Chapter 540 - 536: Seraphina Is Just the Beginning

As the math department’s belle and one of the most popular freshmen, the news that Seraphina had announced her new relationship on her social media feed spread quickly through the department.

Her boyfriend was also a well-known figure at Lorcain U, though famous for different reasons. Owen Griffin’s reputation as a rich kid from Lorcain was common knowledge. While their relationship was surprisingly sudden, upon further thought, it also made a certain kind of sense.

Of course, Ethan Sterling wasn’t the only one with a broken heart, but he was certainly the quickest to come to terms with it.

The next day, in the cafeteria during lunch break.

Renee Reid and Jameson Stone sat across from him. Renee’s malatang had gone cold, untouched, and Jameson’s noodles had clumped together.

Only Ethan Sterling, sitting before them, was wolfing down his teriyaki beef and fatty beef combo rice bowl.

Seeing this, the two of them grew even more worried.

"Aren’t you going to eat?"

Ethan Sterling finished eating and looked up to find that neither of them had touched their chopsticks. They were just staring intently at him. "Can you get full just by looking at me?"

"Are you okay?" Renee Reid asked, her face full of worry.

Jameson Stone pursed his lips, annoyed. He had previously expressed his disapproval of Ethan Sterling chasing Seraphina and gradually losing himself in the process. The fact that the relationship went nowhere only confirmed his original stance.

Having a good impression of someone doesn’t mean you like them.

And liking someone doesn’t mean you can actually be together.

Ethan Sterling understood this principle now.

"I’m fine. You’re still not reassured even when I’m eating?" Ethan Sterling joked, looking completely unfazed. "If I didn’t eat, you’d just have to persuade me to take a few bites anyway, right? I might as well just eat on my own."

"You’re really okay?" Jameson Stone spoke up, skeptical of Ethan’s condition. He thought he was just putting on a brave face.

Ethan Sterling nodded and answered honestly, "At first, it was a little hard to accept. I was prepared for Seraphina to choose someone else, but what I couldn’t accept was that it was Owen Griffin. You guys know what he’s like. I’m afraid Seraphina..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, because he felt he had no right to.

"That’s her own choice. Whether it turns out good or bad, she’s the one who has to be responsible for it," Jameson Stone said.

"I get it." Ethan Sterling pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. "It was my first time, you know? No experience chasing a girl, just went for it because I liked her. I don’t regret it. This is fine, too."

Whether it was actually fine or not, Renee Reid and Jameson Stone couldn’t know, but they were definitely on Ethan Sterling’s side.

Renee Reid smiled. "Good thing you never found a gift you were satisfied with. Now you don’t have to rack your brain anymore."

Ethan Sterling smiled, too.

Jameson Stone watched him with a complicated expression, then slowly let out a heavy breath.

Having successfully won over Seraphina, the first thing Owen Griffin wanted to do was naturally to flaunt it in front of Ethan Sterling.

This had been his primary motivation for the whole thing. Ethan Sterling had tricked him once, and he’d held a grudge about it ever since.

In the utility room, Ethan Sterling walked in and saw Owen Griffin leaning against the window. His expression immediately hardened. "You were looking for me?"

Owen Griffin’s lips curved into a smirk as he raised an eyebrow and gave a slight nod.

Ethan Sterling immediately turned to leave, but Owen Griffin’s voice drifted over airily. "What? Thinking of running away just because you lost?"

Ethan Sterling froze and slowly turned back. "Lost? You chased Seraphina just to beat me?"

Owen Griffin just smiled, neither confirming nor denying it. This made Ethan Sterling’s face instantly turn cold.

He strode up to Owen Griffin in two steps, glaring at him fiercely as he demanded, "What do you take Seraphina for?"

"She’s my girlfriend now. What I take her for is my business. Do you have any right to butt in?" Owen Griffin said provocatively.

Ethan Sterling clenched his fists. Looking at Owen Griffin’s face, he really wanted to just punch him.

But his reason prevailed. As much as Owen Griffin hated him, even he had refrained from starting a fight on campus. Ethan knew the consequences of doing so as well.

Seeing him struggling to hold back, Owen Griffin grew even more pleased. "Think I’m a psycho? Fine by me. I quite like that persona. Ethan Sterling..."

He leaned his head forward slightly and lowered his voice. "I’ve been used to getting whatever I want since I was a kid. There’s nothing I want that I can’t get. You shouldn’t have provoked me, made me lose face, and tricked me. You wanted to see me make a fool of myself? Fine. Now I’ve got my eye on you. Anything you want, I’ll make sure you don’t get it. The days are long. Seraphina is just the beginning."

Rage burned in Ethan Sterling’s chest, but in the end, his fists loosened slightly, and he let out a scoff.

Owen Griffin looked at him. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing." Ethan Sterling suppressed all his emotions and looked at Owen Griffin calmly. "Remember what you just said. You’d better be able to back it up."

Seeing Ethan Sterling still pretending to be tough and talking big at a time like this, Owen Griffin felt nothing but contempt. "Whether I can or not, you’ll find out if you try me."

Ethan Sterling couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on someone like him and turned to walk out of the utility room. But just as he was about to take the final step out, Owen Griffin suddenly spoke again. "But don’t you find it strange?"

Ethan Sterling stopped once more, turning back to look at Owen Griffin with suspicion, not understanding the meaning behind his baffling words.

Owen Griffin gave a mocking smile, ready to discard the tool now that the job was done. If he could hold such a deep grudge against Ethan Sterling for a single prank, how could he possibly tolerate Victor Tucker trying to threaten and control him?

"How did I know you liked Seraphina?"

"I knew every single move you made concerning her, including your one and only date. It was to the aquarium, wasn’t it?"

"Preparing a surprise for her birthday in advance, then using the momentum to confess... I have to say, that move really works. I tried it out for you, and I succeeded!"

The more Owen Griffin spoke, the wider the smile on his face grew, and the more Ethan Sterling listened, the darker his expression became.

"You’re a smart guy. You should understand what I mean, right?"

Ethan Sterling’s breath caught in his throat. He clenched his back teeth, his handsome face flushing red with fury.

The rage he felt in that moment was greater than any he had ever felt before. This was a betrayal by a friend, and that was something he couldn’t just ignore.

Victor Tucker didn’t get back to the dorm until around seven or eight that evening. He was humming a song as he pushed the door open, a camera hanging around his neck, clearly in a good mood.

But when he saw Ethan Sterling, Wayne, and Rabbit all sitting in their chairs and looking up at him simultaneously with blank expressions, his own expression froze. His heart instinctively dropped with a THUD.

The lingering smile on his lips hadn’t had a chance to fade before he forced a relaxed grin and asked, "What’s up? Why are you all looking at me?"

Wayne stood up and slowly walked toward Victor Tucker. Victor was feeling guilty, and when he felt guilty, his hands always made some small, fidgety movement. His particular movement was to turn around and close the door.

"So you do have some sense of shame, knowing to close the door." Wayne’s first words were dripping with sarcasm as his gaze fell on the camera around Victor Tucker’s neck. "Isn’t that camera borrowed? It’s been over a month, hasn’t it? What kind of connection do you have that someone would lend you such an expensive camera for over a month without asking for it back? Or was it... a gift?"

Victor Tucker’s expression stiffened. He subconsciously flicked his eyes toward Ethan Sterling and Rabbit, a clear flash of panic in their depths.