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- Her entrance was so abrupt that the reporters didn’t immediately react. Someone asked, “Student, are you here to testify about Christine bullying Elva?”
- After all, judging by her clothes and appearance, Shirley was obviously not from a wealthy family; at a glance, she seemed more similar to Elva.
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- Shirley looked at the person who asked the question and shook her head. She said, “I’m here to testify for Christine.”
- I looked at Shirley in surprise. To be honest, I had made many preparations for today’s confrontation. But Shirley was not one of the witnesses I had prepared. After all, to be frank, IWe weren’t particularly close. After I gave her money last time, she researched current market rates for tutoring, calculated the cost for one hour per day, and returned all the excess money to me. She tutored me in math for exactly one hour each day, then promptly packed her bag and left when time was up, like a programmed AI robot following its protocols.
- In my previous life, Shirley committed suicide by jumping off a building before the college entrance exam. She had pinned all her hopes on gelling into a good university and earning money quickly to pay for her grandmother’s medical treatment. But a month before the exam, her father lost money gambling, drank several bottles of cheap Everclear, and returned home to give Shirley the worst beating of her life. Her right hand–her writing
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- hand–was broken. No one knew what else her father did that day or what the battered Shirley went through. When people found her, this perpetually silent girl had already jumped from the rooftop.
- In this life, although Shirley and I hadn’t become friends, I still wanted to save her. So I paid two thugs to put her father in the hospital. At least this way, the man wouldn’t be able to abuse her until after the college entrance exam. To meticulously plan this, I skipped evening self–study for the first time ever. When I returned, Shirley, who was responsible for attendance records, caught me red–handed.
- She asked, “Why did you skip evening study?”
- I scratched my head, desperately searching for an excuse. After all, I looked perfectly healthy and energetic–I could hardly tell her “I skipped class to have your dad beaten up.”
- Just at that critical moment, Shirley was called out by the teacher from the reception desk: “Xiaoli, there’s a phone call for you.”
- It was news about her father’s incident. Five minutes later, Shirley returned, her face still wearing that same expressionless look. She picked up the attendance sheet, then put it down again.
- “I won’t record it this time,” she said calmly. “Don’t be absent again.“At that moment, I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly hurried back to my seal to study. Now, as Shirley spoke with that same calm tone saying, “I’m testifying for Christine,” I
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- realized she might have known all along. Facing the gaze of everyone in the room, Shirley pulled out a stack of forms and placed them on the table. Elva’s face instantly turned pale.
- were re
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- According to school regulations, students to fill out forms when using the dance studio for rehearsals- documenting the time, participants, and other details. However, these forms weren’t strictly monitored, and since filling them out was tedious, most people eventually stopped bothering with them, simply notifying the dance teacher before using the space. No one expected that Shirley had meticulously completed a form every single time and kept them all.
- So there, under everyone’s scrutiny, they could clearly see that among the thirty–plus forms, Elva’s name appeared on only two of them. In other words, out of more than thirty rehearsals, she had participated in just two.
- After ensuring everyone had seen the evidence, Shirley slowly began to speak: “Elva claimed that Christine mocked her for not being able to afford the performance costume, and that’s why she wasn’t allowed on stage.”
- “But when I told Christine I couldn’t afford the costume and didn’t want to participate, she encouraged me to continue rehearsing.”
- “The next day, I discovered she had purchased costumes for everyone.”
- “”Elva also said Christine bullied her because her father is a school janitor and her mother is a cleaner.”
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- “Yet my father doesn’t even have a proper job, and my entire family survives on my grandmother’s minimum welfare benefits.”
- Shirley turned to me: “If you bully poor people, then why haven’t you bullied me?”
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- This self–exposing statement stunned everyone present. In the ensuing silence, I sighed, took out my phone, and played a video for all to see. In this footage, everyone could see Elva missing beats, forgetting movements, and falling behind. Among all the dancers, she was clearly the worst by far.
- Of course, during previous rehearsals, she had been off stargazing with Hardy instead. In truth, Elva hadn’t really wanted to participate in the performance; she only twisted the facts and played the victim to Hardy after I cut her from the lineup–all to make him like her more and despise me further. She never anticipated that the situation would escalate so
- dramatically, or that I would have such comprehensive evidence and witnesses.
- “I shouldn’t have taken it upon myself to cut Elva from the performance,” I admitted.
- “But this dance showcase offers special bonus points for college applications. Two girls in our group are applying with dance as their special talent and are counting on these points for their admissions.”
- “If I had let Elva participate, I would have jeopardized those two
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- girls‘ futures. That’s why I had to make this decision.”
