Chapter 10
Scarlett flipped open her exercise book to review her latest assignment, which had ten key questions. To her dismay, she had gotten seven wrong. Jonah looked at her with a teasing gaze. How could she get such basic questions wrong? Thankfully, no one knew she was his sister by blood. It would be mortifying for him. “Oh? You did all the steps right for this one, but how did you end up with 13 over 13, and then simplify it to seven?” Jonah remarked bluntly, “You’re just being dumb! And here, you calculated the square root of nine, but your answer was 30?” “It’s because your mind is all jumbled up!” he continued. Scarlett went through seven ridiculous errors in succession. Even the least observant person would realize something was amiss. She was a senior in high school. Despite her not-so-great grades, it was improbable for her to make such simple errors repeatedly. Clearly, the numbers had been altered. In her previous life, Scarlett had noticed someone meddling with her work but chose not to confront Lily, avoiding a potential argument. This decision, however, cost her numerous chances to showcase her academic abilities. Jonah’s face grew increasingly troubled as he examined Scarlett’s exercise book. His eyes filled with confusion as he reviewed it. Curious classmates gathered around to see for themselves. “It’s odd. How could the same errors happen seven times consecutively?” “It looks like someone altered the answers.” “But after the teacher marked it, Lily meticulously corrected the errors using a red pen.” “Though these mistakes were so basic, there was no need to correct them…” The group was left puzzled. Scarlett sneered at Lily. “Ms. Lily of the Quinn family, do you have anything else to say?” Lily appeared hurt as she replied, “You don’t think I changed the answers, do you? I’ve been doing my best to help improve your grades. Changing them wouldn’t benefit you at all.” Scarlett retorted, “It doesn’t help, but isn’t this exactly what you wanted?” Lily’s eyes reddened, as if she had been deeply wronged. Jonah immediately wrapped his arm around Lily’s shoulders to show his support. He frowned and said, “Scarlett, do you have some kind of persecution complex? Yes, your workbook seems altered, but Lily is more concerned about your grades than anyone else. She wants you to succeed more than anyone. How can you think so poorly of her?” He continued, “You just can’t stand her, right? If that’s the case, why not leave Class A if you dare? Go to the underachievers’ class where grades don’t matter, and no one will be as meticulous as Lily. Even if you make basic mistakes, she’ll still carefully correct them for you!” “Excellent!” The homeroom teacher entered the classroom with a hint of excitement and declared, “I support Jonah’s suggestion. Scarlett, you really shouldn’t remain in Class A. Your poor grades significantly lower the class average.” Scarlett’s performance was indeed at the bottom, making her unqualified to stay in Class A. However, she was acknowledged as a companion student of Lily, so not even the homeroom teacher could arbitrarily decide her class placement. With Jonah’s proposal, the teacher felt he could finally release his frustration and remove the problem student from Class A. The classmates quickly chimed in, advocating for Lily. “Exactly. Scarlett should be moved to the class for underachievers. Everyone knows how hard Lily has worked to improve her grades this past year. But Scarlett is too stubborn, and her grades remain poor!” “She’s also ungrateful. Her attitude toward Lily is terrible, as if Lily owes her something. She’s just unappreciative.” “I agree with Jonah. A student with poor performance, who lacks gratitude and is selfish, should be sent to the underachievers’ class!” “I’m with Jonah too! Lily shouldn’t have wasted so much effort on someone like her!” Amidst the clamor, pride gleamed in Lily’s eyes, though outwardly, she appeared to be considering Scarlett’s situation. “Stop talking about her. None of you understands the circumstances. I owe Scarlett something. I just want to be kind to her and help her…”