Chapter 32 You Two Are Perfect for Each Other
Silver Fir Academy was full of children from elite families. Although most hadn't inherited their family businesses yet, they all had their own small ventures under their names. Teachers had long grown accustomed to students missing classes for business meetings and negotiations.
The school was quite lenient in this regard. After all, Silver Fir Academy was designed to cultivate heirs and ultimately aimed to develop students' business acumen. Naturally, they couldn't restrict students' practical business experience. So what if they skipped a class here and there? As long as they didn't fail their final exams, everything was fine.
Emily, being new to all this, naturally didn't understand. She assumed it was Michael's influence that made the teacher let Sophia off the hook.
It seemed that to bring Sophia down from her pedestal, she'd first have to eliminate Michael!
If she couldn't eliminate him, sowing discord between them wouldn't be a bad strategy either.
When Sophia returned to school, it was already the third period of the afternoon.
This was an equestrian class. She changed in the locker room and went to the stables to meet up with her classmates.
"Well, well, finally back." Amelia grinned mischievously, hooking her arm around Sophia's shoulder and teasing, "Spending half the day out with Michael, what were you two up to?"
Sophia glanced in Emily's direction, her tone meaningful. "Discussing some major life matters."
They'd gone to investigate the medical records from the hospital where she and Emily were born all those years ago.
Matters concerning blood relations and identity were definitely major life matters, weren't they?
Amelia didn't catch the deeper meaning and asked in surprise, "Did you two make it official? Did he confess to you?"
"What are you talking about?" Sophia looked at her with amusement, walking over to the stable to lead out her horse. "He and I are close friends, kindred spirits."
Amelia scoffed. "I don't believe it. Everyone knows you two are secretly committed to each other."
Sophia shot her a glare and said irritably, "You and Wayne are the ones who are meant to be. Go find your fiancé and stop teasing me."
Amelia pursed her lips. "Meant to be, my ass. I'm into guys like James. Wayne and I are just friends. If we really end up in an arranged marriage down the line, I'd probably die of embarrassment just looking at his face every day."
Sophia was both speechless and amused. "You're just superficial about looks. James has a gentle personality, but if you actually dated him, you'd definitely find him boring. Wayne suits you; you two are perfect for each other."
Amelia protested by reaching out to tickle Sophia's waist, making her laugh and beg for mercy.
"I was wrong, I was wrong!" Sophia dodged Amelia's attack and, out of the corner of her eye, spotted Wayne. She quickly called for help, "Wayne, come control your fiancée!"
Amelia's ears turned red, and she immediately stopped, saying indignantly, "Sophia! Stop talking nonsense!"
Wayne's ears also reddened as he looked down and touched his nose.
Although the engagement between their families wasn't exactly a secret, Sophia saying it so loudly in public still made things rather embarrassing.
A scream tore through the awkward atmosphere. Everyone looked over to see Emily sitting on horseback, pulling at the reins as the horse carried her in a wild, uncontrolled gallop. Her face was pale with terror, her features contorted in fear. The riding instructor was chasing after her on horseback, looking for an opportunity to rescue her.
"Emily, don't pull the reins so tight! Relax your body!" the instructor shouted while pursuing her, trying to teach Emily to control the horse herself.
However, all that echoed back were Emily's screams. She couldn't relax at all, so tense that her palms were sweating and her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her throat.
The instructor grimaced. She'd never seen such a hopeless student.
Amelia stood there, stunned, pulling at the corner of her mouth in disbelief. "Two equestrian classes a week, how does Emily manage to embarrass herself in every single one?"
Wayne shook his head and sighed. "How did her brain pass Silver Fir Academy's entrance exam? Sophia, aren't you going to help? If she gets thrown off, she'll probably dislocate her shoulder."
Sophia shrugged, maintaining her detached attitude. "The instructor went to help, didn't she? What does it have to do with me?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the instructor's voice carried over from afar, "Sophia, come help!"
Amelia and Wayne laughed gleefully at her misfortune. Sophia sighed resignedly and mounted her horse to give chase.
It seemed that sometimes being too academically excellent wasn't such a good thing.
Five minutes later, Emily had been brought safely back to Sophia's side and returned to the edge of the field. The instructor also found the right moment to jump onto the runaway horse and bring Emily's mount under control.
Emily had fainted and was taken away by the school nurse.
Sophia stroked the horse she'd raised since childhood, as if praising it for doing well.
Amelia walked over and patted her shoulder. "That was noble of you, showing mercy to save that two-faced Emily."
Wayne snorted lightly and said casually, "Sophia didn't want to do it; she had no choice."
Sophia pretended to look displeased and shot both of them a look. "You two are quite the duo, calling me heartless?"
"How could we? You're overthinking it." Amelia smiled sheepishly, her response dripping with insincerity.
Wayne said leisurely, "Who told you to get first place in last year's equestrian exam and show off in the arena? Otherwise, they wouldn't have specifically called on you for help today."
Talking about this annoyed Sophia. She pressed her lips together. "I had no choice. The competition was too fierce. Without pulling out my trump card, first place might not have been mine, and I might not even be able to stay at Silver Fir Academy right now."
Hearing this, Amelia and Wayne stopped joking around, their expressions becoming more serious.
There really was a formidable figure in their grade—Joshua Thomas from Class 3, Sophia's strongest competitor at school. Their grades were neck and neck, with Sophia winning each exam by only three or four points.
Last semester's equestrian exam, Joshua had achieved a shocking score of 96. If Sophia hadn't seen the dire situation and added high-difficulty moves at the last minute to beat him by two points, securing victory in the final semester rankings by just one point, this year's academic excellence award might not have been Sophia's.
"Joshua is quite handsome and popular in our grade, but I always feel there's something creepy about him." Amelia shuddered as she recalled Joshua's smile.
It wasn't an obviously sinister expression, but rather one that seemed warm and charming on the surface, yet those eyes felt strange, making you think he was hiding some malicious intent that sent chills down your spine.
Especially the way he looked at Sophia—smiling on his face but with venom in his eyes, hidden so deep that the hostility seemed barely there, making it impossible to figure out what he was really thinking.
Wayne nodded in agreement. He'd had two encounters with Joshua and found the guy extremely two-faced, speaking without revealing any flaws yet emanating a cold, unsettling aura from within.
Sophia looked thoughtful. She'd never had any face-to-face encounters with Joshua; their competition existed only on the grade rankings. She hadn't bothered to investigate his background either.
In Emerald City's high society circles, she didn't seem to recall hearing about the Thomas family.