Chapter 195
After she dropped out of school, she’d just carelessly stuffed all her old sketches into her desk. And now, the name on it was actually Sylvie Grant.
Winifred’s lips curled into a faint smile. "She couldn’t even be bothered to tweak it a little when stealing someone else’s work? How dumb and laughable," she thought.
Without hesitation, Winifred ripped the painting off the wall and marched straight into the classroom. She slapped it down on Sylvie’s desk with a loud smack. Sylvie jumped in shock, her expression changing instantly when she saw what it was, especially when she met Winifred’s casual, almost bored look.
“Winifred! What the hell are you doing? How dare you rip my painting off the wall? I’m telling the teacher right now," Sylvie yelled.
Winifred let out a cold laugh, propping one foot up on the desk. "Your painting! Sylvie, since when did my throwaway sketch become your so-called masterpiece?”
Sylvie’s face went stiff for a moment, then she jumped to her feet and shot back, “Winifred, what nonsense are you spouting? Since when did my artwork become your throwaway sketch? If you’re going to accuse me, at least come up with a better story! I poured my heart and soul into this painting. What gives you the right to say it’s yours?”
Sylvie put on a pitiful act, instantly stirring up the other students’ discontent.
“Winifred is seriously out of line,” someone muttered.
“Yeah, it’s obviously Sylvie’s painting, but she’s insisting it’s hers and even ripped it off the wall. She must be jealous of our senior. This is just too much. Let’s go tell the teacher," another student chimed in.
“Sylvie, something I tossed aside without a second thought is now your hard work? Give me a break. Has no one ever taught you that if you’re going to steal someone else’s work, you should at least put in the effort to make it look different?” Winifred sneered.
Sylvie’s face went ghostly pale at Winifred’s words. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Winifred. This painting is mine. The judges can all vouch for me.”
“What’s going on here?” The teacher walked in briskly.
Seeing the teacher walk in, Sylvie immediately seized the chance to complain, clutching the painting to her chest as she rushed over. “Ma’am, I really don’t know why Winifred is picking on me like this. This is my award-winning piece, and she just ripped it off the wall, insisting I stole it from her. I poured my heart into making this.”
Sylvie put on her best pitiful act. She was known as the campus’s number two genius girl: Nobody was going to take the word of a bad student over her.
Winifred, you can’t change anything, Sylvie thought to herself with glee.
“Winifred, what is wrong with you? You just got back to school and you’re already stirring up trouble again. How could you just tear down someone else’s artwork? Do you have any proof at all that this painting actually belongs to you!" the teacher scolded.
Winifred dragged out a chair, sat down with her legs crossed, looking completely brazen and defiant. Her blatant disregard only made the teacher even more furious.
“Winifred, I’m talking to you," the teacher snapped.
Winifred lounged back in her chair and said lazily, “Ma’am, this painting has my personal signature mark on it. All my previous works are stored in the school’s system. As a professional, you should be able to spot right away that the lines in the center of the painting actually form the character from my rune."
Ms. Green leaned in for a closer look, and sure enough, there it was. Now that she thought about it, Winifred’s earlier works all had that same mark. Back in her freshman year, Winifred had already shown extraordinary talent. She’d been called the most promising student in the whole department.
Sylvie’s confidence instantly crumbled as Ms. Green started to frown and look suspicious. “No way! How could there possibly be a mark on that painting?” she panicked, her face going ashen.
“Winifred, those lines could just be a coincidence. You have no way to prove this painting is yours. Your behavior is completely unacceptable. Apologize to Sylvie right now, and write a self-reflection. I want it on my desk first thing tomorrow morning,” Ms. Green said sternly.