CHAPTER 21

Kayla thought the food was tasteless. She hadn't been eating much.

Hedy could casually take out 300 dollars, which was equivalent to her mother's monthly salary. She didn't even have that much for several months of pocket money.

Kayla turned her head to look at Hedy, who was returning to her room. From head to toe, Hedy was dressed in designer brands that she herself could only dream of wearing. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand how Hedy had suddenly become neither stupid nor weak and was even able to earn a lot of money.

In the past, Hedy couldn't even compare to her. She was always hunched over, submissive, and never dared to look her in the eye, let alone talk back.

Kayla couldn't accept the huge gap brought about by Hedy's transformation.

Moreover, she noticed that Hedy had become more attractive after losing some weight.

Just the thought of Hedy becoming thinner and prettier in the near future made Kayla feel extremely anxious and uncomfortable.

Looking at the two plates of vegetables that she had no appetite for, Kayla threw her cutlery down, got up, and returned to her room to study.

So what if Hedy became thinner, prettier, and could earn money?

With such low scores, she wouldn't even be able to get into the worst university, while her own grades were good enough to get into a prestigious university.

By the time they graduated from university, she would have a decent job and would be sitting in a high-end office building.

On the other hand, Hedy wouldn't even have a decent diploma to show off. What use would it be to earn a little money?

Thinking this way, Kayla finally felt a little better.

After dinner, Sophia suddenly went to Ethan's room.

She saw Ethan sitting at his desk, fiddling with his computer.

"What are you using this computer for? Isn't a mobile phone enough for studying? Let me tell you, your aunt's son, ever since he bought a computer, all he does is play games after school. He used to be one of the top students in his class, but now he's at the bottom. He plays games until one or two in the morning, and then he falls asleep in class the next day. Your aunt is called to school by the teacher every day. She used to have a good temper, but now she's so irritable that he almost got into a fight with your uncle the other day."

Sophia felt inexplicably pleased. "Hmph, during the New Year, your second aunt was bragging about him."

"Ethan, you must make me proud. You can't be like him. You must get into a prestigious university. I'm counting on you in the future."

"Mom, I don't play games. I'm learning programming. Once I learn it, I can earn money like my sister. And I only study on weekends, so it won't affect my studies," Ethan said helplessly.

Upon hearing that he could earn money, Sophia didn't say anything else.

"How much did your sister spend on this computer?"

Ethan was silent for a moment. He didn't want to say, but considering his mother and Kayla's attitude towards Hedy, Ethan proudly told the truth, "Eighteen hundred."

"Eighteen hundred?" Sophia almost popped her eyes out. "She spent eighteen hundred on this wasteful thing?"

Sophia was so angry that her voice was trembling. She wished she could rush into Hedy's room and confiscate her money right now.

"I've worked so hard to raise her all these years, working myself to death to feed her, and when I ask her to contribute a little money to the family, she only gives 300 dollars. How did I raise such a child? She even said that she wouldn't give me a penny even if she threw it away. She's not afraid of being punished by God for saying such things."

Listening to the malicious words coming out of his mother's mouth, Ethan closed his eyes and interrupted. "Mom, if there's nothing else, I need to study."

Only then did Sophia shut up. "Who said there's nothing else?"

When he heard his mother encouraging him to ask Hedy for money, Ethan's face darkened.

"Mom, that's the money my sister earned herself."

"What do you mean, her own money? I'm her mother, so isn't what hers mine? Isn't it right for her to support me after I've raised her for so many years? It's only natural for children to give money to their parents. Are you stupid? It's not just me who's going to spend that money. Don't you need to eat and wear clothes? Oh, our family is struggling, and only she is dressed up."

Ethan interrupted his mother again, "I'll get a summer job when the summer vacation starts."

Seeing that Ethan was not receptive, Sophia once again demonstrated her superb ability to make a scene, saying that she had given birth to a few ungrateful children who didn't know how to appreciate their parents' hard work and only cared about spending money on themselves.

The louder she spoke, the more deliberately she wanted Hedy in the other room to hear.

In the end, it was William who came over and called Sophia away.

After completely hearing his mother's fuss, Ethan put the matter of the forum behind him.

Hedy was a science student, and today she had a math exam, the last major test before the college entrance examination.

Ethan asked, "Sis, can you get a perfect score?"

Hedy answered, "Want to see me get a perfect score?"

Ethan replied, "If you have the ability, why not? Why let others laugh at you?"

Hedy said, "Then I'll do it."

Upon hearing this, Ethan felt relieved and handed Hedy two boiled eggs for breakfast, saying, "Boiled eggs won't make you fat."

He had boiled them especially early in the morning.

All morning, Ethan was looking forward to Hedy's exam results.

He also finally remembered the post on the forum.

After leaving it overnight, he didn't know what had happened on the forum until now.

As soon as the noon class was over, Ethan ate something casually in the cafeteria and then took his mobile phone to the tree under the track and field.

Following last night's trend, Ethan knew that his post would definitely explode, but he still underestimated the impact of this problem.

It was not just a student from Raven University and countless math enthusiasts; this problem was highly regarded by the entire math community.

The sensation it caused far exceeded Ethan's imagination.

In just one night, the number of comments had increased to over 30,000, with more reposts and likes reaching hundreds of thousands.

Among them, a few commenters were professors whom Ethan admired, and they were being pushed up by the enthusiastic crowd, eagerly waiting for his reply.

Initially, everyone's attention was focused on the calculation process and answers he posted, but gradually, they all turned their attention towards him.

Thus, Ethan became the most wanted person on the entire forum.

He also discovered that this incident had become a hot topic on other platforms.

While scrolling through the comments, Ethan received a private message from a user named James.

Ethan was taken aback.

"Friend, I am James. Can you reply?"

Ethan's heart was already racing.

Upon clicking, he realized that James had sent him a private message the previous night.

"I am James. Did you solve the problem? Can we discuss the problem-solving process?"

"Can I have your contact information?"

Ethan didn't reply, and James continued to send private messages.

"Are you there? I am James. Can we talk?"

"If it's not convenient now, can we schedule a time to talk?"

"Waiting for your reply."

James had always been Ethan's idol, and Ethan never imagined that there would come a day when his idol would seek him out for contact information.

Hedy's exam was scheduled for the afternoon, lasting for two periods.

As soon as the test paper was distributed, while everyone was still reviewing the questions, Hedy had already begun. By the time other students had finished just two multiple-choice questions, Hedy had already moved on to the second page.

The invigilator had just settled in when he heard a student requesting to submit their paper early; it was only halfway through the first period.

The invigilator was annoyed; this was clearly causing a disturbance.