Chapter 9

A flicker of hatred appeared in Lily's eyes before she nodded with a smile, "Sure." She asked casually, "Jonah, what made you decide to buy a gift for Scarlett?" "Yesterday was her birthday too," Jonah replied, slightly annoyed. He wondered why she couldn't have simply asked for a gift herself. It felt as if they owed her something. Surely, running away and being rude to him was excessive, wasn't it? "Oh! If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten Scarlett's birthday was yesterday too," Lily said, her tone apologetic as if just recalling it. "No wonder she was so upset. She wanted the Celestial Drop that our parents gave me. Maybe I should give it to Scarlett?" "No, that was a gift to you from our parents. Wear it without worry," Jonah replied, putting away his phone as his expression turned cold. He continued, "She has the audacity to be angry. We've provided everything for her at the Quinn residence—food, a great school—yet she's still unsatisfied. She even wants to push you out and take the Celestial Drop! If she's that greedy, I think if the school expels her, where else can she go?" She would have no choice but to return to the Quinn residence and apologize. Jonah decided against giving her the gift. He couldn't encourage such poor behavior! Lily nervously bit her lip and said, "Scarlett's gone to meet with the principal. What if she convinces them? Maybe we should just let it go. Scarlett acted like she didn't even know us earlier. If we get her expelled, what if she really cuts ties with us?" "You're too soft-hearted. You're always defending her. She would love nothing more than to latch onto us and drain us dry. There's no way she'd disown us. This is probably her latest ploy to play hard to get. Stop defending her. "Also, it's not easy to get a meeting with the principal, let alone persuade him to do something. Everyone knows the principal is seldom on campus during regular days. If he's there, it's usually because he's meeting important guests. "Even though the principal is at school today, I noticed that gentleman from Capitol as well. The principal won't have time to see her." Lily thought about the striking and commanding man she had just encountered. He was more handsome and impressive than all seven of her brothers put together. It was clear he was someone who held a high position for a long time. There was certainly no one as young and remarkable as he in Yendale. Curious, she asked, "Jonah, are you referring to the man we saw in the office today? Isn't he Percy's father?" She recalled that Percy didn't come from a particularly influential family. They were just moderately affluent. But how could his father be so remarkable? Jonah narrowed his eyes in thought. "It appears Percy isn't an ordinary person either. You should avoid him from now on," he advised. He continued, "I once saw that man at a Capitol cocktail party with Jonathan. Although I don't know his exact identity, everyone there referred to him as Mr. Stroud. They say that with just a snap of his fingers, he can topple the Capitol's nobility. He's like a legend." Lily looked surprised and clenched her fists, new emotions flickering in her eyes. "Jonah! Big news!" Keith Hactt burst into the classroom like a whirlwind, skidding to a halt in front of Jonah's desk. "Scarlett actually went to see Mr. Hayes! And Mr. Hayes didn't expel her!" Jonah was shocked, disbelief written all over his face. He almost exclaimed, "How is that even possible?" "It's true! Mr. Hayes also scolded Mr. Tucker and told him to retract the expulsion notice. I heard it myself in the office!" Lily appeared taken aback and silently cursed to herself. Why couldn't this country bumpkin just disappear quietly instead of sticking around to irritate her? Outwardly, she quickly adopted a compassionate expression and gently reassured Jonah, "Jonah, don't worry. I believe the main reason Scarlett doesn't want to leave this school is that she's afraid of being too far from us. If she were actually expelled, seeing us again would be quite difficult for her." In public, she and Jonah would only refer to Scarlett by her name, so no one knew Scarlett was Jonah's sister. Even if some were aware of her connection to Jonah, they assumed Scarlett was merely a maid in his household. While most students here were from noble and wealthy backgrounds, there were also regular students who attached themselves to the nobles, attending the school as companions. Thus, in everyone's eyes, Scarlett was seen as Lily's companion student. After listening to Lily, Jonah frowned and replied, "Fine, let her stay in the school. She managed to get away with it so easily." When Scarlett entered the classroom with her textbooks, the room buzzed with chatter about her, and people occasionally glanced in her direction. "I can't believe she had the nerve to go see Mr. Hayes," someone said. "I wonder how she convinced him. Maybe he didn't expel her because of the Quinn family's influence," another suggested. "For sure. She's just a girl from the countryside with no connections. It's like she won the lottery being picked by the Quinn family to be Lily's companion student." Despite the murmurs, Scarlett ignored them, keeping her gaze forward as she made her way to her seat in the back row. She settled in, opened her textbook, and began to read. Suddenly, Lily stood up, workbook in hand, and approached Scarlett. Her voice was soft yet clear enough for everyone to hear. "Scarlett, here's your workbook. You've made a lot of mistakes again, but I've corrected them for you. Make sure you look over it so you don't fall behind." Upon hearing these comments, the focus of the gossip shifted. "Lily is such a kind friend to her study partner, but Scarlett doesn't appreciate it at all. She was so rude in the office earlier." "I don't think it's fair for Lily. Scarlett's grades are terrible, yet Lily is still trying to help her improve. But look at Scarlett's attitude!" Scarlett glanced up at Lily, her eyes filled with icy sarcasm. "Changing my right answers to wrong ones just to get attention—is that fun for you?" Lily sighed, her brow furrowed. "Scarlett, I know people misunderstood you because of the Celestial Drop incident, and you're feeling wronged and upset. But I'm not the one who caused this. Can we talk calmly? I genuinely want to help." With that patient and helpless demeanor, it was as if Scarlett had wronged her again. Jonah quickly approached with a serious face. "Scarlett, don't be ungrateful. Lily corrected your mistakes. You should at least thank her!" Scarlett smirked, letting out a cold chuckle. She truly owed it to Lily for always being at the bottom of the class. Lily, as the academic monitor of Class A, was responsible for collecting and managing the homework and test papers. Scarlett used to wonder why her answers were always incorrect during exams, why her homework would mysteriously vanish, and why the exercises in her workbook were always wrong. Lily was precisely the person who could console her then, provide her with new homework books, and help her correct the errors in her workbook. Everyone believed Lily was genuinely kind to her and that she should feel grateful. Jonah even shared this belief. She completed a set of test papers for a self-assessment. Upon checking her answers, she realized she had achieved a perfect score, with no signs of her usual oversights or mistakes. It was only at that moment that she understood Lily's scheme. Lily had manipulated the situation to garner attention by putting her down. This way, everyone would perceive Lily as kind, selfless, and helpful. Meanwhile, it painted Scarlett as someone with poor grades, ungrateful, selfish, and incompetent. "Alright, let me check which questions I missed," Scarlett said.