here talking about donations.

Did he really think he could compete with Evercrest Group?

Before Malcolm could think further, Lucas spoke again.

"Principal Malcolm, I’m serious."

"I intend to donate five billion dollars to the university."

Director Felix nearly choked.

Theresa stood rooted to the spot.

Even Principal Malcolm’s usually composed expression cracked.

Five billion?

Did he just say five billion?

Not five million.

Not fifty million.

Five billion dollars.

The figure was so absurd that nobody reacted immediately.

Several seconds passed.

Malcolm stared at Lucas as if trying to determine whether the young man had lost his mind.

Even Evercrest Group would struggle to gather that much liquid capital on short notice.

Yet this student had casually announced it as though he were buying lunch.

Lucas, however, looked completely serious.

He sat down across from Malcolm’s desk and crossed one leg over the other.

Then he said calmly,

"Principal, just give me the school’s account number."

"I’ve got a lot of things to do today."

"If I can’t transfer the money, then expel me."

"But let’s skip all the unnecessary nonsense."

The corner of Director Felix’s mouth twitched violently.

This kid was simply too arrogant.

Even standing before the principal, he still spoke without the slightest respect.

Meanwhile, Malcolm’s expression gradually darkened.

The principal was not angry because of the donation.

He was angry because he genuinely couldn’t tell whether Lucas was serious or making a fool out of everyone.

After all, he had been in education for over twenty years.

He had seen every kind of student imaginable.

Rich students.

Troublemakers.

Liars.

Attention seekers.

Yet he had never seen a student walk into his office and casually claim he wanted to donate five billion dollars.

Finally, Malcolm leaned back in his chair.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Lucas."

"You expect me to believe that you can donate five billion dollars?"

His tone carried obvious skepticism.

Lucas simply shrugged.

"Believe it or don’t."

"It doesn’t matter to me."

Malcolm stared at him for several seconds before speaking again.

"Fine."

"If you’re really capable of donating five billion dollars, then prove it."

"Show me evidence that you actually possess that amount of money."

"After that, I’ll personally provide the school’s account information."

The truth was that a small part of Malcolm genuinely hoped Lucas was telling the truth.

Five billion dollars.

That amount of money would completely transform the university.

But the rational part of him refused to believe it.

He simply couldn’t.

After all, Lucas was still a student.

An ordinary student.

If he immediately provided the account number and the entire thing turned out to be a prank, he would become the laughingstock of the entire administration.

So he decided to verify first.

Meanwhile, Director Felix folded his arms and sneered inwardly.

He was already waiting to see Lucas embarrass himself.

Five billion dollars?

Who the hell casually had five billion dollars?

Lucas didn’t argue.

He simply pulled out his phone.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

A few moments later, he opened his mobile banking app and casually handed the phone across the desk.

"If you don’t believe me, Principal Malcolm, then at least believe the balance."

Malcolm frowned and took the phone.

At first, he thought Lucas was playing some kind of joke.

Then he looked at the screen.

His eyes narrowed.

A second later, they widened.

The office fell silent.

The long string of numbers displayed on the screen seemed endless.

Malcolm rubbed his eyes.

Then looked again.

Then again.

Then a third time.

The balance was real.

It was more money than he had ever seen in one personal account in his entire life.

For a brief moment, his mind went completely blank.

Beside him, Theresa noticed his reaction and became increasingly confused.

What exactly had Malcolm seen?

Why did he suddenly look like he had seen a ghost?

Several seconds later, Malcolm finally came back to his senses.

His entire attitude changed instantly.

The seriousness disappeared.

Even the authority of a principal disappeared.

He immediately stood up from behind his desk.

"Lucas!"

"Why are you standing?"

"Come, come, sit down."

His face broke into a huge smile.

The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes practically bloomed like flowers.

He personally pulled out a seat for Lucas and invited him over to the sofa area.

Theresa stood there completely dumbfounded.

What was happening?

