Chapter 197

She simply couldn’t accept this outcome. Why? Just because Winifred has some big shot backing her?

Is there any justice left at all? she fumed inwardly.

Sylvie stepped up to defend Ms. Green. “Yeah, sir, we all saw it, Winifred kicked the teacher. You should punish her. And besides, she’s claiming my work as her own.”

“Shut your mouth, Sylvie! You’ve got some nerve, seriously. The judges and all of us already know this painting is just one of Winifred’s old drafts. And those so-called works of yours before? Turns out they all belong to Winifred, too. Even now, you’re still trying to talk your way out of it?” the principal snapped, his voice full of fury and disbelief.

The principal was practically fuming. If it hadn’t been for that whistleblower letter and the hard evidence, he never would’ve realized all those paintings were actually done by Winifred.

What really stung was that the drafts for every single one of those pieces had been sitting in the school’s computer system the whole time. It was a total slap in the face for all the teachers.

Copying someone else’s work, and not even bothering to change a thing. That was shameless.

Sylvie’s mind buzzed, and in an instant, all sound faded away. All she could feel was a wave of icy coldness rising from deep inside, enveloping her completely.

Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. ‘How did they find out?’ she thought, panic gripping her.

‘Could it be…’ Sylvie thought, pulling out her phone, only to see the school forum completely swamped with posts exposing her plagiarism. Teachers had even officially certified the evidence.

[Someone like her actually got second place! I knew she was just faking it all along. And to think she always claimed to hate plagiarism the most. What a joke.]

[Please. She kept bragging about how her work was the result of painstaking efforts, and how inspiration was so hard to come by. Turns out all that talk about pouring her heart and soul into her art was just made up. None of those pieces were even hers.]

[Her grades only suddenly shot up after Winifred left. So it was all just stealing other people’s work. Someone like her doesn’t deserve to stay at this school. She should be kicked out of the art department for good!]

[Sylvie, you thief!]

[Sylvie, get out of this school!]

All kinds of posts and messages flooded Sylvie’s screen. Her face went completely pale, and she couldn’t stop shaking.

“How could this happen! How could it be?” she screamed inside, unable to accept it.

“My reputation… everything I had… it’s all gone…” Sylvie’s mind went blank, her world collapsing around her.

Winifred strolled up to her, a smirk tugging at her lips. “So, Sylvie, how is it? Do you like the big present I gave you?”

She turned to Ms. Green, putting on an apologetic look. “Oh, sorry Ms. Green, I forgot to mention, I already handed all the evidence to the principal before I came in. I didn’t mean to leave you out of the loop. You’re not upset, are you!”

Winifred’s scheming smile, paired with those dark, brooding eyes, made Ms. Green’s heart skip a beat. She felt a chill run straight down her spine.

“Winifred’s never been the type you can mess with…” Ms. Green thought, her heart sinking.

She was both furious and stunned. ‘She did this on purpose. She’d already gone to the principal, but still had to announce it in front of me just to humiliate me and make sure I lost my job,’ Ms. Green realized, bitter resentment welling up inside her.

Ms. Green clenched her fists so tight her knuckles turned white. To think she’d end up tripped up by the very student she’d always looked down on. How utterly hateful.

By the time the parents showed up, Sylvie was already in tears, her face streaked with mascara and her eyes red and swollen, but she didn’t say a word.

Iris walked into the office, took out a tissue, and gently dabbed at her tears. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here for you now.”

“So, you’re Sylvie’s guardian, right? This is a really serious matter. I hope you’ll make sure to discipline your child properly,” the principal said, his face stern.

Iris scoffed. “My little sister just picked up a few scraps she thought nobody wanted. She had no clue who drew them. How is that plagiarism, exactly?”

The moment Iris opened her mouth, the teachers’ faces went stiff.

Iris’s gaze landed on the girl leaning lazily against the wall with her hands in her pockets: Winifred, the sister of that woman.

Her eyes were full of disdain. “What a pain in the ass,” she thought.

“Name your price, Winifred. Let’s just settle this and move on. If this blows up, it won’t look good for any of you,” Iris said, checking the time, her tone dripping with condescension.

Her time was worth more than gold. Every minute spent here was burning through dollars.

Winifred lazily lifted her eyelids, pulling a small ball from her pocket and rolling it between her fingers. The black jacket accentuated her tall, slender figure, and her short shorts showed off a pair of long, fair legs that looked almost like they were carved from jade.

“Who the hell do you think you are? If you want to talk, go get your mom to come see me,” she said coldly, not even bothering to look up.