As compared to before, Harmony was not taking down notes.
She was simply staring out the window, not even the instructor's words would enter her ears.
Clara furrowed her brows; she felt like something was not right with this person.
"Hey, why are you not taking notes? Should I do it this time for you?"
"…"
Clara shrugged before she continued taking notes.
Once the bell rang, Harmony stood up and left. Clara followed her in a rush.
"Did something happen? You don't look good."
She tried to reach out, but Harmony stepped a bit to the side, evading her hand.
Clara blinked. 'This girl is becoming more brazen at ignoring me. Who does she think she is?'
She took a deep breath. 'No, from all the investigations from her high school, she was already someone who rarely interacts. A mediocre student who hangs in the middle of her class from the get-go.'
She didn't need to bother with her attitude. What she needed was to ensure that she could get close to Shawn through this person who took his interest.
'Though he is an oddball, wanting to get close to someone as boring as her.'
She ran after Harmony, but as she got out of the building, she found Harmony speaking with Gabriel, with Shawn silently standing beside him.
"The books you gave me, where could I get more of them?"
Gabriel was already done with the books he had, and he felt like asking Harmony if she could recommend or even let him borrow more.
Shawn slightly furrowed his brows while looking at her face.
Harmony slightly shook her head, "They were books I had, but they were bought… by someone else. I just finished reading them."
"Should I return them?" Gabriel suddenly felt like asking.
She once again shook her head, "I gave them to you, so they are yours…"
She paused and thought for a bit, "But I can let you borrow other books related to what you are taking. Some of them are no longer bought anywhere else. I'll send you a list."
"Thanks, that's a lot of help," Gabriel said.
Harmony nodded.
"Woah, I did not expect you to speak that much."
Gabriel and Shawn noticed her brows slightly twitching at the voice they just heard.
When they looked over, Shawn instantly recognized her.
But she seemed to only be interested in Harmony.
She walked over and got close to her.
"I hope you can speak with me more. It's boring speaking to air, you know," Clara continued, goofily looking at her.
Gabriel checked the time. He still had a class. He was not interested in any of this.
"Thanks, I'll wait for your message. I'll get going now," he bid her goodbye.
Harmony nodded again before turning to leave herself.
Clara pouted, "Geez, hey! Wait for me, let's go out of the school together."
She followed after Harmony without even looking at Shawn.
"That girl…"
When Shawn started speaking, Gabriel was ready to walk to his next room.
"The one following her?" Gabriel asked.
"No, not her," Shawn shook his head.
But he did know who that person was. Of course, even if he was still not seriously getting into that world, he was aware of most of those prominent families that also influenced the globe.
"Harmony, she…" he trailed off.
Gabriel thought for a bit before blinking in realization. He had not noticed it when he was speaking with her, but now that Shawn pointed it out—
He sighed in frustration, "That girl, again…"
"I'll go after her," Shawn replied.
"Hey!" Gabriel started.
"Don't worry, I won't cause her trouble," Shawn instantly said.
Gabriel shook his head. Not that he could do anything about her either. Shawn lived near her, so he should check on her.
'Once again, you are about to collapse,' he thought before finally going to his class.
…
"Hey!"
Clara continued following her, but the moment they stepped out of the school premises, Harmony disappeared into the crowd.
Clara stomped her foot in irritation.
'Well, I suppose it is fine. I get to show myself to him without letting him see it as me trying to get close to him.'
With that, she changed her mind and walked in a different direction.
On the other hand, Harmony glanced back. She had finally lost her.
It was a good thing the outside was crowded; she did not have too much difficulty losing her while blending into the crowd.
She frowned when she once again felt the stinging pain in her head.
'Every single time I have to enter that place…'
She sighed.
When she went home, it went the way it always did.
Her mother would suddenly lash out at her, and then her father would completely ignore whatever it was she was doing.
Her brother could only clench his hands into fists.
She had to be home, or she'd face worse.
But coming home also entailed many things.
'Ah…'
Her eyes were closing while she sat on the train.
'…this is bad. I'm too sleepy.'
She was trying her best to stay awake in class lest the professor notice her, but it seemed she was at her limit.
'Even though I've been having all-nighters a lot of times, I guess what happened last night was still too much.'
Her eyes slowly closed despite giving it her all to stay awake.
'I hope I'd wake up at the station.'