The paper that Andrew and the others prepared was much tougher this time. They had crafted questions at the level of an international competition. Eden had noticeably slowed down compared to her previous pace.When Andrew saw Eden’s slower progress, he couldn’t help but smile. This was the normal speed of a high school student.But his smile faded when Eden put down her pen and announced, “I’m done.”Andrew’s smile froze in place.He picked up the paper, staring at Eden in shock, then back at the paper, as if the words he wanted to say had vanished from his mind.The questions had been set by five veteran physicists, and Eden had completed them all in just 35 minutes.They weren’t sure how accurate her answers were, but the speed was astonishing.Andrew adjusted his glasses and began marking the papers.The more he marked, the more impressed he became.Even he struggled with some of these questions and had intended to challenge Eden. Yet, it seemed she was on the right track.
Andrew wondered if the Wards were just being polite or if they were making a joke out of him.How could they claim Eden was lacking when she was clearly so gifted?He was so frustrated that his chest felt tight.Without waiting for Alain to respond, Andrew left with the other physicists.Alain looked at Eden and asked, “What happened? Did you upset them?”“Maybe they thought the questions were too easy for me and couldn’t come up with anything harder?” Eden shrugged, still in a good mood.Alain was at a loss for words and didn’t buy her explanation.He shook his head and sighed. “Fine, if they can’t teach you, I’ll find you a few more tutors.”He wanted to support her since she was interested in participating in a physics competition.Eden’s smile froze as she turned to him, her expression darkening.She then said, gritting her teeth, “Are you bored?”“Huh?” Alain was taken aback.What was going on?She was in a good mood just a moment ago; why had her mood shifted so sudd
Alain and Eden arrived at the hotel around the same time as Sinead and Naisha.They all met in the lobby.The moment Naisha saw Eden, she was immediately captivated by her appearance. She took Eden’s hand and said with a wide smile, “My, you really are a pretty little thing. You’re so beautiful that no one can take their eyes away from you.”Eden replied respectfully, “Hello, Ms. Naisha.”Alain had already briefed Eden about Naisha on their way there.Naisha found Eden even more likable when she saw how gracefully she presented herself.As she and Sinead walked behind the couple, Naisha made a playful face and said, “No wonder you’ve been talking about Eden so much. I’d do the same if I were in your shoes. She’s a lovely young woman indeed.”“My son has good taste, you know?” Sinead said with pride.It felt like a praise for her own future daughter-in-law, in a way.Naisha rolled her eyes. “Stop gloating. Why don’t you introduce a nice young woman to my family too?”Sinead ga
Horace was completely stunned.Talia waved her hand in front of him. “Are you alright?”She seemed quite pleasant.“Oh?” Horace quickly regained his composure, feeling a bit embarrassed. “It’s nothing. I was just a little worried when I saw you standing here alone, so I wanted to check if you’re okay.”He glanced at Talia and asked, “Why didn’t you go back home after school? Did Alain forget to arrange transport for you?”“Well, no.” Talia tried to explain. “The driver did come, but I asked him to leave. It’s just that…”Tears welled up in Talia’s eyes. “Today’s my parents’ death anniversary. My brother and Eden wouldn’t let me visit their graves, so… I don’t want to go home.”Unable to hold back, Talia crouched down and started crying.Horace felt a surge of sympathy for her.He didn’t ask why her brother and Eden had stopped her from mourning her parents.However, Horace could tell that Eden’s decision was meant to be in Talia’s best interest. If Eden had insisted on keepin
It was already around ten in the evening when they finished dinner and returned to Skygarden.Horace and Caelus had originally planned to go home, but since they needed to pick something up from Skygarden, they came back together.At the gate, the security guard handed Alain a package. “Your package, sir.”“When did this arrive?” Normally, packages wouldn’t be delivered to Skygarden after eight in the evening unless it was something urgent.It was already past eight when they left.“Just now. The courier insisted we hand it to you personally,” the security guard replied respectfully.Alain nodded in acknowledgment and said nothing further.Once inside, Alain set the package aside, but Horace wanted to open it. “It must be something important if it was delivered so urgently. Let’s see what’s inside.”He began to unwrap the package, and Alain didn’t stop him.There had been quite a few issues lately, so it could be documents from his superiors.However, Alain found it strange.
“Go and focus on your work. Don’t worry about this,” Alain said, shifting his attention back with a blank expression.“But…”Horace wanted to say more, but Caelus dragged him away.Alain took Eden’s hand and whispered, “Let’s go.”Eden glanced at him and hesitated before asking, “Are you in trouble?”“I think so, but it’s nothing serious. The person is probably just trying to scare me,” Alain said, patting Eden’s head with a smile. “Don’t worry. I can handle this. Just focus on your studies.”“Alright.”The next day.The preliminary round for the physics competition.All the students who signed up had to attend the preliminaries at the exam halls.With the tight schedule, the results were announced in the evening after the preliminaries were completed in the morning.The preliminary questions were extremely challenging, and many senior high students had never encountered such questions before. This cut down the number of participants significantly.Out of the 300 students f
Eden ignored them and shifted her attention to Jennifer, her eyes darkening.It was no secret that Jennifer struggled academically. It was a surprise she had even made it to the finals.Noticing Eden’s gaze, Jennifer beamed a smile at her.Eden looked away, her expression almost blank.Next was Grant’s class.He was in a good mood, with five of his students making it to the finals.“You’ve all seen the finals list, right?”The preliminary questions had been set by individual countries, with no input from the international committee overseeing the competition.Still, no one dared to take things lightly.Making it to the finals required real skill.This time, the questions had been prepared by physicists from the Physics Research Institute.They didn’t release the students' scores, only whether they had passed the preliminary round.So, none of the students knew their exact results.“Even though we don’t know your marks,” Grant said, his eyes on Eden, “the principal mentione
"I refuse!" Quin stood up immediately, her face cold. "I don’t want to be stuck with people who will drag the team down. Our class is weaker. If I can’t make it to the finals because of them, wouldn’t that be unfair?"Grant’s expression darkened. "Our class isn’t that bad. We’re all in this together, so we can help each other.""I refuse to be in the same team as them. I want to be with people from the intensive classes," Quin insisted, confident she could secure her place in the finals.She had no intention of letting Eden ride on her success and make it to the finals too.The students from Class 3-18 instantly lost any fondness for her.If she wanted to team up with the intensive class students, why did she join Class 3-18 in the first place?She’d requested the transfer, yet now she looked down on them… What was the point?Everyone felt uncomfortable, but no one spoke up."I agree," Jennifer said simply, breaking the awkward silence.Grant turned to Eden. "What about you?"