Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Gaokao Top Scorer
Mr. Sinclair frowned, staring at the blank page on his screen.
The internet picked a terrible time to freeze.
Of course, Mr. Sinclair wasn’t the only one dealing with a bad connection.
When the time came, all three Sinclair brothers were sitting at their computers. But when they clicked the link, they found they couldn’t get in at all!
Not long after, the webpage crashed completely.
In fact, it was like this every year when the college entrance exam scores were released.
It wasn’t the first time the website had crashed, not by a long shot.
It was just that the anxious family members were in such a hurry that the possibility had completely slipped their minds.
——
At ten in the morning, Gabriel Sinclair was filming deep in the mountains.
The female lead was seriously dragging them down. They’d had thirty-eight takes on a single scene, and seeing that it was almost ten, Gabriel Sinclair had no choice but to talk to the director.
The director was also annoyed with the actress, so he nodded and agreed to his request.
Gabriel Sinclair didn’t even change out of his costume, sitting on a small stool in his loose-fitting robe.
His assistant quickly brought over his phone and a small electric fan.
"Gabriel, you shouldn’t sit here. The sun is intense," the assistant said cautiously.
He could tell Gabriel Sinclair was in a bad mood, so he didn’t dare say more than necessary.
Gabriel Sinclair looked up, squinting at the blazing sun. "You can go back to the tent. The reception is better here."
Deep in the mountains, they usually only got one or two bars of service.
Normally, it might take a full day for one of his messages to go through.
’If the lead actress hadn’t been holding up production, I’d be at home eating watermelon in the air conditioning right now. Why do I have to suffer like this?’
The one thing that brought Gabriel Sinclair some relief was that the signal was surprisingly strong today. The page loaded with ease.
Gabriel Sinclair’s eyes lit up, and he quickly entered Chloe Sinclair’s student ID information.
But the screen quickly went blank.
Gabriel Sinclair stared, not processing what had happened for a moment.
He tapped his phone, his eyes wide with shock. "You’ve got to be kidding me! Why won’t it load?"
Following that, the entire crew watched as Gabriel Sinclair continued to battle with his phone.
The assistant, feeling second-hand embarrassment, whispered, "Gabriel, ten o’clock is peak time for checking scores. It’s normal for the site to be down. You should be able to get in by three this afternoon."
Gabriel Sinclair frowned and looked up. "Really?"
The assistant nodded hastily. "It was the same for me back when I took the exams."
Then, looking puzzled, the assistant added, "Didn’t you take the exams too? Was the website easy to get into back then?"
Gabriel Sinclair winced.
The truth was, his family was full of geniuses. His eldest brother had scored over 700 on the college entrance exams. His second brother was even more remarkable; he had started college before even finishing high school, graduated first in his class every year, and was now a leading figure in the world of Physics.
And while Chloe had seemed a bit slow before, she’d recently had an academic awakening, achieving results that left him completely in the dust.
He was the only exception. For some reason, he had been dead last every year in elementary school, had barely scraped into a regular high school by the skin of his teeth, and his college entrance exam score was, fittingly, a perfect 250.
He was used to being a slacker; whether he checked his score or not, it was always going to be abysmal.
In fact, he only knew his score because some tabloid accounts had stolen his student ID and looked it up for him.
He ended up as a trending topic on social media before he even saw the score himself.
And so, for years, everyone knew that a certain top-tier celebrity’s college entrance exam score was a measly 250.
Now, faced with his assistant’s question, Gabriel Sinclair felt a flush of shame. He forced a smile and nodded with a straight face. "Yeah, the site worked fine for me."
He then glanced at his phone and said menacingly, "You stay here and refresh the page every ten minutes."
The assistant was speechless. "..."
"Okay."
A moment later, Gabriel Sinclair pulled out another phone and unfolded a small stool next to his assistant.
Seeing the silence in the "Happy, Loving Family" group chat, Gabriel Sinclair was getting antsy.
Gabriel Sinclair: [Dad, any luck checking Chloe’s score?]
Peace and Quiet: [No, the system is frozen. I’ve already asked someone to look into it.]
LZ: [I can’t get through either.]
QF: [Can’t get in. I’ve had my assistant refreshing every ten minutes. I’ll let you all know as soon as I have a result.]
Gabriel Sinclair breathed a sigh of relief seeing that no one else had managed to find out the score yet.
He looked at the assistant beside him and said earnestly, "If you get her score to load by noon, I’ll give you a raise."
The assistant’s eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly.
Any trace of his previous reluctance vanished completely.
After all, who’s going to argue with more money?
——
「Shaw Group」
Jasper Shaw looked at Chloe Sinclair’s score, his expression showing no surprise.
Seeing this, Ian Winters asked, "Boss, should we inform Miss Sinclair?"
’The main website had crashed right at ten. If the boss hadn’t had the foresight to use an alternate portal, they wouldn’t have been able to find Miss Sinclair’s results this quickly.’
Ian Winters had always known Chloe Sinclair was a good student, but he never imagined her scores would be this incredible.
’A score like this... back in the day, only the boss himself had ever achieved something comparable.’
Ian Winters sucked in a sharp breath. "Miss Sinclair’s score is unbelievable."
’She’s the top scorer in the entire country, no doubt about it.’
Hearing Ian Winters’s exclamation, Jasper Shaw raised an eyebrow, a flicker of pride stirring within him.
He cleared his throat and said, "Chloe only got this score because it’s the highest possible score on the exam."
’Chloe’s true potential went far beyond this.’
’He suddenly recalled that alley three months ago. The girl had been terrified, yet she had stubbornly clutched a brick that could hardly do any real damage.’
’She could have easily escaped on her own, but instead, she chose to protect him.’
’Life was like a butterfly effect; every step brought change, yet everything seemed to circle back to its origin.’
’There was some kind of indescribable bond between him and Chloe Sinclair.’
Jasper Shaw said, "Don’t tell her. This is the kind of news she should share with her family."
’And as for him...’
’He was just a business acquaintance.’
As he thought this, Jasper Shaw’s heart clenched. It felt as if a large hand were squeezing his throat, suffocating him to the point he could barely breathe.
He was only just now realizing that there seemed to be no real relationship between him and Chloe Sinclair at all.
As this thought crossed his mind, Jasper Shaw’s gaze darkened. He asked, "Ian, how long until Chloe comes to Emberfall?"
Ian Winters did a quick mental calculation and replied with his head bowed, "Boss, if all goes as planned, about a month."
A silence fell between them.
Ian Winters took a step back, quietly watching as Jasper Shaw tapped a sporadic rhythm on the desk.
After a long moment, Jasper Shaw suddenly spoke. "Soon. I’ll be seeing the little one again very soon."
——
Mr. Sinclair and Landon Sinclair had extensive connections, and half an hour later, they managed to get a link to an alternate website.
The family entered her student ID information, their hearts pounding as they stared at the screen.
The chairman, a man who wouldn’t bat an eye while negotiating deals worth billions, was an absolute wreck.
And just as he was about to click and view the score, Mr. Sinclair’s phone suddenly rang.
A glance at the screen showed it was a call from Chloe Sinclair’s homeroom teacher.
Mr. Sinclair answered. Before he could even say a word, an excited voice burst from the speaker. "Chloe’s father? Your daughter is the top scorer in the entire country for the college entrance exams!"
"The admissions officers from Emberfall University and the Ivory League are probably already on their way to your house!"
