Raine and Snow were not twins, but they looked like two peas in a pot, graceful, gentle, and lovely. They were the goddesses in the eyes of the boys, recognized as the most popular girls in high school and college, respectively. As soon as the two appeared, they attracted the attention of many people. Raine and Snow greeted a few classmates before sitting down. “We have been waiting.” Their friends winked at them as soon as they sat down. “See that newcomer of Class B of the eleventh grade over there? The forum is filled with her photos, saying that she is now the most popular girl in the school.” The two sisters looked back and saw Nicole, a hint of nonchalance flashing in their eyes. Raine smiled, pretending not to care. “It doesn’t matter. It is not easy to be the most popular girl in Royal Creek Institute.” “Exactly. Being the most popular girl requires not only good looks but also good grades.” “Absolutely. Raine and Snow have always scored first on every exam.” The
“So badass!” Bradley was startled for a moment before muttering in amazement. Lulu could not help but nod in agreement. “Badass indeed.” “Let’s go.” Nicole glared disdainfully at Austin and then smiled evilly as she left. It was a mocking smile, but it was also beautiful. Everyone in the cafeteria watched in a daze as she left. Spencer patted Samuel, who had not come out of his awe, and said, “It looks like our sister doesn’t need us to worry about her.” In the afternoon, the school’s forum went ape, saying that the new student performed an over-the-shoulder move and threw the school bully to the ground the first day in the cafeteria. Some people who hated Austin commented and praised her anonymously. Some people think she was in trouble, thinking she would be expelled tomorrow. But Nicole could not care less and continued to copy the assignment from others. “Throwing Austin with an over-the-shoulder move? No wonder she said she didn’t need Gary’s protection.” Wayne loo
Nicole glanced at Raine and said unhurriedly, “No, I just taught an unruly classmate a lesson.” If she had really wanted to fight, Austin would have been in the hospital now. “Unruly?” Daniel’s face turned a little graver. “Were they bullying you? If true, they should be taught a lesson.” Norah did not expect her parents to spoil Nicole so much. She was jealous and acted as if she was worried. “Dad, that being said, fighting is wrong. Besides, the kid she taught a lesson to today is from the Woods family.” Raine also agreed. “Yeah, she has offended the Woods family. I am afraid that it will not be just her but the entire Riddle family that has to bear the consequences.” “The Woods family?” Daniel and Gloria’s faces turned a little pale upon hearing the name. The Woods family was San Joto’s most prominent new rich, very wealthy, and they were all rogues. No one in San Joto wanted to mess with them, yet Nicole had offended one of them on her first day of school. “Nicole, is
The Woods family was a group of individuals whom the people in San Joto would stay away from, as messing with them was inviting trouble. Norah saw this and said boldly, “Grandpa... I didn’t mean it. She had just arrived at school and did not know who Austin was.” It sounded like she was defending Nicole, but it actually was to say that Nicole was the one who first used violence. Nicole was not too happy. Just when she was about to rebut, Daniel spoke. “Dad, Nicole is not to blame. I have looked into the ins and outs of the matter. Austin openly tried to grab Nicole. Do we still have to put up with that?” Seeing the righteous indignation of Daniel and Nicole, Karen said sarcastically, “Daniel, Austin is Mr. Woods Sr.’s grandson. We are in trouble by offending him. I heard Snow say that Austin threatened to get Nicole expelled from the school.” Karen threw a bombshell. “Expulsion?” Mr. Riddle Sr. frowned immediately. It was only last night that Mr. Ellison invited Nicole into t
Nicole subtly shook her head to signal Mr. Riddle Sr. He then shook his head and said, “She is fine. She didn’t take it to heart.” “Glad to hear. I will tell that kid from the Woods family to behave. No one will bully Nicole at school from now on. I assured you that.” “Thank you so much.” Mr. Riddle Sr. was elated and immediately thanked Mr. Ellison. “No problem. Let us have a cup of tea together if you have time next time,” Mr. Ellison said politely. “Any time, Mr. Ellison. Call me when you have time.” Mr. Riddle Sr. was flattered. Not anyone could meet Mr. Ellison, and it was unimaginable that Mr. Ellison would ask to meet him. So, he agreed immediately. “Sure.” After that, Mr. Ellison hung up. The air felt standstill as everyone who heard the conversation looked at Nicole in disbelief. Norah was most surprised. She had not believed it at all that Mr. Ellison would still be protective of Nicole when such a thing happened, but his phone call had confirmed everything. M
“Anything else?” Nicole sounded cold, clearly wanting to drive her away. Norah felt embarrassed and could only quickly get down to business. “I know that you and Austin have a conflict. I was just worried that our family would get involved, so I said something that might have offended you. Please don’t mind. You may hit me if you are angry.” Norah said with an innocent look, as if Nicole would bully her. Nicole sneered as she despised someone who liked to play the victim like Norah. “Since you know you shouldn’t have said something that shouldn’t be said, you should have corrected yourself instead of coming to me to pretend to apologize.” With that, Nicole slammed the door shut. Norah felt insulted, as if she had been slapped, her face feeling a burning sensation. D*mn it. How dare Nicole disparage her? Did Nicole really think she had the right to reprimand her because she came to apologize? “Let’s wait and see, Nicole.” She stomped her feet angrily before taking her things
Everyone looked at Nicole in admiration. But the more unbelievable things were yet to come. Austin’s followers looked at Austin with confusion, and one of them asked, “But boss, yesterday, this ungrateful brat rejected your—” Before the guy could finish speaking, Austin gave him a punch with a backhand. “Stop talking like that to Nicole! From now onward, Nicole is my boss. I will not spare those who dare to bully her.” The poor guy glanced angrily at Nicole. Seeing that Austin was serious, the rest bowed their heads and submitted to Nicole. After that, Austin looked at Nicole flatteringly, hoping to get her compliment. Everyone was in a daze for a moment, as they could not believe that all this was true. Jack and Wayne behind them were speechless. Gary watched on with great interest, his eyes falling on Nicole and studying her. But Nicole was nonchalant, giving no reaction to Austin’s actions. She then calmly checked her watch and said to Austin, “I am not your boss. My
Ms. Emerson turned her head to look at Nicole with a gentle smile. “Keep up the good work, Nicole. Don’t get complacent just because you have scored a full mark this time. The monthly exam is around the corner; it is still crucial to do revision at night.” Yesterday, she thought that Nicole’s grades were mediocre. Nicole was even absent from the self-study class last night. It was only after the test did she find Nicole’s exam results were anything but mediocre. She was now much more at ease. It shocked Bradley to see how easily Ms. Emerson glossed over Nicole’s absence from the self-study class. Jack was even more dumbfounded, not expecting Nicole to be the only person who got a perfect score. He and Wayne looked at Nicole sitting in the third row from the last, as if she was some kind of monster. While passing the test papers to Nicole, there was a complicated look in Lulu’s eyes as she noticed that Nicole had corrected the two questions that she had done wrong. Those two q