Chapter 160
Summer didn’t just withhold Aiden’s phone. She actually took a step back, defiance etched on her face. “Give me back my study notes, or you can kiss your phone goodbye.”
Aiden stared at her, his expression a mix of confusion and disbelief. “Study notes? I’m an eighth–grader. Why on earth would I want your notes? Are you kidding me?”
With a scoff, Summer shot back, “Play dumb all you want, Aiden. Who else would swipe my competition prep if not you? Remember how you suddenly turned all saintly at the Education Association and offered to walk me out? Was it then that you hatched this little plot?”
“Accusations without evidence? That’s low, even for you,” Aiden sneered, clearly irritated. “I told you, I didn’t take anything. And since you’re so high and mighty, why would you even need those notes?” He added impatiently, “Now give me back my phone.”
As he advanced to reclaim his device, Summer, livid, hurled the phone towards the doorway with all her might. It shattered into pieces upon impact.
Aiden’s face went ashen, his fists clenched in a brief moment of rage, but he managed to rein in the urge to strike back. With a venomous tone, he spat out a single word, “Scram.”
Summer’s confidence faltered under Aiden’s intimidating glare. She bit her lip and demanded one last time, “Where are my notes?!”
He watched her coldly, then unexpectedly, his lips curled into a mocking smile. “You want to know where your precious notes are? Apologize to me, and admit you were planning to cheat in the competition.”
At his words, Summer huffed, “I knew it was you.”
Shrugging nonchalantly, Aiden’s rebellious smirk returned.
Taking a deep breath, Summer faced him, her pride unshaken as she declared, “You just want to see me humiliated, don’t you? Well, I’ll never give you the satisfaction!”
With that, she strode toward the door. Pausing at the door, she tossed a scornful look over her shoulder. “Even without my notes, I’ll excel.”
“We’ll see about that,” Aiden retorted dryly. His gaze then fell on the remnants of his phone, and his expression soured once more.
“Women,” he thought bitterly, “are truly an infuriating species.”
The next day, the competition was still set at the local Education Center.
Shawn and Delilah took a break from sprucing up their new villa, and decided to accompany their daughter, just like they had for the previous round.
Before leaving, Delilah opened the storage cabinet to grab some things and noticed an
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Chapter 160
unopened package. Curiously, she picked it up. “Oh, honey, there’s a package here for you,” Delilah called out to Mirabella, who had just finished putting on her shoes at the entrance.
Mirabella glanced up. Her memory Jogged. She remembered Marlan had picked it up for her a couple of days ago, but it had slipped her mind. “It’s probably from a friend,” Mirabella replied nonchalantly.
“Alright then,” Delilah said, placing the package back in the cabinet before taking her own belongings and heading for the door.
Half an hour later, the family arrived at the Education Center. This round was more intense than the last city–level preliminaries, and the crowd of students and parents at the entrance was noticeably thinner.
After watching Mirabella enter the examination hall, Delilah and Shawn planned to wait at a nearby café. However, they’d barely taken a few steps when someone blocked their path.
