《My Wife Act Differently Behind Me》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 On a rainy day in September, drizzle moisturized a mountain town and washed clean the stone streets This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. with a refreshing earthy smell in the air. An eighteen-year-old girl was on her way to the principal¡¯s office at the only high school in the town center. She dressed austerely, but it did not hide the fact that she was beautiful. However, her emotionless eyes made her look sullen and unapproachable. ¡°Mr. Barrett, herees Nicole.¡± ss teacher, Ms. Mills, led the way for Nicole. Nicole Wace looked at her with some surprise, wondering why Ms. Mills was suddenly so nice to her. Ms. Mills was someone who ced great importance on family background in the selection of ss ¡°Let her in.¡± The principal was equally excited; even his voice was a little trembling. Nicole slowly chuckled as soon as she stepped into the principal¡¯s office. It turned out to be because of him. On the VIP sofa in the principal¡¯s office sat a tall man, dressed in an expensive suit, looking like a social elite, but his facial features were like hers. Nicole was studying the man just as the man was studying her. He initially nned to go to the hospital with her for a DNA test, but now it seemed unnecessary. She was a dead ringer for her mother with the same fine facial features and fair and delicate skin. Her beauty was hard to conceal, even if she dressed casually. Yet the most striking thing was her eyes. She was only seventeen or eighteen, but there was a hint of unfathomable iciness in her eyes. Seeing him staring at herself, Nicole frowned and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± She had always known that she was not her grandmother¡¯s biological granddaughter, and she had thought that one day her birth family woulde looking for her. She thought her biological parents woulde. This man was way too young. A hint of frustration shed in the man¡¯s deep-set eyes, and he said, ¡°I am your elder brother.¡± ¡°Nicole, why have you never mentioned to us that your brother is the general manager of the Riddle Corporation in San Joto?¡± Mr. Barrett could not help but say. Nicole rolled her eyes secretly; she had just learned that, for god¡¯s sake. Three years ago, her parents had died in a car ident, and only then her grandmother told her the truth ¡ª she was adopted by them when she was a child. No wonder her adoptive parents had been so cold to her and left her in the countryside. After the death of her adoptive parents, her grandma registered her at the welfare office, waiting for her biological family toe to reunite with her. Nicole did not expect that this day woulde, much less her brother was the general manager of Riddle Corporation, a famous name in San Joto. ¡°Are you really my brother?¡± Nicole had a hard time believing such a plot twist. ¡°Yeah, you have four brothers besides me,¡± the man named Sean Riddle spoke gently. ¡°Four?¡± Nicole frowned. It turned out that things were far from what she had imagined all this time. She could hardly imagine what it would be like to have four elder brothers. It would probably be noisy. Seeing that Nicole was deep in thought, Mrs. Wace Sr. said to Sean politely, ¡°Nicole is more introverted. She needs time to adapt. Hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°Mrs. Wace, I won¡¯t mind.¡± Sean got up with a polite smile and then took out a gift box from his backpack. ¡°Nicole, this is the first time we met. This is for you.¡± Mr. Barrett quickly stood up and tried to butter Nicole up. ¡°It is so nice of your brother, Nicole. You should ept the gift. I can see that you and your brother are really close. Please remember your ssmates and us after the school transfer.¡± Hearing Mr. Barrett¡¯s words, Sean¡¯s face turned stony, and he nced back at Mr. Barrett and said indifferently. ¡°Mr. Barrett, Great Oak High School has nurtured my sister for so many years, and we will return the favor by donating money to build the campus.¡± The Riddle family would owe no one debt of gratitude. Mr. Barrett¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That is great! Thank you, Mr. Riddle.¡± His brother¡¯s generosity impressed Nicole, who atst epted the gift out of politeness. Mr. Barrett gave some more ttery talks before he and his headteacher saw them out. There was a Rolls-Royce parked up in front of the school, surrounded by other luxury cars, which had long attracted attention. Regina Wynn was stopped by her buddy as soon as she got out of a car. ¡°Regina, here you are!¡± She rolled her eyes at her buddy, yet her attention was on the Rolls-Royce. ¡°Whose car is that?¡± As the daughter of a member of the school¡¯s board of directors, she got all the attention all the time until today, when this Rolls-Royce came along. ¡°I heard that the general manager of Riddle Corporation came to our school.¡± ¡°Riddle Corporation?¡± Regina thought, ¡®It is San Joto¡¯s biggest corporation. Even my dad couldn¡¯t find a way to work with them. What is the guy from Riddle Corporation doing here? Invest in this poor school?¡¯ ¡°No, I heard he came to pick up his sister.¡± ¡°Pick up his sister?¡± Regina was stunned. ¡°Are you sure about that? Why would someone from the Riddle family want to study at this goddamn school?¡± While the two people were talking, behind them, the principal and a group of headteachers were apanying a tall man and Nicole to walk out of the school. ¡°Regina, the tall man is the general manager of Riddle Corporation,¡± her buddy said with a trembling voice. Regina was astounded as she turned around. If that man was the general manager of Riddle Corporation, then the girl next to him should be his sister. But that girl turned out to be Nicole, the bumpkin she hated and despised the most. Regina¡¯s face changed drastically. She could not believe that Nicole was actually from the Riddle family. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Regina was not in the same league as Nicole, both in looks and studies. She even did not expect that her family background, which she had always been proud of, waspletely eclipsed by Nicole¡¯s, and this made her feel jealous to the extreme. ¡°Get in the car, Nicole.¡± In full view of everyone, Sean helped Nicole open the car door like a gentleman as he looked at her with gentle eyes. ¡°He is so charming. If only I could have such a charming and rich brother.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m really envious of her.¡± Regina listened to the discussion with the jealousy and hatred in her surging like a stormy sea. So, she deliberately shouted, ¡°What is there to be proud of? She is just a bumpkin. She thinks she can be a social elite overnight?¡± Nicole was about to get into the car and paused when she heard that. Now, even Sean¡¯s eyes had darkened. ¡°What the hell are you talking about, Regina?¡± Ms. Mills looked displeased. Mr. Barrett recognized this daughter of a board member, but he still could not afford to offend the Riddles. He immediately rebuked Ms. Mills. ¡°Is this the student council president you have appointed?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Nicole promptly fanned the me. ¡°Ms. Mills, the behavior of student cadres affects the school¡¯s image. The next time you select someone, select someone with a brain, not just someone who could pay you.¡± Ms. Mills did not expect Nicole to mention that she received mary benefit by appointing the student council president. Right now, she felt a burning sensation on her face because of the humiliation. When she removed Nicole and appointed Regina to be the student council president, she had gotten a green light from Mr. Barrett. Seeing Nicole displeased, Sean nced at Mr. Barrett and said in an icy voice, ¡°You know what to do, Mr. Barrett.¡± Thinking back to how she had helped Regina look for trouble with Nicole all these days, Ms. Mills¡¯ face turned pale immediately. Mr. Barrett immediately scolded her, ¡°Shame on you, Ms. Mills!¡± He then turned to Sea. ¡°I will fire her immediately, Mr. Riddle.¡± Ms. Mills was dumbfounded. So did Regina, realizing that her position as the chairman that she bought with money had ended. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Nicole.¡± Sean pulled back his gaze, and his frosty expression instantly dissipated as he smiled at Nicole. At first, Nicole just wanted to stir the pot a little to scare them, not expecting Sean to stand up for her. She now felt a little fonder of this strange brother. It felt good to have a brother. ¡°Okay.¡± Nicole got in the car, and Sean drove her and Mrs. Wace Sr. away, leaving behind everyone looking in surprise and envy. The Rolls-Royce soon arrived at Nicole¡¯s little house, where she and her grandmother lived together. Sean followed Nicole to pick up her luggage. There were only a few things that Nicole had with her: a notebook, a school bag, and a few pieces of clothing. ¡°Less is more. When we get to San Joto, we will buy you new ones.¡± Sean said thoughtfully, not wanting Nicole to overthink. ¡°I don¡¯t like too many things,¡± Nicole said while holding her grandma. She had always been averse to trouble, so she liked it simple. Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. When the driver heard this, he was so shocked that his eyeballs almost fell out of their sockets. As the general manager of Riddle Corporation, people were scrambling to please Sean. Yet, this girl rejected him when he offered to buy her things for the first time. Thinking of the fate of those who had offended Sean previously, the driver did not dare to make a sound but stood by the side of the car, trying to reduce his sense of presence. But to his surprise, Sean just let out a nonchnt smile, doting on Nicole like no tomorrow. ¡°No problem.¡± The driver could not be more surprised. Sean seemed to be very gentle with his lost-and-found sister. The treatment he gave to this sister was something not even the existing sister could enjoy. Before getting into the car, Nicole repeatedly told her grandmother not to see them out. Her usual emotionless eyes turned gentle as she said, ¡°Grandma, I wille back to see you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Mrs. Wace Sr. nodded with tears in her eyes and then reluctantly let go of Nicole¡¯s hand and watched her get into the car. As the car drove on, Nicole retracted her gaze only when Mrs. Wace Sr. grew smaller and smaller before disappearing in the rearview mirror. ¡°If you want, you can take her to San Joto and live with her. I will arrange a ce for her to settle down,¡± Sean said with concern when he saw the pain in her eyes. ¡°It is okay. Everyone knows each other in the small town. She will not get used to it when she goes to San Joto.¡± Otherwise, she would have asked her grandmother to go with her a long time ago. Not expecting that Nicole was so thoughtful, Sean started to feel sorry and like her even more. He said nothing further and gave her some space. Nicole looked out the window as the town she had been living in was getting farther and farther away behind her. After leaving her grandmother, she would no longer have to conceal herself. The car drove on for hours before they finally reached San Joto. ¡°Here we are. Dad and Mom are waiting for you.¡± Sean pointed toward the Riddle family house. She did not know who the Riddle family was, but judging by the manor and the massive house that no ordinary people could afford, she could tell that they must be super-rich. But Nicole was not as excited and surprised as girls from other ordinary families would react. She just nodded gently. After the rest of them got out of the car, she followed Sean into the house. As she walked past the oil painting gallery by the door, the family butler gave her a tour and exined the famous paintings, all of which were of great value. Nicole looked at them and thought to herself quietly, not revealing anything on her face. Two of these famous paintings were fake, but the quality of the imitation was not half bad. No one except her and two other experts in the world could tell that these two paintings were fake. After a while, they came to a hall where Nicole saw three people. A couple, neatly dressed, was sitting on the sofa and a young girl about her age was on the side. ¡°Grandpa, Mom, Dad. I have brought my sister back.¡± As soon as Sean¡¯s voice trailed off, Gloria Holder and Daniel Riddle saw a tall girl walk in behind Sean. The girl was slim, her skin delicate like gtin. Although she dressed simply, she was graceful with beautiful eyes. People simply could not take their eyes off her when they saw her. The moment Gloria saw Nicole, her eyes welled up instantly. ¡°It is her; it is my daughter!¡± Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Bloodline was something amazing. Even though Gloria had not seen Nicole for many years, she could recognize the girl in front of her to be Nicole, her biological daughter, at first nce. Nicole also had this special feeling. So, when Gloria rushed over and hugged her, she did not resist. ¡°Oh, Nicole, I have finally found you.¡± Gloria choked up. ¡°It was my fault for not protecting you well enough. I was to me for your abduction.¡± So, her abduction was real. Nicole used to wonder why her family abandoned her. Was it because she was a daughter? Now knowing that her loved ones cared about her, Nicole¡¯s heart softened, and the look on her face was not as stony as when they first met. ¡°Mom, let sis sit down first. We havee all the way home, and she should be tired by now.¡± Sean reminded Gloria thoughtfully. ¡°Right, right. I am just too happy.¡± Gloria agreed but did not let go of her grip. She sat Nicole down. Seeing the entire family surrounding Nicole, a hint of jealousy shed in the eyes of the girl next to them. But the girl quickly put on a smile. ¡°Nicole must be thirsty. Let me pour you a ss of water.¡± Only then everyone remembered the girl, Norah Riddle. Seeing Norah so thoughtful, Gloria could not help but feel warmhearted. ¡°Norah is so thoughtful.¡± Norah looked a little bashful as she said, ¡°My sister has just returned from the countryside. I should take care of her more.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Nicole shot her a nce as she took the ss from Norah. Sean noticed Nicole¡¯s gaze and made the introduction. ¡°Nicole, this is Norah, whom I have mentioned on the way.¡± ¡°Ahh,¡± Nicole responded. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Sean mentioned that Gloria and Daniel had not continued to look for Nicole because they had found a child with a birthmark behind her ear in the third year of Nicole¡¯s abduction. So, they mistook Norah as their daughter and did not continue the search. It was not until recently that the police suddenly informed them that the DNA data uploaded years ago had a match. The Riddle family knew they had identified the wrong person. But Norah had been in the Riddle family for so many years, and Gloria and Daniel could not bear to send her away summarily. So, they let Norah stay, promising to help her find her familyter. In other words, they would need to spend some time under the same roof. ¡°Nice to meet you, Nicole.¡± Norah held out her hand with a friendly smile. Nicole had a cold temperament and did not like physical contact with people. She was not too warmed up to seeing her parents again, let alone facing strangers. So, she ignored Norah¡¯s hand and just nodded at her. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Norah¡¯s hand stayed in the air, and she looked at Gloria and Daniel with a hint of hurt feeling in her eyes. It was like Nicole had bullied her. Sean frowned. ¡°Nicole is introverted. Please don¡¯t mind.¡± Norah bit her lip with a stoic but thoughtful look. ¡°I understand. I have lived using her identity for so many years. She has a reason to hate me. I am fine, Sean.¡± Norah¡¯s words instantly had everyone¡¯s attention on her. ¡°No, Norah, don¡¯t overthink.¡± Gloria looked at Norah, feeling sorry for her. Even though Norah was not her biological daughter, she had raised her and still loved her. Nicole smirked, hating to see Norah making a fuss while saying hello. This person was really interesting. ¡°You look hurt and assume that I hate you while saying hello. If it weren¡¯t for the presence of my parents and brothers, they might have thought I bullied you.¡± The other three people stayed silent upon hearing what Nicole said. At first, Sean furrowed his brow when he heard what Norah had said. But now, his frown had eased up, and he looked with appreciation at his newfound sister in front of him. Daniel also realized something, and he nced at Norah and said, ¡°Well, Nicole has just returned. Don¡¯t get too sensitive.¡± Norah bit her lip and nced at Nicole. At first, she thought that since Nicole was from the countryside, she must be a typical country bumpkin. But Nicole turned out to be extremely beautiful and a tough opponent. Norah collected herself and immediately apologized. ¡°It was my fault. I am sorry that I was being too sensitive. You are right, Nicole. I shouldn¡¯t assume too much.¡± Seeing Norah¡¯s tactful response, Nicole did not pursue the matter further. She looked back at the elders and asked, ¡°Where is my room? I would like to unpack my stuff.¡± Gloria got up with a smile. ¡°On the second floor. Let me show you.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Nicole nodded and went upstairs with Gloria and Daniel. The happy smile of the family of three stung Norah¡¯s eyes. Before Nicole returned, all the favors of her parents were hers. But now, when they knew she was not their biological daughter, they gave all their love to Nicole. ¡°Norah,¡± Sean suddenly spoke. Norah immediately fought back the emotion in her eyes and smiled. ¡°What¡¯s up, Sean?¡± Sean took a hard look at Norah, hoping that the dismal look he had just seen in her eyes was not true. ¡°Nicole has just returned. Your second brother and I are busy at work, and your third and fourth brothers are in school. I need you to take care of Nicole for a few days before she gets to her new school.¡± It was Nicole again. Norah was upset but still put on a smile. ¡°Sure, Sean. You can count on me.¡± Sean was relieved. ¡°I have also passed your DNA data to the police, and I believe there will be results soon. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°All right.¡± Norah¡¯s voice was unnatural as hatred grew inside her. Were they so desperate to kick her out of the family so that they could be reunited as a family? Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Chapter 4 Norah gritted her teeth quietly as her resentment of Nicole grew even more. Sean was really busy. He headed back to his office right afterward. Gloria dragged Nicole into a room that faced east on the second floor. The corner of Nicole¡¯s mouth twitched when she saw everything inside the room was rose pink, very girly. ¡°We don¡¯t know what you like, but thinking that you are also a girl, we asked Norah for advice, and she chose many things here for you.¡± Gloria¡¯s eyes were filled with tenderness when talking about Norah. ¡°Ahem.¡± Daniel was afraid that Nicole would think too much and quickly signaled to Gloria. Gloria came to her senses and became cautious when she spoke. ¡°Do you like it?¡± Nicole had never been picky about these things. Just that things were a little over the top for her, but she still epted their kindness. ¡°Thank you.¡± Gloria was relieved that her daughter still liked it, so she followed up and continued. ¡°Those gifts on the table are from your other brothers. They have all gone to work and school today, usually noting back often. So, they have left the gifts here in advance.¡± It was so heartwarming to know that her brothers still had her at heart, Nicole thought. Gloria was afraid that Nicole did not know how to use the facilities in the room, so she showed her how to. After that, she sat Nicole down on the bed with an avuncr look on her face. ¡°This is your home, so please feel at ease. If you need anything, just tell me, okay?¡± With her mother holding her hand, Nicole once again felt the closeness of this mother-daughter rtionship. It felt a little ufortable, but it was also heartwarming. She could not help but nod her head awkwardly. ¡°Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad.¡± Daniel had said nothing, but he immediately broke out in a smile when Nicole called him Dad. The two chatted for a while, and then they left Nicole alone so that she could rest up. Nicole now felt extra rxed lying in the bathtub. She had always wanted to install a bathtub at her grandmother¡¯s house but was afraid that her grandmother would be worried, thinking that her money came from an unknown source. So, she really had not gotten the chance to do it even though she had the money. She could not take care of her grandmother anymore aftering to San Joto, but at least, she did not have to hide her identity anymore. After taking a bath, it was not yet dinner time. Nicole nned to take a stroll outside to familiarize herself with the environment and make her work easier in the future. But before she could leave, a maid approached and invited her to the living room. As soon as she came downstairs, she saw an old man sitting on the sofa. Daniel saw Nicole and immediately beckoned her over to sit down. ¡°Nicole, this is your grandpa.¡± Nicole had been living in a small town, but she hade into contact with many people, especially those from the upper social ss. The old man looked over seventy, but was still in good health. He had that authoritative persona typical of a patriarch of a family elder in him. Nicole bowed her head slightly as she greeted Mr. Riddle Sr. with respect. ¡°Hello, Grandpa.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. responded, then studied Nicole carefully before retracting his gaze. ¡°She really looks like Sean and other brothers. I asked you to do a DNA test previously, but you didn¡¯t listen.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. did not mention who, but there was no difference from saying Norah¡¯s name aloud. Yet he did not care but continued, ¡°Since the real one is back now, when are you going to send the fake one away?¡± Nicole was startled slightly. It looked like Mr. Riddle Sr. did not like Norah. ¡°Dad, what you said will hurt Norah dearly.¡± Gloria could not bear to hear that. Mr. Riddle Sr. did not look at her. ¡°If it were not for her, my granddaughter would not have lived out there for so many years. Our family has raised her for so many years, and we have never asked her to pay back. How can it hurt?¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. knew what he was talking about, and that made Nicole respect him. Daniel saw Norah¡¯s awkward expression and said, ¡°Norah, why don¡¯t you return to your room first?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± As reluctant as Norah was, she did not want to stay here and get humiliated, so she hurried back to her room. ¡°Dad, Sean is in the midst of searching for Norah¡¯s parents. She will be sent back to her parents once we find them.¡± Daniel tried to reassure Mr. Riddle Sr. Mr. Riddle Sr. frowned. ¡°Are you still keeping her at home if you can¡¯t find her parents?¡± Gloria was stunned for a moment, looking in a pickle. ¡°Dad, I know that you are kind to us, but Norah has lived with us for so many years. I don¡¯t want her to leave without a home.¡± Nicole looked at Gloria, whose sincere expression told her that Gloria was a kind and soft-hearted person. Mr. Riddle Sr. hesitated for a moment but still said resolutely, ¡°Three months, at most three months, she must be sent away. I don¡¯t want people tough at the Riddle family that we have raised children for others.¡± Daniel understood Mr. Riddle Sr. ¡®s concern and nodded. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t worry. I will find Norah¡¯s parents soonest.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. nodded. Meanwhile, no one noticed Norah was hiding in the corner upstairs, staring at Nicole angrily. Mr. Riddle Sr. had never liked her from the beginning. Now that Nicole was back, she became a She would definitely make Mr. Riddle Sr. realize that she was a thousand times better than that country girl. Mr. Riddle Sr. looked back at Nicole. The longer he looked, the more he liked her. After all, she was his biological granddaughter. When the other old guys talked about their granddaughters next time, he C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. could finally join them and talk about his precious granddaughter. ¡°I heard you went to high school at Great Oak. How was your academic performance?¡± ¡°Dad, the quality of education in small towns is no way as good as ours here, so don¡¯t put pressure on her.¡± Knowing Mr. Riddle Sr. was a straight talker, Gloria came to Nicole¡¯s defense, afraid that the question was too hard for Nicole to handle. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Chapter 5 After all, there was a vast difference between the quality of education in small towns and San Joto. Mr. Riddle Sr. frowned upon hearing that. Gloria had a point. What good teachers could a school in a small town have? Mr. Riddle Sr. took a deep breath, put down his teacup, and looked at Daniel with a serious face. ¡°Arrange a school for Nicole as soon as possible. The children of the Riddle family should not be left behind.¡± Nicole raised an eyebrow slightly as she could tell that Mr. Riddle Sr. was bold in his decision and quick in action, which was a trait she liked. It was just that things like grades were¡­ Just then, Daniel had already made a guarantee. ¡°I know, Dad. I will arrange it.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. nodded and looked at Nicole again. ¡°I know the quality of education in small towns is not ideal, but all my grandchildren are in the top five of the grades in every exam. You can¡¯t let me down, you know?¡± Seeing that Mr. Riddle Sr. cared so much about results, Nicole had no choice. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Grandpa.¡± She would not want to lose face herself, even if it was not for him. ¡°Good girl.¡± Seeing Nicole¡¯s confidence and decorum, Mr. Riddle Sr. was very happy. He ordered the family butler, ¡°I will go back today, and in a few days, you are to take Nicole back to my house so everyone will have a meal together.¡± Daniel and Gloria¡¯s faces changed. ¡°Dad¡­ Is that necessary?¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. had four sons. The eldest son was a business wizard, the second a business magnate, the third a banking giant. Only Daniel, because of poor health, had not been involved in the business of Riddle Corporation, but moved out early to have his own life. So was the reason his rtionship with his three brothers was less close, and they rarely interacted with each other. They would only head over to Mr. Riddle Sr.¡¯s house during his birthday and festive seasons. Even then, every time they got together, Gloria and Daniel would inevitably be taunted by the other three couples. Gloria had had enough. Nicole¡¯s return was a good thing, but the thought of her daughter having to face these people with her made her feel bad. ¡°Dad is right. Nicole has just returned, and all family members need to get to know each other,¡± Daniel said indifferently. ¡°Besides, I n to send Nicole to Royal Creek Institute, and I need eldest brother¡¯s help.¡± The Royal Creek Institute, divided into a university and a high school, was the most outstanding educational institution in San Joto, and the quality of education was guaranteed. Just that entry criteria were also high. Daniel wanted nothing less for his daughter, and so he was adamant about getting her into Royal Creek Institute. ¡°Is Royal Creek Institute good?¡± Nicole squinted slightly, not having much knowledge about this school. But she knew someone there, at least. ¡°Of course. It is the best school in San Joto. Your brothers are all attending that school. If you have also entered the high school of Royal Creek Institute, they can take care of you,¡± Daniel said affectionately. ¡°Royal Creek Institute is good, indeed. But¡­ When Dad asked Damien to help Samuel get a ce in the schoolst time, his wife was very reluctant. This time she would be even more reluctant, I guess,¡± Gloria said with concern. ¡°Why don¡¯t we think of another way?¡± The Holder family also had some connections. Gloria had to give it a shot for the sake of her daughter. ¡°It is alright. Damien and his wife are trouble averse, but they are not bad people. They will just grouse about it. All I need is for Nicole to get a ce in Royal Creek Institute.¡± Daniel whispered. He would do everything he could. ¡°Daniel¡­¡± Gloria was grateful, but it also pained her to see him having to do that. Seeing her parents were willing to do anything for her, Nicole blinked, unsure if she should tell them she knew someone in Royal Creek Institute. Just then, Mr. Riddle Sr. spoke. ¡°Daniel is right. Damien will help. Even if they were reluctant to do it, Nicole still has my support. Fear not.