Chapter 42 Just Like That
"Willow, let's go. The results are out, so we should go take a look.âAt the same time, Senior Class 1
received the news, too."Bailey will come first, and Willow will either be in the second or third place.
They won't be curious about their results.â"Let's go. We should take a look together. This time, the
test was quite hard.â Willow got to her feet. Instead of her own results, she wanted to see Sophie's
scores.She was certain that Sophie wasn't her match.When Willow and her friends arrived, the
bulletin board was crowded.âScram! Your results are that way!â The students from Senior Class 1
started chasing the others away.The top hundred students were usually from the honors classes, so
there was no reason for the students from the other classes to crowd this spot.âIt's fine. I can check
out Sophie's results first. She's my sister, so I hope she did well."Willow went to the end of the
bulletin board, certain Sophie didn't do well in the test. She knew how bad Sophie's results were
back in Horington, and it was impossible for one to improve that swiftly in such a short amount of
time."Willa, how could you be this kind? You treat her nicely, but she might not appreciate your
gesture. She has a bad reputation, so you should be careful not to let her drag you down."The
upper-class society cared about their reputation a lot.âl donât mind. No matter what, sheâs still my
sister,â Willow insisted.âDidnât she rank last?â Everyone assumed Sophie was going to come last, for
the students at Jipsdale Premier High were pretty smart.Willow's smile nearly slipped when she
couldn't find Sophie's name among the last ten students.They moved up the list."Willa, how bad did
your sister do? Her name isn't even on the list!"Hearing that, Willow sighed.Her name isn't even on
the list? That means Sophie did really bad!Meanwhile, Ysabelle dragged Sophie out of the classroom
to check out their results.â"Oh my god! Soph, am I seeing things?â Ysabelle rubbed her eyes
incredulously.She opened her eyes wide and stared at the list again. Sophie had come in second,
only scoring ten marks lesser than Bailey.âSoph, how did you score that high?â Ysabelle was
shocked.Isn't Soph a terrible student and a delinquent? How did this happen?âJust like that,â came
Sophie's nonchalant answer.She hadn't wanted to come first and had done several questions wrong
on purpose. Otherwise, Bailey wouldn't even be her match.Willow came over to them and sneered,
"Sophie, why isnât your name on the list? Did you do so badly that the teachers refuse to let others
see your results?ââWilla, just ignore her. She isn't worth your time.â guess no one in Jipsdale
Premier High had ever scored this low, so the teachers were too embarrassed to release her results
to the public."Willow's friends burst out giggling.Ysabelle was so furious she let out a snort. How
dare they look down on Soph?â"Why are you snorting?â One of Willow's friends, a girl wearing
glasses, spoke out. âIf you suck, you should stay in your classroom instead of embarrassing yourself
in public.âI'm laughing at someone who's blind. Sophie's name is really obvious, but someone is
too blind to see it.""Hey!"Willow went over to the top of the list.Bailey came first as he scored seven
hundred and twenty-five marks.Sophie came second for scoring seven hundred and fifteen
marks.Willow ranked third for scoring six hundred and eighty marks.âHow is this possible?â Willow
couldn't believe her eyes. Did Sophie rank second? She scored thirty-five marks more than
melEveryone else came after seeing Willow's reaction. They were at a loss for words after seeing
Sophie's results.â Seriously?â âWillow, isn't your sister a terrible student?"âYeah! I thought she loves to
fight? What is going on?"âHa! Why? Are you jealous? Sophie can fight and study well! She's an all-
rounder!â Ysabelle announced proudly. In fact, she was so delighted as though she was the one who
came first.âImpossible.â Willow shot Sophie a disbelieving look. âYou cheated during the test,
right?"Sophie laughed icily. âCheat? Do you think it's possible to cheat when the test is so hard? I
don't think you can memorize the answer to the last question in the physics test even if you were
given the answer beforehand!â she mocked.Willow scowled.How could this be? Sophie did poorly
back in Horington!"Ysabelle, let's go back to class."Sophie led Ysabelle back to their
classroom.Willow stood rooted to her spot. Many things had changed since Sophie's return, and she
was about to lose control of everything.âWillow, are you all right?â her friend asked in concern.âI'm
fine.â It's just a monthly test. Never mind. I can work hard to defeat Sophie.She was dealt another
blow when their Chanaean teacher read Sophie's essay out loud in class.The teacher kept lavishing
praises on Sophie's writing.For the next few classes, Sophie's answers were used as a template for
the students to learn and improve. Willow couldn't help but feel jealous.That night, she went home
to Charmaine, who asked her about her monthly test results."Willa, you haven't told me about your
results.â Charmaine had hired many famous teachers for Willow as she wanted her daughter to get
admitted into a top university. Nowadays, eligible bachelors from the upper-class society would
consider their future partnersâ education level and IQ as they wanted their next generation to inherit
good genes. Thus, Charmaine had always paid attention to Willow's education.âNot bad." Willow
dared not tell Charmaine that Sophie had done better, afraid that Charmaine would focus on
Sophie's good results."What's wrong? Did someone bully you in school?â Charmaine asked
worriedly. Willow seemed to be in low spirits tonight.âI'm fine. I think I didn't get to rest well as I
worked too hard for the test. I'm a bit tired,â she explained.Charmaine told the housekeeper to heat
a glass of milk for her.âWilla, I know it's hard on you. You need to work hard as that's the only way
you can get what you want. Think about Mason. You've always liked him, right?"Doesnât she know
what kind of wife the Laird family prefers?Charmaine added, âBesides, you've neglected painting
recently. You need to paint more. I'll organize an art exhibition for you one day.â"Mm. I know.â
Willow perked up at the mention of that.Indeed, having good results wasn't enough. The upper-
class society wanted more than that from women.For example, Mason's mother, Constance, was a
painter of some renown. With her painting skills, she was better than most women of her age."Mom,
the parent-teacher conference will be held on Monday. Are you free to attend it? If you aren't, it's
fine.â This time, Willow didnât want her mother to attend the conference. She didn't want Sophie to
get to gloat."Monday? Sure, I'll be there,â Charmaine promised.If you attend it for me, what about
Sophie? You should just stay home instead of showing up.âCharmaine assured her, âWilla, you're my
only hope. Sophie is no match for you!â Sophie has a bad reputation. She's hopeless.Hearing that,
Willow leaned into Charmaineâs arms.âMom, thanks. I won't disappoint you,â she vowed.âGood. You
must marry Mason. I'll figure out a way to get the twenty percent of shares from Sophie to be your
dowry.â
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