Eden raised an eyebrow and took a step forward, grabbing and pulling Daliah out from behind Jasmine.As Eden grabbed Daliah by her collar, she turned and looked at Jasmine, then said, "You're not worth anything to me."Jasmine's expression became colder, but she said nothing when she saw the way everyone was looking at her.Eden ignored Jasmine and focused on Daliah. "No one is brave enough to backtrack on me. Now that you did, you have to pay the price. That's my rule.""What... What do you want from me?" Daliah struggled to get free.But Eden was so strong that Daliah couldn't escape no matter how hard she struggled.Eden raised her hand and grabbed Daliah by the arm. There was a cracking sound, followed by Daliah's scream. "Ah!"Eden then threw Daliah on the ground and looked at her coldly. "You should be thankful that Jerred is from your family. Your arm is salvageable."Eden turned and left after saying that.She had simply fractured Daliah's arm, not breaking it complete
After class, Grant closed his book and announced in a serious tone, "I want to let you know that we won't be taking this weekend off. We'll have tests scheduled for Sunday and Monday."The entire classroom erupted in cries of despair."No! It's the end of the world!""One small test every two weeks and a major one every month... I'm losing my mind...""Thankfully, it's not next week. I'd go insane if I missed Leo Hart's concert."Seeing the distress among his students, Grant tried to console them, saying, "Don't worry too much. There's still plenty of time before the National Assessment. If everyone works hard now, you'll all have a shot at university. These smaller tests will help you prepare.""Mr. Sullivan, do you really think students like us can get into university?" A boy at the back leaned on his desk, sounding unenthusiastic."I mean, they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But surviving each day is already a challenge for me."Grant smiled warmly at his stud
After school in the afternoon, Alain's car was parked outside Riverside Senior High. It had been there for quite some time.Jasmine knew Alain picked Eden up from school daily, so she was the first to leave the classroom today, despite usually being the last.Sure enough, Alain's car was waiting at the school gate.She approached eagerly, fingers clutching her bag nervously. "Master Alain, my sister asked if I could join you both to Skygarden. She said she doesn't like going alone.""You're quite persistent," Horace remarked, rolling down the window from the passenger seat and sneering at her.Jasmine's expression paled, and she bit her lip, looking helpless.Alain glanced briefly at her before noticing Eden slowly exiting the school. He opened the car door and walked towards Eden.Left behind, Jasmine struggled to control her emotions. Just as she was about to get in, Alain's indifferent voice cut through, "There isn't enough space in the car for you. You should ride in your fa
"Of course I know she didn't do it intentionally. She's your sister; she wouldn't purposely ignore your calls, right, Ms. Hunt?" Alain smiled faintly, holding Eden's hand.Jasmine froze. "Of course.""Then let's go inside. Come with us, Ms. Hunt."Alain's car pulled in swiftly, leaving Jasmine stomping in frustration."Master Alain, I..." Jasmine began angrily, but stopped herself.She instructed the driver to head home, hoping Alain would understand her ordeal—how was she supposed to manage six pieces of luggage alone?Glancing at the security guard, she forced a smile. "Excuse me, could you help me with my luggage? There's too much for me to handle alone."The guard gave her a cold glance. "I'm sorry, but I can't leave my post without good reason.""You..." Jasmine seethed with anger but had no choice but to handle it herself.After maneuvering all her belongings into Skygarden, Eden had already prepared an infused bath for Alain and finished her needling session.She had b
Sunday arrived, the day of the test.Though it was just an exam, it followed all the protocols of a real assessment.Two teachers diligently monitored each class.In Class 3-18, there was no excitement. The impending test was set to torment them.And after the test came the parent-teacher conference.Their parents would unleash their own brand of torment afterward.That was why the students of Class 3-18 dreaded tests and exams the most.The morning test subject was math.Joy swiftly penned her answers as soon as the paper was handed out.Eden was not nodding off but calmly filling in her answers with an elegant pencil stroke—sometimes with her left hand, sometimes with her right; her handwriting was consistently beautiful.Twenty minutes in, Eden handed in her test paper.The rest of Class 3-18 could only stare in shock.Whispers spread among the students at the back, "What's going on? I haven't even finished half the questions, and the chief is already done?""I saw her
Eden ignored the messages on the screen and manually maneuvered her character to slash the boss with the sword.As the boss fell, it dropped some equipment.Eden picked it up and was stunned.Then she muttered under her breath, "Damn it."How had she managed to make a random boss drop the Lapis Fan?Once again, the screen filled with words.Six months ago, the game had announced the introduction of a new piece of equipment, the Lapis Fan.Only three were set to drop.But no one had managed to obtain one, not even the pros from Team FR.And here someone got it so easily.Ryan glanced at the screen and grinned mischievously. "Looks like you're going to be famous again, chief.""Get lost!"Eden stashed the equipment
The tests dragged on for two full days.Eden consistently turned in her answer sheets just 20 minutes into each test, unwavering in her timing.After the exams, teachers began grading the papers, with results released on Tuesday morning during Grant's class.He entered the room with a stack of math papers and the results in hand. Setting the papers on the podium, he addressed the class with a smile. "Everyone's shown improvement this time. Our top scorer is Joy with 110 in math. Overall, she scored 505 across all subjects, ranking 200th in the year."Joy took her test paper, but her demeanor suggested something was off.Eden, noticing this, asked, "What's wrong?""505 marks and I'm only 200th? Looks like Rielton University's out of reach for me," Joy lamented, clearly disappointed.She had been striving hard to get into Rielton, the country's premier university, seeing it as a path to better career opportunities. "But it seems like I'll never make it."Eden listened silently, o
"Come on in," Sinead beckoned Eden into the mansion as if they were genuine mother and daughter, completely forgetting her real son was right behind Eden.Alain was left speechless.In the living room, another man awaited. Eden greeted him politely, "Hello, Mr. Ward."The man was Geoffrey Ward, Alain's father, whom Eden had read about in her previous research.Geoffrey nodded warmly and smiled. "Have a seat. Make yourself at home."Eden nodded and settled onto the sofa.Sinead returned to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner while Geoffrey set aside his newspaper, eyeing Alain with surprise. Despite Sinead's updates about Eden caring for their son, seeing it firsthand reassured him.Geoffrey turned his attention back to Eden, asking conversationally, "I hear you're studying at Riverside Senior High now. How are you finding it? Stressful?""It's manageable," Eden replied calmly, maintaining her courtesy.Geoffrey nodded approvingly and poured a glass of water for Eden. "I've