At the Bair Family Mansion.

 

Mr. Bair was sitting on the living room sofa, waiting for Bianca and Alex to return.

 

"Alex came back with me to grab my brother's notebook," Bianca said to Mr. Bair with a smile.

 

Harper paid no mind to their small talk; she directly sat on the sofa and casually tapped her fingertips on the coffee table, signaling the butler to pour her some tea.

 

Once the butler handed her the tea, she nonchalantly blew on it.

 

"The studying's got you stressed, and you still have to practice the piano; don't overwork yourself," Mr. Bair handed Bianca a letter of apprenticeship, softly saying, "Practice 'Elegy in White' well these next two days; Dean Jian really likes it."

 

Alex was evidently surprised, "You can play 'Elegy in White'?"

 

Bianca modestly responded, "I've only learned a little."

 

Harper, lounging on the sofa and gathering her semi-dry hair behind her ear, stared at the letter of apprenticeship for a while before lazily interrupting their conversation, "That letter of apprenticeship was my birthday gift two years ago."

 

Bianca paused, her eyes narrowing at the letter of apprenticeship in Mr. Bair's hands.

 

Then, with a smirk that was not quite a smile, she said, "Sister, you've studied piano too?"

 

Upon hearing this, Alex, who was standing to the side, looked down.

 

Everyone in North City knew Harper was uneducated.

 

Mr. Bair, trying to soothe Bianca, then turned to Harper, his voice turning cold, "Dean Jian is a professor at River City University, and she's strict with her students. You don't understand music theory, so it's useless for you. Bianca is more suitable than you."

 

"Uh-huh," Harper said, holding the tea cup, her expression seemingly harmless, "…don't understand music theory?"

 

She chuckled.

 

Interesting.

 

She had switched bodies.

 

"Am I wrong?" Mr. Bair's gaze turned heavy, but he thought she was making excuses, "You drove away three teachers, even slept in Mr. Lee's music room, after a year of learning, tell me, do you even know how many keys a piano has?"

 

So that's how it was.

 

Bianca withdrew her gaze, "Dad, if sister also wants to learn, then let her. I'm going upstairs first."

 

Her look was full of mockery as she touched her sleeve, clearly disliking Harper's behavior—what a parrot.

 

Feeling upset, Bianca headed upstairs, and Alex followed her.

 

He passed by Harper without sparing her a glance.

 

Alex had known since childhood that Harper was his fiancée. Despite others saying his fiancée was quite attractive, to him, Harper was just a "fiancée" in name.

 

She had never left any impression on him in all these years.

 

He had not even a slight interest in Harper, whom others described as "looking quite good."

 

**

 

Once the two had left, Mr. Bair's expression darkened, and he handed the letter of apprenticeship to the butler.

 

He looked at Harper indifferently, "Why did you cheat?"

 

"I didn't," Harper countered.

 

Miss Bair's cheating.

 

What did it have to do with her, Harper?

 

Mr. Bair nearly scoffed, "So, you're telling me you made it into the top ten of the school on your own?"

 

"Why couldn't I?"

 

Mr. Bair found her denial hopeless, "Come with me to the ancestral hall."

 

Inside the ancestral hall, filled with many memorial tablets, Mr. Bair solemnly offered incense before addressing Harper, "You're eighteen, not eight. When your older brother was your age, he had already won several awards and worked on several cases."

 

He wasn't mocking; he was merely stating facts.

 

Initially, when Harper was in her freshman year of high school, Mr. Bair had put a lot of effort into placing her and Alex in the same class to cultivate a relationship. However, Harper couldn't keep up with the international class's curriculum and dropped to a regular class on her first exam.

 

In contrast, Bianca made progress on her own merit, earning her place in the international class and participating in various competitions for extra credits.

 

Harper watched the memorial tablets behind him, his words stepping all over her sensitive spots.

 

"Don't talk nonsense. An illegitimate son also counts as my older brother? Don't you have your own family tree, or do you need to leech off mine?" She hadn't changed clothes yet, her black hair wrapped around her slender, fair neck.

 

Leaning against the door frame, she looked at Mr. Bair with a light laugh.

 

The butler, watching from the side, was startled. Harper's beautiful, distinctive face smiled in a way that resembled a high-IQ psychopath.

 

A chill ran down his spine.

 

"You…" Mr. Bair had never been so defiantly opposed, especially by Harper, the daughter he least admired. His face turned red with anger, "Rebel, you're utterly nonsensical!"

 

He placed the incense properly.

 

"Not to mention Sean, if you had even one-tenth of Bianca! But in two hundred years of our Bair family history, there's never been anyone like you," he scrutinized Harper, defining her, "Cheating on exams, uneducated!"

 

"Reflect in front of our ancestors. Only come out when you realize your mistake, otherwise—" he loomed over Harper as if assessing an insignificant product, "go back to River City, and don't ever step into the Bair family home again!"