Chapter 20 The girl sitting next to Shermaine , Miley Foster , looked at her with deep gratitude and said , " Thank you " Shermaine smiled and nodded slightly . Miley's eyes instantly lit up with admiration . She looked at the stunning Shermaine in front of her and thought , ' She finished that problem in like thirty seconds . That speed is insane . She's definitely a total genius like Lorenzo . ' At that moment , Lorenzo glanced down at the two completed answer sheets in front of him . He knew full well that the one in Miley's hand didn't belong to her , but since it was Shermaine , he let it slide . Then , hearing all the compliments being thrown Wendelyn's way from the audience , he had to admit she had some real talent . Still , in this world , geniuses were everywhere . It was better to stay low - key - being too flashy would only work against her . Wendelyn , hearing the praise , gave a modest smile as if it were no big deal . Off to the side , Ruth was clearly pleased with how everything was playing out . She had raised Wendelyn herself , so naturally , she took pride in that . Once Wendelyn got back to her seat , she turned and glanced at Shermaine . Noticing that the paper in front of Shermaine was completely blank , Wendelyn couldn't help but smile , " Guess that kind of question really is too hard for you . " Shermaine kept a straight face . " Yeah . Super hard . " She was starting to think she might've finally found something she wasn't very good at - acting Miley was about to speak up , ready to clear things up and tell Wendelyn that the blank paper belonged to her and the one brought onstage was actually Shermaine's . But then Lorenzo cut in , " Quiet . Class is starting . " Miley had no choice but to open her textbook and wanted to wait until class was over to clear up the misunderstanding . After forty - five minutes of high - tension calculus , the class finally came to an end like a long - overdue release . Lorenzo wrapped up the lecture in his usual businesslike manner . The only thing lingering on his mind was Shermaine . He'd never gotten over what had happened at the International Mathematical Tournament years ago . Still , with so many people in the room and the crowd swarming toward Wendelyn , he didn't even get the chance to say hi to Shermaine . And it wasn't just Lorenzo - even the girl sitting next to Shermaine didn't get the chance to speak up and explain . Lorenzo thought , ' No rush . Now that I know Shermaine and Wendelyn are sisters , it'll be easy to find her later . ' " Wendelyn , you're amazing . Can you tell me how you usually study ? " " I've decided you're officially my idol . " " You're awesome , Wendelyn . " " Is that your mom sitting next to you ? " " Your mom looks so young . The two of you sitting together look more like sisters than mother and daughter . " The students were all talkative and flattering , showering Ruth and Wendelyn with so much praise they could barely stop smiling . Wendelyn answered each of their questions one by one . Then a guy shifted the topic and asked , " Is that your sister sitting in the back ? " Shermaine's aura was icy and intense . Even though they were curious enough to gather around , no one dared to get too close to her . And Shermaine was stunning - striking in a way that totally outshone Wendelyn's beauty , almost intimidating . But Wendelyn was a top student , so most 1/3 Chapter 20 people still gravitated toward her Even so , plenty of them were curious about Shermaine's background , Someone chimed in . Yeah , I was wondering too . " Then another asked , " Wendy , how old is your sister ? " " She's one year older than me , " Wendelyn replied . Wendelyn was eighteen . That made Shermaine nineteen . Wendelyn had skipped a grade , so she was younger than them , while Shermaine happened to be their age . The guy asked , " What's your sister's name ? " Wendelyn answered , " Shermaine Shue . " The guy thought , ' Shermaine Shue ? That's a unique and pretty name . Guess they're not real sisters if they've got different last names . The guy continued , " Wendy , which college does she go to ? " Wendelyn pulled back her smile , looking a little embarrassed , and passed the question off to Shermaine . " You'll have to ask Shermaine about that . The guy turned his head , and the moment his eyes landed on Shermaine's face , his heart skipped a beat . Shermaine pulled on her cap , revealing only her refined jawline . " The School of Hard Knocks . " The guy thought , ' Nineteen and already at the School of Hard Knocks ? Is that