Chapter 598 - 594: Competing

On Monday morning, Cecilia Sterling was once again in the classroom on time for her early class.

Having promised John Lawson she would make up for the classes she missed, Cecilia had no intention of just making empty promises.

But, as expected, another breakfast had appeared in her desk drawer.

It was basically the same as last time.

She looked up to see the female classmate next to her staring with puppy-dog eyes.

Cecilia gave a resigned smile and casually handed the food to her. "Here, you eat it."

The classmate eagerly took it but handed the milk back to Cecilia. "I’m allergic to milk."

"Is this from... what’s-his-name again..." Cecilia trailed off, having forgotten the name.

The girl quickly reminded her, "Simon Spencer. He’s the one who left it."

Cecilia scanned the classroom. A lot of people had shown up for the early class today; the room of seventy or eighty was almost full, but she had no idea who Simon Spencer was.

"If he leaves it again tomorrow, can you help me tell him not to? I’m used to eating breakfast in the cafeteria," Cecilia instructed.

Munching on the pastry, the girl nodded eagerly. "Sure, I’ll let him know for you."

At noon, Cecilia arrived at the cafeteria and found Sheila Hughes waiting for her at the entrance.

She was wearing thick glasses, holding a stack of test papers in one arm and waving to Cecilia with her other hand.

Cecilia walked over, her eyes falling on the papers in Sheila’s hands. "That many?" she asked, surprised. "You don’t expect me to go over all of these with you in one lunch break, do you?"

Sheila Hughes smiled sheepishly. "No, no. Just pick a few typical problem types you think are important and explain those."

The two entered the cafeteria, and Sheila proactively asked, "Cecilia, what do you want to eat? My treat today, as a thank you."

The prices at Lorcain Tech’s cafeteria weren’t particularly expensive, but Cecilia still refused. "No need, I can buy my own. Let’s just find a spot to eat together, and I can go over the problems with you."

She remembered that Sheila Hughes was trying so hard to win because she wanted to place and get the prize money.

’Since she’s so focused on the prize money, her family’s financial situation probably isn’t great.’

Before Sheila could insist, Cecilia had already headed straight for the fast-food line.

Sheila watched her go, pressing her lips together. She knew Cecilia had likely done it on purpose, and her eyes couldn’t help but well up with gratitude.

After getting their food, the two sat side-by-side. Sheila couldn’t wait to pull out a set of problems. "Cecilia, take a look at this question."

Seeing this, Cecilia couldn’t help but laugh helplessly. "No rush. Let’s just focus on eating first. After we’re done, we can concentrate on other things. It’ll be more efficient that way."

Hearing this, Sheila nodded, a bit embarrassed. "Okay, let’s eat first then."

From a table not far away, Elias Warner had a clear view of the two of them. Yates Sanders and Lee Warner were with him.

"Elias, looks like those two girls are teaming up," Lee Warner couldn’t help but comment.

Elias Warner withdrew his gaze and started eating without a word.

To be honest, he was still reeling from the shock Cecilia had given him that day. Afterward, he had even gone to Mr. Stone to verify the truth about Cecilia’s performance on the first day’s test.

Mr. Stone had been watching over Cecilia’s shoulder the entire time, so he would definitely know what really happened.

The result was just as Cecilia had said: her answers on the scratch paper were all correct, but she had deliberately turned in a test with a score of zero, simply because she didn’t want to be the team captain.

Someone as proud as Elias Warner couldn’t easily accept this fact.

But he had no choice but to accept it.

But thinking about how he had looked down on, been hostile toward, and even deliberately targeted Cecilia from the very beginning, he felt an immense pressure in his chest.

But it wasn’t the guilt of self-reflection. It was the indignation and embarrassment of being publicly humiliated.

Yates Sanders and Lee Warner could sense some of this. But Cecilia’s ability was the real deal. As team captain, no matter how much Elias couldn’t accept it, there was probably no way for him to kick Cecilia off the team.

Now Sheila Hughes had taken the initiative to seek help from Cecilia to improve. They wondered if someone with a maverick personality like Cecilia’s would actually put her heart into helping.

Yates Sanders and Lee Warner exchanged a look—everything was understood without words—and obediently lowered their heads to eat.

Just then, they heard Elias Warner suddenly speak up. "After we finish eating, we’re doing problems. I brought a set of papers with new problem types. We’ll use the lunch break to go over them."

"Huh?" Yates Sanders’s face fell. He muttered under his breath, "But I wanted to go play basketball."

Elias Warner shot him a sharp glare. "What time do you think it is to be thinking about basketball? Do you really want to be left in the dust by the girls?"

As soon as he said that, the two of them understood. Elias was trying to compete with Cecilia through them.

’Cecilia is helping Sheila Hughes improve, so Elias is going to force the two of us to study?’

Lee Warner couldn’t help but offer a well-intentioned reminder. "Elias, Sheila Hughes’s score on the preliminary test was also better than ours."

"Then the two of you need to work even harder. Your scores on the next practice test must be higher than Sheila Hughes’s!" Elias said, his tone like a command.

Yates Sanders lamented silently, unable to resist glancing at the radiantly beautiful Cecilia. ’If I really have to improve, I’d rather learn from Cecilia,’ he thought. ’At least I’d have a pretty face to look at.’

’Not with a "tyrant" like Elias. I feel like a slave.’

’And a slave who doesn’t dare to get angry or speak out, at that.’

After lunch, Cecilia and Sheila Hughes cleared their table. Sheila still made a point to buy two cups of juice and offered one to Cecilia.

Cecilia didn’t refuse this time and began to focus on explaining the problems to her.

Cecilia’s train of thought was exceptionally clear, and her methods for breaking down the problems were very skillful. Sheila herself was quite smart, so as Cecilia explained, she would frequently show expressions of sudden understanding. She found it very easy to comprehend and absorb the material.

"Cecilia, you’re amazing! I thought this was one of the most complex problem types, but after hearing your explanation, I realize I was the one overcomplicating it."

Cecilia smiled. "As long as you understand, that’s what matters most."

As she spoke, she straightened up the papers and said to Sheila, "Let’s just go over these few types for today. They’re all pretty typical. Once you grasp them, similar problems won’t be difficult for you anymore."

Hearing this, Sheila nodded happily. "Okay, thank you, Cecilia! Can I add you on WhatsApp from the group chat? I’d like to be able to ask you if I have any more questions."

"No problem."

Just as they were about to get up and leave the cafeteria, they looked up and saw Elias Warner approaching their table.

The smile hadn’t yet faded from Cecilia’s face, but upon seeing him, her expression immediately turned cold.

She really couldn’t bring herself to be pleasant to this person, so she asked coolly, "Is there something you need?"

Elias Warner was holding two booklets. Faced with Cecilia’s unfriendly attitude, his own temper flared. He tossed the booklets onto the table. "This is..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the booklets slid across the table and knocked over the cup of juice in front of Cecilia.

Cecilia couldn’t dodge in time, and the rest of the juice spilled all over her new clothes.