Chapter 3

Oliver's obviously unhappy voice was heard next.

"Actually, Kay could have come with us to Haven City if only we'd helped her out sooner."

Vivian rolled her eyes at him. "What would she be doing in Haven City, then? Stick to us like glue the whole time? Aren't you sick and tired of her being the third wheel in our relationship for the longest time ever?"

"But you told me before that you liked it whenever we hung out with her," Oliver retorted.

"That's only because we needed her to pay for our things. She's hella rich. Why the hell shouldn't she be paying for us all? We've been treating her as a friend this whole time."

"Maybe we should bring her on a trip to Haven City with us. It'll be like we're trying to make things up to her."

Vivian looked at Oliver's attitude and hesitated. Then, she pursed her lips and said, "You knew that I came up with this scheme back then for your sake.

"You were the one who said that you wanted to be alone with me. You were also the one who said that she didn't deserve to be friends with us just because she was rich.

"But now, you're telling me that you think she's not that bad after all? So, you mean that all the plans you made with me yesterday about our future were just a lie?"

"No way!" Oliver exclaimed, quickly pulling her back into his arms with a grin.

"Of course our relationship takes top priority for me, Viv. Kay's got a carefree personality, and she's very forgiving. It won't affect her in the slightest. We won't be seeing her much again next time anyway. The most important thing now is that you're happy!"

After that, the topic got more disgustingly intimate, and their affectionate actions also became bolder and bolder.

I couldn't be bothered to wait for them to stop and threw the door wide open with a bang before walking in without a care.

They immediately blushed and pushed themselves off the other the moment they saw me walk in.

"Kay? What are you doing here?"

Oliver began to fib. "Viv and I were just discussing finding a job for you in Haven City. That way, we'll be able to meet up more often since you're working there and we're studying there. What do you think?"

Vivian played along and nodded with him. "Yeah. Ollie's been thinking about you the whole time. He was worried that you'd feel left out without us. I mean, you can't really blame us for getting better grades than you, right?"

The corners of my lips tugged up in a smirk. After so many years, I'd finally seen through Vivian's pretense.

"You're mistaken. I've never blamed any of you for anything," I replied. "I just find it pathetic."

Vivian pulled on a fake smile and said, "What do you mean? We're all friends here! We'd never make fun of you for your grades!"

I then remembered the part she'd just said earlier about playing me for a fool. I remembered the curve of her lips as she said that.

Actually, I'd never once thought that I was the pathetic one. I just found them pathetic instead.

I grabbed my bag and turned to leave. Just before I left, I told Oliver, "You can quit your pretense now. Trying to finding me a job in Haven City? You're just sad about parting with your personal ATM machine."

Then, I slammed the door shut behind me.

I could still hear them talking about me as I left.

"She thinks she's all that just because she's richer than us? Just wait until we go to college in Haven City and earn so much money that she can only ever dream of in her life!"

I burst out laughing instead.

…

Early the next morning, I woke up as usual and went to school.

It was the morning of the college entrance exam, and it was quite an important day for us high-school students throughout the country.

All 11 years of our knowledge and education would be consolidated into this huge examination that would determine the trajectory of our future lives.

But honestly speaking, I preferred taking control of my own future instead of relying on fate.

I had participated in the national language olympiad competition and came out on top, securing me a coveted direct admission spot at Dale University. It wasn't necessary for me to even sit for the college entrance exam anymore.

I didn't need to fight with the rest of the students to make it past the lowest cutoff marks to qualify for the top-tier institutions in the country.

This was what it meant for me to take hold of my own destiny.

However, Oliver and Vivian weren't aware of this. I never told them back then because I hadn't wanted my achievements to negatively impact their emotions.

But now, looking back, I realized that I did the right thing after all. If they knew about my direct admission letter, they would probably try to sabotage me on purpose, and then, I would have ended up losing out completely.

I went to school to sit for the college entrance exam as usual. This was going to be a rare event in my life that I'd never get to experience again if I missed it.

My homeroom teacher, Ms. Doreen Walters, welcomed me at the school gate. She smiled kindly at me when she saw me.

"Kayla! You're taking the college entrance exam today too?"

She knew about my direct admission to Dale University. I just nodded at her politely, and she quickly ushered me through the gate to prepare for the exam.

Oliver was right next to me when he heard her say that. He said, "See? Even Ms. Walters doesn't think that you need to sit for the college entrance exam because of how bad your grades are. You should just forget about taking it at all. You'll just pull down our average marks if you sit for it."