Ch. 981..990

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 981-Corinne looked at Josephine from head to toe. “I’m sure taking a test is no more tiring than working on the farm the whole,” she said sarcastically.

“She’s mentally tired, not physically tired,” retorted Josephine’s mother.

“It won’t take up much of her brain power since only the numbers have changed.

The retest should be easy-peasy for her,” said Corinne.

Josephine’s mother wanted to argue back again, but the reporters and camera people kept encouraging Josephine to do a retest. Even the commenters were in support of the retest. They wanted to see Corinne admit defeat.

Thus, Josephine and her mother were at a loss for what to do.

The response from the audience was so enthusiastic that the host knew it would be impossible to get out of a retest. “Since everyone agrees to the retest, let’s ask the teacher to come up to the stage once more to change the numbers on the test paper. Then, we’ll print out the new copy for Miss Corinne and Miss Josephine!” Josephine’s mother tensed up when she heard the host announce the retest while Josephine was close to having a meltdown. “Mom, what should we do? I don’t know how to answer those questions at all…” she whispered hurriedly.

Her mother glared at her. “Didn’t you memorize all the answers already? You just have to use the same formula to get the answer. You’re more stupid than I thought if you can’t answer the questions just because the numbers have changed!” “Mom, I can’t do it.” Josephine was not the smartest cookie in the first place. It took her a lot of effort to simply memorize the test answer to the point where there was no time left to memorize the formula at all.

Her mother was about to talk strategy with her when the host rushed over to them. “I’m sorry, Missus Clark, but you’ll need to get off the stage because Josephine needs to get ready for the retest.” Thus, she had no choice but to get off the stage, praying Josephine would work hard to get another perfect score.

As the reporters, camera people, and the live broadcast audience watched keenly, the teacher changed the numbers on the test paper. After that, he printed two new copies and handed them to the host.

Thus, the retest began.

Josephine started to feel dizzy when she saw the unfamiliar numbers dancing on the test paper. She tried to calculate the answer based on the answer she memorized for the first test. Corinne, however, twirled her pen for a while before she started doing her test.

The reporters and camera people could not help but think the way Josephine approached her test was so much better than Corinne’s nonchalant attitude. The same was true for the commenters; they felt like Corinne was not taking this seriously.

However, they did not expect Corinne to be the first one to hand in her test paper this time. It took her only 20 minutes to complete all the questions since only the numbers had changed. It was a piece of cake for her.

Everyone thought Josephine was about to finish too, she was nowhere near finishing. In fact, she was sweating and counting on her fingers.

Some of the commenters found this very strange.

[What’s the matter with Josephine? Why hasn’t she handed in her test yet?

Even Corinne handed in hers already.] [She’s sweating bullets. Don’t tell me she doesn’t know how to answer just because the numbers have changed?] [Don’t talk nonsense. That can’t be possible. It’s more likely she’s not feeling well or is getting a heatstroke.] [But she looks like she’s stumped by the questions.]

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 982-The minutes ticked by. When it was time to hand in the paper an hour and a half later, it seemed that Josephine still had not finished writing. To ensure fairness, the host went to tell her the time was up, and she had no choice but to hand in her paper to him. She then looked nervously at her mother.

After the host collected Josephine’s paper, he invited the teacher to come up to the stage to mark both papers again. This time, it did not take him long to tally up each candidate’s score.

The host’s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the result.

He then announced the result to everyone. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. I have in my hand both Miss Corinne’s and Miss Josephine’s retest

scores. And just like last time, Miss Corinne got a perfect score! Unfortunately, Miss Josephine was unable to finish the test in the given period, but the parts that she did earned her a score of…two points! For only one True or False question, she got correct!” Everyone present broke out in an uproar when Josephine’s result was announced.

“What the hell is going on? How is it possible Miss Josephine only got two points?” “Didn’t you hear what the host said? He said Miss Josephine didn’t finish the test.” “Even so, how can she only get two points? She got a perfect score last round, so she should get the same score this round since only the numbers have changed.” “The True or False question she got correct must’ve been a lucky guess. In other words, she was supposed to get zero points?” “Then how do you explain the perfect score she got on the first test?” “I have no idea either…” Josephine hung her head low. She was ashamed to face the cameras. Both she and her mother never expected Corinne would request a retest. She tried her best to answer the questions, but she failed to get even one right. Calling her screwed would certainly be an understatement.

