Chapter 578
In the morning, Tiffany carefully punched the sandbag, using only 20% of her strength. Instantly, a scream erupted.
The boy's jaw was dislocated; saliva dripped from his mouth as he stammered, "Tiffany, you… you're so ruthless! I only took one of your books, and you treat me like this?"
Tiffany blinked apologetically. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I seem to have hit you a little too hard. Let me fix your jaw."
Without waiting for a reply, she punched him again. A cracking sound was followed by an even more agonizing scream. However, true to her word, she reset his jaw.
Clapping her hands, she smiled. "As good as new. Keep blaming me, and you'll be asking for another punch."
"You… Shame on you," the boy replied, his face paling with pain. Frightened by her warning, he retreated. Once at a safe distance, he cursed angrily, "You think I'm afraid of your family? You hit me. I'll make you pay for this!"
He was Joaquin Chase, a trust-fund kid whose family's wealth and influence far surpassed the Kelley family's. Spoiled and arrogant, Joaquin was used to bullying others. This was the first time he'd faced such a humiliating defeat. Worrying his jaw might dislocate again, he angrily pointed at Tiffany before running from the classroom, presumably to seek help.
Tiffany sat down slowly, her gaze sweeping across the silent crowd. No one dared to speak.
Zoe, having already retrieved her book, scoffed at the onlookers. "So nosy. Mind your own business," she muttered, thinking, I'm focused on my review. It's none of their business how I do it. A bunch of hypocrites. They wait for me to make a mistake and laugh at me.
Tiffany gently patted Zoe, redirecting her attention to the book. "Alright, let's continue," she said coolly.
The commotion subsided. Melody, seated at the back, raised her eyebrows contemptuously. She wondered what Tiffany would do if something happened to Zoe, and, pondering this, she left the classroom.
On the empty playground, Melody scrolled through her contacts until she found a number and called.
"Hello?"
Grelle answered in her clear, ethereal voice, "Hi, Melody?"
"Grelle, how have you been? I haven't seen you in a long time, so I called," Melody said casually.
Back in Melvor Mountain Village, Grelle had ignored Melody's attempts to entice her. However, Melody felt they were similar. Grelle had claimed she wouldn't interfere between Tiffany and Richard, but Melody doubted this. She made it sound so selfless. Is that truly what she's been thinking? Can she really remain indifferent to Richard? He's so handsome and has a regal bearing. No, Grelle is tempted and quite ambitious. Melody doubted Grelle would remain interested in ordinary village men after meeting Richard. Besides, Grelle was beautiful; perhaps she thought she had a chance. Otherwise, why would Grelle have contacted me after leaving the village? She even asked for my help leaving. Melody readily agreed, eager to harm Tiffany. This is how Grelle reached Lovell City. They had become close allies.
Hearing Melody's voice, Grelle sounded tired. "Melody, I might have let you down. The company has canceled all my commercial events. Without resources, no one can help me."
"Huh? What's going on?" Melody feigned surprise, though she'd been monitoring Grelle and Tiffany. "Haven't you been doing well?"
"I—" Grelle hesitated.
Shortly after arriving in Lovell City, encouraged by Melody, she'd auditioned for Ascendant Entertainment, signing a contract due to her beauty. The CEO's son fell for her instantly. Everything had gone exceptionally well until, with an inflated ego, she'd made a mistake by using Tiffany's betrayal to approach Richard. She should have waited until she was an A-list star. This was her worst decision. Had she not tried to involve Tiffany in the controversy, she wouldn't have faced the online backlash. Her carefully cultivated image was ruined; people called her names. Worst of all, Richard had ordered her ban, and Ascendant Entertainment complied, despite him not owning the company. They didn't terminate her contract; they simply shut her down, canceling endorsements and appearances. Grelle was left with nothing.
Grelle weakly explained this to Melody, clinging to hope for help. However, Melody's reply shattered her hopes. "Grelle, you know my situation. There's nothing I can do. You can only blame Tiffany for being selfish. She took everything from me, disregarding our friendship. I never expected her to leave you with no options. She's pushing you into a corner."
"Melody…"
"I warned you Tiffany is vengeful and cunning. Why else would Mr. Hampton ignore your feelings? You're his savior. Tiffany needs to be out of the picture if you want to start over," Melody suggested.
The extraneous timestamps and formatting elements have been removed for clarity. The narrative is significantly improved with corrected grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.