Chapter 2

Jenna slapped me hard.

"You've been at this school less than a week! You don't even live on campus! And you took first in the mock exam? Who's going to believe that?

"Go tell your teacher you're giving the spot to Victor. Do it now! If you don't, I'll report you for cheating and get you barred from the college exams!" she threatened.

To them, Victor deserved the best, and I didn't.

That was why they were using the college exams to force me to give up the spot.

I let out a short laugh and stood up slowly.

I was still bleeding from the glass, but I barely felt it. I coldly looked at my parents and shook my head.

"I earned this chance myself. I won't give it up for anyone!" I told them.

Victor shot me a resentful look. His words carried an edge of insinuation.

"Stop talking tough, Noah. When Mom and Dad sent you to the countryside, they didn't even enroll you in a school. Are you that gifted? You taught yourself and beat students who've been grinding for decades?

"Do you know how many tutoring classes they paid for before I even placed second in the whole school? What you're doing isn't just a slap in the face to how they raised you. It's a slap in the face to my hard work too," Victor chided.

I looked at that disgusting act of his and shot back mockingly, "Oh really? So your second place is clean? No padding? It's all from your hard work?"

Victor immediately got flustered and raised his voice. "Of course! The mock exam is strict. How would I even cheat?" he asked.

I looked at him calmly and shot back coldly, "Then why did you transfer 100 thousand dollars to the invigilator? Don't tell me it was for tutoring materials."

"I…"

Victor panicked. Sweat poured down his face. He dropped to his knees in front of Paul and Jenna and explained aggrievedly, "Mom, Dad, I've never been a liar. You know that about me!

"That 100 thousand dollars was tutoring fees. I wanted to improve before the mock exam. How was I supposed to know that he was the invigilator? It was a complete misunderstanding!"

Paul stroked his hair fondly, and his voice was soft as he said, "Of course we know you'd never cheat."

Jenna's face turned cold, and she cursed at me furiously, "Noah, you cheated yourself, and now you have the nerve to falsely accuse Victor? Is this how we raised you?"

"Raised me?" I laughed. "Sorry, but ten years ago, you shipped me off to the countryside and never raised me again. And now you stand here in front of me, talking about how you raised me?"

"You… What did you just say?" Paul and Jenna were stunned by my words, never imagining that I, who had always obeyed everything they said, would say something so defiant to them.

I looked at them coldly and said in an icy tone, "Stop dreaming. I'm not giving up this chance. If you want to report me for cheating, go ahead. I earned this spot myself anyway!"

I glanced at Victor on purpose and continued, "When it comes out that someone got their scores by cheating, we'll see what you do then!"

Victor's expression turned awkward as he lowered his head. He twisted the hem of his clothes as sweat covered his forehead.

Someone really had cheated in the mock exam.

It just wasn't me—it was Victor.