Vol. 3 Ch. 39

Twenty minutes earlier, the first subject of the hatchling entrance test had concluded. There were still four more subjects to go.

Aurora sat at the back of the classroom, looking at the group of young candidates from various species, already scheming about how she could have some fun in such a serious environment.

Just then, Moon approached her.

“Aurora.”

“What’s up, Second Sister?”

“Are you feeling unwell?” Moon asked with genuine concern.

Aurora blinked and shook her head. “No, why do you ask?”

“I noticed you spent half the test resting your head on the desk. I thought you might be sick.”

“Ah, well… it wasn’t quite half the time, maybe just a quarter~” Aurora joked, trying to lighten the mood.@@novelbin@@

Seeing her little sister’s playful attitude, Moon wasn’t as worried but still reminded her, “If you feel unwell, be sure to tell the exam proctor right away, okay?”

“Mm, I will, Second Sister.”

In truth, Aurora wasn’t intentionally slacking off during the test. She was working on something important—*score control*.

As the name suggests, score control involves deliberately keeping your score within a desired range. This is usually a trick employed by genius students looking to show off their skills.

But Aurora wasn’t doing it to flaunt her abilities. She just wanted to stay at a *“middle”* ranking.

Everyone knows that if you want to sit back and enjoy the show, you can’t be the one at the top. All eyes are on the leader, and the more attention you get, the more likely you are to slip up and experience public embarrassment.

Aurora’s goal was to watch the drama unfold, not become the center of it.

So, she left some questions on her test deliberately incomplete, writing random answers in some places just to keep her score from getting too high and making her the center of attention.

Moreover, her older sister Noa was always at the top, holding the number one spot in everything. If Xiaoguang also ended up as a “permanent first place” student, people would talk about her even more than they already did with Noa.

Xiaoguang didn’t know what Moon thought about all of this, but she, personally, definitely didn’t want to be the subject of gossip.

So a little score manipulation was necessary.

And Xiaoguang had already calculated everything. Even if her parents totally bombed the family interview by flipping over the table, her controlled score would still be enough for her to pass the entrance test.

Once she got her little backpack and started classes, the first thing she’d do would be to lock in on the most *attention-grabbing* student in the class—someone who could serve as a source of endless entertainment.

Wasn’t that just the perfect opportunity for some fun?

"I really am a genius when it comes to finding entertainment,” thought Aurora, brimming with confidence.

But, of course, she didn’t share this plan with Moon.

It wasn’t that Moon wouldn’t understand her motivation to find amusement; it was more that Moon had a different goal. She was here at the academy to follow in Noa’s footsteps and—more importantly—ensure that no other little dragoness would steal her big sister away. Score manipulation for entertainment wouldn’t be something Moon would consider.

In short, Xiaoguang’s score manipulation was going smoothly, and as long as she kept it up, she’d land comfortably in the middle.

“These test questions are so hard!”

“Yeah, I had no idea how to answer a bunch of them. I just scribbled something down.”

“I heard from an older student in my clan that this year’s test is way harder than in previous years.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“Not sure… maybe the academy is looking for more talented hatchlings.”

“…”

The other young dragons in the test room were discussing the difficulty of the exam.

Moon and Aurora overheard their conversation.

“I thought the questions were really tough, too,” Moon said.

Xiaoguang nodded in agreement. “Yeah, they were.”

This was no lie.

Even though Aurora was focused on finding amusement, she had still answered the questions she knew correctly. Her father’s preparation had been thorough, but even he hadn’t predicted the level of difficulty in this test.

Many of the questions were different from anything she’d seen in previous years, testing not just knowledge but independent thinking.

Aurora had initially thought it was just her who found the questions difficult, but it seemed like everyone else felt the same.

“But Dad’s lessons were really good. I managed to answer everything, even the new types of questions. I’m not sure if I got them all right, but at least I found the basic logic behind them,” Moon said.

Aurora gave her second sister a thumbs-up.

She had faith in Moon’s abilities.

While Moon often appeared relaxed and nonchalant, Aurora had long realized that her sister wasn’t just lazing around. She only relaxed after finishing what needed to be done.

And the reason it seemed like Moon was always lounging around was simple:

She finished her tasks very quickly.

Work hard, play hard—that was Moon’s motto.

“I don’t think my score will be very high this time. Ugh, forget about becoming this year’s model family!”

“Relax, as long as you pass the test, it’s fine. Personally, I don’t care much about being part of a model family.”

“Looking back at the model families from the past three years, they were all top-tier. Especially that girl from three years ago, Noa K. Melkvey. I heard she’s still getting perfect scores in every subject.”

“…”

The conversation shifted from test difficulty to model families.

Aurora perked up her ears, listening intently.

“Second Sister, what’s a model family?” she asked.

“Oh, model family? Every year, St. Heith Academy holds two entrance exams, and each time, they select one family with the highest combined scores as the model family.”

Moon crossed her arms and proudly swayed her tail, the cowlick on her head bouncing slightly. “Our family was named the model family the year Noa, Mom, and Dad got top scores in both the written and family interviews!”

Aurora’s eyes sparkled. “Wow~ I didn’t know our family had such a glorious history!”

“Yup, yup,” Moon said dreamily. “This year, Aurora, let’s try to get high scores too~”

Aurora tilted her head. “Well…”

Would she really give up a chance to watch fun drama unfold just for a “model family” title?

Hmm… tough choice.

“If we win, Mom and Dad will take us on stage to give a speech!”

Go on stage.

Give a speech.

It sounded amusing… but maybe not amusing enough.

“I remember Dad kissed Mom on stage! And—”

“Wait! Second Sister, what did you just say?!”

“I said, Dad kissed Mom on stage! And in front of a huuuuge audience!”

In front of a huge audience—

Dad kissed Mom!

Aurora: ?w?!

Compared to the potential of watching her dad publicly kiss her mom, finding some inspiration from the top student in her class seemed like child’s play!

As expected, being born into this family was the best decision ever. Every time she thought life was going to get boring, her family would pull out something extraordinary that would make her day.

The thought of her usually awkward parents sharing a public kiss in front of so many people made Aurora’s *spirit of entertainment* practically leap out of her chest.

She knew it—coming to this academy was bound to bring her new and exciting drama!

*Ding ding ding—*

Soon, the bell rang, signaling the start of the next test.

Moon jogged back to her seat.

The proctor walked around the room, handing out the next set of exams.

Aurora glanced down at her new test, titled *Introduction to Basic Magic Concepts*.

She smirked, stretched her fingers, rolled her neck, and picked up her pencil.

“Dad, Mom, forgive me, but this time—I’m getting a perfect score!”