Chapter 247: First Encounter with Faye Sterling (1)

Chapter 247: Chapter 247: First Encounter with Faye Sterling (1)

Seraphina Sterling finally canceled her sick leave the day before the college entrance exams. The homeroom teacher had been beyond excited when she first heard an exceptionally brilliant student—one with the clear potential to get into a top university—would be joining her class. For any senior-year homeroom teacher, the allure of top universities and high matriculation rates was immense. This wasn’t just a big deal for the teacher; for the entire school, it was an unprecedented opportunity.

But this legendary prodigy had been on leave since the very first day of the semester. As the college entrance exams approached, she was still nowhere to be seen. The teacher had already given up hope. But then, who would have thought? The student actually canceled her leave the day before the exams!

However, even though her intelligence was acknowledged throughout the school, she had missed the entire last six months of senior year—the most critical period. She hadn’t attended classes or received any systematic review. ’Even if she’s a genius, she can’t possibly be *that* amazing,’ the teacher worried. ’Getting into a top university without any guidance from a teacher... surely that’s impossible!’

"Seraphina Sterling, why don’t you reconsider? It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that the college entrance exam is incredibly important. If you don’t do well, you’ll have to repeat the year! You already skipped a grade, so you weren’t that familiar with the senior-year curriculum to begin with. On top of that, you’ve missed this entire final year. Isn’t it pushing things to take the exam like this?"

"Please don’t worry, ma’am. Although I wasn’t attending school, I haven’t wasted these past few months. I will take the exam," Seraphina Sterling said politely. She offered a small smile, and the teacher, who had been so anxious just a moment before, was suddenly rendered speechless.

"Ma’am, you can stop trying to talk her out of it. She’s way more incredible than you imagine," Zoe Jennings suddenly chimed in from the side. "Just get ready to have a top-university student from your class!"

The confidence in Seraphina Sterling’s eyes was persuasive. The teacher finally relented. "Well, I wish you the best of luck in achieving an excellent score!"

"Thank you." Seraphina Sterling finally received her exam admission ticket. There was just one thing that surprised her.

’Were you just sticking up for me?’ she wondered, glancing at Zoe. Didn’t Zoe Jennings always treat her as the ultimate rival, shooting her sidelong glances every chance she got? ’Did hell just freeze over?’ When Zoe heard she was coming back to take the exam, not only did she refrain from making sarcastic comments about her biting off more than she could chew, but she actually helped persuade the teacher?

"Hmph! Don’t flatter yourself. I wasn’t helping you! I just figured if you don’t take the exam, I won’t have anyone worth competing against. How boring would that be! I definitely was *not* helping you!" Zoe Jennings’s expression was a bit stiff.

"It’s your own health, so don’t push yourself! And there’s no shame in losing to me! But collapsing in the middle of the exam? *That* would be a real embarrassment! Besides, I’m not worried about you. You’re staying with the Jennings Family now, after all. I just don’t want to get dragged into your mess!" By the end, even Zoe Jennings felt she was only making things worse, so she turned and ran straight home.

Watching her retreating back, Seraphina Sterling had a sudden realization. The quiet Zoe Jennings, who usually did nothing but bury her head in her books, actually had such a proud, contrary side to her. She was obviously helping her and was worried about her health, yet she insisted on hiding it behind such a laughable excuse.

’It looks like stepping in to help when she and Aria Cheney were being harassed by Elias Jennings’s family really did have an effect. All her life, Zoe Jennings had been defined by the halo of her academic excellence. When I suddenly appeared on the scene, it was only natural for her to be hostile. But compared to our rivalry, the mockery and insults from Leo Jennings and Quinn Jennings were what she truly found impossible to bear.’

’Going from a star student praised by everyone to suddenly being ridiculed as a sniveling sycophant... how could someone like Zoe Jennings, who’s never weathered a real storm, possibly handle such a drastic fall?’