Chapter 199

“It was a piece of cake.”

The reporter asked, “So, what score do you think you’ll get on the math exam?”

“A perfect score,” Shermaine answered instantly.

That answer caught the reporter off guard. The reporter was momentarily stunned by her declaration. Since when did top scorers get this audacious? And damn, she was pretty.

The reporter mused, ‘Once this story is out, pitching her as the prettiest high schooler could really make headlines!’

The reporter asked, “Hi, which school are you from, and what’s your name?”

“Brightwater Academy. Shermaine Shue.”

The reporter smiled and said, “Shermaine, I’m really looking forward to your SAT results.”

“Thanks,” Shermaine replied curtly.

Just as the reporter was pondering this, he spotted Jason standing behind, and his face immediately lit up with renewed interest. Turning to him, the reporter asked eagerly, “Young man, could you share your thoughts on the exam?”

“Of course,” Jason replied with a slight smile.

“How difficult was this year’s math exam?”

Jason replied, “Not difficult at all.”

The reporter asked, “So, what score do you think you’ll get?”

Jason replied, “A perfect score.”

The reporter’s eyes lit up at the juicier story potential. He added excitedly, “You know, just now, Shermaine also claimed she’d ace the test!”

“She’s confident,” Jason said.

The reporter grinned and teased, “And aren’t you?”

“Yeah, confidence is what gets you good results,” Jason added with another smile.

For some reason, the reporter sensed a trace of condescension from this male student toward the female student who just left. Did he doubt she could get a perfect score?

He immediately followed up, “And which school are you from? May I have your name?”

Jason replied, “Jason Jean.”

The reporter then quickly jotted down his name.

A strikingly elegant woman stepped out of the car–she looked barely thirty with her youthful figure. To everyone’s surprise, this was actually Jason’s mother.

Staking out this scene has really paid off, the reporter thought to himself. He then turned to Natalie and asked, “Ma’am, do you think your son can make it to the province’s top 50 this year?”

Natalie replied haughtily, “Top 50? That’s nothing. This year’s top achiever in natural science will definitely be my son–no one else even comes close.”

By this time, Shermaine was already in the car with Joshua, on their way to meet the woman she’d been searching for all this time.

The woman was warm and hospitable. As soon as she realized they wanted to see the footage she’d taken that night, she immediately handed her phone to Shermaine and said, “Here, take a look.”

All told, there were well over a hundred photos and video clips from that night!

Shermaine scrolled through the photos and soon found one that clearly showed the face of the person at Table 09.

The photo clearly captured Natalie’s full face as she aimed her phone at the spot where Shermaine had been sitting. Beside her, only Jason’s profile was visible.

Just as expected, Shermaine wasn’t surprised.

Although Natalie’s actions didn’t cause much trouble thanks to Joshua’s timely intervention, a minor impact didn’t mean Shermaine would just let it go.

“Did you find it, dear?” the woman asked.

“Got it,” Shermaine said as she shared the photo to her own phone via Bluetooth. “Thank you.”

The woman waved it off and said warmly, “No need to thank me, dear. Just glad I could help.”

Meanwhile, in the car, with a cold expression, Jason said, “Mom, you shouldn’t have said those things in front of the reporters just now.”

Natalie said while driving, “I wasn’t wrong. Don’t tell me you can’t be the top science scorer.”

Jason snapped, “You’re giving people ammunition against us. Just like that incident at Fondue Paradise–if I hadn’t helped you delete the surveillance footage, the York family would have traced it back to you.”

“Fine, I just got carried away,” Natalie said defensively. “If you really don’t want this to end up in the news, I’ll have your dad take care of it.”

Jason fell silent for a moment, weighing his options. Then he said, “Let it go this time.”

“Alright,” Natalie conceded.

Predictably, thanks to Natalie’s remark, Jason was sensationalized by that reporter and went viral, landing on the trending topics–both mother and son became overnight sensations.

The SAT always commanded the whole city’s attention–any minor incident could instantly go viral.

Natalie scrolled through the internet, seeing people praise her youthful looks, well-maintained figure, and outstanding son. But all this admiration also drew some backlash from other netizens.

[Uh, hello? Did you all forget about Shermaine, the Brightwater Academy champ?]

Then, students from other schools started chiming in with their own comments.

The most liked comment came from a Brightwater Academy student: [Dream on! Your son is the top science scorer? Just wait–when Shermaine’s results are out, she’ll wipe the floor with him.]