Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 422

"Him?" Juniper leaned back, her tone dripping with the casual confidence of someone who feared nothing. "He's a loser I've already beaten. Hardly worth mentioning. If he dared to stand in front of me now, I'd destroy him."

"Good." Her words were enough to ease Shanley's immediate fears. "If you need me, just say the word. I'd go through hell and high water for you."

His earnest promise made Juniper's heart skip a beat. Her eyes crinkled with pleasure as she leaned slowly toward him.

The distance between them shrank until Shanley could smell the faint, clean scent of her shampoo and feel the warmth of her breath on his skin.

What was she doing? He pressed his lips together, his hands clenching into fists. His brain screamed at him to pull away, but his body betrayed him, inching forward ever so slightly. Her face was so beautiful. Her lips… looked so soft. What kind of lip balm was she wearing? It smelled like strawberries.

Just as Shanley's internal battle between reason and desire reached its peak, Juniper stopped, a mere millimeter from his lips. A playful smile touched her eyes as she whispered, "Then thank you in advance, Mr. Schwartz. I won't be shy about asking."

With that, she pulled back just as quickly as she'd leaned in and went back to her game.

Shanley froze, a mixture of colors flashing across his face. Fine. He had clearly been overthinking things. For a moment there, he'd actually thought she was going to… kiss him.

...

Less than a week remained before the university entrance exams. The seniors were all frantically cramming, so stressed they could barely sleep. The principal, Salma, couldn't bear to watch it anymore and asked Juniper if she could hold a review session to help calm everyone's nerves.

"Fine," Juniper agreed. Salma's request, coupled with the giant fruit basket she'd brought as a bribe, made it hard to refuse.

Given the size of the senior class, Salma gathered all the students in the large, multi-hundred-seat auditorium. Juniper sat at the podium on stage, with Salma beside her, occasionally pouring her water or handing her a book. The rest of the teachers and students sat below, a sea of anxious faces, pens poised over notebooks, looking up at her like hungry baby birds.

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