Chapter 152: Little Ian, Are These All Your Former High School Classmates?
Adrian Lancaster still refused to believe that Jane Lancaster could truly anticipate everything.
’Am I really not as good as my sister? That’s impossible! I’ve proven otherwise countless times.’
When he was brought back to the city, he had come to see his father with the top score in the entire school on his midterms.
His father had been unimpressed, saying that being number one in a small town meant nothing. "Your sister has always been first in her school too."
He had smiled and told Adrian that if there was anything he didn’t understand, he could ask his sister, and not to embarrass himself with his backwoods demeanor.
He had always known that educational resources in the countryside were limited and couldn’t compare to the city’s. He was especially prepared for the gap when he learned his sister, two years his junior, had skipped a grade and would be in his class.
His father’s disdain left him feeling particularly resentful. ’Am I really just a frog in a well? Can a person like me, forged through hardship, really not compare to a pampered sister from the city?’
Back then, he had buried himself in his studies, poring over his books late into the night, forgoing food and sleep. Finally, in the first monthly exam, he beat his sister, who came in second, to take first place.
He had been nervous at the time; after all, second place was so close to first, practically within arm’s reach.
So he studied even more diligently and continued to take first place, while his sister’s performance worsened with each exam, her scores gradually declining...
Eventually, unable to keep up with the pace of the advanced class, she voluntarily asked to be held back a grade.
The advantage she had gained by skipping a grade was completely erased. Even though she reclaimed the top spot after being held back, that so-called "first place" held very little weight.
’What couldn’t you learn with two extra years of studying?’
Probably because of his sister’s disappointing performance, his father no longer treated his academic achievements with disdain, and Adrian finally became the only one in the Lancaster family to be called a genius.
However, his father remained biased, and the Lancaster relatives would make excuses, saying that girls were just like that—they lacked staying power. It wasn’t that his sister was incapable.
At the time, he had watched coldly as if it were a joke. ’That’s clearly an insult, so how did it become an excuse to save my sister’s face?’
After watching this farce for so many years, he refused to believe his sister was actually more capable than him.
The only explanation was that she was acting mysterious and being deliberately cryptic—after all, that’s what she was best at.
He admitted his sister was diligent enough and not a complete idiot, but there was a world of difference between a true genius and an ordinarily smart person.
If she didn’t understand this, her own cleverness would eventually be her downfall.
"Jay." After a moment’s thought, Adrian Lancaster finally spoke.
Jane Lancaster turned around, perfectly composed. "Third Brother."
Adrian Lancaster watched her expressionlessly, marveling yet again at her mental fortitude.
’Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.’
"You said I gave you a multiple-choice question. Have you ever considered that I was actually trying to help you?"
Jane Lancaster blinked. "Really? Thank you, Third Brother."
’Is he saying that because he heard what I said and is rushing to backtrack? Why bother? He always thinks he’s in control of everything, but it’s all just child’s play.’
Adrian Lancaster: "..."
’No, I can’t get angry! I can’t let her provoke me so easily!’
But since she didn’t need his help, he decided not to say what his big brother had instructed him to.
To put on a show for the guests and prove that Jane Lancaster really did have the relevant talent, Julian Lancaster had specially arranged a quiz bowl segment.
People from the arts association would be asking random questions, pitting Jane Lancaster and Luna Morgan against each other on stage.
Of course, Jane Lancaster had never seriously studied the specialized subjects, so she would surely be unable to answer many of the questions. But couldn’t he, the champion of the Tower of Wit, help her cheat?
That would have been a real leak of the questions. What a pity she’d missed her chance.
He couldn’t help but look forward to the panicked look on her face when she was on stage later.
’Since you’re so confident, you can surely handle it, right?’
The Lancaster Family residence hadn’t been this lively in a long time, sweeping away its usual cold, somber atmosphere.
It was clear how much importance Julian Lancaster placed on this banquet; he had invited a great number of guests.
As for Jane Lancaster’s teachers, he had invited all of them, from elementary school through high school.
But she had been in a coma for three years. The teachers she was once close to now had new favorite students, and her former classmates had moved on to new stages in life. Everyone was busy with their own lives, so very few people ultimately came.
Even those who did attend were merely treating the event as a social gathering to network and build connections.
This college entrance banquet, delayed by three years, brought not glory but an awkward sense of being out of place.
Of course, this was just Pauline Shaw’s observation. The moment she saw Jane Lancaster, she knew she had been overthinking it.
Jane Lancaster was chatting with two people she never would have expected: one was a mathematics researcher at Solara University, and the other worked at a research institute.
Both were undisputed geniuses. One was the province’s top scorer on the college entrance exam years ago, and the other was a prodigy who had entered Solara University at the age of fifteen.
Pauline Shaw recognized them because both had been in the news.
Back when she couldn’t bring herself to study, she had once printed out their photos and had the whole class pray to the "scholar gods" to ensure they would pass every exam.
Now, seeing them in person, she was utterly shocked. Why would these two attend a college entrance banquet at the Lancaster’s?
No matter how wealthy the Lancaster Family was, they couldn’t possibly have the clout to invite these two.
’Could they be Adrian’s friends? Even though Adrian Lancaster isn’t in their year, the circle of geniuses should be interconnected. They probably know each other.’
What surprised Pauline Shaw even more was that Jane Lancaster, an overage student who had repeated a grade, could actually chat and laugh with such scholarly legends.
What could they possibly have to talk about? Jane Lancaster probably couldn’t even understand the problem statements of the mathematical theorems Sullivan the Scholar researched.
"Pauline, what are you all doing here?" Jane Lancaster asked, turning her head in surprise after someone prompted her.
Pauline Shaw’s gaze shifted to the two academic prodigies. She had only ever dared to admire them from afar, and now, seeing them up close, she couldn’t contain her excitement.
"Sullivan the Scholar, Nash the Prodigy, it’s an honor." She greeted them with a demure smile.
The young men and women behind her immediately stared wide-eyed and rushed forward excitedly.
"Wow, you’re Sullivan the Scholar!"
"I’m seeing Sullivan the Scholar in the flesh! I used to pray to your picture!"
"Oh great scholars, please bless me so I can pass my graduate school entrance exams!"
No one remembered Jane Lancaster’s question anymore; they were all too busy swarming the prodigies in adoration.
Jane Lancaster wasn’t surprised. These people were all her original body’s high school classmates, top students who had always valued grades. Of course they would gravitate toward the academic legends.
’It’s not like the prodigies are going to sprout wings and fly away. Isn’t it a bit rude to not even say hello to a classmate you haven’t seen in ages?’
Seeing Jane Lancaster being pushed to the edge of the circle, Sylvan exchanged a glance with Cecilia Nash.
"Little Ian, are these all your old high school classmates?" Sylvan asked.
Only then did everyone turn their attention to Jane Lancaster, shocked by the familiarity in Sylvan’s tone.
’Little Ian?’ Pauline Shaw frowned. She couldn’t help but feel the nickname was a little too intimate.
"We’re all Jane Lancaster’s classmates," someone piped up quickly.
"You must be Pauline Shaw, right?" Cecilia Nash said with a smile.
Pauline Shaw nodded, even more surprised. ’She even knows my name? What on earth did Jane Lancaster just tell them?’