The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 174

He really had memorized a ton of formulas and knew his way around those questions. But when Ronald turned to Shirley, his gaze went dark, and the relief she’d just felt vanished in an instant.

Ronald would never risk offending Andrew, so he’d always find a way to let him off easy. But with Shirley, it was different. Ronald disliked her just as much as he did Charlotte.

“Shirley!”

Just moments ago, Ronald’s voice had been warm and patient. Now it was cold, sharp, and loud enough to make Shirley jump. She’d been quietly worrying about Charlotte when she looked up, startled and pale.

“I can’t believe it. After all these years, you’re still the same. You actually had the nerve to cheat again!”

He didn’t ask a single question or give Shirley any chance to explain. He just jumped straight to accusing her.

“I didn’t,” Shirley said quickly. She didn’t stutter this time, her tone much more steady and sure than before. “I didn’t cheat. That’s my real score.”

“This was a tough test. Even Olivia only got an eighty-nine,” Ronald said, slamming Shirley’s paper down on the desk. He let out a cold laugh. “And you got a ninety-two?”

If Olivia hadn’t dropped out of the physics competition all those years ago for another contest, would Shirley really have ended up as champion? And even if she had, Ronald had always doubted the legitimacy of her win. He refused to believe someone caught cheating on the first day and who’d been at the bottom of the class since could suddenly come out on top.

“Why can’t I?” Shirley pushed back, clenching her fists tight, her eyes shining red. “If you don’t believe me, I can walk you through every solution, step by step.”

For a second, Ronald had nothing to say. He had to admit, Shirley might be vain and a little flaky, but she wasn’t clueless. Still, it was hard to believe she’d scored that high when even Olivia struggled. The top physics score always came from his students. This time, it landed in the so-called worst class, C-Class. And, of all people, the winner was Shirley, the girl he’d just kicked out a few days ago.

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