Chapter 3

The next morning, Champion went to school with me.

At the school gate, luxury cars filled the area.

Jace leaned against his flashy red Ferrari. He held a neatly packed breakfast in his hand.

He saw me, and his eyes lit up. He walked over quickly.

“Xena, why didn’t you reply to my messages? Look, I brought you—”

Before he finished speaking, Winnie got out of the passenger seat.

She wore a school uniform that had faded from washing. Her white shoes were spotless, and her hair was tied in a high ponytail.

Her eyes were red. She looked like she had just cried.

“Jace, is Xena still mad at me?”

She looked at me timidly and held tightly onto Jace’s sleeve.

“Yesterday was my fault. I shouldn’t have shown up when she was confessing… I really tried to stay out of sight. I didn’t expect Xena to still see me and get upset…”

Jace immediately patted her hand. His eyes were filled with concern.

“Don’t talk nonsense. It has nothing to do with you. She is just being unreasonable.”

He turned to me and frowned.

“Xena, can’t you be a little more sensible? Try to understand Winnie. Her mother is in the hospital. She stayed up all night taking care of her, but she still came to school today. Look at how responsible she is compared to you. All you do is play with dogs.”

I looked down at Champion.

Champion bared its teeth at Winnie and let out a low growl.

Good dog. It was just like me.

I loosened the leash. Champion barked twice at Winnie right away.

“Ah!”

Winnie’s face turned pale. She threw herself into Jace’s arms and started shaking. Jace got angry. He lifted his foot and was about to kick Champion.

“Stupid dog! Get lost!”

I quickly grabbed the leash and pulled Champion back behind me before looking at Jace with a cold expression.

“Try touching it.”

Jace froze. His foot stopped in mid-air. However, inside his head, he was screaming.

“Why is this girl’s stare so scary? This is ridiculous. She never talked to me like this before! Calm down. Don’t fight her head-on. I still need to manage her. As long as I get through this week’s mock exam… Hmph.”

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Then, he put on a helpless look.

“Xena, that’s not what I meant. I was just worried it might bite Winnie. Winnie has the provincial entrance exam soon. What if she gets hurt? Do you know how important this exam is for her? It’s her ticket to Harrington University!”

I raised my eyebrows. “Oh? What does that have to do with me?”

Winnie poked her head out from his arms with eyes full of tears.

“Xena, I know you look down on me. You think I’m just a poor girl who doesn’t belong with you. But I really need this chance. My mom’s surgery fee is still not enough… If I get the scholarship, the school will give me a lot of money…”

She cried badly. The students around us started looking at her with sympathy.

Some even pointed at me.

“Xena is really too overbearing. She doesn’t study, but she won’t let others work hard.”

“Exactly. Just because her family has money, she bullies a poor student.”

“Jace is so pitiful. He ended up with such a domineering childhood friend.”

I listened to the comments and almost wanted to laugh.

Jace took the chance to say, “Xena, stop making a scene. There are only two spots for the provincial exam in our class. Winnie is definitely going. As for the other spot…”

He paused. His eyes flickered.

“You don’t like studying, anyway. It would be wasted on you. You should give it to someone who actually needs it.”

I looked straight into his eyes. A teasing smile appeared on my lips.

“Give it up? You mean give up my exam qualification?”

Jace nodded like it was obvious.

“Yeah. With your grades, you’ll only get single digits. It would be embarrassing.

“Why don’t we go to Sunhaven instead? I’ll charter a plane. Let’s bring your dog too.”

His thoughts came through again.

“As long as I take her to Sunhaven, she’ll miss the registration deadline completely. Once the spots are confirmed, Winnie will be safe. As for Xena, her family is rich anyway. She can just go to some trash university later.”

I laughed out loud this time. I laughed so hard that tears almost came out.

This was the man I had liked since childhood.

For another woman, he not only wanted to ruin my future, but he also treated me like an idiot.

I took out a neatly folded piece of paper from my school bag and slowly unfolded it in front of everyone.

It was my last semester exam result sheet.

The score on it was only 20 points.

But on another attached sheet, there was a bright red stamp.

[National First Prize, Olympiad Competition.]

I held up the award paper and waved it in front of them.

“Jace, did you forget? I was never the useless girl you could control.”

Jace froze for a moment. Then, he looked at me with contempt.

“What now? Are you faking results? Or did your family use their connections to get this for you? Xena, can you have some ambition? Winnie earned everything through hard work. You only ever rely on your family! Don’t you feel ashamed?”

I shrugged, appearing completely unconcerned.

“Shame? What is that? Can you eat it? I like relying on my family, so what? If you’re so capable, why don’t you get your dad to buy the school? Or maybe you should be Winnie’s dad instead.”

After that, I walked into the school gate with Champion, head held high.

I left Jace behind. His face was pale with anger. Winnie stood there with jealousy in her eyes.

This was only the beginning. Since they wanted that spot so badly, I would make sure they never got it.