Chapter 99
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Torin also felt something was off .
Based on Elysiaâs abilities , even if she had missed one subject , she should not have gotten such a low score .
He couldnât help but wonder if she was only good at math .
Not only were the netizens feeling let down , but so were they .
As Elysiaâs family , they couldnât help but feel a bit more disappointed , maybe because their expectations for her had been too high .
The only one who seemed genuinely happy was Rupert .
He had thought she was a lost cause , but it seemed there was still a glimmer of hope .
Under the watchful eyes of everyone , Elysia quickly checked her scores for each subject on the screen .
She scrolled through the results , which showed one absent and all full scores until the final subject â Language .
â How ⦠could it be ⦠70 points ? â Elysia murmured .
She refreshed the page three times before reluctantly clicking on the test paper to see where the points had been deducted .
The first page was flawless , and there was no mark deducted .
That left only the essay on the back .
Sure enough , Elysia found a glaring deduction of 50 points .
Everyone saw her zero â point essay , which wrote , â You are small enough for me to hold in one hand yet big enough to give me the strongest support .
You are a snake , but you are family to me ⦠Youâve gone home now , and itâs time for me to go home too .
â
Some netizens searched for the essay topic from that year and typed : [ The essay required students to write about the most moving experience of familial love in the past ten years .
]
Then , comments poured in .
[ In the past ten years , the only family love she experienced came from the green snake that accompanied her for two years ? ]
[ Boohoo , Elysia was saying goodbye to Greenie ! This is so beautifully written .
How could they give her zero points ? ]
[ Family love , people ! She could have written about Ms.
Olson or even made up a mother .
But no , she had to write about an animal .
If she didnât get a zero , who would ? ]
Rupert was first stunned by the perfect scores and the glaring zero , but when he saw his daughterâs essay about the most touching familial experience being entirely about a snake , his face turned red with rage .
â What ⦠nonsense is this ? This is ridiculous ! Weâre all her family , and yet she writes about some worthless snake ? Outrageous ! â Rupert roared .
He was so furious he stumbled over his words ,
However , no one stepped forward to comfort him .
Instead , Torin even retorted , â Weâve never done anything to move Elysia .
We couldnât even give her the most basic companionship .
What right do we have to expect to be included in her essay ? â
After saying that , Torin shot a glance at the culprit responsible for stepping on and killing Elysiaâs pet , or more precisely , her friend .
Fenwick felt so guilty he lowered his head almost to his waist .
Soon , an essay titled â When I Look Back , You Were There â went viral alongside the live stream , which had over a billion viewers .
The essay sparked widespread debate about whether animals could be included in essays centered on familial love and whether major exam topics should focus on family relationships at all .
After all , not everyone had a family dynamic worth celebrating .
Elysia silently closed her laptop .
Her faint smile wasnât bitter , but it carried no trace of joy either .
It was more of a resigned acceptance â a belief that this was fate .
She had already accepted that the fast â track admission spot was not hers to claim , and she had to bear for three more years .
At the very least , she could still attend high school .
Elysia fixed her gaze on the cartoon stickers on the laptop and gently ran her fingers over them with mixed feelings .
Just when everyone thought she would keep the laptop for herself , she surprised them by placing it in the living room and walking away ,
The netizens were shocked to see that .
[ What are you thinking ? Once itâs repaired , itâs yours ! Why would you put it back like that ? ]
[ Exactly ! Your dad isnât short on money .
Itâs just a laptop ! Elysia , you donât even have pocket money or the ability to make money .
Go get it back ! ]
This action not only made everyone feel sorry for her but also successfully silenced Rupert , Every word he had spoken earlier was shattered by reality .
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Chapter 99
But the most important point wasnât that .
It was the fact that he knew nothing about Elysia , let alone did anything to help .
The issue with the pocket money , the absent exam on her transcript , Torinâs question about his lack of companionship â all of these pointed to how little he had cared for his daughter .
Furthermore , he hadnât even realized she had missed such an important exam .
Rupert thought , â If Elysia had taken the exam , and if I had shown her more care , would she have achieved a perfect score , written an on â point essay , and performed better than Rowena ?
â After all , sheâs my and Valerieâs daughter .
She has such excellent genes .
Even if she grew up in the countryside , I shouldnât have written her off so
soon .
â
While Rupert was steeped in regret , the live stream suddenly erupted with noise .
Though chaotic , it was clear enough that a group of reporters had arrived .
â This is Daily Digest ! Up ahead is the home of this yearâs top scorer ⦠â
â This is News Network ⦠â
â Hi everyone , Iâm your ⦠â
The various voices overlapped , but it was clear that the reporters were all there to interview Rowena .
Rupert immediately brushed off his earlier thoughts and pushed aside the strange emotions inside him , his face lighting up with pride as he looked at the screen .
Rupert pondered , Though Rowena is a bit eccentric , itâs undeniable that she is a genius .
If she hadnât gone off to act with Fenwick after starting high school , she might have aced the Scholastic Assessment Test too .
â As for Elysia , she wouldnât have failed the exams if she was a genius .
And instead of studying harder , sheâs dabbled in that ridiculous art nonsense .
â
Just as Elysia lowered her gaze in disappointment and was about to head back to her room , another voice came through the broadcast .
â I heard the only perfect math score in the county this time is also from this family .
Could it also be the top scorer ? â
Elysia stopped in her tracks and glanced toward the door in surprise .
She hadnât expected to be the only one with a perfect score and wondered if they would interview her .
â Then ⦠can I tell them about how Rowena and the invigilator framed me that day ? Maybe I could even request an investigation ⦠â Elysia muttered to herself .
â Hey ! â Suddenly , a figure ran down the stairs and said , â What are you mumbling about ? Donât block the way ! Hurry up and get back to your room ! Weâre about to be on TV , and I donât want an ugly freak like you ruining the shot ! â
Elysia took a big step to the side without hesitation , while Rowena landed flat on her face .
â Ah ! It hurts ! â But instead of getting up , she stayed on the floor , crying and making a scene .
Elysia immediately sensed trouble and looked up toward the hallway .
As expected , Rupert appeared at the corner of the stairs but wasnât looking down yet .
However , Rowena seemed to have anticipated this and began wailing even louder .
â Boohoo ⦠Elysia , why did you push me again ? It hurts ⦠I really didnât mean to do better than you .
Iâm sorry , Elysia ⦠â
Elysia glanced at the two of them , took a deep breath , and decisively lay down on the floor as well .
When Rupert came downstairs and saw them , his eyes widened in disbelief .
â What ⦠What are you two doing ? Rowena , didnât you say the media was coming to interview you ? Why are you lying on the floor ? â
It turned out Rupert was hard of hearing and hadnât caught what Rowena said earlier , making her act a waste of effort .
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