Chapter 97

Lemira’s confidence remained unshaken. Evelina’s certainty, however, waned as she listened, particularly since the streamer's voice eerily resembled Lemira's. It was uncanny; they sounded like the same person. Evelina refused to accept that Lemira was the streamer, convincing herself Lemira lacked the skill.

Judy scoffed, "Come off it, Lemira. Just because the streamer doesn't show her face and sounds like you doesn't mean you deserve all the credit."

Jessica defended Lemira fiercely, "But Lemira is amazing! She pulled off a twelve-hit combo and won the playoff!"

Someone added, "That's right, someone was dead weight in that match. They won because of Lemira."

"Exactly," another chimed in. "You're just jealous because Lemira plays way better than you!"

Evelina's eyes welled up. The boys in the class immediately rallied to her defense.

"Lemira, look what you've done, making Evelina cry. You better apologize."

Lemira remained unfazed. "She's lousy at the game!"

Feeling resentful, Evelina feigned a pitiful expression. "Let's just drop it, everyone. I admit I'm not great at games, no matter how hard I try. I can't beat Lemira. But I'm definitely not jealous; I'm happy for her."

Lemira scoffed, "Good. Keep trying."

Evelina was taken aback by Lemira's response. The boys continued their defense. "Lemira, so what if you're slightly better? Showing off is wrong."

"Yeah, and you made Evelina cry. Apologize and make it up to her."

"As if you could make me," Lemira retorted.

"Lemira, that's enough," someone cautioned.

Jessica, standing by Lemira, faced the boys. "Stop defending Evelina. She cries at the slightest thing, always playing the victim. It's annoying."

Another girl agreed, "Exactly. Crying doesn't make her right."

The girls in the class shared similar sentiments about Evelina's frequent displays of distress, which seemed to excuse any wrongdoing. They had long held unfavorable opinions of her.

Despite the scolding, Evelina cried harder, her pitiful demeanor swaying many boys to her side.

Lemira gathered her belongings and left, unwilling to waste another minute. She wanted no further contact with anyone from the Langston family, including Evelina.

Jessica caught up, whispering, "Lemira, don't let Evelina stop you. We're all fans and will support you silently."

Lemira realized they knew her identity as SweetLemon. She smiled shyly. "Well, it's not that I didn't want to—"

Jessica interrupted, "You don't need to explain. We get it. We just don't want jealous people causing trouble behind your back." Evelina, being petty, would likely cry again upon learning of Lemira's popularity. The thought was irritating.

Lemira sighed in relief. "Thanks for understanding."

Chapter 98