At that moment, the reporters had Josephine’s mother surrounded.

“Missus Clark, do you have anything to say to the fact your daughter only got two points in the retest?” “You were so confident about your daughter’s abilities, so can you explain why she can’t even answer the questions even though the only difference between the first and second tests are the numbers?” “Did you make up the allegations about Corinne stealing your daughter’s university spot? Could it be that Josephine was never admitted to the University of New Capital City to begin with?” The reporters threw one rapid-fire question at her after another. Josephine’s mother tried to escape from the scene, but the reporters had her tightly surrounded. There was nowhere for her to run or hide, so she had no choice but to face them head-on.

“Didn’t I already say Josephine is tired? It’s only natural she can’t perform as normal!” Everyone was of course unconvinced by Josephine’s mother’s vague explanation.

“Even if she’s tired, there’s no way she only got two points, right? She got a perfect score on the first test! Making room for a mistake or two, she should be able to get more than what she’s got now!” “Did your daughter cheat on the first test?” “Your daughter failing the second test means Miss Corinne didn’t steal her university spot, right? She was admitted into the University of New Capital City based on her own merit!”

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 983-Josephine’s mother backed away as the reporters kept advancing. Even though guilt was written all over her face, she stubbornly insisted, “My… My daughter is the real straight-A student! She was admitted into the University of New Capital City on her own merits, and Corinne stole all that away from her!” The reporters were starting to feel resentful. They could not help but think they had been used by Josephine and her mother.

“If she is a straight-A student, how could she only get two points on the second test? You better give us a good explanation for that!” “Yeah! Give us a good explanation!” “No one will ever believe a straight-A student only got two points on a test!”

“As I’ve said, my daughter was tired, so she couldn’t perform as normal. Plus, she has even been studying for the past few years, so it’s not so strange for her to forget how to answer some questions, right?” The reporters scoffed one after another.

“Not strange? You must be kidding us. It’s not just some questions she didn’t know how to answer, but all!” “I don’t think she was a straight-A student back in high school at all! It’s obvious Miss Josephine and her mother are using us to get the public on their side.” “Give it up, Missus Clark! We now know Miss Corinne was the one telling the truth. I can’t believe we were all taken in by your fake sob story!” Josephine’s mother turned pale in her panic. She was no match to the reporters’ barrage of criticisms at all.

The comment section experienced a change in support, too.

[The truth has finally come out! The good always win!] [Hey, where are all Josephine’s vapid fans? Why aren’t they saying anything now?] [They must be too ashamed to say anything now.] [Is this what you call a straight-A student? Someone who can’t answer the question just because the question has changed?] [Fine. I admit I was wrong. But why would Josephine accuse Corinne of stealing her university spot if nothing like that ever happened?] [What are you trying to say? Don’t tell me you still don’t believe Corinne got into the University of New Capital City based on her merits?] [I just don’t understand why Josephine would do something like this.] [Does a morally corrupt person need a reason to do bad things? If we understand the why behind their actions, that just shows we’re not that far off from being morally corrupt also.] [Argh! Josephine and her mother really know how to play the victim! I’m so angry at them for lying to us. Sorry, Corinne. For all the mean things I said about you just now.] [I was deceived by their sob story too! It never crossed my mind that they’re nothing but con artists. Ugh! They’re so evil for playing with people’s hearts.] [Didn’t I already tell y’all that Corinne is a real straight-A student? In fact, she was personally recruited by our university’s principal. Pity y’all didn’t believe me then.] [Man, Josephine’s mother sure is a stubborn one. Even now, she still insists her daughter is the real straight-A student. And Josephine is no better. Look at how she’s keeping her head low and not speaking. The two of them should apologize to Corinne in front of us!] [Yeah! Apologize now! Apologize now! Apologize now!] [I must say, Corinne has a very high EQ. She didn’t once lose her temper even when everyone was being mean to her and accusing her of things she didn’t do.

I respect her for that.] [Now that I think of it, we must’ve mistaken her confidence and steadfastness as not taking the test seriously.] [Can I say I’m about to change from being Corinne’s hater to a fan?] [Get lost! Corinne doesn’t need a brainless person like you to be her fan!

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 984-Faced with the reporters’ relentless criticism, Josephine’s mother finally could not take it anymore. She blew up in their faces and started cursing while hysterically headbutting the reporters blocking her way.

After breaking through the crowd, she ran up the stage from the left to grab Josephine before running off the stage from the right to make their escape.

