Chapter 95

As Mia listened to the conversations in the video call, she turned away and rolled her eyes. Seriously? These idiots still hadn’t figured out what Luna was up to? she had to admit. She hadn’t expected that country girl, Lima—who’d somehow made it into university—to have the nerve to refuse rejoining Wilson’s team. Did he whisper sweet nothings in her ear, and now, she thought she could stand up to them?

Country folk were just like that—naive and shortsighted. She had no sense of where the field of medical research was headed. Choosing some obscure specialty? She’d be lucky to stay in Velmora after graduation, let alone get into a national research institute. What was her plan, going back to her village and becoming a… for the best? No competition; Mia had the stage all to herself.

Boi Lima had embarrassed her this time. There was no way she was letting her off the hook. She had a little “gift” prepared for her, just waiting for the right…

Mia swept her gaze across the familiar faces on the screen. “Wyatt, everyone, please don’t be upset. This whole situation happened because of me. I’ll take full responsibility for whatever happens next.”

She sighed. “I just didn’t expect to react so rashly. I had already made up my mind I’d give way if she came back. I’d try to avoid arguing, just try to get a lane…”

“You don’t need to go that far,” Wyatt said, furrowing his brows.

“To be honest, she shouldn’t be coming back. We’ve already apologized. That’s the end of it. No more talk about it going forward.”

“And you—Trevor, Bessel—especially you two. Don’t act like we wronged her. Whatever her reasons, things turned out exactly how she wanted. She’s got no right to make trouble for the team.”

Silence descended upon the call, which ended soon after.

Wyatt was frustrated as he tossed his phone aside. He had been considering asking the others to give Luna another chance—not because he cared, but because he hated the idea of losing that bet. As if he didn’t know that the person calling him out online was Rhett! He could take a loss from anyone except him.

And now? Looked like he’d have to fork over the money and swallow his pride.

He buried his face in his hands.

“Luna… You’ve got guts. I’ll give you that. Let’s see how far you can go. And let’s see just how serious Rhett is about you.”

Back at the dorm, Luna found herself alone; Suzie wasn’t in. After washing up and climbing into bed, she glanced at her phone and saw a new reply under her post. It was from the bold guy.

“A young lady with great resolve. The future holds great things for her.” Chony God! She thought that bold guy was just so sweet right now.

She drifted off with a smile, only to be pulled into a dream—a haunting replay of her past life. The despair, the helplessness, and the cold, indifferent faces were all around her… and she slammed her head against the wall. She remembered how depression had slowly consumed her in the end; she couldn’t take it anymore. Luna shot upright, gasping for breath as she rubbed her forehead. The sunlight pouring in through the window was harsh. She raised her hand to block it, then slowly spread her fingers, letting the light shine through. And then… she smiled.

She was back. She was no longer the pitiful girl from her past life—the one everyone bullied and ignored. She would no longer try to please anyone, nor would she beg or abase herself. She was going to live with dignity and self-worth from now on.

Luna got up to wash, but her phone rang. It was Talia, and he sounded excited.

“There’s one drama going on! Are you going to campus today?”

“What kind of drama?” she asked, still a little groggy.

“The comment section blew up,” Talia declared. “Well, it’s about you. Ever since you posted online saying you wouldn’t rejoin Professor Handey’s team, the…”

“People started arguing, with some of them placing bets on whether you’d go back or not. The Student Affairs Office stepped in this morning and rounded up a bunch of them…”

“No way,” Luna said, tapping her head in disbelief. “It was just an online drama. How did it catch the school’s attention?”

“You have no idea how big it got,” Talia replied. “We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars. Students bet real money. Some even lost their entire monthly allowance!”

Luna was speechless. What could she say about this?