No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Noelle's words landed like a sharp slap.noveldrama

The room fell into stunned silence as everyone stared at her in disbelief. Truly, she deserved her idol status.

Xenia's face flushed with anger, and her eyes welled up with tears. "Noelle, I was just trying to comfort you. I didn't mean anything by it."

Betty fumed. "Noelle, don't be ungrateful. So what if your grades are a little better? If you're so great, why didn't you get first place in the city? Why act so proud?"

The boys who were always protective of Xenia chimed in, "Noelle, your grades are good, and your gaming skills are impressive, but you can't keep putting others down like this. Xenia was just being kind." Noelle sneered. "I don't need her kindness."

Xenia sniffled. "Everyone, don't argue with her for me. I know Noelle didn't do well on the exam and is upset. I understand."

Rachel chided, "What do you mean, 'understand"? Stop pretending to be so kind and pitiful! It was definitely you who took Noelle's stationery."

There were rumors that the top student's language exam had gone badly, bringing their overall score down. When Rachel heard about Noelle's stationery being tampered with, she immediately suspected Xenia's involvement.

Xenia put on an innocent expression. "Rachel, what you're saying is hurtful. I didn't prepare Noelle's stationery. If something went wrong with it, it's just her bad luck."

She couldn't help but feel a little relieved that Noelle's exam had gone poorly. As long as Noelle's grades suffered, Xenia felt at ease.

Noelle scoffed. "Who told you I did poorly?"

She hadn't planned to draw attention to herself, but seeing the little bitch attack Rachel like that, she couldn't just stand by.

Xenia hesitated for a moment. "Noelle, stop pretending. We all know the truth."

Betty pushed further. "Noelle, if you're claiming you did well, how many points did you get?"

Noelle lazily looked up. "I don't know."

"Tsk, tsk. You're telling me you don't know? Who are you trying to fool? Didn't the results come out already?"

Rachel looked surprised. "Another possibility is that she really doesn't know her score if it's been blocked."

Noelle leaned casually against her desk, exuding an air of effortless confidence.

Xenia glanced at her nervously, a feeling of unease creeping into her chest.

No. Noelle was definitely lying.

Betty wasn't buying it either. "Noelle is just trying to save face. After all, no one knows what her actual score is." Xenia had the same thought, but seeing Noelle's calm demeanor, doubt started to creep into her mind.

Xenia cautiously said, "Noelle, I know you've been working hard these last few months, and your grades have definitely improved. But good grades aren't everything. You don't need to carry such a heavy burden. There's no need to make a big deakout of it."

Before Noelle could respond, Rachel shot back, "Xenia, are you jealous? Everyone can see Noelle's abilities. Maybe she just did really well on the exam. It's not impossible that her results were blocked."

Betty retorted, "But everyone knows Noelle's usual grades. How could she suddenly do so well? And how could her scores be blocked and even make it into the top 50 the city?"

Most of the room seemed skeptical.

Just then, Lionel walked in, beaming. "Class, it looks like everyone's here. Today, I'm treating you all to celebrate our top scorer in the city!"

The classroom erupted in shock at the teacher's words.

"My gosh, the top scorer in the city is in our class?"