Seeing this, some of the reporters started chasing after them while the rest stayed behind to interview Corinne.

“Miss Corinne, they’ve escaped. Do you have any plans to sue them?” “You should sue them! Make them pay for spreading all those rumors about you.”

“And you should request a public apology too! Not to mention compensation for reputational damage.” Corinne remained seated at her table with one elbow propping up her face.

“Forget it. They’re just pawns in someone else’s game. Plus, where are they going to find the money to compensate me for my reputational damage? You see, there’s no need to waste my time on suing them.” A reporter understood what Corinne was implying. “Miss Corinne, are you saying someone else instigated Josephine and her mother to slander you online? Who could that be? Do you have an enemy?” Corinne raised her eyebrow. “You’ve been working in the field of journalism long enough, so you should all know that the instigator’s ultimate aim isn’t to malign me. Think about it: Who has suffered the most loss in this matter?” Realization suddenly dawned on the reporters.

“The answer’s gotta be Holden Group!” “You’re right! Holden Group suffered the most loss. Their share price has been dropping like crazy.” “Does that mean Holden Group’s competitors were the instigator behind this?” Corinne smiled. Her silence said it all.

She knew very well Anya was the real mastermind behind the whole thing, and Holden Group was just collateral damage. Thus, she made it seem like this was all done by Holden Group’s competitor to make use of the reporters’ guilty conscience so they would quickly clear up the misunderstanding surrounding Holden Group.

The power of the media should not be underestimated. They had a wider reach and better credibility than if Corinne or Jeremy were to come out with their own statements to refute the rumors swirling around.

At that moment, another reporter stepped forward while his colleague, the cameraman, aimed the video camera at her. “Miss Corinne, is it true what the rumor says? That you and Mister Jeremy of Holden Group are in a relationship?” Corinne was about to answer the question when her phone suddenly rang. She fished it out of her pocket and saw it was Jeremy calling her.

After picking up the call, she heard Jeremy’s stern voice ordering her, “Don’t say anything about us to the reporters. Come here now. I’m parked behind the hill in the park.” Corinne narrowed her eyes. Given the timing of Jeremy’s call, she heavily suspected he was worried she would disclose their relationship to the reporters.

Although she had no intention to give the reporter a straight answer, she could not help but feel sore about it.

After a brief moment of silence, she finally asked, “Why are you still at the park?

Didn’t you say you’re going off to work?” “I was worried about you. Come back to the car now. The test’s over.”

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 986-Both Phoebe and Anya turned pale at Cedric’s interrogation.

“Umm… Dad, what makes you think we’ll do something like that? You were the one who liaised with the teacher who came up with the test paper, and we never had contact with him. How can we steal the test paper?” Anya nodded. “She’s right, Grandpa. We’d never do something like that.” Cedric scoffed at them. “Is that so? Would you never do something like that?

Are you telling me Josephine and her mother snuck into our house and hacked into my email account to steal the test paper? Tell me something: Do you think I’m that stupid, or do you think our house security system is only for show?”

Phoebe blinked profusely in panic. “Dad, why… Why do you insist someone has stolen the test paper from you? Has Corinne said something to you?” “If no one stole the test paper, how could Josephine get a perfect score on the first test, but only two points on her second test?” asked Cedric angrily. “It’s obvious she had the answer memorized for the first test.

“The teacher who came up with the questions emailed me a copy of the test paper beforehand. After checking through it, I gave him the green light to proceed. Now, besides the two of you, who else has the most to gain from helping Josephine plus has the opportunity to access my computer?” “Dad, we didn’t steal the test paper!” Phoebe insisted stubbornly. This was definitely a hill she would die on. “You can accuse me, but how can you accuse Anya?” “Grandpa, my mom will never do something like that. There might be other reasons why Josephine did poorly on the second test…” said Anya weepily.

Pamela frowned deeply. She looked at her spoiled granddaughter as if she was a stranger. “Please wake up, Anya. We’ll forgive you if you admit what you did right now.” Anya was stunned. ‘They’ll forgive me if I admit what I did right now?’ Her resolution started to waver a little. ‘But if I do that, I’ll lose their trust… No! I cannot lose that!’ “Grandma, I really didn’t do it…” Cedric lost hope in getting an admission of guilt out of the unrepentant Phoebe and Anya.

