Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Deep Sisterly Affection
Cara Prestonās expression immediately soured. She wanted to refuse, but Vera Xavier looked at her and said, "Didnāt you say we sisters share our blessings? Or was that just talk?"
"Of course not," Cara Preston said hurriedly. "Itās just that I spent all my New Yearās money on stationery and reference books. I donāt have anything left, or else why would I have asked to borrow money from you earlier?"
"Is that so!" Vera Xavier sighed. "Well, never mind then. Iām heading to school first. Eat up, and donāt be late."
After she spoke, she put on her backpack and made to leave. Cara Preston grabbed her, her eyes scanning Veraās outfit. "Vera, the fabric of this outfit is really nice. Iāve seen it at the mall before. Itās not something you can buy for a few dozen bucks. You lied to Mom, didnāt you?"
"What are you talking about!" Vera Xavier said earnestly. "How could an honest person like me lie to Mom?"
With that, she pulled Cara Prestonās hand away and walked straight out.
Cara Preston gritted her teeth. She wanted to call out to Vera Xavier and go to school with her, but the breakfast shop was too noisy. Besides, she liked to maintain her reputation for being gentle and well-mannered, and she wasnāt about to start screaming at the top of her lungs. So, all she could do was watch helplessly as Vera walked away.
She was furious. āThe old Vera Xavier was so easy to fool; she told me everything. But this time, sheās hiding it all from me!ā
She looked at her bowl of porridge, then at the broth left in Veraās noodle bowl, and instantly lost her appetite. But sheād be hungry if she didnāt eat, so she gritted her teeth, downed the porridge in one go, and then grabbed her schoolbag and bolted out the door.
Vera Xavier and Cara Preston both attended Municipal First High, the best high school in the entire city.
Because the principal of Municipal First High was one of Zachary Prestonās old university classmates, Zacharyāwho never pulled stringsāhad to swallow his pride and ask his old friend for a favor when Vera transferred. Vera still had to take an entrance exam, and she was only admitted to the school after she passed.
Thanks to Principal Gageās influence, she was placed in the same class as Cara Preston after passing her exam.
Cara Prestonās class was about average, with grades that were neither the best nor the worst in the school. But ever since Vera Xavier arrived, their class average had plummeted to the lowest in the entire school.
Because of this, the homeroom teacher had a huge problem with Vera. Teachers of every subject got a headache just hearing her name, and her classmates treated her with deep-seated hostility.
So, when Vera Xavier walked into the classroom, backpack slung over her shoulder, the students, who had been in the middle of their morning reading, all stopped. Every single one of them stared at her with wide eyes.
Vera Xavier knew why they were all staring at her. She said nothing and, guided by memory, walked directly to a seat in the very last row and sat down.
Although she had a photographic memory, in her past life her low self-esteem had caused her to never pay any attention to her classmates. After a quick scan of the room just now, she realized she didnāt recognize more than half of them.
Her arrival set off a flurry of whispers among the students:
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"Didnāt Vera Xavier drop out to get married? Why is she back?"
"I heard she never officially completed the withdrawal process, so she was able to come back."
"I live in the same compound as her fiancĆ©. I heard he couldnāt stand her and broke off the engagement. So basically, no one wanted to marry her, and she had no choice but to come back to school."
"With grades like hers, whatās the point of her coming back? Sheās a one-woman curve-wrecker. Sheās dragging our class average so far down weāre hitting rock bottom!"
"Seriously. If I were her, Iād be so embarrassed Iād just die. I canāt believe she has the nerve to show her face here again!"