My Wife is a Hidden Big Shot-Chapter 26: Cherish Life, Stay Away from S

Sue Quinn couldn’t stand Aurora Sinclair in a million ways.

Every word she spoke dripped with contempt for her.

Stella Sinclair chuckled. "Grandpa won’t be happy if he hears you say that!"

Sue Quinn replied with a cheerful laugh, "The Eldest Miss is too kind. I’m sure you won’t go telling the Family Head! I’m just a blunt person who calls it like I see it."

Stella Sinclair suppressed a smile as her fingers danced across her phone screen.

[Stella: Is the Eldest Miss Quincy losing her confidence? How about I take you to an exhibition next weekend to help you unwind!]

A reply came back almost instantly.

[Jean: How is that possible? You think I’m no match for that country bumpkin? (Angry) What exhibition are we seeing this weekend?]

[Stella: A traditional art exhibition. I’ll take both of you!]

[Jean: (Angry) Why are you bringing that country bumpkin? (Angry)]

[Stella: So she can get some exposure to art and improve her etiquette. It’ll save you the trouble of getting angry at her! (Snickering)]

[Jean: Hmph! Would she even understand it? Taking her would be like casting pearls before swine! (Angry)]

Stella Sinclair’s lips curled into a smirk as she read Jean Quincy’s reply.

’This is the perfect opportunity for her to realize how big the gap between us is!’

She sent a smiling emoji.

***

The next day at school, Jean Quincy made a point to wait for Aurora Sinclair at the main gate. When she saw Aurora get out of her car and walk over, she strode up to her with a grim expression.

"Come to the dance studio after lunch!"

Aurora was baffled, but Jean Quincy had already spun around and hurried away, as if fleeing a contagious disease.

At noon, Aurora went to the dance studio as instructed, but it was empty.

After waiting for nearly forty minutes, Jean Quincy still hadn’t arrived. Aurora glanced at her phone; class started in ten minutes. She began a slow walk back to the main building.

As she was passing the art classroom, she overheard a few students talking.

"Jean Quincy’s luck is terrible, isn’t it? How did she get drenched with filthy water just walking down the hall?"

"I know, right? There was black sludge mixed in with it. Who would be so malicious as to leave a mop bucket on the windowsill..."

A glint appeared in Aurora Sinclair’s eyes, and she slowed her pace.

For the next two days, Jean Quincy seemed possessed by a god of misfortune. First, the seams of her dance uniform split. Then, her homework notebook went missing. She even had someone bump into her at lunch, spilling food all over her. She was the kind of unlucky soul who could choke just from drinking water.

A rumor gradually started to spread across campus that someone had put a curse on Jean Quincy. The stories grew wilder and wilder, leaving Jean on edge.

During lunch, Mona Lowell and Mandy Warren made a point of going over to comfort her.

Mandy Warren whispered conspiratorially, "Jean, maybe you should go to a temple and pray. With things like this, it’s better to believe it than not..."

A few other girls in their circle chimed in. Jean Quincy’s recent streak of bad luck was so bizarre that it was hard not to suspect something supernatural.

Just then, Mona Lowell, who had been quiet, suddenly asked, "Jean, do you think it has something to do with Aurora Sinclair? Didn’t you say she brings misfortune?"

Jean Quincy instantly recalled the rumors about the Sinclair Family. Her expression soured as she muttered, "Yes, it must be her... The one who jinxes her father, her mother, her whole family! No wonder she tried to give me a peace charm when she first came back! I can’t believe it. I need to go home and get it..."

With Jean Quincy’s "confirmation," the rumor that Aurora Sinclair was a jinx spread like wildfire through the senior class.

The students who believed Aurora brought misfortune started consciously avoiding her, treating her like a walking plague.

The students in Class Six who had been brainwashed by Mandy Warren were terrified of Aurora Sinclair, scrambling out of the classroom the moment the bell rang for fear of being jinxed.

Some students even started wearing various Buddha Beads, prayer bracelets, and exorcism talismans to school.

Luna Jennings couldn’t stand her classmates’ behavior and got into a big fight with them over it.

Mandy Warren shot back, full of self-righteousness, "Maybe you don’t value your life, but we value ours! It’s not like this rumor came from nowhere. Jean Quincy admitted it herself. Aurora is a jinx..."

Ethan Lowell and his friends tried to shut down the Class Six gossipers a few times, but to little effect. Even if the students stopped talking, their actions still showed their revulsion toward Aurora Sinclair.

To avoid causing more trouble, Aurora Sinclair was hardly ever seen except when she was in the classroom for lessons.

The situation grew worse. Even carrying the peace charm didn’t help Jean Quincy; her streak of terrible luck continued.

While no other students were as unlucky as Jean Quincy, they started blaming any little mishap on Aurora Sinclair.

Discussions about Jean Quincy’s situation exploded on the school forums. Since Aurora Sinclair’s name was censored, everyone started referring to her as "Student S."

