Chapter 20

The bambood cradled Nomaner how many times Selena afreshed the page nothing would load Frostration enewed at

it as she debated whether to swallow her pride and check the lesin hund for the wors

heard

Just then. Annie and Noelle walked throunds the door, holding hands, looking unerly tuned as they whimpered to each other

“What are you two talking about Selena got up with a mile Who go first place this time I was about to check the form but it crashed Dot tell me the class president took the top sport

Noelle hesitated, her expression unreadable

Annie, however, blurted it out without danking Selena, can you believe it! The top scorer is your ter There’s no way that’s real. She must have cheated–either that or she got the answers beforehand. It’s just to starty

“What?” Selena’s voice shot up in disbelief.

Both Annie and Noelle flinched, startled by her reaction.

“This has to be a mistake! Selena shouted. The warmth in her expression vanished, replaced by something sharp and twisted–so unlike her usual gentle demeanor.

Annie and Noelle exchanged uneasy glances. For the first time, Selena felt like a stranger to them

But just as quickly, Selena smoothed her expression, regaining her composure. She said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you guys. I was just… surprised. You two go on in–I’m heading to the bulletin board to check for myself”

With that, Selena turned and walked out of the classroom.

Noelle tugged on Annie’s sleeve, lowering her voice. “Did you see her face just now? That was scary. She looked like a wicked witch from a fairy tale.”

Annie hesitated but shook her head. “Come on, we’re her friends. We shouldn’t doubt her over a single expression”

Noelle thought about it for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

The hallway near the bulletin board was packed. Selena couldn’t squeeze through the crowd, but then she spotted Mateo pushing his way out.

Immediately, Selena called out, “Hey, Mateo!”

eased slightly when

well, right?” Selena flashed him a bright smile.

His mood was visibly

strolled over, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Well, well, Who would ve thought? Our almighty Mateo didn’t even

murmur spread through the crowd. “Wait, what? No way!” someone exclaimed. “Mateo’s always in the top ten! How

who got first?” another student

into a smirk, full of

1/3

93%

Chapter 20

student

“Yeah,” Joshua replied.

was sharp, her eyes wide with disbelief. “She’s never been that good. How could

you don’t believe it, go check

scorers

her eyes and looked again. The name was still there. Hailey had really taken first place.

Her eyes darted downward.

Casey, who always ranked first, surprisingly scored nearly

score like this, if Hailey remained consistent, every top university would

She muttered, “No way. She’s from some nowhere–town school. There’s no way she’s this good.

forced herself to stay composed and turned back to

only a practice exam,

to soothe his frustration a little. Mateo nodded. “Yeah,

better next time.”

feigning

walked through the school gates.

voice booming as he sprinted over. “Hailey! You

all heads turned toward

Hailey moved

framing a face that was both strikingly beautiful and untouchably aloof. The quiet confidence

heard what Joshua said, Hailey smiled. Soft, warm, breathtaking. It was enough to leave half the crowd momentarily stunned–including

sweet, delicate voice. “Wow, Hailey! First place! That’s amazing. But… wasn’t your old school’s curriculum not that strong? How did you improve so fast?”

The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Comments ()

0/255