Sheldon Caldwell had always thought "mother" was the most tender word in the world, but after meeting Rona Langdon, he felt she was an insult to that word.

Rona Langdon had never been rebuked like this before. The pain in her hand snapped her back to her senses a little, and, greedy as she was, she blurted out, "You hurt me! Pay up!"

Sheldon Caldwell scoffed, pulled a wad of hundred-dollar bills from his wallet, and threw them in her face. "This should be enough for your medicine!"

The moment Rona Langdon saw the money, her eyes lit up. Ignoring his mockery, she immediately started gathering the cash with her uninjured hand.

Just then, a beggar was nearby. The wind blew a bill to his feet, and overjoyed, he snatched it and ran.

When Rona Langdon saw the beggar take the money, she quickly stuffed the bills she’d collected into her pocket and chased after him. "You goddamn thief, give me back my money!"

Watching Rona Langdon’s disgraceful display, Sheldon Caldwell clutched his chest. He had to admit, he was truly disgusted today. ’How can such a vile woman even exist?’

He suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Vera Xavier. ’That poor girl is so unlucky! To actually have a mother like that!’

At the same time, he felt a sense of relief. His own mother was gentle and kind, a weapons expert who was cultured, well-mannered, patient, and loving.

He thought Vera Xavier was just too pitiful. ’Maybe I should convince her to disown that horrible mother and have my mom adopt her as a goddaughter. If that happens, Nathaniel Nathan would have to call me ’big brother-in-law’. Just the thought of that scene is exciting!’

But then he remembered Vera Xavier’s prickly personality and figured the idea was, in all likelihood, just wishful thinking on his part. He sighed internally. ’What a shame!’

After Vera Xavier entered the exam hall, she wasn’t particularly affected by the incident with Rona Langdon. However, the commotion had been so huge that it had made her a celebrity in the testing center. All the way to her seat, she was met with countless stares.

Vera Xavier, however, was thinking about Sheldon Caldwell. ’I think I need to re-evaluate him,’ she thought. ’He’s not as cold and aloof as I remember from my past life. From what I’ve seen so far, he seems like a decent person.’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

She thought of the prominent Caldwell family in Veridia, and of the biological parents she had never even met in her previous life. A mix of complicated feelings stirred within her.

According to her memories from her past life, her parents had doted on Susan Caldwell to an extreme degree. Susan got whatever she wanted, and she also used her connections to viciously crush Vera underfoot.

Although she had managed to carve out a place for herself through her own hard work in her past life, it had been an incredibly difficult road. Besides Cara Preston causing trouble, Susan Caldwell had also put in a great deal of effort to make her life miserable.

In her previous life, she never understood why Susan Caldwell targeted her so relentlessly. Thinking about it now, she couldn’t help but sigh at her own naivete; she had never considered the possibility.

She said silently to herself, ’Susan Caldwell, I’ll see you in Veridia!’

The proctor for today’s exam was someone different. By the time the test papers were handed out, she had already composed herself. She finished the questions at top speed and was the first in the exam hall to turn in her paper.

The proctor gave her a curious look and reminded her in a low voice, "You’re not going to check it over?"

Vera Xavier smiled at the proctor’s kind intentions. "Thank you, but I don’t need to."

After walking out of the exam hall, she took a deep breath. Then she saw both Nathaniel Nathan and Sheldon Caldwell standing outside. She paused for a moment before walking over to Nathaniel Nathan and asking, "How’s my dad now?"