Chapter 40: Friends Who Believed in Her
Kiran was already waiting outside Shani’s class with a panicked expression.
"What’s wrong?" Shani asked, walking up to her.
"There’s a strange rumor spreading in my class group chat— Not just mine. I think the other classes already know too."
Kiran noticed the other students looking at them with disdain while whispering among themselves. Normally, they only gave them curious, gossip-filled looks.
Shani checked her smartwatch. If the rumor had already spread to the other classes, then her class should know too.
But her class chat was strangely quiet. Instead, the ’Three Beauties with One Heartthrob’ group showed several unread messages.
She opened the chat and found a screenshot from one of the academy forum posts.
"Shani Rowan, Prince Jeryon’s partner from Class 5, is actually an F-Rank. Is it really possible for an F-Rank to successfully resonate when even A-Ranks and B-Ranks couldn’t?"
The deliberately provocative title, openly displaying both her and Jeryon’s names, made Shani frown.
Sonny: The original post has already been deleted, but a lot of people took screenshots. I only got this from one of my classmates.
Sonny: Shani, are you really an F-Rank?
Beside her, Kiran fidgeted. She really wanted to smack Sonny’s face the next time she saw him.
"Don’t bother replying to Sonny’s nonsense. You know what he’s like," Kiran said, trying to comfort Shani, though she was clearly the more anxious one.
Shani looked up from her smartwatch, staring straight at Kiran.
"When I enrolled in this academy, I really was an F-Rank. I wasn’t trying to hide it from you. I just... never found the right time to tell you."
’Besides, I’m not an F-Rank anymore. And my rank will only keep rising,’ Shani added in her mind.
Kiran fell silent. The reassuring words she’d prepared got stuck in her throat. Her brain seemed to short-circuit.
Just then, Jeryon walked over from the elevators.
"You’re not going to the cafeteria?" he asked, noticing the two girls standing outside the classroom.
Kiran snapped out of her shock. She blinked, then looked at Shani again, trying to figure out whether Shani was joking.
Meanwhile, Shani was already replying to Sonny in the group chat.
Shani: I did enroll in this academy as an F-Rank.
Shani: As for my resonance with Jeryon, it really succeeded. There wasn’t any manipulation or anything like that.
Surprisingly, Noella replied almost immediately, as if she’d been quietly reading the conversation the whole time.
Noella: According to existing research, rank doesn’t affect the success rate of resonance.
Noella: Prince Jeryon’s condition is something even the royal medical team and the kingdom’s researchers still don’t fully understand.
Noella: Therefore, there’s no reason Shani couldn’t become Prince Jeryon’s partner.
Shani was genuinely surprised by Noella’s reply. ’Is she... defending me with a logical explanation?’
Meanwhile, Kiran finally found her voice. "Shani, you... Don’t tell me you’re sorry. Your rank isn’t a crime."
When Shani looked back at her, Kiran bit her lips, then continue,
"I’m sorry for my reaction. I’m just... a little surprised. I mean, you’re a prodigy. You even became the first pair to successfully resonate. I’m just... proud of you."
It was the result of her carefully piecing her thoughts together, one word at a time.
’My mouth is too clumsy. I still don’t think I said it well enough,’ she thought, hoping her words wouldn’t be misunderstood.
Ding!
Before Shani could respond, her smartwatch chimed with a pair of new messages.
Sonny: Yup! Shani is special.
Sonny: Besides, there are plenty of ways to raise your rank.
Off to the side, Jeryon didn’t know the full story, but Kiran’s words were enough to tell him something was wrong.
He walked over to Shani, gently patted her shoulder, and looked at her with quiet reassurance, silently telling her that whatever happened, he would stand by her.
A faint sting rose in Shani’s nose. She quickly closed her eyes before tears could well up.
To Shani, Feline Tower had always felt like a battlefield. Even with Damon, Kiran, and Jeryon by her side, she’d never truly been able to relax.
That was why she had tried to subtly avoid talking about her rank.
She’d always believed that if people found out, the ridicule she’d receive would be far worse than the criticism she’d already faced for becoming Jeryon’s partner.
But seeing her friends openly support her... It felt like a sailor finally catching sight of land after months lost at sea.
When she opened her eyes again, Kiran and Jeryon could see that her crimson eyes had become glassy.
"Thank you... Kiran. Jeryon," Shani said, lowering her head. "I’m going back to my room to grab something. You two go ahead to the cafeteria."
She turned and walked away, quickening her pace.
At first, Kiran wanted to chase after her. But in the end, she stopped, deciding to give Shani some time alone. At least now, Shani knew that Kiran didn’t care about her rank.
Jeryon also chose not to follow.
The two of them walked to the cafeteria in silence.
Kiran felt her fingers curl awkwardly from how uncomfortable the atmosphere was.
The moment she spotted Noella, she immediately walked over. "Ella, come eat with me."
Noella nodded and let Kiran lead her over to where Jeryon was.
Kiran didn’t realize that Noella had been walking with Garth and his friends.
Garth’s friends immediately turned to look at him.
Garth noticed Noella leaving with Kiran, but he didn’t comment. He simply continued chatting with his friends.
His friends responded, but inwardly they felt frustrated on his behalf.
Especially when Sonny, who had been eating with the Class 2’s students, walked over to join Kiran and Noella.
The group of boys exchanged meaningful glances. Another plan quietly began taking shape in their minds.
...
Shani walked alone through the dormitory hallway. She needed some time by herself to sort through these unfamiliar emotions.
Lost in thought, she almost walked past her room when she noticed a girl standing in front of her door.
"Are you going to pretend you don’t see me?" the girl asked coldly.
Shani snapped out of her daze and turned toward the voice.
Leah Benett?
...