Chapter 11

Lucas was troubled about the upcoming competition. Frank patted Lucas on the shoulder. “I’ll talk to her once the results are out. After all, the repechage is important.”

However, Lucas remained unhappy. “Noelle begged me for a long time before I taught her how to play the game, and now she’s using that against me. When did she become so manipulative?”

“If it really comes to it, we’ll get Donovan to step in. She can’t just ignore his authority!”

Xenia, listening nearby, felt upset. She was reluctant to relinquish her position to Noelle, believing it was rightfully hers.

When Noelle arrived at school, she overheard classmates discussing the exam results. Gwen’s lackeys glanced at Noelle and deliberately said loudly, “Someone has been working so hard lately. I wonder how well she did!”

Although nervous, Noelle feigned calmness, pulling out her textbook to review. Soon, Lionel entered with the results, and excitement filled the room.

He tapped on the desk. “Quiet, everyone. The overall results aren’t great. Now is not the time to slack off. I want to specifically call out Xenia, who has dropped over 200 places in the rankings.”

Xenia’s face paled. She knew her performance hadn’t been outstanding, but she hadn’t expected it to be that bad.

Lionel then looked at Noelle and paused, clearly holding something back. “But Noelle has made significant improvement. Keep it up!”

Gwen eagerly asked, “Mr. Kramer, what’s Noelle’s ranking?”

“She’s now ranked 100th in the grade.”

The classroom erupted in chatter. Noelle smiled to herself. She had done it! She was thrilled to report her results to Cedric. Her efforts had been worthwhile. At this rate, if she continued to work hard, she could make it into Yole University.

“Mr. Kramer, I suspect something’s wrong with Noelle’s results. There’s no way she could improve this much in such a short time!”

Chapter 12

Silence fell over the classroom. Almost everyone turned to Noelle with suspicion. Lionel glanced at Noelle’s rank and felt slightly doubtful. However, he couldn’t deny witnessing Noelle’s recent hard work.

Xenia spoke softly, “Mr. Kramer, Noelle really wanted these results. She even made a bet with her brother, so please don’t doubt her. These results mean so much to her. Please, I beg you.”

Her words were convincing, but Noelle smiled sarcastically. She found Xenia’s act awe-inspiring. It was no wonder Noelle had fallen into Xenia’s trap in her past life.

Lionel suspected Noelle might have cheated to win the bet.

Gwen said, “Mr. Kramer, please don’t protect someone who might have cheated. Recently, both Xenia and Noelle prepared for their family’s team competition. Since Xenia’s results dropped significantly, there’s no way Noelle could have improved this much!”

Betty chimed in, “Yeah, Mr. Kramer. For fairness, we think Noelle’s results should be nullified.”

Xenia saw Lionel hesitate, believing her words. She knew she had won again. She thought, “Noelle, how dare you work hard and surpass me again! You’ll soon face the consequences.”

“Noelle, are you not going to explain yourself?”

Noelle felt Lionel’s doubtful gaze. She coldly replied, “I didn’t cheat.” She said nothing more.

In her past life, whenever her results surpassed Xenia’s, Xenia created trouble, making Noelle too fearful to surpass her again. Xenia was using the same tactics.

Xenia immediately said, “Mr. Kramer, I told you she wouldn’t cheat. Please don’t doubt her. Nullifying her results might seem fair, but it would hurt her.”

After thinking briefly, Lionel said, “Noelle’s ranking will be temporarily nullified. I’ll investigate further. If cheating is confirmed, she will face consequences.”

Noelle left, and the classroom buzzed. Gwen mocked, “I knew it. No wonder someone’s grades improved so much. She was cheating.”

Xenia appeared smug as she texted Lucas, “Lucas, what should I do? Noelle cheated to win the bet with you, and now she’s getting demerits. I’m so worried about her.”

Meanwhile, Noelle opened her book and studied. She didn’t care if her ranking was canceled. Xenia could influence Lionel, but not the college entrance exam scores.

However, Noelle felt uneasy. She had bet with Cedric that if she made the top 100, they would play games together. She hadn’t been to the infirmary recently, and Cedric hadn’t replied to her messages. She felt down, realizing she might have overthought their friendship.

After morning classes, a scream erupted outside. Noelle saw Lucas enter. She wondered why.

“Xenia, your brother is so handsome.”

Xenia stepped forward to accept a small cake. “Lucas, Noelle’s in the classroom. Maybe you can talk to her. If she apologizes and admits to cheating, she might avoid punishment.”

Lucas glanced at Noelle, but she didn’t look up. She knew why he was there. Xenia wanted to see her embarrassed. Noelle didn’t care if her ranking was nullified, but she wouldn’t admit to cheating.

Xenia stood at the door, feigning kindness. “Noelle, Lucas is here. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Noelle pretended not to hear. Lucas’s expression darkened. His worry disappeared. Why had he worried about her?

He said coldly, “I’ll talk to your homeroom teacher.” He turned and left.

Xenia took the cake and approached Noelle. “Noelle, Lucas only brought one cake for me. He must have forgotten about you. I’ll share half with you later.”

Noelle knew Xenia was showing off. Whenever her brothers came to school, they brought gifts for Xenia, but never for Noelle. She’d complained once, but Frank said she wasn’t given gifts because she was disobedient. Now, she didn’t care.

Noelle’s phone rang. It was Cedric. She grabbed the phone and walked into the hallway, taking a deep breath before answering. “Hello, Dr. Greene.”

“How’s your result?”

She felt uneasy. “I was ranked 100th, but now my results might be nullified.” His tone turned grave. “What happened?”

Chapter 12