Chapter 7: My Cousin Really Didn't Bully Me

Jillian Kyllyk turned to look. Somehow, Celia Greaves had already entered the classroom. With her back to everyone, she wrote two bold, sweeping characters on the blackboard. It was not just that she was too beautiful for people to keep talking. It was her presence. It felt as if she carried a powerful aura with her, one that made everyone in Class Twelve unconsciously soften their breathing, afraid to make a scene. She finished the final stroke and turned around. Her features looked as if they had been painted with a careful brush. Her voice stayed cool and flat. "Celia Greaves. Eighteen." And that was it. A few whistles rose from below the podium, but they were far quieter than before she had walked in. Jillian wanted Celia to say more, but the boss clearly had no interest in introductions, so Jillian could only fill the silence herself. "This is our new classmate, Celia Greaves. I hope everyone gets along this year, helps each other out, and improves together!" After a few more dry lines, Jillian ran out of things to add and cleared her throat. "Ahem. Celia, find a seat and sit down for now." Celia nodded. Her gaze landed on the only empty seat in the room. She walked straight over and sat. The girl beside her blushed and greeted her in a small voice. "Hi, Celia. I'm your deskmate. My name's Zinnia Wimple. If you have any questions, you can ask me." Zinnia Wimple had a sweet face. She was timid, and when she smiled, two adorable little fangs showed. Celia's eyes caught on those fangs, and she smiled. "Hi, deskmate. Could you take me to pick up my books later?" That smile hit like a field of flowers bursting into bloom, as if the world itself lost color beside it. Zinnia froze, and even her words stumbled. "S-sure, Celia. L-later we can go to the dining hall together, and then I'll take you to get your books, okay?" Seeing how dazed she looked, Celia nearly reached out to pinch her new deskmate's cheek. The smile in her eyes only deepened. "Okay." Zinnia kept chanting to herself that Celia was completely unfair. She covered her face, turned back around, and pretended to listen to the lesson. When class ended, plenty of students in Class Twelve wanted to come up and chat Celia up. But the moment the bell rang, Celia left with Zinnia and headed straight for the dining hall. And Celia's impact was exactly what you would expect. Almost the instant she appeared outside the classroom, students from other classes started staring. Some even secretly snapped photos and whispered questions about which class she was in and how they had never noticed a girl like this at school before. In the end, without even needing to agree out loud, everyone thought of the same thing: post the pictures on the Campus Forum. So along that short walk from the classroom to the dining hall, the news spread like wildfire across the forum. Class Twelve had a transfer student who was even prettier than the school beauty, Chloe Greaves… Celia knew none of it. She was used to those looks. She simply followed Zinnia toward the dining hall as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Zinnia had never been brave to begin with. Faced with so many eyes, she grew visibly stiff and awkward. Celia glanced sideways. Then, without warning, she slipped an arm around the girl's shoulders and lowered her voice near her ear. "Deskmate, can you tell me a little about the school?" The boss's voice carried a warm, magnetic edge, pleasant enough to make Zinnia's ears go hot. Zinnia's face flushed again, and she started chattering, telling Celia everything she could about the school. When she realized Celia listened with unusual patience, she grew even more animated. Little by little, she forgot all about the people watching them. In class one, Chloe stared at the problems on her test paper, but her mind drifted elsewhere. The transfer student news had already swept through the entire school. Even the top class was no exception. The forum was flooded with Celia's photos. Plenty of people were even saying the school beauty title was about to change hands. For some reason, unease coiled in Chloe's chest. Her deskmate, a round-faced girl, fumed. "Are people at our school idiots? Those pictures are edited to hell. Who even looks like that?" Chloe lowered her eyes. The hand holding her pen tightened. After a moment, she put on a gentle smile. "Serenity, don't say that. My cousin really is pretty." Serenity Dalton blinked in shock. "Cousin? Chloe, the new transfer student is your cousin?" Chloe gave a soft "Mm." "My dad brought her today to handle the transfer. My second uncle also asked my parents to take good care of her, so… don't talk about her like that anymore." Serenity instantly caught the key detail. "Why did she need your dad to bring her? And why would your parents need to take good care of her?" "Serenity, stop asking…" Chloe bit her lip, looking like she did not want to say more. But her eyes reddened slightly. Seeing that restrained, wronged look, Serenity panicked. "Chloe, what's wrong? Did that Celia bully you at home?" Chloe kept her gaze down, wiping at the corner of her eye in a fluster. She waved her hands, hurrying to explain, "No. My cousin really didn't bully me. My second uncle's family has it hard in the countryside. I should be more understanding toward my cousin. Don't overthink it." "She's from the countryside?" "She's living at your house and still bullying you?" Serenity blurted it out, shocked, and then her mind clicked into place. It was obvious what happened. Chloe's poor relative's daughter could not get into First High School on her own, so she forced Chloe's father to step in. And after moving into Chloe's home, she even dared to take advantage of Chloe's gentle nature and push her around. Shameless. Serenity's anger spilled into her voice. "Chloe, you're too kind. She got into First High School through your uncle's connections, didn't she? She bullies you, then shows up and makes this huge scene to steal your school beauty spot, and you're still defending her?" "Serenity, please stop." Chloe wiped her tears again and lowered her gaze back to the paper. "I still have Olympiad problems to do." "That's true. You're representing our school in the Provincial Math Olympiad." Serenity's eyes held a trace of envy, and beneath it, a faint, ugly mix of disappointment and jealousy. Chloe caught Serenity's expression from the corner of her eye and put that encouraging smile back on. "Serenity, you're not bad either. You just didn't do well this time. My dad is asking around for Crown First High School's internal practice papers. When he gets them, we'll look through them together." Serenity felt ashamed of her petty thoughts from a moment ago. The jealousy in her eyes vanished, leaving only gratitude. "Chloe, thank you. You're seriously the best." Crown First High School, named after their state, was the top-ranked school in all of Crown State. For years, no one had been able to surpass it. Their internal papers were so valuable people could not get them even if they begged. If she could work through Crown First High School's papers, her grades would definitely jump again. How could she stand by and let someone from the countryside bully someone as kind as Chloe? After thinking it over, Serenity picked up her phone and slipped out of the classroom as quietly as she could…