Old Master Tate couldn’t help but laugh as he explained, "Volkovian names are made of three parts. The first is their given name, the second is their father’s name, and the last part is their surname. For example, Tolstoy’s full name is Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy. Lev is his given name, and Tolstoy is his surname. You use the surname for formal address; calling them directly by their first name is impolite."

Tang Xiaonan nodded along. She had learned something new. She’d always thought Tolstoy was a first name, but it turned out to be a surname.

"Those poor Volkovian kids, it must take them forever to write their names."

Tang Xiaonan pouted. In Volkovia, names with twenty or thirty characters were commonplace. Even if the Volkovian script was simpler than Chinese, it would still take a long time to write.

Old Master Tate chuckled in spite of himself. ’This girl’s focus is always so unique. Perhaps this is what makes a genius different from everyone else?’

Jacqueline Spann quietly walked away, her expression growing even darker. ’So it was Volkovian. No wonder I couldn’t understand it. Grandpa Tate never taught me Volkovian before. He only taught me English because I specifically asked. Hmph. And here I was, thinking Grandpa Tate actually liked me. He used to praise me for being smart, but just now, he said Tang Xiaonan was the smartest student he’d ever taught.’

’Heh... I was really getting my hopes up for nothing.’

’A fool like Tang Xiaonan—is she even worthy of the word ’smart’?’

’Grandpa Tate has become so fake and flattering, all for the little benefits the Thorne family can offer him.’ Jacqueline Spann smiled self-deprecatingly. ’It must be because I didn’t give him gifts like the Thorne family did. That’s why he’s unwilling to teach me anymore, preferring to teach that idiot Tang Xiaonan instead.’

’Money really is omnipotent. Even someone like Grandpa Tate can be bought.’

Jacqueline Spann sneered. The respect she once held for Old Master Tate had faded considerably. She felt that everyone had wronged her. Old Master Tate, Adrian Hawthorne, Rosalind Green, Tang Xiaonan, and the entire Thorne family—they had all wronged her.

’I will definitely make tons and tons of money and make every single one of them regret what they’ve done today.’

Jacqueline Spann clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her flesh. The piercing pain made her feel even more clear-headed—more clear-headed than she had ever been before.

’I will get my revenge on the Thorne family and take back my luck.’

’That way, I can make lots and lots of money. Tang Xiaonan will go back to being despised by everyone, just like before. Everything will return to how it was.’

Jacqueline Spann’s expression returned to calm as she continued gathering firewood, a plan already forming in her mind.

Having finished her lesson for the day, Tang Xiaonan prepared to find Amanda Chapman and go home. She waved to Old Master Tate, "Goodbye, Grandpa Tate."

"Be careful on your way."

Old Master Tate waved back, his face all smiles. Compared to his thin and haggard appearance from a while ago, he now looked more like a little old man on a countryside vacation—full of vigor and in high spirits.

Tang Xiaonan chirped a reply and skipped off to find Amanda Chapman. Halfway there, she ran into Jacqueline Spann gathering firewood. She hesitated, not stopping to greet her, but Jacqueline Spann called out to her first.

"Xiaonan, you’re learning a foreign language from Grandpa Tate, aren’t you?" Jacqueline Spann’s voice was flat, her expression just as calm, but her deep, dark eyes made Tang Xiaonan uncomfortable all over. ’It feels like someone is secretly watching me from the shadows.’

"None of your business."

Tang Xiaonan turned on her heel and walked away. If she didn’t like someone, she wouldn’t bother with them. There was no need to make herself miserable.

After a few steps, Tang Xiaonan felt a sense of unease. She glanced back and saw Jacqueline Spann still standing there, her gaze even deeper and tinged with a hint of coldness. Tang Xiaonan couldn’t help but shiver; a bad feeling washed over her.

Jacqueline Spann suddenly broke into a smile, then turned and headed down the mountain with a basket of firewood on her back, never looking back. A gust of mountain wind blew past, and Tang Xiaonan shivered again, only then realizing that Jacqueline Spann was already far in the distance.