544 Chapter 544: High School Drama II (1/2)

It took a while, but we finally managed to explain to Rossetti what was going on. In the meantime, I gained new information regarding Yue Jian's parents.

Apparently, after the visit to Headmistress Taylor's house yesterday, Professor Nan Gong had left on a trip to check things out. He was deliberately being vague, so Yue Jian had no idea where he was going or what he was checking out, but he insisted that she and her mother stay in Flandor City. Teresa Taylor, being a family friend, was able to arrange accommodation for mother and daughter, and even settled the enrollment matters.

It was unfortunate, but at the moment, Teresa Taylor was unable to offer any assistance regarding the rescue of Zhao Yan, Ji Yan and the other kidnapped students. She was still awaiting authorization from the government, and given how everyone was depending on the Midnight Order and Federation military to find out the whereabouts of the Crimson Blood Demonic Night clan, they couldn't move out until they found the exact location.

This wasn't good.

On the other hand, Teresa Taylor also found Yue Jian's mother some employment, so that they could pay the rent for now. They had left most of their stuff back in the Nan Gong manor, and with the vampires running around, they didn't dare to return to the place for now. Fortunately, they were able to access their online savings and bank accounts in the city without much trouble.

”I see…” Rossetti was nodding after listening to all that. She placed a hand on Yue Jian's shoulder. ”I'm very sorry to hear that. If you need any help, feel free to approach me! I'll definitely help you in any way I can!”

She then nodded toward me.

”Richard and Kufa too…oh, that's another friend of ours. We'll introduce you to him sooner or later. And when Kureha and Eliza return, we'll introduce you to them too.”

”Speaking of which, what happened to the Franklin cousins?” I asked. They had been absent during the vampire attack, having run off on a mission or something.

”They are hunting the Dark Church, so they won't be back for a while.” Rossetti frowned. ”I heard they found a few agents and are trying to go undercover or something.”

”That makes sense.” I nodded. That would explain their absence for such a long period of time, and why they remained out of contact. They couldn't risk blowing their cover. Of course, there was another reason for their silence – one that was much more ominous, but I didn't want to think too much about it.

”All right, we're hitting the showers, and then going for lunch later. I'll see you then.”

”Ugh…” Rossetti made a face. ”Kufa and I have a class in a few minutes. We might not be able to join you.”

”Don't worry about it,” I assured her. ”There are always other opportunities.”

She then leaned over and held Yue Jian's hands, smiling brightly.

”I look forward to getting to know you more, Yue Jian!”

”S…same!” Yue Jian mumbled shyly. Rossetti then waved before leaving. I nodded and watched her go before turning around.

”All right, let's go.”

”She's a very nice person,” Yue Jian said softly. ”Much nicer than the other girls in class, and Ling Xue Xiao.”

”Yeah. I'm sure you'll be great friends.”

After we showered and changed back to our usual uniforms, the class headed to the cafeteria. As Yue Jian said, her mother had found some employment, but I didn't expect her to be manning one of the stalls.

”Yue Jian! Richard!”

She called out to us cheerfully and waved to attract our attention. My stomach growled as I headed there.

”Mom…”

For some reason, Yue Jian was on her own. Thanks to her shy nature, she wasn't able to befriend anybody, so she did nothing but watch the other girls from our class slip past her as they engaged in joyful conversations while isolating themselves within their own cliques. Not a single one of them extended a hand of friendship to poor Yue Jian.

Wow…I know we had just experienced a traumatic attack about a week ago, but was there a need to ignore a newcomer like this? Wasn't this…a bit too blatant? It was almost as if it was a contrived plot device to ostracize the main heroine of a shoujo manhua, for no other reason other than make her a Pity Beggar Mary Sue. Perhaps it was a plot device to contrive the main heroine attracting unwanted attention from jealous girls when a hot guy saw her being alone, approached and talked to her, just so the author or artist could create stupid high school drama for the sake of it. And then poor Yue Jian would be bullied by a girl gang later.