After receiving a report from a student from one of the Morgan Family’s branch families, Beta Morgan took a look at the school forum.

He had to laugh at the sheer stupidity of some of the comments.

’Damn it,’ he thought, ’if someone chokes on their food at home, is that Aurora Sinclair’s fault too?’

’What the fuck is this logic?’

Fortunately, most of the students were rational, and some had even posted detailed analyses of Jean Quincy’s recent incidents.

[To be fair, I think what’s been happening to Student Quincy lately seems like a deliberate prank! Let’s all trust in science, people!]

[I agree with the post above! If she really jinxed the whole family, it wouldn’t just be Jean Quincy having problems. Why is Zeke Quincy totally fine?]

[We’re all high school students. Stop acting like superstitious peasants from the dark ages! Be careful, or the police might "invite you for a cup of tea."]

[Who can guarantee that every single day will be perfect? Blaming everything on Student S is going too far.]

[To everyone saying you’ll be in mortal danger just by being near Student S, please grow a brain. It’s not like Student S is the Grim Reaper, here to personally collect your soul, is she?]

Beta Morgan was relieved to see that one of the first people to question the rumors was from a Morgan branch family.

He reported the situation to Alvin Morgan.

Alvin Morgan sneered. "So, this year’s class at Kingsford No. 1 High School isn’t entirely composed of idiots..."

Beta Morgan understood the implication. If everyone had believed the rumors, his master probably would have intervened personally. In that case, whether this year’s class would graduate at all would be an open question.

"Go find out who’s behind this."

"Yes, sir—"

With positive guidance from the Morgan family students, Ethan Lowell, Luna Jennings, and others, the tide of opinion on the forums gradually turned in Aurora Sinclair’s favor.

However, a few stubborn individuals continued to spread the rumor that Aurora Sinclair was a bad omen.

[The old saying goes, better safe than sorry. You should have a healthy fear of the supernatural!]

[This stuff about Student S isn’t coming from nowhere. Her own family says it, so how can it be fake?]

[Heh, I value my life! Cherish life, stay away from S.] 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Other classes were fine, but Class Six was split into three factions.

One faction, led by Mandy Warren, consisted of students who firmly believed Aurora Sinclair was an unlucky person.

Another, led by Luna Jennings and Ethan Lowell, consisted of students who were adamant that the rumors were nonsense.

The last was the swing faction, caught in the middle and trying not to offend either side.

Leon Barron flew into a rage over the matter, chewing out Mandy Warren and her friends in front of the class, which finally made them rein it in.

***

Because everyone was now watching Jean Quincy, waiting to see what misfortune would befall her next, nothing happened to her at all.

During lunch, a friend of Jean Quincy’s comforted her. "See? Nothing happened, right? You must have just had Mercury in retrograde for a few days. Now that it’s over, everything’s back to normal."

Still, Jean Quincy felt that her luck these past few days had been too terrible, unnervingly so.

"Do you guys think someone might be messing with me?"

"It’s possible. There’s a post on the forum analyzing all your unlucky incidents. It says they were most likely deliberate and not just random accidents."

"Jean, think about it. Have you offended anyone lately? Because these things really seem like deliberate pranks..."

Jean Quincy thought for a long time but couldn’t recall offending anyone—apart from her cold, sarcastic remarks toward Aurora Sinclair. There was no one else.

But given Aurora Sinclair’s personality, she would never do something like this for revenge.

Mona Lowell smiled. "Jean, if you can’t think of anyone, don’t dwell on it. The most important thing is that you weren’t hurt."

Jean Quincy nodded.

As Jean Quincy’s streak of bad luck came to an end, the whole affair gradually died down.

The forum discussions about Jean Quincy and Aurora Sinclair were slowly replaced by buzz around the upcoming district-wide joint examination.

This was the last major mock exam before the college entrance exams. A comprehensive ranking would be released afterward, so it carried significant weight.

For the students, this exam was a crucial indicator of where they stood for the actual college entrance exams, allowing them to start preparing their university applications.

For the school, it was a matter of honor. The higher the school’s proportion of students in the top 10,000, the more secure its university matriculation rate would be for the year.

Thus, the school administration issued a strict directive to the senior class, demanding that every student give the exam their absolute best effort.

A tense atmosphere permeated the school. The students of Class Six no longer cared about the rumors surrounding Aurora Sinclair; they were all completely absorbed in studying for the exam.

As usual, Jean Quincy headed to the dance studio to practice after lunch. She was an art-track student, so in addition to her academic grades, the most crucial test for her was the professional dance exam for independent university admissions.

As she was walking, her vision suddenly blurred. An arm, hot as a branding iron, wrapped around her waist and yanked her forward.

A split second later, a loud THUD echoed from behind her, as if something had smashed a crater into the pavement.

The sound quickly drew the attention of other students on the athletic field.

The school’s emblem, made of heavy acrylic, had fallen from above and smashed hard onto the ground.