Chapter 97: Chapter 97: Dazzling Beauty

As Vera Xavier and Shirley Forrest walked out of the classroom, Shirley saw Cara Preston and Elise Langdon huddled together, whispering. She looked at Vera and said, “You did so well on the exams this time, but your sister doesn’t seem very happy. I bet she’s cooking up some scheme to use against you.”

“Let her,” Vera Xavier said dismissively. “I didn’t cheat or copy anyone. It was all my own merit, so I’m not afraid of whatever trouble she tries to stir up.”

Shirley Forrest smiled. “I used to see you listen to everything your sister said, so I thought you were a bit clueless. But it looks like you’re not so clueless after all.”

Vera Xavier’s gaze darkened slightly. “She’s screwed me over badly enough in the past. After being burned by her before, how could I possibly let her keep doing it?”

Shirley Forrest nodded. “Good, as long as you’re aware.”

After a moment, she looked at Vera and asked, “So, were these exam results your true skill level?”

Vera Xavier raised an eyebrow. “More or less.”

Shirley Forrest huffed. “Don’t get cocky. I’m definitely going to surpass you!”

“Okay! I’ll be waiting,” Vera Xavier said with a faint smile.

She understood Shirley Forrest well enough. When Shirley said she’d surpass her, she meant through fair and legitimate means. Vera didn’t mind that kind of open, healthy competition in the slightest.

Shirley Forrest smiled back and waved at Vera. Her ride had arrived.

Vera waved back. At some point, Shane Caldwell had walked up right in front of her. When she turned and saw him, she jumped in surprise, taking a few steps back. “Do you need something?” she asked.

There was a complex look in Shane Caldwell’s eyes as he said coldly, “Vera Xavier, you took my first place.”

Vera spread her hands. “So what?”

“Just you wait. I’ll take it back!” Shane Caldwell declared.

Vera smiled faintly. “Sure. Go ahead and try. No objections here.”

Her impression of Shane Caldwell wasn’t particularly good or bad. In her eyes, he was just an insignificant person. They had barely interacted in her previous life, and she figured they wouldn’t have much to do with each other in this one either.

Shane Caldwell, however, froze for a moment as he watched her faint smile. He had already noticed that Vera Xavier was different after returning to school this time.

Before, she was practically invisible in class. Even though she still sat in the corner of the back row just as she always had, her entire demeanor now radiated a calm self-assurance.

She no longer wore the drab, dreary clothes from before. She was strikingly beautiful now, and the vibrant light in her eyes made her far more stunning than the school belle. When she smiled just then, Shane Caldwell felt himself become a little dazed.

Seeing him staring at her blankly, Vera gave a slight lift of her eyebrow and strode away.

Shane Caldwell’s gaze deepened as he watched her walk away, and an unprecedented impulse stirred within him.

Vera Xavier wasn’t sure if Zachary Preston was back, but she couldn’t very well stay at Nathaniel Nathan’s house again tonight. After all, her books were still at home, and she needed to study.

So, she decided to head home first to check things out. If the situation was bad, she’d figure out a new plan.

Before she even reached her house, Grandma Dixon came over and asked, “Vera, where have you been the last couple of days? That tigress at your house hasn’t been throwing any tantrums.”

The “tigress” she was referring to was Rona Langdon.

Vera Xavier stuck to her story. “I went to visit the countryside.”

“Good for you!” Grandma Dixon said, indignant on her behalf. “Everyone knows what that tigress of yours is scheming!”

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