Seeing the situation on the verge of getting out of control, Joyce quickly stepped forward."Look at all of you. Why is everyone so worked up? It's been so many years. Can't we sit down and have a proper conversation?"Saying this, Joyce pulled the still-stunned Mandy up and said, "Come on, Mandy. It's more lively downstairs. Let's go downstairs to talk."Then, Mandy was dragged downstairs like a puppet.Watching Mandy's back, Romelius took out a handkerchief from his suit pocket and gently wiped away his tears.Devon lightly patted his shoulder. "So many years have passed, and you still haven't moved on?"Romelius shook his head. "Some things are hard to forget."The brothers candidly discussed secrets unknown to others, which made Lana extremely uncomfortable.If she were to speak up now, would they silence her?"If Grandma had only agreed back then …"Seeing that Devon was about to delve deeper into the conversation, Lana finally couldn't sit still any longer.Worried abo
Priscilla enjoyed being complimented the most. She couldn't help but laugh continuously at the praises for Rosa. "Don't praise her so much. You know, Rosa doesn't like it. She didn't want me to mention her participation in the competition in the first place. But those reporters just happened to notice it."Just last month, Rosa won second place in an International Math Olympiad. All the participants in the competition were old folks who had been studying math for years. Each one of them could be Rosa's grandparents. However, Rosa managed to stand out among this group of elderly contestants and secured second place. This made Priscilla very proud.Her eldest grandson became the president, her younger grandson was a world-renowned scientist, her granddaughter is an international movie star, and now her great-granddaughter has won second place in a world-class competition. She couldn't help but wonder, in the entire Dawsbury City, which old lady could be more illustrious than he
Rosa was stumped by the naïve fool standing before her. Rosa was the runner-up in the International Math Olympiad. Even the champion of the National Math Olympiad could not compare to her. How could Lana, who probably didn't even know what the Math Olympiad was, dare to challenge her?Rosa wanted revenge for what Lana did upstairs. She didn't expect Lana would come knocking on her door.She wouldn't let the opportunity go to waste. She had to show Lana what a genius truly was. She had to let Lana know she was just a crazy fool before a genius like Rosa."Sure!" Rosa crossed her arms and walked toward Lana. "We must have a punishment. Otherwise, it would be boring.""I think so too!"Rosa couldn't help laughing. "It's up to you to decide the punishment, or others might think I'm bullying you!"Grinning from ear to ear, Lana replied, "I'm not familiar with punishments. I'll let you decide.""Well, if you lose, you must crawl and bark like a dog as long as you are in my house,"
After another 30 minutes, Rosa began working on the third problem. Meanwhile, Lana was still standing in front of her blackboard, chalk in hand. Once she lifted the chalk, she froze, staring blankly at the three problems."In trouble now, aren't you? Can't do it, huh? Let's see how long you can keep up the act.""Now you finally understand what advanced math is, right? You can't even understand the problems. Yet you dared to challenge a world-class competitor. Utterly delusional."Smiling slyly at everyone, Joyce said, "Come on, folks, she's just a young girl who hasn't seen much of the world. If she loses later, don't mock her. After all, we need to take care of her dignity."Joyce's implication was clear: Lana was destined to lose.At that moment, a cold voice cut through the air. "Maybe you should worry about your daughter being mocked instead."Joyce turned around to see Mandy looking at her with a smile that didn't reach her eyes."Mandy, if Rosa does something embarrassi
Rosa would never accept defeat! How could she lose to a nobody? As her face grew darker, Lana and others knew her answer.Rosa refused to call Lana "Queen Lana". Shrugging, Lana said, "Fine, if you don't want to call me Queen Lana, that's okay. I guess the President's family is just like this."This was the second time Rosa had heard this phrase from Lana. The first time, she hadn't realized the gravity of the situation. But now, in front of so many people, it wasn't just her problem anymore. It involved the dignity of the whole family.Just as the words left Lana's mouth, Priscilla's expression turned exceptionally unpleasant. The loss of a member from the President's family turned them into a laughingstock."Rosa, is this how we taught you?" Priscilla's tone was unfriendly, but she tried to maintain the dignity befitting a member of the President's family.Rosa's eyes reddened. She hadn't realized this woman was so capable, not only in mathematics but also as a master of wor
"What are you doing, Rom? You scared me."Romelius suddenly came to his senses. "Did you call me 'Rom'?""I don't want to call you Uncle Romelius. So, I have no choice but to call you Rom. Since it's rude to call you by your name directly." Romelius' attention was clearly not on how he was being addressed. After he calmed down, he sat next to Lana and said, "You mentioned that you were an orphan. Is that true?""Rom, do you think I would joke about something like that?" Lana asked as she looked at him disdainfully. "That's true. Where are you from? Why are you so capable?""I'm from Gilsbury. But I wasn't always there. I lived there until I was eight. I came back last year," Lana said directly. Romelius' heart skipped a beat, and his entire body was trembling. The hope he felt scared him. He didn't want to be disappointed. "Rom, why are you trembling?" Lana felt Romelius' forehead with her palm. Then, she muttered, "It doesn't seem to be a fever."Afterward, she grabbed hi
After the series of twists and turns, the banquet finally began. Everyone started to eat and chat. The Quinns were all very outstanding people. Among them were a scientist, a famous actress, a president and a genius like Rosa. Even Rachel, who married into the family, was a successful businesswoman. Their talks were bound to be related to their professions. Rosa lost the Math Olympiad to Lana and had to call her Queen Lana as per the bet. She feared it would be awkward to meet Lana at the banquet. So, she was adamant to stay in her room and ate there. Mandy wasn't a biological daughter of the Quinns. She had also been away from home for decades. None of the Quinns would be impressed by her achievements, no matter how successful she was. The main topic of discussion revolved around Rachel. "Rach, It's only been a few days since I saw you. Why does it feel like your skin is so much better?"Rachel was busy with work, and she had to raise her kids. Her skin had been in poor c
"Did you hear what they say, Grandma? Mandy isn't doing anything illegal or immoral. Why should she take the insults they are throwing at her?"The more Romelius tried to defend Mandy, the more it angered Priscilla. "Why should I care? If she is innocent, she shouldn't be affected by the words of others," Priscilla said as she glared at Mandy. With a single sentence, Priscilla instantly pinned all those disgraceful rumors about Mandy as fact. Mandy finally realized how unsightly she was to Priscilla.Mandy clutched the cards Lana gave her tightly. She stood abruptly and said, "Don't be angry, Grandmother. Romelius was just blowing things out of proportion. I'm not troubled by what Rachel and the others are saying.Rachel smirked at Mandy and said, "Mandy is right. We weren't speaking ill of you. Romelius, did you have to overreact like that?"Joyce was displeased that Romelius decided to defend Mandy while disregarding her feelings. But she quickly stepped in to play the Good S