Chapter 3
No sooner had I spoken than someone shouted:
“Time’s up!”
Ashley, however, glanced at me, barely concealing the triumph in her eyes.
“Sister, so you don’t upset Mom and Dad any further, I accept your bet.”
Everyone crowded behind Ashley, impatiently waiting for her to check her scores.
The viewers on the live stream also stopped spamming, waiting in silent anticipation for the results.
However, Ashley’s score kept loading, loading, loading.
Suddenly, the entire house went dark. Only the glow from Ashley’s computer screen remained.
“A power outage? No wonder the internet’s so bad!”
Blake’s angry voice boomed, “What’s going on? Why is the power out? Send someone to check the lines now!”
Ashley’s computer, without internet, continued to spin its loading circle.
In the darkness, someone muttered, “The Montgomery villa has never had a power outage before. Could it be her doing?”
“Now that you mention it, it makes sense! If you’re scared, don’t talk big!”
I pursed my lips. I told them before that the circuit had issues, but they didn’t believe me.
Now they were blaming me.
Soon, someone reported, “Sir, Madam, there’s a slight issue with the wiring.”
Blake became agitated again. “If there’s a problem, fix it! How many minutes will it take?”
The person stammered, “Five minutes.”
Blake barked, “You have three minutes!”
Even in the dark, I could feel impatient stares on me. ““Jian-nü,” do you really have to pull so many stunts?”
“Are you that desperate for attention that you’d resort to this?”
It was Blake’s voice.
I rolled my eyes. “We could just check on our phones! You’re the ones who insisted on using the computer!”
“This is so you’ll admit defeat, and so the live stream viewers know not everyone in the Montgomery family is as shameless as you!”
“You have no proof, so why are you barking like a dog?” I retorted, annoyed.
Blake was about to speak again when the power suddenly came back on.
Ashley’s page was still lagging.
“Scores are out! English 121, Math 104, History 130, Physics 79, Chemistry 80, Biology 83, Total 597!”
Those who hadn’t seen it yet gasped.
Because, given Ashley’s usual genius persona, she couldn’t possibly score so low.
“Not Miss Ashley, it’s just someone in the live stream whose scores came out. I just read it aloud.”
The next second, the reporter quickly apologized.
“My apologies, it’s an old habit, reading the comments!”
Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
Ashley’s hand, clutching the mouse, began to tremble.
The next second, the page refreshed!
Everyone stared at Ashley’s computer.
“The scores are out! This time, it’s really Miss Ashley’s scores!” someone shouted.
That’s it?
I thought to myself.
I’d expected Ashley’s scores to be invisible or something.
Someone read out her scores: “English 132, Math 140, History 141, Physics 80, Chemistry 85, Biology 86, Total 664!”
Ashley’s face instantly turned ugly. She refreshed repeatedly, unwilling to believe those were her scores.
The Montgomerys were initially in disbelief too, but quickly adjusted, comforting her:
“Ashley, you did great! We heard this year’s exam was really tough.”
Blake, meanwhile, blamed everything on me. ““Jian-nü,” if you hadn’t come back, Ashley wouldn’t have been distracted and scored poorly.”
The live stream also began to doubt. “Didn’t they say she was a genius girl? While that score is high for me, it’s not exactly ‘genius’ material, is it?”
“If even the genius girl scored this low, then Jian-nü must have done even worse, right?”
The moment Ashley looked up, her eyes were red, brimming with tears.
“Mom, Dad, Blake, I didn’t do well. I disappointed you. I’ll go pack my things and move out of this house.”
No sooner had she spoken than a perfectly timed, sparkling tear rolled down her cheek, making her look utterly pitiful.
Richard comforted her, “Ashley, what are you talking about? Even if you scored zero, you’d still be my daughter, a Montgomery!”
“Your scores are already excellent. Getting into a good university won’t be a problem.”
“It’s Dad’s fault. I shouldn’t have brought that wretched girl back. She affected your performance! How about this, Dad will buy you that island you’ve been eyeing, and you can go relax there with your friends.”
Eleanor quickly added, “Ashley, Mom already bought you a twenty-million-dollar diamond necklace. It’ll be delivered soon.”
Blake wasn’t to be outdone. “Ashley, I’ll buy you a villa and luxury cars. Don’t be sad!”
Thankfully, I’d seen my adoptive parents, the Roberts, play favorites since I was little, so facing this moment, the slight pang of bitterness I felt quickly vanished.
Richard’s gaze at me was like looking at a plague. He frowned. ““Jian-nü,” before you came back, Ashley always scored over seven hundred!”
I pursed my lips. “She’s just not that good.”
“You!” Richard exploded in fury. “Even now, you show no remorse! I will not allow you to destroy our family. I see nothing of the Montgomery family’s fine qualities in you. From today, I’m sending you out of this family!”
I looked utterly composed. “Why the rush? My scores haven’t been checked yet.”
Mocking laughter erupted from the crowd again. “The exam was so hard this time, even Miss Ashley didn’t do well. She must have done even worse!”
Blake, as usual, was impatient. “Then check your scores quickly!”
I pouted. “Isn’t Ashley checking them already?”