Chapter 960
Xenia looked pretty chuffed with herself as she firmly asserted, “Without any proof, you can’t blame netizens for believing that poor mother and daughter! If you can’t prove their claims are false, then they must be true! Patricia was just trying to help them out by playing the anonymous hero; that’s why she went to your stepmother!”
Ellinor felt like giving Xenia a round of applause as she listened to her whitewash her conniving daughter as some low-key do-gooder.
Xenia was really something: she was quick on the uptake too.
“I don’t have proof, but I have this!” Ellinor casually tapped her temple with her index finger.
Her cryptic gesture left everyone a bit puzzled.
Xenia frowned, “Ms. Mendoza, what do you mean? Stop being so mysterious, will you?”
Ellinor, arms lazily folded, replied with poise, “Didn’t that ‘pitiful’ mother and daughter insist that my frequent absences mean I couldn’t possibly be a good student? Well, how about a live broadcast of a test against her daughter to see who can get into Creston University?”
Patricia, knowing the mother and daughter were a set-up by Tracy and not real, instinctively tugged at Xenia’s hand, hoping she could find a way to stop this test.
Of course, Xenia understood her daughter’s worries and, after a moment’s thought, said, “That girl you screwed over didn’t make it to college and had to work the fields with her family. She hasn’t touched a book in years! While you took her place in college, receiving the best education in the country. Now you want to compete with her on grades; do you think it’s fair?”
Ellinor calmly replied, “Don’t worry, the test won’t be on hard stuff, just the basics. A good student can’t possibly forget all they’ve learned just because they did manual labor for a few years, right? If it’s that easy to forget what you’ve learned, she would’ve had a hard time getting into Creston University on her own merit, wouldn’t she?”
Realizing Xenia and Patricia were trying to prevent the test out of guilt, Ellinor didn’t bother asking for their opinion and instead turned to the elderly Howards.
“Grandpa Dean, Grandma Alyssa, do you think it’s fair for me to hold a public test?”
Dean and Alyssa exchanged glances, seeing no problem with the proposal.
Dean nodded, “Ellinor, I think it’s fine.”
Alyssa chimed in, “Ellinor, I agree.”
With the seniors of the Howard family on board, Xenia really had no room to argue.
Having received their approval, Ellinor continued, “Then, could you, Grandpa Dean, find someone to set the questions? If I were to find the person, Mrs. Howard and Ms. Howard might accuse me of cheating, leading to endless disputes.”
Dean seriously replied, “Alright, you can count on me.”
“Thank you, Grandpa Dean.” Ellinor gave a polite smile, then turned to Xenia and Patricia, calmly saying, “I’ll give that girl three days to review. After that, I’ll hold a press conference and live-stream our test. If she scores higher than me, I’ll accept all the rumors online. But if she doesn’t, it’ll prove they’ve been spreading lies.”
Xenia and Patricia glared at Ellinor, holding their tongues despite their objections.
As Ellinor prepared to leave, she suddenly remembered something, “Oh, by the way, I don’t have the contact details of the mother or the daughter. Ms. Howard, could you pass along the message for me?”
With that, Ellinor shrugged and bid her polite goodbye, “Grandpa Dean, Grandma Alyssa, Mr. Howard, that’s all for today. Remember to tune in for my live stream with that girl in three days. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way.”
She slowly headed towards the Howard family’s front door.
Dean and Alyssa almost simultaneously called out, “Ellinor…”
Ellinor heard them but didn’t stop.
