Chapter 182
Instead of looking happy, Cindy’s face fell. She wasn’t feeling confident about her finals and honestly didn’t expect her grades to be anything special. If Claire had done poorly, even if it was just because the others at school had changed their attitude toward her, Cindy could have lived with it. But of course, Claire was crushing it. She’d gone off to compete, come back, and aced her exams like it was no big deal.
“Molly, stop talking nonsense. Claire’s good at studying. It makes sense she got into winter camp through the competition,” Cindy said.
“I’m not as smart as Claire, and I started studying late. I never had anyone teaching me competition stuff before. How could I possibly compare to her p>
When Cindy put it that way, a few classmates actually felt sorry for her.
“Honestly, Molly’s got a point. If Cindy had grown up with the James family, she would’ve had a way better start p>
“Yeah, Claire basically stole someone else’s life. They might’ve only been switched for eighteen years, but it changes everything forever p>
“Claire’s a thief p>
People always have strong feelings about someone who stands out, either they admire them or can’t help but feel jealous. The ones saying the nastiest things were definitely hiding some envy. Claire’s talent was obvious to everyone, so it made sense that people got jealous.
After she started going to competitions, Claire barely talked to anyone in class. Whenever there was a group event, they always invited Cindy, the real James family heiress, not Claire, who they saw as a fake. Slowly, hardly anyone was close to Claire anymore, except for Sophia, who had always been her friend.
“You’re just jealous,” Sophia snapped, not even trying to hide her annoyance when she heard Molly talking. “Sure, some people get a head start with better education, but where they end up is up to them.” She paused, then added, “Some people’s IQ is Everest-level, and some are just stuck in a valley forever p>
Sophia’s words hit hard. Some classmates took it personally and looked offended. Others, like Molly, got mad and sulked. But a few just joked about it.
“I’m definitely stuck in that IQ valley. No wonder I’m not going to winter camp.” “Same here. I’ll just go home and take over the family business p>
“My parents don’t care if I finish college or not. As long as I don’t get scammed or kidnapped, they’re happy p>
Pretty soon, everyone was laughing and talking about wild scams and getting kidnapped, and the conversation completely lost track of what they started with.
Molly rolled her eyes. These people were clueless. Didn’t they get what Cindy wanted to hear? Cindy wasn’t exactly happy, but at least no one was going on and on about how amazing Claire was, and that was enough for her.
“Cindy, why don’t you repeat a year?” Molly suggested.
Claire had just walked into the classroom and caught the end of Molly’s comment. She thought Molly take
was nuts. They hadn’t even take
the big exam yet, and Molly was already talking about repeating a year.
Cindy looked confused. “Why would I do that, Molly p>
“What, you think I’m not good enough? You think I’m going to fail the college entrance exam p>
Cindy was on the verge of a
meltdown. Ever since she found out
Claire got into the winter camp,
stly
every day Mosuy
she’d been a mess every day, because Octavia kept reminding her, over and over, about how great
Claire’s grades were.