- After the interview, public opinion about Elva and me completely reversed. Classmates began saying she had a persecution complex and started avoiding her:
- “Don’t get too close to Elva. If you ever have any conflict with her, she’ll claim you’re bullying her for being poor.”
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- “Honestly, her family isn’t even that poor, right? Both her parents have steady jobs. We have students on financial aid who are truly struggling, but you don’t see them crying about being bullied.”
- “You know how it is–some people would rather blame their luck than work hard.”
- Surprisingly, through all of this, Elva remained quiet. She continued silently through the final self–study period until the college entrance exams ended, without causing any trouble.
- Shirley warned me: “Be careful. She’s probably planning her counterattack.”
- I smiled. “It’s fine. If she can be patient, so can I.”
- I could definitely sense Elva was secretly plotting something behind the scenes. The evidence was clear at home, where Hardy’s attitude toward me was visibly deteriorating day by day. In the past, he would at least avoid bullying me in front of Jason and Rita. Now, things had changed dramatically.
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- During a family dinner, he suddenly slammed his bowl full of corn chowder onto the table, causing hot, oily soup to splash onto my face.
- The housekeeper gasped and quickly brought me an ice pack and burn ointment. Throughout this, Rita kept her head down, sipping her soup as if nothing had happened. Jason briefly looked up and said to Hardy: “Be more gentle with your movements. Don’t make people think our children lack proper upbringing.”
- Neither Jason nor Rita cared about me. To them, I was just an adopted daughter they brought home on a fortune teller’s advice. -merely a lucky charm like a money plant placed in the corner for good fortune.
- In my previous life, Elva had tried to build relationships with Jason and Rita. Experience proved this approach completely wrong. When Jason and Rita got busy, they would hand even their biological son over to the nanny–how could they possibly develop feelings for an adopted daughter? In wealthy families, emotional appeals are useless; only interests matter.
- So I put down the ice pack and calmly spoke: “Dad, Mom.”
- “I have something to tell you.”
- “I scored 718 on the college entrance exam. I’m the top science student in the province.”
- As soon as I finished speaking, Jason and Rita both jerked their heads up. Even Hardy’s eyes widened in shock.
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- I took a chopstick–full of stir–fried Chinese broccoli, ate it leisurely, then met the surprised gazes of all three at the table and spoke softly: “You’ve always said that studying is our own responsibility, so I didn’t think to report this.”
- “But my teacher just called, saying reporters want to interview you about your parenting approach, so I thought I should ask if you’re available.”
- In my previous life, even while working part–time and studying, my academic performance had been excellent. In this life, learning the same material again without various obstacles, my grades had skyrocketed.
- Jason and Rita exchanged bewildered glances. Before this, they had paid no attention to the college entrance exams. Hardy had already been accepted to a school in Australia and would be sent abroad right after high school graduation, bypassing these exams entirely. As for me, their adopted daughter, they left me to fate, not bothering to concern themselves. No one could have imagined I would score so well.
- “I want to apply to Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management,” I said, looking at Jason. “During my freshman year, I’d like to intern at Dad’s company.““to intern at their investment department.”
- Jason remained silent for two seconds, and when he spoke again, his face already wore a smile. “It’s certainly good that have such ambition.”
- you
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- “Christine, congratulations–Jamie, bring the wine from my trunk. Christine is eighteen now, right? Let’s have a proper celebration today.”
- I ignored Hardy’s gaze, which was so intense and resentful it could almost drip with hostility, and raised my glass to clink with Jason and Rita’s, graciously thanking them for their guidance.
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- I had bet correctly. Jason and Rita didn’t care about an ordinary adopted daughter. But what if that daughter was the top scorer in the national college entrance exam? That would be a family honor, a testament to successful parenting, a hope for the future..
- Jason and Rita were delighted, opening several bottles of their treasured wine. They arranged a time for a press interview with me before going to rest with a pleasant buzz from the wine.
- Hardy and I were left alone at the dining table. The crystal chandelier cast flickering light and shadows on Hardy’s face. He had inherited Rita’s features a straight nose and deep–set eyes -truly looking like a handsome, unrestrained young master from a wealthy family. However, at this moment, he looked at me with those beautiful eyes, his dark eyes piercing me with an icy stare: “Christine, you don’t actually think this makes you part of my family, do you?”
- I stood up, politely pushing my chair back into place, then leaned close to Hardy’s car and whispered, “Young Master, get your facts straight. It’s your parents who are eager to make me part of the family now.”
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Exchange Foster Parents Chapter 4
Exchange Foster Parents Chapter 4
Posted by , ? Views, Released on April 28, 2025
Exchange Foster Parents English Novel
Status: Completed Native Language: English
