No Ads Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Knowing that Shermaine would help , Lily was full of confidence and hope for the upcoming business venture . She knew Shermaine had been investing money into developing Maple Leaf Ville and hoped to play her part by ensuring the venture thrived . As Lily shared her plans for the future company , Shermaine started to eat an orange slice by slice . Once she finished , she told Lily to get some rest , slung her backpack over her shoulder , and headed out . Right at the door , she bumped into the two girls who had come to visit Sheila . The moment the two girls saw her , they pressed themselves against the wall in fear , looking utterly ridiculous . They swallowed nervously and stammered , " S - Shermaine , what a coincidence . " Their forced smiles were so awkward that they looked more like grimaces . " It sure is ," Shermaine said with a faint smile , brushing past them . Once she left , the two girls finally let out a sigh of relief . They rushed into the adjacent hospital room , where Sheila lay , and wailed , " Sheila , we just ran into Shermaine outside . Damn , she scared the life out of us . " " You're such cowards . " Shelia's face darkened . " We sure are . She's just too scary , " one of the girls replied . " Yeah , having guts won't do us any good , " the other girl chimed in . Sheila rolled her eyes , thinking , ' Shermaine is such a walking contradiction . She's beaten me senseless , yet she's also the one who pulled me back from the brink of disaster . I don't blame her for getting my brother into such a miserable state . Actually , it's deeply satisfying !' Sheila was deeply disappointed with her extremely biased mother . It wasn't just her mother - her whole family valued sons over daughters . She was in the hospital now , but neither her father nor her grandmother came to visit - they were running around in a panic because Ronnie had been thrown into detention . Sheila had already given up on expecting any kind of care from her family . She knew if she wanted a place in the family in the future , she'd have to fight for it on her own . But she wasn't sure if she could do it . It was just another ordinary day . As usual , plenty of students came to Shermaine with questions , not just in math , physics , chemistry , but also in other subjects . Shermaine would gather the types of questions her classmates couldn't solve during the day , organize them , and then spend an hour each evening doing a live stream to explain them . The exact time for the live stream would be sent to the group chat in advance every night . Most underachieving students wanted to improve their grades . They longed for growth , hoping to get good scores on the SAT . But reality hit them hard . They were stuck in the worst class , with weak foundations , and their teachers had already written them off . There was no way they could have high hopes for themselves . But Shermaine suddenly showed up in their lives , and somehow , her presence made them feel like there was a glimmer of hope . She was willing to help them in her own way , and if they didn't seize the chance , they'd be fools . Summer bought a bunch of snacks for Shermaine from the convenience store , almost filling up Shermaine's backpack . It was Friday , and the boarding students were planning to head home for the weekend . Summer hooked her arm through Shermaine's , and they went down the stairs together . Muttering formulas under her breath , Summer didn't see someone in her way when she turned a corner and bumped into them . The person cried out , landing on the ground with books scattered everywhere . " I'm so sorry ! I wasn't paying attention . Áre you okay ? " Summer said , quickly bending down to help , but the girl swatted her hand away , her pretty face 1/3 Chapter 35 twisted in anger . Summer recognized her it was Alice , who took AP courses and was friends with Summer's petty and mean roommate , Hannah . Alice was a big nama around school . Not only was she stunningly beautiful , recognized as the school's prettiest girl , but her academic performance was top notch . However , with Shermaine here , Alice might lose her title as " the school's prettiest girl . " Shermaine was just too pretty , and the school had been buzzing about it . Lately , there had been so many boys hanging around outside Class 9 , all just to see Shermaine . Alice snapped , " Don't touch me . Ugh , just my luck to run into someone from Class 9. " She picked up her books and then sneered , " Typical underachiever Cramming a few formulas and expecting to be top students ? Don't kid yourselves - it's pathetic . " Just because my grades aren't great , you think you can insult me ? No wonder you're Hannah's bestie - you're both awful ! ' Summer bellowed inwardly . her face darkening . Then she said , " Doing well in school doesn't give you the right to treat people like dirt . I apologized already , but you wouldn't accept it . Why take it to a personal level ? " " Did I say anything wrong ? Every single one of you in Class 9 is useless , " Alice shot back before she started to insult Shermaine . " Especially her - she's beyond hopeless . She's a disgrace to all the girls . " Shermaine was speechless . Summer was fuming . " Have you got any manners ? What gives you the right to insult Shermaine ? What did she ever do to you ? " Alice snorted , " I just don't like her . So what if she's good at fighting ? To us top students , she's just a troublemaker . " Although Summer didn't do well in school , she was good at arguing . " Oh , please . You're just jealous that Shermaine is prettier than you and outshone you . So you're using this pathetic excuse to insult her . How shameless of you . Who would've thought you could stoop so low ? " Then she shouted , " Hey , everyone ! Come see for yourselves ! Alice , the prettiest girl in our school , is throwing insults left and right for no reason . This is just too much . " More and more students turned to watch . Alice's face flushed red as she retorted , " You're spouting nonsense . Time will prove everything . " Seeing the argument escalating , Shermaine tugged on Summer's arm . " Let's go . Don't waste your breath on her . You're better off memorizing another formula . Like she said , time will prove everything . " As Shermaine reached the school gates , her phone suddenly rang . It was Ruth , asking her to come back for family dinner tonight and to bring Joshua if possible . Shermaine said she'd ask Joshua and hung up . Then she called him right away . Joshua was in a meeting when he received the call . Around the oval - shaped conference table , dozens of senior executives were seated . As Joshua glanced at the caller ID , the executives kept their gazes fixed straight ahead . Joshua hated being interrupted during meetings , so everyone's phones were set to silent , including his own . Even if a call came through , he wouldn't answer it - he never did . But this time , Joshua raised his hand , signaling the meeting to pause . The executives were stunned and couldn't help but wonder if he was making an exception because something serious had happened to Owen . But they guessed wrong . Joshua brought the phone to his ear and asked , " What's up ? " Shermaine got straight to the point . " The Jean family is hosting a dinner tonight . Ruth asked me to bring you along . Are you free ? " Joshua replied , " I am , but I'll be a little late . Is that okay ? " 2/3 Chapter 35 May " That's fine , " Shermaine said casually . As long as he could make it , that was enough . The executives were left speechless . They now realized that it wasn't that Joshua never bent the rules - it was just that no one had been important enough to make him do so , As for the family dinner , it was supposed to happen as soon as Shermaine got back . But the Jean family had been putting it off . And some of them didn't even show up for the last party . For example , Shermaine's grandmother , Janice , who lived in the suburbs , reportedly fell ill when Shermaine returned , so she couldn't make it back . Then there was Shermaine's uncle Brandon and his family , who had settled in Neclen and were in charge of the Jean family's subsidiary there . Shermaine had met her other uncle , Andrew , and his family a few times . They were sharp - tongued and unpleasant, not worth talking to . She was curious about how her grandmother and her uncle Brandon would treat her . 0 A Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!