In class, only Ethan Lowell, the class troublemaker, would dare to be so insolent. After all, he was the young master of the Lowell family from Kingsford!
Alex Warren immediately picked up the book and respectfully handed it back to Ethan Lowell, not daring to look at Aurora Sinclair again.
This was just a minor incident. Leon Barron paid it no mind, and the class continued.
Leon Barron explained things very slowly and in great detail. After every problem, he would glance at Aurora Sinclair, but the girl's expression never changed, not even her eyes, leaving him completely unsure if she understood any of it.
His pace became slower and slower. In a forty-five-minute class where he could have normally finished all the multiple-choice questions, he only managed to cover five or six.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class—
The hallway outside the classroom gradually grew noisy. Leon Barron assigned homework from the test paper, then said to the class publicity officer, Luna Jennings, "During the break, take Sinclair on a tour of the campus."
Luna Jennings was outgoing and popular with the other girls, so he felt more at ease having her show Aurora Sinclair around.
After Leon Barron left, the few hooligans in the back row uncharacteristically didn't bolt out of the classroom, instead waiting for Luna Jennings to come over.
"Sinclair, I'm Luna Jennings. You can call me Luna. I'll show you to the water fountain and the restroom."
Aurora Sinclair nodded and stood up straight away.
The moment they left, the classroom erupted in discussion.
"She's so beautiful. Our school beauty can step aside now!"
"Definitely. She's way prettier than Jean Quincy from the arts class!"
"Did you guys see her skin? From what I can tell, she's an all-natural beauty..."
"Then our class beauty is about to be replaced too..."
Mona Lowell, who had always been the Class 6 beauty, glanced at Ethan Lowell in the back row. Seeing no reaction from him, she pursed her lips.
A few girls on good terms with Mona Lowell immediately retorted, "What's so pretty about her? Her face is as lively as a coffin lid."
"Exactly! Anyone can act all cold and aloof."
Alex Warren didn't like hearing that. After all, he and Aurora Sinclair had the bond of being deskmates for a whole forty-five minutes.
"Mandy Warren, you're just jealous that she looks better without makeup than you do with it!"
Mandy Warren's cheeks flushed bright red as she weakly argued, "I'm not wearing makeup—"
But the group of hooligans, led by Alex Warren, didn't believe her at all. She was so angry she trembled all over and started chasing after Alex Warren, trying to hit him.
***
As Luna Jennings led Aurora Sinclair out of the classroom, students from other classes saw her, and they all started buzzing about who she was.
Some girls who knew Luna Jennings even came up to say hello.
Aurora Sinclair was reluctant to get close to others and her face was expressionless, giving off the cold aura of an unattainable beauty. As a result, within minutes, the title "Iceberg Beauty" had spread throughout the entire grade.
When Jean Quincy of the arts class heard this, she sneered in disdain. 'Just a stone-face, that's all!'
Some busybody posted a candid photo of Aurora Sinclair on the school's internal forum and started a "School Beauty" poll. In just one morning, Aurora's vote count overwhelmingly surpassed the original school beauty, Jean Quincy, making her the new, undisputed titleholder.
When it was time to change seats at noon, Leon Barron placed Aurora Sinclair in the third row. Her deskmate was Luna Jennings, and the students in front of and behind her were all top students. The former class beauty, Mona Lowell, was seated right in front of her. This showed how much importance Leon Barron placed on her!
He had no choice. The principal had given him a strict order the other day: he couldn't let Aurora Sinclair drag down Class 6's current average score, or he'd lose half a year's bonus!
***
Students at Kingsford No. 1 High School had to use meal cards to get food in the cafeteria. For this reason, Mona Lowell enthusiastically invited Aurora Sinclair to go with her.
The cafeteria was a bit far from the seniors' academic building, requiring them to cross the sports field.
Because of her "Iceberg Beauty" title, Aurora Sinclair drew many stares, especially from the boys playing on the basketball court.
"Look, here comes that beautiful transfer student!"
"Oh my God! She's even prettier in person than in the photo!"
Zeke Quincy, who was also playing on the court, glanced at the approaching Aurora Sinclair, then raised his hand and sank a three-pointer.
The girls who had been secretly watching him screamed instantly.
Aurora Sinclair stopped and watched Zeke Quincy for a moment, but he merely shot her a glance before turning away indifferently, as if he hadn't seen her, and continued playing.