“I thought raising you here will make you become more like us. But you’re becoming more and more like your mother. In fact, you’re exactly like her: Fake, manipulative, and greedy! Both of you are hopeless!” Anya tried to elicit some sympathy from Cedric by crying. “Grandpa…” “Enough!” boomed Cedric impatiently. “I don’t want to hear anything you or your mother have to say. Pack up your bags now. I’m sending you both to live in the summer villa. I can’t stand the sight of you two anymore.”

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 987-Phoebe was shocked. “Dad, you… You want us to live in the countryside?” “Yes! Go pack your bags now, and I’ll get someone to drive you two there,” grunted Cedric unwaveringly.

Phoebe could not accept his decision. She collapsed to the floor in a broken heap. “Why are you treating me like this, Dad? Are you really going to kick me and Anya out of the house because of Corinne?!” Cedric glanced at her with annoyance. “You’re a really bad influence on the kids.

Anya is already a lost cause, but there’s still hope for Sunny. I’m sending you to the countryside to prevent Sunny from turning out like you!”

Phoebe started to sob hysterically. “Dad, you can’t treat me like this! I’m still Maxwell’s wife and your daughter-in-law! How can you kick me out to the countryside? I’ll be the laughingstock within our social circles if word gets out about this.” Cedric had made up his mind and would not be moved by anything.

Beatrice agreed with the arrangement. Anya was in too deep with her mother to be saveable, but Sunny was still at a moldable age. Thus, Cedric and Beatrice would do anything to save him from turning out like his mother.

Seeing her tactics were not working on Cedric, Phoebe walked on her knees to Maxwell, who was sitting on the other side of the sofa. She then threw herself on his knees, pleading, “Maxwell, why aren’t you saying anything? Are you going to just watch Dad kick me and Anya out to the countryside?” Maxwell looked at her coldly. “Are you going to admit what you did?” he asked emotionlessly.

Tears streaked down Phoebe’s cheek while her eyes flashed unnaturally.

“Maxwell, you got to believe me when I say Anya and I did nothing of that sort!

How can you choose an outsider’s words over mine?” “You did nothing of that sort, you say?” Maxwell’s eyebrow raised sharply. “So you weren’t the one who taught Anya to look for Josephine and her mother to frame Corinne?” “It’s true Anya instigated the online scandal with the help of Josephine and her mother… But it’s only because she thought their sob story was real and wanted to help them seek justice!

“Moreover, the result of today’s test may not be fair. I think Corinne might’ve tampered with the test… There’s a chance she might’ve paid off the teacher…” Maxwell looked at her with disgust. “That teacher is an old friend of Dad. He’s held in very high regard in the education sector. The only reason he agreed to help out with the competition is because of Dad. You can’t seriously think he’d be easily bought off with money, do you?

“Besides, there were so many cameras pointing at Corinne and Josephine when they were doing the test, and they both received the same test paper. So there’s a record of how Josephine bungled the second test. And it’s not like Corinne can suck out all the knowledge in Josephine’s brain.” Phoebe was speechless. Even though she was frustrated inside, she made sure to keep up the poor-me pretense. “Well… Josephine and her mother lied to us!

She took advantage of our kindness ’cause they knew they wouldn’t be able to fight against Corinne without our help! Maxwell, can’t you see Anya and I are the victims? They used us!” Maxwell flung Phoebe’s hands away from his lap. He then smoothed out the crease on his pants, his disgust evident in the way he behaved.

“That’s enough! Stop pretending you’re the victim. The more you do that, the more we’ll think you’re a lost cause. I agree with Dad’s arrangement. You and Anya should go stay in the countryside and reflect on what you both did.” Phoebe gritted her teeth. “Maxwell, can you really bear to see Anya and I suffer in the countryside? And have you forgotten Anya has a kid? The countryside is no place for a kid to live!” “You’ve been to the summer villa before, so you should know how well-equipped the whole place is. There’ll be servants to take care of you all too, so it’s not like we’re asking you to stay in prison

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 988-Phoebe panicked even more when she realized begging was not going to work on Maxwell.

“I bet you’re secretly hoping I would stay at the summer villa forever so you can fool around with other women.” Maxwell frowned. “You’re talking nonsense. Besides, you reap what you sow.” Phoebe threw her head back and laughed hysterically. “Hahaha! You’re the most hypocritical of us all, Maxwell! You haven’t touched me in so many years.

