The Double ( or More ?) Life of The Fake Heiress

Hearing the other teacher’s remark, Anthony lifted his head and followed the line of sight to look outside. He was taken aback for a moment.

“The questions in this year’s competition are even more insane than before. Turning in papers almost an hour early is ridiculous… Did that student just give up?” Another teacher, holding today’s competition test in his hand, said skeptically. He found it hard to believe that any student could finish all the problems in under two hours.

“Well, that’s not necessarily the case; maybe she has solved all of them already?” The teacher who made this comment seemed to speak with a tone of doubt, yet the sarcastic smile on his face betrayed his true thoughts.

Anthony’s attention was entirely fixated on Mirabella, who had turned in her paper early, but he still listened to what the other teachers from different schools were saying.

Turning back to look at the speakers, the surprise he had shown upon seeing Mirabella had faded, replaced by a cool and indifferent expression, “Oh, I have absolute faith that our Parkside High School’s student, Mirabella, has completed all the problems.”

The teachers, confronted with Anthony’s sudden shift from polite amusement to cool detachment, were at first taken aback, then flushed with embarrassment. After all, the students who made it to the national competition were the cream of the crop, and the schools they represented were some of the finest in the city. The pride carried by their teachers was palpable, and no one wanted to appear inferior before their rivals. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

Parkside High School was a prestigious institution, ranking among the top five in the nation for over a century. And then there was Mirabella, consistently topping the charts. From any angle, she was the

perfect retort to the overly confident teachers.

Anthony’s lips twitched in a faint smirk, but he said nothing more and picked up the paper bag containing his students‘ cell phones before exiting the office.

Meanwhile, Mirabella was pondering where to find Anthony to get her phone when she saw him approaching.

“Mirabella, you turned in your paper early?” Anthony asked as he neared her.

“Yeah,” Mirabella nodded.

Clearing his throat, Anthony asked in a low voice, “The competition was tough this time… Did you really finish it all so quickly?” He knew it was a redundant question but still couldn’t help asking.

“It was okay, not too difficult,” Mirabella said with a confident lift of her eyebrows.

Not too difficult? Her bold tone carried an implicit message: The problems were not challenging at all.

Anthony’s expression grew complex. Just yesterday, he was discussing with Mr. Hammond the

12:32

odds of her taking first place again, and now it seemed… he had underestimated Mirabella.

Disregarding Anthony’s conflicted look, Mirabella quickly added, “Sir, I have something to take care of. May I leave early?”

Upon hearing this, Anthony, always responsible for his students‘ safety, thought for a moment and pulled out his phone, “I’ll check with Mr. Hammond.”

However, It wasn’t necessary to report such a minor issue to Mr. Hammond, and since Mirabella was a talent he valued, Anthony felt it was right to inform him.

At that time, Mr. Hammond was at the Biological Research Institute. When his phone rang during a conversation, he saw it was from Anthony, nodded to the person next to him, stood up, and moved to the window to answer the call.

“…Bella turned in her paper early? Just tell her to be safe and let her go.” Mr. Hammond said calmly before hanging up.

Half a minute later, it suddenly dawned on him.

Had she turned in her paper early???