Chapter 70: Prelude to Annulment Ceremony (1)
The students couldn’t do anything now that Zeke had already stepped in. They still whispered among themselves and cast sideways glances at Aisha whenever they passed by her, but none of them dared to pull out their terminals to record her anymore.
Perrie, who had been the loudest of the group moments ago, quickly smoothed her expression into something gentler. She couldn’t say anything with a professor standing right there watching them.
"Aisha," she said, tilting her head with a small smile. "We should catch up sometime. Just the two of us, maybe after classes end for the day?"
Aisha didn’t answer. She looked at the girl for a long second before turning to leave.
Perrie wasn’t offended by her lack of response. That was just how Aisha usually acted, so cold and reserved.
Ever since Aisha’s accident happened and she was hospitalized, no one from Aisha’s old circle wanted anything to do with her. They were very quick about it as they scattered to surround other Queen Bees in the academy so they could get to their side and join their circle. And recently, Irene was the most ideal girl for them to stand with.
With Irene’s rank as an S-ranked Guide, her wealthy family backing her, and even the three great powerhouses on the planet eyeing her, they absolutely couldn’t waste a chance to get connected with her.
And ever since the engagement annulment had spread across the academy, those who still had thoughts of taking advantage of Aisha using her engagement with the prince were disappointed.
Perrie had also heard all sorts of things about Class 7-D too, how it was full of nobodies, students who’d been pushed aside because they weren’t worth anyone’s time. To think Aisha would be demoted there? Was it coincidence or maybe fate?
A person like Aisha Novalis, who had once looked down on everyone because she was the prince’s fiancee and the top academic student, would never lower herself to actually befriend people from that class. That could only mean that Aisha is now alone.
Perrie could already picture it. She’d get close to Aisha, coax her into meeting outside academy grounds where no professors were watching, and then quietly record everything. A disgraced former fiancée of the prince, caught saying something scandalous or acting inappropriately. It was the kind of footage that would spread across the GaiaNet Forum within hours.
She imagined the comments piling up, taking her post to the top and earning a lot of star credits from it!
Maybe even a talent scout from the entertainment sector would notice her and ask her to sign a contract with them. Then, she’ll become the most popular star celebrity on the planet? Wait... maybe not just in Gaia, but in the entire galaxy!
Her eyes quickly sparkled as she had already thought of what to do when she became a big celebrity.
Then she left with a satisfied little bounce in her step and hurried off to share the news with her friends, the same girls who used to trail after Aisha back when she was still engaged to Prince Soren.
[Perrie]: Guess what? Who I’m meeting up with later outside academy grounds!!
[CC]: Who?
[Perrie]: She’s someone you all should know. wink, wink~
[Abi:] Wait, no way... Is it Aisha?
[CC]: What?
[Usa]: Tell me the exact location! I’ll hide somewhere and livestream it! I’ve always wanted to see her know her own place!
***
Meanwhile, Aisha said nothing because she had nothing to say to someone like that.
She didn’t know exactly what Perrie was planning, but she had lived long enough, in both worlds, to recognize the look of someone circling for an opportunity.
While she had been in the hospital, not one person from her old ’friends’ had visited. Not one message had come through her terminal from any of them. And after she’d been discharged and returned to the academy, none of them had approached her either. Not until they’d caught wind that she’d been demoted. And even then, they only laughed from a safe distance.
Aisha didn’t care.
She was already used to this. In her old world, people helped you when you had supplies, weapons, or information they wanted. The moment you had nothing left to offer, they vanished, sometimes taking whatever you did have with them on the way out, leaving you with nothing.
She had learned to cut ties before people could cut them for her. She had learned to stop feeling anything about it a long time ago. It was one of the few skills that had kept her alive when nothing else could.
This wasn’t even something she should even be thinking about... Right now, she should be searching for whoever gave her the three gifts from last night.
Their identities were still a secret from her, and why would they send it to her?
And another problem was, she couldn’t think of anyone who would have reason to.
She’d only interacted with a handful of people since arriving in this world. Her classmates. A few professors. Her family. A few strangers she had crossed paths with once and never spoke to again.
Then a name surfaced in her mind.
Stopping in her tracks, she wondered... Could it be him?
But before she could continue her line of thought, she felt a presence behind her.
"Instructor Zeke," she said without turning around. "Do you have a hobby of following your students around?"
A low chuckle answered her.
It caught her off guard enough that she actually raised an eyebrow and turned around to look at him. She hadn’t heard him laugh before, not once, and the sound of it was low and smooth in a way that made her want to hear it again, which annoyed her slightly.
And he looked even more handsome when he had a smile on his lips.
"We are walking to the same room, at the same time, for a class I am assigned to teach," Zeke said, his tone slightly amused. "I am not following you. You are simply slow, and you happen to be in my line of sight. What exactly is distracting you enough to forget that?"
She stared at him for a moment. She contemplated whether to tell him about her suspicion of Nykos giving her a gift, but she didn’t have enough evidence, and she still had no idea who the other two senders were.
She decided not to tell him about it.
Before she could reply to his earlier question, he spoke again.
Zeke said, "There are things we cannot control. But you only need to focus on what is ahead of you, not what is left behind..." He paused for a second before adding, "And don’t let this be an excuse to get a lower grade in class."
Then he walked past her, continuing down the corridor without waiting for a response.
Aisha stood there for a moment, watching his back, and found herself smiling faintly. So he wasn’t as stone-faced as she’d assumed. He’d actually tried to give her advice, in his own roundabout way.
She followed after him into the classroom.