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. spoke emphatically, his eyespletely filled with the look of a doting grandfather. He would be thankful if his sons did not drive him to his early grave. Now that he had finally found his biological granddaughter, it was natural that he doted on her like a little princess. Words choked in Nicole¡¯s throat. For the first time in her life, she felt warmth from her family¡¯s protection. So, she had decided that she would figure it out for herself and would not want them to worry about her too much. Mr. Riddle Sr. talked for a few moments about Nicole before reluctantly leaving without staying for dinner. After Mr. Riddle Sr. left, Daniel and Gloria went upstairs to rest. Nicole then took out her phone,posed a text message, and sent it out. Just when she was about to go upstairs, someone stood in her way. ¡°Did I hear it correctly when I was about toe downstairs that Dad and Mom were going to send you to the high school of Royal Creek Institute?¡± Nicole silently stepped up a flight of steps to the left, on the same level as Norah, but pulled away some distance from her. She then nodded and said, ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a problem, just that you will only drag the feet of others in Royal Creek Institute if you are not good enough. It would not look good if you can¡¯t keep up and overstretch yourself.¡± Looking at Norah pretending to be concerned about her, Nicole smirked and said, ¡°Oh, so what is your opinion?¡± Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. Nicole¡¯s sudden outpouring of rowdiness threw Norah off-guard. Norah calmed herself down before saying, ¡°Dad and Mom are going to great lengths to send you to the high school of Royal Creek Institute, but your poor grades will ruin it all. It would be better for you to propose to go to another school.¡± Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Chapter 6 If Nicole sessfully entered the high school of Royal Creek Institute, she would be a sophomore just like her. What if they were in the same ss? The thought of these made Norah sick. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t let Dad and Mom worry about it. I can get into Royal Creek Institute by myself,¡± Nicole responded indifferently. ¡°What?¡± Norah was stunned. ¡°How do you get in by yourself?¡± She was just a high school student from the countryside, and she said she could enter Royal Creek Institute? Was it not that she was just bragging? ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± It was tiring tomunicate with such a person. Nicole¡¯s smile faded from her face, and she went straight upstairs. Norah looked at Nicole¡¯s back, her eyes full of indignation. ¡°I would want to see how you, a country girl, could get into Royal Creek Institute.¡± The next day was the weekend. Nicole got up early to go for a morning run. This was her habit for many years. After the morning run, she found a quiet ce and started practicing her skills. She needed constant practice to keep her skills in a tip-top state. It was almost seven when she returned. As soon as she entered the door, Norah saw that Gloria and Daniel were already waiting for her, and Norah was also standing beside them. ¡°Where have you been? Dad and Mom were worried about you when they saw you were not here.¡± Norah saw Nicole approaching and spoke out to me her preemptively. Nicole frowned iprehensibly. ¡°I just went out for a morning run. Is there anything urgent?¡± Gloria was relieved. ¡°No wonder. Exercise is indeed a good habit.¡± But Norah would not easily take that for an answer. ¡°No matter what I did before, I would tell Dad and Mom in advance so that they would not worry about me. You need to take care of Mom¡¯s feelings, you know?¡± Norah effortlessly brought the topic back. ¡°You all had not gotten up when I went out for morning exercise. Besides, I told the family butler.¡± Nicole looked nonchntly at Norah, wanting to see what other charges Norah could dish out at her. ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°It is just a small matter. There is no need to make a fuss about it. Let¡¯s all sit down and have breakfast.¡± Danial suddenly interrupted before Norah could continue. Norah¡¯s face changed dramatically. In the past, she used to joke like this, grumbling about her brothers for making their parents worry about them, and her father had never reproved her like this. But everything changed after Nicole returned. Feeling hurt, Norah suddenly said, ¡°Does Dad think I am nosy? But I have been doing this all this while. Did I do it wrong?¡± Norah was born with an adorable face and looked pitiful as soon as her eyes welled up. Daniel could not help but wonder if he had said things too harshly. But Nicole, who was standing on the sidelines, had lost patience with Norah¡¯s acting. ¡°You did the right thing, but I am not a replica of you.¡± What Nicole said caused Daniel and Gloria to remember that they must ept the difference between Nicole and Norah. ¡°Nicole is right. Mom will not treat you like a replica of anyone, as long as you are happy to be yourself.¡± Gloria reached out to help Nicole sort her sideburns. She only wanted her daughter to be happy, and nothing else mattered. But all this looked different in Norah¡¯s eyes. Before this, she would try to do her best, trying to please Gloria and Daniel in whatever she did, as she was afraid that such a good life would just be a dream. When the dream ended, she would return to the previous hard days. Now, her fears hade true. Their biological daughter was back, and they indulged Nicole, no matter what she did. But what about her? Had all her previous efforts been in vain? Norah felt miserable and no longer cared to keep her image as a good elder sister. She turned around and said, ¡°Mom, Dad, please enjoy your meal, but I will have to go upstairs first.¡± ¡°Norah¡­¡± Gloria tried to stop her, but Daniel stopped her, motioning for her to take care of Nicole¡¯s feelings. Afraid that Nicole would feel left out in the cold, Gloria stayed and looked at Nicole. ¡°Look at you, you are drenched in sweat. Go get changed, and thene down for breakfast.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Nicole did not want to make her parents¡¯ life any harder, either, so she turned and went upstairs. Seeing that both daughters were gone, Daniel said, ¡°Do you now know why Dad asked you to send Norah away earlier?¡± Nobody is a saint. Facing their own daughter, who they had lost for many years, and the adopted daughter, who had stayed with them and enjoyed a good life for many years, inevitably, there will be favoritism and imbnce. What Mr. Riddle Sr. was trying to do was to protect both sides. He did not want to see the rtionship between the Riddle family and Norah of so many years end up breaking. ¡°Now I know.¡± Sadness filled Gloria¡¯s eyes. C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. The longer Norah stayed, the sadder everyone would be. After lunch, Gloria brought Nicole to go shopping at the mall. Because Nicole had so few belongings. Gloria was afraid that Nicole was being too considerate and stubborn, not wanting to request for anything. She did not want Nicole to feel unfairly treated. Norah was also apanying them. As soon as they entered the mall, Norah gleefully picked up clothes and bags as if she had forgotten entirely about what happened in the morning. ¡°Mom, do you think I look good in this dress?¡± ¡°Absolutely. Nicole, why don¡¯t you pick some for yourself?¡± Gloria was still mindful of what happened in the morning, afraid of neglecting Norah while snubbing Nicole. She had to keep a delicate bnce. Knowing that Gloria was caught between a rock and a hard ce, Nicole asked her to apany Norah while she browsed the clothes in the store by herself. She always liked things simple yet decent, but this boutique that Norah hade to was selling shy clothes. So, Nicole just browsed for a short while and said, ¡°Mom, I want to go somewhere else.¡± Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Chapter 7 ¡°You found nothing you like? I think this one is not bad.¡± Gloria immediately came over to show her a piece of dress. Norah was jealous that her mom went away as soon as Nicole called her. So, when she saw the clothes in their hands, she went over to them with a n. ¡°Mom, this dress looks wonderful, but it is too expensive. Besides, not everyone will look good in it.¡± So, was Norah insinuating that she did not look good enough to wear that dress? Nicole cocked an eyebrow and said, ¡°I am not so fond of a dress like this, but since you have said so, I have got to try it.¡± ¡°Okay, try it.¡± Gloria¡¯s eyes lit up as she instinctively knew that this dress suited Nicole, and so she hurriedly urged her. Norah did not expect Nicole to say that, and she felt upset at the moment. This hillbilly really dared to try. Nicole took the dress and disappeared into the fitting room. It was not long before she drew open the door curtain and appeared in this gorgeous dress. She was used to wearing just pants that were convenient for her to move around. By wearing a dress suddenly, she felt naked. Nicole usually dressed more casually, but thanks to her curvy body lines, she still looked great, even smart, in T-shirts and pants. Changing into this white dress would not look weird, but make her look skin gtinous and beautiful. After letting her long hair down, Nicole and Gloria looked even more alike, so too their temperament. ¡°Youngdy, you look beautiful in this dress.¡± ¡°Many people have tried this dress, but none of them look as good as you in it.¡± The boutique manager sounded ttery, but it was true. Gloria¡¯s eyes were also filled with tion. ¡°This dress it is. It couldn¡¯t look any better on you.¡± Norah looked jealous, as much as surprised. ¡°Mom, I like this too. Can I try it?¡± She was the one who was raised in a wealthy family, so she did not believe that she would lose to a hillbilly. The boutique manager was caught in the middle. ¡°I am sorry, the clothes in our boutique are all handmade, and this dress is a limited edition of the season, so there is only one piece.¡± Gloria was also in a predicament. But seeing that Nicole looked so gorgeous in that dress, she could only say, ¡°Norah, the other clothes in this store are also beautiful. Let¡¯s look at the other pieces.¡± She then asked the boutique manager to issue the bill and walked toward the cashier counter. Norah almost stomped her feet in displeasure, but she could not lose herposure. Her mouth twitched as she squeezed a smile. Nicole sneered. She had never caused trouble, but she would not run away if someone came looking for trouble. Whoever wanted to affront her, she would surely return the favor. Nicole was not in a hurry to change back into her clothes. Instead, she walked around the store in front of Norah in this dress and then turned to look at other clothes. Sensing that Nicole would glow in any dress she wore, just like her, Gloria started to put anything beautiful on her. Norah saw Gloria buy Nicole several outfits and followed suits, getting herself five to six sets. But Gloria, citing the fact that she already had a lot of clothes, only bought two sets for her. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Norah¡¯s face was looking more and more cast down this afternoon. Seeing that Gloria had been holding Nicole¡¯s hand all day and refusing to let go, the fire of jealousy was about to burst out of her eyes. ¡°Mom, Norah? What are you all doing here?¡± A voice suddenly spoke. Gloria turned her head and saw that it was her son, Steve. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°We are here shopping. Steve, do you miss me today?¡± Seeing Steve, Norah rushed over and held Steve¡¯s hand, looking like they were very close. Steve pulled Norah¡¯s hand off his, as he felt awkward when other people were around. ¡°Ourpany ns to invest in this mall, so I came to check out the situation with the person in charge here.¡± Nicole heard from Daniel that her second brother, Steve, was a financial wizard. ¡°Hi, Steve,¡± she said hello politely. Just like Sean, Steve inherited the genes of his parents, born handsome. He looked extraordinary with a pair of gold-rimmed sses. Seeing Nicole, Steve¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I just wondered how there was a beautiful girl around my mother. It turns out to be my little sister.¡± Nicole smirked, not expecting that this gentle-looking brother of hers was a sweet talker. Norah pouted, feeling not too happy. ¡°You have neverplimented me that way, Steve.¡± In more than a decade, they had never been close. Steve could not help but freeze in ce. But he quickly responded, saying, ¡°You don¡¯t need me to state the obvious, Norah. You are equally beautiful.¡± This obviously sounded insincere. After all, Norah looked much ordinary, and there was actually a slight difference between her and the Riddles. ¡°Nicole, I am quite busy these days and have no time to go home to see you. But I will bring you out to dinner when I am back in a few days.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Nicole nodded in agreement. After saying hello, Steve got busy with his work. Gloria looked on with a smile as Steve and then looked back at Nicole with a doting expression. ¡°Steve¡¯s biggest hobby is to make money, and he is pretty stingy. Judging by his willingness to bring you out to dinner, I guess he values you a lot.¡± These words stirred Norah¡¯s jealousy even more. Indeed, Steve had not invited her to dinner in so many years. But he was so generous to Nicole when Nicole returned. Was this the difference between biological and non-biological sisters? Why? She was the sister who had lived with him under the same roof for over ten years, for god¡¯s sake. Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Norah was really upset, her teeth almost sinking into her lip. But she had to put up a fake gentle smile as she followed behind the two. When they arrived home, the three of them noticed a luxury car that they had never seen before parked up in front of the door. Feeling curious, Gloria entered the house with her two daughters and saw a well-dressed man sitting across Daniel. Even if the man was not facing them directly, his extraordinary charm made it impossible for people to take their eyes off him. Norah had never seen such a good-looking man before. She rushed up to Gloria and said, ¡°Mom, who is that person?¡± Gloria shook her head and walked in. ¡°Hey, Daniel.¡± When Daniel saw Gloria and his daughters, he quickly got up and introduced them. ¡°Jared, this is my wife, and this is my younger daughter.¡± As Daniel introduced Nicole to Jared Johnston, the affection on his face was in to see. Norah was waiting for Daniel to introduce her, but Daniel did not even spare her a nce. Jared¡¯s cial eyes swept over the three of them, and then he stood up and nodded to Nicole. ¡°Hello, I am Jared.¡± Jared¡¯s words startled Gloria and Norah. The friendship between the Johnston and Riddle families spanned across generations. Mr. Johnston Sr. and Mr. Riddle Sr. had made a marriage arrangement for their grandchildren in the early years, and Jared was the fianc¨¦ whom Norah had been hearing about but had never met. Jared had been studying abroad before. She did not expect that when Jared finally returned to the country, she was no longer the daughter of the Riddle family. Noticing that Jared was staring at Nicole, jealousy turned into thorns pricking Norah in the heart. She felt hurt even when breathing. It was all Nicole¡¯s fault for noting back at the right time. Otherwise, she would be the only person Jared saw now. ¡°Nicole.¡± The man in front of him was truly charming, but Nicole simply responded with her name and said nothing else. Gloria felt awkward but guessed that Nicole had just returned, not knowing who Jared was. So, she quickly exined, ¡°Nicole¡¯s is simple and forthright. Hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± Jared could not help but take a second look at Nicole. ¡°It is alright. I like such a forthright personality.¡± What he said ted Daniel and Gloria. Jared was the most outstanding grandchild of the Johnston family. It would be great if Nicole could get his likes. Nicole looked at Jared¡¯s dark eyes and felt that there was more to this man than met the eye. She was good at reading people, but this man had an unfathomable look in the eyes. The three of them sat down together. Gloria deliberately let Nicole and Jared sit next to each other, and Norah could only sit down by herself. Nicole felt it weird, wondering why she was seated next to a stranger. Just then, Jared held up the coffee cup and continued. ¡°My grandfather has not been feeling well recently and wants to meet my fianc¨¦e. I know it is odd, but so I am here today.¡± Nicole waspletely dumbfounded. ¡°Fianc¨¦e?¡± What the hell was going on? When Daniel coughed nervously, Gloria got the hint and hurriedly said, ¡°Nicole, you just came back, and we hadn¡¯t told you that your grandfather and Mr. Johnston Sr. made a marriage arrangement for you. Jared is your fianc¨¦.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡®What the hell?¡¯ She had only been back to the Riddle family for two days and had not even met all the family members. Yet here she met her fianc¨¦? As cool as she was, she could no longer stay calm. ¡°Arranged marriage, seriously, Mom? Don¡¯t you think this is too outrageous?¡± Who would still get married by arranged marriages nowadays? ¡°I know it is hard for you to ept, but that was the practice during your grandfather¡¯s time,¡± Daniel said helplessly. He and Gloria had also worried about this before, but when they saw Jared was such an excellent man, they hoped Nicole would find a good husband like him. Nicole¡¯s face turned pale, but Norah thought Nicole took things for granted. ¡°Nicole, I was supposed to marry Jared, but now since you have returned, I should return what is rightfully yours. You must not let down Grandpa.¡± Norah finally caught everyone¡¯s attention, and even Jared was now looking at her. Norah saw Jared looking at her, her heart instantly pounding, her face blushed. She let out a smile like a finedy. Jared sized her up and said, ¡°So she is the adopted daughter of the Riddle family?¡± Jared emphasized the word ¡°adopted¡± when he spoke. It made Norah feel like a basin of icy water pouring on her head. This was the biggest thorn in her heart. Norah did not expect Jared to say it so directly. For a moment, the smile froze on her face. She did not want to admit it, but she could not deny it either. All she could do now was to bite her lip with a hurt feeling, her eyes reddening, looking as if she deserved pity. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Norah had known since she was a child that she was not as outstanding as her parents and brothers in terms of looks, but being the sole daughter of the family was her advantage. Usually, she just needed to use the victim card, and everyone would soften and not hurt her again. It was a trick that had always been working. But Jared did not seem to buy this. He said indifferently, ¡°I appreciate what our grandpas have done for us, but the times are different now. If you do not agree to this marriage, you may also take this opportunity to cancel the arrangement with my grandpa.¡± It sounded matter of course to Jared, as if it was just a weather chat. But itpletely stunned Daniel and Gloria. ¡°Cancel the marriage arrangement?¡± Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Nicole keenly caught a glimpse of the determination in the man¡¯s eyes and suddenly realized that he was seizing the opportunity of her return and came to sound her out, and encouraged her to withdraw the marriage arrangement. It seemed that he did not want this marriage either. Just that Mr. Johnston Sr. refused, and so he came to dissuade her from agreeing to this marriage. Nicole frowned slightly. She did not like to be manipted, and hated being used even more. ¡°The Johnston family is prominent in San Joto, and Mr. Johnston, you are older than me. It is inappropriate for a little girl like me to cancel the marriage arrangement, and it is going to make the Johnston family look bad.¡± Nicole called herself a little girl, but herposure did not look like an eighteen-year-old at all. Jared looked sideways at Nicole but only met with her unfathomable eyes, his heart trembling inexplicably as if he had been seen through by this precocious little girl. That was interesting. As Daniel and Gloria came out of their shock, Daniel said in a deep voice, ¡°Nicole is right. It was Mr. Johnston Sr. who proposed the marriage arrangement. If Nicole were to back off from this engagement, it would upset Mr. Johnston Sr.¡± Besides, the impact of canceling the engagement would affect Nicole dearly, and they needed more time to think about it. Even if Nicole really wanted to back off from the engagement, it should not be Nicole who brought this up. It would jeopardize the friendship between the two families if things were not handled properly. But the marriage engagement between the two families had long been spread far and wide in San Joto. If the Johnston family was to cancel the engagement, it was going to affect Nicole, too. Seeing that the Riddle family was in a predicament, Jared thought for a moment and said, ¡°Since it is a matter of two families, whichever side proposes it will hurt the friendship of the two families. So it is better for Nicole and I to go back to the Johnston family together and exin it to my grandfather.¡± ¡°Nicole, what do you think?¡± Daniel and Gloria were very optimistic about this marriage, but if Nicole was not into it, they were not going to force it. So what if it would affect her reputation? If their daughter chose not to get married, they were willing to support her for a lifetime. ¡°Sure. Set a time.¡± Nicole had no objection. As much as she disliked this pretentious guy, she was more opposed to losing her freedom, especially when she had just returned home. She had more important things to do. ¡°Then wait until my grandpa gets better and I wille and pick up.¡± Jared smiled politely at Nicole. Nicole nodded and said, ¡°Okay.¡± Norah watched and quietly cursed as Nicole rejected such a good marriage with just a few words. Not willing to let go, she nced at Jared and thought of a n. After some pleasantries, Jared got up and left, refusing to let Daniel and Gloria see him out. But Norah insisted, and Daniel let her be. That was the least they could do. Seeing Jared leave, Daniel looked at Nicole with concern. ¡°Are you really going to back off from the engagement?¡± Norah was looking forward to this marriage before this. But when Nicole returned and Jared came to discuss the withdrawal of the engagement, Nicole agreed to it, to their surprise. They did not want to interfere with it, but they still felt that they were missing such an excellent man like Jared as their son-inw. Nicole might regret it in the future. ¡°I am still young and studies are my priority.¡± Nicole made an excuse that was often seen on TV. ¡°Nicole is right. She is still young and will have more choices in the future.¡± Gloria was relieved, and Daniel did not insist anymore. Outside the door, Norah was seeing Jared out. Jared now felt unfriendly,pletely opposite the gentleness and humility when he was talking inside. But in order to achieve her goal, Norah still plucked up enough courage and said, ¡°Jared, my sister does not know any better. Please don¡¯t mind what she said for wanting to cancel the engagement.¡± Jared nced sideways at Norah. ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± Norah was not sure if it was an illusion; Jared seemed to be even more unapproachable. But there was only one chance, and Norah selectively ignored it, pretending to be shy as she continued. ¡°Actually, before my sister came back, I was your fianc¨¦e. Unfortunately, it has all changed.¡± After hinting it so obviously, Norah bowed her head shyly, waiting for Jared to respond. Yet, Jared¡¯s eyes suddenly darkened and his voice icy when he said, ¡°Fish eyes can never be passed off as pearls. All things should return to their rightful ces.¡± Norah¡¯s face turned pale. Raising her head and looking at Jared again, she saw his frosty expression. His icy gaze was so in- your-face, piercing into her heart and making her tremble. Just then, the Johnston family driver had pulled the car up. Jared got into the car and instructed the driver to drive him off. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Norah slowly came out of her daze as she watched the car leave. Was Jared ridiculing her as just a fish eye and Nicole was the pearl? Why¡­ Why did these people discard her like garbage when Nicole returned? ¡°It is all Nicole¡¯s fault!¡± Had Nicole not returned, she would have always been the princess of the Riddle family, enjoying the wealth of her parents, the favor of her brothers, and Jared would have been hers. Norah stared back at the door of the living hall with an extremely sinister look in her eyes. She did not want to be sent away. She was not going to leave this family. Everything here should rightly belong to her. Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Upstairs, Nicole had taken a shower and gotten changed, finally getting a moment of peace. With nothing to do, she turned on herputer. After fiddling with the normal Windows interface for a while, a mysterious window popped up, revealing a list of The Hunter jobs inside. Looking at the list of jobs, a head portrait shed in the private chat window. She clicked open it and saw the teammate codenamed Specter talking to her. [Lucifer, you have been offline for many days. Where have you been?] [Just living a few days of normal life,] Nicole calmly replied. [You have been on the wanted list online. I can¡¯t believe that you can still enjoy a normal life.] Specter showed her a few screenshots. While she was away for the past few days, someone had pinned an order at the top, and she was the target. [Isn¡¯t thatmon?] Nicole smirked, not taking it seriously. In the dark web called The Hunters, whether it was The Hunters Union or a lone Hunter, it was year were big cases, and it was normal that she was now wanted. [Common? Didn¡¯t you see the bounty? It is $10 million!] Specter attached an emoji that showed as if he was about to crawl out of the screen. [Oh, yeah?] Nicole clicked an icon, and sure enough, she saw the reward of the job, which was the highest reward of this year. It seemed that she had stepped on someone¡¯s toes, and that person was offering a $10 million bounty toe after her. That was interesting. If she was not the one being wanted, she would have taken on the job. ¡°Oh, yeah? You should lie low from now on and don¡¯t expose yourself.¡± Nicole looked at the screen and replied sarcastically, [Worry about yourself. The entire world knows that you and I have worked together.] She was confident of staying undetected as no one had found her for so many years. Specter was her partner, but she was not sure how well Specter could hide. [Damn it! You just reminded me; I almost forgot. I had better stay offline from now on. Take care.] Specter went dark right after. Nicole shook her head at Specter¡¯s nervousness. It was she who was wanted, not Specter. Nicole let out a sigh and continued to browse through the list. Risking her safety, she picked a job that offered an attractive reward, and then shut down theputer and went to sleep. Unbeknownst to her, her actions were provocative to someone else. A tall man was looking at the web page with sullen eyes in a dark room somewhere. He had finally settled things about his fianc¨¦e today. What really caused him a headache was this hacker. The phone rang, and he picked it up. ¡°Mr. Johnston, Lucifer appeared again and even epted a job,¡± Max, Jared¡¯s assistant, said in disbelief. Jared¡¯s eyes darkened and said coldly, ¡°I saw it.¡± Lucifer, the most powerful hacker in The Hunters, had caused him to lose a lot of money three months ago. He had been looking for this hacker, but she had not appeared. So he had to put a bounty on her. When she suddenly went online today, Jared immediately sent someone to trace her location. He had failed to defeat Lucifer¡¯s firewall, and Lucifer had sessfully gone online and epted a job before going dark again. This was nothing short of a provocation to him. ¡°What do we do?¡± Max did not know what to do. ¡°She was online for quite a while, yet our people could This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. not trace her down.¡± Jared¡¯s eyes darkened as he loosened his bow tie and said coldly, ¡°Since we can¡¯t catch her, then let¡¯s bait her.¡± ¡°You have an idea?¡± Max was relieved. Jared squinted and said again in a bitter voice, ¡°No matter what job she has epted today, find the client and take over.¡± He could catch her as long as he became the client. ¡°Yes! Understood.¡± Max nodded and hung up. Jared put down his phone and stared at Lucifer¡¯s avatar, and scoffed. ¡°I lost a hundred million dors because of you. I am going to catch you.¡± Three days had passed in the blink of an eye. Nicole had officially returned to the Riddle family, and almost everything except her school was in ce. Daniel and Gloria were eager to seek help from Damien, Daniel¡¯s eldest brother. So Daniel nned to take Nicole back to see Damien, and Sean wasing back to pick them up. Inside the car, Daniel could not help telling Gloria. ¡°No matter what Damien and his wife say today, stay calm for the sake of our child.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Gloria replied with a martyred look. Sean could see Nicole¡¯s perplexity and whispered, ¡°Our two aunts may be a little mean when they talk. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Nicole nodded. Seeing Gloria¡¯s nervous look, she knew that the two aunts must be nasty. Nicole thought for a moment, and then took out her phone and sent a text message. Sean started the car. Norah smiled and waved at the four of them. ¡°Be safe, Mom, Dad, Sean.