Chapter 1

One month before the SATs, I saw my predicted score floating right above my head.

But every time I finished a practice test, the score automatically dropped by 20 points.

And if I skipped class to party for a day, it went up by 20 points.

In my past life, I partied for a whole month, and the score above my head reached a perfect 1600.

But when the results finally came out, I only scored a 400.

And my sister Seraphina got a 1600!

My father, Richard Vanderbilt, was absolutely furious.

My mother, Eleanor Vanderbilt, fueled the fire beside him.

She convinced my father to send me to a troubled teen boarding school.

They cut off my funds and threw me out of the mansion.

That very night, I was cornered by a group of street thugs in a dark alley and beaten to death.

As I lay dying, I heard Seraphina's voice.

"You always played the untouchable genius, Rhea. But you still got fooled by the score above your head."

That was when I finally realized the truth.

My SAT score had been completely controlled and siphoned by my sister.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back to exactly one month before the exam.

——

The glowing number above my head was exactly 1300.

"Sister, let's study for the SATs together tonight."

Hearing Seraphina's invitation, I grabbed the prep book and threw it straight into the trash can.

"The exam is right around the corner, I'm not studying."

The score above my head instantly increased by 20 points.

Seraphina looked disappointed.

After rejecting her invitation, I prepared to go back to my bedroom to sleep.

But Seraphina wasn't going to let me off that easily.

She chased after me, offering to hire a gold-medal private tutor.

I slapped her hand away without hesitation.

"Tutors are only for nerds."

"You can study by yourself, I just got a VIP pass to a Brooklyn underground rave."

"Rhea, I know you're naturally smart, but Harvard won't issue an offer to a ruined genius."

Seraphina repeated the exact same words from my past life.

She was trying to test my reaction.

She needed to confirm if I had already fallen for the floating score trap.

Meeting her gaze, I smiled brightly.

"I could walk into the exam hungover and still score higher than you."

Seraphina looked hurt on the surface, but she couldn't hide the smirk forming on her lips.

Watching her confident back, I laughed out loud.

Seraphina, you're the one digging your own grave this time.

Back in my bedroom, the score had already climbed to 1340.

But the moment I opened my textbook, the number started dropping.

After I reviewed the core concepts, the score fell to 1260!

My room was right next to Seraphina's, and the soundproofing of this old mansion was notoriously bad. I pressed my ear against the wall.

I could hear her pacing in a state of absolute panic.

"Why is Rhea's score dropping?"

"I knew that bitch was secretly studying, why didn't she believe the score above her head?"

A metallic voice answered her through the phone speaker.

"Don't panic."

"If her score drops below 1000, it will detonate directly in her brain."

"If she studies, she's digging her own grave."

My heart skipped a beat.

But Seraphina sounded extremely satisfied with this answer.

"If she turns into a brain-dead vegetable, it saves me the trouble of fighting her for the trust fund."

"Who told her to study before the exam and mess with my mindset?"

Watching my plummeting score, I frowned deeply.

I needed to find a way to trick the system first.

For the next hour, I tried countless methods to bypass it.

But no matter what I did, the score kept dropping steadily.

When it hit 1000, the number turned red and started flashing wildly.

I instantly tensed up.

I stopped studying immediately.

I turned around, grabbed my jacket, and headed straight to a Brooklyn club to party all night.

I didn't let out a sigh of relief until the score finally climbed back to 1360.

By then, Seraphina had already noticed my score recovering.

Through the thin wall, I could hear the smug satisfaction returning to her voice.

"I knew that arrogant idiot would fall for the score."

"She's probably partying somewhere right now, thrilled that her score is going up while she slacks off."

"Let her rot in the club, that 1360 will be printed exactly on my transcript!"

Listening to her excited tone, I sneered and stepped away from the wall.

She had no idea I had already tricked the score above my head.