Chapter 195

When Zinnia returned home, Yannis was already there, dinner ready. He’d prepared three dishes and a soup.

“Yannis, what’s wrong?” Zinnia asked during dinner, frowning in confusion as he kept stealing glances at her. She finally put down her fork. “What is it?”

She wondered, “Why is he staring? It makes me nervous. But I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong!”

“Zinnia, isn’t there anything you need to tell me?” Yannis asked, his hands folded on the table, his eyes fixed on her.

“About what?” she asked hesitantly, blinking in genuine puzzlement.

“I heard you just had exams,” Yannis said.

“Well, yeah,” Zinnia replied, quickly pulling back her hand from a dish. Feeling guilty, she continued eating her bread. She thought, “Did he find out I ranked last? It’s embarrassing enough that Mom knew. How did he find out, too?”

“So, Zinnia, isn’t there anything you want to tell me?” Yannis asked again. Seeing her avoid the dishes, he grew suspicious and helped her serve herself.

“Well, I don’t think so,” she replied hesitantly, staring at a buffalo wing but too nervous to eat it. She continued eating her bread.

“Really? Nothing at all?” Yannis asked slowly. Her avoidance of the wing made her seem even more guilty.

Zinnia felt like she was sitting on thorns. “Well, Yannis, I don’t think there’s anything I need to tell you.”

She thought worriedly, “I only secretly ate some candy and chocolate last night. Did he discover it?”

“Zinnia, why do you look so guilty? Did you do something behind my back?” Yannis pressed, his suspicion growing. He straightened his back and squinted at her. Her nervousness made it hard for him not to suspect her.

“Yannis, I just secretly ate some candy and chocolate last night. That’s all,” Zinnia finally confessed, her head down, her voice barely a whisper.

“So you ate snacks at night?” Yannis gave her a sidelong glance.

“You didn’t know that?” Zinnia looked up, surprised.

“I know it now,” Yannis replied, his face expressionless.

“Yannis, you tricked me!” Zinnia said resentfully.

“I didn’t. You told me yourself,” Yannis said, refusing to take the blame. He thought, ‘If I admit it, she’ll think I’m always setting her up.’

Yannis hadn’t expected her confession. He’d only wanted to ask about her grades. What a twist.

“So why did you keep asking if I have something to tell you?” Zinnia asked.

Chapter 195

Zinnia felt defeated. She wondered, “If he didn’t catch me snacking, why did he keep pressing this?”

“Didn’t you have exams lately?” Yannis sighed, seeing her confusion.

“Yeah,” Zinnia replied, glancing at his face.

She thought, “So he wants to know my grades. But why doesn’t he ask directly? Why does it feel like I’m the one who needs to confess?”

“So, how did you do, Zinnia?” Yannis asked.

“Just… you know… average,” Zinnia mumbled, lowering her head guiltily.

“Really? Just average? Do you have your report card? Let me take a look,” Yannis said.

He watched as she almost buried her face in her plate.

“Yannis, there’s really nothing worth seeing. Can we just skip it?” Zinnia muttered, trying to negotiate.

“You’re a senior now, Zinnia. I need to keep an eye on your studies so I can help you plan for the future,” Yannis explained.

He hadn’t planned to insist, but her guilty look piqued his curiosity.

“Yannis, I didn’t do well. Let’s just not look, okay?” Zinnia pleaded.

She thought of her terrible scores and her embarrassment. She didn’t want him to laugh.

“It’s okay if you didn’t do well. Let me take a look and help you analyze it. Maybe we can figure out what path suits you best. Life isn’t just about studying, but we should find the right path for us,” Yannis reassured her.

“Yannis, you’re not some old-fashioned guy, are you?” Zinnia asked.

Seeing his insistence, Zinnia sighed.

Yannis thought, ‘How did this turn into a debate about me being old-fashioned? I’m only twenty-four.’

“Zinnia, I am indeed older than you, but I’m only twenty-four. That’s hardly old,” Yannis said.

He felt young, after all.

“Fine. Here,” Zinnia pulled out her crumpled report card.

Her resignation only increased his curiosity. He took the card and slowly unfolded it.

Zinnia avoided his gaze. He wondered what kind of grades could make her this embarrassed.

Yannis thought, ‘If my guess is right, and Zinnia was raised by Nathan, her grades wouldn’t be that bad.’

After checking the scores, he was speechless. If this were a school with departmental teaching, Zinnia could get into a decent liberal arts college with those scores. But Evershine High was different. It emphasized all-around development. Every student was a top contender from their region; this workload was normal. Even those who fell behind could catch up with extra help. But Zinnia’s scores were exceptionally low, even for him, a former top student who’d skipped three grades.

Chapter 195

There were students with worse grades; some families bought their way in. However, in Yannis’s circle, such poor grades were unusual.

Yannis studied the report card, noting her weaknesses in science, especially physics and chemistry.

“Go ahead and laugh if you want,” Zinnia said, watching him silently.

“Why would I laugh? This proves how hard you’ve been working,” Yannis replied, his face free of mockery.

“I ranked last,” Zinnia mumbled, turning away.

“You’re outstanding in reading and writing, as well as language. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. You haven’t studied at this school for long. It’s normal to need some time to catch up,” Yannis said gently.