her way of saying she never even went to college ? Figures . Not every rich kid is like Wendelyn . Shermaine's probably just another spoiled brat who only knows how to party ! With that thought , the way he looked at Shermaine shifted . He said , " You're hilarious . " But his tone had lost its earlier politeness and turned a little smug . Shermaine tilted her chin . Her eyes , cold as ice beneath the brim of her cap , locked on him . " Do I know you ? " A wave of pressure hit , and the guy instinctively backed down , falling silent . Shermaine stood up . " You're blocking my way . " The second those words dropped , the whole crowd quieted and stepped aside . Standing in the aisle , Shermaine said briefly , " I'm going to the ladies ' room . " " I'll go with you ," Ruth said , rising too . Shermaine didn't object . She could already imagine how they'd tear her apart behind her back the moment she walked away . Wendelyn pointed the direction . " It's at the end on the right ." That only made her seem even more well - mannered and composed , while Shermaine came off proud and unapproachable . With Ruth gone and Wendelyn left alone , the others got bolder with their questions . Someone asked , " Wendy , is she really your sister ? How is she so different from you ? " Someone chimed in , " Exactly . She's so young and already slacking off like that ? Unbelievable ." They prided themselves on being self - righteous and always looked down on people who didn't care about academics . Another said , " Your family's loaded , right ? You should just ship Shermaine off to study abroad or something . Otherwise , she's gonna end up embarrassing you all . If a prestigious family like yours raises such a total failure , people are gonna laugh their heads off . " 2/3 Chapter 20 Trouvay Someone else added , " That's what spoiled rich kids are like . And let's be real , who would dare talk trash in front of them anyway ! They're the type when throw their weight around and look down on college students like us . " Wendelyn looked conflicted . " Don't say that . She's just not the type to open up right away . Her personality's not as bad as you think . " " Wendy , come on . Stop trying to defend her . We're not blind - we can tell what kind of person she is , " someone said . Wendelyn's eyes welled up in an instant . Chly then did they switch to a gentler tone . Someone said , " Alright . We won't badmouth Shermaine in front of you anymore . Don't get upset . " getting way out of line . She wondered , ' They've got such wild imaginations - why But Miley , the girl Shermaine had helped earlier , thought they aren't they writing novels instead ? were Judging someone that harshly off a few casual comments ? Students at Basterel University aren't all that morally superior , clearly As for Wendelyn , Miley found her kind of fake . If Wendely really thought they'd crossed the line , she should've snapped back hard . But she didn't . Miley couldn't help but say , " You guys are way out of line . For students at a top - tier university , you sure sound like the trolls i see online . " She continued , full of indignation , " So what if she's nineteen and already out in the real world ? That doesn't mean she's uneducated . " And so what if she's a little cold and distant ? Are you saying she doesn't have the right to be ? Or do you think you're better than anyone else ? " After Miley said that , they all felt embarrassed because they knew she kind of had a point . Besides , Shermaine hadn't actually done anything to them and they didn't need to be so mean . Plus , Shermaine was a girl . Wendelyn gave a polite smile . " You're the girl who solved that problem like me earlier , right ? Thank you for standing up for Shermaine . You're really kind . But I do want to clarify something - there's a reason for it . " Shermaine really hasn't been to college . That said , whether she goes or not doesn't matter to us . Our family has always respected her choices . As long as she's happy , that's what matters . " Miley was speechless . She thought , ' She played nice first , then hit Shermaine where it hurts . There's no doubt that Wendelyn's a top - tier hypocrite . " And just like that , her respect for Shermaine shot up . Shermaine didn't even go to college , yet she was sharper than most people who did . That alone made her worth admiring . Miley remarked , " Then Shermaine must be amazing . That question earlier- " Her words got cut off as Shermaine appeared at the classroom door . " Wendy , ready to go ? " Shermaine asked . AD Comment