Chapter 1

My girlfriend, Taylor Wakeham, was gently peeling oranges for me one hour before the college entrance exam results were released. She was wearing a faded white shirt. Her features gave her a clean and youthful demeanor.

However, if one scrutinized her closely, they would notice that her eyes kept darting around, and that she kept fidgeting in her seat.

"Don't be nervous, Daniel," she said gently as she brought an orange slice near my mouth. "Although you always get first place during the mock exams, there's still a possibility that you might underperform during an important occasion such as the college entrance exams.

"It's alright even if you get a bad score. Your family is so rich. You can just ask your father to donate a building to the school. Maybe we can still end up in the same university."

How absurd. Everything Taylor said clearly wished for my downfall.

At first, I was suspicious of the comments that suddenly appeared in my vision. But a chill ran down my spine when I heard her words.

"You've never gotten a better score than me. There's no way that your college entrance exam results are going to be better than mine," I said as I shot a small smile at her, enjoying the way her expression darkened.

"Whoa! I had no idea that Daniel could be so mean. It's a shame that the results have already been swapped. The Hudsons are going to have a bad time."

"I can't believe that Taylor is willing to stab Daniel in the back when he treats her so well. He even takes care of her family."

"We think that he's being nice to her, but she thinks that he's treating her like a charity case. She envies him for having top-tier resources without needing to lift a single finger and wants to claim all the luxuries that he enjoys for herself!"

A charity case?

I had always been the top student during my high school years. Out of consideration for Taylor's pitiful pride, I forwent sleep every night to organize revision notes for her, guiding her every step of the way.

In the end, she improved so much that she became the school's second-highest scorer, even though she had been an average student before.

When her family was struggling financially, I asked Mom and Dad to donate to the school to establish various funds so that she could get scholarship money. My family also discreetly introduced her parents to the easy, high-paying jobs they were currently working at.

I loved Taylor, which was why I unconditionally used my influence and resources for her sake. However, she saw my kindness as indisputable proof that I was treating her as a so-called charity case, and she used it as an excuse to destroy me.

It was truly absurd and despicable!

Confusion flickered in Taylor's eyes when I didn't react to her displeased expression. After all, in the past, I would automatically comfort her whenever she so much as frowned. I would never provoke her as I did earlier.

"When did you become so arrogant, Daniel?" she demanded, shooting me a disapproving look as if I had done something utterly unreasonable. "I didn't want you to get upset if I took the top spot from you during the mock exams. That's why I didn't go all out.

"Do you really think that you'll be able to cling to your first-place position if I actually gave it my all? I'll definitely beat you if I give it my all."

"Wow! We’ve just met the world’s most lacking-in-self-awareness person!"

"What a classic trope. This bitch is trying to manipulate the genius male lead again. It makes me sick."

"She needs to shut up! Someone needs to put her in her place!"

I couldn't help but chuckle as I read the comments. Most of the anger that had flared up in me when I heard Taylor's shameless words had faded away.

"You're laughing?" Taylor snapped, tossing the orange aside in frustration and splattering a few drops of orange juice on my clothes. "You didn't study hard before the exam. I'm worried that you're going to get terrible results this time. That's why I'm giving you a warning. Do you really not care at all?

"Hugo's different. His family is struggling so much. He's pinning all his hopes on the college entrance exams so that he can get a fresh start. I heard that he did quite well this time."

Hugo Powell was another poor student in our class who usually presented himself as a simple, honest man.

Taylor was always telling me to watch over him because he had a rough life. The high-quality supplements that I gave her always ended up on Hugo's desk instead.

"Is that so? I'm happy for him," I said with a knowing smile. "The college entrance exam results have been released, Taylor. I'm too lazy to enter my login details. Can you check my results for me?"