The next day, after school let out for lunch, Qadir, the future heir to a farming fortune, enthusiastically invited Juniper, Queenie, Dolce, and J out to eat. He specifically chose a nice, centrally-located restaurant with a great ambiance, keeping J in mind. It was also quite expensive.


    “J, you got a 690?" Queenie asked, her fork and knife pausing mid-air as she stared at J with pure envy. Top students always recognized their own.


    "Yeah," J smiled shyly, then nced at the girl beside her who was busy chowing down. “Juniper tutored me whenever she had free time and gave me some amazing review materials. That''s the only reason my score improved so much."


    Before, she could barely break 620.


    "That''s incredible," Queenie nodded emphatically, pumping herself up. “I need to work harder, too. I''m going to push my score to the next level on the finals."


    "You can do it," J returned the smile before turning to chat with Dolce and Qadir. Even though it was only their second time meeting, the group clicked instantly.


    Just as the conversation was getting lively, amotion erupted at the entrance. J looked up, and the smile vanished from her face. It was Yelena and Ynda, along with a few of their male ssmates.


    Yelena''s left arm was in a cast, and her face had a few scrapes. Rumor had it she''d been in a car ident a couple of days ago and was lucky to be alive.


    Ynda spotted J''s table first. Her eyes fell on Juniper sitting next to J, and her expression immediately turned cold. She leaned in and whispered something in Yelena''s ear, and Yelena''s gaze on J and Juniper became venomous.


    "You can afford to eat here?" Yelena sauntered over to their table, arms crossed, a sneer twisting her lips. "This one meal probably costs more than what your mother makes in a month of odd jobs, doesn''t it?"


    "What''s it to you?" J retorted, her face hardening as she gripped her cutlery She didn''t want to cause trouble before the exams, especially while her mother was still sick, but that didn''t mean she would let people walk all over her.


    "Looks like you still haven''t learned your lesson, Yelena said, irritated by J''s self-righteous act. To make matters worse, J had ced in the topten in their year on the recent exams, while Yelena herself had only scored a 380, not even high enough to meetst year''s art academy admission requirements they were both Wilcoxes, so why the hell was this little bitch J so much smarter than her?


    "Knock that fork out of her hand," Yelena ordered one of her minions coldly.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" Qadir shot up from his seat, blocking the boy''s hand. His expression was grim. "Try it. I dare you."


    "Hah," Yelena sneered. "Well, well. Been a few days and you''ve made some friends, have you, J? I''m surprised anyone would want to be seen with you."


    Qadir, Queenie, and Dolce red at


    her, furious What was that


    supposed to mean? J was a


    wonderful person; of course she had


    friends Juniper, meanwhile


    continued to calmly eat her meal, her expression unreadable


    “Gics are a scary thing," Yelena continued, her voice dripping with malice. "For example, the daughter of a mistress..."


    At those words, the color drained from J''s face, and her hand holding the fork began to tremble.


    "So, I''m just giving you all a friendly warning. Don''t get too close to someone like her. You might just get a knife in your back."


    Yelena had expected the others to turn on J, but instead, Qadir fired back. "That''s bullshit! Who are you to be running your mouth about J, you old hag!"


    J''s mother was Juniper''s aunt. There was nothing wrong with her.