She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 329

She could almost picture it: in a few minutes, this so-called "heiress tutor" and her pathetic student would be shamefully run out of the school in front of everyone.

Hallie deliberately cleared her throat, her voice just loud enough to cut through the brief silence. "Everyone, time is precious. Why don't we announce the results? It would be best for certain people... to face reality sooner rather than later."

She paused, her gaze sweeping meaningfully over Loyce and Giselle.

Clayton frowned, clearly displeased with Hallie's eagerness, but he nodded nonetheless. The grading teachers exchanged glances, and finally, a gray-haired physics teacher with black-rimmed glasses, Prof. Jefferson, picked up Cyrilla's paper.

"Cyrilla…" Prof. Jefferson's voice, tinged with a faint note of surprise, echoed through the auditorium via the microphone. "Physics section, out of a possible 120 points… a score of 90!"

"Whoa—"

After a moment of silence, the audience erupted.

"Ninety?! I saw the questions they just released, they were all Ace Class level! Every single one was way advanced! I'd be lucky to get a 50 on that."

"Didn't Cyrilla barely pass fifty on the last physics exam? This kind of jump is insane!"

"My god, that last question was so hard, and she only lost five points on it? Were those last two problems even solvable by a human? I didn't even understand them."

"It just goes to show what having a PhD from abroad as a tutor can do. That's real progress."

"Looks like Cyrilla's scores really were sabotaged on the monthly exam."

"I can't believe the Ace Class teachers and the principal could actually be bought off. This world is so corrupt."

The faces of the teachers on the panel darkened at the accusation, and even Clayton felt a surge of anger. He felt especially bad for Loyce; if he hadn't gone for that fondue with the other teachers, none of this mess would have happened.

For this test, each teacher who wrote a question had the only answer key, so they graded their own sections before tallying the total score. There was no room for favoritism.

The students were well aware of how fair this auditorium exam was, knowing it was specifically arranged to prove Giselle hadn't cheated. In an instant, all eyes were fixed on Giselle.

"Seventy-two? A passing grade? Are you kidding me? She was in the top fifty on the last exam! Didn't she solve all those extra-hard advanced problems?"

"I knew it! I said her last score was suspicious! Her grades have always been mediocre, and her tutor is a useless heiress who flunked out. How could she have any real skill?"

"This is proof she cheated, right? How else could she regress so much? Cyrilla got a 90!"

"And that Loyce… what a menace! She bombed her own college entrance exams and she has the nerve to tutor someone?"

The tide of gossip, accusations, and gleeful laughter crashed over Giselle, threatening to drown her. She ducked her head, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Hot tears welled up in her eyes, and she bit her lip so hard she tasted blood to keep from sobbing.

The immense humiliation and the sharp accusations felt like a thousand cold hands tightening around her throat.

But what hurt Giselle most wasn't her own poor score; it was the feeling that she had let Loyce down.

Hallie watched the scene unfold with satisfaction. Leaning forward into her microphone, her voice was cool and