A moment ago Malcolm had been discussing expulsion.

Now he looked like he was welcoming a distinguished guest.

Before Theresa could process everything, Malcolm personally began preparing tea.

Not for himself.

For Lucas.

Seeing Theresa still standing there awkwardly, Malcolm hesitated for a moment before making another cup for her as well.

Then he personally delivered both cups.

The sight nearly shattered Theresa’s worldview.

Since when did Principal Malcolm personally serve tea to students?

"Lucas, sit."

"Make yourself comfortable."

"No need to be nervous."

The corner of Theresa’s mouth twitched.

Nervous?

At this point it seemed Malcolm was the nervous one.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, she finally sat beside Lucas.

Then she asked carefully,

"Lucas..."

"You really have five billion?"

Before Lucas could answer, Malcolm immediately shot her a dissatisfied look.

"What kind of question is that?"

Then he instantly turned back toward Lucas with another smile.

"Lucas, are you truly planning to donate five billion dollars to the school?"

Lucas took a sip of tea.

"Principal Malcolm."

"For a matter this big, do I look like I’m joking?"

Malcolm nearly laughed from excitement.

Five billion.

Just thinking about that number made his heart race.

With that money, the school’s financial problems would be solved for decades.

More importantly, such a donation would become one of the greatest achievements of his entire career.

Of course, one question still bothered him.

Where had this money come from?

After hesitating for a moment, Malcolm asked carefully,

"Lucas..."

"I hope you don’t mind me asking."

"But how did you acquire such a large amount of money?"

Lucas had already expected the question.

Without saying much, he opened another application on his phone.

His international trading account.

Then he handed the phone over.

Malcolm accepted it.

As someone who occasionally invested in stocks and also trading himself, he could understand the numbers immediately.

The more he looked...

The more shocked he became.

"What the hell..."

The records clearly showed that Lucas had earned over ten billion dollars through stock trading in an incredibly short period.

Ten billion.

Not ten million.

Not one hundred million.

Ten billion.

Malcolm felt his scalp go numb.

When he looked back at Lucas, his eyes had completely changed.

There was admiration.

There was shock.

There was even envy.

At this moment, Lucas no longer looked like an ordinary student.

He looked like a financial monster.

A genius capable of turning the stock market upside down.

Malcolm took a deep breath.

Then another.

Finally he stood up and extended both hands toward Lucas.

"Lucas."

"On behalf of the entire university..."

"I thank you."

"Thank you for your generosity."

Only now did Theresa finally realize what had happened.

Lucas hadn’t been bragging.

He hadn’t been bluffing.

He had actually intended to donate five billion dollars.

Five billion.

Her brain almost stopped functioning.

At this point, she genuinely wanted to tell Lucas to keep the money.

Who cared about a diploma?

If the school wanted to expel him, let them.

With that amount of wealth, he could probably buy the school itself.

Unfortunately, as a counselor, she couldn’t say such things.

Meanwhile, Lucas calmly placed his teacup on the table.

Then he smiled.

"Principal Malcolm."

"This money didn’t fall from the sky."

"You don’t seriously think I’m donating five billion dollars with no conditions attached, do you?"

Malcolm’s smile instantly froze.

Only then did he remember.

A few hours ago...

He had approved Lucas’s expulsion.

His expression immediately became awkward.

He slapped his forehead.

"Lucas!"

"Don’t worry."

"You can stay in school peacefully until graduation."

"We’ll pretend today’s incident never happened."

"The expulsion is canceled."

Lucas laughed.

Then his smile disappeared.

"Principal Malcolm."

"You must be dreaming."

"You don’t honestly think I’m donating five billion dollars just to keep a university diploma, do you?"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

Malcolm’s heart skipped a beat.

Lucas leaned back against the sofa.

His voice remained calm.

"I have two conditions."

"If you agree, I’ll donate immediately."

"If you don’t..."

"Then you can forget the donation."