Under the Heiress' Facade

In Class A of senior year, Zyler scanned the news and muttered a curse under his breath about Lily's incompetence for skipping the examination.

Just then, his deskmate burst out, "Zyler, check the school forum! Hera actually got approved for the pre-university examination!"

"What? Hera Youngworth?" Zyler scoffed, pulling up the forum and scrolling rapidly. Christopher had to be completely smitten with that country bumpkin to greenlight Hera's registration. Like many others, Zyler suspected Christopher had pulled strings to get her in.

The pre-university examination results were a gold standard, scrutinized by prestigious schools. Only those who cleared the school's rigorous review process were allowed to take the examination.

Hera, a cheater who had waltzed into Cavenridge and bombed her midterms with blanks, was about to face a brutal reality check.

Zyler couldn't contain his smirk. Although Lily's plan had backfired, Hera herself was walking right into a humiliating disaster.

Tomorrow's examination was her personal trap, and Zyler couldn't wait to witness the spectacle.

...

Hera scurried into the exam hall, and she was the last student to arrive. At the entrance, the invigilator confiscated her phone and scanned her with a security detector before allowing her in. She was directed to the last row, where she found Cindy on her left and Zyler on her right.

Hera settled in empty-handed, which raised a suspicious glint in Zyler's eyes. Was she truly here to take the exam?

After Hear sat down, she caught Cindy stealing a glance and turned to face her.

"Hope you don't disappoint me," Cindy murmured.

Hera offered a nonchalant hum.

She then eyed Cindy's pencil case. "Any chance of borrowing a pen?"

Two late-night tasks had nearly made her miss the exam entirely. She was saved only by Bernard's forceful extraction from the bed. In her haste, she left behind her pens.

Cindy stared at her in disbelief. "Are you seriously here to take the exam?"

Hera's question hung in the dead silence, punctuated by a ripple of laughter.

Zyler's smug grin morphed into a sneer. "What are you gonna use a pen for when you're just going to hand in blank papers anyway?"

"You still need to write your name, even if you hand in a blank paper," another student chimed in.

Hera remained silent at their taunts.

Sensing the awkward tension, Cindy swiftly handed a pen into Hera's hand. Shen then turned to Zyler and said, "Zyler, focus on yourself before worrying about others. Can your injured hand even hold a pen?" "That's none of your business!" Zyler shot back.

The invigilator rapped his knuckles on the desk and announced, "Quiet, we're starting the exam now!"

Papers rustled as they were distributed.

Zyler scanned the questions, a triumphant grin splitting his face. Two of the major problems mirrored the materials he'd purchased.

What a lucky guess!

He breezed through one of the major questions, then stole a glance at Hera.

She hadn't even begun writing, her brows furrowed in concentration over the paper. Clearly, the questions were beyond her.

The only thorn in Zyler's side was Christopher. He had been admitted to Vardhar University last year, and he wouldn't be there to witness Hera's potential humiliation.

Just the thought of Christopher missing this glorious moment fueled Zyler's determination to crush Hera with his stellar examination performance.

Zyler buried his head back into the exam. As he tackled the final major problem and then returned to the multiple-choice questions, his peripheral vision caught Hera standing up while clutching her examination paper.

Was she leaving already? He glanced at the clock and realized it had only been half an hour.

Was she giving up?