¡± ¡°I will.¡± Sean did not look at her but fired up the engine immediately. Even Daniel and Gloria did not talk to her. Watching the car drive away, Norah¡¯s eyes were filled with a look of indignation. They all would take her along when they went to her grandpa¡¯s ce before this. But now, they just took Nicole alone. She was not qualified to go with them after their biological daughter had returned. ¡°Nicole, I¡¯d like to see how a hillbilly like you gets into Royal Creek Institute!¡± She knew the two aunts very well. When she first wanted to enter Royal Creek Institute, they all found a thousand and one ways to stop her. Now it would be even more impossible for a country girl like Nicole to get their help. She would like to know how else Nicole couldpete with her. Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Half an hourter, Sean drove them and arrived at grandpa¡¯s ce. Mr. Riddle Sr. and his three sons- and daughters-inw had already arrived. When they saw them entering, the second daughter-inw, Karen, could not help but smile triumphantly. ¡°Daniel, Gloria, have you two been very busytely? You are making us wait.¡± ¡°I am sorry, Karen. The traffic was a little bad today.¡± Gloria squeezed a smile. She would endure it all for Nicole¡¯s sake. Nicole studied Karen with a frosty face and did not greet her. When Karen¡¯s eyes met hers, Karen felt a chill run up her spine. Nicole was just a brat. What was she afraid of? Thinking of this, she scoffed and said, ¡°So this is your child that had gone missing for years? She indeed looks a bit like her brothers. But have you done the DNA test? Don¡¯t mix up again this time.¡± Hearing Karen open the old wounds of his parents, Sean frowned and said, ¡°Aunt, what you said is a bit too much.¡± Leaving Nicole wandering outside all these years was Gloria¡¯s deepest pain. So what Karen did was tantamount to adding salt to injury. ¡°Sean.¡± Daniel shook his head at him, motioning him not to speak. Gloria put up with Karen¡¯s jabs and let out a gentle smile. ¡°Thank you for the reminder, Karen. But this time the police havepared the DNAs, and Nicole is our family member.¡± Gloria was timid, but her hand holding Nicole¡¯s hand was powerful and made Nicole feel warm. ¡°It had better be. Don¡¯t raise someone else¡¯s child for ten years only to find out that it is a fake again.¡± Karen continued to taunt, and Gloria¡¯s face looked pale this time. ¡°Karen, stop digging up the past, would you?¡± Nicole¡¯s third uncle could not bear to hear it and coldly interrupted Karen. Karen only then relented after Nicole¡¯s third uncle spoke. ¡°The meal is almost ready. Please take your seat.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. did not want to hear the quarrel and motioned for everyone to sit down. While the maids were serving food, Nicole¡¯s third aunt looked at Nicole with tender eyes. ¡°Nicole just turned eighteen this year, right? Are you in high school?¡± Nicole nodded. ¡°Yeah, eleventh grade.¡± ¡°Eleventh grade? Well, if you can transfer to Royal Creek Institute, you will be a schoolmate of E, my daughter.¡± Her third aunt seemed genuine and looked sincere. ¡°Royal Creek Institute?¡± Karen frowned when she heard that. ¡°You two are too na?ve. Not any Tom, Dick, and Harry can enter Royal Creek Institute. Even if it is just the high school, there is a minimum requirement.¡± ¡°How can you talk like this, Karen?¡± Nicole¡¯s third aunt felt what Karen said was unbing. ¡°I am just telling the truth,¡± Karen said as he nced toward Damien, Nicole¡¯s eldest uncle. ¡°Damien and his wife should know it better. Even if Dad and Mr. Ellison are old acquaintances, Mr. Ellison still set a high bar for our children. Nicole grew up in the countryside; the chances for her entering Royal Creek Institute are slim. Don¡¯t waste Damien¡¯s time.¡± Nicole¡¯s eyes darkened a little as Karen was so mean that her words were hurtful. Daniel and Gloria did not expect that Karen blocked what they were going to say before they could This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. even say it. The couple was so sad and could not find a word to respond. They felt indebted to Nicole and wanted to give her the best, but they could not help her at all. Mr. Riddle Sr. looked at Nicole in silence and felt sorry for his granddaughter. He turned his head and frowned at his eldest son. ¡°Damien, what do you think about this?¡± Damien knew Mr. Riddle Sr. best. Knowing that for the sake of the Riddle family¡¯s reputation, Mr. Riddle Sr. would want him to put Nicole in Royal Creek Institute. But his wife suddenly said, ¡°Dad, Karen has a point. Nicole came from the countryside where the education standard was average. Even if Mr. Ellison lets her in, her grades are not going to make it. It will only make the Riddle family look bad.¡± Damien¡¯s wife did not speak earlier, but she shared the same thinking as Karen. After all, her daughter was going to be a star in the future. If people found out that her daughter had a country sister at school, she would be very ashamed of it. Seeing that his wife objected to it, Damien fell into silence. Mr. Riddle Sr. could not help but nce at Nicole. He knew that Nicole¡¯s grades might be unsatisfactory, but she was his granddaughter. Besides, she and Jared from the Johnston family had an engagement. How could he let her alone? The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. ¡°Well, since you don¡¯t want to help, leave it to an old man like me. I will ask Mr. Ellison for help.¡± ¡°Dad! How could you?¡± Mr. Riddle Sr.¡¯s second and third sons spoke in unison. The faces of Nicole¡¯s second and third aunts changed subtly. They did not expect that Mr. Riddle Sr. would want to seek Mr. Ellison¡¯s help personally, which was a treatment that none of the children in the family had ever received. Damien had no choice. ¡°Dad, leave it to me. I will take care of this matter.¡± Daniel and Gloria were pleasantly surprised, not expecting that Damien would agree. Just that the faces of Nicole¡¯s second and third aunts looked anything but good. Nicole quietly sighed upon seeing that her family was doing so much for her. She did not need anyone¡¯s help. Seeing through the face of the first and second aunts, she disdained the help of her first uncle even more. She looked at her watch impatiently, wondering why the old man, Ellison, had not called. Just when she thought so, Sean¡¯s phone rang. A smile crept up Nicole¡¯s lips. Ellison was still punctual. Sean heard his phone ring and quickly got up, thinking that it was a call from hispany. ¡°Excuse me, I have got to take the call.¡± Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Just after turning on the screen of the mobile phone and saying a few words, his voice suddenly rose a few octaves. ¡°Mr. Ellison?¡± ¡°Mr. Ellison?¡± Everyone was surprised to hear the name. Only Mr. Riddle Sr. and Damien had ess to Mr. Ellison usually. Surprisingly, Mr. Ellison was calling Sean now. But no one dared to ask, only trying to listen in to what he was saying. Sean stopped in his tracks and looked back at everyone, finally his gazending on Nicole. ¡°Really? Thank you so much, Mr. Ellison.¡± Everyone then looked over at Nicole in curiosity. Nicole took a sip of water and did not look surprised. As soon as Sean hung up the phone, Gloria was the first to ask, ¡°Sean, how did you get Mr. Ellison¡¯s phone number?¡± Sean regained hisposure and sat back down at the table. ¡°I don¡¯t know Mr. Ellison¡¯s phone number. It was he who called me.¡± ¡°What did Mr. Ellison say?¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. asked in a deep voice. Sean looked at Mr. Riddle Sr. respectfully. ¡°He asked Nicole to report to the high school of Royal Creek Institute tomorrow and said that he was d to have Nicoleing to Royal Creek Institute.¡± Sean was looking at Nicole with a hint of disbelief in his eyes when he said thest sentence. While everyone was scratching their heads and in a heated debate about how to get Nicole into Royal Creek Institute, the unthinkable happened with Mr. Ellison calling and saying that he was happy that Nicole was going to Royal Creek Institute. Karen could not be more surprised. ¡°Sean, did you hear it correctly? Mr. Ellison invited Nicole to the high school of Royal Creek Institute?¡± She had just denigrated and satirized Nicole because she did not want Nicole to enter Royal Creek Institute. Yet, she did not expect that Mr. Ellison¡¯s call would be a p in the face. But Nicole was just a country girl. What made Mr. Ellison extend his invitation to her? Ignoring Karen¡¯s expression, Gloria turned to look at Nicole. ¡°You know Mr. Ellison?¡± She did not even believe her own question. But Mr. Ellison had said that he was d to have Nicole studying at Royal Creek Institute. So he and Nicole must know each other. Nicole did not hide the truth, saying, ¡°We met once in Great Oak.¡± It was only a brief encounter, but if not for Nicole¡¯s help, Mr. Ellison would have died from a car explosion. ¡°Just met once?¡± Just met once, and Mr. Ellison remembered her and invited her to Royal Creek Institute? Things got even more unbelievable. Sean seemed to have epted this reality, but was still a little doubtful. ¡°Even if you know Mr. Ellison, how did Ellison know you were going to enroll?¡± Nicole looked sideways at Sean, her expression telling him it was a matter of course. ¡°I called him when Dad and Mom said three days ago that they were going to send me to Royal Creek Institute.¡± Nicole¡¯s icy look exuded a bit of arrogance. It gave the impression that Mr. Ellison was at her beck and call. ¡°Mr. Ellison sent me an email invitation that day, but I still asked him to call today to inform my family, saving you all from worrying too much about me.¡± Nicole¡¯s eyes swept over Karen and Damien. Karen felt embarrassed and could not say a word. Damien was shamefaced, too, as Nicole could enter Royal Creek Institute all by herself, yet he had just acted so reluctantly, which made him aplete joke. Sean looked at the faces of his first uncle and wife, and his second aunt with a touch of triumph in his eyes. He then pretended to be puzzled and asked, ¡°You are really naughty, Nicole; you actually have Mr. Ellison¡¯s phone number. Why didn¡¯t you say it earlier? Second Aunt and First Uncle were beating their brains out trying to help you just now.¡± Sean¡¯s words once again poked at the self-esteem of the two, making their faces turn red and pale. Nicole looked at Sean and yed along. ¡°I didn¡¯t think Royal Creek Institute was a good choice, so I didn¡¯t tell. But since First Uncle had to work so hard to help me get a ce there, I thought I had better do it myself.¡± Nicole stirred the milk tea in front of her, her attitude getting on Damien¡¯s nerves. Every child of the Riddle family used to rely on his help to get them into Royal Creek Institute, not expecting that a brat would get him a p in the face. ¡°Hahaha, well, you¡¯re truly my granddaughter, so calm. You all elders are not as good as this child.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr.ughed and satirized all the elders. Everyone at the table dared not say a word. Mr. Riddle Sr. could not describe how delighted he was. He took the lead and started eating. ¡°Okay, since Nicole has settled her school matter, let us all eat now.¡± Finding this the moment of saving face, everyone quickly dug in. For the first time, Gloria could not describe how happy she was because for the first time, she could feel so proud in front of everyone. ¡°Cheers, Nicole.¡± She toasted her daughter. She and Daniel had been living under the shadow of the other brothers for years. It was the first time they felt so vindicated and proud. Daniel could finally hold his head high, as his daughter was making them proud today. Since then, no one dared to disrespect Gloria and Daniel, and Karen had also relented a lot. After dinner, Mr. Riddle Sr. went upstairs. Feeling too embarrassed to stay, Damien followed Mr. Riddle Sr. upstairs and was back to his study room. Dillon and Karen also got up. But before leaving, Dillon said to Daniel in embarrassment, ¡°You know Karen has never minced her words. Please don¡¯t mind.¡±Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Daniel had never seen Dillon graveling to him for all these years, so he pretended to be jovial. ¡°It is okay. We are all family.¡± But Karen red at them indignantly. ¡°Since Nicole has entered the high school of Royal Creek C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. Institute, she had better not disgrace the Riddle family with lousy results.¡± So what if Nicole had entered Royal Creek Institute? She would still be a disgrace for the Riddle family if she could not show results. Gloria¡¯s expression subtly changed, but she plucked up the courage and said, ¡°We will make sure Nicole delivers. Besides, Mr. Ellison is going to take care of her. Don¡¯t you worry, Karen.¡± Karen¡¯s expression darkened immediately, as she did not expect that Gloria would dare to shoot back. Seeing the situation, Dillon quickly stepped forward and dragged Karen away, saying, ¡°It is gettingte now. Hurry up. We have got to go.¡± Daniel and Gloria looked at each other and could not help but feel proud of their daughter. When they were back at home, Daniel praised Nicole, saying, ¡°You really made us proud today.¡± Daniel had been looked down upon in the family for so many years, and it was the first time he felt so proud. It was extremely satisfying whenever he thought of Karen¡¯s red face. Karen had been bullying Gloria all this while, and this time, it was her turn to get a taste of her own medicine. Norah just went downstairs and sensed something was wrong when she heard this. ¡°Dad, what made you so happy?¡± They should havee back in frustration when Nicole could not get into Royal Creek Institute. Why did they praise Nicole instead? Seeing that his father was happy, Sean briefly told Norah what had happened and did not forget to look at Nicole. ¡°Nicole is the lucky star of our family.¡± Norah was wide-eyed. ¡°Mr. Ellison invited her?¡± What was going on here? Why did Mr. Ellison invite Nicole to the school if they had only met once? ¡°We didn¡¯t expect that either, but Mr. Ellison had sent Nicole an invitation by email, asking her to report to the school tomorrow.¡± At first, Norah wanted to see Nicole get taunted. But Nicole did not suffer any embarrassment. Instead, she had made herself stand out. Norah immediately bit her lower lip and looked at Nicole with indignation. It really surprised her that this hillbilly was so capable. She had really underestimated her. ¡°Congrattions.¡± Deep down inside, Norah was really upset, but she still pretended to be congrattory. Nicole ignored her and said politely to her parents, ¡°Dad, Mom, I am tired. I will go upstairs now.¡± ¡°Go rest up.¡± Gloria said dotingly. Nicole bowed her head and left, not noticing that Sean was looking at her with his deep-set eyes. There seemed to be more to this sister of his from the countryside than met the eye, he thought. It was a sunny morning the next day. Nicole got up early to go for a walk. When she returned from martial arts practice, she saw two more people in the living room. The two were dressed differently, but their faces were made from the same mold. ¡°This is our sister?¡± Seeing Nicole, the teenager in a tracksuit stood up and came up to study Nicole, as if she was some kind of strange creature. Nicole was also studying the teenager, who looked about her age, athletic and sunny. ¡°Nicole, this is Samuel, your fifth elder brother.¡± Sean saw that Samuel¡¯s behavior was a little rude and pressed a hand on his shoulder to tell him to behave. ¡°My fifth elder brother?¡± Nicole looked at the teenager, who had a baby face and looked like an adolescent boy. Yet she had to call him her elder brother. ¡°Your voice sounds so sweet. Let¡¯s say it again.¡± Samuel was naughty and yful. ¡°Sean, Samuel needs some good spanking. Do it.¡± At this time, another teenager sitting on the sofa spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Sean. I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± Samuel hurriedly begged for forgiveness. Sean patted him on the shoulder. ¡°I have no time for this. I have got to go to work now. You take care of your sister and send her to school. Got it?¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Samuel got up and gave Sean a salute. A smile crept to her lips as Nicole found that this fifth elder brother of hers was hrious. Nicole recognized the boy who sat on the sofa and looked almost exactly the same as Samuel. ¡°This must be my fourth elder brother, right?¡± Gloria had told her that her fourth and fifth brothers were twins. Since Samuel was the fifth, this must be the fourth. ¡°Smart.¡± Her fourth elder brother let out a smile. His name was Spencer, who also had a sunshine smile but with an added artistry persona, which waspletely different from Samuel. ¡°We both are in twelfth grade at Royal Creek Institute. Dad and Mom said you were unfamiliar with the school and asked us to take you to report to the school.¡± ¡°Okay, then. I will go upstairs and get changed.¡± Nicole nodded and went upstairs. ¡°Nicole seems to be unfriendly. Norah is better.¡± Samuel scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Sean red at him and said, ¡°But Norah is not your biological sister.¡± He then left. Samuel blinked and looked at Spencer. ¡°Is Sean angry?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Spencer rolled his eyes at him because Samuel was asking the obvious. When Nicole came downstairs again, breakfast had already begun. Daniel, Gloria, and Norah were also present. ¡°Spencer, Samuel, you two have not been back for many days. I miss you guys so much.¡± Norah deliberately coddled them in front of Nicole. Samuel could not help but smile. ¡°It is still Norah who has me at heart.¡± ¡°Ahem!¡± Spencer saw Nicoleing down and quickly signaled his dumb brother. Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Samuel was stunned at first, but when he saw Nicole only then he realized he had said the wrong thing again. He looked embarrassed and changed the subject bluntly. ¡°Nicole is beautiful. I can see how popr you will be in school.¡± What Samuel said aroused jealousy in Norah. She looked at Nicole but could not deny that Nicole was blessed with beauty and a good figure, while she herself looked a lot more ordinary. Daniel noticed Norah¡¯s mncholy and pondered for a moment before saying to Samuel with a frown, ¡°You should keep your mouth shut if you don¡¯t know what to say.¡± Getting reprimanded, Samuel quickly lowered his head and continued his breakfast. Daniel then turned to Norah. ¡°Since you are not blood-rted to your brothers, keep your distance from them, and you can no longer be so willful likest time.¡± Norah¡¯s face turned pale after getting reprimanded. Feeling hurt, she bowed her head. ¡°Understood. I will not be willful next time.¡± But it hurt Samuel to see that. ¡°Dad, even if Norah is not our biological sister, we have lived together for so long. To me, as long as Norah treats me as her brother, I will always be his brother.¡± Samuel spoke with principle, startling both Daniel and Gloria. Spencer could not help but face-palm when Samuel said something stupid again. ¡°Samuel¡­¡± Norah looked at him, feeling touched. He was probably the only one who still cared about her. Just when Daniel was about to speak, Gloria shook her head at him, then looked at Samuel. ¡°You are right. Norah has lived with us for so long. Even though she is not blood-rted to us, she is still your sister.¡± ¡°Mom¡­¡± Norah¡¯s eyes were welling up. Even Spencer¡¯s heart had somewhat softened. After all, what did Norah do wrong? Not that she deliberately impersonated Nicole. It was the birthmark behind her ear that was too simr to that of Nicole. ¡°Dad, Mom, I am full.¡± Nicole was not interested in things about Norah. After taking a few bites, she nned to leave. ¡°Spencer, Samuel, I will wait for you in the living room. Call me when you guys finish your breakfast.¡± With that, she turned and left. Samuel could not help but look back at Spencer and gave him a look that said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe she is so calm.¡± Spencer also felt that Nicole was too calm to be an eighteen-year-old. She did not show any emotion facing Norah. Soon, the breakfast was over. With the support of Samuel and Gloria, Norah warmed up again with her two brothers again. She chatted andughed with them as they walked to the door with school bags on their shoulders. She usually went to school alone. Since Samuel and Spencer were back today, she, of course, would want to go with them. As soon as the car arrived, she took the lead to jump into the backseat and sat with Spencer and Samuel. She was expecting to see Nicole get jealous of her, but Nicole did not even look at her and care about her being close to her brothers when she got into the car. ¡°Why don¡¯t you talk, Nicole? Are you feeling that you are being neglected?¡± Norah deliberately asked. She looked hurt, as if Nicole was wrong not to speak. ¡°I have nothing to say.¡± Norah was so self-righteous. Nicole was not interested in all her stuff. Spencer also thought Nicole was upset and tried to smooth things out. ¡°Nicole, please don¡¯t mind because Samuel and Norah have been close since small. They didn¡¯t mean to neglect you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Samuel quickly nodded, also feeling that he had done something wrong. ¡°But I will be good to you from now on. I heard Dad and Mom say that you had gone through a lot while staying outside.¡± Norah at first wanted to make Nicole jealous, not expecting that Samuel would shift his attention to Nicole. A hint of indignation shed in her eyes. Nicole did not look back, but her hands had clenched together, and she pretended to be calm. ¡°Got it.¡± No one had ever cared too much about her, so she did not know how to respond to Samuel. But deep down inside, she felt a touch of closeness to this innocent brother of hers. Spencer was relieved after Samuel had exined himself. ¡°Look, Nicole is not a petty person, so you and Norah shouldn¡¯t assume too much.¡± Norah felt depressed after being used of assuming too much. Looking back at the quiet Nicole, Norah could only feel that what she had just done was a joke¡ªNicole was not jealous of her, yet she was jealous of Nicole to the bone. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. There was a moment of silence, and then Samuel suddenly said, ¡°Nicole, I heard Mom say that you have already met Sean and Steve, but not Stanley.¡± Nicole nodded without thinking, ¡°Yeah.¡± Knowing that Nicole really had not met Stanley, Samuel became enthusiastic. ¡°Stanley is the president of the student union of the university and a top student. He is a badass.¡± Samuel chattered about Stanley along the way, and Nicole listened to it and became curious about these three brothers. Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Finally, twenty minutester, they arrived at Royal Creek Institute. Royal Creek Institute was a century-old school with a solid background, its campus architecture majestic with a stone-carved gate of Hustuaburg¡¯s characteristics. It looked ssical and showed signs of age. As the car was parked in the parking lot, the three of them got out of the car. As soon as Nicole arrived, she felt that there were many girls secretly looking in her direction. ¡°Please don¡¯t mind. Those are all fans of the school basketball team who came to catch a glimpse of Samuel.¡± Spencer rolled his eyes at Samuel with disgust. ¡°Who said that? Some of them are fans of your music society.¡± Samuel stared back unapologetically. Nicole did not expect that these noisy twins were so popr in the school. ¡°I have seen Norah, but who is that girl?¡± ¡°Could she be Samuel¡¯s girlfriend?¡± ¡°Huh? I envy her walking with them.¡± Many girls chattered among themselves. Norah¡¯s face darkened. The person who had been envied before this was her Norah, but now, Nicole got all the limelight. Nicole did not expect these two brothers to be so popr. She turned her head and said, ¡°Spencer, Samuel, thank you for sending me to school. I will report to the school registrar now.¡± Since her identity was unique, she had better keep a low profile, reducing her exposure. ¡°Oh, well.¡± Samuel said, pointing the way for Nicole. With Samuel¡¯s guidance, Nicole quickly walked away from the two of them. ¡°Sigh, Nicole went away because of your fans.¡± Spencer scoffed. ¡°It was you,¡± Samuel retorted, not wanting to be outdone. Pretending to be gentle and demure, Norah looked at the two of them and said, ¡°It is almost time. I will go to ss now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The two responded and also turned to leave. Norah breathed a sigh of relief and went to her ss. She was curious, not knowing which ss Nicole would go to. But judging by that hillbilly¡¯s results, she was sure that Nicole would be assigned to ss F. By this time, Nicole had arrived at the headteacher¡¯s office to report herself. She introduced herself upon entering the office. ¡°My name is Nicole. I was told by Mr. Ellison to report to the school today.¡± ¡°You are Nicole?¡± The headteacher, Ms. Farrell, immediately broke out in a smile. ¡°Mr. Ellison has instructed me to assign you to the best ss. The two teachers of ss A and B will be hereter. You may choose your teacher.¡± Nicole was a bit surprised, not expecting that Mr. Ellison would be so thoughtful, giving her the freedom to choose her teacher. She was really ttered. Ms. Farrell studied her and was quietly surprised. ording to records, Nicole was from the Riddle family. Mr. Ellison used to be unenthusiastic about the first few children of the Riddle family. There must be more to this little girl than met the eye. It was not long before two teachers knocked on the door and walked in. The oneing in first was wearing a white shirt and a red skirt. She rushed up to Ms. Farrell at the desk without noticing Nicole. ¡°You did not finish talking on the phone, Ms. Farrell. Did you say you were going to ce a transfer student from the countryside in my ss?¡± ¡°Ms. Emerson, that student is right here.¡± Ms. Farrell winked at her. Ms. Emerson looked back and was startled when she saw Nicole. The girl looked younger than most of the students in her ss. But she was beautiful with a pair of bright, energetic, deep-set eyes. She was not inferior in any way to any girls from wealthy families. ¡°This¡ªis this the student you are transferring to my ss?¡± If it was not because she had asked Ms. Farrell before where Nicole came from, she could not really tell Nicole was from the countryside. ¡°That¡¯s right, this is Nicole. Nicole, these two are Ms. Emerson and Mr. Kennedy.¡± The man wearing sses and came inter, also looked surprised when he saw Nicole. But he was moreposed than Ms. Emerson. ¡°Hello, I am the ss teacher of ss A of eleventh grade. You can call me Mr. Kennedy.¡± ¡°Hello, nice to meet you two.¡± Nicole nodded her head lightly and gracefully. Ms. Emerson liked Nicole because of her appearance, but thinking of the fact that Nicole came from the countryside, she was worried about her grades. Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. ss B lost to ss A in the first semester in terms of overall grades, and there would be an excellent teacher award in the second half of the semester. She could not afford to let anyone drag down the overall grade of her ss. Since what she had said was already pretty offensive, Ms. Emerson might as well be frank. ¡°Ms. Farrell, now I have met the student. We have five more students in ss B than ss A, and I really do not have the energy to take care of so many students. Let Mr. Kennedy take her in.¡± Mr. Kennedy pushed his sses up his nose and smiled at Ms. Emerson. ¡°What are you talking about? You are young and capable, and that is the reason the school assigns more students to you. I am older and have no experience in dealing with transfer students. You are the right person to take her in.¡± ¡°You¡­ Mr. Kennedy, you can¡¯t always say such irresponsible things because you are older, can you?¡± ¡°I am not. I said that out of good intention. I heard that she had scored top grades in the countryside. You don¡¯t have to worry about dragging the overall results of your ss.¡± Mr. Kennedy unceremoniously exposed Ms. Emerson¡¯s hypocrisy when he was used of being irresponsible. ¡°You¡ª¡± Ms. Emerson looked flushed and could not find a word to respond. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t call you two here asking for your opinion.¡± Ms. Farrell then looked at Nicole with a smile. ¡°Nicole, Mr. Ellison has said it¡ªchoose whichever teacher and ss you like.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ms. Emerson and Mr. Kennedy were wide-eyed. Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Royal Creek Institute was a top education institution that had received all kinds of talented students. The teachers were the ones assigning a student to a ss. There had never been a situation where students chose teachers and sses. Who was this student from the countryside? ¡°ss B,¡± Nicole said casually. Ms. Emerson was wide-eyed instantly again. Compared to the hypocritical Mr. Kennedy, Nicole preferred the forthright Ms. Emerson. ¡°Okay, then ss B.