Vera Xavier thought of all the regrets from her past and present lives. Going to college was a path she had to take. Besides, with Nathaniel Nathan and her grandparents watching over Zachary Preston, her staying by his side wouldn’t be of much use anyway.

So, she nodded but refused to rest on her own. Ultimately, she proposed a rotation system, getting two hotel rooms near the hospital for herself and her grandparents so they could take turns caring for Zachary Preston.

But how could Vera Xavier possibly sleep after thinking about the day’s events? She left the hotel by herself, sat on the steps at the entrance, and gazed at the pitch-black night of Crestfall, pondering matters of her past and present lives.

But no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t find the answers she was looking for. All she could do was resolve to keep moving forward.

She sat there until the middle of the night, not returning to her room to sleep until three in the morning.

The next day, she woke up early even without an alarm. A glance at the time showed it was just six o’clock. After getting up and ready, she went to a street vendor to buy breakfast, delivered it to Nathaniel Nathan, and then headed straight for the exam site.

At the entrance to No. 2 Middle School, Vera Xavier ran right into Rona Langdon. The sudden encounter was a surprise to both of them, but the air immediately crackled with the animosity of bitter rivals meeting.

The moment Rona Langdon saw her, she started screaming, "Your father is in that condition, and you still have the nerve to be here taking an exam! Do you have any conscience at all?"

"My dad’s in ’that condition’?" Vera Xavier asked, her eyes narrowing. "What condition would that be?"

Rona Langdon froze for a second. She had searched every major hospital in the city last night but couldn’t find Zachary Preston. It was Cara Preston who had given her the idea, saying that Vera Xavier would definitely show up for the exam and that she should go to the exam site to corner her. That’s why she had arrived so early.

Her purpose in coming was to cause such a scene that Vera Xavier would be too distracted to focus on the exam—or better yet, prevent her from taking it altogether!

As for Zachary Preston’s current condition, she actually had no idea. She just figured that since they hadn’t returned all night, he must have been hospitalized. And if he was hospitalized, it must mean his condition was serious.

The moment she thought Zachary Preston’s condition might be serious, she started to panic. His illness meant she would have to spend money on his treatment, and to her, money was her lifeline!

She immediately started stamping her feet and shouting, "Vera Xavier, you heartless girl! You only care about yourself and no one else in the family! Yesterday, not only did you cause your sister to miss her exam, but you also angered your father so much he ended up in the hospital!"

After saying her piece, she started shrieking at the top of her lungs, "Everyone, come and look! Look at this cruel, heartless piece of scum! She ruined things for her sister, she put her own father in the hospital, and now she still has the gall to show up for an exam!"

It was peak time for students to be entering the exam hall, so her shouts immediately drew everyone’s attention. The parents ushered their children inside to take the test, then gathered around to watch the spectacle.

Everyone felt that this year’s college entrance exam was a lot more entertaining than usual. First, there were the two students who got caught cheating and were disqualified yesterday, and now here was another huge drama unfolding.

Vera Xavier hadn’t wanted to engage with Rona Langdon. She knew exactly what Rona was plotting; at the end of the day, she just wanted to ruin her. In the face of someone like Rona, doing well on every section of the exam was the best way to slap her across the face.

But with Rona Langdon making such a scene, if she were to just walk into the exam hall, she knew that someone with Rona’s vile nature would completely destroy her reputation.

Her hands clenched into fists, unconcealed fury blazing in her eyes. Given her temperament, what she really wanted to do right now was give Rona Langdon a good, hard thrashing.