What the fuck was wrong with some people?

Sighing, I strolled toward the floundering Yue Jian and gave her a gentle push.

”Yeah, your mom is calling you. Let's grab some food.”

We went over to her mom's stall without any hesitation. I remembered what a great cook she was, having been treated to her meals a couple of times – once, when Zhao Yan invited me over to their house, and also last week when I went over to inform them of the news regarding their daughter. That was why I looked forward to the food she cooked, which consisted of rice and a bunch of dishes. Economy rice, if you really wanted to be specific.

Just as I would expect, Yue Jian's mother dumped a lot of food onto both of our plates. Winking slyly, she leaned over and whispered, ”Just a little extra for the two of you!”

It was really great to have a mom on the cafeteria staff.

”Oh, hey!”

While the both of us settled in our seats at the corner of the cafeteria, not far from Yue Jian's mother's stall, I over heard a couple of guys whispering excitedly to each other.

”Did you hear about the transfer students?”

”Yeah! Apparently Nan Gong Zhao Yan's third sister is in Teacher Einsberg's ice magic class!”

And she was sitting right here, dudes. It was amusing to see them completely overlook the person they were talking about. I watched the two guys, but I didn't recognize them. They were not in Rossetti and Kufa's class, evidently, or they wouldn't be in the cafeteria. Otherwise they were skipping classes, but who knew?

While I feasted, I couldn't help but curiously pay attention to their conversation because I was a busybody. On the other hand, Yue Jian was blushing because she wasn't used to being talked about. It was perhaps a good thing that they didn't recognize her, or she would be even more embarrassed.

Fortunately, the guys shifted the topic from her to someone else.

”It isn't just her! We also have a beautiful senior and another guy transferring into our school! They're in the third year! The beautiful senior is Ling Xue Xiao, and the guy is…uh…”

”Lin somebody.”

Lin Xuan Chi, actually. I felt sorry for him. Well, I was sure the girls would remember his name and not Ling Xue Xiao's, so it evened out in the end.

”Speak of the devil! Aren't those two the new transfer students?”

Yue Jian almost dropped her fork when she heard that. Frantically looking up, she caught sight of Lin Xuan Chi and Ling Xue Xiao walking together. They had already collected their food and were strolling across the cafeteria, looking for a seat.

They were really an eye-catching pair, brilliantly standing out as students watched them in admiration. The girls were gushing non-stop over how handsome Lin Xuan Chi was, while the guys were practically drooling over Ling Xue Xiao's tomboyish beauty. What they saw in that plain tomboy, I had no idea, but I wasn't going to judge. Beauty was only skin deep, after all.

In any case, they were getting quite the warm reception, especially when compared to poor Yue Jian. Even as I diverted my attention back to my meal, I could hear the girls and guys swarming over the duo, greeting them, exchanging introductions and pleasantries, and even requesting for photographs.

…did they not learn from the massacre that the obsession of taking photographs to post them online on social media would eventually lead to their deaths? Well…then again, this was a completely different context. There were no enemies attacking us and no state of emergency, so I was being overly cynical for the sake of it.

”They're receiving a very warm welcome in this school…”

Yue Jian sounded a bit envious as she watched the mobbed duo. I grunted in disinterest, but she took that as a signal to continue.

”I guess that's only to be expected. They're pretty good looking, and they have great personalities and remarkable charismas.”

”Ji Yan was also charismatic and popular, if I remember correctly,” I replied. Inwardly, I snorted. Ling Xue Xiao did not have a ”great” personality, if you asked me…but clearly nobody asked for my opinion, so I didn't share it. Instead, I continued on what truly mattered. ”But Zhao Yan was a lot less sociable. She wasn't exactly shy, but she usually kept to herself.”

”…I see.”

Yue Jian smiled to herself as she nibbled at a piece of chicken.

”So Zhao Yan wasn't very popular too…”