My Husband Made Our Daughter's Future a Bargaining Chi

"Miss Shaw over there has attended elite private schools since birth. I heard she even had one-on-one tutoring from top instructors throughout high school. Scoring that high isn't surprising."

"Then the girl from the countryside doesn’t stand a chance, does she? The quality of education there just can't compare."

"I'm actually curious about the rural girl's score. Her mom agreed so confidently just now—she must think her daughter can perform well."

Hayden wore a smug, proud expression as he affectionately patted Vivian on the head.

Meanwhile, the notary glanced at the number I had written, hesitating for a moment.

"Ms. Gwen... are you sure this is the number you want to submit?"

I crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in my chair, calm and unshaken.

"Read it aloud. I'm sure."

Seeing how firm I was, the staff member didn’t press further, though his face looked a bit awkward as he announced, "Ms. Perrie’s estimated score for the comprehensive liberal arts section is… zero."

For a moment, the entire room fell silent.

"Zero? That can’t be right. Even guessing randomly would score more than zero."

"Did she misunderstand the rules? It’s supposed to be closest to the real score, not the lowest."

"I thought she was so confident earlier... Looks like she’s walking away with nothing."

Perrie looked at me in confusion. "Mom... My last mock exam score was 275. Why did you...?"

Vivian burst out laughing, gloating with glee. "Perrie, even your mom doesn’t believe in you! Zero points? Dad wasted all those materials on you. What a joke—are you brain-dead? Hahaha!"

My daughter’s face flushed bright red. She clenched her fists and snapped back.

"That’s not true! My mom was just too flustered from dealing with you all."

"We’ll consider this round a warm-up. The next two—we won’t lose!"

Vivian’s eyes gleamed. "Let’s see about that, then!"

My daughter ignored her taunts and leaned close to whisper in my ear.

"Mom, don’t worry. Just guess like you always do. Trust yourself."

Looking into her hopeful eyes, my heart tightened. I hated what I was about to do... but I could only respond with a small smile.

The notary soon began the second round.

"For the second round, both mothers will estimate their daughters’ total college entrance exam scores. Mr. Shaw has wagered 30% of the marital assets. Same rule: if the guess is within five points of the actual score, the one closest to it wins."

This time, Jade didn’t rush to write her answer. Instead, she turned to me with a mocking smile.

"Dear sister, perhaps you were nervous last round because I was too fast. Why don’t you go first this time?"

"Or maybe you’d like to consult your daughter? You can come up with an answer together—so no one accuses me of bullying someone from the countryside."

My daughter’s eyes lit up. She had already compared answers after the exam and was confident she could give me an accurate estimate.

But I gently stopped her.

She was too young to understand the traps hidden beneath Jade’s words. But I knew exactly what she was doing.

That fake kindness—suggesting I confer with my daughter—wasn’t generosity. It was bait. A test.

The original rules clearly stated that only the mother could guess the score. If I openly discussed it with my daughter, even if we won, they might use it to invalidate my answer.

"No need," I said firmly. "I’ve got it."

I quickly wrote down my estimate and handed it to the notary.

Seeing I didn’t take the bait, Jade didn’t push it. She soon handed over her own slip as well.

After glancing at both answers, the notary looked up and gave me a look—one that was hard to read.