¡± Ms. Farrell nodded in agreement with a hint of ttering look in her eyes, which surprised the two teachers. They wondered who Nicole was that she could make the headteacher grovel. ¡°Ms. Farrell, how can you let students choose sses?¡± This was unheard of. ss A and B were the best sses in the eleventh grade. ¡°It has been decided, Ms. Emerson. Take Nicole to ss.¡± Ms. Farrell looked a little displeased now and gave the order. ¡°Ms. Farrell¡­¡± Ms. Emerson¡¯s face turned pale. She did not expect that there was no room for negotiation. Mr. Kennedy smiled triumphantly and said, ¡°I will go now, Ms. Farrell.¡± Ms. Farrell nodded and sat down as if she did not want to waste time talking any further. Ms. Emerson bit her lip in frustration and turned to look at Nicole. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Nicole followed her out of the office. Ms. Emerson walked quickly to the ssroom in her high heels, as if she was eager to shake her off. Upon arriving at the door of the ssroom, Ms. Emerson suddenly stopped. ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are. Since you have chosen my ss, don¡¯t drag my ss down with you. I want you to catch up with the rest of the ssmates within a month.¡± With that, Ms. Emerson turned around and entered the ssroom. Nicole could not help but raise an eyebrow. Why did this teacher think she would drag the ss down? Just because she was from the countryside? She was slightly unhappy but still followed Ms. Emerson into the ssroom. ¡°Be quiet, ss! We have a new ssmate here. Please wee Nicole.¡± As reluctant as Ms. Emerson was, she still introduced Nicole to the ss. Everyone looked up and saw an attractive young girl with exquisite facial features walk in. For a moment, the ss fell into silence before Bradley Robertson, amittee member of the sports club, stood up and pped his hands. ¡°Wee to the new student.¡± Then the boys in the ss pped their hands together. They were delighted to wee such a beautiful ssmate. ¡°Hey, Gary, look, there is a beautiful girl in the ss!¡± Wayne Atkinson elbowed Gary Finley sitting in thest row. ¡°Forget Gary. He is only interested in the hottest girl in the school.¡± ¡°But this little chick seems to be even hotter,¡± said Jack Pearson, who was frivolously looking at Nicole with satisfaction. Gary frowned when he heard Jack¡¯sment. His inky eyes then meet Nicole¡¯s crystal-clear eyes. A ray of sunlight scattered over the beautiful girl. Her well-proportioned body stood straight with a trace of arrogance and aloofness in her, which made her beauty look even unapproachable. ¡°She is indeed pretty, but¡­ howe she resembles Snow?¡± Wayne was curious. Jack rolled his eyes at him and said, ¡°All girls are like Snow in your eyes.¡± While the two were picking at each other, Nicole started introducing herself. ¡°I am Nicole, a transfer student. Nice to meet you all.¡± C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. Ms. Emerson had expected Nicole to say a few more words, but Nicole did not. So, she said, ¡°There is an empty seat in the third row from thest. You may sit there.¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk. An eleventh-grade transfer student. I thought she had some solid background to brag about. It turns out she can only sit in the third-tost row.¡± Jack bemoaned. In ss B, thest three rows were usually reserved for those with the worst grades. It seemed that the grades of this new ssmate were not too good. Nicole seemed to have not noticed their stares. She leisurely sat at the empty seat. Only then did Ms. Emerson start the lecture. Gary took a few more nces at Nicole and started to think Nicole looked somewhat like Raine Riddle and Snow Riddle, and Nicole¡¯sst name was also Riddle. When the lesson ended, Ms. Emerson handed everyone a few assignments and stood on the podium. ¡°These assignments are today¡¯s homework. You are required toplete them in the evening self- study time.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Everyone wailed. Ms. Emerson shot a cold nce at everyone. ¡°Stop whining. If anyone drags the overall results of the ss down in this month¡¯s exam, the person will have to stand in the corridor to listen to my lecture.¡± Ms. Emerson then looked at Nicole. Nicole was not surprised. There was amusement in her eyes. It was Ms. Emerson who was stared down by Nicole. ¡°ss is dismissed!¡± After Ms. Emerson left, everyone started to talk about her, saying that she was scarier than ghosts. Some students utilized the time after ss to do the assignment. Nicole just flipped through a few pages and set them aside. ¡°You don¡¯t know how to do that, do you?¡± The boy at the front seat before Nicole grinned at her, revealing his canine teeth and dimples on his cheeks. He looked cute. Nicole remembered him; he was the boy who pped his hands earlier. ¡°I am Bradley Robertson, the sports clubmittee member. You can ask me anything you need help with.¡± Bradley volunteered himself. Wayne in thest rowughed sarcastically. ¡°Bradley, you are sitting in the fourth row, and your grades barely make it. Who else do you want to coach?¡± ¡°That¡¯s better than you, who isst in every exam.¡± Bradley shot back. Students in the fourth row all got a pass. Students who got a pass in the high school of Royal Creek Institute were considered top-notch in other schools. ¡°You¡ª¡± Wayne wanted to retort. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Gary snapped impatiently. Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Wayne quickly shut up, while Bradley was dumbfounded. They seemed not to want to mess with Gary. Gary always scored thest in every exam, yet because of the powerful influence of the Finley family, no one in school ever dared to mess with him and his elder brother, Ryder, a junior. ncing at Nicole, Gary said coldly, ¡°What is your rtionship with Raine and Snow?¡± Nicole raised an eyebrow and glinted at Gary. ¡°I don¡¯t know them.¡± She sounded indifferent. ¡°See? I have just said they are not rted.¡± Jack rolled his eyes at Wayne. ¡°That is a shame. Gary would protect you if you were a rtive of Raine and Snow.¡± Wayne grinned. Nicole had already retracted her gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t need the protection of anyone.¡± Rejected by Nicole, Gary felt he was getting a p in the face. ¡°Hey you, girl, do you know who you are talking to?¡± Jack got up in displeasure as he could not bear to see her attitude toward Gary. Everyone around them was frightened at seeing this, and they did not dare to say a word. ¡°Cut it out.¡± As much as Gary felt losing face, he had no interest in bullying girls. ¡°Since she doesn¡¯t need our protection, no one is allowed to intervene in her affairs next time.¡± Gary looked at Nicole coldly, but she did not even look up at him. ¡°Got it.¡± Jack and Wayne nodded. Gary had taken the entire eleventh grade into his umbre of protection. Since this chic was unappreciative, she should not me them for anything that happened in the future. Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief after the three of them walked away slowly. Bradley grinned and became even more interested in Nicole. ¡°You have got guts, so daring to brush the Finleys off.¡± Bradley had long been having issues with Gary, but no one in San Joto wanted to offend the Finleys. ¡°The Finleys? Are they famous?¡± Nicole took out a book without looking up at him. Bradley nced at the book. It was in a foreignnguage that he could not read. ¡°You don¡¯t even know about the Finley family? They are the number one family in San Joto.¡± Bradley rattled on, but Nicole did not seem to be listening. ¡°As much as I admire your courage, it is not a good thing to be without their protection. Not only is there a quarrel among different sses, but there is also strife between the Royal Creek Institute, be it the high school or the university, and several schools in the vicinity.¡± Nicole was not interested in the school feuds. Noticing that her phone vibrated, she went out to answer the call. Bradley saw her acting secretive and could only turn his attention back to his assignment to finish it. It was a voicemail. Presumably, she had got the job. ¡°So quick?¡± Nicole felt a little surprised. It usually took at least three days to know if she had got the job as there were manypetitors, as with this job. But she was informed today that she had sessfully gotten the job. Feeling doubtful, she pressed a few keys, checking to make sure that she had really won the job. After that, she turned off the phone. Unbeknownst to Nicole, aputer in a ce far away had shown her coordinates for a second. ¡°It is right there, Mr. Johnston.¡± Max managed to trace Nicole¡¯s location, although it had just shown for a second. ¡°Royal Creek Institute in San Joto?¡± Jared¡¯s gaze deepened with a surprised look on his face. The person he was looking for turned out to be in San Joto. What was even weirder was that person was hiding in a school. ¡°That is weird. But we have hacked into The Hunters¡¯ dark web reply system. Her signal to reply to the system message is indeed sent out from there.¡± Max also wondered how it was possible in a school. ¡°It seems that Ellison has the person we are looking for.¡± Jared sneered with a meaningful look in his eyes. ¡°But that is Ellison¡¯s territory. Our men can¡¯t go in there just like this.¡± Ellison would not believe that if they told him there was a hacker from The Hunters in the school. ¡°That is for sure.¡± Jared¡¯s gaze darkened. ¡°So, how are we going to find Lucifer?¡± Max ran out of ideas. After a moment of silence, Jared fiddled with his coffee cup and said, ¡°Open a caf¨¦ opposite the school.¡± ¡°Open a caf¨¦?¡± Max was baffled. He could not figure out what was in his boss¡¯s mind. ¡°Ellison doesn¡¯t like others peeking around in his territory, but he still wees businesses.¡± Max¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. ¡°I got it.¡± After Max left, Jared looked out the window. ¡®I will catch you, Lucifer.¡¯ ¡­ It was noon, and Nicole went to the cafeteria with Bradley and a cute girl showing her the way. ¡°This is Lulu Barrera, amittee member of the Studies Society.¡± Bradley introduced the girl to Nicole. Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Nicole eased up slightly at seeing the innocent-looking girl. Lulu let out a bright smile. ¡°Nice to meet you, too. If you don¡¯t mind, join us at the cafeteria.¡± ¡°Yeah, why not?¡± Nicole nodded her agreement. She had a good impression of Lulu. So, the three of them walked toward the cafeteria of Royal Creek Institute with Bradley chattered nonstop. When they got there, he enthusiastically taught her how to order meals and which set meals were the most value-for-money. ¡°Nicole!¡± a passionate voice suddenly came. Nicole looked back and saw Samuel. She then shot a frosty look at Samuel, startling him. Spencer immediately got the hint and pulled Samuel away. ¡°You had better keep a low profile and don¡¯t let your fans bother your sister anymore.¡± The crisis was defused, and Nicole looked better now. ¡°Nicole, you know Samuel, don¡¯t you?¡± Lulu looked envious, seeing that Samuel had just called Nicole. ¡°Not so.¡± He was just her brother, whom she had known for barely a day. Hence, technically, she barely knew him. ¡°Oh, yeah?¡± Lulu doubted, ¡®Are they really not close? Just now, Samuel seemed very enthusiastic.¡¯ Nicole had ordered her meal and sat down with Lulu and Bradley. ¡°Is that girl a neer? She is pretty.¡± ¡°I guess so. ss B has posted on the forum today, saying that the title of the hottest girl in the school belongs to someone else now.¡± ¡°She indeed looks much better than the twins.¡± ¡°Shhh, the twins are here.¡± Everyone looked up and saw two girls walk into the cafeteria. One was Raine, who was in the twelfth grade, and the other was Snow, a college freshman. Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Raine and Snow were not twins, but they looked like two peas in a pot, graceful, gentle, and lovely. They were the goddesses in the eyes of the boys, recognized as the most popr girls in high school and college, respectively. As soon as the two appeared, they attracted the attention of many people. Raine and Snow greeted a few ssmates before sitting down. ¡°We have been waiting.¡± Their friends winked at them as soon as they sat down. ¡°See that neer of ss B of the eleventh grade over there? The forum is filled with her photos, saying that she is now the most popr girl in the school.¡± The two sisters looked back and saw Nicole, a hint of nonchnce shing in their eyes. Raine smiled, pretending not to care. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. It is not easy to be the most popr girl in Royal Creek Institute.¡± ¡°Exactly. Being the most popr girl requires not only good looks but also good grades.¡± ¡°Absolutely. Raine and Snow have always scored first on every exam.¡± The two sisters from the Riddle family could firmly cling to the title of the most popr girls in the school, not just because they were pretty but also because of their outstanding academic performance, in a different league than those girls with only beauty. ¡°Let¡¯s eat. Most popr or not is up to others to decide. There is no need to care too much.¡± Snow calmly ordered her meal, as if she did not care about the poprity title. ¡°Yeah, Snow doesn¡¯t care about this vanity title.¡± Snow¡¯s friend smiled and rolled her eyes toward Nicole. Seeing that Nicole did not respond, Bradley rolled his eyes back at them. ¡°Pretentious.¡± Lulu scoffed. ¡°Agree. Those two sisters are incredibly showy.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Don¡¯t let those random people affect your appetite.¡± Nicole¡¯s beauty was unparalleled even when she smirked. Lulu and Bradley quickly nodded in agreement. ¡°You are right. Don¡¯t let those random people affect our appetite.¡± The three of them looked at each other with a smile and then heartily continued their meals. Bradley was cheerful, while Lulu was innocent and cute. Nicole could not help but start to chat with them. It was her first time making friends at school, and it felt good. In the midst ofughter, the three of them finished their lunch. Just as they were about to get up to leave, several people stood in their way. ¡°You are now the most popr girl in the school?¡± There were three of them. The leading guy let out a sinisterugh. When everyone saw him, they gasped. That guy was Austin Woods, the notorious school bully of the twelfth grade. The Woods family was San Joto¡¯s famous upstart, very wealthy. Austin was a school neur and never scared of anyone except the two Finley brothers. Nicole looked at the rowdy guy and felt disgusted, her eyes turning frosty. ¡°I am not. Get out of the way.¡± All the students in the cafeteria held their breath when Nicole said that. Except for Gary, no one in the school had ever dared to speak to Austin like that. ¡°Huh? You have got an attitude. I like it.¡± Austin smiled and reached to touch Nicole¡¯s face. Not far away, Samuel subconsciously wanted to get up and help but was held down by Spencer. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°What am I doing? Someone is bullying my sister. I need to fix him up.¡± Nicole might have been snubbing Samuel all this while. He still had this sister at heart. While speaking, Samuel was ready to rush up. Just then, Austin had suddenly let out a cry. ¡°Ouch! It hurts!¡± Samuel and Spencer were stunned. They saw clearly that Nicole was twisting Austin¡¯s wrist. With a quick force, she folded his hand to his back. Austin was in pain and could only bend down and lean forward. ¡°Let¡ªlet me go!¡± He roared. ¡°Let you go? You are asking for it.¡± Nicole scoffed and gave Austin a good kicking in the butt. ¡°Ouch!¡± Austin screamed and fell facedown to the floor. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Austin!¡± His twopanions pulled him up quickly. One of them looked up and scolded Nicole, ¡°You brat! How dare you hit him!¡± Nicole red at him. ¡°Do you want to try, too?¡± At this point, both of Austin¡¯spanions were too frightened to speak. She was obviously only an eleventh-grade student and looked younger than the others. But she possessed a powerful persona. ¡°She-She can fight?¡± Samuel looked back at Spencer in surprise. Spencer also looked at Nicole, his jaw dropping to the ground upon seeing her move. ¡°I am afraid she can.¡± Seeing Nicole¡¯s swift move, the two brothers did not dare to go up to help. They were afraid that they would make things worse. ¡°You, brat! How dare you hit me! Do you know who my father is?¡± Everyone knew that Austin¡¯s father was the trustee of the school. Offending his son risked being expelled from the school. ¡°This neer is in big trouble.¡± Raine shook her head and said with a look of regret. Snow silently continued to watch how things unfolded. ¡°You should have asked your mom, not me, who your dad is.¡± Nicole snapped as she haughtily dusted her hands. Someone in the cafeteriaughed out loud. And then everyone else did the same. Austin had never been treated like this. He immediately roared, ¡°You brat! You have a death wish!¡± While speaking, he raised his hand to hit Nicole. But the next second, he suddenly felt someone grab his hand. The next thing he felt was the world spinning around him before he was thrown to the ground. ¡°Aah!¡± Following a painful scream, Austin passed outpletely. Theughter in the cafeteria instantly stopped because everyone saw the perfect over-the-shoulder move Nicole had just pulled off. Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Chapter 19 ¡°So badass!¡± Bradley was startled for a moment before muttering in amazement. Lulu could not help but nod in agreement. ¡°Badass indeed.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Nicole red disdainfully at Austin and then smiled evilly as she left. It was a mocking smile, but it was also beautiful. Everyone in the cafeteria watched in a daze as she left. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Spencer patted Samuel, who had note out of his awe, and said, ¡°It looks like our sister doesn¡¯t need us to worry about her.¡± In the afternoon, the school¡¯s forum went ape, saying that the new student performed an over-the- shoulder move and threw the school bully to the ground the first day in the cafeteria. Some people who hated Austinmented and praised her anonymously. Some people think she was in trouble, thinking she would be expelled tomorrow. But Nicole could not care less and continued to copy the assignment from others. ¡°Throwing Austin with an over-the-shoulder move? No wonder she said she didn¡¯t need Gary¡¯s protection.¡± Wayne looked at her from behind, almost wanting to whistle at her. ¡°She must know martial arts, but she seems to be mediocre in terms of studies.¡± Jack shook his head and felt sorry. Only a few of them in the ss copied the works of others, not expecting that Nicole was also doing so, copying Lulu¡¯s assignment. This showed how bad she was in her studies. Gary did not even look up but continued to fiddle with his phone. At the end of the ss, Bradley suddenly got up and came up to Nicole, looking worried. ¡°It is not good, Nicole. Austin has woken up and uploaded a post threatening to get the school to expel you.¡± Nicole looked up coldly. ¡°Does he really think he owns the school?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t own the school, but his father is one of the trustees.¡± Lulu and Bradley were worried about her. ¡°Then let him try.¡± Nicole sneered. After copying the work, Nicole returned the assignment to Lulu and thanked her. She then handed the papers that she was going to submit over to Lulu, grabbed her bag, and left. ¡°Nicole! Where are you going?¡± Lulu was baffled. ¡°I am not attending the self-study ss since I have finished the assignment.¡± Nicole turned and left. ¡°She said she is not attending the self-study ss?¡± Lulu was wide-eyed. The self-study sses at the beginning of the school year were notpulsory. But Ms. Emerson cared a lot about this month¡¯s exams. No one in the ss dared to leave, yet Nicole had gone. ¡°Yeah, when Ms. Emerson finds out, she will go ape.¡± The two of them looked at each other and could only pray silently for Nicole in their hearts. Stepping out of the ssroom, Nicole walked out of the school in the sunset along the boulevard. The shadows of the trees were dancing on the ground as trees rustled in the wind and the afterglow of dusk sprinkled on the young girl. Someone took a beautiful photo of her and posted it on the school forum. Twenty minutester, Nicole returned to the Riddle family house. She saw Daniel and Gloria as soon as she stepped through the door. ¡°How was your day at school today, Nicole?¡± ¡°Can you keep up?¡± Nicole was not ustomed to such a passionate concern from the two, but she still smiled gently. ¡°It is alright.¡± ¡°d to hear that. What do you want for dinner?¡± Gloria asked with concern. ¡°Mom, I am not a picky eater. You can cook whatever you want.¡± Nicole let out a faint smile. She and Gloria had be acquainted with each other for the past few days, and they had finally broken the ice. ¡°You are my good child.¡± Gloria patted Nicole¡¯s head with a look of relief, only to feel that they were much closer to each other now. Although Nicole still felt a little ufortable, She did not pull her hand back. While the three of them were talking, someone suddenly entered the door. Norah did not attend the self-study ss today. She had brought two people back with her. ¡°Mom, Dad, my cousins are here.¡± Norah enthusiastically ushered the two people through the door. Gloria and Daniel were surprised. ¡°Snow, Raine? I didn¡¯t expect you two here.¡± Snow and Raine were the children of Dillon and Karen, and like Karen, her two children were also arrogant, rarely interacting with them. They wondered why they hade back with Norah today. ¡°Dad, Mom, they are here to bring a gift to Nicole.¡± Norah sounded gleeful, but she was full of jealousy deep down inside. Snow and Raine had never wanted to talk to her. But when Nicole returned, they immediately bought her a gift and even delivered them personally; this made Norah furious. Snow and Raine stepped forward and said, ¡°Uncle, Aunt, my father said he was in a hurry yesterday and did not manage to prepare a gift for Nicole. So, he asked us to send it over today.¡± Raine was polite on the surface but was unhappy inside. She could not get over the fact that she had toe delivering a gift for a country girl. Daniel and Gloria nced at each other, guessing that Dillon must have felt bad for Nicole yesterday, so he asked Snow to send something over topensate. Just as he was about to refuse, Snow already looked at Nicole on the sofa and pretended to be friendly. ¡°You must be Nicole.¡± Snow was stunned when the two of them had eye to eye. ¡°It is you!¡± After beingpared with a girl on the school forum by ssmates the whole day, Snow and Raine apparently did not expect this person to be their cousin. ¡°You guys know each other?¡± Gloria blinked in bafflement. ¡°Not really.¡± Nicole spoke calmly and told the truth. She had seen her during the day, and the boy had asked her if she knew Snow in the morning, but she did not know that they were rted. Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Norah quickly said, ¡°Nicole, this is Snow, and this is Raine. They are the daughters of your second uncle and the most popr girls in our high school and university.¡± Norah knew what was happening on the forum today and deliberately spoke about it, causing Snow and Raine¡¯s faces to change. Nicole frowned and nced at Norah. Was Norah trying to cause hatred toward her? The next second, Raine spoke sarcastically. ¡°You might now know us, but today, the video of you getting into a fight has gone viral on the school online forum. Almost everyone in the school knows you.¡± ¡°A fight?¡± Gloria¡¯s expression froze. She immediately looked at Nicole. ¡°You got into a fight?¡± Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Nicole nced at Raine and said unhurriedly, ¡°No, I just taught an unruly ssmate a lesson.¡± If she had really wanted to fight, Austin would have been in the hospital now. ¡°Unruly?¡± Daniel¡¯s face turned a little graver. ¡°Were they bullying you? If true, they should be taught a lesson.¡± Norah did not expect her parents to spoil Nicole so much. She was jealous and acted as if she was worried. ¡°Dad, that being said, fighting is wrong. Besides, the kid she taught a lesson to today is from the Woods family.¡± Raine also agreed. ¡°Yeah, she has offended the Woods family. I am afraid that it will not be just her but the entire Riddle family that has to bear the consequences.¡± ¡°The Woods family?¡± Daniel and Gloria¡¯s faces turned a little pale upon hearing the name. The Woods family was San Joto¡¯s most prominent new rich, very wealthy, and they were all rogues. No one in San Joto wanted to mess with them, yet Nicole had offended one of them on her first day of school. ¡°Nicole, is what they say true?¡± Daniel sensed the tricky situation. Intending to protect her daughter, he had to figure out the actual situation and think of a way to protect Nicole. Nicole looked at Norah and Raine; they were all annoying squawkers. But she did not want to lie when she saw her parents¡¯ concerned look. ¡°It is true.¡± Those three words caused Daniel¡¯s and Gloria¡¯s expressions to change. ¡°What should we do about this, Daniel? Should we tell Dad?¡± The Woods family had always been nasty. The Riddle family had better be prepared in case the Woods came after them. ¡°Well, I am not sure.¡± Daniel felt it was better not to rm his father, but the Woods family was difficult to deal with. Norah saw the situation and took the opportunity to speak. ¡°Dad, Mom, it will not rm Grandpa.¡± Turning their eyes to Norah, Daniel and Gloria seemed to have found their key to the problem. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Norah hurriedly said, ¡°It was Nicole¡¯s first day in school today, and Austin does not seem to know that Nicole is from the Riddle family. That is why the school forum post only says that Nicole will be expelled and does not mention the Riddle family at all.¡± Her expression seemed anxious, but deep down inside, she was gloating over it. This brat was about to be expelled on the first day at school. How she wished Austin would kick her out of school now. ¡°Expel?¡± Gloria¡¯s expression looked even paler upon hearing the word ¡°expel.¡± They had beaten their brain out to get Nicole into Royal Creek Institute High School, and today she is about to be expelled. Nicole could not sit still at seeing Norah and Snow use the issue to smash her down. She said, ¡°Dad, Mom, don¡¯t worry. I will not be expelled.¡± Seeing that Nicole was still so conceited, Raine said sarcastically, ¡°It is not up to you. Everyone knows that Mr. Woods is the trustee of the Royal Creek Institute. Expulsion is the best thing you could hope for when you offend the grandson of the Woods family.¡± ¡°Raine, don¡¯t say that.¡± Snow reproached Raine and took a step closer to Nicole. ¡°Raine has always been straight-talking. Please don¡¯t mind. But she is telling the truth. It is best not to get the Riddle family involved. You shouldn¡¯t get upset if you are expelled.¡± Raine sounded like she wasforting her, but Nicole could sense Raine¡¯s pretentious concern. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I will not get upset because I will not be expelled.¡± Nicole still had a determined look on her face, which upset Snow and Raine. It got to Norah, too. Yet, she continued pretending to be concerned. ¡°I know you and Mr. Ellison have met once. But the Woods family is powerful; Mr. Ellison probably will not want to get himself involved. Your chances of staying are slim.¡± Nicole stared at Norah. ¡°Do you really hope that I will be expelled?¡± Daniel and Gloria looked at Norah upon hearing what Nicole said. ¡°No-No. Why would I?¡± Norah quickly shook her head. ¡°I am worried about you.¡± Nicole just looked at her nonchntly. ¡°Since you are not of help, keep your worries to yourself.¡± After Norah got trashed, her eyes welled up as she pretended to be innocent. Raine could not take it anymore. They had never given a d*mn about interacting with their fourth uncle¡¯s family, but Norah was polite to them every time she met them. Just Nicole was arrogant. ¡°Norah cares about you. Don¡¯t be so ungrateful.¡± Raine frowned and stood up for Norah. Snow frowned as she felt Raine had been used. ¡°Well, Raine, we are not in a position to speak about it. After all, it is Nicole¡¯s own business,¡± Snow said at the right time. ¡°Aunt, we have delivered the gift. So, we have got to leave. We wille to see you another day.¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± Gloria sent the two away with disconstion. Without support now, Norah looked at Daniel and Gloria with her eyes reddened. ¡°Mom, since Nicole doesn¡¯t like me to talk about this, I will go upstairs now.¡± ¡°Norah.¡± Gloria looked at her sad look and felt bad. Daniel had calmed down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Norah. Think about how to solve Nicole¡¯s problem.¡± Gloria snapped back and then looked back at Nicole. Feeling sorry for Nicole, Gloria took a deep breath and tried tofort Nicole. ¡°It is okay. Even if you leave Royal Creek Institute, Mom and Dad will get you into an equally good school. Don¡¯t worry.¡± It was heartwarming for Nicole. Compared with those outsiders who kicked her when she was down, her parents¡¯ genuine feelings for her had allowed her to find a sense of belonging. ¡°Thank you, Mom.