Chapter b62 /b

bChapter /bb62 /b

bJanice /bbhadn’t /bsaid a word, but the sharp, cold look in her eyes reminded Ruth of the time when Janice had driven Andrew’s wife out bof /bthe Jean bfamily /ball bthose /byears agob. /b

Ruth bfelt /bba /bbrief pang of panic, but she quicklyposed herself, reminding herself that she still held 15% of Jean Group’s shares.

Besidesb, /bshe was sure Janice wouldn’t do anything to her, even if she wanted to. After all, Janice still felt guilty towards Ruth because Jameson bhad /bcheated on Ruth back then.

Thinking about the past, Ruth straightened up, seeming to gain a sense of confidence. “I’m not feeling well, so bI’m /bgoing home nowi,/ibi” /i/bshe said before. walking off. She wasn’t interested in staying and watching Shermaine bask in the limelight.

Shermaine watched Ruth’s retreating figure, deep in thought. Every time she dreamed of the gentle Ruthb, /bsomething inside her felt off. She just couldn’t reconcile bthe /bmother from her dreams with the cold, distant woman in front of her.

“What ba /bshame. This wouldn’t have happened,” Janice sighed, shaking her head.

“Grandma, why do you say that?” Shermaine asked.

Janice hadn’t nned on bringing up old memories, but it didn’t seem fair to keep Shermaine in the darkb, /bso she decided to share some of the past bwith /bher.

The two had left the gym. Before long, they arrived at theke and sat on a bench by thekeside.

Then Janice said, “Before you went missing, your mother loved you and your brother dearly. But when you were five, your dad had ban /bbaffair/bb, /band your mother found out. That was when she started losing it.

“Then, you were kidnapped by human traffickers. Your mother’s mental health deteriorated. She often went out to look for you. bBut /bone dayb, /bshe came back with Wendelyn, and after that, she began to ignore your brother and never mentioned you again.

“Your dad’s betrayal hit her hard. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have neglected you and Ross. After all, you are her children.

“But it’s been so many years. She should’ve let go. Besides, your dad’s the one who messed up. How could she take it out on you two?b” /bJanice grew more upset as she spoke.

Shermaine felt that things might not be as simple as they seemed. She thought, ‘The first time I met my mother, there wasn’t ba /btrace of love in her beyes- /bshe looked at me like I was aplete stranger.

‘She didn’t seem happy to have me back. If she had truly loved me in the past, she wouldn’t have been so indifferent, so cold.‘

A bold theory began to form in Shermaine’s mind. Whether it was true or not, she’d have to dig deeper and see bif /bbshe /bcould find any clues.

At noon, Shermaine had lunch with Janice outside the school and then took a stroll before heading back. Since sses no longer really benefited her,

she decided to visit Mason.

Mason greeted her with a warm smile. “Shermaine, what can I bdo /bfor you?”

“Mr. Moe, I feel like I’ve learned everything I can from high school, and I’d like to request the same flexibility as students bin /bearly admission programs,” Shermaine exined.

In other words, she wanted the freedom to attend sses when it suited her and skip them when it didn’t, though she would still notify he teacher if she decided to skip.

bmeroom /b

Mason hesitated for a moment. “That… might not be appropriate.”

“In return, I’ll make sure I get the top SAT score next year and bring honor to our school,” Shermaine said, calm and confident. b“/bbIt’s /bbeen bthree /bbyears /bbsince /bwe had a top scorer, right?”

13:57 Jue suun AI

Chapter b62 /b

Her words bhit /ba nerve with Mason. b“/bbAlright/b, bI’ll /bbapprove /bbit/bb,/bb” /bbhe /bsaid. He figured bthe /bprincipal bwouldn’t /bbobject /bbeither/bb. /b

b“/bbAnd /bbcan /bbI /bhave bess /bbto /bthe school’sbb?/bb” /bShermaine added.

b“/bOf course. bI’ll /bhave the physics teacher grant you permission right away,” replied Mason. Shermaine had already nned beverything /bout. Since bthe /bneeded bto /bmake money by doing tasks bat /bnight, she’d work on developing skincare products during the day.

Before starting the experiments, Shermaine contacted Lily and asked Lily to buy the materials she needed. By around 2 PMb, /bLily delivered beverything /bbto /bthe school.

Over the past few days, Lily had sessfully registered theirpany, with both her and Shermaine listed as legal representativesb, /bband /bbthey /bbhad /breceived bthe /bofficial documents.

To save costsb, /bthey hadn’t officiallyunched operations yetb, /bas the products weren’t ready. But Lily was confident it was bonly /bba /bmatter of btime /bbbefore /btheir business took off, especially with Shermaine handling the research.

Shermaine spent bthe /bentire afternoon absorbed in developing product forms in theb,pletely losing track bof /btime. By bthe /btime she bfelt /bhungryb, /bbit /bwas already dark. She slowly packed up, preparing to head back bto /bthe Jean residence.

Inside the brightly lit Jean residence, a man, elegant and refined, sat on bthe /bcouch. Janice beamed with joy as she said, “Ross, you must be bexhausted /bfrom your business trip. You look like you’ve lost weight.”

“I haven’t lost any weight, Grandma,” Ross replied.

Nearbyi, /iRuth and Wendelyn sat stiffly, their unease evident. Ever since Ross took over the family business, he had be moremanding.

Wendelyn tried to win his favor. “Brother, have some fruit first.” Wendelyn, eager to win his favorb, /boffered, “Brother, have some fruit.”

Ross gave her a faint, distant smile but didn’t take the fruit from her. Instead, he asked, “Where’s Sheary?”

Not long after he brought Shermaine back to the Jean family, he had to leave for a business trip for a major project. He’d been missing her deeply, and now, finally back, he couldn’t wait to see her.

29

AR

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