CHAPTER 28

Jim didn't give it much thought. He actually looked forward to meeting her in the future. He half-jokingly said, "I hope the next time we meet will be in a cheerful and comfortable setting."

Hedy smiled and reassured, "Relax, it's definitely nothing like today."

If Jim were to take on another lawsuit that degraded his professional ability, he would never agree, despite having brought up Yves sight hundred times.

Then Jim noticed Alex standing on the stairs. He said, "That seems to be your classmate." He saw Alex staring at them, or rather, staring at Hedy.

Hedy had noticed someone behind her earlier but didn't pay much attention. Hearing Jim's comment, she subconsciously turned and looked behind.

She withdrew her gaze after casting a glance and replied, "I don't know him." Her reaction was swift and resolute.

Alex frowned at Hedy's nonchalant denial.

Hedy used to bring him breakfast and wrote him love letters. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her clingy.

Now this girl even denied what she had done.

But from Hedy's perspective, it was true that the two were strangers.

Alex found Hedy's behavior hypocritical and was annoyed.

He walked straight past the two of them.

When he had walked a distance, he inexplicably looked around.

Hedy stood in the same place and watched that man walk away.

Alex snorted coldly internally. He ignored them and entered the school building.

In the eyes of the top student, lacking ambition to achieve well academically was far more disgraceful than resorting to cheating to achieve high scores.

Hedy looked at Jim's business card and bent her fingers a little. The business card, which was treated as precious by Timothy, was tossed into the trash can.

Hedy walked at a leisurely pace and followed Alex back to the classroom.

What kind of contact with Jim couldn't she get her hands into?

Did she need a business card to find him?

The moment Hedy showed up in the class, she was met with the gaze of the whole class.

Some were filled with admiration, some with skepticism, and others were appraising.

These gazes, whether admiring, questioning, or sizing up, were fixed on her for a long time. The scene was ridiculous, but Hedy continued to focus on her own tasks and ignored them.

Indeed, her calmness was not something ordinary people can possess.

In the evening, Hedy went for her usual night run after returning home.

When she came back from her workout session, she saw that the lights in the courtyard were on. A car and an electric bike were parked at the door.

Voices came from inside.

Hedy had excellent hearing, and she instantly recognized who the visitors were.

She pushed the door open. The school principal, her math teacher, as well as her family, stood in the living room.

There was a pile of expensive gifts on the ground. There were two bulging paper bags placed on the table, and the content was evident.

"Hedy, you're finally home. Come here, I don't quite understand the situation. Tell me what's going on." William kept waving at Hedy and invited the guests to sit down. His sunburnt face was full of confusion and nervousness.

In all of William's life, the highest-ranking people he had ever met were the foremen and his boss on the construction site. Usually, he was the one being ordered around, and this was his first time seeing the principal bring him gifts and money.

Even Sophia, who was always sharp-tongued and looked down on everyone, had shifted into a gentler demeanor and spoke softly.

"There's nothing to say. I haven't thrown away the mayor's business card yet. Either take your things and leave now, or I'll have him come over and personally ask you to leave." Hedy didn't stop her pace. She walked straight into her room to change her clothes and take a shower.

Hedy's attitude and warning shocked her family. They were at a loss for a moment.

"Mr. Turner." Their guests grabbed onto William's hand like a lifeline.

William came back to his senses and hurriedly promised to help.

Hedy had been doing poorly in school since she was young. William had been summoned to the school many times. He was a middle-aged man in his mid-forties, and he was often scolded by young teachers.

The principal was holding his hand and respectfully addressed him as Mr. Turner.

William had never experienced this. He felt uneasy and afraid that Hedy had caused trouble at school.

When Hedy came out after taking a shower, she saw that those visitors hadn't left yet. She blew her long hair dry and scowled in displeasure as she turned to look at the two.

Just one glance made them let go of William's hand as if they had been electrocuted.

"Well, we'll leave now. We won't disturb you." The two almost fled in panic.

Before they could leave the courtyard, Hedy suddenly said, "Hold on."

The two turned around nervously and said expectantly, "Yes?"

Hedy coldly muttered, "Your gifts."

The two dared not say anything and quickly went back to pick up the gifts scattered on the ground.

When Sophia saw they had taken away the brown paper bag on the table, she immediately called out to him, "Hey. Mr. Leonard."

She stubbornly caught up to the principal, then she turned and glared at Hedy. Sophia chided, "You brat, do you know what's in there? There's more than ten thousand dollars in there."

Hedy shot her a cold glance, too lazy to pay her any attention. She went back to her room and closed the door behind her.

Sophia couldn't let them take the money back, so she quickly chased after them.

"Hedy, what's going on? Can you tell me again?" William understood very well, but like everyone else, he couldn't believe that Hedy could score such high marks, and the principal would personally come to apologize to him because of this.

Their attitude suggested that things couldn't be that simple. And who was this Timothy that Hedy just mentioned?

He did remember that the mayor of Norwood City was named Timothy Foster.

Ethan explained the situation again.

Although William found it difficult to believe, he had to believe it since the principal and the teachers had come to apologize.

With relief, he said, "I knew it. Both you and Kayla are so intelligent. How could your older sister be any different?"

"That's not the case here." Kayla almost leaped up to protest. She argued, "How could she possibly score full marks? She must have cheated. There's simply no evidence. If she hadn't involved the cop and caused a scene, Mr. Leonard and Mr. Shephard wouldn't have come." Kayla gritted her teeth, and her pretty face was slightly contorted.

"She's not stupid. Her grades were poor because she didn't want to study." Ethan immediately stepped forward to defend Hedy.

"She didn't want to study? Haha," Kayla found it amusing and chided, "Only you would be naive enough to believe her."

"She solved the problem set by Raven University's principal last year. You can see for yourself on the Raven University Math forum."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Kayla felt the situation had become increasingly absurd.

Kayla excelled in math. Like Ethan, she also aspired to attend Raven University. Therefore, she naturally followed the Raven University math forum.

Ethan didn't want to argue with her and went back to his room.

Observing Ethan's dismissive attitude, Kayla started to doubt her argument.

She returned to her room, picked up her old phone that needed to be charged seven or eight times a day, and opened the forum.

William was at a loss and stood alone in the hallway. When he finally realized what was happening, he hurriedly went out to see the principal off.

In Raven City.

Sebastian was a workaholic. By the time he returned home from the office, it was over ten o'clock at night.

"Mr. Sebastian. Mr. Burton has been waiting for you all night." The butler came out to greet him upon hearing the sound of the car engine.

"Why didn't you inform me?" Sebastian strode up the steps and entered the house.

"Mr. Burton requested not to disturb you."

In the living room, an old man in his seventies occasionally adjusted his reading glasses as he was engrossed with the content on his phone.

Upon hearing the butler mention that someone had returned, he quickly looked up.

He saw a tall man with an upright figure and an imposing presence. The tailored suit made him appear more noble and charismatic than any world-famous model. His pants were straight and ironed well. That man approached him in a few brisk steps.

"Why are you waiting for me until this late? If you needed me, why didn't you call?" Sebastian took off his suit and handed it to the butler.

"I know you are busy–I would cut the chase. I came to ask you for a favor."

"Go ahead." Sebastian sat down on the sofa, picked up the cup, and poured a cup of tea for the old man.

"I want you to track down someone for me. Last year, a few old professors and I encountered a problem during our research that we couldn't solve for two months. So I posted the problem online. A few days ago, someone finally solved it, but I can't contact this person."

This old man was none other than the principal of Raven University, Magnus Burton.