Chapter 560 - 556: Know What’s Good for You

Disappointment showed on everyone’s faces, except for Julian Summers, who looked hesitant.

"Um, excuse my asking," Julian Summers timidly raised his hand and asked in a low voice, "do you girls... really care that much about this?"

Cecilia Sterling and the others looked at Julian Summers, their expressions uncannily identical, as if to say, ’What do you think?’

"I mean, not *all* women care about it, right...?" Julian Summers said uncertainly.

The "relationship guru" Jane Sterling stepped forward to give her take. "This isn’t necessarily the *number one* standard for a woman, but it’s definitely an important one. Based on my observations, women have two main attitudes about this. The first is like Cecilia and me—we care, and we’re not afraid to say so. The other type is the kind who won’t say anything, but secretly cares a *lot*."

"Simply put, everyone cares."

She then felt that wasn’t precise enough and quickly added, "Oh, right, there’s also a third type: girls who haven’t experienced it yet. But once they do, they’ll realize how important it is and start caring too."

In short, all roads lead to ’caring’!

Julian Summers processed this slowly and nodded. Cecilia Sterling eyed him from the side, then dropped a bombshell, "You’re not... bad at it, are you?"

"Don’t just say things like that!" Julian exclaimed in shock. "You can’t just go around saying things like that!"

His reaction made everyone burst out laughing. Jane Sterling went a step further, placing two oysters in front of him. "If you’re bad at it, eat up. This stuff works wonders!"

Julian Summers’s face flushed red from the girls’ teasing. He glanced over at Grant and saw that she was laughing too.

"You’re not allowed to laugh!" Julian’s expression soured.

Grant covered her mouth. "I’m sorry, Boss. I’m trying not to laugh..."

’Unless I can’t help it.’

「The next day」

The moment Cecilia Sterling opened her eyes, she saw that WhatsApp was flooded with dozens of messages.

’She didn’t even have to look. Wyatt Sherman must have gotten his phone back and spammed her with a ton of messages.’

She opened the app and skimmed through them. It was nothing but apologies and promises that he wouldn’t give in to his mother.

But deep down, Cecilia Sterling felt there was no need to turn this into a world war, and she had no desire to be dragged into it.

So she just sent a simple reply: "I spoke with your mother last night. This outcome was a mutual agreement. You don’t need to blame her."

She got out of bed, washed up, and left the dorm. Estelle was still sound asleep, buried under her blankets.

She was grabbing a quick bite for breakfast in the cafeteria when her WhatsApp chimed again. She thought it was a reply from Wyatt Sherman, but when she opened it, the message was from John Lawson.

"Come by my office today when you have a moment."

Cecilia Sterling blinked at the message and obediently replied, "On my way."

When she made her way to the office, it was just before morning classes, and the room was full of teachers. Cecilia Sterling’s knock on the door made all of them look up.

"Cecilia Sterling, come in." John Lawson beckoned from inside.

As she approached, John Lawson pushed a small stool toward her. "Have a seat."

Cecilia Sterling sat down obediently, her eyes instinctively assessing John Lawson’s condition. Before he could speak, she took the initiative. "Director Lawson, have you been feeling alright lately?"

"I’m fine," John Lawson said, pulling a form from his desk and placing it in front of her. "Cecilia Sterling, have a look for yourself."

Cecilia Sterling glanced at the sheet and gave a guilty smile.

"You’ve missed way too many classes. I can’t cover for you anymore," Director Lawson said with a sigh of resignation. "No matter how busy you are, you still have to meet the minimum attendance hours, don’t you? Did you even know your major has a new professor?"

Huh?

Cecilia Sterling shook her head.

’My major has a new professor?’

John Lawson looked utterly speechless. "Your primary identity right now is that of a student. And the most important things for a student are attending class and studying. Last semester is in the past, so I won’t rehash old grievances. But you can’t keep this up this semester. You have to start attending your classes properly."

"But Director Lawson, I passed all my classes, didn’t I?"

John Lawson’s eyes widened. "And I should thank you for not failing? If you had skipped class *and* failed, you’d be facing expulsion, you know that? You were specially admitted to this university. You should at least live up to the school’s expectations and your own entrance exam scores, shouldn’t you?"

"Yes, you’re right," Cecilia Sterling said with the expression of a student who has learned her lesson. The main reason was that Director Lawson had a condition and wasn’t supposed to get angry, so she didn’t dare talk back.

John Lawson was satisfied with her attitude and changed the subject. "There’s one other thing. You’ve been selected for the school team for the national collegiate The Radiant Sun Cup Physics and Math Olympiad."

"Wait!" Cecilia Sterling looked up in horror, quickly raising a hand in a ’stop’ gesture. "What did you just say?"

John Lawson knew she had heard him perfectly well, so he didn’t repeat himself. He just stared at her, his gaze unwavering.

Cecilia Sterling took a deep breath, refusing to accept this reality. "Director Lawson, I’ve missed so many classes. How could I possibly have made the school team? You didn’t pull some strings to get me in, did you? You’re setting me up to fail!"

John Lawson smiled and said slowly, "And why do you think that is? It’s because you’re brilliant. You can miss this many classes and still ace every exam. The university chose you because they recognize your talent and have complete faith in your abilities."

’You’d better know what’s good for you.’

Cecilia Sterling shook her head. "There has to be a catch. Director Lawson, how about this? I’ll make another donation to the school, and you can give my spot to someone else. I’m sure there’s someone who needs it more."

John Lawson’s eyes narrowed. "You can make the donation, but you also have to go to the competition."

Cecilia Sterling: "You can’t have your cake and eat it too! I’m donating for my freedom. It’s an equivalent exchange!"

"Not a chance. The list has already been submitted." With that, John Lawson stood up, ready to make his escape. "You should go. Don’t keep me from my work."

Cecilia Sterling: "?"

She returned to her classroom, her mind heavy. The moment she sat down, a classmate next to her looked over in surprise. "Whoa, Cecilia Sterling? You’re here again?"

"What a novelty," Cecilia Sterling laughed. "Am I not supposed to be here?"

"It is pretty novel. We hardly ever see you in morning classes."

Cecilia Sterling was rendered speechless. She knew it was her own fault; between the cemetery project and her sister-in-law having a baby, she had indeed missed a lot of classes since the semester began.

Cecilia Sterling replied, "I’ll be coming more often from now on. You’ll get used to it."

John Lawson soon sent over the information for the school team. There were six students and one faculty advisor. He told Cecilia Sterling to add the advisor on WhatsApp first.

Cecilia Sterling was, of course, completely unwilling. She had zero interest in a Physics and Math Olympiad. But since things had already come to this, she had no choice but to bite the bullet.

"Hello Professor, this is Cecilia Sterling."

She sent the friend request, and the other person accepted it almost immediately. Without a single word, they pulled her into a group chat.

The group was already in the middle of a conversation. Cecilia Sterling’s abrupt addition by the professor caught everyone off guard, and a message from one of the members popped up right at that moment.

"Is Cecilia Sterling ever going to show up? If not, let’s just replace her. She’s wasting everyone’s time."