In fact, we don’t even sleep in the same bed anymore. There’s no way you’ve been celibate all this while. You must have a side chick outside, don’t you? Well,

let me tell you something, Maxwell Rivera: I’m not Emily. Don’t even think you’ll be able to get rid of me that easily!” Cedric blew his top when he heard what Phoebe said, already at the end of his patience. “You there, ” he called out to the servants, “pack up their things and drive them to the summer villa.” Then to Phoebe, he boomed, “How dare you speak so rudely in front of me? Is there no respect in this house anymore?” The servants quickly dragged Phoebe up from the floor. “Miss Phoebe, please get up from the floor. We’ll drive you to the summer villa now.” Phoebe pushed them away hysterically. “I won’t go! I’m staying put no matter what! Go away! How dare you touch me, you slaves!” Seeing this, the servants were conflicted. They all turned to Cedric to see what he would say.

Cedric had had it with Phoebe’s hysterics. “What are you all still standing there for? Get her out of my sight immediately!” Hearing this, the servants decided to use a rougher method. They restrained Phoebe’s limbs and escorted her outside. Anya was carried outside by two servants as well.

“Grandpa… Grandma… Dad… I don’t want to go live in the countryside! I don’t want to! I was wrong! I now know what I did was wrong!” However, it was too late for that. Crying might have gotten Anya out of many situations in the past, but there would come a day when everyone would get tired of that method.

In the end, Anya ended up with the same fate as her mother. They were both ordered to be carted off to the summer villa.

However, before they were wrestled into the car by the servants, they happened to bump into Corinne, who had rushed over from the press conference.

Jeremy parked his black car by the road. Corinne got down and saw the pitiful state both Phoebe and Anya were in while the servants filled the car up with their bags.

She walked over with a smile. “Miss Phoebe, Miss Anya, are you two going on a trip?” No matter how sorry of a state Anya was in, she would never let Corinne see it.

She puffed her chest and glared at her. “This is all your fault, Corinne! You’re the reason I have nothing now! Nothing!” Corinne was unfazed. “Whether it’s my fault is yet to be determined. Though, you should know the life you had before was only possible because you stole it from someone else, Miss Anya.” Anya was shocked. She looked at Corinne alertly. “What… What do you mean?” Corinne smiled lightly. “I hope you can understand one truth in life, Miss Anya.

Curses always come home to roost. And remember, don’t take things that don’t belong to you, because you’ll lose them sooner or later even if they don’t go back to their original owner.” Anya could not help but feel unnerved when she stared back into Corinne’s unfathomable eyes.

Phoebe, who was experiencing a meltdown, started cursing Corinne the moment she saw her. “You b*tch! Don’t get cocky so fast! I swear you’ll die by my hand one day!”

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 976-People were still fighting in the comment section while the high-school teacher was marking the paper.

[Josephine must be the one who’s telling the truth since she was the one who handed in her paper first!] [Yeah! Corinne looks like she only handed in her paper because she started to panic after Josephine handed in hers.] [So what if she handed in her paper too? The most important thing is to get the answers right.] [Look, everyone. Corinne’s slumping her head on the table. Is she sleeping?! Is this all a joke to her?]

[I have a classmate exactly like her. He always scores the worst in all of our tests. The only thing he knows how to do is to sleep in class. You can’t blame us for thinking Corinne is the one who’s lying!] [Y’all must’ve not met a real straight-A student. Don’t you know they’re not the nerds we think they are? A real straight A-student is the type of person who can sleep through the class and still get really good grades!] [Haha! As if! I’ll never believe there’s actually someone like that in the world!

This is real life we’re talking about, not a movie.] [Well, if you went to the same university as her like I did, you’d know her life is kinda like a movie. Plus, you not having met someone like that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. In fact, that’s saying more about you than her, so why don’t you broaden your horizon a little, eh?] [Yeah, yeah. Next, you’re going to say only those who studied at the University of New Capital City have the broadest horizon in the world! Well, I hope you can still be as cocky as this after the result comes out!] [Hey, I think the teacher has finished marking the paper. That means they’re going to announce the result soon!] [I can’t wait! Josephine will win for sure!] … The teacher handed both the test papers back to the host.

A conflicted frown immediately appeared on the host’s face when he saw the result. After that, he looked at the horde of reporters and camera people off the stage and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, the result is out! The specially invited teacher has judiciously marked the paper, and it turns out there’s no winner or loser in this competition as Miss Corinne and Miss Josephine both got perfect scores!” All the reporters and camera people frowned in unison.

