Quinn Quincy was much more sensible than her grandmother. She knew perfectly well that even though Yolande was a Churchill, her status in the family paled in comparison to their cousin, Claire.
After all, Claire was Melissa's daughter.
Melissa had been the absolute pinnacle of the Churchill women.
Compared to Melissa, Quinn's own grandmother was nobody.
She even suspected her grandmother harbored a deep-seated jealousy toward her late niece.
Back in the day, Pandora hadn't been particularly favored, while Melissa reigned as the undisputed Flower of Cabinda.
Everyone in Cabinda knew Melissa was the apple of Padgett's eye.
"Did you hear about the math and medical departments fighting over me?" Claire asked with a smile.
Quinn nodded. "How could I not?"
The genius both departments were desperate to recruit hadn't exactly kept a low profile. Making that guy apologize in the campus cafeteria had made her famous overnight.
Quinn had heard plenty of rumors—people said the new genius was arrogant and didn't give a damn about the upperclassmen's egos.
Forcing an apology on a megaphone loop hadn't just humiliated the guy; it had cost him his spot on the student council.
The gossip had spread like wildfire.
But Quinn truly admired her cousin.
In her eyes, Claire's bold personality meant she wouldn't be easily pushed around. College was a mini-society; if you weren't tough, you'd get walked all over.
Quinn had family backing, so she was safe, but one of her roommates had been bullied.
The poor girl had been wronged but was too terrified to speak up.
The counselor hadn't wanted it handled publicly and forced them to settle it privately. The bullies gave a fake apology and then spread vicious rumors behind her back. That classmate nearly had a complete breakdown.
Hearing their chatter, Pandora offered a few backhanded compliments.
"I don't understand why you chose
ve
to study medicine. Following in your mother's footsteps with mathematics would have been perfectly fine."
"I heard
gold medal in a math competition. If you stuck with it, you could have achieved something extraordinary.
won an international
Claire understood that some older folks loved to flaunt their seniority.
Well, it wasn't exactly that—they just thrived on using their 'life experience' to dictate everyone else's choices.
But Claire wasn't the type to take unsolicited advice.
She offered Pandora a polite smile. "I appreciate your concern, Pandora, but I simply prefer medicine over math."
Seeing the older woman open her mouth to
argue, Claire set
in. "What did you major in back in college, Pandora?
Pandora blinked, taken aback.
"Literature." She had earned a proper degree in literature from a real university.
Otherwise, she never would have been able to marry into the Quincy family.
The Quincys were a prestigious, scholarly lineage with high standards for their daughters-in-law.
Claire feigned surprise. "Why didn't you study math? Was it too difficult? Or just boring?"
"Given your intellect, Pandora, I bet you could enroll in senior classes right now and finally give math a try."
Pandora wasn't an idiot; she heard the mocking undertone loud and clear.
Her expression darkened, and she was just about to complain to Padgett when Ophelia walked over.
"What are you doing over here, Pandora?"
"There's no point chatting with the kids. We set up a table for a game of Bridge. Come play a few rounds with us."
Pandora's attention was instantly hooked by the mention of Bridge.
Back at the Quincy estate, she had to maintain a dignified facade, which meant she rarely got to play.
But here, in her maiden home, what was the harm in a few rounds with the younger generation?
Seeing Pandora's eager expression, Claire instantly forgave the woman's earlier nagging.
Her great-aunt might have thought herself clever, but she was wonderfully easy to distract.