Chapter 120: Campus Rumors Run Wild
She didn’t know Dickson hadn’t slept at all; his eyes were wide open, filled with pain and struggle. As she headed downstairs, Sierra ran into Jonathan. "Join me?" Jonathan suggested, as he also had a morning class.
Sierra hesitated. If someone saw them… She wasn’t worried about herself—her reputation was already tarnished—but Jonathan was different.
“A clean hand wants no washing; what’s there to fear?”
Jonathan always seemed to know what she was thinking. Sierra’s eyes sparkled as she joked, “As long as Mr. Yeager doesn’t mind taking a loss!”
“As a man, what loss could I possibly suffer?” Jonathan said as he pressed the elevator button.
The two arrived at school together and, as Sierra had expected, their appearance immediately caused a sensation. Both were well-known figures at Northwind University. Each could stir up excitement alone, let alone together. However, neither was bothered by the onlookers’ piercing gazes, which they ignored completely.
From a distance, Yaron watched this scene with envy. Everyone wanted Jonathan’s guidance, and it seemed Sierra had managed to snag him. Sierra was so low, he thought, unaware of what methods she used to hook Jonathan. He had thought her naive, but she turned out to be nothing but cheap. Better they were together, he mused; that way, when things blew up later, no one would believe Sierra’s words. Just in case, he thought, he’d need to take further precautions.
After her class, Sierra grabbed her things, planning to return and take Dickson to see Daphne. But as soon as she left the classroom, she was stopped by a group of girls. Sierra recognized them; they had always been close with Denise.
“Sierra, can we talk for a moment?” the tall girl leading the group asked.
“I’m busy!” Sierra didn’t mince words.
The girls seemed taken aback by her blunt attitude, their faces falling immediately. One couldn’t help but say, “We’re trying to talk nicely to you, why are you being like this? I don’t know how Denise puts up with you; she’s always speaking well of you.”
“Yes, you’re indeed the Xander family’s daughter, but Denise is innocent too. You shouldn’t take your anger out on her.”
“We saw her yesterday; she’s really sick, still hoping you’d come to see her.”
“How can you be so heartless?”
Sierra scoffed. “Heartless? Put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel if your own family ignored you, caring only about an outsider? If she gets a cold, the whole family is alarmed, but if you were dying, no one would even look your way. Could you forgive that?”
The girl began to respond, but Sierra interrupted. “Look, I don’t know about you, but I can’t play the saint. I’m not exactly radiating virtue like some of you, so let’s cut the act. If you’re genuinely concerned about her, why not step up? Be her family.”
The group was left speechless by Sierra’s retort. Sierra gave them a scornful glance. “Can’t do it? Then shut up and stop complaining. Get lost!”
Sierra was thoroughly disgusted. Bradley seeking her out was one thing, but now these strangers were jumping at her, stirred up by Denise’s machinations. Sierra’s sharp response ignited the girls’ tempers, and they encircled her. “Who do you think you are? Just because you’re competent in your field and the school has kept you on doesn’t mean you’re something special. Who doesn’t know what’s really going on? Being in jail really changes people, doesn’t it? Who knows what you learned there to make Mr. Yeager fall all over himself for you? You’re shameless, stealing even your sister’s boyfriend!”
The group’s noisy accusations initially seemed like nonsense to Sierra, but the last remark piqued her interest. “Boyfriend? Who?” Yaron Han? Denise always stringing him along?
“What are you playing at? Everyone knows Denise has been into Jonathan. Why else would a literature major switch to biochemical sciences?”
Hearing this, Sierra raised an eyebrow, about to respond, when suddenly a voice came from behind her.