“They both got perfect scores? How will we know who got a spot in the University of New Capital City back then?” “Does this mean both of them were straight-A students?” “Oh man, how are we supposed to report about this then? Who was the one who actually got into the University of New Capital City?” “It must be Josephine! Didn’t her mother say Corinne went to terminate her baby instead of taking her SAT?” “Yeah! Even if they both got perfect scores now, Josephine looked more like the part of a good student.” “That’s what I think, too…” The comment section exploded again.

[What the hell? They both got perfect scores? How are we supposed to know who was telling the truth then?] [It’s Josephine, of course! I mean, she had been farming for the last few years, yet she still could get a perfect score. Doesn’t that just prove as much?] [Yeah! Corinne must’ve gotten up to speed with high school material after she got into the University of New Capital City, the best university in the country! It’s not surprising she’ll get a perfect score.] [Oh my god! You guys are obviously playing favorites! I mean, Corinne gets a perfect score and it doesn’t prove anything, but Josephine gets a perfect score and she’s the one telling the truth? Double standard much?

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 979-Corinne glanced at Josephine, who looked as smug as her mother down the stage.

“Yes, you both got perfect scores. You were fast asleep when the result was announced,” said the host.

Corinne yawned and uttered lightly, “That’s impossible.” The reporters and camera people all looked at her with disbelief.

“What does she mean? That she got a perfect score, or that Josephine got a perfect score?”

“It’s the latter, duh! Miss Corinne must’ve expected Miss Josephine to have forgotten all the things she learned in high school. Miss Josephine getting a perfect score so effortlessly was out of her expectation.” “That makes sense. Miss Corinne is just too cocky for her good.” The discussion kept going on off the stage.

“Miss Corinne, let me explain,” said the host. “After you both handed in the test paper, the teacher came up to the stage to mark them. Once he was done marking, the result was shown to everyone here and the people watching the live broadcast. There was no objection raised.

“Which brings us to now. Miss Josephine thinks she should be crowned the winner since she was the first to hand in her test paper. We’d like to hear if you have anything to say about that.” Corinne covered her mouth and yawned lazily. “Just because she handed in the paper first doesn’t mean she’s smarter than me. I mean, I’ve never heard of bonus marks being given for the person handing in their test paper first.” “Even without the extra marks given for handing in her test paper first, we still think Miss Josephine is smarter than you!” shouted a reporter.

Corinne turned to him. “Why?” “Because not only did you study in the best university in the country but also had plenty of time to get yourself up to speed on all the high school subjects you failed to learn in the past. Miss Josephine spent all her time working on her family’s farm for the past few years, yet she still managed to get a perfect score.

Is that not enough to prove she’s smarter than you?” the reporter replied.

Corinne chuckled softly. “Sir, your conclusion is clearly based on the assumption that I stole Miss Josephine’s university spot. So it doesn’t really hold much weight.” The reporter was made speechless by her meticulous logic, but he insisted on defending Josephine. “Then do you have any other evidence to prove you didn’t steal Miss Josephine’s university spot?” Corinne shook her head. “No, I don’t.” The reporter scoffed. “Well, doesn’t that just make you even more suspicious?” Corinne looked down condescendingly on the biased reporter. “First of all, a basic quality of being a good reporter is to be able to always maintain a neutral and objective view on the subject you’re reporting. You do not have this quality, it seems.

“Also, in any event, no matter the circumstances, the burden of proof lies on the accuser. But it seems like you can’t even grasp this simple logic. I wonder which media company are you working under ’cause it seems like your employer has no intention of surviving in this field.” The reporter’s expression hardened. “Why you…” The other reporters were basically on Josephine’s side too. They already had the mentality of helping the weak, but Corinne’s nonchalant attitude just pushed them to side with Josephine even more.

Another reporter stood up to defend his colleague, “So what you’re saying is you don’t have the evidence to prove you didn’t steal Miss Josephine’s university spot but that still doesn’t give us the right to suspect you? Why do you insist on forcing your logic down our throats?” Corinne smiled calmly. “I must admit, I didn’t expect her to get a perfect test score since she was only an average student in high school. This is certainly a real doozy, but to prove I didn’t steal her university spot, I’m willing to do a retest. What do you say, Miss Josephine?”

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 985-Corinne nodded. “Okay. I’m heading there now.” After ending the call, she got up from the table and bid farewell to the reporters.

