Chapter 330 - 328: Are You the Ancient Greek Emissary of Fairness?

A private party?

The mere mention of a private party was enough to make Jasmine Sterling want to back out. It wasn’t the kind of scene she was used to or comfortable with at all.

So, she instinctively tried to decline. "I should probably sit this one out. I won’t know anyone, and you’ll have to spend all your time looking after me. You’ll have more fun if you just go by yourself."

"That’s precisely why I want to take you with me—because you don’t know them! Don’t feel like you’d be a burden. Making new friends is always a good thing!" Wendy Duncan urged.

Jasmine Sterling felt conflicted for a moment, but knowing her friend meant well, she stopped protesting. "Alright, I’ll go with you."

The next morning, it was a rare occasion where all three roommates had morning classes. When Cecilia Sterling woke up, Blair was just getting back from her morning run. Meanwhile, Estelle, who had stayed up all night binge-watching a show, was jolted awake by the alarm she had set.

Blair gave Estelle a curious look. "Oh? The princess isn’t getting her beauty sleep today?"

With her hair in a complete mess, Estelle sat up and tried to clear her head. "It’s the Abbess of Extinction’s class this morning," she grumbled. "I wouldn’t dare skip. I have to show up, even if I just end up sleeping at my desk."

After Estelle finally dawdled her way through washing up, the three of them left the dormitory together.

The sun was shining perfectly today, and a gentle breeze felt wonderfully refreshing against their skin.

"The weather’s getting warmer. We should go camping sometime," Estelle suggested on a whim.

Cecilia Sterling nodded, having no objection. She then looked over at Blair, who thought for a moment before agreeing, "Sure, why not? I can stream from anywhere."

She had signed with an agency now and had a monthly quota of hours to meet. She had to stream for a certain amount of time, so she couldn’t be as spontaneous as when she was an independent streamer.

Just as the group was walking and chatting, a girl with a delicate, pretty face suddenly stepped in front of them, blocking their path.

All three of them stopped in their tracks, their surprised gazes landing on the girl.

The girl was a complete stranger; none of the three recognized her in the slightest.

Under their confused gazes, the girl’s eyes finally settled on Estelle Goodman. It was obvious she was here for her.

Estelle Goodman furrowed her brow. "Looking for me?" she asked, puzzled.

"You’re Estelle Goodman, right?" the girl asked, her voice cold and her tone unfriendly.

At this, it wasn’t just Estelle Goodman’s expression that shifted slightly; the faces of Cecilia Sterling and Blair darkened as well.

The girl seemed to sense the change in their expressions, and her eyes couldn’t help but linger on Cecilia Sterling and Blair for a moment. More striking than their beauty was their powerful presence. Simply standing there, they exuded an intense and commanding aura that could feel almost condescending.

She quickly looked away, feeling intimidated. But then, remembering why she had come, she summoned her courage and looked back at Estelle. "Can I talk to you alone?"

The girl’s intentions were unclear, and her attitude was obviously hostile. Before Estelle could even open her mouth, Cecilia Sterling cut in, "Whatever you have to say, say it here."

Estelle Goodman didn’t react either. ’I don’t even know her, why would I talk to her alone?’

"If you have something to say, then say it. We’re in a hurry to get to class," Estelle prompted.

Seeing she had no choice, the girl gave a slight nod. Then, with a suddenly serious expression, she looked Estelle Goodman straight in the eye and said, "If you don’t like Charles Jennings, then please stop ordering him around all the time. You’re not a little kid. You even have him buy you things like pads. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?"

Estelle: "?"

"Besides, to you, he’s probably not even a backup option, is he? Since you have no feelings for him, you have no right to treat him this way. It’s not like he owes you anything!"

Estelle: "?"

"Are you Charles Jennings’s girlfriend?" Cecilia Sterling demanded, her face devoid of expression as she stared at the girl.

The girl’s expression faltered, and she shook her head in embarrassment. "No, I’m just..."

"If you’re not his girlfriend, then in what capacity are you lecturing Estelle right now?"

The girl blinked, trying to explain in a fluster, "I just feel like it’s unfair to Charles Jennings."

"Are you some kind of envoy of justice from Ancient Greece? Since when is it your job to judge fairness in other people’s business?" Cecilia Sterling shot back without mercy. "You have no actual intimate relationship with Charles Jennings, and you don’t know Estelle at all. In other words, you have zero social connection to either of them, yet here you are, running your mouth about whether their dynamic is ’fair.’ Who the hell do you think you are?"

"If you like Charles Jennings, then go confess to him. Go after him. Once you’ve actually won him over, then you can come back and stake your claim."

"Don’t just stand here blaming another woman for your own failure to win over the guy you like. That’s just pathetic, impotent rage. It’s not like Estelle told Charles Jennings he wasn’t allowed to date you."

"But she’s not dating Charles Jennings either! So why does she get to have him take care of her?" the girl retorted indignantly.

"Because Charles Jennings wants to! He feels physically ill if he’s not revolving around Estelle!" Cecilia Sterling enunciated every word. "You want to know why? Because she’s Estelle Goodman, and you’re a nobody. So she gets to, and you don’t. Got it?"

As soon as Cecilia Sterling finished speaking, Blair reached out, pulled the girl aside, and said coldly, "If you’re that bitter, go take your anger out on the guy. Showing up here to harass another woman for no reason just makes you look pathetic."

Estelle Goodman hadn’t said a single word throughout the entire confrontation. She was still trying to process the girl’s initial accusations. By the time she snapped out of it, Cecilia Sterling and Blair had already pulled her a good distance away.

"I’ve seen that girl before."

Cecilia Sterling suddenly spoke up, turning to look at the bewildered Estelle. "Charles Jennings asked me not to tell you, and I promised him I wouldn’t. I never thought she’d just come straight to you herself."

"Is... is she one of his pursuers?" Estelle asked.

Cecilia Sterling nodded. "I saw her on campus one day stuffing a love letter into Charles Jennings’s hands. It was even handwritten. But Charles Jennings didn’t seem to react at all."

Estelle Goodman wore a complicated expression. The girl’s words had clearly gotten to her.

"You’re not actually taking her words to heart, are you?" Cecilia Sterling’s brow furrowed as she leaned in close. "She’s a nobody spouting nonsense. You’re really going to let that bother you?"

Others might not understand, but Cecilia Sterling knew perfectly well what the dynamic between Estelle Goodman and Charles Jennings was like.

The two of them had been this way since they were children. Charles Jennings was used to taking care of everything for Estelle Goodman, and Estelle was used to being taken care of. Take the business with the pads, for instance. That was only because Estelle could never keep track of her cycle and had an embarrassing accident once because of it. That’s why Charles Jennings started buying them for her on a set schedule every month, just in case she forgot again.

It wasn’t a case of Estelle ordering him around.

It was an instinctive expression of just how much Charles Jennings cared for Estelle Goodman.

But the most important point was the one Cecilia Sterling had just made: you stake your claim only after you’re actually in a relationship. That girl was nobody to him, yet she had the audacity to come before Estelle, acting all high and mighty and telling her how to live her life. Of course, Cecilia was going to protect her friend.