Shane shook his head gently. "Mom won't agree. Don't worry. In fact, Mom is stronger than anyone else in her heart." Mrs. Ford Sr. had experienced too many storms and challenges when she was young. The current situation was nothing compared to that. Haley sighed softly, expressing her resignation. "Then let's visit her every week and spend more time with her." "Okay." Shane leaned down and kissed Haley on the forehead. "Go to sleep."The next morning, Haley got up early, had a quick breakfast, and went to school. It was an important day as she needed to submit her graduation design project. After bidding farewell to Shane, she hugged his neck and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Mr. Ford, wish me luck." Although Haley usually excelled in her studies, this time it was her graduation design, and she had to take it seriously. The department had organized a conference where each student had to present their design concept on stage. In a few days, there would be the graduation def
Although she said that on the surface, Jenny could tell that she did not believe her. She shot a fierce glare at Haley, pouting, "Hmph, I'm ignoring you! You've temporarily lost the right to talk to me." Her attempt to cover up her feelings amused Haley, but with the class bell ringing, she had to swallow her words. The teacher was giving an opening speech on the stage, introducing the main content of the class. Xena's late arrival interrupted the teacher's conversation. "Teacher, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to be late." The teacher glanced at Xena and said helplessly, "Xena, please go back to your seat. I hope you won't be late again in the future." Although the teacher said this, he was not angry because this class was the last one. When the grades were out, this course would be completely over. Xena smiled apologetically and quickly walked into the classroom. She looked around the classroom, eventually locking eyes with Haley, and walked straight towards her. Haley
She would gain the admiration, respect, and envy of everyone. Meanwhile, Haley would forever be nailed to the pillar of shame, never able to turn the tide! Just then, the teacher called Xena's name. Suppressing her inner excitement, Xena stood up slowly. Before taking the stage, she once again cast a provocative glance at Haley. Perplexed, Haley watched her leave, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into her heart. As Xena unveiled her design, that sense of foreboding solidified into reality. Haley sat up straight, her eyes filled with anger, fixed unwaveringly on the design. Xena's unveiled design was an exact replica of the one Haley had spent a week creating, with only minor modifications to the details. Haley's hands trembled as she clutched her laptop bag. How dare Xena? In a fleeting moment, Haley's mind raced through many scenarios, settling on the events of the previous evening. It turned out her suspicion about her computer being tampered with was not unfounded. But s
In the audience, Jenny also sensed that something was off. She leaned in close to Haley and whispered, "Haley, did she know in advance what your piece was and intentionally copied it?" But as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt something was amiss. "Haley, this piece, why does it resemble your style so much? Could it be..." Haley nodded gently, placing a finger to her lips, signaling for silence. "Let's wait and see." She knew Jenny was the type to act impulsively and did not want her to suddenly speak out. Jenny was not a student of the design institute but rather a finance major, just accompanying her to observe. "So, she really copied yours? No, we can't let her get away with this!" The thought of Xena bullying Haley for years and now even stealing her design made her furious. Who did she think she was, picking on others like this? Haley grabbed her arm, shaking her head. "It's not the time yet. Let's wait a bit longer." But Jenny did not want to wait! Not even
People were saying Haley was shameless for stealing her own sister's work, claiming Haley had no morals and did not deserve to stay at Jasper City University.Someone even suggested checking Haley's college entrance exam scores. How could a girl possibly break the previous highest record?Jenny was about to explode when she saw these comments.Having been best friends with Haley for so many years, she knew Haley better than anyone else.She knew better than anyone that Haley was actually the real victim.Every piece of her work was meticulously crafted by herself, not some kind of plagiarism or theft as claimed.She could not bear it, glaring angrily at Xena, and asked in a low voice, "Xena, is this something to do with you? Did you pay for the trending topic?"Xena smirked smugly, lips slightly curled, "Even if it was me, so what? Do you have any evidence to prove it was me? If not, I can sue you for defamation.""You!" Jenny was furious, wishing she could tear apart Xena's hy
Even the teachers were surprised that Haley would say such a thing.The teacher asked in astonishment, "Haley, are you mistaken? Xena, although not performing well before, her graduation project is outstanding."Haley opened her laptop and brought up the drawing software. She had a habit of saving her design drafts every so often. The software she used clearly showed the timestamps of each operation and every saved draft. Starting from a week ago, there were updates almost every day, with some details being modified. This was absolutely undeniable.Seeing this, the teacher fell silent, and other gossiping classmates also turned to look at Xena."Xena, while Haley has presented evidence, what about yours?" The teacher asked.Xena started to panic the moment Haley brought out her laptop. Where would she get a drawing draft? This design draft was originally stolen from Haley by bribing a helper from Violet Grove. However, the helper knew nothing about drawing software. Xena instruc
Someone scoffed, "Even if you're the school's beauty, you shouldn't just say anything, right?" Haley's lips still curled into a smile, neither humble nor arrogant. "The inspiration for this dress design isn't from Western mermaids, but from the most mysterious creatures in Eastern mythology, the merfolk. Legend has it that merfolk’s tears turn into pearls. Humans, driven by greed, began hunting merfolk..."Haley's voice was soft and melodious, evoking vivid imagery in everyone's minds. The first half of her narrative was sweet and romantic. But as it progressed, the image of merfolk being heartbroken and ultimately committing suicide, sinking to the ocean floor, involuntarily flashed in everyone's minds.Some sensitive girls could not help but sob."This piece is called 'Tears of the Merfolk.'"After Haley finished speaking, she looked towards the teacher who was standing dazed beside her, waiting for her judgment.The teacher snapped back to reality, could not help but rub his
The school being criticized was one thing, but what mattered most was Haley's identity! She was Shane's wife, the president's wife of the Ford Corporation. If their school did not handle this matter properly, knowing Shane's character, he would not let them off easily. The principal paced back and forth in his office, his mouth forming blisters from anxiety. He ran his hand through his hair, desperately thinking of a solution. After a while, several other school directors called one after another, urging him to quickly suppress the matter. Otherwise, this principal’s position would not last long. Suppressing his own worries, the principal hurriedly assured them, "Don't worry, I'm already working on a solution. Our school will never wrongly accuse any student." After soothing the directors, the principal quickly headed to the design institute's lecture room. He had to talk to Haley face-to-face now. He needed to make sure she stayed calm and did not escalate the situation further,