Part 2I Shut Down Her Cheat System

"Why can I hear her thoughts? And what exactly is the Reap the Rewards system?' I muttered.

As I struggled to make sense of it all, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly echoed in my mind.

[Ding! Harm detected. The Shield System has been activated. Once the user binds to this system, it will block harm caused by other systems and protect the user's rights and interests.]

"The Shield System? Block harm?"

As the system explained its functions, I finally began to understand what had been happening to me.

It turned out that Millie had bound herself to the Reap the Rewards system. During every exam, she could siphon points from our combined scores and leave me with whatever remained.

To keep me from suspecting anything, she'd used the system to erase my memories of each exam. That explained why I could never remember the questions afterward. Worse still, the harder I studied, the more points she gained, which meant even higher scores for her.

All my hard work had done nothing but pave the way for her success!

It was no wonder Millie, who barely ever studied, always managed to score so highly. Her grades kept improving with every exam, and she constantly broke her own records.

I'd genuinely believed she was naturally gifted. I'd even envied her intelligence. But now I knew the truth. She was nothing but a thief who'd stolen the fruits of my hard work!

Fury surged through me at the realization.

Just as I was about to lose my temper, the system spoke again.

[Host, would you like to bind to this system?]

Without a moment's hesitation, I agreed to bind myself to the Shield System. "Yes!"

[Binding successful!]

The system then went dormant, but not before instructing me to call on it again on the college entrance exam's day.

Once I'd regained my composure, I ignored the contemptuous looks from everyone around me and returned to my seat.

A smug glint flashed in Millie's eyes.

I merely let out a cold, silent laugh. She had no idea that I'd just acquired a system of my own.

"Just wait until the college entrance exam's day, Millie. I'll make sure you regret ever crossing me!"

…

For the rest of the day, Millie basked in everyone's admiration and attention. She seemed to relish every moment they spent praising her as a "genius."

I paid them no attention and devoted myself to solving practice problems.

Without Millie's system interfering with my scores, I was confident I could consistently score 630 or higher. If I pushed myself a little harder, even Hargrave might be within reach.

After completing two practice exams, I headed home in high spirits, eager to enjoy a nice, hot meal.

Instead, my mother informed me that we had a family dinner to attend and insisted that I accompany her.

Truthfully, I had no desire to go. I couldn't stand the sight of those relatives, especially my uncle Leonard Fitzgerald and his family.

They'd never liked us.

Leonard resented my mother because she'd achieved far greater success in life despite having less education than he did.

My aunt envied my mother for marrying such a wonderful husband and raising a daughter like me.

As for Millie, she'd always resented me for outperforming her academically. Before high school, I'd consistently ranked at the top of my class. I was the golden child whom all our relatives loved to praise.

Even my grandmother, who had always favored boys over girls, treated my mother a little better at family dinners because of my academic achievements.

We'd completely stolen the spotlight from Leonard's family. Ever since then, they'd made no effort to conceal their hostility toward us.

But everything changed when Millie and I entered high school. Despite barely studying, Millie suddenly began ranking first in every exam, while I went from being an outstanding student to the worst performer in my class.

Now that I thought about it, that must have been when she'd bound herself to the Reap the Rewards system.

With Millie's sudden academic success, her family became the center of attention. Every family dinner turned into another opportunity for them to belittle us with their snide remarks.

…

By the time we arrived at the dinner, Leonard's family was already there, seated at the head of the table.

The moment Leonard spotted me, his expression darkened. He slammed his cutlery onto the table. "Ella, who do you think you are? How dare you keep all your elders waiting!"

At his outburst, Millie immediately jumped to my defense. "Dad, don't blame Ella. She was busy working on practice problems at school. That's why she's late. I'm sure she didn't mean to keep everyone waiting!

"She really does work so hard. Sometimes, I wish I knew what it felt like to put in that much effort!"