Then, he said intimidatingly, “What you said just now constitutes slander—I have every reason to sue you on behalf of my girlfriend. If everything goes according to plan, after a week, Miss Garcia, you will be finding yourself in the defendant’s stand at the People’s Court of Tissote.” Though Janice had always been quick on her mouth and had a sharp tongue, she was still a college student after all. Besides, she had never experienced real society and its cruelty. After being fooled by the few words that Alexander said, she was immediately taken aback. Her brain went numb, and she didn’t dare to refute. Alexander’s gentlemanly ways were always engraved in his bones, but not so much when it came to Elise’s affairs.
“Alright,” Alexander said with a poker face. “If you don’t want to go through with the judicial process, we can go with a more private process. Now, apologize to my girlfriend and ask for her forgiveness.” Alexander spoke with an undeniable majesty in his words—he merely kept his gaze in front him with his proud, indignant eyes; he did not bat an eye at Janice. Though his words were simple and concise, they were enough to make Janice—who would always bully those beneath her—submit and not dare to say a word. For any perpetrators, it seemed that silence was the greatest concession they could make.
But Alexander had no plans to let her off so easily. Seeing that Janice had not responded after a long time, he squinted at her coldly. “What, now? Do you want me to tell my secretary to send the lawsuit letter to the dean’s office?” Janice buried her head even lower. She was unable to believe that Alexander, who looked so gentle and polite on the outside, would be so cruel and ruthless toward women. As a matter of fact, the shame made it impossible for her to admit her mistake to her nemesis, Elise, in front of so many people. She bit her lower lip tightly and tasted the iron in her mouth, feeling utterly remorseful.
They had reached an impasse—no one had a better solution for a while. Finally, one of the girls couldn’t stand it any longer. Because she sympathized with Janice, she went up and tugged at her clothes, trying to persuade her kindly. “Janice, you should apologize. It was your fault after all. You can always make up for your mistakes, and there’s no shame in it.” This undoubtedly gave Janice the best way out. Immediately, Janice noticed her chance and grabbed the life-saving straw in an instant.
She pursed her lips tightly, nodded gratefully to the girl who came up to persuade her, then looked at Elise and said with tears in her eyes, “Elise, I misunderstood what happened today. I shouldn’t have said what I said to you. I was wrong. I hope you can forgive me, and I promise that nothing like this will happen again in the future.” Addison crossed her arms in front of her chest and reminded, “What about me? Remember? You scolded me just now as well.” Janice bent her upper body in a 90-degree angle bow. “I’m sorry, Addison. I was wrong!” Addison was a conscientious person.
When she heard that Janice had apologized, she thought she had really changed, so she didn’t pursue it any further. Elise, on the other hand, clearly saw through Janice’s motives because she didn’t believe people could change this quickly. She knew Janice was just putting up a show, and once the situation was over, she would revert to her old, despicable self. However, she still had to cooperate with her to finish the ‘show’. Though it was shameful to be fake, one could win sympathy that way.
Elise couldn’t bring herself to do such a thing, but she could forgive her generously and gain a lot of goodwill. While everyone was waiting for Elise’s response, she only said lightly, “Let’s forget this matter. I didn’t plan to take it to heart anyway.” Knowing that being benevolent could get her a long way, Elise felt that, in contrast, she was completely trampling Janice under her feet with her kindness. Seeing that Elise had let go, Alexander figured he should just leave it at that. He calmly handed the suitcase into her hands, and while Elise wasn’t paying attention, he landed a kiss on her forehead in public and left quickly.
Everyone was so caught off guard to have witnessed the public display of affection. With a loud ‘ew’, they scattered and left immediately. However, Elise was still stunned in place. After what seemed like forever, she slowly touched the place where she had been kissed just now. It felt cold—as if she had just been shocked. So this is what it’s like to be in love? I have to admit this—it’s amazing. … On the day of the welcome party, the drama would be debuting as the finale of the program, and the actors were in full swing backstage, putting on make-up and reciting their lines.
Elise’s song was a reserved program, and Mikayla would only announce it to the public after the performance of the drama. Even so, Mikayla was still afraid that Elise would bail on her, so she quickly pulled Elise backstage early. “Hey, my favorite idol, you only need to sit and wait here. You don’t have to do anything nor socialize with anyone, okay? This is a fruit plate, and these are some snacks—you can eat whatever you want here, and when the time comes, I will come in person and bring you on stage!” Mikayla held a fruit plate in one hand and snacks in the other, looking considerate like a brothel’s madam.
Getting the vibe that she was being sold to a brothel, Elise pushed Mikayla out to host helplessly. “Okay, I won’t run away, so don’t worry. Do we not even have that one bit of trust between us?” Upon hearing that, Mikayla felt she shouldn’t keep bugging Elise, so she reluctantly went to the side to prepare. For Elise, performing was her second nature, so there was nothing to be nervous about. She was only worried that some ad hoc situations or the unexpected would take place. With that worry in mind, she took the costume and cosmetic bag that she had prepared a long time ago and headed to the bathroom to change.
Right then, Janice was putting on eye makeup, and she inadvertently caught a glimpse of Elise walking among the actors. “Why is she here?” Janice complained angrily to her friends in the same crew. “Can some people respect the actors? How can they just come in casually? Don’t they know that it will affect the preparation work?” A classmate in the same crew glanced in Elise’s direction and began gossiping, “It seems that the host brought her in. Well, she has a relationship with the host; who wouldn’t use a back door if there is one?” Her tone was nothing but bitter, as if she couldn’t wait to get rid of her.
Janice snorted coldly and secretly cursed Elise in her heart. Suddenly, she had a flash of inspiration and thought of a good idea, so she hooked her finger to the friend next to her, and the two gathered together to whisper among each other. After hearing this, the female classmate asked hesitantly, “Can this work?” “How do you know if you don’t try?” Janice looked as if she was confident in winning. She tried to coax the friend again and again.
“Besides, look at Elise’s arrogant look—she’s always so proud and looking down on everyone. Don’t you want to kill her spirit a little?” Hearing what she said, the female classmate patted her thigh determinedly and agreed. “Okay, let’s just do it!” Then, while no one was paying attention, the female classmate slipped out quietly and turned off her phone so no one could get in touch with her. Twenty minutes later, the backstage went into a havoc. “Oh, no! The supporting female character is gone!”
