Chapter 28

Zane hadn't even opened his mouth when she bolted.

As he watched her sprint away, a sly grin spread across his face. In the past, seeing other women fawn over him made him feel sick. But now, seeing Elysia's reaction, he actually felt good. He even enjoyed being wanted.

Alice saw Zane's sudden smile and was shocked, as if she'd seen a ghost. She thought, "Isn't Zane always stone-faced? What's with this smile?"

On the way back, she let out a long sigh, relieved that the car was finally going at a normal speed. Earlier, it had felt like a snail's crawl. But she didn't dare ask Zane to speed up, afraid Elysia would think he was driving slowly on purpose to prolong the ride.

After Elysia got home, she took a cold shower to calm down. She kept reminding herself not to be captivated by someone's looks.

Emma was in a great mood. She'd just heard that Elysia had fallen asleep during the Language and Composition test. If Elysia could sleep during a test with easily scored points, it showed how poorly she performed. Emma figured if Elysia bombed Language and Composition, her other subjects couldn't be much better. The chance to surpass Elysia she'd been waiting for was finally here, and she was thrilled.

Elysia changed into her pajamas and planned to type up the manuscript she'd been writing. She'd started writing for fun, but she became increasingly engrossed. She wrote a little each day and had accumulated a substantial amount of text.

After copying all her handwritten notes to the computer, it was 1:00 a.m. She found a website, created an account, chose the pen name "Nightwood," posted her story in chapters, and went to bed.

The next morning at school, Elysia felt the weight of strange looks and hushed gossip.

"That's Elysia, the one who transferred to Class 1. I heard she fell asleep during the Language and Composition test." "How did someone who sleeps during a test get into Class 1?" "Who knows?!"

Elysia frowned, thinking, "Bad news travels fast. Why do they have time to talk about me? Why not use that time to improve their own grades? I don't get it."

When she arrived in Class 1, the atmosphere was tense. Most students knew about her sleeping during the test and worried she'd lower the class average. But after her previous display of defiance, no one dared to confront her directly.

Bianca, however, couldn't tolerate it. As class president, she couldn't allow anyone to drag the class down. She intended to remove Elysia from Class 1. She reasoned that if she could get Elysia removed before the monthly test results were released, Elysia's scores wouldn't affect Class 1's average. Then Class 1 could maintain its honor and remain the best in the school.

"Why did you sleep during the test, Elysia?" Bianca demanded.

Elysia frowned, thinking, "Does she have to control everything? Is she thinking straight? I sleep when I want. Do I need her permission? There's no rule against sleeping during a test. Besides, I finished all the questions; I just didn't write the essay. Is it really that big of a deal?"

She began to seriously wonder if she was receiving too much attention at school. Anything related to her seemed to be fair game for discussion.

Seeing Elysia remain silent, Bianca assumed she was guilty and felt smug. "Elysia, why don't you just leave Class 1? To be honest, with your study habits, you really don't fit in here."

"Bianca Janssen," Justin said, fixing his gaze on Bianca, his tone firm and authoritative. "Elysia's in our class. You're supposed to help her, instead of trying to expel her. That's what a good class leader does."

Bianca was speechless. She couldn't believe Justin was supporting Elysia. He was usually detached, avoiding conflict. And now he was defending Elysia, whom Bianca despised. It infuriated her.

Justin used Bianca's full name, but only Elysia's first name. It was clear who he favored. Bianca wondered if she was truly that unlikeable, even less likeable than Elysia. She thought, "Why is Justin helping Elysia? He always looks down on those he considers inferior. And Elysia isn't even in the same league as me. I'm a top student and the class leader. How can Elysia compare? Why is Justin helping her?"

Bianca couldn't accept it. She had always liked Justin and tried to get closer to him by studying together, but he always rebuffed her advances. Seeing him defend someone else, she thought he was simply cold and distant; his unexpected support of Elysia left her deeply upset.

Leon was also surprised. Justin taking the initiative to help someone was unprecedented. It felt surreal. Elysia glanced at Justin, thinking he was unusually loyal today, but she didn't understand why he had intervened.

Robert, equally surprised by Justin's actions, watched the unfolding scene. However, his opinion of Elysia wasn't positive. Ever since she'd stared at him in Amour café, he'd considered her somewhat flirtatious. Later rumors only solidified this negative perception. Moreover, Emma's negative comments about her sister further diminished his opinion of Elysia.

Seeing Bianca confront Elysia, he didn't think Bianca was doing anything wrong; in fact, he agreed with her assessment. He, too, looked down on Elysia.

Suppressing her jealousy, Bianca looked at Justin and said, "As class president, I can't focus solely on her. I can't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch!"

Hearing Bianca's words, Elysia frowned, shocked to be called a "bad apple." She wouldn't take that insult lying down.

She looked at Bianca with a playful smile. "Bianca, if you call me a bad apple, then let's see if you dare to compete with me."

The classmates were astonished by Elysia's challenge. They thought they'd misheard. Bianca was ranked in the top three of their grade; Elysia must have lost her mind to challenge her.

Bianca thought, "This is my chance!"

Her lips curled into a smirk as she asked, "Sure! What do we compete in?"

Elysia chuckled lightly. "Since you value academics so much, let's compete in that!"

"How do we do it?" Bianca asked, her body language exuding confidence.

"It's simple. We'll have someone write a random question on the blackboard, any subject. We both answer it. Whoever answers correctly in the shortest time wins. How about that? Do you dare?" Elysia said, her posture relaxed yet confident.