¡± She really did not need her mother to worry about her, but she was still grateful for their concern. ¡°It is all right. Don¡¯t take this matter to heart.¡± Gloria and Daniel stopped asking further because they did This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. not want to pressure her. But it seemed that they still hoped that Nicole could stay at Royal Creek Institute. So, after dinner, they brought Nicole to grandpa¡¯s house. This time, Norah also tagged along on the pretext of concern about Nicole. Surprisingly , Dillon and his wife, Karen, were also there when they arrived. When Mr. Riddle Sr. saw Daniel and Gloria, he could not help but wonder. ¡°Didn¡¯t you two juste yesterday? What are you two doing here?¡± Seeing that, Karen said directly, ¡°I heard Nicole had gotten into trouble at school today, and I had just wanted to tell you. I didn¡¯t expect that Daniel and Gloria woulde today.¡± She had opposed this country girl studying at Royal Creek Institute yesterday. Now that Nicole had gotten into trouble at school and brought trouble to the Riddle family, she, of course, had all the incentives to bring the matter up. Gloria hated and was upset by Karen¡¯s tattling behavior. ¡°Nicole didn¡¯t cause trouble. It was the kid from the Woods family trying to grab her.¡± ¡°The Woods family?¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. frowned. ¡°Nicole shed with the boy from the Woods family today?¡± Chapter 21 Chapter 21 Chapter 21 The Woods family was a group of individuals whom the people in San Joto would stay away from, as messing with them was inviting trouble. Norah saw this and said boldly, ¡°Grandpa¡­ I didn¡¯t mean it. She had just arrived at school and did not know who Austin was.¡± It sounded like she was defending Nicole, but it actually was to say that Nicole was the one who first used violence. Nicole was not too happy. Just when she was about to rebut, Daniel spoke. ¡°Dad, Nicole is not to me. I have looked into the ins and outs of the matter. Austin openly tried to grab Nicole. Do we still have to put up with that?¡± Seeing the righteous indignation of Daniel and Nicole, Karen said sarcastically, ¡°Daniel, Austin is Mr. Woods Sr.¡¯s grandson. We are in trouble by offending him. I heard Snow say that Austin threatened to get Nicole expelled from the school.¡± Karen threw a bombshell. ¡°Expulsion?¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. frowned immediately. It was onlyst night that Mr. Ellison invited Nicole into the school, and he would expel her because she had offended Austin? ¡°What do you think? Austin¡¯s dad was a school trustee, and the students who offended Austin before did not seem to have a good ending.¡± Karen was kicking Nicole when she was down, as if Nicole¡¯s expulsion was a foregone conclusion. Norah immediately looked at Nicole expectantly. ¡°If that is the case, no one can help you, Nicole.¡± ¡°I am not asking anyone for help.¡± Nicole frowned. Karen thought Nicole was unrepentant and immediately said, ¡°Dad, see this girl? She still doesn¡¯t admit her fault.¡± ¡°What wrong have I done?¡± Nicole frowned. ¡°Do you mean I should let him grab me just because the Woods family is powerful? Will it not look bad on the Riddle family?¡± Nicole¡¯s voice was sonorous and powerful. For a moment, there was silence in the living room.Mr. Riddle Sr¡¯s eyes brightened up. ¡°Absolutely. As nasty as the Woods family is, we, the Riddles, aren¡¯t someone who can be easily bullied. Nicole did the right thing.¡± Norah was exasperated, not expecting Mr. Riddle Sr. to be so supportive of Nicole. Karen became anxious and said, ¡°Dad, you should know how to distinguish between right and wrong. What good is it for us to mess with the Woods family?¡± Seeing his wife so fiery, Dillon coughed gently to remind her. ¡°The situation is not that bad, Karen. The expulsion is no big deal. Austin doesn¡¯t know that Nicole is our family, and the Woods family will not bother us.¡± Daniel could not take it anymore at seeing the husband and wife echoing each other¡¯s words.¡± I wonder why you two are so opinionated. Is it because you are afraid that Nicole¡¯s matter will implicate you two?¡± The faces of both Dillon and Karen turned red, and Dillon snarled, ¡°Why say so? We don¡¯t just worry about ourselves, but the Riddle family. The Woods family is such a scoundrel that people try to keep away from them. What good is it for us to mess with them?¡± ¡°Do you mean that for the Riddle family staying out of trouble, we should do nothing when our children are bullied, even if they are Snow and Raine?¡± Nicole shot a frosty nce at Karen and Dillon. Mr. Riddle Sr. became even more clearheaded this time. ¡°You guys just want to stay away from this problem and care about yourselves. If Snow is the one who gets bullied, will you still shift the me like now?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Karen tried to say something but was discouraged by Mr. Riddle Sr.¡¯s reprimand. Seeing that no one could counter Nicole, Norah stared at her with indignation. She realized she had seriously underestimated Nicole. It did not take long for Mr. Riddle Sr. to express his final thoughts. ¡±Nicole did the right thing. If she is expelled, I will find her a better school tomorrow. It is no big deal. I can even send Nicole to study abroad. No matter what, I want to give her the best education.¡± C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. The kid from the Johnston family was so outstanding. He was not going to let his granddaughter fall behind. Knowing that Mr. Riddle Sr. genuinely cared about her, Nicole looked at him with a relieved smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Grandpa. I will not be expelled.¡± Her voice was calm and determined, inexplicably persuasive. ¡°Mr. Ellison has contacted you?¡± Seeing that her granddaughter was so assured of herself, Mr. Riddle Sr. thought she might have gotten some news. ¡°Not yet, but he will call me back as soon as he is free.¡± Nicole sounded as if it was a matter of course. It was as though Mr. Ellison was her subordinate. This strange feeling made everyone look doubtful. Norah¡¯s eyes were almost on fire. Did Nicole really think Mr. Ellison was subservient to her? While she was thinking so, the family butler suddenly came up and whispered to Mr. Riddle Sr. ¡°Mr. Ellison calls.¡± ¡°Mr. Ellison?¡± Not expecting that Mr. Ellison would call him, he took the call immediately. Everyone looked in Mr. Riddle Sr.¡¯s direction. As Mr. Riddle Sr. had poor hearing, he put the call on the phone speaker. ¡°Mr. Ellison, I didn¡¯t expect you to call.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. answered politely. On the other end of the phone, Mr. Ellison was letting out a kind smile. ¡°Mr. Riddle Sr., today I heard that the kid from the Woods family offended your granddaughter, Nicole. Is she all right?¡± Everyone heard that and was all wide-eyed. In terms of importance, it should be Nicole who offended Austin, but Mr. Ellison said that it was Austin who offended Nicole. How high was Nicole¡¯s importance in the eye of Mr. Ellison? Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Chapter 22 Nicole subtly shook her head to signal Mr. Riddle Sr. He then shook his head and said, ¡°She is fine. She didn¡¯t take it to heart.¡± ¡°d to hear. I will tell that kid from the Woods family to behave. No one will bully Nicole at school from now on. I assured you that.¡± ¡°Thank you so much.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. was ted and immediately thanked Mr. Ellison. ¡°No problem. Let us have a cup of tea together if you have time next time,¡± Mr. Ellison said politely. ¡°Any time, Mr. Ellison. Call me when you have time.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. was ttered. Not anyone could meet Mr. Ellison, and it was unimaginable that Mr. Ellison would ask to meet him. So, he agreed immediately. ¡°Sure.¡± After that, Mr. Ellison hung up. The air felt standstill as everyone who heard the conversation looked at Nicole in disbelief. Norah was most surprised. She had not believed it at all that Mr. Ellison would still be protective of Nicole when such a thing happened, but his phone call had confirmed everything. Mr. Riddle Sr. slowly lowered his phone and calmed himself down. ¡°Nicole, are you and Mr. Ellison close?¡± Last time Nicole only said she and Mr. Ellison had met just once. But he now felt that their rtionship was more than acquaintances. Seeing her grandpa¡¯s doubts, Nicole thought for a moment and said, ¡°Sort of.¡± They had only met once, but it was she who had been apanying him when he was in the hospital, and so they kind of knew each other well. Karen was not too happy with Nicole¡¯s answer. Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®sort of? How did you two meet?¡± She was resentful that a country girl like Nicole could get into Royal Creek Institute High School. Not only that, when Nicole confronted an opponent like the Woods family, Mr. Ellison still harbored Nicole. What was going on? She had to figure out their rtionship. Neither Daniel nor Gloria spoke. Apparently, they were also eager to know what their rtionship was. Seeing that her parents were so curious, Nicole decided to tell a little more. ¡°If I must say so, I saved Mr. Ellison¡¯s life.¡± Nicole said calmly, but her words stunned everyone. ¡°You saved his life?¡± Karen stared wide-eyed at Dillon, unable to believe that an eighteen-year -old girl imed to have said Mr. Ellison¡¯s life. ¡°Nicole, is what you say true? Don¡¯t bluff just because Mr. Ellison has called.¡± A student from the countryside imed to have saved Mr. Ellison¡¯s life. How was that possible? Was it not a pipe dream? ¡°Ask Mr. Ellison if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Nicole had little patience with Norah. Norah¡¯s face turned pale as she knew she was qualified to see Mr. Ellison. Obviously, Nicole had concluded that she could not verify it. Daniel looked back and came to a sudden realization. ¡°No wonder Nicole was so sure that she would not be expelled when she was at home.¡± Gloria was finally relieved. ¡°Yeah, so it seems that Nicole will not be expelled.¡± Daniel and Gloria were happy, but it was a p in the face for Dillon and Karen. At first, they thought abouting back today to tattle to Mr. Riddle Sr. about Nicole being kicked out of school, not expecting Nicole to turn things around. Instead of making Nicole look bad, the two of them had be theughingstocks. Looking guiltily at Mr. Riddle Sr., Karen could no longer sit still. ¡°Now that the matter is settled, we will go now.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. had no n of letting her go just yet. ¡°In the future, stay out of the school issues of children and do not bring issues that shouldn¡¯t be brought home.¡± Karen felt humiliated in front of Daniel and Gloria after being reprimanded by Mr. Riddle Sr. But this time, it was indeed her fault. She could only grit her teeth and say, ¡°I got it, Dad.¡± She then left with Dillon, with their tails between their legs. Mr. Riddle Sr. looked at Nicole with an avuncr smile. ¡°You are truly my granddaughter. Tell me how you taught the kid Austin a lesson today.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. had long been despising the Woods family. His granddaughter was just like him, sharp, incisive, and fearless. Finding it hard to exin in words, Nicole showed a video to Mr. Riddle Sr. and her parents. The three of them watched nervously. ¡°You know how to fight, Nicole?¡± Gloria was wide-eyed. ¡°I used to learn some martial arts in the countryside. My grandmother said it was for self defense.¡± She dodged Gloria¡¯s gaze and randomly made up a story. ¡°Not bad. Girls should learn some self-defense techniques. You are the only one who is like me in the family.¡± The more Mr. Riddle Sr. watched, the more ted he became. He kept watching the video clip several times. Norah waspletely neglected, her eyes fixated on Nicole. She could not believe that she had even used Snow and Raine to make Nicole look bad, yet she still failed. Instead, Nicole had stood out even more, and this was making Norah mad. Norah clenched her hands in resentment, her fingernails almost sinking into the flesh of her palms. An hourter, Daniel and Gloria were back at home with Nicole and Norah. Nicole texted Mr. Ellison to say thank you once she was in her room. Mr. Ellison had no habit of texting, so Nicole went to the shower. Not long after leaving the bathroom, there was a sudden knock on the door. She opened the door and saw Norah. ¡°What is it?¡± Nicole asked indifferently, her eyescking emotion. ¡°Nicole, this is the cosmetics I brought back from my previous trip to Floeze. I would like you to have it.¡± Norah let out an innocent smile, but Nicole did not like that smile very much. Thinking of how Norah kicked her when she was down today, Nicole took a step back. ¡°I am good. I never use these things.¡± She really hated cosmetics and did not bother to get them. ¡°You have never used them?¡± Norah was slightly surprised. Nicole had never used cosmetics, yet her skin was so beautiful. It made her jealous. Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Chapter 23 ¡°Anything else?¡± Nicole sounded cold, clearly wanting to drive her away. Norah felt embarrassed and could only quickly get down to business. ¡°I know that you and Austin have a conflict. I was just worried that our family would get involved, so I said something that might have offended you. Please don¡¯t mind. You may hit me if you are angry.¡± Norah said with an innocent look, as if Nicole would bully her. Nicole sneered as she despised someone who liked to y the victim like Norah. ¡°Since you know you shouldn¡¯t have said something that shouldn¡¯t be said, you should have corrected yourself instead ofing to me to pretend to apologize.¡± With that, Nicole mmed the door shut. Norah felt insulted, as if she had been pped, her face feeling a burning sensation. D*mn it.. How dare Nicole disparage her? Did Nicole really think she had the right to reprimand her because she came to apologize? ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see, Nicole.¡± She stomped her feet angrily before taking her things and went away. Nicole had locked the door and now turned on theputer. After entering the dark web, she decided to start taking a job today. A client wanted her to hack into aworkpany¡¯s system and find loopholes in their ounts. This was the mostmon and simplest type of hacking job she had always been doing. She had done such hacking jobs for years, from essing enterprise data centers to exploiting the Federal Intelligence Agency¡¯s system. But she had her principles and would do nothing illegal. Three hours flew by. At midnight, she found a vulnerability and imnted a monitoring code into the target system to monitor the target¡¯s ounts. She then turned off theputer to prepare for sleep She suddenly received an anonymous text message on her phone. [Carl is alive.] Nicole¡¯s heart skipped a beat at seeing the name. She calmed herself down and replied, [where is he?] The anonymous sender replied, [Beetle Town, Lanningbourg.] [Great! I will go see him.] After thest mission, she thought her partner was dead, not expecting that he was still alive. This made Nicole, who had always been calm, almost lost control of her emotions. [Not now. Someone is watching. We will take care of him. Don¡¯t go abroad so your whereabouts won¡¯t get exposed.] Nicole suppressed her emotions after getting the reply. She would have to wait for a long while before she could meet Carl. But she was still too excited and could not sleep all night after knowing the news. She felt a little tired, but this wasmon to her. So, she still went for a morning run like usual. After breakfast, she came to Royal Creek Institute in the Riddle family car. Her frosty look could not hide her beauty. It attracted a lot of attention. A boy could not help but take out his mobile phone and take a few candid photos of her. Nicole looked back at the boy coldly, as if she had eyes on her back. The boy was intimidated by her gaze and deleted the photos. Now the rest of the people became more behaved, and Nicole hurried to ss B. Bradley had arrived. Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. His grades were mediocre, but he was very hardworking, sitting on the side reading a book. When he saw Nicole, he asked her to sit down. ¡°Yesterday, Ms. Emerson came spot-checking the evening self-study ss, and only you were not in the ss. She will definitely get mad at you today. You have got to be careful.¡± Nicole couldn¡¯t care less about that. She did not have to waste her time on that boring evening self- study. Nicole nodded, signaling Bradley that she got it. Lulu also came, running into the ssroom and up to Nicole and Bradley, winking at them. Seeing that both of them looked at her in puzzlement, she caught her breath and said, ¡°Nicole, Austin here. You had better hide now.¡± Nicole did not expect Austin to still have the audacity toe after being taught a lesson so badly. However, she did not go anywhere. Instead, she just silently took out a foreignnguage book and read. Lulu looked at Nicole¡¯s nonchnt look and became anxious. Austin was notorious for being a petty guy. Nicole had pissed him off yesterday, and he would surely take revenge on her. ¡°Austin must be here to get revenge on you. Go to the teacher¡¯s office, and wait until the ss starts beforeing back. Just don¡¯t let him find you.¡± It was heartwarming to see Lulu was so concerned about her. Just when Nicole was about to say something, Jack¡¯s vivacious voice came from behind. ¡°She is supposed to be the one who should be worried, Lulu. Since Nicole doesn¡¯t want to listen to you, why do you care?¡± Jack remembered Nicole had rejected Gary¡¯s offer yesterday. Knowing that Austin wasing after her now, he could not help but gloat over it. ¡°Let¡¯s see how arrogant you could still be when Austin arrives.¡± Nicole looked at him coldly, and Jack looked at her dark eyes, somehow feeling a chill running up his spine . Just then, Austin had stormed into ss B with a few guys, his eyes searching around the rapie ssroom before spotting Nicole. He paused for a second before striding toward Nicole, who was sitting in the back of the ssroom. The few guys behind Austin rubbed their hands eagerly and stared at Nicole maliciously. All eyes were on Nicole. Jack and Wayne were sitting in the back, waiting to see how Austin would fix Nicole. Even Gary, who was indifferent to such things, looked over. Austin walked up to Nicole and suddenly bowed and said aloud, ¡°I am sorry for yesterday, Nicole.¡± For a moment, everyone¡¯s jaw dropped to the ground. Austin had always been the school bully and no one, except the Finley brothers, dared to mess with him. Now he was apologizing to a girl who had hit him. Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Chapter 24 Everyone looked at Nicole in admiration. But the more unbelievable things were yet toe. Austin¡¯s followers looked at Austin with confusion, and one of them asked, ¡°But boss, yesterday, this ungrateful brat rejected your¡ª¡±. Before the guy could finish speaking, Austin gave him a punch with a backhand. ¡°Stop talking like that to Nicole! From now onward, Nicole is my boss. I will not spare those who dare to bully her.¡± The poor guy nced angrily at Nicole. Seeing that Austin was serious, the rest bowed their heads and submitted to Nicole. After that, Austin looked at Nicole tteringly, hoping to get herpliment. Everyone was in a daze for a moment, as they could not believe that all this was true. Jack and Wayne behind them were speechless. Gary watched on with great interest, his eyes falling on Nicole and studying her. But Nicole was nonchnt, giving no reaction to Austin¡¯s actions. She then calmly checked her watch and said to Austin, ¡°I am not your boss. My ss is about to start. Don¡¯t bother me anymore.¡± Austin panicked when he saw Nicole opening a book, as if she was going to study. But his father had repeatedly told him to build a good rtionship with Nicole and that he must not piss Nicole off. ¡°I know it was my fault, Nicole. Please forgive me.¡± Austin humbled himself. But Nicole ignored him, holding the book she had not finished reading. She did not seem to care about this farce that was happening right now. Austin¡¯s face flushed when Nicole ignored him. No one in Royal Creek Institute had ever humiliated him like this. He had been unwilling to call Nicole his boss from the beginning. How could he still be the school bully if Nicole rejected him? ¡°You have got to be the boss, no matter what.¡± Austin left angrily after saying that. Nicole had no idea that she had rejected something that many people considered great and irresistible. Many were envious of her. Gary saw her nonchnce and knew that Nicole did not take Austin seriously. He could not help but take a greater interest in her. Who was she that even the Woods family was bowing to her? Raine came looking for Gary when she saw Gary staring with interest at Nicole. Angry, she clenched the bag in her hand and took in Gary¡¯s line of sight. ¡°Gary, there is a new caf¨¦ in front of the school. How about we go for a cup of coffee after school?¡± Gary was displeased when someone blocked his view. When he looked up and saw that it was Raine, he reluctantly agreed. Raine left the ssroom feeling pleased. After she left, Bradley leaned over and whispered to Nicole, ¡°I heard Raine had been courting Gary for a long time before Gary epted Raine. Now it seems that the rumor is true.¡± Nicole could not help but smirk upon hearing that. Thinking back to how arrogant the twin sisters, Snow and Raine, were when she was back at homest night, it would be interesting to see their family¡¯s reaction when they found out that their daughters were kissing the feet of the Finley brothers. Bradley looked at Nicole and scratched his head. ¡°Stop worrying about others. Maybe you should worry about yourself. Is it really okay for you to reject Austin like this?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it will be alright.¡± Nicole couldn¡¯t care less. She was not thinking about Austin at all but focusing her attention and immersed in the Esperiannguage book in front of her. Carl somehow came to mind. He was cynical and annoying, but his eyes were always so charming and wicked. Now she wondered how well he had recovered. But she felt less guilty toward him as long as he lived. Thinking of this, she breathed a sigh of relief. The ss bell rang, and Nicole slowly pulled her drifting thoughts back. Ms. Emerson walked in her Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. high heels into the ss with a stack of test papers in her hands. Ms. Emerson asked Lulu to distribute the test paper while she stood on the podium with her arms folded, her eyes sweeping over thest few rows with a sneer. ¡°Some students in our ss couldn¡¯t even giarize correctly, making the exact low-level stupid mistakes. Why didn¡¯t you all copy the name, too?¡± Jack whispered sarcastically, ¡°It must be that Nicole who made the stupid mistake while giarizing. We have been doing that for so long, and nothing has happened. Why did Ms. Emerson say someone was giarizing as soon as Nicole arrived?¡± Wayne nodded in agreement with disdain for Nicole in his eyes. Ms. Emerson continued. ¡°Jack, Wayne, Gary, you three are at the same level. What is the point of giarizing each other¡¯s answers? You will get more correct answers by throwing the papers to the ground and stepping on them than answering them yourself. giarism is so obvious; were you afraid that I couldn¡¯t find out?¡± Jack was not too happy when Ms. Emerson only singled out the three of them. ¡°Nicole has done the same thing, too. I saw it with my own eyes. Why don¡¯t you reprimand her?¡± Ms. Emerson got furious when Jack was trying to implicate Nicole. ¡°giarism is one thing, and ndering your ssmate is another. Nicole has got a perfect score. Only she has a perfect score in the ss. Even Lulu has answered two questions wrongly. So, tell me, who was giarizing whose answers?¡± Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Chapter 25 Ms. Emerson turned her head to look at Nicole with a gentle smile. ¡°Keep up the good work, Nicole. Don¡¯t getcent just because you have scored a full mark this time. The monthly exam is around the corner; it is still crucial to do revision at night.¡± Yesterday, she thought that Nicole¡¯s grades were mediocre. Nicole was even absent from the self-study ssst night. It was only after the test did she find Nicole¡¯s exam results were anything but mediocre. She was now much more at ease. It shocked Bradley to see how easily Ms. Emerson glossed over Nicole¡¯s absence from the self study ss. Jack was even more dumbfounded, not expecting Nicole to be the only person who got a perfect score. He and Wayne looked at Nicole sitting in the third row from thest, as if she was some kind of monster. While passing the test papers to Nicole, there was aplicated look in Lulu¡¯s eyes as she noticed that Nicole had corrected the two questions that she had done wrong. Those two questions were tough problems, very challenging. She had thought about it for a long time and was still confused by them and gave the wrong answers. Yet Nicole could see through the problems at a nce and came up with smart, concise, and correct answers. She looked at Nicole¡¯s steps of solution; her thinking was unique and unconventional yet effective. She admitted she was way behind Nicole. Could it be that this transfer student from the countryside was a real genius? Ms. Emerson also featured Nicole¡¯s problem-solving approach in her lectures. Shepared it with the standard textbook answers and praised Nicole¡¯s creative approach. After the ss, Lulu came up to Nicole and asked, ¡°Did youe up with the solution to those two problems yourself?¡± Nicole nodded. Compiling hacking codes was a thousand times more difficult than these test papers. These test papers werepletely unnecessary for her. If it was not for the sake of submitting assignments, she would not even write it, as it would be a waste of time. That was why she just copied and pasted the answers. ¡°Nicole, you are awesome. Do you have time to teach me?¡± Seeing Lulu looking at her with adoration, Nicole could not refuse her. She agreed with a smile. ¡°Sure.¡± After Lulu left, Nicole felt stares from behind her while shezily put her things into her bag. However, she paid no heed. Instead, she just packed and left the ssroom. It was not until Nicole disappeared from the line of sight that Gary pulled back his gaze thoughtfully. Nicole was standing in front of the Royal Creek Institute campus as the driver called and apologized to her, saying that the traffic was too congested and told her to wait a little longer. Nicole saw that there was a caf¨¦ in front of the school. Since it was still early, and she had nowhere to go, she thought she might as well go in and sit down in the caf¨¦. Once stepping into the caf¨¦, she found that the interior decoration was of a Nordic style she liked very much. The color tone was subtle with a tad of luxury feel, which showed the caf¨¦ owner had good taste. Nicole walked over to the bar, ordered a ss of Iced Americano, and then went to the corner of the caf¨¦ and sat down. It wasid back and free. Nicole sat in a chair and read the foreignnguage book. Unfortunately, it did not take long before a few people came in and sat down at an adjacent table. Hearing the familiar voices, Nicole looked up and saw Norah, Snow, and Raine. ¡°Nicole, I didn¡¯t expect to see you here.¡± Norah saw Nicole and immediately let out a friendly smile. ¡°Do you want to join us?¡± Nicole was not interested in Norah. Besides, she was disgusted to see Snow and Raine surrounded by those who tried sucking up to them. ¡°It is alright. My driver will be here soon.¡± If not for she had nowhere to go, she would have wanted to leave by now. ¡°I will go shopping with my cousins and will be homete.¡± Norah had a triumphant smile on his face, as if she was showing off that she could mingle with Snow and Raine. Nicole gave a stic smile. ¡°Suit yourself.¡± Her look of giving a d*mn upset Norah. She had invested so much time and effort to cozy up to Snow and Raine. What gave Nicole the right to ignore what her family thought? Biting her lip and seeing that Nicole had bowed her head to read her book, Norah could only turn around and return to her table. Celia Rowe, Norah¡¯s buddy, saw Nicole ignoring Norah and asked in puzzlement, ¡°So arrogant. Who is Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. she?¡± Celia seldom checked the forum and thus did not know who Nicole was. When asked, Norah immediately lowered her head and pretended to be embarrassed. ¡°My sister from the countryside. She doesn¡¯t know much about manners. Hope you all don¡¯t mind.¡± But her words caused the girls to frown. ¡°A country girl is so arrogant?¡± ¡°Uncivilized.¡± Celia shot a sideways nce at Nicole and sneered. ¡°I wonder if a hillbilly knows how to appreciate coffee. She should have gone back to the countryside and do farming instead.¡± Seeing Nicole being ridiculed, Snow and Raine sat by and gloated over it. With so many people sucking up to her, Celia was carried away. She stirred the coffee in her hand and then took a deep breath of the aroma of coffee. ¡°I could tell with just a sip that this coffee was made from the beans grown in Ha. I wonder if a hillbilly knows how to appreciate.