Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Chloe Sinclair’s Plagiarism
The May Day holiday ended quickly.
Chloe Sinclair woke up bright and early, leaving the house at seven o’clock sharp.
At eight, she entered the classroom right on time, once again running into Summer Beckett, who was dashing along while eating a baozi. freёweɓnovel.com
"Ch...oe!" Summer Beckett’s eyes lit up. He fell into step beside Chloe Sinclair and mumbled, "Lemme tellya shumfin..."
The moment he opened his mouth, Chloe Sinclair was greeted by the enchanting fragrance of chives.
She instinctively took two steps back. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "Could you maybe finish eating your baozi first?"
Summer Beckett’s face flushed red. He nodded quickly and, thumping his chest, managed to swallow the baozi down.
It made Chloe Sinclair feel as if he weren’t eating a baozi, but some kind of poison.
"So, what were you trying to say earlier?"
Chloe Sinclair went to her seat and sat down. She noticed many of her classmates’ eyes were on her, each of them looking like they wanted to speak but holding back. She couldn’t quite figure out why.
"I actually ranked 478th in our grade this time! I improved by a full three hundred-something places!"
When his dad found out, he immediately rewarded him with a hundred thousand.
A hundred thousand wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to buy a few pairs of shoes.
Besides, it was the first time he’d ever seen the old man so happy about his grades.
His dad had pulled him aside on the spot to drink some of the family’s treasured, years-old American ginseng wine, which made him completely miss the Sinclair family’s birthday banquet.
Summer Beckett’s eyes were sparkling. Not having the heart to burst his bubble, Chloe Sinclair simply nodded at him. "That’s great."
’There were 800 students in the grade. To improve so much in such a short time, it was clear he had been studying hard.’
"So, how did you do?"
Chloe Sinclair didn’t hide anything. "Very well."
Summer Beckett was instantly relieved.
In his mind, Chloe Sinclair’s "very well" probably meant she ranked somewhere between one and two hundred in the grade. It couldn’t be any better than that.
So, he didn’t ask for her exact ranking.
But over the next few classes, every teacher, one after another, dealt him a devastating blow.
As soon as class began, Kyle Stern walked in, a stack of books tucked under his arm.
His expression was more serious than usual, and the students couldn’t help but sit up straighter in their seats.
"Our class’s results this time..."
Kyle Stern spoke, then paused deliberately. His sharp gaze swept over every student before finally landing on Chloe Sinclair.
A smile suddenly appeared on his face as he continued, "The improvement has been immense."
The students hadn’t yet processed it, so it was Summer Beckett who led the cheers. The others gradually followed suit, their faces lighting up with smiles.
Kyle Stern nodded with satisfaction. "And today, I want to give special praise to one student in our class."
Hearing this, everyone’s eyes instinctively turned to Chloe Sinclair.
Summer Beckett had been zoning out, but when he suddenly noticed so many gazes landing in his vicinity, he subconsciously straightened his back and tilted his head up proudly.
"Our classmate, Chloe, with a high score of 698, has taken first place in the entire school!"
ROAR—
The voices in the classroom swelled, rising and falling over each other.
"Wait, aren’t we Class 7?"
"Someone from our class is number one in the entire grade? This has to be a first in the school’s history, right?"
"Holy shit, my classmate is number one in the grade! I can brag about this for all four years of college!"
...
Everyone’s eyes were practically glued to Chloe Sinclair as they chattered excitedly.
They thought about their own incredible progress and then realized that for someone like Chloe Sinclair, this achievement must have been effortless. freēwebnovel.com
Over half the class had used Chloe Sinclair’s notes. Once the exam was over, many of them had become her devoted fans.
The discussions continued even after the bell rang for the end of class.
But just then, a dissonant voice cut through the chatter in the classroom.
"Didn’t she get first place by cheating? There are pictures for proof—it’s all over the school forums!"