Nancy bit her lip silently for quite a while.

She justified herself again, "You have the world's reasons. I can't persuade you."

Ned poured a glass of water and heard her speech before the water reached his mouth. Turning his head, he looked at her, "Sounds like it's my fault."

Nancy bowed her head like a sinned child and replied faintly, "My fault."

Ned put down the glass, "If Whitney couldn't enter the top ten in the upcoming monthly exam, I'll let her stay away from you. Most likely, I'll have you transferred to another school."

"I can't."

She blurted out.

The school she was attending would exempt the top student in the final exam from the tuition fees for the following year. Once transferred, she would have to pay the fees, which would make things worse for her poor family.

She was an orphan adopted by the first son of her grandmother. After the man passed away, only the old lady took care of her in the family. Her grandma was nearly 70 years old and painstakingly saved money for her tuition.

The old lady was leading a poor life. Nancy didn't want to make it worse.

Ned took a glance at her, "Then prove yourself."

"I will."

Nancy replied emotionally with a tinge of coldness in her voice.

Now her uncontrollable feelings for Ned were somehow restrained at that moment. She understood that they belonged to different worlds.

Ned nodded slightly, "Go tutor Whitney and tell her that only half of her allowance for this month is left. If she doesn't work hard, she will lose all of it."

Nancy nodded and walked away.

Through the decorative mirror, Ned watched the leaving figure and saw bruises on her wrist. His eyes suddenly went dim. Her skin was so tender that it reddened under not much of his strength...

Ned picked up the cigarette case from the table and ordered dishes for Wendy to cook tonight.

A bit tired, he sank on the sofa to take a rest.

The sofa was not long enough for him, and he felt uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he was so sleepy that he turned for a while and soon fell asleep.

When Nancy got back to the study, Whitney was biting the pen and stared at the quiz as if the answer would reveal itself.

Hearing a noise from the door, Whitney turned her head, "Nancy, did Ned make it hard for you?"

Nancy sat down next to Whitney and smiled, "Nope, he just asks me to pass on a message that half of your pocket money is deducted this month. If you don't work hard, all of it will be gone."

Whitney instantly lost her spirit. Lying prone on the desk, she sighed towards the sky, "Ah, I knew it. Once again, I won't get DA's new lipstick. My heart, my heart hurts!"

Nancy opened the textbook and tugged at Whitney's arm, "Time to make up your lesson. Listen carefully."

Whitney finally pulled herself together, "Right, I'll work hard and get the highest grade in the upcoming exam. By then, will I be short of money, no kidding?"

An hour later, Whitney covered her head and howled, "Ah, this is so hard, I can't learn it. Math is my bane. Forget it, I'll live with poverty."

Just then, Wendy knocked on the door and called them to have dinner.

As if seeing her savior, Whitney grabbed Nancy's hand, "Nancy, let's have dinner first and study later."

Without a choice, Nancy followed her to the dining table.

Ned was already there.

He covered his eyes with one hand. Apparently, he was just woken up and still sleepy. Upon hearing footsteps, he moved his hand away.

Nancy was met with a pair of sleepy and bloodshot eyes.