Chapter 483 - 479: Wicked and Spineless

Reggie Hale knew Cindy Underwood didn’t like Cecilia Sterling, and her last comment was clearly aimed at Cecilia.

But when Thalassa Bowman spoke up, Reggie Hale immediately got nervous. He didn’t want to get on Thalassa’s bad side, so he gave Cindy a gentle poke.

Cindy Underwood made a face that said, ’Fine, whatever,’ and nodded, not saying anything more.

Wyatt Sherman leaned over and whispered in Cecilia Sterling’s ear, "Don’t worry. There’ll definitely be enough to eat."

Cecilia just smiled without a word. Of course she wasn’t worried.

Another twenty minutes passed before a black sedan finally pulled up slowly.

The arrival of another car in the middle of nowhere instantly drew everyone’s attention. As they watched, it came to a neat stop right where they were parked.

The car door opened and Duane, wearing sunglasses, got out of the driver’s seat. He took off the shades and scanned the crowd, looking for Cecilia.

When he spotted her, he waved from a distance. Then he opened the back door, reached in with both hands, and pulled out two tiered, wooden, insulated food containers.

"Who’s that?" someone asked in surprise.

Cecilia stood up and explained, "A friend of mine. I asked him to run an errand and bring some things over for us all to share."

With that, Cecilia started walking toward Duane. Seeing this, Wyatt Sherman quickly followed to help.

With outsiders present, Duane didn’t dare use a formal address. He just said, "I was afraid it wouldn’t be enough, so I bought a lot. There’s more in the car."

"Wyatt, go give him a hand," Cecilia said, looking at Wyatt Sherman.

Wyatt nodded, pulled two more containers from the car, and told Cecilia there was still more.

Just like that, the three of them each carried two containers—a total of six, each with five tiers.

Once the food was set down, Duane immediately said his goodbyes to Cecilia. "I’m heading out. Call me if you need anything."

He was different from these university students. You could clearly tell from his appearance, demeanor, and overall presence that he was a man with worldly experience.

So, as the students looked at Duane, they all felt like they were looking at an elder.

Someone even called out an invitation, "Hey man, why don’t you stay and hang out with us?"

Duane just smiled, waved his hand in refusal, and after Cecilia said, "Thanks for the trouble," he left without a backward glance.

Cecilia and Wyatt began opening the food containers. As they lifted the lid of each tier, they revealed rows of beautifully arranged sushi. It was obvious at a glance that this was high-end cuisine made with top-quality ingredients.

The last two containers held raw ingredients for grilling: premium Yashima wagyu, eel, enormous scallops, and more.

Everyone’s eyes went wide at the sight. Most of them were from ordinary families; they had only ever seen such top-tier cuisine and ingredients in short-form videos.

The marbling on the snowflake wagyu really did look like snowflakes.

The roe on the king scallops was half the size of a palm.

The freshly killed live eel was even still twitching.

"Cecilia, this must have been expensive, right?" Thalassa Bowman suddenly spoke up, looking at Cecilia. "All the expenses for this camping trip are being split evenly. Tell Wyatt how much you spent on this later, and we’ll add it to the total cost. Everyone will chip in; we can’t let you spend so much money by yourself."

As the student council president, Thalassa was always fair and just. Even if what Cecilia bought was expensive, she wanted everyone to share the cost. No matter how pricey, it wouldn’t be much when divided among so many people, but for one person, it would be a significant expense.

But Cecilia clearly had no intention of doing that.

She explained, "My friend and I feel bad for suddenly joining you midway through. Consider this our contribution. There’s no need for everyone to chip in. Otherwise, we’d feel guilty and wouldn’t be able to enjoy ourselves."

"Please, don’t stand on ceremony. I think the most important thing is to have fun. I brought all this to share with everyone."

As she spoke, Cecilia put on a pair of gloves, took out a piece of salmon nigiri, and offered it to Thalassa. "Thalassa, you have the first bite."

Seeing this, Thalassa accepted it with a smile. "Thank you."

Then someone started catcalling, "Cecilia, Wyatt fed you beef earlier! You’ve gotta return the favor!"

"Don’t talk nonsense," Wyatt shot the person a glare. But when he turned his head back, a piece of ark shell nigiri was right at his lips.

Cecilia looked at him and said, "Come on, open up!"

The scene made all the guys scream and cheer.

Surprised and delighted, Wyatt quickly opened his mouth and ate the sushi Cecilia fed him in one bite. He grinned foolishly at her as he chewed.

Cindy Underwood’s heart clenched at the sight. She secretly tightened her fists, then asked at a completely inappropriate moment, "Cecilia, who was that man just now?"

Her question once again drew everyone’s attention, and the curious ones instinctively looked at Cecilia.

Duane wasn’t a conventionally handsome man, but he had been by Wesley Yates’s side for years, carrying out ruthless deeds without batting an eye. As a result, he had an undeniable presence.

What kind of relationship could a person like that have with Cecilia?

Cecilia looked at Cindy, catching the triumphant and provocative glint in her eyes.

"A friend," she replied blandly.

But Cindy wouldn’t let it go. "A friend? What kind of friend would drive all this way under the scorching sun on such a hot day just to bring you things?"

Her passive-aggressive tone was clearly meant to stir everyone up and make them think the worst.

Cecilia’s gaze turned cold as she looked at her. She scoffed, "What kind of answer are you hoping to hear? That he’s pursuing me? A backup boyfriend? Or something else?"

Cindy pressed her lips together, still maintaining her innocent facade. "I wouldn’t know about that. But with you, nothing would surprise me. After all, you’re so beautiful. You’ve had tons of guys chasing you since you started university."

"So you’ve always been jealous of me, is that it?"

Cecilia’s light, airy comment instantly set off Cindy, who had been putting on an act. "Who—who’s jealous of you? Don’t be ridiculous!"

"Am I wrong?" A cold smirk played on Cecilia’s lips. She tilted her head slightly, eyeing Cindy with icy disdain, and said in a slow, deliberate tone, "Because the guy you liked was into me, you got jealous. You teamed up with our other two roommates to isolate and bully me. You wouldn’t dare deny it, would you?"

Cecilia’s words made everyone present frown, including Cindy’s boyfriend, Reggie Hale.

But it was only for a moment. Reggie chose to believe in Cindy. ’She’s not that kind of person.’

A pained look appeared in Wyatt Sherman’s eyes. It all suddenly clicked into place for him—why Cindy had been deliberately targeting Cecilia.

"I didn’t! Don’t listen to her nonsense!" Cindy panicked. She never expected Cecilia to just air their dirty laundry in front of everyone like this.

Cecilia didn’t care whether she admitted it or not. Cindy getting flustered meant her goal was achieved.

Cecilia sneered. "You’re the same as always. Nasty and gutless!"