Chapter 106: Restless

"That’s it?!" Kiran shrieked. She clenched her fists, ready to slam the table, but settled on smacking Eric’s arm instead.

Eric jumped in surprise, turned to Kiran, shook his head, and went right back to eating, letting his arm serve as her personal punching bag.

"It’s totally unfair, right?! She’s going to ruin my class’s whole dynamic," Sonny whined, looking ready to burst into tears.

"Vivienne’s offense is way too severe for a slap on the wrist like that..." Noella added, equally flabbergasted.

Sonny continued explaining, "She also received two formal warnings. The first for her involvement in framing Shani, and the second for intentionally harming Nyx. If she gets caught making one more mistake, she’ll be expelled immediately."

As Sonny finished speaking, a few ruthless glints flickered in the eyes around the table.

Sonny shut his mouth, terrified that whatever brutal scheme they were cooking up might end up targeting him instead.

From a distance, a group of class 1 boys watched their table, discussing much the same topic.

"I read Kirana’s post. It said Shani isn’t joining House Ashbourne because of what Vivienne did."

"I don’t really get Shani Rowan’s mindset, honestly. Is giving up the backing of a prestigious family really better than clinging to pride and staying poor?" one of the boys asked.

Another student leaned in and whispered, "It’s not just about losing backing. Would you want to be the personal punching bag for that arrogant Vivienne?"

"It seems Shani Rowan made the right call after all," a few students chimed in, taking her side.

Still, others felt it was a wasted opportunity. "She has a powerful partner, she’s already a Direct Student candidate, and her late father was a Commander. If she held out, she could’ve become a pillar of House Ashbourne... maybe even the future family head."

His words instantly made the other students waver.

Garth, who had been sitting quietly among them, straightened up and finally spoke. "Is becoming the head of House Ashbourne really better than the prospects in Nova City?"

Garth’s words jolted everyone back to reality.

With her status as a Direct Student candidate, she had no need to leverage a position as a family head when far grander opportunities awaited her in Nova City.

"Forget House Ashbourne. What really matters is... look over there, there are six of them now!" A student gestured toward Shani’s table with a jerk of his chin.

"There’s the Prince and his partner, Kirana and Eric... which means Noella is... paired up with Sonny?!" Another student grimaced, glancing back and forth between the table and Garth.

"What do we do? They’re getting closer."

"Noella wouldn’t choose Sonny as her second resonance partner, right?"

"Hush! Watch your mouth. Sonny’s rank is way below Noella’s."

"Don’t you know a beauty trap can blind even the greatest minds?"

Garth kept his head down, focusing on his food and refusing to comment no matter how ridiculous his friends’ banter became.

After lunch, Garth skipped joining his friends to lounge on the fourth floor before afternoon classes. Instead, he headed straight to his dorm on the tenth floor.

Walking down the tenth-floor corridor, which was far bigger than the halls on the eighth floor, Garth’s gaze lingered on the door right next to his own.

He entered his room with a longing look. His eyes landed on a little jaguar that had just raised its head, locking eyes with him.

"Meow~" Arthy chirped in a cute, soft voice.

Garth sat at the edge of his bed and carefully lifted the baby beast onto his lap. Arthy shifted around until it found a comfortable spot before curling up.

Garth gently stroked Arthy’s soft fur, constantly making sure he didn’t exert too much pressure and hurt the little jaguar.

"Arthy, tonight we get to see your mother, but after that, it’s going to be another two weeks... Sigh."

Garth let out a heavy breath. This month, if not for their resonance sessions, Garth had barely interacted with Noella at all.

In Class 1, he no longer sat beside her, as the second-place spot was now occupied by Jeryon.

In other classes, Noella was always glued to Shani and Kiran, and the same held true during meals in the cafeteria.

Even when returning to the dorms, they always waited for one another, or Noella walked back with Jeryon.

His friends’ words from the cafeteria echoed in his head.

’Four of them are paired up, leaving only Noella and Sonny. Could they really be...?’ Garth let out another heavy sigh.

"Meoww...?" Sensing its father’s restlessness, Arthy looked up.

Garth rubbed the top of Arthy’s head with his thumb. "It looks like your mother might get stolen by another man."

...

Wednesday marked Shani’s third day of training with Elias, an ordeal that continued to drain both her physical and mental energy.

She stepped out of the Training Hall to find Jeryon already changed into their blazer uniform, while she remained in her sweat-soaked athletic gear.

She planned to change back in her room anyway, so there was no point in wasting time in the locker room.

Shani didn’t question Jeryon’s choice of attire, knowing he probably wasn’t ready to be seen wearing the Ribbon Club’s bodysuit just yet.

"Where’s Eric?" Shani asked, glancing around.

"He wanted to stay behind to practice for his performance test," Jeryon replied.

The two of them made their way toward the elevator.

"Instructor Theron told me about your second baby beast. I think... now is a good time," Jeryon muttered, trying his best to sound nonchalant, even as he wiped his clammy hands, which were wet not from heat, but from sheer nerves.

Shani felt just as flustered hearing that. She hadn’t expected Jeryon to bring it up so directly.

"Yeah, now is a good time," Shani mumbled, her mouth barely moving.

Even though her response was practically a muffled whisper, Jeryon still managed to catch every word.

It felt as if a pink balloon had popped inside his chest, flooding him with a warm, rosy glow while a wide smile curled the corners of his lips.

...