Alice and Hannah stood in the school hallway, their faces grim. Their grades had slipped, and to their dismay, Shermaine had outperformed Leslie in the exam. They were both humiliated and angry. Just a short while ago, they had mocked Shermaine as a worthless slacker, but it turned out that they were the slackers. It didn’t make sense that Shermaine, known as a poor student, suddenly got straight A’s, and they were sure there must be something shady going on. They just couldn’t bring themselves to believe that Shermaine could achieve this on her own.

Alice bit her lip. "Do you think she cheated?"

Hannah thought for a moment before shaking her head. "That isn't likely."

"Why not? There are plenty of ways to cheat. The proctors weren’t strict this time, and just look at her—does she seem like someone who’d do well in school?"

"Not really."

The two were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t notice Leslie standing nearby. Leslie had known about Shermaine’s results. His face was filled with confusion and shock as he thought, ‘Shermaine’s got straight A’s. It’s hard to believe. Her mom told me she was struggling and even asked me to tutor her. How could she possibly do so well?’

As he listened to Alice and Hannah’s conversation, a realization struck him: Shermaine might have cheated, just like they had said. He immediately understood why Shermaine had outperformed him in the midterms and felt a sense of relief. He was sure she could never beat him without cheating. To be fair, Leslie was excellent in math, physics, and chemistry, scoring full marks. After all, he had won first place in a physics competition. But unlike Shermaine, he’d lost a few points in the other three subjects.

Leslie lowered his gaze, disappointment washing over him as he thought, ‘How could Shermaine stoop to cheating? Is it because of that bet with the dean? Even so, this isn’t the way to go about it. If she wants recognition, she should earn it. Cheating might work now, but what about next time? Will she just cheat again? And the SAT—it’s nearly impossible to cheat on that. Even if she tried, the chances of getting caught are 99%. And if that happened, the only one who’d be embarrassed is her. Even if she doesn’t care about her own reputation and future, she should at least think about her family.’

Alice said in a raised voice, "Let’s go report her to the dean."

"Alright," replied Hannah.

As soon as they turned around, they saw Leslie. They froze in embarrassment. Alice, quicker to recover, asked softly, "Leslie, when did you get here?"

Leslie’s face remained cold. "When you two were accusing Shermaine of cheating."

Alice felt a wave of panic. She wasn’t sure where Leslie stood on the matter, but she gritted her teeth and said, "Leslie, I’m not being petty here. Someone like Shermaine could never do that well. You’re such an outstanding person—you should distance yourself from her. It could damage your reputation."

"Exactly. Leslie, what were you even thinking?" Hannah chimed in indignantly.

Leslie replied, his expression still cold, "Alice, if you hadn’t confronted Shermaine in her classroom, she wouldn’t have made that bet with Mr. Moe. Do you feel proud of pushing her to drop out? You need to stop."

Misunderstandings and Unwavering Confidence

His tone grew firmer as he added, "Sure, Shermaine has her flaws—her temper, for one—but I believe with the right support, she can get back on track." With that, he turned and walked away. Alice and Hannah were left standing there, stunned.

Alice’s face turned pale. She couldn’t help but think, ‘Leslie has never cared so much about a girl. Shermaine’s such a lousy person, but he still stood up for her. Does he… like Shermaine?’

Hannah muttered, "Is Leslie out of his mind?"

"Can you believe what he just said? It’s obvious he thinks Shermaine cheated, but he’s covering for her!" Alice was consumed by jealousy, her lips trembling. "Cheaters like her shouldn’t be allowed in our school. Let’s go, Hannah. We’re reporting her to the dean."

Leslie didn’t go back to his class right away. Instead, he went to Shermaine’s class.

Shermaine’s classmates were still buzzing with excitement. A straight-A student was in their class—a regular class. They were sure some teachers would have high expectations for Shermaine and would try to suggest she take AP classes. Then, she wouldn’t be in the same class as them. Maybe because she had won many major awards, Shermaine remained calm. But seeing her classmates so thrilled, she couldn’t help but smile. Happiness was contagious, after all.

Shermaine smiled. "Even if you can’t quite match my performance, as long as you don’t give up before the SAT, you’ll see a big improvement in your scores."

Her classmates nodded eagerly. "Sheary, you’re the best! We love you!" someone shouted. One of them even made a heart gesture, earning another smile from Shermaine. In that instant, they were once again captivated by how gorgeous she was.

Just then, Leslie appeared in the doorway. "Shermaine, can we talk?" he asked.

Shermaine’s classmates looked up and immediately felt a surge of anger as they saw Leslie, the culprit of all this.

Shermaine lifted her gaze slightly, gave a soft "Mm," and stood up to walk out. It was almost time for class, so the hallway was relatively empty. Most people were in their classrooms studying or discussing the exam. The wind was strong, and Shermaine’s long hair swayed with it. She brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and asked, "What now?"

Leslie had never seen a woman so gracefully beautiful, with such an ethereal aura. He fought to suppress the stirring in his chest and replied, "Sorry, I didn’t expect Alice to cause trouble for you because of me and put you on the wrong side of Mr. Moe."

"Oh, okay," Shermaine responded indifferently. She thought, ‘He does owe me an apology; after all, he’s the reason all of this happened. There’s nothing between us. But his admirer stormed up to me, questioning and insulting me. I don’t deserve this.’ She then said, "It’s already over. You don’t need to bring it up again. If there’s nothing else, I’m heading back to class."

"Wait," Leslie said while reaching out, attempting to grab her wrist, but Shermaine noticed and smoothly avoided his hand. She smiled faintly, waiting for him to continue, but her impatience was clear.

Leslie froze, his chest tightening with unease. After a pause, he said, "Mr. Moe is indeed a snob and does favor high-achieving students, but you shouldn’t have been so impulsive in making that bet with him. And winning in this way—have you thought about the consequences?"

‘What way? What consequences?’ Shermaine thought. But the next second, she understood what he meant. "You think I cheated?"

Leslie stared at her. "You did, didn’t you?"

Shermaine chuckled. She’d told him her grades weren’t bad, but he had never believed her. And now, he was accusing her of cheating, which was ridiculous. "You can think whatever you want. But let me be clear, I don’t need to cheat," she said.

Unwavering Resolve

"Don’t worry. I’m not planning to expose you. But don’t do it again. It’s not right."

Shermaine’s expression turned cold. She didn’t feel the need to defend herself, especially not to Leslie. This was her real performance, and she had crushed him fair and square. "I’ve already said that twice, and I don’t want to repeat myself a third time. Please don’t come looking for me again. We’re not close," she said seriously before turning and walking away without hesitation.

Leslie’s face turned completely grim.

Meanwhile, Alice and Hannah had indeed gone to the dean’s office. As soon as they saw him, Alice said, "Director, we suspect Shermaine cheated on this exam."

Mason’s expression shifted slightly. He didn’t immediately trust Alice’s words like he had before. "Do you have any proof?"

Alice explained, "No, we don’t. But Mr. Moe, everyone knows that Shermaine didn’t finish high school before, which is why she’s here with us. And Leslie only went to see her because her mother asked him to tutor her. A student who needs tutoring—how could someone like that get straight A’s?"

It seems Shermaine's academic success is causing quite a stir, and not everyone is willing to believe in her abilities. How do you think Mr. Moe will handle Alice and Hannah's accusations, especially since he himself made a bet with Shermaine?