"Shouldn’t it?" Steve was shocked. "Shouldn’t." Oliver answered confidently. Steve was confused by his logic. "Alright, you’re the academic genius, whatever you say goes." Steve thought about it for a long time and couldn’t figure it out, so he simply gave up. "Oh, by the way, there’s a rumor," Steve added, "Anastasia’s serious personality won’t let Marcus Shaw off easily. This time, she should take advantage of his parent’s visit to properly resolve this... You have a good relationship with Marcus Shaw, persuade him, for Fairy Sister’s sake, so she won’t have to endure Anastasia’s rolled eyes." Oliver glanced at him without responding and headed towards the stairs. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⟡𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕥⟡𝕟𝕖𝕥 "Where are you going?" Steve craned his neck and asked. "To find Marcus Shaw." As soon as he finished speaking, Oliver disappeared at the staircase. Steve was stunned for a moment and clicked his tongue. These days, attractive looks really are the ultimate weapon, even the indifferent Oliver has succumbed. As the agenda items passed by one by one, the parent-teacher meeting was reaching its end. After Anastasia finished her summary and received a round of applause, she bid farewell to the parents. But just as the event was about to end, her gaze landed firmly on Nora Scott, with a stern expression, she said seriously, "Marcus Shaw’s parents, please come with me to the office." Nora raised an eyebrow and stood up as expected. The other parents, seeing this, whispered among themselves. "Why is Marcus Shaw’s parent the only one being asked to stay behind, is there something special? "I heard from my kid that this student called Marcus Shaw has very poor performance, he does everything except pay attention in class, but in this exam, he jumped from around 300th place straight to the top 30... this kind of improvement isn’t normal." "Isn’t that completely unfair? Students with poor conduct should be expelled." "Birds of a feather flock together. His sister is the same way, not caring about her brother’s situation at the meeting, but chatting happily with the other parents." The scattered chatter clearly reached Ernesto Scott’s ears who was already at the door, and he considered turning back to argue with them. Nora Scott, who exited a step behind, reached out and stopped him. "You can’t control gossip," Nora said nonchalantly. Involving Ernesto in such matters would only make things messier. No amount of reasoning could silence a petty mouth. "Those teachers and parents are really..." Ernesto calmed down, frowned, and said, "I’ll go with you to the teacher’s office." Nora said calmly, "No need." Ernesto’s concern was evident, "But—" "This is between Marcus Shaw and me." With these words, Nora left Ernesto speechless. Fearing Nora would suffer in front of the teacher, Ernesto was even more afraid of making Nora angry, thinking he was meddling. After all, when it comes to Marcus Shaw and Nora, you can’t help but mention "Evelyn Easton"... His presence was indeed a bit awkward. After hesitating for some time, Ernesto could only advise, "Just take care and don’t be wronged. If anything happens, let me know." At the front entrance of the classroom, just as Anastasia came out, she saw Nora and Ernesto standing together, conversing in low voices. Ernesto’s cautiousness and appeasement couldn’t be more obvious. With a cold snort, Anastasia took out her phone. A few seconds later, she walked over, her expression serious, and said coldly to Nora, "Marcus Shaw’s parent, this way." As soon as she finished speaking, she met with a cold glare from Ernesto. Anastasia: "..." Was it that obvious? Taking one last look at Ernesto, Nora said indifferently. Ernesto nodded, seeing Nora take a few steps, he couldn’t help but remind, "Remember to contact me." What kind of father is this, flirting with young women outside, can he be a bit more restrained?! Ernesto was fully focused on Nora, not caring about Anastasia’s gaze and thoughts. Watching the two walk away, Ernesto anxiously picked up his phone and dialed Oliver’s number. It rang several times before Oliver finally answered. "Dad, is the parent-teacher meeting over?" Ernesto’s tone was noticeably less friendly than with Nora. "Something came up. What’s wrong?" "Your sister went to the teacher’s office with that fierce teacher, you should go over and keep an eye on things." Oliver was taken aback, "Keep an eye on what?" Ernesto immediately questioned impatiently, "Aren’t you worried she might be bullied?" No, what gave you the wrong impression that "Nora would be bullied"? Knowing his father’s nature as a daughter-doting man, Oliver dared not argue, saying, "I’ll be there soon." Ernesto replied, ultimately still uneasy, and urged once more before hanging up, "Hurry up." Oliver hopelessly hung up the call. This doting father, he was defeated. There were hardly any teachers present; the large office was empty at this point. Anastasia bustled in, tossed the folder in her hands onto the desk, the pages fluttering with the wind, making a loud noise. It had an unmistakable sense of authority. Taking her thermos from the desk, Anastasia unscrewed it, took a sip, and without inviting Nora to sit, she spoke directly, "The grade director will soon bring Marcus Shaw over, let me first explain the situation to you." Having said that, she tightened the lid and turned to face Nora. Nora wasn’t standing obediently; instead, she walked to the side, dragged over a chair, tossed it onto the open floor space, and sat down leisurely. Finding a comfortable seating position, Nora slightly raised her chin, "Go ahead." That posture had a certain aura, as if approving a briefing like a leader, with a naturally high and mighty presence. Anastasia was instantly infuriated. These days, especially in such a prestigious high school as Affiliated Middle School, which parent doesn’t greet the teacher with a smile, fearing to offend, but this damn... who has ever seen such an arrogant parent?! She couldn’t control the trembling in her hand holding the thermos. After a long time, Anastasia managed to calm her anger and said coldly, "Presumably you already know about Marcus Shaw’s performance." "Mm." Nora nodded slightly, "Rapid improvement, worthy of praise." This time, Anastasia couldn’t hold back and sneered openly. Nora seemed surprised, "Isn’t Anastasia planning to specifically commend him?" "I don’t know if you’ve been to high school," Anastasia, furious and aggressive, lashed out with personal attacks, "do you know what it means for Marcus Shaw to jump from 278th to 27th in just a month?" The office door was suddenly slammed open, hitting the wall with a loud bang before bouncing back. Anastasia, still fuming from her taunt at Nora, was startled by the sudden noise. Both Nora and Anastasia turned to look. Only to see Marcus Shaw walk in, one hand in his pocket, face cold, and as he looked up, his sharp, cold gaze pierced Anastasia directly. The unrestrained iciness in his gaze made Anastasia instinctively step back a bit, leaning against the desk. Following Marcus Shaw in was the rather angry grade director. Marcus Shaw walked straight to Nora’s side, stood there, turned his body slightly, and looked at Anastasia. A sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, exuding an aloof and arrogant aura, so much so that even adults like Anastasia and the grade director felt a slight tremble in their hearts. With a cold stare at them, Marcus Shaw pronounced every word with arrogance, "Jumping over two hundred places, if I’m in the mood, I can take first place. What’s the problem with that?"