Chapter 10

Noelle stopped in her tracks and greeted the Liddell brothers politely but distantly. She said, "Frank, Blake, Lucas." She knew skipping the greeting would only lead to more accusations about her attitude, and she did not have the energy for their drama. "How was the exam today?" Lucas asked, his eyebrow raised. "Since you chose your studies over joining the team, let's see just how well you did!" His taunts did not bother Noelle anymore. After all, her brothers would always find reasons to criticize her, no matter what. "I'll do my best," she replied simply, knowing that she was definitely doing her best to get into Yole University and away from all of them. "Noelle's never been academic material," Blake scoffed. "She barely scraped by Grades 10 and 11. This last-minute studying is just for show. She'll still rank below Xenia!" Smiling sweetly, Xenia chimed in, "Blake, don't say that. Noelle's been working really hard lately, and even the teachers praise her. Besides, rankings aren't everything." Noelle gripped her bag tightly, rage building inside her. In her previous life, her poor grades had been deliberate. Whenever she outscored Xenia, the latter would cause problems that turned her brothers against her. She intentionally performed poorly to avoid their disapproval, but that did not mean that she was incapable. During her previous college entrance exams, she had tried to outperform Xenia to prove herself. Nevertheless, despite qualifying for better ones, Donovan had forced her to apply to the same mediocre college as Xenia. Determined not to repeat her mistakes, Noelle suppressed her anger and stated coldly, "I'm going to my room." ... The next day, Noelle slept in as it was a Saturday. When she finally went downstairs for breakfast, the house was quiet. She figured that the others had probably left for training camp. Unbothered, she ate quickly and returned to her room. Then, she checked her phone for gaming tournament news. As expected, the official page had announced a repechage round, just like in her previous life. Last time, Lucas was fired up about the repechage, seeing it as his chance to get revenge against Magnus Greene in the finals. Team Luminark had won the championship in her last life, but it had been a stroke of luck. Magnus mysteriously withdrew at the crucial moment, allowing her brothers' team to snatch the victory. Even until her death, Noelle had never figured out why Magnus had dropped out. Some claimed illness, and others speculated that it was because of family business obligations. However, Magnus never clarified. Noelle felt an itch to join the action as she read the report. However, Cedric's voice echoed in her mind. They had agreed to wait for her exam results. Sighing, she decided to hold off. She only needed to hang on just a little longer. After much deliberation, she finally texted Cedric. "Sir, I couldn't come to the infirmary last week because Frank noticed I wasn't coming home on time. I was worried he'd discover my secret study spot." After hitting send, she stared at the screen, awaiting a response that never came. Frustrated, she clicked on Cedric's profile and opened his feed, finding nothing. Meanwhile, Cedric glanced at the message on his phone, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Ced, who's texting you?" someone asked. Cedric simply locked his screen. Alfred raised an eyebrow at Cedric's phone. "Judging by the profile picture... It's a girl, huh? Must be that Noelle you helped the other day, right?" "You talk too much," Cedric stated. "You're just being defensive! You've been spending all your time at the infirmary last week and then suddenly stopped. Plus, you've been walking around with a grump expression. Did you two have a fight?" Cedric shot Alfred a warning look. "Stay out of my business." "Come on. We grew up together! I know everything about you, so stop pretending," Alfred teased. Cedric moved to the balcony with his phone and looked at her message again. The thought of her considering the infirmary her "secret spot" made him smile. Then, he scrolled through her social media, noting that it was full of typical teenage posts and daily life updates. Catching himself lingering too long on her profile, he felt slightly uneasy. Cedric quickly composed himself and closed the app. After that, he headed back inside. Meanwhile, Noelle waited all day for his response. She wondered if he was angry, yet she dared not send another message, deciding to wait until Monday's test results. Noelle spent the weekend studying at home while Xenia and her brothers remained at the training camp. ... Monday morning, Noelle found Xenia and her brothers chatting and laughing together downstairs. Their bond was clearly stronger than ever. Noelle was unfazed. She said nothing and headed straight to the kitchen to grab a bite. "Results come out today, right?" Lucas asked mockingly. Noelle nodded. "Yes." Lucas continued, "I told you to join the team. With your grades, you won't get into any good schools anyway. "Instead of wasting time studying, you could've trained to go pro. The Liddell family's resources would've made you famous. Too bad you threw away that chance, and now it's Xenia's." Remembering the humiliation of being replaced in her previous life, Noelle responded calmly, "I don't mind." After grabbing breakfast, she left the living room. Lucas fumed at her indifference. "I can't wait to see these 'great' test scores of hers!" Xenia secretly felt relieved that Noelle had not joined the team. After all, she knew about Noelle's natural talent for gaming and worried about losing her position. Still, she smiled sweetly and said, "Lucas, don't be angry. She's just being stubborn. I'll give her my spot when she agrees to join." "You're always so thoughtful!" Lucas beamed. Yet, his reply made Xenia's smile falter. She had trained relentlessly to earn Lucas' approval, but he still seemed to prefer Noelle. Xenia silently vowed to prove herself through the upcoming competition. She would secure victory and make Lucas give up on bringing Noelle onto the team. On the other hand, Lucas was growing anxious about the upcoming repechage tournament—losing meant no second chances. Despite Xenia's dedication, her gaming skills were not developing fast enough, especially since they had only a month left. To beat Magnus, they needed someone talented. Noelle was their only option, but his pride stopped him from asking for her help. For years, she had orbited around him and was eager to seek his approval. He had grown too comfortable with their dynamic, and the sudden change felt unnatural. He wondered how long Noelle would keep up with this attitude. Was she really going to force him to swallow his pride?