Even Top Students Fail

Soap Opera Drama

Two million was no small sum. After years of hard work, Maria and Louis had only saved twenty to thirty thousand, apart from their current home. They would've had to sell the old house to buy Lilith a small apartment. While they'd been doing okay before, this windfall made them quite well-off. No wonder Maria was thrilled - selling earlier would've been like flushing two million down the drain.

Seeing her mother so happy, Lilith smiled too. In her previous life, her mother had been consumed with regret at this point, making herself seriously ill for a whole year.

"Alright, alright. Lilith must be exhausted from the train ride, and you're keeping her talking. Go prepare dinner," Louis interjected. He was pleased too, but being a man, kept his emotions in check. When the demolition news first broke, he'd broken out in a cold sweat. He'd agreed with Maria about selling initially, and if Lilith hadn't intervened, this windfall would've gone to someone else. He too felt his daughter was truly blessed.

As Maria headed to the kitchen, Louis smiled at his precious daughter, "Now that your mom has some money, she'll take you shopping for nice clothes soon. Just tell her what you want." Like many fathers, he didn't know how else to show affection except by encouraging her to spend freely. Lilith, understanding her father's joy, nodded with a smile.

After being stuffed with two large bowls of food by her parents, Lilith showered and lay in bed. She'd intended to text William but remembered what Jennifer had told her on the train. She changed her mind, deciding to visit her old high school and do some investigating. Though she'd told Jennifer she didn't care, women are rarely without their jealousies. Lilith, in particular, had developed quite a complex about Angela.

However, getting into the high school wasn't easy. Lilith thought for a moment, then called her former homeroom teacher, Linda, the next morning. In the afternoon, she left home with her purse.

Louis and Maria were at work, busy with the house demolition matters, completely unaware that their precious daughter had dolled herself up to see her boyfriend as soon as she returned.

When Lilith arrived at the school gates, she was predictably denied entry. The school's security was notoriously strict - even the new principal had once been stopped at the gate.

Lilith called Linda, who came to fetch her personally. "Hello, Linda," Lilith greeted respectfully. Linda had taught her for two years and had always been kind to her. Lilith held great respect for her, though their relationship with William added a touch of awkwardness.

Linda, despite her reputation for being strict and even dubbed "merciless," had never frightened Lilith as a good student. This time, however, Lilith felt a rare sense of shyness, especially given her ulterior motives.

When Lilith was still in school, Linda had called her once, asking her to share her study experiences with current students. Due to last year's excellent teaching results, Linda had been assigned as the homeroom teacher for the high-achieving first-year class this year, aiming to nurture more outstanding students. However, there were significant differences between the high-achieving class and regular classes, starting with morale. That's why Linda had thought of Lilith - a living example to boost spirits.

In fact, both Lilith and Linda felt a bit uncomfortable. This child used to be her star pupil, but she might soon become her niece-in-law. Linda didn't know how to react to this soap opera-like twist of fate, but seeing Lilith's still-adorable face, she couldn't help but feel fond of her.

Although different from her high school days, Lilith wasn't dressed outlandishly. She wore a simple white down jacket, a black pleated skirt, and a thick red scarf around her neck. Her hair wasn't permed or dyed like many young people these days, but simply hung straight and black over her shoulders. Perhaps due to the cold, her nose was slightly red. When she spoke, she smiled gently, looking incredibly sweet and well-behaved.

Even though Linda disapproved of her nephew dating so young, she had to admit Lilith was a good kid. She couldn't find any reason to object. When her sister-in-law had asked about Lilith, Linda had simply stated the facts about the girl, and even the usually strict Afra had tacitly approved. Afra was a university professor teaching politics, known for her rigorous standards. If she had any objections to Lilith, she would have definitely voiced them.

Despite her own agenda, Lilith first accompanied Linda to her class. Linda had taken over a PE lesson specifically for Lilith to interact with the students. A student from MIT, last year's second-highest scorer in the province's college entrance exam, a former member of the high-achieving class, and strikingly beautiful - with so many accolades, Lilith nearly caused an uproar in Linda's class. What was meant to be a one-lesson exchange stretched into over an hour.

Undeniably, Lilith had valuable experience to share. While her admission to MIT was partly due to her rebirth advantage, her own abilities were undeniable. Moreover, being a student herself, her advice was sometimes even more practical than the teachers'.

By the time the exchange finally ended, Lilith was parched. Seeing this, Linda took her to the office for a drink. In the office, Lilith had to greet various teachers. After the bustle, Linda finally had a chance to chat with Lilith. However, they only discussed the current situation of the students in the class, with Linda mentioning that Lilith's former deskmate, Candy, was also preparing for exams.

Having been young once, Linda knew Lilith's visit to the school wasn't solely at her request. Otherwise, why would she come so urgently the day after returning home? So after chatting for a while, Linda thoughtfully told Lilith she had a class to teach and suggested Lilith take a walk around the campus on her own.

As luck would have it, when Lilith wandered to William's classroom, it was just dismissing for break. She asked a student to call William out, but as she turned her head, she spotted William entangled with Angela in a corner.

They were too far away to hear what they were saying, but Angela was holding onto William's arm. Although William looked displeased, he hadn't pulled away. Both of them were exceptionally good-looking, and despite wearing the unflattering school uniforms, they still made an attractive pair.

Somehow, Lilith suddenly felt a pang of hurt. She had merely had a meal with her roommate's boyfriend and his dormmates at school, and William had made such a fuss. Yet here he was, still tangled up with his ex-girlfriend. Although Lilith knew there was surely nothing between William and Angela anymore, she still felt upset. Moreover, William had been hiding from her that Angela was also preparing for exams, and it seemed they were even in the same class.

Despite repeatedly telling herself to stay calm, Lilith grew angry. She couldn't be bothered to wait at the door any longer and turned to leave. William had already spotted Lilith, but by the time he shook off Angela, Lilith had vanished. When he chased to the school gate, she was already outside waiting for the bus.

William couldn't leave the school, and class was about to start. Cursing under his breath, he skulked back to the classroom, glaring at Angela before sitting down. Angela, unfazed, rolled her eyes back at him. She hadn't known Lilith would come; if she had, she would have been even more provocative.

Lilith returned home in a foul mood. Louis called to say that the old neighbors from the demolition area were having dinner together to discuss compensation issues, so she should buy herself some food downstairs. Although the developer had offered good terms, no one ever complained about having too much money, so the people in that area were currently negotiating with the developer.

Because of her bad mood, Lilith couldn't be bothered to go out for food. She stayed home, aimlessly flipping through TV channels with the remote. Around 7 PM, William called. Lilith answered, but her tone was curt, "Hello, what is it?"

"Lilith, I'm downstairs at your place. Come down," William said urgently, worried his little princess might be upset.

"I'm not coming. I'm tired," Lilith sulked.

"Okay, okay, my little ancestor. If you're tired, how about I come up?" William said with a smile.

"Don't come up. I'll come down," Lilith relented, though she didn't dare let William come up even with no one home.

Lilith bundled herself up like a bear before slowly making her way down. William was wearing a light gray down jacket over his school uniform pants, his face red from the cold. His hands were slightly scratched, and he looked quite disheveled. Seeing his little princess emerge, he hurried over, limping slightly.

"What happened to you?" Lilith asked, concerned despite her anger.

"It's nothing. I jumped over the wall to get out," William said nonchalantly.