Chapter 154

Emily Blair said nothing, just quietly picked up her pen.
This final question was no joke—it was tough. Even Emily needed a minute or two to figure out how to approach it.
But during those two minutes, Amelia Lane and the dean, along with the other
teachers in the room, were already losing patience.
“Emily, what’s the point?” the dean said, tone lofty as if he were being
magnanimous. “Here’s the deal: the school won’t put a serious mark on your record, but your exam score is still going to be canceled.”
The second he finished, Emily’s pen hit the paper, numbers and equations flying across the page.
The dean’s words caught in his throat, his brow knitting in frustration.
He automatically assumed Emily was just putting on a show. After all, even most of the teachers here couldn’t solve this problem-how could a student like her possibly pull it off?
And if they really let her keep going, who knew how long it would take? Letting her drag this out would just waste more of everyone’s time.
He couldn’t let Emily’s theatrics continue unchecked.
Out of patience, he frowned and snapped, “Emily, stop pretending. This matter is settled. We’ll make a school-wide announcement and your exam results will be voided.”
Emily seemed not to hear him, her pen moving steadily as she filled the page.
The dean’s expression darkened. He stepped forward, reaching out to grab Emily’s arm and pull her to her feet.
But as he got close, his eyes involuntarily landed on her test paper.
He stopped, surprised.
He had once been a math teacher himself, and he’d tried this very problem earlier in the week. He hadn’t been able to solve it-his paper was still blank.
But now, Emily’s hand flew quickly, and already half the answer space was filled.
He leaned in, studying her work. Her logic was flawless, her steps crystal clear. Emily’s solution was not only correct, but somehow simpler and more elegant than the one in the answer key.
He remembered struggling to understand the key’s explanation, but reading Emily’s work felt like a fog lifting. Everything suddenly made sense.
He froze, hand in the air, and just watched as Emily finished her answer.
The others, unaware, were still urging Emily to leave.
Amelia Lane called out, “Dean, what are you waiting for? Get her out of here already!”
“What, are you siding with Emily now? Don’t waste time-class has already started, and the students are waiting!”
Some teachers sensed something was off and gathered around. When they saw what Emily had written, surprise flickered across their faces.
A few minutes later, the dean took the test from Emily’s hands and laid it open on the desk.
Her reasoning was solid.
Her answer was correct.
Every step checked out there wasn’t a single mistake.
Shock and awe passed through the teachers’ eyes.
Emily Blair had just solved a problem that neither students nor teachers could crack.
The dean frowned, glancing at Emily, astonished and a little suspicious.
Emily stood up, calm as ever. “Is that enough?” she asked coolly.
“You actually solved it,” the dean said in disbelief. “So… you really weren’t cheating.”
Emily shoved her hands into her pockets, raising an eyebrow as Amelia Lane pushed past to get a look at the paper.
Amelia’s grades were terrible; the only reason she’d made it into the advanced class was her family’s wealth. Naturally, she couldn’t make heads or tails of the problem or the answer. She scoffed, “It’s just a math question. Who cares? She probably checked the answer ahead of time and is just putting on an act.”
The dean shook his head. “No. Her answer isn’t the same as the official solution. The reasoning matches, but hers is clearer and simpler-something you’d actually want to teach. It’s impossible she copied it.”
Amelia’s face drained of color at his words.
The teachers looked at Emily, guilt and regret flickering in their eyes.
They’d clearly misjudged her.
To solve a problem like this-her ability was beyond question.
In the entire senior class, only Emily had managed to crack it. Even the boy who’d
just complained that Emily had stolen his first place couldn’t figure it out.
The runner-up realized this too, and his expression darkened.
Emily smirked. “So, are you still going to accuse me of cheating without a shred of evidence?”
The dean and the teachers exchanged awkward glances.
Emily let out a soft laugh. “May I go now? Class is starting.”
The dean hesitated, then waved her off. “Go ahead.”
Emily turned and walked out.
The moment she stepped into the hallway, cheers erupted.
“Wow, Emily, you’re amazing!”
She looked up and realized her classmates had gathered outside, listening quietly to everything inside.
Elizabeth Wilson grinned. “We’ve been listening from the start. If the school had punished you, we were ready to raise hell. But we never expected you’d handle it all by yourself.”
She gave Emily a big thumbs-up. “That was seriously impressive.”