¡± Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Snow was cooperative. ¡°Indeed, I can also tell that this should be Hablese coffee beans, and was probably producedst year. That¡¯s why it is so fragrant and has a very strong coffee aroma.¡± Raine quickly nodded. ¡°The roasting of this coffee bean goes through tenplex processes.¡± Everyone listened to them and nodded their heads in praise of their erudition. Seeing that they had gotten all the attention they wanted, Snow and Raine yed humble, pretending that they were not seekingpliments, yet the smile on their faces had never stopped. Norah felt triumphant, too, after Nicole was ridiculed. Just as they were at it, suddenughter came. Snow and Raine turned around abruptly, not realizing that Nicole was leaning back in her chair and looking at them with unbridled sarcasm. Raine was the first to lose her cool. ¡°What are youughing at?¡± ¡°Iugh at you all, smart aleck.¡± Nicole did not want to intervene at first, but these people had jabbed at her. She was not going to take the insult lying down. ¡°Smart aleck? How dare you call us that, hillbilly!¡± Raine was pissed as no one at school dared to talk to them like this. She thought Nicole was too arrogant. Norah remained silent, eager to see how the twins were going to fix Nicole. But Nicole just swirled her coffee cup and took a sip gracefully. ¡°This isn¡¯t Hablese coffee bean at all, but a new variety cultivated by a certain private estate in Floeze. It is a specialty, which is basically not sold to the public.¡± ¡°Stop pretending already. We can even tell the roasting process.¡± Celia was diffident after hearing what Nicole had said. Nicole looked at the time and walked over to their table. She pressed her hands on the table and continued with a faint smile. ¡°What roasting process are you talking about?¡± Nicole looked at them with disdain and scorn in her eyes, her powerful persona irrefutable. ¡°This coffee bean is roasted using the internationally famous Floeze Roast extremely deep roasting method so that the roasted coffee beans have a strong aroma, smooth taste but not sour. It brews a unique caf¨¦ auit. I don¡¯t know if you have heard of the principle that less is more. Often, the simpler the roasting method, the better the coffee, and coffee beans that have gone through over a dozen processes are probably just a pile of charcoal.¡± ¡°Charcoal?¡± Everyone was stunned. Looking at the three girls who spoke just now, they thought about it carefully. It seemed that what Nicole had said made sense. The colors on Snow and Raine¡¯s faces changed. They knew nothing about coffee and what they said just now was mere hearsay. Raine felt humiliated, but she was not going to admit it. ¡°Stop lying. This is clearly Hablese coffee. Don¡¯t be a smart alec.¡± ¡°Yeah. When you say it is Floezen coffee beans, and it is Floezen? I might as well say it is Esperian!¡± C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. Celia came to her senses. Just then, Norah got up, pretending to worry about Nicole. ¡°Stop talking if you know nothing, Nicole. They often drink coffee.¡± Norah was convinced that Nicole was lying. Those who knew nothing would think that what Norah said was more believable. After all, how many times did a country girl drink coffee? Right then, a maic voice came. ¡°Miss Riddle is spot on. My coffee beans are indeed from Floezen Manor, and the roasting method used is indeed deep roasting. I really did not expect that Miss Riddle was so knowledgeable.¡± The voice was elegant and sonorous, so everyone could not help but look at the person. It was a man looking dignified in a silver-gray suit. He came up to Nicole. ¡°What a coincidence, Miss Riddle.¡± Nicole raised an eyebrow, not expecting to see Jared here. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Seeing that Nicole was so curious, Max quickly stepped forward. ¡°I guess you haven¡¯t known ¨C this new caf¨¦ belongs to Mr. Johnston.¡± ¡°This is his caf¨¦?¡± While Nicole furrowed his brows, those people sitting behind her were stunned. Even Snow and Raine froze to see such a charming guy. Snow knew this name well. ¡°Jared? Aren¡¯t you the junior owner of Johnston Group?¡± She had heard about ittely that Mr. Johnston Sr.¡¯s grandson had returned from studying abroad. Could it be him? ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! He is Nicole¡¯s fianc¨¦?¡± Raine¡¯s eyes were full of envy. She had spent much time and effort to court Gary, but a hillbilly like Nicole could easily have such an outstanding fianc¨¦. The jealousy in Norah¡¯s eyes almost overflowed when Norah heard the word ¡®fianc¨¦.¡¯ These envied eyes should have been on her. ¡°Nicole, you should quickly introduce him to us.¡± Snow looked eagerly at Jared. Nicole nced at her and could not believe that Snow had changed her attitude so quickly. Snow had just given her the cold shoulder a while ago and now pretended to be close to her and wanted her to introduce Jared to her ¡°Didn¡¯t you just know his identity?¡± Why bother her with such an introduction? Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Snow was embarrassed but could only hold out her hand to Jared. ¡°Hello Mr. Johnston, I am Snow, Nicole¡¯s cousin. Nice to meet you.¡± She smiled and fiddled with her hair, trying to impress Jared. No boy at school could resist her suggestive teasing, and she thought Jared was no exception. But Jared just nodded casually. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Snow and Raine tried their entire bag of tricks to impress Jared but hit a wall when Jared snubbed them. Norah immediately snapped back and wanted to smash down Nicole. ¡°We are sorry for the blunder. We were just discussing the coffee beans, and Nicole was just spitballing. Hope you don¡¯t mind if she is wrong.¡± Norah looked graceful. The way she pretended to speak for Nicole could not be b*tchier. Nicole¡¯s stomach churned, and she almost threw up. Just then, Jared suddenly said, ¡°Miss Riddle is right, this coffee bean is indeed a product of my Floezen manor, and she is spot on about the roasting method.¡± Everyone gasped in surprise. The owner of this caf¨¦ was here, and he could not be lying. They never expected that what Nicole said was correct. Everyone looked at Snow and Raine with disgust, as it turned out that the two girls were just smart alecs. Jared¡¯s confirmation was a p in the face for both Snow and Raine. They blushed in humiliation and wished the ground would swallow them up. At this point, Jared did not want to entertain the others anymore. ¡°Excuse me. I would like to talk to Miss Riddle in private.¡± The invitation from such a charming man immediately aroused everyone¡¯s envy. But it surprised Nicole because Jared was cold to her when they metst time. So why did he suddenly want to talk to her alone? It was at this time that she realized she had a problem. The reason she knew this coffee bean so well was that someone gifted the coffee beans to her foster father, who, in turn, gave it to her because she liked coffee. So, could it be that Jared knew about her foster father? Her heart skipped a beat. Did this mean that she was likely to expose her identity? Before she knew it, Jared had brought her into a private lounge as everyone looked on with envy. After taking a seat, Jared stared at her with a thoughtful look and asked in curiosity. ¡°Strange to say, I have never sold the coffee beans produced in my estate in the market, and I have only given it to some rtives and friends. I wonder how you know so much about it?¡± He had not carefully checked Nicole¡¯s backgroundst time because she was only brought from the countryside, and he thought her background could not be simpler. He had given the coffee beans and red wine from his estat¨¦ to some bigwigs. How could she, a little girl from the countryside, know about it? Nicole¡¯s mind was racing, and she finally said, ¡°Do you know Mr. Ellison?¡± Jared did not know why she was asking this. After thinking for a while, he nodded. ¡°Mr. Ellison and my grandfather are old acquaintances, and we have known each other for many years.¡± Nicole was relieved and became bold when she heard this. ¡°Mr. Ellison and I are also kind of acquaintances, and I once had the privilege of drinking coffee brewed from the coffee beans produced in your estate.¡± Nicole thought she had been very low-key. After all, her rtionship with Mr. Ellison was not a secret. Jared¡¯s gaze deepened as he asked, ¡°Are you and Mr. Ellison close?¡± If it were not for the genuine look in her eyes that told him she was not lying, he would have doubted and thought that this little girl was bluffing. Who is Mr. Ellison? He was a previous-generation giant figure of San Joto¡¯s social circle. Although Ellison had retired and was now working in the education industry, hiswork and stature were still unmatched by many. He could be said to be a giant in the San Joto businessmunity. Those who could rub shoulders with him were all people of importance in San Joto. Jared¡¯s grandfather and Mr. Ellison were lifelong friends, and it was Jared¡¯s grandfather who introduced Mr. Riddle Sr. to Mr. Ellison. But this little girl imed she was close to Mr. Ellison. ¡°Sort of. It was Mr. Ellison who helped me with the school enrollment and my problem with the Woods family,¡± Nicole did not bat an eye, sounding as if it was something normal. This shocked Jared even more, and the doubt in his eyes turned into inquisition. This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Who was this girl, really? How could Nicole make Mr. Ellison so concerned about her and help her settle the conflict between her and the Woods family? But the friendship between Mr. Ellison and Mr. Riddle Sr. was not as deep as to warrant Ellison to care so much about Nicole. So, could what Nicole said to be true? Nicole took another sip of coffee when suddenly her phone rang. She answered it. Her driver informed her that he had arrived. She got up immediately and did not forget to take out a hundred-dor bill and put it next to the coffee cup. ¡°My driver has arrived. I have got to go now. Thank you for your hospitality.¡± Jared saw this and pushed the banknote back to her. ¡°As long as our engagement is still intact, you are still my fianc¨¦e, and the coffee here is always free for you.¡± Nicole was slightly stunned, not expecting to receive such privileged treatment. The production of coffee beans in his estate was limited every year, yet she could drink as much as she wanted for free? Chapter 28 Chapter 28 In that case, it was not too bad to be his fianc¨¦e. Wait a minute; what the hell was she thinking? How could shepromise just for the coffee? She coughed with embarrassment but still kept her modesty. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Johnston. I wille again when I have time.¡± She loved coffee, so why not since it was free? ¡°Okay.¡± He stared at her pretentious look and could not help but smile. This girl seemed to like his coffee beans. ¡°I will go now. See you around.¡± Nicole waved goodbye. She smirked when she turned around. She woulde for the coffee often. Max came into the private lounge after Nicole left. Jared immediately instructed Max, ¡°Check Nicole¡¯s background and don¡¯t rm the Riddle family.¡± C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. He wanted to figure out the rtionship between this girl and Mr. Ellison, and how she knew the existence of his estate. Max bowed his head, turned around, and left to find out Nicole¡¯s background. Turning his gaze to the floor-to-ceiling window, Jared looked at Nicole¡¯s slender body from behind and smirked unconsciously. This girl had aroused his interest. Nicole got into the car, looked back at Jared, sitting by the window, and could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Thankfully, she was smart enough to use Mr. Ellison as a straw man. When she thought about it again, she felt obliged to visit Mr. Ellison, as he was really her benefactor Back at home, Nicole did not expect to see the twin brothers there, either. Sitting across from them was a tall guy in a school uniform with a refined persona. His school uniform was like that of the high school, but the color of the cor was darker, looking like that of the college. ¡°Stanley, Nicole is back.¡± Spencer immediately introduced when his keen eyes spotted Nicole. Stanley looked over at Nicole, his eyes twinkling with surprise. At first, he thought her sister from the countryside would have that rustic look. But Nicole did not have that at all. Instead, she was incredibly beautiful and shared the same facial features as her brothers. ¡°Hello, Stanley,¡± Nicole spoke first, her face breaking out in a gentle smile. Stanley looked a little shy and nodded unnaturally. ¡°Hello, Nicole.¡± Spencer quickly said to Nicole. ¡°Stanley is a nerd and not good at talking to beautiful girls. His face is blushed again.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Stanley nced at Spencer, his pale face even redder than before. Nicole did not expect that the top student whom Spencer and Samuel mentioned had such a shy personality. ¡°Stop messing around. Come over for dinner.¡± Gloria saw the three brothers pick at each other when she came out of the kitchen with a bowl of tomato soup. But when she saw Nicole, a smile spread across her face. ¡°You are back, Nicole. I have made grilled salmon, your favorite dish. You have got to try it.¡± Nicole had started to warm up to Gloria for the past few days. She let out a gentle smile and sat down beside Gloria. ¡°Thank you, Mom.¡± She never mentioned her favorite dishes, but Gloria had been paying attention to her preferences. Knowing that Nicole loved salmon, she had been cooking salmon for the past two days. Samuel quickly sat down, looked at a tableful of delicious food, and smiled happily. ¡°I love these dishes. I havee back at the right time today.¡± ¡°All you know is eat.¡± Spencer groused as he sat down. Daniel did note back today as he had got something on. Gloria was sitting in the main seat, and Nicole was left to sit beside Stanley. As soon as Nicole sat down, she felt it funny when Stanley tensed up. How did he be the student union president when he was so shy? ¡°Stanley, toast to you,¡± Nicole said, raising a ss of water. Everyone looked at Stanley in silence. ¡°Nicole¡­¡± Samuel wanted to speak Stanley had a shy personality and was most afraid of girls taking the initiative. Norah once poured him a bowl of soup, and he did not drink it at all. After that, Norah felt a sense of alienation toward him. But this time, Nicole was toasting to him. Samuel and Spencer felt something was not right, afraid that Stanley might lose his temper. The air was still for a few seconds. Nicole had no idea what was going on and why the twin brothers looked at her nervously. Suddenly, Stanley held up his ss and clinked sses with Nicole. ¡°Huh?¡± Samuel and Spencer were stunned. Even Gloria was wide-eyed. ¡°Stanley, are you okay?¡± Stanley shook his head. ¡°I am alright.¡± He felt strange, too, as he usually was afraid of interacting with the opposite sex, and even when Norah approached him, he felt ufortable. But he was not resenting Nicole at all. Gloria could not help but wonder if this was the beauty of blood rtions. While everyone was stunned, someone called out at the door. ¡°Mom, everyone, I am back.¡± Norah¡¯s voice sounded sullen. She hade in and saw Nicole toasting to Stanley before she called out. Just that no one had not noticed her, she felt terrible because of jealousy. Stanley had always resented her, and no matter how good she was to him for the past years, he still resented her. But he changed into another person as soon as Nicole returned. Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Why? She had been in this family for over ten years. Was everything she had done in vain? Why was everyone so nice to Nicole as soon as she returned? The hatred inside her surged like the billowing sea, but she could only try to keep a smile on her face. ¡°Why did youe back sote, Norah?¡± Samuel asked with concern. It made Norah feel better, as she knew that Samuel genuinely cared for her. Thinking of this, she raised her chin and said, ¡°I went shopping and had a drink with Snow and Raine after school. That¡¯s why I amte. Had I known that you guys would be back today, I would havee back earlier.¡± Nicole scoffed. Norah did not look like she wanted to return home when she ingratiated herself with Snow and Raine. ¡°Come have dinner together.¡± Gloria smiled and beckoned Norah to sit down. But what Gloria said made Norah feel as if she was just a guest. She nced at the long table again. There were two people on the left and two on the right, and she was superfluous. Biting her lip, she sat down next to Samuel. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. As everyone began to dig in, Samuel brought up what happened at school. ¡°Stanley, have you looked at the high school forum? Nicole is now the most popr girl at school.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± Gloria¡¯s eyes were filled with tion. ¡°Nicole has just enrolled, and she is already so famous?¡± Spencer nodded. ¡°It is true. There is something that you don¡¯t know; Austin was so embarrassed and furious because he got rejected when confessing to Nicole.¡± Gloria did not know that until now. ¡°No wonder. Austin deserves it then.¡± How dare he disturb her daughter? He really needed some good spanking. Norah immediately had something to say at the mention of this. ¡°Mom, it was indeed Austin¡¯s fault, but Nicole should not have overreacted. Even with Mr. Ellison¡¯s help, they would inevitably see each other at school, and there were bound to be unpleasant encounters.¡± Norah seemed to care about her, but she was ming Nicole verbally. Nicole could not help but put down her cutlery and looked at Norah. ¡°It won¡¯t happen again. Austin came to our ss today and apologized to me.¡± ¡°Apologized?¡± Gloria was surprised. ¡°That arrogant kid of the Woods family apologized to you?¡± The news caught everyone by surprise. After all, no one was in the same ss as Nicole, and naturally, no one knew about it. ¡°Yeah, he apologized and even asked me to be his boss. I didn¡¯t agree,¡± Nicole said nonchntly as if she was talking about someone else. ¡°What did you say?¡± ¡°Austin asked you to be his boss?¡± Both Samuel and Norah were wide-eyed. Austin was a school bully who stirred up trouble with a few underlings every day. It was unimaginable that such a person would ask Nicole to be his boss. What was going on? Norah was in ss A and had no idea that Nicole had made such a huge ssh at ss B today. She bit her lip. Even after exposing what happened at school, not only did she fail to keep Nicole in check, she had also caused Nicole to earn the admiration of her brothers. Samuel was the first to express hispliment. ¡°No wonder Austin asked you to be his boss. Your over-the-shoulder move yesterday was so badass.¡± ¡°Yeah, have you studied martial arts before, Nicole?¡± Spencer also asked out of curiosity. Gloria had never known that Nicole was skilled in martial arts. She could not help but look at Nicole. ¡°Did you learn martial arts before?¡± Since everyone was so curious, Nicole decided to tell the truth. ¡°Well, I won a martial arts championship during my ninth grade in junior high school.¡± ¡°Martial arts champion?¡± The twin brothers were even more surprised. They could not help but nce at each other. The two of them were still ying games when they were in their tenth grade. In contrast, their sister had won the martial arts championship. Norah was filled with jealousy. ¡°The bar must be low for the martial arts championship in the countryside.¡± Nicole scoffed and cocked an eyebrow. ¡°It was a national martial arts championship.¡± ¡°Oh my God!¡± Samuel¡¯s serious admiration instantly turned to adoration. ¡°Nicole, you are seriously badass! Can you teach me when you have time?¡± Samuel¡¯s eyes were filled with Nicole. Now thest person who ever paid attention to Norah was gone. Because of this, Norah looked sullenly at Nicole. Damn the hillbilly. Was Nicole showing off in front of her? Nicole noticed the look in Norah¡¯s eyes and deliberately agreed to Samuel¡¯s request. ¡°Yeah, why not? If you are willing, feel free to find me.¡± Norah clenched her hands, her nails almost sinking into the flesh when she saw Nicole¡¯s triumphant look. But no one was paying attention to her. Samuel and Spencer were curious to know the process of Nicole learning martial arts, while Gloria looked concerned when she heard about her injuries during the practice. Meanwhile, Stanley listened on, asionally refilling her ss with water. Everyone at the table had excluded her. Norah lost her appetite. After taking a few bites, she said, ¡°I am going upstairs.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Samuel said without looking at her, much to her surprise. Norah was even more furious this time. She stomped her feet and went upstairs at once. While everyone was chattering at the table, Stanley noticed Nora¡¯s unhappiness. Something told him something was wrong with Norah¡¯s expression when she left. Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Chapter 30 Nicole returned to her room after a lively dinner. Samuel¡¯s enthusiasm was overwhelming for her. Fortunately, the few of them rarely came home. Gloria wanted to know how they were doing these days, as she was preparing what they would need to take to schoolter. After taking a shower, Nicole locked the door and turned on her notebook to check the job¡¯s progress. The monitoring code was working properly. Just as she was about to close the notebook lid, she suddenly noticed a program, which she did not code, running in the lower-left corner of the screen. The little program was emitting a faint glow. Nicole¡¯s keen eye immediately recognized what it was: a location-tracking malware. ¡°Trying to track me down? Not so easy!¡± Nicole scoffed, her fingers flying over the keyboard, quickly closing all channels, and shutting down this specially built notebookputer. She had many enemies. It would be too dangerous if her location was exposed. But what she did not This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. know was that as quick as her action was, the tracking malware had still lit up on the map for a split second. Max immediately located her coordinates and quickly reported to Jared. ¡°Mr. Johnston, Lucifer¡¯s action was fast. Our location-tracking program was removed.¡± Jared¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°It was removed so easily?¡± It was a top deciphering program he had bought with top dor. He had even manually modified it to make it even more stealthy, but Lucifer¡¯s hacking skills had cracked it before he knew it. ¡°Yes, but the program has still disyed its coordinates for 0.1 seconds.¡± Max was almost cheering with joy, as days of monitoring finally came to fruition. ¡°Really?¡± Jared¡¯s eyes lit up. He also had amazing hacking skills, and 0.1 seconds was all he needed. ¡°I have got the precise coordinates, but it is bizarre.¡± Max zoomed in the map, and found the signal coordinates were set at San Joto. ¡°Where?¡± Jared frowned. ¡°The Riddle family house.¡± Max still felt surprised, even though he had checked and confirmed it repeatedly. ¡°In the Riddle family house?¡± Jared was in disbelief. ¡°How is this possible?¡± Lucifer, the famous hacker, had been hiding in the Riddle family home not far away from him? How was this possible? Hispany abroad had nothing to do with Johnston Group, nor did it have any dealings with the Riddle Corporation. The Riddle family had no reason to sabotage his business. He lost $100 million when hispany¡¯s system was paralyzed thest time. $100 million might be a drop of the ocean for him, but it was a great humiliation. So, he wanted to track down Lucifer at all costs. Nevertheless, never had he expected this person, who he had thought was somewhere far away, to be this close to him; it was in the Riddle family home. ¡°Could it be that the tracking system has malfunctioned?¡± Jared was a little incredulous. ¡°Mr. Johnston, your skills are also one of the best in the world. It is impossible that the tracking program you have modified will malfunction.¡± Max was telling the truth. He sighed quietly, knowing that even Jared, who had always been confident, had started to doubt himself. This just showed how huge the impact it was on him. Seeing Jared¡¯s silence, Max could only continue. ¡°Mr. Johnston, I will check out the Riddle family first, no matter what.¡± Jared snapped back and looked at Max with sullen eyes. ¡°Okay, at least find out if someone from Riddle Corporation is behind this.¡± Mr. Riddle Sr. had a deep friendship with his grandfather, and over the years, Riddle Corporation had made a lot of money with its rtionship with Johnson Group. He was not going to spare them if it was Riddle Corporation that backstabbed him. Nicoley on the bed, feeling uneasy when she thought about the tracking malware. It was sophisticated malware. She had just discovered that there were a few lines of code that were very different and could trace her coordinates to 0.01-second uracy. In other words, even if she sent out 0.01 seconds of coordinate information, the other side could still receive it. The more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong with the job itself. It was too easy to get the job, not to mention its high reward and easy task. She had not met such a generous client in so many years. Thinking about it, she started to realize that someone must have deliberately set a trap to fish her IP address. If this was the case, she could no longer live in the Riddle family home. Otherwise, it would bring danger to her family. She had to leave the Riddle family home and go to a crowded ce. The next day, Nicole got up and went for a run, her mind preupied with the problem. When she came back and after a shower, she found Daniel, Gloria, and her brothers already sitting at the table. Sean got up early and went to work every day, so it was rare to see him during breakfast. Surprisingly, Steve, who had his own house outside, had returned. He was reading a financial newspaper when she came downstairs. He looked up and said good morning to her gently, ¡°Hey, Nicole. Long time no see.¡± He let out an exaggerated smile. ¡°Good morning, Steve,¡± Nicole responded with a smile but secretly sneered. Apparently, they had just met two days ago. Coming to the table, she still sat down next to Stanley, as usual. Stanley was not in his school uniform but a white blouse, looking gentle as sheep and approachable. Sitting across from him was Norah, who saw that Nicole and Stanley were getting along well. As the food was served, Nicole held up a ss of milk and smiled inadvertently at Stanley. ¡± Stanley, are you staying in the school hostel just like Spencer and Samuel?¡± Stanley nodded, not knowing why she asked. ¡°Yeah, it is busier during the third year in college. So, I stay on campus.¡± ¡°Are you bragging or what, Stanley? Third year in college is no way near as busy as in twelfth grade.¡± Spencer could not help butin. Samuel echoed. ¡°Absolutely. We are forced to stay on campus while you are there by choice.¡± Stanley looked helpless. ¡°I can¡¯t help it. The school has a library. It is more convenient for me.¡± Everyone in the family knew that Stanley enjoyed studying in the library, where he often spent an entire day there. ¡°Since you all are all living on campus, could I apply for boarding as well?¡± Nicole took Chapter 31 Chapter 31 Chapter 31 Samuel was stunned. ¡°Isn¡¯t our home cozy? I would¡¯ve gone home if it hadn¡¯t been because we stayed up toote revising.¡± ¡°Exactly. There is no way our dorm is better than our home.¡± Spencer objected right away. ¡°But my exam is just around the corner. If I stay there, I can concentrate on my studies like Stanley.¡± Nicole used her exam as an excuse just to stay on campus. Upon hearing Nicole¡¯s words, Norah scoffed in her mind. ¡®No wonder this country bumpkin wants to stay on campus; she¡¯s worried about her academic performance.¡¯ Gloria knew that Nicole was ambitious and hardworking, but she was reluctant to let Nicole go. ¡°Nicole, you¡¯re only in your junior year. You can stay on campus when you are in your senior year. Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself.¡± Nicole had to give Gloria a reassuring smile when she noticed Gloria¡¯s worried expression. ¡°I know, Mom. But my teacher attaches great importance to this exam. I¡¯m afraid that my results will be subpar, so I n to stay there to revise with my ssmates.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Gloria frowned when she heard Nicole¡¯s exnation. ¡± If you¡¯re worried about your grades, you can still stay at home. I can get Stanley toe home and tutor you. There¡¯s no need for you to stay on campus.¡± Nicole, her daughter, had just returned. They had not even really bonded with each other. Gloria would miss Nicole if Nicole lived in a dorm. Daniel could tell Gloria was feeling hard to let her go, so he nodded. ¡°Your mom is right, Nicole. If you stay on campus, what should your mother and I do when we miss you?¡± Nicole started to feel bad as she realized how sincere her parents were. Her family treated her well, so she could not reject their kindness so decisively. She still had to consider their feelings when she made her decisions. Looking at his family rejecting the idea, Steve smiled, intrigued. He held his coffee mug and said, ¡°Dad, C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. Mom, shouldn¡¯t you support Nicole for being hardworking? Stanley is a shy guy; how could he tutor Nicole?