A small smile played on the lips of Mona Lowell, who was standing beside her. "That's Zeke Quincy from Experimental Class A. He's from the Quincy family in Kingsford. Sinclair, do you know about Kingsford's Great Families?"
Aurora Sinclair shook her head.
Mona Lowell's smile widened. "There are many families in Kingsford, hundreds of them, big and small. But only seven truly stand at the top of the pyramid: the Morgan, Gu, Huang, Lockwood, Quincy, White, and Lowell families. Zeke Quincy is a Quincy. Even though he's from a branch family, that's still more than enough for ordinary people to look up to."
Mandy Warren, standing next to her, took the opportunity to point at Mona Lowell, her face full of shared pride. "Mona is a Lowell!"
***
The cafeteria wasn't very crowded at this point. Luna Jennings pulled Aurora Sinclair along to every service window, showing her how to get food and how to use her card.
"Aurora, after you get your food, you need to tap your student card on this black machine. It'll show your meal card information. The top number is the transaction amount, and the one below is your balance."
Aurora Sinclair nodded to show she understood and tapped her meal card on the machine.
BING—
12
9988
Luna Jennings: ...
'A student put ten thousand on their meal card?'
'Just how loaded is she?'
...
The spot Mona Lowell chose was by the window, at a table next to Jean Quincy's. The two belonged to the same social circle, so they were naturally chatting and laughing.
When Aurora Sinclair arrived, Jean Quincy still had a smile on her face. It was an expression Aurora had never seen on her before, and she couldn't help but look twice.
The moment Jean Quincy saw her, she fell silent. Her expression darkened, and she pretended not to know her, lowering her head to continue eating.
Mona Lowell smiled and waved Aurora Sinclair over. "Sinclair, sit here!"
Aurora Sinclair slowly walked over to the spot, which happened to be right across from Jean Quincy.
With a stern face, Jean Quincy suddenly sat up straight. "I'm done!" Then she stood up to leave.
Mona Lowell glanced at the half-eaten meal on her plate, a look of surprise on her face. "You're not eating any more?"
"I've lost my appetite!" A trace of disgust for Aurora Sinclair appeared in Jean Quincy's eyes as she hurried away.
The corners of Mona Lowell's mouth curved up slightly. "That's Jean Quincy, also from Kingsford's Quincy family. She and Zeke Quincy are twins."
Aurora Sinclair nodded and lowered her head, focusing on her meal.
Girls usually have small appetites. Girls from great families like Mona Lowell, in particular, paid close attention to maintaining their figures and didn't eat much for lunch.
She was stunned to see Aurora Sinclair finish a portion of rice almost as large as a boy's.
Recalling that Aurora Sinclair had said she was from Sunstone—some unknown little place—it all clicked for Mona. "Sinclair, if that's not enough food, you can go get more from the cafeteria. You can borrow my meal card!"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for all the surrounding students to hear.
A mocking smile appeared on Mandy Warren's face.
Luna Jennings put some meat from her plate onto Aurora's and replied with a smile, "Mona, don't worry. Aurora has over 9,000 on her card. That's enough to last her until graduation!"
"..."
That afternoon, a gossip thread appeared on the school forum.
[New School Beauty, Secretly Loaded?]
***
After the last class of the day at Kingsford No. 1 High School, there was an evening self-study session arranged for the seniors, which students could choose to attend or not.
The top students attended without fail; only troublemakers with poor grades, like Ethan Lowell, would skip it.
As soon as the bell rang, Aurora Sinclair began to slowly pack her things.
Luna Jennings asked in surprise, "Aurora, you're not staying for the evening study session?"
"Mm-hmm..." Aurora Sinclair zipped up her backpack.
"Alden from Experimental Class A is coming tonight to go over the physics test!"
"Mm-hmm..." She slung the backpack over her shoulder.
Luna Jennings: ...
'Alright then! My deskmate might be an academic ace!'
After the bell for the evening study session rang, Gloria Alden walked into Class 6, holding a stack of test papers.
She glanced at the empty seats of the absent students. Besides the usual few, there was now an additional one: Aurora Sinclair. Her expression soured instantly.
"Where is Aurora Sinclair?"
Luna Jennings replied, "She went home!"
Gloria Alden sneered. "Students these days... give them a bit of backing and they think they're all that. How dare she skip the evening study session with a score of 60?"