Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Blamed by the Entire Class
Since they had run right into him, Estelle Goodman took the opportunity to make an introduction. "This is Charles Jennings. Do you remember him?"
Cecilia Sterling nodded.
Charles Jennings seemed very introverted. Seeing Cecilia Sterling arrive, he said to Estelle Goodman, "Well, I should be heading back now."
Estelle Goodman raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Cecilia Sterling, gave a quick nod, and then left.
Only then did Estelle Goodman chuckle. "Look at him, so dorky."
"Wasn’t that guy who suddenly confessed his love to you also from the math department? I should’ve just asked him. Maybe they’re in the same class."
The sudden mention of that person brought his image, which Cecilia Sterling just couldn’t shake, back to mind. He was simply too distinctive to be forgotten.
"Ugh, don’t even mention him. It makes my skin crawl," Cecilia Sterling said, exasperated.
Estelle Goodman’s smile widened. "Are you traumatized now? Is everyone in our school’s math department this weird? Your guy was so naturally unhinged he seemed like a creep, and mine is a clueless idiot all day long."
"Don’t be so harsh. I think he looks nice and clean-cut. Besides, he came all this way to bring you something."
No matter how dorky Charles Jennings was, he at least looked neat, and he wasn’t bad-looking. It was just that his glasses were a bit thick—standard issue for a top student.
Estelle Goodman pouted and nodded. "True. Comparing him to your guy is a bit unfair. At least mine seems like a normal person."
"’My guy’? What ’my guy’? Stop spouting nonsense." Cecilia Sterling quickly corrected her friend’s phrasing, eager to distance herself from Flynn Hudson.
Estelle Goodman quickly replied, "Okay, okay, my mistake. But you know what I meant."
She then held up the item in her hand. It turned out to be skincare products from Charles Jennings. "Look at this. It’s a Valtara brand, and it’s amazing. They don’t even have a counter for it in the country. I had to have someone bring my last set back from abroad. There’s a set for each of us."
A smile immediately bloomed on Cecilia Sterling’s face. She brandished the high-end sushi in her hand. "What a coincidence. Yours truly has also brought you a delicacy—Kika sushi."
"Ooh, I love their sushi! Thanks, babe." Chatting and laughing, the two of them entered the dormitory building.
「The next day」 The sun was shining brightly. Cecilia Sterling woke up bright and early and, following her schedule, found Multimedia Classroom 2 for her class. But the moment she walked in, she could feel that the atmosphere in the room was off.
Or perhaps, the atmosphere had only turned strange the moment she appeared.
The students in the classroom first fixed their gazes on Cecilia Sterling in unison. Then, a look of suppressed anger flickered in most of their eyes, but no one spoke. A moment later, they all looked away.
Cecilia Sterling blinked, baffled. ’I don’t think I’m just being sensitive,’ she thought. She had definitely registered those unfriendly stares.
But she had no idea why.
Just as she found an empty seat away from everyone and sat down, the professor walked in briskly through the door.
Cecilia Sterling wasn’t paying close attention to the lecture. In fact, ever since returning to university this time around, she found it hard to focus in any of her classes.
For one, she already knew the course material like the back of her hand. For another, she had a distinct feeling that she simply wasn’t that interested in astronomy anymore.
She had spent decades of her life on astronomy, yet in the future, humanity’s exploration of space never achieved any substantial breakthroughs.
The unknown remained unknown, and everything humanity could reach and prove was insufficient to change the status quo.
Cecilia Sterling didn’t know if her decades of wholehearted dedication had gradually eroded her passion and pursuit of her ideals, or if she was just too rich now to be interested in studying and working hard.
But whatever the reason, she keenly felt the loss of her passion for astronomy.
’Should I change my major?’
But she couldn’t think of any other major she was interested in, and transferring was a hassle. She hated hassles.
"That’s all for today’s class. If you have any questions, you can come ask me privately afterward."
Cecilia Sterling rubbed her tired temples. Just as she was about to get up and leave, she suddenly heard someone stand up and ask the professor loudly, "Professor, we heard that the four astronomical telescopes the Lane Group was supposed to donate to our department have been canceled. Is that true?"
The professor didn’t seem surprised by the question, as if he had expected it. He nodded calmly. "The department has been notified. The matter of the telescopes has been put on hold for now, but the department still has plenty of other equipment."
"How can that be the same? We heard the Lane Group was going to donate world-class astronomical telescopes, and just one costs nearly three million! The department’s telescopes are all more than a decade old. There’s no comparison."
At this, many students once again turned to look at Cecilia Sterling, the blame and anger in their eyes blatant. They were clearly holding her responsible for this.
Cecilia Sterling froze for a second. She recalled the epic battle she’d had with Shawn Lane’s mother in the principal’s office just two days ago and belatedly realized that she was the reason the department had lost the Lane Group’s planned telescope donation.
In that moment, she understood her classmates’ resentment. For an astronomy student, getting to use a top-of-the-line telescope was a dream come true.
And now, because of her, that dream had gone up in smoke. They had missed this chance, and they might never get another opportunity to touch such advanced equipment in their entire lives.
No wonder she was getting the silent treatment—and all those stares.
Cecilia Sterling didn’t shy away. She immediately stood up and said, "I’m very sorry that my actions caused the department to lose such important equipment. I want to apologize to everyone."
"What good is an apology? Can’t you just sort things out with Shawn Lane properly?"
"Yeah, seriously! Why should your relationship drama affect all of us?"
"I just don’t get it. Are all beautiful people this arrogant? How can a guy with Shawn Lane’s credentials get dumped?"
Cecilia Sterling speaking up only served to intensify her classmates’ negative feelings, and they began to openly blame her on the spot.
Some of the comments became more and more outrageous, until Cecilia Sterling actually laughed.
"What are you laughing at? Did we say something wrong?"
Cecilia Sterling followed the voice and saw it came from a girl who was actually quite pretty. She was the one who had said, "I just don’t get it. Are all beautiful people this arrogant? How can a guy with Shawn Lane’s credentials get dumped?"
Cecilia Sterling didn’t remember the girl’s name. She just stared at her coldly and asked, "Why can’t a guy like Shawn Lane get dumped? Because he’s rich? Because he’s handsome? So it’s only reasonable for every girl to get dumped by him instead? You’re a woman yourself. How can you say something like that so thoughtlessly?"
The girl hadn’t expected Cecilia Sterling to single her out for a rebuttal when so many people were speaking up. Her face immediately flushed red. "That’s not what I meant!"
"That’s exactly what you meant!" Cecilia Sterling said, her voice low and firm. "If you want to be one of Shawn Lane’s delusional fangirls, you go right ahead. But don’t you dare stand here and put down other women."
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