¡± Stanley blushed at Steve¡¯s remark. ¡°I will tutor her!¡± ¡°Do you even know how to tutor? Are you not afraid of girls anymore?¡± Steve looked at Stanley in a yfully teasing manner. Stanley, who was teased, was not having it. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of Nicole.¡± He was telling the truth. Although he disliked being around girls, he did not mind Nicole getting close to him. ¡°Oh? Now that¡¯s weird.¡± Steve did not expect Nicole to be so special to Stanley. ¡®Come to think of it, everyone in this house has changed ever since Nicole¡¯s return,¡¯ thought Steve. He sent Nicole a teasing gaze and said defeatedly, ¡°Sorry, Sis. I run out of ideas to help you.¡± Nicole could not help but sigh silently as it seemed impossible for her to live on campus now. A voice came from the door when she was just about to give in. ¡°Nicole wants to stay on campus because of her studies. Isn¡¯t that a good thing? Being hardworking and ambitious are the attributes someone in the Riddle family should have.¡± Daniel and the rest of the family stood up in shock when they saw Mr. Riddle Sr. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s still early, and you are here¡­¡± Daniel added in his mind, ¡®¡­unannounced.¡¯ Mr. Riddle Sr. waved and said, ¡°Mr. Ellison asked me to meet him today, so I nned to send Nicole to school on my way there. I didn¡¯t expect to hear all of you discussing whether she should stay on campus as soon as I got in.¡± ¡°You want to send Nicole to school?¡± Daniel looked at Gloria in shock. Mr. Riddle Sr. wanted to send Nicole to school personally. It was a treatment he had given to none of his grandchildren. At that moment, the brothers exchanged looks, eyes filled with admiration. On the other hand, Norah was about to explode with jealousy. ¡®The whole family treating me as invisible just now is one thing, but grandpa having eyes for Nicole when he came is quite another! He even wants to send her off to school personally!¡¯ When Norah thought about how Mr. Riddle Sr. insisted on sending her away while being so protective of Nicole, Norah¡¯s eyes started to burn with hatred. Then, Mr. Riddle Sr. took a seat at the other end of the long table and expressed his thoughts,¡± I think it¡¯s a good idea for Nicole to stay on campus. Don¡¯t interfere with her decisions. Get the servants to pack her stuff. I¡¯ll talk to Mr. Ellisonter. He will be very happy when he hears about Nicole staying on campus!¡± Gloria was still reluctant to let her daughter stay on campus, but Daniel had been shooting her looks endlessly, signaling her to not go against Mr. Riddle Sr. So, Gloria could only make herself feel better by thinking, ¡®My sons excel in their academic performance, so Nicole should not be left behind.¡¯ Seeing that Nicole would stay on campus, Samuel and Spencer looked at each other as they spoke in unison. ¡°Dad, Mom, don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll take care of Nicole.¡± ¡°Dad, Mom, I will often check up on Nicole.¡± Stanley volunteered himself too, which was rare. For these reasons, Gloria was finally at ease. She felt less worried since Nicole would be staying on campus in thepany of her three brothers. ¡°Deal. You have to take care of Nicole in school. If I ever hear about Nicole being bullied, just watch how I¡¯ll deal with youds when you are home,¡± said Daniel. Stanley smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dad. No one could get close to Nicole now that the three of us are there.¡± Samuel and Spencer nodded with an affirmative look. Mr. Riddle Sr. nodded with satisfaction while watching them reassure their parents. Since the issue was almost settled, he looked at Nicole. ¡°Have you had your breakfast, Nicole? Do you want to leave with me?¡± Nicole found Mr. Riddle Sr. pleasant today. ¡°I had my breakfast already.¡± She did not even want to take her breakfast anymore. ¡°You¡¯ve only had a ss of milk, Nicole. Bring something else to eat.¡± Gloria gave in to Nicole as she knew Nicole was happy. ¡°Sure.¡± Nicole took a sandwich from the servant gleefully and was about to leave with Mr. Riddle Sr. Norah watched her and said with frustration, ¡°Wait for me, Grandpa. I want to go to school too.¡± However, Mr. Riddle Sr. nced over the te of food in front of her and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t finished your breakfast, so you should follow your brother to school when you¡¯re done eating. Needless to say, Mr. Riddle Sr. only wanted to bring Nicole alone. Norah¡¯s expression immediately changed. Being rejected in front of her parents and brothers was just as painful as getting pped on her face. Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Chapter 32 After he was done speaking, Mr. Riddle Sr. did not bother about Norah anymore and left with Nicole instantly When Nicole turned around, she swept her cold gaze across Norah, mocking her for not knowing her ce. Norah was so angry that her eyes turned red that even Samuel thought she was going to cry with disappointment. ¡°Norah¡­ We will leave with you in a while. Don¡¯t cry¡­¡± Samuel tried to console her as he sensed that she was upset. Norah immediately bawled in response, ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ You already have Nicole. Everyone can just pay attention to her. I¡¯ll be fine; I can go to school by myself.¡± She then took her bag and left with tears of disappointment in her eyes. ¡°Norah¡­¡± Gloria saw that Norah had not even taken her breakfast, so she wanted to run after Norah. But Daniel pulled her back. ¡°Just let her be. She has to ept reality sooner orter.¡± Though Daniel, too, could not bear to do so, it was only a matter of time. Norah would not feel as bad if she acknowledged the truth sooner. ¡°I¡¯ve neglected Norah.¡± Gloria was a little guilty. Samuel looked regretful as well. ¡°Let¡¯s treat Norah better from now on¡­ After all, she has to leave soon, right?¡± His remark had shaken everyone at the table. All of them had lost their appetite, except for Steve, who looked unbothered as he said rationally, ¡°We know she has to leave. That¡¯s exactly why we shouldn¡¯t give her so much to reminisce about. After all, the Riddle family doesn¡¯t owe her anything.¡± Throughout the years, the Riddle family had provided her with the best life imaginable, so she was not mistreated in the slightest. Steve¡¯s words made everyone fall into their deep thoughts. ¡®His words do make sense.¡¯ With Mr. Riddle Sr.¡¯s support, Nicole was finally getting to stay on campus the next day, just as she wished. She got up early to pack her luggage. In fact, it was only a medium-sized duffel bag. She filled it with her clothes and daily necessities. Once she had packed everything carefully, she zipped up her bag and brought it downstairs. The Riddle family¡¯s car was already waiting for her outside the house. When Nicole opened the door, she realized that Stanley was already in the car. He greeted her with a smile as soon as he saw her. ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to school today since Spencer and Samuel stayed on campus yesterday.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Nicole nodded. It was best to be dropped off at school by one person as she did not want to create a scene. At that moment, Nicole¡¯s bag attracted Stanley¡¯s eyes. They had all stayed on campus before, but no matter how minimal they packed, they always needed a few pieces of luggage. As the heiress of the Riddle family, Nicole just brought a piece of small luggage and a backpack with her, which caused Stanley to frown. ¡°Is that all you¡¯re bringing over, Sis?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hassle if I bring too many things.¡± After speaking, Nicole threw her backpack on the car seat and sat down before taking a rest. Stanley saw that she did not talk much, so he swallowed his question. He just secretly took note that his sister was different from the other girls. She did not like having too many decorations and girly things. This type of little sister was a little cool, for whatever reason. The car drove steadily into Royal Creek Institute. When it reached the office building, Nicole alighted from the car and bid Stanley goodbye before heading to Ms. Emerson¡¯s office for some procedures. She strolled to Ms. Emerson¡¯s office. The moment she was about to knock on the door with her hand lifted, she heard someone talking in a sarcastic and unpleasant tone. ¡°Ms. Emerson, I didn¡¯t expect someone your age to be this sly. You¡¯ve been giving the director gifts, huh? I saw everything just now. That box of tea leaves is far from cheap. It¡¯s probably half of your monthly wage. Even if you want the title of ¡®good¡¯ teacher, you shouldn¡¯t have made it so obvious.¡± Nicole could tell that the voice belonged to Mr. Kennedy. Ms. Emerson pursed her lips in the office, feeling embarrassed. Mr. Kennedy had a backer; he was the school chairman¡¯s rtive. With a backer and his seniority, he would always bully the new teachers. Mr. Ellison was strict about gifting in school, but Mr. Kennedy ignored it and sent the director plenty of expensive gifts to keep Ms. Emerson down, making the director displeased with her. Ms. Emerson was so resigned that she had to give the director gifts, but she did not expect to be seen by Mr. Kennedy. While listening to Mr. Kennedy¡¯s insults, Ms. Emerson parted her lips. But in the end, she said nothing, and her eyes started to tear up. Nicole pushed the door open right that instant. Ms. Emerson saw her and immediately lowered her head to fight back her tears as she said in a hurry, ¡°Nicole, you¡¯re here toplete the procedure, right? I¡¯ve already printed out the form; you just have to sign a few pages, that¡¯s all. Upon speaking, Ms. Emerson stood up and passed Nicole the documents. Nicole arched her brows as she heard Ms. Emerson¡¯s slightly hoarse voice. However, she remained silent and signed the papers. Ms. Emerson forced out a smile to Nicole and said, ¡°There, put your things in your dormitory today. Mr. Ellison said that you can choose any dormitory you like.¡± This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Nicole nodded indifferently and turned to the door. At that moment, Mr. Kennedy had made himself some tea as he walked out with a mug filled with hot water. The doorway was narrow, and Mr. Kennedy expected Nicole to make way for him. Unexpectedly, Nicole did not see him and barged out the door. Mr. Kennedy¡¯s hot tea spilled onto his body within seconds, including his bare arms and face. ¡°Argh!!¡± His cry echoed in the office! Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Nicole watched as Mr. Kennedy shrieked like a butchered animal and said coldly, ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t see you walking here.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t see me? Where are your eyes?¡± Mr. Kennedy yelled out of embarrassment, looking like he wanted to eat her alive. Nicole smiled instantly. Though it was just a faint smile, it was radiant. ¡°What else could it be? Do I have to give you presents, Mr. Kennedy?¡± ¡°What?¡± Mr. Kennedy was stunned as he had no idea what Nicole was talking about. ¡°Mr. Kennedy, you were so angry just now. Shouldn¡¯t I give you presents as a token of apology?¡± Nicole¡¯s words made the people around them think of Ms. Emerson, whom Mr. Kennedy had just scolded. Everyone knew how the Director of the Department always had Ms. Emerson¡¯s back against the wall, so she probably had no choice but to give the director presents. Then, all of them started to look at Ms. Emerson with sympathy. Mr. Kennedy sensed what Nicole had implied and got livid. But he could not do anything to Nicole, so he just turned around and yelled at Ms. Emerson, ¡°Look at the attitude of the student you teach!¡± At that moment, Mr. Kennedy was not in the mood to mock Ms. Emerson anymore. He was so in pain that he had to look for some ointments back in the office. It was Ms. Emerson¡¯s first time seeing Mr. Kennedy getting so enraged by a student. She let out a grievance she got from his yelling had disappeared without a trace. It seemed like Nicole had helped her just now. Ms. Emerson felt a little guilty as she thought about how she did not like Nicole and was reluctant to have Nicole in her ssst time. However, Nicole had already turned around and left the office, ignoring everyone¡¯s reaction. Ms. Emerson watched Nicole leave as she felt warm inside. After the morning ss ended, Nicole got up and walked to the cafeteria as it was now lunchtime. She did not wait for Bradley and Lulu today. Though she was early, she could not help but knit her brows at the sight of the crowded cafeteria. Unbeknownst to her, a frown on her delicate face made her extra charming, awing many boys around her. Norah was sitting with her ssmates as Celia shot her a look. ¡°Your sister from the countryside is here.¡± Norah turned around and saw how much of an eyesore Nicole was. She could not help but feel a little jealous. In order to draw the attention to herself, she fought back the upset feeling she had yesterday and waved to Nicole with a smile on her face. ¡°Here, Sis!¡± The word ¡°sis¡± stunned numerous people in an instant. ¡°Is Norah calling Nicole sis?¡± ¡°No way; I heard that transfer student is from the countryside, no?¡± ¡°Is she from the Riddle family as well?¡±. When Norah heard the discussions about Nicole, she could not help but put her nose in the air while looking at Nicole arrogantly. No matter how beautiful Nicole was, everyone would remember that she was from the countryside as long as theypared her to Norah. Subsequently, when everyone thought they knew the rtionship between Norah and Nicole, Nicole looked away as if she did not see Norah. She then sat on an empty seat. Norah froze. ¡®Did this country bumpkin just ignore me?!¡¯ The people around them immediately said, ¡°Nicole doesn¡¯t seem to know Norah¡­¡± ¡°True. Nicole is so pretty, while Norah just looks average. How could they be sisters?¡± These remarks drifted into Nicole¡¯s ears, and her face started to burn with embarrassment. ¡®I¡¯m indeed not as pretty as Nicole. But how can they just ignore the fact that Nicole is a country bumpkin just because she¡¯s pretty?¡¯ Celia could not stand it anymore as well. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your energy calling her here. She¡¯s just a country bumpkin. What right does she have to sit with us?¡± That was when Norah started to feel better. She said pretentiously, ¡°I¡¯m just worried about her. Nobody wants to approach her after knowing she¡¯s from the countryside.¡± While Norah spoke, the cafeteria door opened, and someone yelled, ¡°Austin Woods is here!¡± Everyone threw their graze in Nicole¡¯s Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. direction as soon as they heard Austin was here. They all knew how Nicole had embarrassed Austin in the cafeteriast time, so they thought he wanted to make her pay today. Hence, they started to walk away, keeping a distance from Nicole. The boys wanting to hit on her were also terrified. Like the crowd, they ran away from her when they heard Austin¡¯s name. It did not take long before the space around Nicole was emptied, which made her stand out even more in the cafeteria. Norah was delighted when she saw that and thought, ¡®This is how a country bumpkin should be treated! ¡®Everyone should just treat her like a virus! ¡®Nicole even bluffed about Austin asking her to be his boss back then. I would like to see if she was telling the truth!¡¯ Austin strutted into the cafeteria with his followers under hundreds of eyes. His gaze swept across the cafeteria sharply as if he was looking for someone. Suddenly, he caught sight of Nicole, and his eyes sparkled. He then strode toward her. The people all thought that Austin was going to show Nicole who was the boss, so they got their popcorn ready. Norah was also waiting for Austin to p Nicole¡¯s face brutally. However, Austin stopped next to Nicole and greeted her; ¡°Hey, Boss!¡± Everyone was stunned as they thought he had misheard him! Eventually, Austin¡¯s followers greeted her as well, ¡°Hey Boss! We heard you were in the cafeteria, so we¡¯re here to make way for you!¡± At that moment, everyone was in shock. All they could do was stare at Nicole in a daze. ¡®Did we hear it wrong? Did Austin address Nicole as his boss?!¡¯ Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Celia was also stunned as she looked at Norah, dumbfounded. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on here? Why did Austin address that country bumpkin as his boss?¡± ¡°I-I have no idea too.¡± Nicole thought, ¡®Nicole was telling the truth! Everything she said was real?!¡¯ The Woods family was a powerful and rich family in Northon, so Austin had been at the top of the pyramid in school for the past few years. He did not even back down when fighting the Finley brothers. But now he bowed to a country bumpkin?! Norah could not help to be suspicious of Nicole¡¯s real identity. Everyone was in shock as well, but Nicole remained expressionless. She casually nced at Austin and returned her gaze to the long queue at the window. Austin beamed the moment he saw her looking at him. ¡°You must be hungry, Boss! i¡¯ll get someone to bring you food!¡± Austin volunteered himself. That was when Nicole finally looked at him directly. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± She sounded indifferent. But Austin was already calling over his subordinate to get the best ribs in the cafeteria. He then happily went over and lined up to get Nicole some soup. Nicole did not reject him as she saw how determined he was. She then turned to find herself a seat and sat down. After all, she really did not like queueing up. Everyone looked as if they had seen a ghost when Nicole sat down, walking away with their tes hurriedly. ¡®Oh man, even Austin is calling her boss. How powerful is she?!¡¯ They dared not to offend her. When Nicole saw Austin lining up without bullying anyone, her gaze was not as cold anymore. Austin was a tyrant in school. When had he ever lined up for food? At that moment, Austin was squeezing between the crowd for Nicole. It was so hot he was sweating like a pig When he turned back and saw Nicole¡¯s gaze turn slightly warm, he was ted. He did not bother how sweaty he was and continued to line up to get Nicole some food. Everyone saw this bizarre scene. They were stupefied upon seeing Austin working himself to the bones to impress Nicole. Coincidentally, Gary and Raine went to the cafeteria for lunch as well. When they walked into the cafeteria and saw how Austin was treating Nicole, they were dumbfounded too. After Nicole rejected Austin, Raine thought Austin would harm Nicole out of anger and embarrassment. Raine did not expect Austin would ignore her, the beauty queen in school, and beg to be Nicole¡¯s follower instead. He had even made a big scene. How embarrassing! Jealousy shed in Raine¡¯s eyes as she said sarcastically, ¡°Nicole is from your ss, right? She has only been here for a few days, and she¡¯s already acting like she¡¯s all that. Who knows what she¡¯d be in the future?!¡± Little did she know that Nicole had rejected Gary¡¯s offer to protect Nicole. Otherwise, she would be infuriated. Raine¡¯s remark did not get a response, so she wondered why and turned around. She noticed Gary staring at Nicole, who was not far from them. His eyes were intrigued. Gary felt that things had be more interesting since Nicole transferred to Royal Creek Institute. He initially thought that Nicole was a country girl who did not know her ce, but he gradually realized This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. that she was nothing like how he had pictured her. Nicole was incredibly skilled that she had even made Austin submit to her. Even her background was mysterious as there waspletely no trace of her information on the inte. Excluding the fact that Gary did not perform very well in his academics as he rarely paid attention in ss, he was, in fact, a well-knownputer genius. He had personally searched for Nicole¡¯s information, but his efforts were vain. Gary could tell that Nicole was someone not ordinary. Standing next to him was Raine, who watched him staring at Nicole with desire in his eyes. She started to feel anxious. She had pursued Gary for a long time, but he had always been indifferent toward her. It was her first time seeing Gary looking at someone with such a gaze. ¡®Is Gary interested in Nicole?¡¯ Raine thought, ¡®Impossible! It took me a great deal of effort just to stand by Gary¡¯s side. I will never let anyone take my ce away!¡¯ Nicole finished eating in a short while. Austin wanted to follow her when he saw her standing up. But Nicole stopped him with a slight frown. ¡°Don¡¯t cross the line.¡± Austin knew that he could not step over the boundary, so he left after bidding her goodbye. Celia was frustrated as she saw Nicole showing off like that. ¡°She¡¯s just a country girl, yet she has the audacity to enjoy the limelight. Is she trying to humiliate ssydies like us?¡± Norah saw that Celia was angry, so she chimed in, ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s just a girl. How could she be the boss of the school alpha? She¡¯s too full of herself.¡± Celia got even angrier with Norah¡¯s remark. ¡°People like her deserve to be punished!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be impulsive¡­ What if Austin backs her?¡± Celia scoffed. ¡°The Rowe family isn¡¯t someone to mess with! Just you wait!¡± At that moment, Nicole was done with her food and was about to leave the cafeteria. However, a figure popped out with malicious intent the second she stood up and barged into her! Nicole¡¯s eyes were cold as she quickly swerved and avoided that person. Her movements were so fast that the people did not catch them. ¡°Ouch!¡± A voice cried, and everyone looked in that direction. There Celia was, lying t on the ground! When Celia saw how much attention Nicole was getting, Celia nned to bring along her leftover food on her te and knock Nicole over to humiliate her in front of everybody! But Celia had never expected Nicole to be that agile to dodge her, causing her to be the one that was lying t on the floor! Celia¡¯s palms were pressing onto her leftover food scattered around the ground. She looked utterly disheveled! Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Nicole had already seen through Celia¡¯s evil schemes, so she was looking at Celia¡¯s embarrassing state coldly from the side. Celia had fallen hard. She was struggling on the floor for a while before somebody helped her up. However, she red at Nicole as soon as she got up. ¡°How could you be so cruel?! You actually tripped me!¡± When the people who did not catch what really happened heard what Celia said, they looked at Nicole with disdain as they condemned her in their hearts. ¡®She sure is acting differently now that she has Austin at her back. It did not take long for her to bully people, huh?¡¯ Nicole was not bothered by their gaze and scoffed, ¡°You don¡¯t have to point fingers at me here. There¡¯s C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. a surveince camera right in front of us. We¡¯ll know what exactly happened when we watch the footageter.¡± Celia was brainless for trying to set Nicole up when there was a surveince camera in front of them. She had even tried to twist the story because her n failed. Nicole started to wonder if Celia was retarded. ¡°What?¡± Celia was stunned as she obviously did not expect a surveince camera to be there. She only realized that Nicole was telling the truth when she looked up. Celia¡¯s eyes immediately fell on Norah, who was in the crowd. Norah¡¯s blood was boiling as she did not expect Celia to be so stupid as well. But she still acted like she was protective of Celia as she went up to help her. ¡°How are you? Are you okay?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m not okay? My knees are killing me.¡± Celia had lost her momentum, but she still refused to let Nicole go. Norah noticed it. She looked at Nicole. ¡°Nicole, no matter how you put it, Celia fell because of you. You should apologize to her.¡± ¡°Apologize?¡± Nicole smirked coldly. Her smile was evilly enchanting, so evil that it sent others shivers. ¡°Does she deserve it?¡± Nicole did not have the habit of apologizing to people, let alone apologizing to someone as petty and despicable as Celia. ¡°What did you say?¡± Celia was so angered that she almost charged at Nicole. ¡°We¡¯ll know who should apologize after we check the surveince camera. Go to the central control room with me if you have the guts.¡± Nicole looked at Celia and Norah with disdain, her eyes filled with disgust. The people saw how firm Nicole was, so they started to look at Celia with doubt. Celia was growing more diffident under the eyes of the crowd. How would she even go to the central control room? She obviously had ulterior motives, so the surveince camera would definitely catch her act in high definition. She had no choice but to yell nervously, ¡°Why should I listen to whatever you say? I don¡¯t have time to y around with you! You¡¯re just an ill-bred country bumpkin. Do you think I care about your apology? We¡¯ll wait and see!¡± Celia was so exasperated that she was shouting at Nicole. But Nicole¡¯s eyes turned icy cold all of a sudden. ¡°Who are you calling ill-bred?¡± Nicole had a void of regret within her after being separated from her biological parents for such a long time. She could tolerate anything other than being called ill-bred. No one could call her that! ¡°Of course it¡¯s¡­¡± Celia did not get to say the word ¡°you.¡± But she had already fallen silent just from being stared down by Nicole. In a split second, she actually felt that Nicole would kill her if she continued the whole sentence. That was a frightening gaze. Norah could not help but gulp as she had also seen Nicole¡¯s eyes. She then mustered her courage to ease the tension. ¡°Nicole, Celia lost control of her words because she was too angry. Don¡¯t mind her. I¡¯ll leave with her now.¡± Norah only wanted to get away from this matter at that moment, so she did not bring up the central control room. Chapter 36 Chapter 36 The crowd watched their reactions, so how could they not know what was happening? The tables have turned, and everyone found Celia, who went for wool and came home shorn, utterly shameless. Celia saw them looking at her with their mocking eyes and wanted to say something. But she was really scared of Nicole¡¯s gaze, so she could only leave dispiritedly. Nicole only stopped looking when the both of them left solemnly. She would have pped Celia in the face if it weren¡¯t for her principle of not hitting women. However, Nicole still had a long way to go. So she might get her back for this in the future! At that moment, Lulu and Bradley appeared out of nowhere and spoke to Nicole, ¡°Nicole, you¡¯re so cool!¡± Celia was the most overbearing girl in ss A, and Nicole had actually shaken her just by looking at her. ¡°Though you¡¯re cool, Celia is a very vindictive person.¡± Lulu looked at Nicole worriedly. Even though the Rowe family was not on the same level as the Riddle family or the Woods family, they were still the top family in the city. Nicole had just humiliated Celia, so Celia might get revenge on her. Nicole saw through Lulu. While clearing her food tray, she said, ¡°She can¡¯t do anything to me, don¡¯t worry.¡± Lulu was relieved when she heard that and gave Nicold a sweet smile. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re the best, Nicole!¡± After they were done eating, the three of them went back to ss. It was Ms. Emerson¡¯s ss in the afternoon. Nicole did not do her night revisionst night, so she was expecting Ms. Emerson to lecture her. However, Ms. Emerson only smiled at her without saying anything else. Nicole thought about what happened this morning and understood that Ms. Emerson was thankful for her. However, she did it just because she could not stand watching Mr. Kennedy bullying people. She did not expect to get Ms. Emerson¡¯s liking, but the feeling was not bad either. Nicole listened in ss in peace, unaware that the video where Austin addressed her as her boss was uploaded to the school forum. That post had gotten thousands of engagements andments; most of them questioned the authenticity of the video. After all, Austin was known for not submitting to anyone. How could he possibly address Nicole, who had beaten him up before, his boss? But as there were many eyewitnesses in the cafeteria during that incident, the doubtfulments were immediately taken over by people discussing Nicole¡¯s family background. After all, there were not many people who could make Austin yield in San Joto. