Chapter 3

He asked in a trembling voice, "Who came up with this? A redundant logic problem that had been stuck at the supercomputer center for a whole month was solved by these few sheets of paper!"

I smiled and answered, "My daughter. She's 12."

Three days later, three PhD advisors from the National Academy of Sciences personally delivered a verified special admission letter to our home.

The day after the parent-teacher meeting, I went to the school to complete Sylvana's transfer.

The process went smoothly.

Isla was afraid I would change my mind.

At 11 that night, she couldn't wait to send the withdrawal papers to me on WhatsApp.

She even sent three voice messages in a row, reminding me that I had to come to the school the next day.

After completing the first step at the administration office, I headed straight to Sylvana's classroom.

It was break time, so the classroom was chaotic.

I walked to the seat in the back, right beside the trash can.

Sylvana's desk had been shoved into the corner, and her desk drawer was filled with random junk.

I was about to take out her books when Aaron suddenly rushed over and shoved me aside.

He stood in front of Sylvana's desk, nervously glancing at her drawer.

He was also holding a crumpled piece of white paper.

"What are you doing? This is Sylvana's seat." I stared at him coldly.

Aaron was sweating heavily, and he wouldn't meet my eyes. "I... I just wanted to help Sylvana pack her things."

I sneered. "I don't need your help. Get lost."

I pushed Aaron aside, then pulled a small portable paper shredder out of my canvas bag.

I plugged it into a portable power bank and turned it on.

I opened Sylvana's desk drawer and took out all the scrap paper, notebooks, and calculation books covered in strange symbols.

I didn't bother sorting out which ones were schoolwork and which ones were drafts.

Right in front of Aaron, I fed the papers straight into the shredder.

Aaron panicked.

His eyes locked onto one of the notebooks filled with complicated circuit diagrams. "Don't tear that one up. Please leave that notebook!"

He rushed over to grab it.

I slapped the back of his hand hard.

Aaron grabbed his hand and screamed. "Why did you hit me?"

I glared at him. "These are my daughter's things. I'll do whatever I want with them."

Aaron's face turned bright red with anger. But he had no idea how to argue back.

The commotion also caught Eleanor's attention in the hallway.

She was at the school that day as the head of the Parent-Teacher Association to discuss the ceremony for the upcoming competition.

Eleanor rushed into the classroom and immediately shielded Aaron behind her.

Then she pointed at me and shouted. "Beatrice, have you lost your mind? You're the mother of a failing student who was kicked out of this school, and you actually dare to bully one of our top students? I'm calling the police!"

I didn't even look at her.

I continued feeding the last stack of draft papers into the shredder.

Aaron stared at the shredded pieces with bloodshot eyes.

I put my bag on my shoulder, picked up the trash bag, and looked at Eleanor with a mocking smile. "Eleanor, teach your son some manners. Don't let him steal things."

With that, I walked away with every piece of the core logic.