Keep in mind, she didn’t even have perfect attendance. She relied solely on the final exam to jump from the bottom of the rankings into the top ten.

If Chloe Sinclair weren’t so busy and came to class every day, wouldn’t she have the number one spot on lock?

She’d really be showing them up then.

"Chloe Sinclair is incredible. She hasn’t been to class in ages, but she still managed to get a perfect score on the exam. Even the top student in our department only got an eighty this time."

One hundred and eighty might not seem that far apart, but the twenty-point gap between them represents a world of difference.

Everyone who saw Chloe Sinclair’s exam paper had to admit she was the real deal.

Because no one else would dare to think that way, let alone write it down.

Chloe Sinclair’s theories directly subverted conventional scientific principles.

"People online are still saying Chloe cheated to get her score. That’s hilarious."

"You know how those rabid trolls on Weibo are. They’ll jump on anything to cause a scene. And the shameless media outlets will use any trick in the book just to get clicks."

"Do you guys know what Nina Sinclair scored?"

Someone else chimed in, glancing around conspiratorially.

Then, he made a hand gesture.

"Seven?"

Someone gasped in surprise.

"That’s right. Seven. I heard Professor Myers’s blood pressure spiked after he saw her test in his office."

Even the student speaking could hardly believe it.

After all, this is Emberfall University. In theory, no one here is an idiot.

Scoring a seven on an exam is simply inexcusable.

"She’s such an embarrassment to our department. Not that I’m surprised. Nina Sinclair has skipped so many classes; there’s no way she could keep up with us."

"How can you say that? Look at Chloe Sinclair. The two of them were practically sisters once, and now they’re a perfect study in contrasts, aren’t they?"

"Wasn’t it the other way around before?"

"This reversal is just brutal. Hahaha."

The taunts were incessant.

Nina Sinclair, who was behind them, heard every single word. She fought back the urge to confront them, fiercely clutching the fabric of her clothes and twisting it in her hands.

She had been blacklisted across the internet. Her last TV show was pulled after a flood of complaints, and now all she had left were a few low-budget web series that were beneath notice.

Even Yvonne White had been distant lately, disapproving of her decision to chase a career in showbiz.

She was completely burnt out. Now, when she heard people gossiping and humiliating her, she couldn’t even summon the energy to confront them.

’But the thought that Chloe Sinclair was the cause of all this made her seethe with anger.’

The other students weren’t surprised when Nina Sinclair left the classroom.

Even though they didn’t know Chloe Sinclair or Nina Sinclair well, they could still tell right from wrong.

Chloe Sinclair was always humble and polite; she never acted high and mighty.

Nina Sinclair, on the other hand, was always trying to curry favor with everyone in class and acted as if she had a bad case of "princess syndrome."

When she left the classroom, everyone else actually breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, right! Professor Myers mentioned in the group chat yesterday that Chloe Sinclair’s paper is being published in *Science* and the *Mathematics Annual Journal*. Should we all pitch in to buy a copy?"

Someone immediately changed the subject, and sure enough, it grabbed everyone’s attention.

The moment they heard the word *Science*, their eyes lit up.

This was *Science* they were talking about, after all.

Getting a paper published in it was a lifelong dream for every single one of them.

The reason everyone liked Chloe Sinclair wasn’t just because she was beautiful and kind—it was because she had real, undeniable talent.

Publishing a paper in *Science* at eighteen... was there anyone else in the entire world who had done that?

"We have to buy it, definitely!"

"I’m getting one!"