Chapter 337 And Now This Nonsense
+8 Pearls
“Principal, slow down–just tell me what’s going on.” Jean could hear the urgency in his voice; a bad feeling. started creeping into her chest, but her expression stayed calm.
“Jean, here’s the thing,” the principal said, noticeably casing his tone, “do you still remember the ranking exams?”
Jean told the taxi driver to change the route–she’d planned on heading home, but now she was going to school instead.
About ten minutes later, Jean stood once again at the gates of Stellarford Academy.
The principal’s words still echoed in her ears. She’d thought that after proving her innocence with actual evidence, the ranking exam situation would finally be over; that the students who couldn’t stand her would finally shut their mouths for good.
But now–more drama had come crawling out of the woodwork.
Right now, the entire Stellarford Academy was buzzing with a new rumor about her-
They were saying she had secretly pulled some strings; that even if she didn’t take the exam—or even if she got a zero–she’d still move up to high school without a hitch.
And the thing was, they weren’t entirely wrong. No matter what happened with the exam–even if she skipped it altogether–the Ginger family would absolutely make sure she advanced without issue.
The principal knew that too. But the real problem was, Jean hadn’t even used her connections yet, and these people were already rushing to drag her through the mud.
She’d missed the last exam because something had come up, but it wasn’t like she’d said she wouldn’t take it!
Before this, everyone had falsely accused her of leaking the exam questions, swearing up and down that she’d cheated. It had taken a huge effort to clear her name. And now, before she even got a chance to take the test, they were spinning conspiracy theories again–this time saying she planned to use her connections to cheat her way through.
Heh… if they’re all gonna talk like that, maybe I should just lean into it. Use the Ginger family’s big–shot privileges and make their little fantasy come true.
But that thought only lasted a moment before Jean dismissed it.
Fighting fire with fire is just a waste of time.
She stepped through the gates of Stellarford Academy, walking slowly as she scrolled through her phone; for the first time in ages, she opened up the campus forum.
Sure enough, the front page was filled with posts about her.
“Jean hasn’t been at school in forever, and she still hasn’t taken the ranking exam–does she just get to skip it and move up anyway?”
“I heard she’s got connections; even if she doesn’t take it, she’s fine.”
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13:35 Fri, 23 May GG
Chapter 337 And Now This Nonsense
7480
+B Pearls
“But isn’t she just the illegitimate daughter of a staff member? Are her connections really that strong?”
“Well, maybe staff at Stellarford have inside ties…”
“Disgusting how people like her get special treatment.”
“She doesn’t show up, doesn’t take the most important exam of the year, and she’s living her best life.”
“If she actually took the exam, there’s no way she’d move up. I heard her grades are terrible–like, single digits. That’s why she’s pulling strings.”
“Her grades are that bad?”
“What’d you think? She’s famous for being one of the worst students. Plus she’s got a weird personality- no wonder so many people dislike her.”
Jean exited the forum. She was heading to the principal’s office now.
The class she used to belong had completely disbanded after the cheating scandal. That class was officially part of Stellarford’s history now.
Sofia and Asher, who hadn’t been involved in the cheating, had already been placed in new classes to continue their studies.
Jean too had been reassigned to a new class, though she’d never gotten around to actually going.
The principal’s call just now hadn’t been to accuse or blame her. It was because things had suddenly blown up on the forum, and he’d wanted to give her a heads–up.
He also hoped she’d put in a good word for him with her mom and brother—make sure they didn’t hold this against him. He said he’d find a way to handle it properly.
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