She then walked off the stage and disappeared from their sight.

“Miss Corinne, why are you leaving so fast? Who called you? Was it Mister Jeremy?” asked a relentless reporter.

Corinne did not even turn around and simply walked away.

… Meanwhile, back at the Holdens’ mansion.

Greg and Pamela watched the live broadcast till the end, and both of them sighed with relief after that.

Pamela was rather proud of how Corinne handled the whole thing. She nudged Greg, saying, “What did I say, huh? Corinne’s not the type of person who’d cheat her way into the University of New Capital City. It was so obvious someone was trying to make her look like a bad guy in front of us, and only an old fool like you will believe an outsider over your granddaughter-in-law!” Greg knew he was wrong, but his pride would not let him admit it. “Hmph! Of all the people in the world, why did she get framed and not the others? I’ll tell you why! It’s ’cause there’s something really wrong with her character, and she must’ve made many enemies outside.” Pamela glared at Greg. “How you’re acting now is the epitome of victimblaming. I have very good judgment when it comes to people’s character, and what I can tell you is, Corinne is one of the good ones. And don’t you dare treat her rudely again, or I’ll divorce you.” Greg was stunned. He never thought he would hear the word ‘divorce’ coming out of Pamela. After all, who would divorce at their age?

“Are you seriously threatening me? Well, two can play that game! You don’t need to wait till then to divorce me ’cause I’m divorcing you today!” Pamela stood up angrily. “Fine! Let’s file our divorce at the courthouse now!” At that point, even if Greg regretted his words, he could not think up of a way to turn things around. He thought about what he could do when he suddenly clutched his chest as though he was having a heart attack.

“Argh! My chest hurts. Medicine… I need my medicine…” Seeing this, Pamela started to panic. She went up to support him while screaming, “Someone, help! Mister Greg is having a heart attack! Get me his medicine!” Hearing this, Greg smiled smugly while he continued to be unconscious.

At the same time, the atmosphere in the Riveras’ mansion was thick with tension.

Phoebe and Anya were furious to see Corinne coming out as the victor in both the competition and in saving her reputation, while Cedric and Beatrice looked relaxed.

“What did I say? Corinne must be the one telling the truth. I’m not surprised that all the rumors spread by Josephine and her mother are untrue!” said Cedric.

Beatrice glanced at Phoebe and Anya. “I couldn’t agree more. And you know what’s the worst part? Josephine and her mother are only pawns in someone else’s game. Which means someone else must’ve instigated the whole thing.” Phoebe knew what Beatrice was hinting at, but she dared not say anything.

Anya knew she was completely screwed, but she did not want to give up without putting up a last struggle. “Grandpa, Grandma, you shouldn’t fall for Corinne’s trick. She must’ve come prepared for the retest since she didn’t even think twice about suggesting it.” Cedric scoffed angrily. “Are you trying to say Corinne cheated on the test? Just how did she manage to pull that off when there were so many cameras pointing at her? I was about to ask whether you or your mother stole the test paper from me and gave it to Josephine and her mother

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 989-Corinne raised her eyebrow. “Is that so? Well, I can’t wait to see what you cook up.” The servants had finished packing Anya and Phoebe’s bags into the car.

“Miss Phoebe, Miss Anya, please get into the car now. Don’t make Mister Cedric any angrier than he is. I’m sure he’ll let both of you come home once he’s cooled down.” Phoebe and Anya gave Corinne one last death stare before grudgingly getting into the car.

…

The mansion became quieter once Phoebe and Anya were sent away.

Cedric turned to his useless son. “You should be ashamed of yourself. You’re a grown man, yet you can’t even keep your wife and daughter under control! Look at what they’ve become!” Maxwell looked up from his phone. “Surprise, surprise. Are you not happy with this daughter-in-law, too?” Cedric’s blood pressure immediately shot up. “I’m talking about you! Why are you asking me whether I’m happy or not?” “Weren’t you the one who insisted I should divorce Emily and marry Phoebe?” Maxwell asked calmly. “And now you’re not happy with Phoebe, too? That’s fine.

Why don’t you choose someone you’re happy with for me to marry again?” Cedric was so furious that the veins on his temple popped out. He pointed a trembling finger at his only son. “Why, you…” Fearing her husband would have a heart attack, Beatrice immediately said, “Let it go, Maxwell.” Maxwell nodded and went upstairs.

