Chapter 21

Shermaine’s eyes landed on Miley, and she gave her a faint smile.

Miley blinked, confused as to why Shermaine wouldn’t let her finish explaining. If she had, no one would’ve dared to look down on her.

But Shermaine had her own reasons.

Back in the bathroom, Ruth had asked her, “Shermaine, have you ever thought about going to college?”

Shermaine was washing her hands. Hearing that, she looked up at her.

Ruth said, “You’re only nineteen. It’s not too late to go back to school. If you’re interested, I can get you into senior year at Brightwater Academy. You could take the SAT next year.”

Shermaine knew Ruth wouldn’t be so kind without a motive. Ruth clearly thought she’d fail, which was why she wanted Shermaine to go to school.

Shermaine lowered her gaze. “I won’t do well on it.”

“You haven’t even tried. How would you know?” Ruth challenged her.

Shermaine said, “I’ll think about it.”

“Think it over tonight. Give me your answer tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

In truth, Shermaine had already made up her mind. If Ruth wanted her to go to school, she would. But if Ruth thought Shermaine would make a fool of herself, she could forget it. That was never going to happen.

Shermaine had gone abroad for her studies without ever taking the SAT, and back then, she’d actually felt kind of regretful about it.

Wendelyn brushed her hair back and stood up. “Bye, guys.”

Once she left, the other students, who had been swayed a little by what Miley said, started spouting nonsense again thanks to Wendelyn’s little speech.

Someone said, “What’s the point of being that pretty? Compared to Wendelyn, Shermaine’s nothing special.”

Another added, “I’m telling you, I’d bet anything Wendelyn’s sister is just some spoiled brat.”

Miley was fuming. She rolled her eyes at them, gathered her books, and walked out.

A classmate from her math major left with her. The classmate didn’t get it and asked, “Miley, why did you defend that pretty girl just now? You can’t win against Wendelyn’s brain-dead stans.”

Miley explained, “Shermaine helped me out. I totally blanked on that last problem and couldn’t solve it. I was freaking out. Shermaine gave me the answer, and that’s how I made it through. She solved it in thirty seconds. I seriously doubt what Wendelyn said.”

The classmate said, “No way. She’s that good?”

Miley nodded. “Yup.”

Basterel University covered over 1,100 acres. It didn’t take long before Ruth, who was in heels, had to stop for a break every few minutes.

Chapter 21

The sidewalk was littered with fallen leaves, and the warm sunlight made everything feel pleasant.

They sat down on a bench near the track field. To the left was a massive soccer field, and on the right, a tennis court.

In the afternoon, a lot of students came out to exercise. The campus was full of energy and youth.

Wendelyn was indeed very popular at Basterel University. No matter where she went, someone would come up and say hi.

Just then, someone shouted, “Watch out.”

Shermaine lifted her eyes slightly, sensing something coming her way. Looking up, she saw a soccer ball flying straight at them.

Scared, Ruth went pale. Meanwhile, the guy who had just walked over to say hello immediately stepped in front of Wendelyn.

Shermaine lifted her leg and kicked. A clean spinning strike sent the ball flying back across the field and into the net.

As she turned, the motion was too fast. Her hat came off. She bent down slightly, picked it up, brushed it off, and put it back on.

But everyone around was stunned by Shermaine’s move. She was seriously badass. Even the ones who played soccer all the time couldn’t pull that off.

One of the soccer players said, “Hey, sorry about earlier. Wanna join us for a game?”

Shermaine replied, “You guys are weak.”

All the soccer players thought, ‘Alright then. We just got roasted.’

And just like that, in front of everyone, Shermaine stole the spotlight.

Wendelyn bit her lip, already regretting bringing Shermaine along. She wondered, ‘Who would’ve thought she was that athletic? Instead of getting hit, she pulled off that stunt.

‘Then again, it makes sense. If she wasn’t athletic, how would she have beaten Ronnie so badly he ended up in the hospital back then?’

Ruth told Shermaine to go buy some water. Shermaine was a bit thirsty anyway, so she went. She got herself a box of yogurt and grabbed a bottle of water for Ruth.

A few girls walked into the shop too. They were in workout gear, sweaty and panting, grabbing drinks and chugging them right there.

Shermaine stood near the door, tossed the wrapper, and took a sip of yogurt.

Suddenly, someone bumped hard into her shoulder. The yogurt slipped from her hand and hit the ground. With a splat, it burst open, spilling everywhere. And the capless water bottle splashed halfway down her front.

A chill hit her straight to the bone, Shermaine looked down and saw a huge wet patch on her chest. She frowned instinctively.

The girl gasped, but her tone was anything but sincere. “Oops, sorry. I didn’t see you there.” Then she turned away. Her high ponytail flicked right across Shermaine’s face–sharp and stinging.

“I didn’t say you could leave.” Shermaine raised her hand and grabbed the girl’s ponytail.

The girl cried out in pain and turned around. “Hey I didn’t do it on purpose. I already said sorry. Why are you pulling my hair?”

Shermaine thought, ‘Like hell I can’t tell if she did it on purpose. There’s plenty of room by the door and she just had to crash into me.’

Shermaine eyed her. “You’re not planning to pay for my yogurt?”

“It’s just a few bucks. You’re seriously making a big deal over that? So petty.” The girl raised her voice, drawing attention from the people around the store.

Chapter 21

Shermaine tightened her grip, and the girl’s head tilted back, her scalp stinging. “I said, pay for my yogurt. You deaf or what?” Shermaine said coldly.

The girl’s ears turned red. Shermaine’s icy voice was calm on the surface, but there was something about it that crushed any resistances.

Still, the girl didn’t forget what she was here for. Her lashes trembled, and she played the helpless card. “Fine, I’ll pay. No need to be so mean.”

Shermaine smirked, leaned in close, and murmured by her ear, “Since you set me up, you’ll definitely pay the price.”

The girl flinched, panic flashing in her eyes before she quickly masked it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She turned and went back into the store, came out with the exact same yogurt, and left in a hurry.

But it didn’t take long before a post about Shermaine popped up on the Basterel University student forum and went viral with the title “I can’t believe Wendelyn Jean’s sister turned out to be like this.”

The second it went up, the thread exploded with gossip-hungry students.

The original poster: [My friend just bumped into Shermaine and she already apologized, but Shermaine still acted all aggressive, yanked her ponytail, and wouldn’t even let her leave.]

Several high-res photos were attached right after.

The original poster: [I know Wendelyn and Shermaine are family, but their personalities are just worlds apart. I’m not hating on Wendelyn, I just really don’t like her sister and felt like venting a little.]

Soon enough, more people jumped in to pile on.

Netizen 1: [What kind of nightmare sister is this?]

Netizen 2: [I was lucky to be in calculus class with Wendelyn today, and also saw her mom and sister. Her mom’s gorgeous and super classy. But her sister is way too arrogant. She’s really cold and distant.]

Netizen 3: [That’s not just cold. That’s straight-up stuck-up.]

Netizen 4: [Total rich brat energy. She doesn’t go to school. She’s the type who only knows how to party and blow money. Your post’s about to blow up. Better watch out–if she sees this, she’ll come for you.]

The original poster replied to Netizen 4: [I’ve got freedom of speech. I’m not scared of her.]

Wendelyn sat on the bench, a satisfied smile tugging at her lips as she watched the post rack up views.

Then Shermaine’s voice came from beside her. “Wendelyn, what’s so funny?”