Chapter 614 - 610: Beautiful, Afraid?

Owen Griffin was feeling a little embarrassed about subconsciously sniffing himself when he heard Seraphina say the braised food had gone bad.

It was as if his sensitivity had found the perfect trigger. His expression darkened as he snatched up the plate of braised food and stormed over to the service window.

At that moment, Seraphina didn’t think much of it. If the food was spoiled, it was only natural to go and demand an explanation from the stall’s cook.

But a moment later, the sound of something smashing, followed by a torrent of furious shouting, shattered the relative quiet of the cafeteria.

"It’s spoiled! Don’t you get it? This stuff has gone bad!"

"You’re selling this shit when it’s fucking spoiled? Who’s responsible if it makes someone sick?"

"Can’t you smell how rotten it is? Here, you eat it! See for yourself if it’s spoiled!"

Owen Griffin swiped the chopstick container off the counter, sending chopsticks scattering across the floor. His face was flushed red as he raged, the word "spoiled" punctuating his every sentence. It was as if he were trying to vent his own humiliation, to desensitize himself through sheer repetition.

It was as though if he just said it enough times, it would no longer bother him.

The other students in the cafeteria gathered around curiously. Seeing how furious the young man was, the cook at the braised food stall didn’t dare argue. He just kept apologizing and offered to refund his money.

"Owen!"

Seraphina heard the commotion and ran over. She took Owen’s hand and said soothingly, "It’s okay. I didn’t even get to eat any of it. Please don’t be so angry."

She comforted him in a soft, quiet voice, believing he was only angry on her behalf.

None of the students watching criticized him. From a consumer’s standpoint, he hadn’t done anything wrong. The stall had sold spoiled food, which put Owen on the moral high ground. His anger, however he expressed it, had a perfectly justifiable basis.

After all, food safety could be a serious issue, so no one would guess he was just using the situation as an excuse to vent.

Owen finally let up after venting his anger and allowed Seraphina to pull him out of the cafeteria.

As it happened, Renee Reid witnessed the entire scene. She secretly recorded a short video and sent it to their small group’s WhatsApp chat.

"Is this Owen guy a total rage case? If it weren’t for the glass partition at that stall, I feel like he would’ve gone in and flipped the whole thing over."

A moment later, Jameson Stone replied after watching the video: "I can understand being angry about spoiled food, but he looked like he was about to explode. Knowing him, he probably had something else go wrong today. This plate of food was just the fuse that lit the bomb."

As a girl herself, Renee typed worriedly, "I think Owen has violent tendencies..."

Jameson Stone: "You’re not wrong to feel that way. He’s never been what you’d call normal."

Ethan Sterling still hadn’t replied, and Renee belatedly realized she probably shouldn’t have brought up Owen in the group chat, especially since the video also showed Seraphina.

But the next second, Jameson Stone tagged Ethan directly. "Ethan, what are you up to? Haven’t heard a peep from you all day!"

Ethan quickly surfaced. "Doing renovations. I’m short-handed. If you two are free, feel like helping out? I’ll pay!"

Renee blinked, then immediately asked, "Where? I don’t have any classes today!"

「Solara Tower.」

Ethan Sterling couldn’t wait to start renovating his Esports Base.

He hadn’t originally planned a major overhaul, but since his sister had bought the place for him, he decided to renovate it properly. Now that it was his, he was going to decorate it exactly in his own style.

The first step was to completely clear out the interior. Golden Blade, Caelum, and Monkey had all come to help.

Ethan had wanted to hire professional movers, but Golden Blade and the others insisted they could do it themselves. They told Ethan to just pay them the money he would have spent on the crew.

Ethan had no problem with that. Some of the bigger items required a hand truck, so he went and bought one.

"Ethan, if you don’t want this stuff anymore, could you give it to us?"

Golden Blade asked, a little embarrassed. He only brought it up because Ethan had said he was throwing it all away.

The place was fully furnished with all sorts of things—sofas, tables, chairs, and appliances like a refrigerator, TV, and washing machine. Even if it was all secondhand, it was a waste to throw away.

’All of it was much nicer than the things they had at home.’

"Of course," Ethan readily agreed. "I’ll find a truck later to deliver it to your places. It’d be a waste to throw it out, and it wouldn’t sell for much anyway." He was planning to replace everything with brand-new items, not keeping a single one of the old things.

Golden Blade was overjoyed and quickly thanked him.

But just then, Cecilia Sterling suddenly appeared, with Duane, Kai Sherman, and five or six tall, brawny men in tow.

"Sis?" Ethan’s face lit up as he rushed to greet her. "What are you doing here? Duane, Kai!"

Duane smiled at Ethan. "Came to help you clear things out. Just tell us what to do with all this stuff, and I’ll have the guys handle it."

"Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can handle it myself," Ethan said, a little embarrassed.

Golden Blade and his friends were carrying a large sofa out from the back. Caelum, who was facing the entrance, looked up and flinched so hard his grip slipped, causing one side of the sofa to thud onto the floor.

The sudden shift in weight caused Golden Blade and Monkey to lose their footing as well, and they both stumbled forward.

"Watch it!" Golden Blade complained. "Ethan said he’s giving this stuff to us. It’d be a shame if we broke it."

Caelum was already standing ramrod straight. He shot a look at Golden Blade and Monkey, then timidly called out, "K-Kai!"

Hearing that name was like getting an electric shock for Golden Blade and Monkey. They whipped their heads around toward the entrance in unison, right into the surprised gaze of Kai Sherman.

"Kai!"

The two shouted in unison, their voices so loud they echoed.

"What are you three punks doing here?" Kai Sherman asked, surprised. "Did you quit the pool hall?"

"Kai, they’re here helping me," Ethan quickly jumped in to explain. "They’re working for my team now; I’m paying their salary."

Golden Blade nodded eagerly. "That’s right, Kai. We left the pool hall to Felix. It’s not busy lately, so they don’t need that many people. We’re just out earning a little extra money."

Kai found this even more interesting. "Well, what do you know. You guys actually know how to earn your own money now. When did you get so ambitious?"

"That’s enough out of you," Cecilia said to Kai, her voice slow and measured. "Look how scared they are."

Kai obediently shut his mouth and nodded. "Alright. If Cecilia says not to talk, I won’t. You three, get back to work."

Golden Blade and the others nodded eagerly, then subconsciously glanced at Ethan’s sister. The shadow of the beating they’d received from Kai still lingered, and now, looking at Cecilia, they felt even more terrified.

’But she’s so beautiful...’

And yet, she was utterly terrifying.

Seeing the situation, Duane clapped his hands. "Alright, boys, don’t just stand there. Get moving. Let’s clear everything out of here first."

Cecilia moved to the side to get out of the way. An instant later, a chair appeared behind her. "Cecilia, please have a seat."