Translator: Inschain Editor: Inschain
Lindaâs smile froze on her face as she looked up in disbelief at Elizabeth.
There was no trace of surprise on Elizabethâs delicate face as if everything was as it should be.
The thoughts âImpossible! This has to be a joke! How could she be better than me?â replayed over and over in Lindaâs mind.
The chatter among the classmates grew louder.
âIs this for real? Only five points away from a perfect score?â
âI thought she got in because her family made a donation! How could she score higher than Linda?â
âDid they mix up the papers?â
âLinda, whatâs wrong?â The look on Lilyâs face mirrored Lindaâs shock. Werenât they all expecting Elizabeth to rank last?
Snapping back to reality, Linda hesitated, âOh, Iâm just really surprised. After all, Elizabeth once told me she never attended school. I didnât expect her grades to be this good.â
Upon hearing Lindaâs words, Ben promptly questioned their teacher.
âMr. Berwick, is Elizabeth really the top scorer? Could there have been a mistake?â
Frank confidently replied, âOf course not. How could we make such a mistake?â
Ben was still skeptical. He had seen how Elizabeth answered the test. He couldnât believe she could solve such challenging questions in just ten minutes. Renee, equally stunned, whispered to Elizabeth, âDid you really score 145?â Elizabeth nodded and showed her the paper.
Reneeâs eyes widened in disbelief. She was momentarily speechless. Renee thought to herself, âYou were supposed to be at the bottom. How did you skyrocket to the top?â
âYouâre so talented,â she praised after a pause.
âItâs okay,â Elizabeth frowned. âThe students this year must be really underperforming. I even intentionally got one question wrong, and yet I still ranked first.â
Linda was still in shock when she noticed Elizabethâs cold and slightly disappointed gaze directed at her.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Linda thought, âWhatâ¦?â
Ben interrupted again, âMr. Berwick, I suspect thereâs an issue with Elizabethâs score.â
Whispers halted, and to be honest, many harbored doubts given the rumors that Elizabeth wasnât the type to rank first.
Frank Berwick looked stern, âWhat issue?â
âI suspect Elizabeth cheated. During the quiz, I clearly saw her finish the paper in just a few minutes. Considering the difficulty of Sunny Heightsâ tests, I donât believe she could complete it in such a short time, let alone score so high.â
Benâs logical analysis immediately raised suspicions among his classmates.
Even the top student couldnât have finished that quickly.
Where did Elizabeth get such confidence?
Frank paused before asking, âDo you have any evidence? Without evidence, I cannot support your claim.â
Ben had been irked by Elizabeth since yesterday. He snorted, âMr. Berwick, Elizabeth comes from the countryside. Youâre saying the education there surpasses that of Sunny Heights? Plus, she never attended school. How can someone with no formal education rank first?â
Frank was unaware of this and inquired, âIs it true that you never attended school?â
Elizabeth replied calmly, âDoes ranking first have anything to do with having attended school?â
âThatâs a deflection.â
Ben, thinking he had cornered her, sneered, âWithout attending school, how did you acquire such knowledge?â
âI self-studied,â Elizabeth admitted honestly, adding, âThis material is quite simple.â
The classmates were dumbfounded.
Are you implying our intelligence is lacking?
Simple?
Now, everyone looked at Elizabeth with suspicion-filled eyes..