Noelle wasn't surprised by Xenia's accusation. She calmly replied, "Xenia, you're too dumb to question me like that."
"Don't try to change the subject, Noelle," Xenia retorted, her face flushed with anger. "Obviously, you don't have what it takes to solve this question.
"You must have secretly searched for the answer on your phone, and that's why your answer is so perfect! But that doesn't mean you're actually capable of solving it!"
Samantha, still amazed by Noelle's performance, had believed she was genuinely skilled. Yet, Xenia's accusation made her start to think it was all just an act.
With a self-righteous expression, Xenia added, "Noelle, I'm only exposing you for your own good. You need to stop making the same mistakes over and over again. Lying isn't right."
Noelle laughed aloud. "You're such an idiot, Xenia. Do you really think everyone is as single-minded as you? I don't need someone who scored zero on the college entrance exam to be concerned about me."
Xenia's face turned bright red, sensing that everyone around her was laughing at her.
Samantha shot a disdainful glance at Xenia. But not wanting Noelle to get too smug, she quickly fired back, "Our business school doesn't care about grades for admissions. A country bumpkin like you will never understand."
"Isn't it hilarious for someone like you, an ignorant good-for-nothing, to question others about cheating?" Noelle replied calmly.
Samantha shot up in fury. "Did you just call me a good-for-nothing? I've been raised as an elite since I was young.
"A person like you—a country bumpkin—can only see us on TV. Deep down, you're probably jealous of me, aren't you?"
Noelle smirked. "If you're so competent, why don't you solve this question then?"
"Hmph! This question is too easy for me. Since we're studying programming, why don't you write a little program to prove you're really capable of solving it?"
Noelle's smile widened. "You want to bet?"
"Sure," Samantha said confidently. "If you can write a program, I'll believe you actually solved this question.
"But if you can't, it means you cheated. Then, you'll have to kneel and apologize to Mr. Yade and the entire class!"
Noelle glanced at Samantha's smug expression before responding coldly, "What if you lose?"
"I can't possibly lose!" Samantha responded confidently. Based on her prior knowledge of the course, she was certain Noelle was incapable of writing a program.
Noelle raised an eyebrow. "Too scared to take the bet, huh?"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)