Cedric inhaled sharply. Pointing at Maxwell’s back, he boomed, “Even till now, you’re still blaming me for forcing you to divorce Emily?! Don’t you know I did it for your good? She cheated on you! Why would you still want to keep her around? She’ll only tarnish our family name if we don’t kick her out.” Maxwell stopped walking. After a few seconds of silence, he finally turned around. “That’s right, she cheated on me, not you! But you know what? I don’t give a sh*t! So why should you? You didn’t do it for my good; you did it to save your face!” Cedric’s blood pressure went up dangerously high, and his asthma kicked in.

“You… You… Ack… Good-for-nothing useless son… Cough, cough, cough!” Beatrice went up to support him. “Stop fighting, you two!” she said sternly. “You two will fight like cats and dogs every time Emily’s name is mentioned. Maxwell, I’m not taking sides here, but you’re a grown man now. Why do you insist on acting so stubbornly with your father?” Maxwell looked at Cedric, whose face was bright red with anger, and said nothing. He could not help but feel the person standing in front of him was not his father but a stranger. A few seconds later, he simply turned around and walked up the stairs.

At that moment, a servant came to report, “Mister Cedric, Miss Corinne is here.” Both Cedric and Beatrice were shocked. They looked outside the door and saw Corinne standing there with a servant. She was smiling, but it was the kind that did not reach her eyes.

Maxwell, who was nearing the top of the stairs, immediately stopped walking when he heard Corinne had arrived. The look in his eyes softened when he turned to look at her.

Beatrice was the first to snap out of her shock. Not knowing whether Corinne had heard them arguing, she smiled awkwardly and asked, “Corinne, what a surprise to see you. What brings you here at this time?”

The Day I Kissed An Older Man Chapter 990-Corinne smiled. “Well, the press conference has ended, so I thought I’d drop by to wrap up a few things with Miss Anya and Miss Phoebe. Though, it seems like I’ve come at a bad time. Should I…come again another day?” Beatrice quickly waved for her to come in. “Oh, Corinne, you’re always welcome here. Come in, come in! My husband and son were just having a little tiff, and I was just worried that you might’ve been frightened by it.” Corinne walked over to Beatrice and glanced at Cedric, who was still fuming, before looking up at Maxwell, who was at the stairs.

“Mister Maxwell, you’re a grown man. You shouldn’t argue with Grandpa Cedric so much. It’s really not that nice.”

Normally, Maxwell would simply go into his room even when there was a guest in the house. Because it was Corinne this time, he walked back into the living room.

Maxwell looked at her kindly. “You must be tired after the test. Why not go home to rest now? I saw you dozing off at the press conference. Did you not sleep well last night?” Corinne chuckled. “You watched the live broadcast of the test, too?” Maxwell nodded. “Yeah, I watched it together with my parents.” Corinne nodded. “Cool.” Beatrice was surprised Maxwell would come back into the living room for Corinne. After snapping out of her trance, she said, “Come sit, Corinne. You too, Maxwell. I’m sure Corinne would be too embarrassed to sit if you keep standing there like that.” “Okay,” said Maxwell. He sat back down on the sofa. “Corinne, please take a seat, too.” Corinne did as she was told without hesitation.

She did not even have a chance to tell them her main purpose for coming when Maxwell asked her gently, “Have you eaten? Are you hungry?” Corinne shook her head. “I’m not hungry, Mister Maxwell. Please don’t worry about me.” Maxwell nodded. “The flowers are blooming again. Do you want to go take a look?” Corinne frowned. She did not like the over-enthusiastically way Maxwell was treating her. “No, thanks. I didn’t come here to look at the flowers.” Cedric scoffed rudely. “Did you hear that? Corinne has no interest in those stupid flowers at all. I’m ashamed to say I have a grown son who only knows to spend his day messing with those flowers instead of taking care of the company! Good thing Lucas is old enough to take over the company now.

You’re a sorry excuse for a father, do you know that, Maxwell?” Maxwell was unfazed by his father’s reprimand since this was not the first time nor would it be the last time he had heard of the same thing. In fact, he only had eyes for Corinne at that moment.

Beatrice patted Cedric’s hand lightly, signaling him to not say too much in front of Corinne.

Cedric scoffed again. To his credit, he did not say anything more.

Beatrice turned back to face Corinne. “Corinne, I’m sorry you have to see that.

By the way, why did you come here today?” she asked.

Corinne smiled. “Actually, I came here today to…”