Chapter 13 Must Apologize to Her in Public
Lily was stunned by Richard's words. She hadn't seen that coming.
She glanced over at Austin and Sophie, keeping her face calm and collected.
Austin, on the other hand, looked really uncomfortable.
Lily had always been the one running after him, never putting him in a tough spot.
As her older brother, he was used to having the upper hand.
Now, saying sorry felt like a death sentence.
Sophie jumped in quickly, "Lily, when did you get so awesome? You must've been studying like crazy at home. We had no clue. Austin rushed to school to help you out when they accused you of cheating. He really cares about you."
Sophie was trying to give Austin a way out, and he snapped coldly, "Sophie, enough. She just doesn't get it."
Austin felt more satisfied with Sophie; this was how a sister should behave.
Lily gave him a faint smile, "Yeah, Austin came to school right away, and then told Mr. Taylor I did cheat, made me write a confession, and apologize in front of everyone. Is that the kind of help you mean?"
Sophie was at a loss for words.
Austin, embarrassed and angry, shot back, "Lily, you worked hard in secret and didn't tell us, making me misunderstand. Sure, your grades improved, but is this fun for you?"
Richard stepped in again, looking at Alex, "Who was the first to accuse Lily of cheating? Bring them here to apologize."
Alex quickly called Seraphine and Calista over.
Seraphine and Calista, still clueless about the situation, smugly said, "Mr. Taylor, we told you Lily cheated to get good grades. Has the investigation confirmed it?"
Alex nodded, "Yes, it has. Lily did not cheat. You both need to apologize to her."
Seraphine and Calista were shocked. Lily didn't cheat? How could that be?
Sophie immediately played the good person, "Lily didn't cheat. I told you not to speak carelessly. Now, you should apologize to her."
With that, she cleared herself of any blame.
Seraphine and Calista reluctantly apologized to Lily, "Sorry, we were wrong. We shouldn't have said that."
Alex looked at Lily, "Do you have any other requests?"
Lily shook her head, "No, that's all."
Alex said with relief, "Lily has been working very hard recently, unlike Sophie, whose grades have dropped significantly."
Sophie felt embarrassed, especially since Lily had done so well. It was humiliating.
With teary eyes, Sophie replied, "I-I was just distracted. It won't happen again."
Austin also felt embarrassed, "What's the point of good grades? Becoming famous in gaming and making money is more important."
Sophie nodded in agreement.
Alex was irritated, surprised that Austin would say such things. He looked at Sophie, "You should learn from Lily."
Sophie bit her lip hard and ran out of the office.
Austin glared at Lily, "Just because you got good grades once, you think you can show off in front of Sophie? She was distracted by her gaming team, which affected her grades. You, who haven't sacrificed anything, have no right to brag."
Lily raised an eyebrow, "Was I bragging?"
Richard spoke again, "I clearly heard Alex say those things. Lily didn't say a word. As a parent, you shouldn't be so biased."
Austin was at a loss for words, awkwardly replying, "I'm not biased. Lily has always been like this."
He then left to chase after Sophie.
Lily turned to Richard, "Thank you."
"No need to thank me. You have the talent; you deserve this. Go back to class. I need to have a meeting with the teachers to emphasize this."
Lily left the office.
She walked a few steps and saw Dennis standing in the hallway, wearing a white coat.
He was leaning against the wall, seemingly waiting for someone.
When Lily met his eyes, her heart inexplicably quickened.
Dennis stood up, his voice cool, "How'd it go?"
"Of course, I nailed it! Mr. Hamilton had me retake a test, and I aced it."
Lily held her head high, feeling even more victorious with Dennis there.
Dennis's calm expression softened into a hint of a smile. "Did they apologize?"
Lily paused, realizing he meant Sophie and Austin.
She shook her head, "Only the scapegoats apologized. The real culprits didn't, but I don't care. I embarrassed them enough!"
She still felt pretty pleased with herself.
Dennis's gentle features showed a rare smile, "Catch up with me after school."
With that, he walked away.
Lily noticed someone else coming down the hallway, so she didn't follow him.
She turned and headed back to her classroom.
The previously noisy classroom quieted down a bit.
Alex soon came in to announce that Lily's grades were legit and that she hadn't cheated.
Sophie lay on her desk, feeling down, even losing interest in her cake.
She needed to find a way to stop Lily from excelling so much.
How could Lily be better than her?
After school, Lily headed straight to the nurse's office.
Dennis was sitting in a chair and glanced at her, "Finished your homework?"
"The teacher wanted us to review our mistakes. I finished."
She hadn't made many mistakes, only missing a few points she hadn't reviewed.
Dennis nodded towards the computer beside him, "Wanna play a game? Got an account?"
"I do, but I wanna create a new one."
"Perfect, let's both use new accounts."
Dennis didn't plan on using his main account to play with her.
Lily logged into the game and quickly chose a name: [SweetLemon].
Once in the game, she looked at Dennis, "What's your name? Let's add each other as friends."
She sneaked a glance at his game screen and saw a familiar name: [TurnBackTime].
She suddenly remembered something.
In her past life, she had an online boyfriend with the same name.
Dennis raised an eyebrow, "What are you looking at? Accept the friend request."
Lily blushed and quickly accepted, feeling a bit excited seeing the game character in front of her.
But in her past life, she hadn't met her online boyfriend at this point.
Maybe it was just a coincidence.
Lily stole another glance at him, "Why'd you pick that name?"
Dennis paused, his eyes half-lowered, "Just a random choice."
Lily nodded. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
They entered the game and went to the newbie area to complete tasks.
Lily sensed that Dennis wasn't a complete newbie, probably using a new account to play with her. She didn't ask much.
But his gameplay was very similar to that person's.
Lily couldn't help but ask, "Dr. Gonzalez, is your main account name the same?"
"No."
"So, is this the first time you've created this new account with this name?"
Dennis glanced at her, "Yeah, why?"
Lily quickly looked down, her face heating, "No reason."
She was conflicted. Was he that person?
But the timing didn't match her past life.
In her past life, she met him after the revival competition. He taught her how to improve her gaming skills, helping her make it to the finals.
Even though she never met her online boyfriend before she died, she was grateful for his help when she was struggling.
Lily seemed distracted.
They finally completed the tasks and left the newbie area, only to encounter another team.
Lily saw the team names and smirked.
It was Austin and Sophie.
Dennis's eyes narrowed slightly, "Want to take them on?"
"Take them on? We're both using new accounts with inferior gear. We'd just be asking for trouble."
Despite her words, Lily felt a bit tempted.
Dennis said, "Wait until they're almost done with the task, then attack when they're low on health and steal their boss."