Chapter 2

Before I could retort, Adam looked at me admonishingly.

"Pierce, you grew up in a farming village from a young age, making you wretched and haggard-looking. You won't look good in a suit anyway.

"Besides, this is just a suit. Can't you let Charles have his way?"

After that, Adam dragged Charles away. "Our Charlie is so handsome! Charlie, if you ever get into a prestigious college, you'll definitely become the campus heartthrob!"

Adam had said such things in my previous life. But at that time, I still yearned for his love, so I didn't make out the underlying meaning in his words.

Only when the exam scores were released did I realize the actual truth.

At that moment, Genevieve glanced at her phone before piping up excitedly, "Mrs. Jackman and the others have arrived at the venue! Let's head out as well! Once the Jackmans find out that our family has produced a top scorer, it'll be easier to sort out the details of the marriage alliance with them!"

Then, Genevieve snuck a glance in my direction before continuing in a passive-aggressive manner, "But if Pierce's results are really bad, it'll be very humiliating for us."

I huffed coldly in return. Then, I shoved Charles away before saying, "Oh yeah, the McKinnons produce top scorers in every generation. But when it's Adam's generation, he didn't even get to study at a community college. That really is humiliating."

Adam's face turned bright red out of fury instantly. Before he could lash out at me, I quickly got into the Uber I had ordered.

"Let's leave."

I never wanted a man this useless and idiotic to be my father to begin with.

As soon as I walked into my high school, everyone began pointing at me while mumbling among themselves.

"Is that Pierce McKinnon, who claimed that he'd definitely get into a prestigious college?"

"Yup! It'll be hilarious if his scores say otherwise after he made that flashy declaration!"

I merely shrugged expressionlessly. I had already signed the admission letter anyway, so I wouldn't be the one who got humiliated later on.

Upon noticing my lack of reaction, everyone's expressions began to sour.

But when my parents entered the school grounds with Charles, everyone's expressions changed as they quickly flocked around them.

"Mr. Charles has inherited all of the McKinnons' good traits, that's for sure! Unlike a certain someone, who still puts on airs despite his ugliness!"

"That's right! Mr. Charles has good grades to begin with. I'm sure that his exam scores will make the McKinnons proud!"

"I'm so envious of you for having such an outstanding son, Mr. McKinnon!"

Adam continued smiling happily even though he heard those people making jabs at me.

When he reacted like that in my previous life, I wondered if I was his actual child. I even had a paternity test carried out behind his back.

In the end, as I stared at the report which confirmed my relationship with Adam, I finally understood that he was just biased against me the whole time.

Meanwhile, Charles walked toward me, looking as proud as a peacock. He asked loudly, "Pierce, if your previous grades are all fake, can you still get into a prestigious college?

"You already announced to the public that you'd be able to get into one. Do you realize how humiliating it will be for our family?

"How about this? We have 20 minutes until the scores are revealed. Why don't you apologize to the mass media and the entire Internet? Maybe everyone will still forgive you for your arrogance."

As soon as the other parents heard Charles, they shot to their feet instantly.

"His previous grades are all fake?"

"What's going on here? How could such a prestigious high school tolerate cheating?"

They got so agitated that they began lashing out at me. "How is this fair to our children?"

I was about to retort when a few students decided to join in on the slander.

"I can prove that Pierce often threatened the teachers using his status as a McKinnon scion and had them leak the exam questions to him!"

"Precisely! Ever since Pierce returned to the McKinnon family, he's been coming first in the entire school! Isn't this a little too hard to believe?"

Once again, I felt that my past self was incredibly foolish.

It was precisely due to the fact that I was accepted back into the McKinnon family that I pulled out all the stops when it came to studying.

In fact, I even skipped out on the opportunity to be admitted to a prestigious college right away without taking the college entrance exam just to prove to Adam that I was an outstanding student.

But I didn't expect to have such a nonsensical crime pinned on me because of my decision to take the entrance exam.

The reporters could tell that a hot topic was brewing, so they quickly surrounded me.

"Many students have claimed that you faked your previous grades. Are you really that confident that you will get into a prestigious college? Or did you make that declaration just to attract everyone's attention?"

"You shouldn't be that superficial. You can't just buy your way into a prestigious college, unlike high school."

I let out a soft chuckle before looking at Adam. My tone was filled with mockery as I said, "I will be receiving my admission letter today. As for Charles, the first thing he does is come up with rumors to slander me. He really is making the McKinnon family proud, huh?"