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. However, Nicole¡¯s online identity was protected so well that none of them managed to dig out anything about her. The school¡¯sputer geniuses suspected that Nicole came from a powerful background. At that moment, Nicole was clueless about the dramas on the Inte. She packed her stuff after the ss ended and was about to head to Royal Creek Institute¡¯s dormitory to have a look. Coincidentally, Bradley also lived on campus. So, the both of them agreed to walk back together, and Bradley would take Nicole to her dormitory. The senior students were all living at Mirstone, and every dorm had three rooms. Since the students who studied at Royal Creek Institute were all from notable families in San Joto, the school would not snub them as well, so the facilities in the dorm were all of the top quality. Nicole walked slowly with her bag as she listened to Bradley introduce the dormitory areas to her. Suddenly, Nicole frowned as they walked to a secluded area. Her sharp senses were telling her that something was not right about that ce. But when Nicole saw Bradley walking forward mindlessly, she hurried and walked by his side. If there was any danger, Nicole would bear the brunt. As expected, a gang of people surrounded Nicole when they walked past a corner. ¡°Are you Nicole?¡± The pack leader looked fierce as his gaze traveled from Nicole¡¯s head to her toes. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± Nicole immediately admitted fearlessly. ¡°Nicole¡­¡± Bradley felt a headache as he thought, ¡®Does thisdy know when to be afraid?¡¯ ¡°Hold her down!¡± The leader seemed to know about Nicole¡¯s skills as he immediately got two of hisckeys to pin Nicole down. As for him, he had a wooden rod in his hand and was about to use it to hit Nicole! Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Seeing that Nicole was in danger, Bradley pushed her subconsciously, ¡°Run!¡± Then, he gritted his teeth and rushed forward to defend Nicole. He had the urge to snatch away that man¡¯s wooden stick. However, his thin and small body did not help at all. Instead, he was sent flying with just one kick from the other party. ¡°Where did this nerde from? Get out! Don¡¯t get in the way of my business!¡± Jack, Wayne, and Gary happened to witness everything from afar. Jack eximed, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Cain Fletcher from Northon Institute next door? Didn¡¯t he get a beating from Gary and beg for mercy? How dare he appear at our school?¡± ¡°Gary, look! The person surrounded by Cain¡¯s men, isn¡¯t that Nicole?¡± Gary saw it too. He looked at Cain with eyes full of annoyance. The Royal Creek Institute¡¯s high school department was Gary¡¯s territory. It was as if Cain did not receive enough beating previously that he dared to mess with Gary¡¯s territory. Wayne, on the other hand, although he never liked Nicole, had never approved of bullying girls. Seeing Cain bullying her, Wayne rolled up his sleeves, wanting to confront them. ¡°Gary, Nicole is still a girl no matter the circumstances. These b*stards are acting so ruthlessly that they dare to bully ady. Let¡¯s go and show them what¡¯s right or wrong.¡± But before Gary said anything, he noticed Nicole staring coldly at Cain. A glint of coldness shed in Nicole¡¯s eyes as she saw Bradley being kicked. She performed a roundhouse kick and knocked off the man trying to catch her from behind. Then, she ran to Bradley and helped him up. ¡°Are you okay?¡± asked Nicole softly. Bradley¡¯s lips parted. He wanted to say that he was fine and that she had nothing to worry about. But the excruciating pain from his belly changed his expression. When Nicole saw his expression, she knew that he had suffered a major wound. She turned and shot Cain an icy re. Those who knew her would know that it was a sign of her raging anger. Nicole stared at Cain. ¡°Who are you? Why are you causing a scene here?¡± Her tone was frosty. Surprisingly, Cain was somewhat intimidated by Nicole¡¯s current expression. He had never felt so when facing anyone except Gary. ¡®This girl is alone while I have so many men with me. Why should I be scared?¡¯ He looked at Nicole and gave her a wicked smile. ¡°You bullied the precious daughter of the Rowe family, and yet you dare to ask why we¡¯re here? Do you know who Celia¡¯s protectors are?? It turned out that Celia had deployed these hooligans to seek revenge on her behalf. Nicole sneered. ¡°Oh? I was wondering where she had the guts to be loud this afternoon. So, I see she has a gangster backing her. I only know that the Royal Creek Institute¡¯s high school department is under Gary¡¯s territory. What ce do you have here?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Cain had always hated it when peoplepared him to Gary. His history of being put on his knees while confronting Gary was the biggest shame of his life. He looked at Nicole and spewed a few words through his gritted teeth, ¡°Everyone! Charge! Give her a good beating!¡± Gary, who was nearby, felt that Nicole was not someone ordinary. He raised his eyebrows and stood still to observe the situation. Upon seeing Nicole in danger, Wayne wanted to rush forward and help her, but Jack stopped him. ¡°Hey, why are you in such a rush. Didn¡¯t you see that Gary hasn¡¯t made any move?¡± Jack signaled with his lips. Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. There was nothing Wayne could do. As long as Gary did not take the first step, he would not dare to act rashly. Therefore, he could only watch Nicole worriedly. Looking at the men swinging their batons, Nicole did not twitch at all. She ordered Bradley,¡° Run! Quickly!¡± She did not even bother to turn her head. Bradley saw the bunch of thugs approaching them with stares, feeling frightened. He bore the pain and pulled Nicole as he ran while shouting, ¡°Nicole, are you stupid? There are so many of them. Are you waiting to get beaten up by staying there? No matter how powerful you are, you can¡¯t fight all of them alone!¡± Nicole saw that Bradley was limping in pain, yet he did not forget to drag her along to escape. Her eyes became deep with emotion. The men behind them sped up their steps when they realized that both of them were fleeing. Bradley felt that he was slowing Nicole down. Just as he wanted to let go of her hand and ask her to leave him behind, Nicole let go of his hand and turned back. Bradley looked back dumbfoundedly. After throwing the luggage onto the ground, Nicole rushed to the thugs. She tilted her head slightly and signaled them toe at her. Like lightning, she dashed past through the middle of the gang. The thugs quickly raised their batons, wanting to attack Nicole. Yet, before they could act, each of them was sent flying by Nicole with a kick. They were all lying on the ground while clutching their stomachs, especially Cain. He had been elbowed and punched before Nicole sent him a final flying kick. An unrefined hooligan like Cain was no match to Nicole¡¯s skill and speed. As a result, Cain, who had been sent flying to the ground, fainted from all the pain. Nicole withdrew her legs and stood there quietly. All she saw were weak opponents lying all over the ground. The wind blew and lifted her locks. Her face was beaming with beauty and a heroic charm. Bradley was stunned by that sight. It took him a while to realize that Nicole was taking revenge for him. Not only Bradley, Gary and the two boys who witnessed it were also stunned. They had always known that Nicole was skillful but did not know she was at this level. She could actually fight more than ten men all alone! Chapter 38 Chapter 38 Wayne could not help but exim, ¡°Nicole is so OP! Is she even a human?¡± There were also mixed feelings in Jack¡¯s eyes. He casually asked, ¡°Gary, even you could not defeat Nicole, right? No wonder she said she didn¡¯t need your protection. She¡¯s actually this tough!¡± They did not receive any response from Gary, so they turned to look at him. Gary, who was usually insouciant, was frozen with his gaze fixated on Nicole. It was as if he was stunned by her. Jack was startled for a moment. Then, he teased Gary. ¡°Gary, are you fascinated by her?¡± It was only then Gary came to his senses. Although he heard what Jack said, he did not bother to refute him. It seemed like Nicole did not need his help at all. At the thought of this, Gary¡¯s eyes tainted with ambivalence. He turned around and spoke to the two of them, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Nicole did not notice the three of them leaving. She was looking down at those thugs with furrowed brows. ¡®These boys are so ipetent. They are far inferior to the robot soldiers I trained, yet they have the balls to bully others?¡¯ Nicole stopped thinking about these. She walked to the side to pick up her bag and then carried Bradley, who was still in shock. She was going to send him to the hospital. After that day¡¯s chaos, Nicole was not in the mood to go for dorm viewing. She nned to head back to the Riddle family¡¯s residence instead. She whipped out her phone and called the Riddle family¡¯s driver to send them to the hospital. Nicole was still supporting Bradley. It was only when they had arrived at the school¡¯s entrance Content ? copyrighted by N?velDrama.Org. that he managed to take a breather. He spoke with difficulty, ¡°Nicole, thank you for avenging me. But you¡¯re really good! None of them could defeat you!¡± Bradley sounded excited as he spoke. Nicole smiled indifferently. Bradley suffered because of her, so she would not let his suffering be in vain. As the two were chatting, the driver arrived. He was surprised to see Nicole looking shabby, But he did notment or ask about it. Instead, he sent them to the best hospital in San Joto. During the consultation, Bradley was very reserved as he had never been to such a top-tier hospital. On the other hand, Nicole was expressionless. All she wanted was for Bradley to recover as soon as possible. He was such a bookworm. She hoped his injuries would not affect his revision for the uing test. Bradley saw that Nicole did not blink while she was paying the whopping medical bills. Then, he looked at the Riddle family¡¯s driver who was running up and down. It was at that point that he realized Nicole¡¯s family background was not simple. After the doctor left, Bradley pulled Nicole¡¯s sleeve and said sorrily, ¡°Nicole, I¡¯ll definitely pay you back.¡± Nicole knew that although Bradley came from the well-to-do Robertson family, he was the second son that was not loved. The pocket money his parents gave him was not much. Hence, he could not possibly have money to repay her. Furthermore, the thugs were here for Nicole. Bradley was only dragged into this mess because of her. Nicole gave him a reassuring smile. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to repay me. Just make sure that your exam grades for this month are still at the top ranking.¡± Seeing that she was serious about it, Bradley nodded vigorously. ¡°I will definitely work hard for it!¡± The driver¡¯s eyes also widened in astonishment upon seeing Nicole pay for the expensive bills without hesitation. He could clearly see that the card Nicole used to make payment was not the gold card given by the Riddle family. Instead, it was a in ck card. As a driver for the Riddle family, he had witnessed all sorts of situations. With just a nce, he could tell it was a supreme ck card. There were only ten supreme ck cards in the world. It had no spending limit and was also a status symbol. Those who managed to get their hands on it are of the world¡¯s top elites. Anyone in prestigious events would recognize the uniqueness of this ck card. The hospital was the best in San Joto. And the doctor¡¯s respectful attitude proved that he was right about Nicole. The driver wiped off the sweat from his forehead and looked at Nicole with more respect. After sending Bradley back to school, Nicole ordered the driver to drive her back to the Riddle¡¯s Residence. As soon as she stepped into the house, Gloria weed her with a hug. She examined her, from head to toe. ¡°I heard from Joe that you went to the hospital. Did you get hurt? Let me have a look.¡± Daniel also stared at her nervously. A man like him was not capable of caring words, but the expression on his face said it all. Looking at how caring everyone was to her, Nicole felt warm inside her. She answered in a soft voice, ¡°I¡¯m fine. My ssmate was hurt, so I brought him to the hospital. You guys have nothing to worry about.¡± Realizing their dubious expression, she could not help but briefly exin the whole situation to them. It was only then that Gloria let loose. She turned around and looked at her sons standing in a row against the wall. It was obvious that Stanley rushed over. His cor was untidied. Spencer and Samuel seemed like they had just received a scolding. Their heads were lowered as they dared not to speak. Samuel noticed that Nicole was back; he gave her a slight wink. Nicole thought it was funny. She spotted Gloria, who was about to get angry again, so she UTOPIEI JU pulled her arms. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± As soon as Gloria heard that her daughter was hungry, she did not bother to scold her sons. Instead, she quickly ordered the kitchen to prepare a meal. Samuel smiled at Nicole, full of gratitude. He had been listening to Gloria¡¯s nag the whole day; he could not bear another one. But seeing his expressionless sister, he felt a sense of guilt again. They failed to protect their own younger sister from bullies again. At the thought of this, he held Nicole¡¯s hands. ¡°Nicole, it was my fault that I didn¡¯t take care of you. When I have the chance, I¡¯ll make sure to head to Northon Institute and avenge you,¡± said Samuel Chapter 39 Chapter 39 Spencer and Stanley nodded with serious looks on their faces. The thought of Cain causing a ruckus in Royal Creek Institute angered them. Luckily, Nicole was skillful enough to escape from them. Nicole¡¯s exnation was brief, so they eventually thought that Nicole and Bradley had to go through many hurdles to escape. Looking at them, Nicole could not help but let outa smile. She was touched by them. At that moment, the meal was served. Gloria looked at Nicole. ¡°You must¡¯ve used up all your energy already. Didn¡¯t you say you were hungry? Hurry, eat up,¡± she said gently. Nicole nodded and picked up her spoon to help herself with the steamed fish in front of her. Upon seeing this, Gloriaughed and spoke to Daniel, ¡°Nicole is just like you. She likes fish too.¡± Daniel looked at her and smiled. Just like that, everyone was happily sitting around the table for a meal as one big family. The past two days, Norah had been hanging out with Celia and the rest with the excuse of being angry. She had not been having dinner at home. Although Gloria was worried, she could not bear to say much on the phone. So, she could only remind her to get home earlier. Yet, it turned out that Norah¡¯s absence brought the family together harmoniously. Since Nicole was going to stay in school from the next day onwards, Gloria had prepared a delicious feast. Samuel loved Gloria¡¯s steak the most. That day, a piece of ck pepper steak was ced right in front of him. He devoured it happily, and his face was filled with sauce stain. Spencer, who was sitting next to Samuel, watched him eating messily. He said in disgust,¡° Look at you, eating like a wolf. Don¡¯t ever tell others that you¡¯re my brother.¡± Samuel stared at him in disapproval. But the steak filled up his mouth that he could not refute Spencer properly. He could only mumble a reply, ¡°Mmm¡­don¡¯t want you mmmph be my mmmphther eitmer!¡±. He was trying to say, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be my brother either!¡± Everyone was amused by his reply and startedughing. The Riddle family had a good time at dinner. After dinner, Nicole returned to her room and took out theptop from her bag. She had installed and run the cleaning program for one day and one night. It should be enough to remove all the tracking codes. Nicole switched on theptop and continued her mission. She ran her own monitoring program, and it was a sess. She could see thepany¡¯s ounts. As expected, there are many issues with thispany¡¯s ounts. Most were deficits caused by corruption. Looking at those numbers in red, Nicole quicklypleted her mission and waited for the other party to transfer her the money. As soon as she submitted her task, she received a notification on her phone in the next few seconds. Nicole raised her brows, wondering if they were monitoring her progress because they could respond in such a short time. Thinking of this, Nicole felt the shivers. Her fingers quickly ran through her keyboard. She wanted to investigate the background of thepany that gave her the task Nicole was staring at the shing pages on herputer. As expected, it was just a dummy corporation. There was no actual information to be found. Nicole¡¯s face turned grave. She was very sure that the other party was trying to trap her by making her take on this task just to get her IP address. All of a sudden, she remembered a ten-million-dor warrant on The Hunters. They might have used a lot of methods but failed to track her down. So, they resorted to such a method to trap her. A glint of cold light shed past Nicole¡¯s eyes. Since they could set a trap to trick her, she could do the same. It was too early to determine who the hunter was. C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. She quickly logged out of that ount and created a new one to log into The Hunters again. Looking at the warrant pinned on top of the page, she immediately took on the task without hesitation Once someone took on the task, the other party would definitely make an appearance to inform them about the target and requirements of the task. As long as Nicole got a chance to be in contact with them, she could find a w and track them down. After a minute, Nicole received a message from them. She clicked on the conversation. It showed that the target of the task was a top hacker going by the name ¡°Lucifer.¡± The requirements were simple: investigate the hacker¡¯s personal information in real life. Nicole stared at those cold words nkly. She frowned a little, typed a few words, and pressed send. ¡°Do you have more leads? It¡¯s difficult for me to proceed with such little information.¡± The other party replied instantly, ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have the information you need.¡± Nicole looked at this sentence and thought for a moment, ¡°Then what is the deadline?¡± The same reply came with the same speed. Scanned with CamScanner At that point, Nicole immediately understood that it was a system reply. She was not speaking to an actual human. This totally wiped off any possibility for her to find out the IP address of the other party. Facing such a cunning and cautious opponent, Nicole frowned. She had quite many enemies, but only a few could reach this level. She ran through a few possible names in her head but ruled them out. ¡®Who could it be?¡¯ Carrying these questions in her head, she slept off. The next day, Nicole seemed distracted during her morning running and martial arts training. Even Samuel, who invited her to the run, was left behind. Nicole only realized that upon reaching home. But since she had finished the route, Nicole did some simple stretching before heading downstairs for breakfast. No one knew when Norah hade home the night before. That morning, she was seated with Spencer at one side while waiting for Nicole to have breakfast together. After a while, Samuel came home out of breath. He quickly rushed to the table and drank a few sips of water. Then, heined to Nicole, ¡°Nicole, you ran too fast. I feel like running with you is so much more tiring than training with my coach for a day.¡± It seemed like he had made a reckless decision that morning. He did not expect his sister, with martial art talent, to be an athlete. Spencer thought he was exaggerating, so he mocked him, ¡°Even a girl can run faster than you. Shouldn¡¯t you admit that you¡¯re too weak for a guy?¡± When Samuel heard him, his eyes widened, showing dissatisfaction. ¡°If you have the guts, you should try running with Nicole for once. I bet you can¡¯t even finish onep!¡± Chapter 40 Chapter 40 That morning was the day when Samuel understood Nicole¡¯s ability. Even a basketball yer who had been going for daily morning runs like him could not catch up with her. He eximed at the level of her running speed. Spencer continued to sneer, ¡°I don¡¯t mind trying. I¡¯m definitely better than you!¡± Seeing that the two brothers are about to get into a fight, Stanley said, ¡°Enough! Nicole is still waiting for us to begin the meal. Aren¡¯t we sending her off to school today? We¡¯ll have to leave earlier.¡± As soon as Samuel and Spencer heard this, they stopped arguing and sat down to eat. Norah felt jealous that Nicole received so much attention for just staying in school. In Norah¡¯s eyes, Nicole did not pester to go to school for her grades but to spend more time with the brothers and take away all the love and attention from Norah. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Norah could not help but say, ¡°Mom, all of them are staying on campus. I¡¯m left alone at home. I want to stay on campus too.¡± At this, everyone was stunned. Samuel asked naively, ¡°Norah, didn¡¯t you say that the environment in school wasn¡¯t great, so you didn¡¯t want to go with us?¡± They had asked her before while they were staying in school. That time, Norah was strongly against it. He wondered what had happened to her. Norah sobbed. ¡°Last time, I was scared of my ssmates bullying me. But now I¡¯ve already gotten to know them, and I want to get closer to all of you. Furthermore¡­ If I stay at school, I can take care of Nicole. After all, I¡¯ve been at the Royal Creek Institute longer, so I¡¯m more familiar with the ce.¡± Hearing this, Daniel agreed. ¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡± Then, he looked at Gloria immediately, ¡°Why not let Norah stay in school too?¡± Gloria hesitated for a moment. She felt that Daniel had a hidden agenda, but she nodded, ¡± Alright, I¡¯ll ask the family butler to pack her things.¡± As she was speaking, Gloria walked up the stairs. Norah was a little stunned by what had just happened, ¡®What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Previously, when Nicole wanted to stay in school, the Riddles were reluctant. Now that it was her turn, they did not give it a second thought. It was as if they were waiting for this day toe! At that moment, Norah slightly regretted her request to stay on campus. ¡®Could it be that I will never have the chance to move back in after leaving?¡¯ But word was already out. Norah could only take a bet. At least now, Samuel still treated her sincerely. Her parents did not love her the same as before, so she should at least retain her brother¡¯s love and attention. As these thoughts were going through her head, she had a firmer look in her eyes. She went upstairs This content ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. to pack her things after taking a few bites. When Nicole and the rest finished breakfast, they saw Norah bring down a few pieces of luggage. Spencer was shocked upon seeing her luggage. ¡°Norah, why are you bringing so many bags? Are you nning to have a vacation at school?¡± he asked. The moment Stanley looked at Norah¡¯s belongings as high as a mountain, he could not help butugh. Compared to Nicole, who had only brought one duffle bag, Norah¡¯s luggage was way too much. Norah felt awkward by their reactions and blushed. ¡°I¡¯m not. It¡¯s just that I saw Nicole bringing so little things. I¡¯m worried she might need some stuff, so I packed many things!¡± Deep down, she knew that all of it was her favorite clothing. There were quite a lot more which she had not put in yet! After she said that, everyone looked at her in shock. It was unexpected that Norah could be this thoughtful. Nicole noticed that Norah was using her as an excuse. She looked at Norah with a smile.¡± Norah, thank you for being so thoughtful. But I¡¯m not used to using other people¡¯s belongings. You can put it back.¡± This reply stunned Norah. She could feel her face raging in mes. But everyone was staring at her. She could only reply awkwardly, ¡°Alright then¡­ Alfred, bring these two bags back upstairs.¡± She could only leave her two bags behind reluctantly. ¡°We¡¯re almost runningte. Let¡¯s go. I don¡¯t want to bete to school for such a trivial matter.¡± Nicole nced at Norah and turned around. ¡°Nicole, wait for me!¡± Spencer followed her while Stanley quietly put on his school uniform and left with them. Samuel was the only one who stayed and helped Norah with her luggage. Gloria walked them out. Nicole took the passenger¡¯s seat while the three boys took the back seat. Norah was awkwardly left behind. ¡°Spencer, Samuel, where should I sit?¡± Gloria saw this and quickly said, ¡°Norah, you have a lot of bags. I¡¯ll let Joe drive another car and send you to the dormitory instead.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Norah almost broke down. But Samuel and Spencer did not notice that. ¡°Norah, we¡¯re leaving now!¡± ¡°Sam¡ª¡±Norah tried to speak, but the car had already driven off. She could only sit in that unmorous and old car alone to school. ¡°Norah, if anything happens in school, don¡¯t forget to call me,¡± said Gloria with a warm smile. ¡°Alright.¡± Norah forced a smile. But deep down, her hatred against Nicole deeper. ¡°Just wait and see. I will take back the love and attention from my brothers.¡¯ Soon, Nicole and the boy¡¯s car arrived at school first. Because of what happened the day before, Samuel and Spencer were worried that someone would bully Nicole again. Throughout the journey, they had been asking Nicole to let them apany her to school. The boys did not leave until she had chosen her room and settled in. Nicole only went to the ssroom when it was almost time for ss. In ss, Bradley was excitedly describing Nicole¡¯s heroic act to Lulu. When he reached the part where Nicole could defeat more than ten men alone, he was practically dancing. He even stood up and mimicked all her moves which made his story interesting. Lulu was very entertained by his story too. As Nicole walked in, she saw Bradley standing on the bench and acting in front of Lulu. So, he must have recovered already. Bradley and Lulu quickly rushed to her side the moment they saw her. Lulu broke the silence,¡± Nicole, I¡¯ve heard about what happened yesterday from Bradley. How did you do it? I¡¯ve only seen one fighting dozens of people in movies!¡± Bradley added, ¡°I wasn¡¯t lying! Nicole really did defeat all of them alone! Especially Cain, he got beaten so hard that he could not even stand. Don¡¯t even mention the embarrassment!¡± Chapter 41 Chapter 41 ¡°Could she be a heroine from a hidden world like in those action movies?¡± ¡°Nicole is so much more skillful than those heroines.¡± Once the conversation was heated, their voice became louder and louder that others in the ss were looking at them. Nicole frowned a little. ¡°Fighting isn¡¯t something to be proud of. Let¡¯s keep it low.¡± Bradley and Lulu realized that they were a little too loud. Just as Nicole said, fighting was not a thing to be proud of. If a teacher overheard it, they would be in trouble. The both of them nodded and pretended to zip their mouths, signaling that they would not talk about it anymore. C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org. When Nicole saw that the two were so sensible, her expression rxed a little. Just as she was about to speak, a loud voice came from outside. Then, Austin suddenly stormed into the ss. The whole ss was terrified of his ferocious look. Once Austin saw Nicole, he walked over while yelling. ¡°Boss! I heard that the hooligans from next door, Cain disturbed you yesterday after school. Why didn¡¯t you tell us? We could¡¯ve settled him for you!¡± All the students surrounding them heard Austin wanted to beat up Cain for Nicole. Their eyes widened as they stared at both of them in disbelief. They did not expect Austin to be serious about recognizing Nicole as his boss. Someone had disturbed Nicole, and he actually wanted to do something about it. Everyone thought Nicole would agree since no one would deny Austin¡¯s request. Unexpectedly, Nicole replied coldly, ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can settle this on my own.¡± She rejected Austin once again! All eyes were on Austin. Nicole had rejected Austin twice. Would he walk away likest time or retaliate to maintain his reputation? Gary was also looking at them. In the end, Austin acted as if nothing had happened and continued pressing on, ¡°No way, You¡¯re my boss, yet Cain had the guts to disturb you. He has disrespected me! 1, Austin, would never let my boss be bullied. I¡¯ll bring my men and teach him a lesson now!¡± The whole ss was stunned. They established a newer idea of Nicole¡¯s ce in Austin¡¯s mind. Seeing how Austin was talking to himself, Nicole did not bother to pay attention to him. Austin had already turned to his boys and summoned them, ¡°Someone bullied our boss. We should show them who¡¯s the real boss!¡± Hisckeys behind him echoed him loudly, ¡°Yeah! Show them who¡¯s the real boss!¡± Austin nodded in satisfaction and led hisckeys out of the ss aggressively. The others let out a sigh of relief as soon as Austin left. However, Nicole did not bother to care about Austin. Her head was looking down while reading the book she had not finished the day before. She did not notice Gary was staring at her the whole time. The bell rang, and Ms. Emerson entered the ss. She looked through the whole ss to see if anyone was absent. Then, she nodded happily and started the ss.Ten minutes before recess, she nced at her watch and tapped the podium.. ¡°There¡¯s going to be a Maths Olympiad soon. This time around, the district highly regards this of them. There¡¯s one slot left. Any takers?¡± Gary leaned back on his chairzily. Although he hated studying, he was famous for being a maths genius. He had been winning