Chapter 452:
There, Rylie sat reclined in her chair, utterly at ease. A silver pen twirled between her fingers in a smooth, rhythmic arc, elegant, unbothered. The suffocating tension that gripped the room seemed to pass around her entirely, as if she were immune to it.
She caught Melany’s panicked gaze and tilted her head ever so slightly, offering a subtle yet unmistakably reassuring nod.
That single gesture landed like an anchor in a storm, steadying Melany’s frantic heart. In that moment, she felt it again, that quiet, unshakable certainty. With Rylie beside her, there was nothing to fear. Not even if the sky were to fall.
Letty, seated among the panel of teachers, caught the silent exchange between them. A faint, cold smile curved her lips.
From across the stage, she watched Rylie with barely concealed disdain. Even now, this woman continued her charade!
Letty could almost foresee how, in just a few minutes, Rylie and Melany would be humiliated in front of the entire school. She cleared her throat deliberately. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the brief hush like a blade. “Mr. Wells, esteemed teachers, time is of the essence. Why don’t we announce the results now? It might help certain people accept reality a little faster.”
She paused, letting the words settle, her gaze unmistakably sweeping across Rylie and Melany.
Gunter’s frown deepened, clearly unimpressed with Letty’s impatience and impoliteness. Still, he gave a silent nod.
At the judging table, the teachers exchanged hesitant glances before a physics instructor, Larkin Hammond — an older man with graying hair and black-rimmed glasses — lifted Zaylee’s test paper from the stack.
“Zaylee…” His voice, touched with surprise, rang clearly through the hall via the microphone. “In the physics section, out of 100 points, she scored 90.” A stunned pause — and then the room exploded.
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“Ninety points? But those questions were straight out of the Advanced Honors Class! I read them, and I’m afraid I couldn’t even break fifty!”
“She barely scraped a sixty in last month’s physics exam. This kind of improvement is unreal.”
“She only lost five points on that nightmare question? I didn’t even understand the last two!”
“Well, her mentor is a PhD holder. It shows.”
“Seems like someone’s been rigging her scores all along — trying to hold her back.”
“Can’t believe even the Advanced Honors Class teachers and the principal might’ve been bribed. The world’s just… crooked.”
The murmurs grew bolder, sharp with suspicion. Faces turned toward the teachers’ panel, now grim and tight-lipped. Even Gunter felt a flicker of guilt twist in his gut. He regretted involving Rylie at all. If only he hadn’t joined the teachers for that dinner with Rylie and Melany, maybe this mess wouldn’t have snowballed.
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