Chapter 450
“I heard from a teacher she volunteered. She’s just here to see how hard the questions are and to answer a few on the spot,” another added.
A third student sneered, “Really? Then it won’t be just one person making a fool of herself… It’ll be two.”
Several teachers from the Advanced Honors Class were gathered at the front, along with Melany’s class advisor, Gorman. Letty sat among them, her composed demeanor giving nothing away.
All the teachers had contributed to the creation of the exam questions. There were no official answer sheets, and each teacher had privately kept their own solutions.
Zaylee sat in the auditorium, her eyes wandering over the crowded hall before settling on Rylie, who appeared perfectly calm and self-assured. “Why is only Rylie here? Is she taking part in the competition too? And isn’t Melany coming?” she muttered, unable to contain her curiosity.
“If Melany doesn’t appear, she’ll be expelled on the spot,” Letty replied, her voice cutting and precise. “The result will not change.”
Catching Letty’s sharp, wordless warning, Zaylee quickly lowered her gaze and forced herself to remain silent.
Students seated nearby, all from Zaylee’s class, whispered among themselves, their voices carrying a mix of skepticism and amusement. Everyone knew the reputation of Rylie, someone who had only entered college thanks to her family’s influence, ranking near the bottom in her own college entrance exams.
“She’s got guts, I’ll give her that,” one student remarked. “She used to flunk every subject, and now she’s answering these tough questions right in front of all the teachers?”
Another chimed in, lowering their voice, “I heard from Zaylee that her tutor’s some kind of genius, an overseas Ph.D., specializes in physics and math. If that’s true, Melany’s tutor might be in trouble.”
“Yeah, but I do remember she performed at the Wesdown International Piano Competition,” another added thoughtfully. “Her piano skills weren’t bad at all.”
“Who’s to say it wasn’t dubbed in after the fact?”
At exactly two o’clock, under the scrutiny of the entire room, Melany finally arrived, breathless, her chest rising and falling as she struggled to steady herself.
Her gaze swept across the auditorium, and a flicker of unease stirred within her at the sheer number of spectators. But the moment her eyes found Rylie, standing composed and radiant on stage, a wave of calm washed over her. Melany instinctively straightened her posture, shedding the last traces of her earlier haste, and proceeded to take her assigned seat with newfound composure.
Directly across from her sat Letty, flanked by seven or eight faculty members from the Advanced Honors Class. An imposing lineup, indeed.
“Now that everyone is present,” Gunter rose to his feet and addressed the room, “all three of you will complete the test using the materials prepared by our school. You have exactly one hour to answer all the questions, and your scores will determine the outcome. The test papers were created under the joint supervision of our faculty and printed only at 1:30 this afternoon. Therefore, aside from the teachers, no one is privy to the content. This ensures the fairest conditions possible.”
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