[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-four-of-a-kind":3,"chapter-four-of-a-kind-four-of-a-kind-chapter-4":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Four Of A Kind",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1529698,1985,"Chapter 4: [1.3] My Valentine Approval Rating is a Solid 25%","four-of-a-kind-chapter-4",4,"\u003Cp>Felix exhaled like he’d been holding his breath the entire time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dude.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"DUDE.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Use words.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You just... you just talked back to Cassidy Valentine. In front of everyone. Like it was NOTHING.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I acknowledged her threats and asked her to be more time-efficient about them. That’s not talking back. That’s project management.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’s going to DESTROY you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Probably.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And you’re just... okay with that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I leaned back in my chair. Closed my eyes. The teacher was taking attendance now, calling out names in alphabetical order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have a two-hour train commute, two jobs, and a little sister who needs me to not die before graduation. Some rich girl being mad at me for a coffee stain is pretty low on my list of concerns.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Angelo, Isaiah.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Present.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But ISAIAH—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Beaumont, Felix.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Felix made a strangled noise. \"Present!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The attendance continued. I kept my eyes closed. The chaos of the morning was catching up to me. That adrenaline from the confrontation fading into the familiar haze of exhaustion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty minutes into senior year and I’ve already made an enemy of a billionaire heiress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sounds about right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somewhere in the front of the classroom, I could hear Harlow Valentine asking the teacher about the schedule. Her voice was cheerful. Warm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And somewhere near her, I could feel Cassidy Valentine’s gaze through my peripheral vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is going to be a long year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Felix nudged me with his elbow. \"Hey. Silver lining.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Harlow seemed to like you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I opened one eye. \"She seems to like everyone.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yeah, but still. One Valentine sister who doesn’t want you dead. That’s a fifty percent approval rating. Better than most politicians.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There are four of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh right. Twenty-five percent then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your math skills are impressive.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m here to support, not calculate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teacher began explaining the schedule for the semester. I let the words wash over me, filing away the important parts, discarding the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the front row, Harlow Valentine was taking notes with a pink pen. She had stickers on her notebook. Little hearts and stars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next to her, Cassidy Valentine was slumped in her seat, phone hidden behind her textbook, probably plotting my downfall via group chat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two down. Two to go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maybe I’ll get lucky and never meet them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>===\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bell rang at 8:47 AM.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Felix stood up, stretching. \"Lunch later? I found this new ramen place off campus that supposedly has a tonkotsu broth that’ll make you weep.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can’t. I have to check in with the registrar about my work-study schedule.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re always working. It’s depressing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bills don’t pay themselves.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bro. Let me just—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don’t even know what I was going to say!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You were going to offer money. The answer is no.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Felix deflated. \"I hate that you know me so well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Three years of exposure therapy. I know all your tricks.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not ALL of them. I’m very mysterious.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You cried during the last Studio Ghibli movie.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"EVERYONE cries during Ghibli! That’s not a me thing, that’s a HUMAN thing!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I grabbed my bag. Started toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ramen tomorrow?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I’m alive.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dramatic. But okay.\" Felix gave me a lazy salute. \"Survive the Valentines, soldier.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll do my best.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I walked out into the hallway. The crowds were thick now, everyone heading to their first period classes. I merged into the flow of bodies, letting the current carry me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My phone buzzed. Text from Iris.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>IRIS: dont forget to eat today\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>IRIS: real food\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>IRIS: not vending machine stuff\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I typed back a reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ME: Define \"real food\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>IRIS: food that was alive at some point\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>IRIS: or grew from the ground\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>IRIS: chips dont count\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ME: chips are technically from potatoes\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ME: potatoes grow from the ground\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>IRIS: ISAIAH\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A smile tugged at my lips. First genuine one of the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ME: I’ll eat something real. Promise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>IRIS: good\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>IRIS: love you idiot\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ME: love you too\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pocketed my phone. Kept walking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hallway opened into a larger corridor. And there, walking toward me from the opposite direction, was a girl with wine-red hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not Cassidy. Not Harlow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purple eyes were the same, but colder. Distant. She moved through the crowd like they weren’t there, like she existed in a different dimension entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was reading a book as she walked. Gothic cover. Some kind of novel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our paths were going to cross.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mysterious one. Sabrina.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I considered avoiding her. Taking a different route. Playing it safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she looked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our eyes met.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And she walked past me without a word. Without acknowledgment. Like I was a ghost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...Okay then.\u003C\u002Fp>",772,"2026-06-06T06:03:59.713Z",1,"novelbin.me","261ab0c8e2e954c1777dbcbf6060e6b2b9d90ff1076ddc00fe1929f7a538d29d","four-of-a-kind-chapter-5","four-of-a-kind-chapter-3",251,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ffour-of-a-kind-cover.jpg"]