Since the basketball incident, Emily has become invisible to her classmates in the International Trade class. No one talks to her; they act as if she doesn't exist. When she walks by, they ignore her, and even her friendly greetings are met with silence, as if she were an annoying fly buzzing around. To them, spending time around someone they see as crazy makes others think they're crazy too. In their eyes, Emily's actions were no different from those of a madwoman.
It was clear to everyone that Ryan was in the wrong for hitting Wesley with the basketball and even striking Yuki, the class's pride. Yet Emily sided with him, apologizing on his behalf and running the 10,000 meters for him. Did she think acting this way would make her stand out as a "kind angel"? To her classmates, this wasn't kindness—it was a blatant act of opposition against them.
Elm Academy isn't some shoujo manga, and not every girl is a lovestruck fool easily swayed by a handsome face. Sure, Ryan is attractive and comes from a powerful family, but his arrogant behavior deserves consequences. Emily ruined that! She must be one of those girls who appear innocent but are actually calculating, drawn to Ryan's status and trying every trick to get his attention. How despicable!
The entire class decided to shun Emily with cold expressions. In the classroom, Daisy observed Emily, who sat alone in the corner, looking unwell with flushed cheeks and a persistent cough. Despite her vow to ignore Emily, Daisy had helped her to bed after the exhausting run.
"Why did you do it? Do you know what everyone is saying?" Daisy had scolded.
Emily could only weakly smile, apologizing. When Daisy urged her to stay away from Ryan, Emily hesitated and replied, "I can't."
"Why?!" Daisy asked, bewildered.
Emily remained silent, her face paler than the pillow, a quiet sadness in her eyes.
"Why?" Daisy demanded, her voice loud and insistent. "Don't tell me you love him! That's ridiculous! Are you a fool?" She scorned the idea, warning Emily not to become another Katherine or Norah, fighting over Ryan and ending up a laughingstock. Ryan, spoiled and fickle, would never genuinely care for any girl.
Emily simply thanked Daisy, smiling weakly. "I know you're just trying to look out for me," she said softly.
"Stop with the nonsense!" Daisy shouted, getting increasingly angry. "Just answer this: if something like this happens again, will you still do anything for Ryan?"
Emily gave a bitter smile, the kind that suggested she wasn't hesitating at all.
"Yes, I will," she replied, her eyes deepening with a complicated emotion. "I'm sorry, Daisy."
Frustrated, Daisy stormed off, fuming as she threw herself onto her bed and buried her head in a pillow. She vowed not to care about Emily anymore, yet couldn't help but worry as Emily's soft coughs echoed in the room.
Daisy glanced over at Emily again, feeling uneasy. The yogurt in her hand seemed tasteless. Emily had been weak since that 10K run and had been up late for two nights in a row, researching and writing until the early hours.
"She's going to ruin her health," Daisy muttered, setting her yogurt down. She turned to Yuki, who was busy with her studies.
"Emily seems sick," Daisy whispered.
Without looking up, Yuki replied coolly, "She's not a child. She should know how to take care of herself."
Daisy sighed, thinking that maybe, if Emily stopped chasing after Ryan, she could forgive her after all.
Daisy cast a quick glance outside the classroom.
Ryan was surrounded by a group of girls from another class. The girls were all beautiful in their own right—some were fresh and innocent, others radiant and glamorous, and a few exuded a delicate charm. Ryan had his arm draped around one of them, laughing loudly with an air of arrogant confidence. He then leaned down and placed a kiss on the girl's cheek. The girl blushed and shyly protested, while the other girls looked on with envious glimmers in their eyes.
He would never be interested in someone like Emily, with her gentle and refined beauty.
Daisy nodded.
Emily would soon come to her senses, she thought.
But—
Daisy was mistaken.
The class bell rang.
It was time for Human Resource Management.
Professor Louis walked up to the podium, set aside his lecture notes, and remained silent for a moment, his eyes sweeping over the students in the room. The students exchanged curious glances, sensing something unusual, and turned their attention to him.
"Ryan."
Louis finally located Ryan in the back row, lounging with his legs propped up on his desk.
Ryan looked at him with evident irritation.
Slowly, he lowered his legs and lazily stood up.
"Yes, Professor."
Louis retrieved a printed document from his briefcase.
"Your paper was excellent."
Ryan was stunned. "Paper?" What paper was he talking about?
"You see, the last paper you submitted was completely downloaded from the internet," Louis said, "I criticized you for it and asked you to resubmit it. I've reviewed the resubmitted version, and it's very well-written. It's clear that you put thought into it and consulted numerous sources." What Louis didn't mention was that he had originally suspected the paper might still be downloaded, so he spent half the evening using various search engines and keywords to verify its authenticity. To his surprise, the paper turned out to be genuinely original.
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
The class erupted in astonishment.