Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Chapter 22 Alice had been trying to reassure herself not to care about all this. Chloe could only resort to these tactics, even bringing Sixth Brother to school, and the likely outcome was that her grades would be canceled. But when she heard Jack ask about her results, she couldn’t help but feel upset.

As she was about to answer, someone called out to her,“Alice, the homeroom teacher wants you to come to her office.”

She bit her lip and said, “I need to go to the office. I’ll talk to you later.” After hanging up, Alice went straight to the homeroom teacher’s office.

Upon entering, she found Luke there; and the atmosphere was tense.

Luke spoke coldly, “Alice, I never thought you’d resort to cheating just to win. Do you understand what this means?”

Alice wasn’t surprised by his disbelief. Her gaze was steady.“I didn’t cheat.” She wouldn’t admit to something she hadn’t done.

“Alice, the facts are right in front of you, and you’re still lying? Based on your usual grades and your behavior at home, there’s no way your scores could improve this much, and you had plenty of motive to cheat! Admit your mistake, and we’ll ask the school to lessen your punishment.”

Alice scoffed, “Do you think that’s evidence of me cheating?”

Luke stood up in anger.“Alice, look at yourself!”

The teacher, seeing Luke about to lose his temper, quickly intervened, “Speak to her calmly.”

Luke, exasperated, said to the teacher, “Sorry, but Alice’s cheating is just her rebelling against the family. Just like I said, make her write a letter of reflection and apologize publicly, and don’t give her a punishment.”

The teacher sighed.“That’s fine, I hope Alice can turn over a new leaf.” After all, they were about to graduate from high school, and carrying a punishment wasn’t exactly a badge of honor.

Alice looked down at the floor, her already cold heart sinking further. They had decided her fate in just a few words, and no one believed her.

“Alice, you’ve brought shame to the Welch family! How could you be such a morally bankrupt sister? I’m embarrassed just to say it!”

“Do I even want to be your sister?”

Alice’s features were delicate, her eyes dark and cold. She didn’t care anymore.

“Alice, say that again.” Luke glared at her, his face flushed with anger. “Don’t yell at the student. You’ll scare her,” an elderly man walked in, looking kind.

The homeroom teacher quickly said, “Principal, what brings you here?”

“I heard a senior student made significant progress but is being accused of cheating, and it’s causing quite a stir, so I came to see what’s going on.”

Luke replied curtly, “Principal, there’s no need for an investigation. Alice cheated to get those good grades. If she won’t apologize and admit her mistake, just give her a punishment.” She definitely needed a lesson. He had just pleaded with the teacher to avoid a punishment, but Alice wouldn’t accept it. Fine, he wouldn’t do anything for her anymore. She didn’t care anyway.

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Chapter 22 Menu The principal looked kindly at Alice.“Actually, there’s a simple way to verify if you cheated. We can give you a new set of questions to complete under our supervision. Are you willing to accept the test?”

Alice looked at the principal.“I’ll accept. But I have a condition: if I prove I didn’t cheat, the ones who accused me should apologize publicly.”

Luke sneered, “Sure, let’s see what kind of score you can get!”

The teacher gave Alice a test.“I’ll start the timer.”

Alice sat down, picked up her pen, and began the test. The office was silent, everyone watching her. The teacher, sitting close by, was surprised by Alice’s mathematical reasoning. This test was harder than the monthly exam, and Alice was getting most of the answers correct! Time ticked away. Chloe, curious about what was happening in the office, walked over and saw Alice working on the problems, instantly feeling a bad premonition.

She went to Luke.“Luke, what are you doing? Is Alice retaking the test?” Luke snorted.“Yes. She refuses to admit to cheating, so this time she’ll lose convincingly.”

Chloe rushed to Alice’s side, “Alice, don’t be stubborn. We believe you. You don’t have to force yourself.”

Alice didn’t respond or acknowledge Chloe; she wouldn’t let this woman disrupt her focus. Seeing that Alice was unaffected, Chloe bit her lip and looked at Luke, “Luke, Alice’s still angry with me.”

Luke was irritated.”Alice, Chloe’s talking to you. Can’t you hear?”

Alice looked up.“I’m taking a test. Can’t you see?”

out. Don’t mess this up!”

Luke was speechless.“Chloe’s giving you way a “Chloe, don’t disturb Alice while she’s taking the test. We can talk after she’s done.” The homeroom teacher couldn’t stand it anymore; he could clearly see Alice was doing well, and it was likely she hadn’t cheated.

Chloe, feeling frustrated, feigned innocence, “Teacher, I didn’t mean anything by it.” But she didn’t want Alice to prove her so–

called strength. She couldn’t accept that Alice was better than her, and she wouldn’t allow it to happen.

Chloe watched skeptically; she didn’t believe Alice would do well. But seeing Alice’s recent changes made her feel inexplicably uneasy.

Time was up. The teacher collected the paper and quickly graded it with other teachers. Alice sat calmly in her chair. Even seeing Chloe standing next to Sixth Brother Luke didn’t stir much emotion in her.

Indeed, when she didn’t care, she won’t get hurt.

The teacher announced excitedly, “The results are in.”

Chloe looked over, filled with malice, hoping Alice would do poorly.

Luke coldly remarked, “Teacher, if she did badly, don’t even mention it; it’d be too embarrassing.”

“No, Alice did extremely well! This test was harder than the monthly exam, and her score is even better!”

When Alice heard this, the tension in her heart finally eased. She smiled slightly.

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< Chapter 22 Menu Luke’s expression cracked as he grabbed the test paper to take a look; scores didn’t lie. Alice had indeed done well.

Chloe tiptoed to see the score, instantly feeling a surge of jealousy. When did Alice become this capable? It was impossible!

The principal smiled.“The truth is clear. Alice achieved this through her own efforts.” been working hard lately.” indeed The homeroom teacher nodded.“Alice has Luke’s expression shifted like a color palette, ultimately placing the test paper back on the desk, surprised that Alice really hadn’t cheated.

At that moment, he suddenly felt that Alice seemed a bit unfamiliar.

The principal cleared his throat, “Since the truth is clear, those who slandered Alice should apologize.”

Chloe’s face flushed with embarrassment.