Against the world

On a rainy day in September, drizzle moisturized a mountain town and washed clean the stone streets with a refreshing earthy smell in the air.

An eighteen-year-old girl was on her way to the principal’s office at the only high school in the town center.

She dressed austerely, but it did not hide the fact that she was beautiful. However, her emotionless eyes made her look sullen and unapproachable.

“Mr. Barrett, here comes Nicole.” Class teacher, Ms. Mills, led the way for Nicole.

Nicole Wallace looked at her with some surprise, wondering why Ms. Mills was suddenly so nice to her. Ms. Mills was someone who placed great importance on family background in the selection of class committee members.

“Let her in.” The principal was equally excited; even his voice was a little trembling.

Nicole slowly chuckled as soon as she stepped into the principal’s office.

It turned out to be because of him.

On the VIP sofa in the principal’s office sat a tall man, dressed in an expensive suit, looking like a social elite, but his facial features were like hers.

Nicole was studying the man just as the man was studying her.

He initially planned to go to the hospital with her for a DNA test, but now it seemed unnecessary.

She was a dead ringer for her mother with the same fine facial features and fair and delicate skin. Her beauty was hard to conceal, even if she dressed casually.

Yet the most striking thing was her eyes.

She was only seventeen or eighteen, but there was a hint of unfathomable iciness in her eyes.

Seeing him staring at herself, Nicole frowned and asked, “Who are you?”

She had always known that she was not her grandmother’s biological granddaughter, and she had thought that one day her birth family would come looking for her.

She thought her biological parents would come. This man was way too young.

A hint of frustration flashed in the man’s deep-set eyes, and he said, “I am your elder brother.”

“Nicole, why have you never mentioned to us that your brother is the general manager of the Riddle Corporation in San Joto?” Mr. Barrett could not help but say.

Nicole rolled her eyes secretly; she had just learned that, for god’s sake.

Three years ago, her parents had died in a car accident, and only then her grandmother told her the truth — she was adopted by them when she was a child. No wonder her adoptive parents had been so cold to her and left her in the countryside.

After the death of her adoptive parents, her grandma registered her at the welfare office, waiting for her biological family to come to reunite with her. Nicole did not expect that this day would come, much less her brother was the general manager of Riddle Corporation, a famous name in San Joto.

“Are you really my brother?” Nicole had a hard time believing such a plot twist.

“Yeah, you have four brothers besides me,” the man named Sean Riddle spoke gently.

“Four?” Nicole frowned. It turned out that things were far from what she had imagined all this time. She could hardly imagine what it would be like to have four elder brothers. It would probably be noisy.

Seeing that Nicole was deep in thought, Mrs. Wallace Sr. said to Sean politely, “Nicole is more introverted. She needs time to adapt. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Mrs. Wallace, I won’t mind.” Sean got up with a polite smile and then took out a gift box from his backpack. “Nicole, this is the first time we met. This is for you.”

Mr. Barrett quickly stood up and tried to butter Nicole up. “It is so nice of your brother, Nicole. You should accept the gift. I can see that you and your brother are really close. Please remember your classmates and us after the school transfer.”

Hearing Mr. Barrett’s words, Sean’s face turned stony, and he glanced back at Mr. Barrett and said indifferently. “Mr. Barrett, Great Oak High School has nurtured my sister for so many years, and we will return the favor by donating money to build the campus.”

The Riddle family would owe no one debt of gratitude.

Mr. Barrett’s eyes lit up. “That is great! Thank you, Mr. Riddle.”

His brother’s generosity impressed Nicole, who at last accepted the gift out of politeness.

Mr. Barrett gave some more flattery talks before he and his headteacher saw them out.

There was a Rolls-Royce parked up in front of the school, surrounded by other luxury cars, which had long attracted attention.

Regina Wynn was stopped by her buddy as soon as she got out of a car. “Regina, here you are!”

She rolled her eyes at her buddy, yet her attention was on the Rolls-Royce. “Whose car is that?”

As the daughter of a member of the school’s board of directors, she got all the attention all the time until today, when this Rolls-Royce came along.

“I heard that the general manager of Riddle Corporation came to our school.”

"Riddle Corporation?" Regina thought, 'It is San Joto’s biggest corporation. Even my dad couldn’t find a way to work with them. What is the guy from Riddle Corporation doing here? Invest in this poor school?'

“No, I heard he came to pick up his sister.”

“Pick up his sister?” Regina was stunned. “Are you sure about that? Why would someone from the Riddle family want to study at this goddamn school?”

While the two people were talking, behind them, the principal and a group of headteachers were accompanying a tall man and Nicole to walk out of the school.

“Regina, the tall man is the general manager of Riddle Corporation,” her buddy said with a trembling voice.

Regina was astounded as she turned around. If that man was the general manager of Riddle Corporation, then the girl next to him should be his sister.

But that girl turned out to be Nicole, the bumpkin she hated and despised the most.

Regina’s face changed drastically. She could not believe that Nicole was actually from the Riddle family.