Chapter 3

I tapped on my social media account after Taylor left.

As expected, Hugo had uploaded a new post to his account that was only visible to his acquaintances not even five minutes ago. The post already had over 100 likes. The attached photo was a screenshot of his college entrance exam results. He had also included a caption.

"All my hard work has paid off. I'd like to thank the country for protecting the students who got a high score. I'm the happiest person on the planet right now. Thank you for always staying by my side and guiding me @TaylorWakeham."

His post was flooded with comments.

"Oh my god! Zero points! Could this be the legendary 'locked score' that only the cream of the crop among the students get?"

"I don't know. I've never made it into the top 50 students of the province. I have no idea what a locked score looks like."

"It probably is. You should get at least one or two points as long as you don't submit a blank answer sheet. His score must be locked since it's showing zero points."

"This is a modern example of a terrible student transforming into a genius. Amazing!"

"Taylor's pretty good too. She's been tutoring Hugo all this time. Their relationship is really like a fairytale romance."

I couldn't hold back my laughter as I scrolled through the comments.

The "locked score" that they were talking about referred to the students who achieved extremely high scores. Typically, these students' scores would either be hidden, or a message would appear on their accounts, informing them that they had secured a spot among other outstanding students.

Zero points would appear on a student's account only if they submitted blank answer sheets.

I had to admit that Taylor's system, which let her swap two students' results, was quite impressive. It had actually succeeded in swapping the data for my and Hugo's answer sheets. However, Taylor and Hugo probably never would have guessed that I would score zero points.

Hugo was uneducated and unskilled. It was obvious he had been brainwashed by comments claiming he had achieved a locked score. There was no other reason he would think the zero points on his account meant his score was locked because it was too high.

Based on the comments floating across my vision, it was obvious the commenters had also realized something was amiss.

"Hold on. Why did Hugo score zero points? The page that appears when you get a locked score is totally different."

"You're right. Don't tell me that Daniel scored zero points?"

"That's impossible. He's the genius of the school!"

"I know! There must be a bug in Taylor's system."

"Hugo's such an idiot. He actually thinks that he's a top scholar because he got zero points. I'm howling with laughter right now."

Just then, Taylor sent me a voice message. I could imagine how smug she must look right now because she believed that her scheme had succeeded.

"Hugo has been named the top scholar of the province, Daniel. We've decided to throw a party for him tomorrow to celebrate his amazing results. Although you didn't do too well, you should still join us since all of us are classmates.

"Also, can you book the private room in your family's five-star hotel on Hugo's behalf? His family is struggling financially. He can't afford to pay for it. You should book it for him as your congratulatory present since you're his classmate."

"Sure. I'll book the private room," I answered without hesitation. "I'll definitely be there for the party tomorrow."

…

The next day, I intentionally changed into a tailored suit before I left for the party, giving off a subtle but refined elegance.

Taylor was already waiting for me at the entrance when I made it to my family's five-star hotel. Her eyes glimmered with pleasant surprise when she spotted me. However, an annoyed frown quickly appeared on her face.

"Hugo's supposed to be the star today, Daniel. Why are you dressed so handsomely? You only scored 421 points. How shameless do you have to be to steal the spotlight from him? Change out of your suit right now and wear something simpler. Don't let Hugo see you. You're going to make him feel uneasy."

I ignored her and entered the hotel.

Taylor grabbed my arm. She sounded a little anxious when she said, "Oh, that's right. Have you already paid the 2,000-dollar deposit? I invited a lot of my relatives today. Make sure that you don't drop the ball.

"Hugo's a top scholar now. His future is filled with endless possibilities. The Hudson family will also benefit if you get in his good graces now."

"I've paid," I said while swatting her hand away. "Not only did I pay the deposit, but I also prepared a grand surprise for Hugo. I hope that you'll enjoy it later."

I immediately noticed Taylor's parents, Milo Wakeham and Alicia Morton, happily greeting their relatives when I walked into the banquet hall. Those who didn't know who they were might even mistake them for Hugo's parents.

Milo and Alicia were wearing the tailored clothes that I had ordered for them two weeks ago. They had grinned ear-to-ear when I gave them the clothes, holding my hands and calling me a good son-in-law.

Alicia had a rosy glow on her face when she noticed me and approached me.

"You're here, Daniel!" she exclaimed loudly as if she wanted all of her relatives in the hall to hear her. "I heard that you didn't do well on your college entrance exams. Did you really only score 421 points? That's such a shame.

"But I realized that it doesn't really matter that you only scored 421 points. Your family's so rich, after all. You can just ask your father to spend some money to send you to a specialty school."