Chapter 12
The opening exam on the second day proceeded as scheduled. This time, instead of grouping students by grades as usual, the school randomly assigned everyone to different exam rooms. Aubree’s seat was tucked away in the far corner of the classroom, hardly noticeable. In front of her sat a bespectacled boy, exuding the unmistakable look of a science whiz.
As the bell rang, the last paper was collected, and the invigilator stood on the podium, announcing, “You can go home after the exam. Classes resume this afternoon, and the results will be out soon." The teachers at the school were efficient, usually releasing results by the afternoon of the exam day.
Aubree strolled at the back of the crowd. Just as she was about to leave the exam room, the glasses guy in front of her suddenly turned back and glared at her, unfriendly. Aubree was puzzled. She didn’t remember knowing this guy. The glasses guy didn’t say anything, just gave her a look before turning and leaving.
The teachers were busy tallying scores. The first class after lunch was a self-study session for the whole school. Some restless students had already rushed to the office to check on the news. Students in Class 13 were also distracted, discussing the difficulty of this exam.
“Breaking news!” A girl with twin ponytails came running back, panting, “Someone cheated in this exam, and it’s from our class!”
As soon as she finished, the class erupted into chaos. “Who? Bold move!” While asking, the speaker’s gaze had already shifted to Aubree’s direction.
The twin ponytail also looked towards Aubree. "After tallying the scores, the teachers found Aubree ranked 80th. Then they received an anonymous tip saying Aubree cheated. The camera in her exam room was recently broken, so there’s no evidence, but the person in front of her was Magnus Stewart from the Honor Class, the best among all classes.”
The whole class was in an uproar. “80th? I’ve been studying for three years and can’t do as well as someone who just came back after two years of art studies? If she didn’t copy from Magnus, I’ll eat my hat!”
That she didn’t expect the top student of the grade to be sitting right in front of her, leading to a copying disaster, someone laughed out loud.
So that guy was named Magnus Stewart. Ignoring these accusations, Aubree remained calm. She only cared about her 80th place, which was a bit unexpected. She thought she might not even make the top 100. But it wasn’t enough. She used to score nearly full marks. This was a big step back.
The twin ponytail watched Aubree, puzzled by her lack of panic. “Did she think not admitting it would be fine since there’s no surveillance?” she thought. "Aubree, I was asked to relay a message. Go to the office, the school has already contacted your family,” she said.
“Thanks.” Aubree stood up, unbothered, and walked straight out, seemingly deaf to the chatter. She chuckled to herself, recalling that on the enrollment form, the family contact was Bryan. Would he really come to school? Probably just his assistant.
But this time, Aubree guessed wrong. As she entered the office, a tall, upright figure stood with his back to her. Dressed in a bespoke black suit, it had to be Bryan. He actually came in person!
Aubree smirked coldly. During her freshman year of high school, she was subjected to campus violence, and when she was almost shoved into a toilet, Bryan merely called his assistant over. And because he found out she was bullied for being rude to Carmen, he even mocked her for causing trouble. For God’s sake, she just refused Carmen’s request to run all the way to the convenience store on the other side of the school to buy water when so hungry she could faint.
Bryan caught a glimpse of her approaching out of the corner of his eye, and without hesitation, yanked her in front of the bespectacled guy. “Apologies, we failed to properly educate her at home.”
Then he turned to the homeroom teacher. “We appreciate the trouble you’ve gone through, sir. Since Aubree is here, whether it’s a punishment or expulsion, we can accept it. There’s no need to bother with any further investigation; it would just be a waste of time.”
“Did he just assume I cheated right off the bat?” Aubree frowned. Nothing changed. No matter what happened at school, whether she was the victim or not, Bryan always assumed she caused the trouble. When she was bullied, after Bryan came back, he told her, “Why don’t they bully others but you? It must be because you had provoked them first!”
Aubree shook off Bryan’s grip, retorting, “Go get treated if you’re sick. When did I ever say I cheated?”
Magnus looked down on Aubree, chiming in, “I understand your desire for good grades, Miss Miller, but I don’t approve of your methods.”
Bryan was also incensed. He had initially intended to save face for Aubree, but to his shock, she dared to contradict him. He glared at her and scolded, “Do you think your previous bottom of the class grades could result in this score after two years of art?”
The homeroom teacher was a bit surprised, thinking, Didn’t the Wilsons know Aubree used to be the top student?
“If it weren’t for the school’s call today, I wouldn’t know when you learned to cheat. No one in our family has ever been as disgraceful as you,” Bryan snapped.
Aubree lowered her eyes, a chuckle escaping her mouth. “For those who know us, they understand you’re my older brother, but for those who don’t, they might think you’re Magnus’s dad. Since I arrived here, have I ever admitted to cheating? Why are you so eager to make me own up? Oh, I misspoke. You’re not really my brother now, since Mr. Ronald Wilson signed the agreement."
With that, she turned to the homeroom teacher. “Please contact me directly for anything in the future, sir. I’m an orphan. My whole family’s dead. I got no relatives.”
Bryan glared at her instantly, Was Aubree cursing us to die?
“What?!” He wanted to slap her to knock some sense into her.
Seeing the tension rise, the homeroom teacher quickly stepped in to smooth things over. “Mr. Wilson, we’re here today to verify the authenticity of Aubree’s test scores. We can’t jump to conclusions and accuse her of cheating before the results are out.”
Aubree couldn’t be bothered to look at him anymore and said to the teacher, “It’s simple to prove whether I cheated or not; I can take the test again right now.”
The teacher had actually planned to have Aubree take the test on the spot. Magnus wasn’t scared at all and agreed instantly.
How else could Aubree have scored so high if not by copying my answers? I didn’t exactly wrong her. Anyone who dared to make me unhappy deserved to die! he said inwardly.
Under his glasses, his eyes were gleaming with menace. The results came out quickly, and the teacher’s eyes widened in amazement after he graded the paper. Bryan humped. “Let’s see if you can even break double digits.”
Aubree shot back without hesitation, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely beat your age.” Bryan was choked up by her words. What did she mean by that? Was she implying I'm old? he wondered.
Still, he sneered, “You can’t get what isn’t yours by playing tricks.” Aubree actually agreed with that statement. In her previous life, Carmen managed to stay in the training session of Rithol Art School because of her help. This time, without her as a proxy, it was unknown how long Carmen could stay.
The teacher chimed in at that moment, “Aubree didn’t cheat. She scored a perfect on this math paper.”
“I know-“ Before he could finish, Bryan’s mocking expression froze suddenly. “What? That’s impossible!” He grabbed the paper to check. With three pairs of eyes watching, Aubree couldn’t have faked it. Bryan scrutinized the paper twice but couldn’t find any signs of the teacher favoring her. "Did Aubree really not cheat?” he asked inwardly, disbelieving.
Magnus’s expression also started to crack. “How could,” he muttered in a panic, but quickly regained his composure, bowing to the teacher. “If it’s a misunderstanding, then I’ll head back to class now."
It was a complaint from someone else, and Magnus was only called in for questioning. Since he wasn’t from their class, the teacher lectured him briefly before letting him go. But as he left, Magnus’s eyes were full of resentment.
Aubree stared straight at Bryan, mocking. “Looks like me not cheating has disappointed Mr. Wilson quite a bit.” Her drawn-out tone was dripping with sarcasm.