Chapter 22 : The Commotion

“Alright, class dismissed. Take a fifteen-minute break.”

Instructor Reynold glanced at the clock and gave a brief instruction before turning and leaving the classroom.

Never work overtime, never run over time—that was his motto.

And the moment Reynold stepped out the door, the classroom erupted.

Everyone surged forward in a frenzy, quickly surrounding Tianxia, who was seated at the front.

“Tianxia, judging by your name, are you from Chixia?”

“Mm-hmm, I’m from Moonwheel City in Chixia. I came to Jadecrest Academy because I’m really interested in Auber.”

“Tianxia, your hair and skin look amazing! Are you using some kind of traditional Chixia secret recipe?”

“Oh, there’s no such thing where I come from, haha!”

“You seem really close to Dorothy. Were you friends before you came here?”

“Dorothy helped me a lot when I first arrived at the academy. I’m really grateful to her.”

“That so, little Dorothy?”

“Ah—sort of, I guess? It was no big deal.”

Dorothy scratched her head awkwardly, her expression a little embarrassed.

“Dorothy’s being modest again.”

“Hahaha!”

With just a few words, Tianxia had effortlessly blended in with the class.

Her natural charisma filled the room with a cheerful, vibrant energy.

It was as if she had a gift for lighting up the mood.

“By the way, Tianxia…”

A soft voice cut in from the edge of the crowd.

A shy fangirl had squeezed her way to the front, her expression somewhat aggrieved.

“What is it?”

Tianxia looked curiously at the girl glaring at her with unexplained resentment.

She quietly wondered if she’d somehow offended anyone other than Sheffil since arriving.

“What’s your relationship with Sheffil?”

The girl didn’t beat around the bush.

She slapped a copy of the campus newspaper onto Tianxia’s desk.

Bold headlines screamed across the front page:

“Truth Behind the Scandal—Sheffil’s New Flame is a Mysterious Girl from the North?!”

Beneath the headline were several candid photos of Sheffil and Tianxia shopping together, adding credibility to the story.

“I’m just a little curious. You are too, right, Dorothy?”

The girl cast a sideways glance at Dorothy, who looked completely stunned.

“It really is…”

“Is that you in the photos, Tianxia?”

“Where’s Sheffil? Drag him here so we can get to the bottom of this!”

“He’s still over there! Go, go, go!”

Before Tianxia could even respond, the boys in class exploded into action.

Sheffil, who had been quietly slumped over his desk trying to avoid reality, was suddenly lifted into the air by a group of very angry male students.

“Revolt! What the hell are you guys doing?!”

“Traitors have no right to speak!”

With unified outrage, the boys hurled Sheffil onto Tianxia’s desk, where he landed in a crumpled, disoriented heap.

“Court is now in session!”

“We used to admire you, Sheffil. You had an adorable childhood friend like Dorothy and still stuck to your principles—we thought you were one of us!”

“But now look at you! Secretly playing the field!”

“First you seduced the goddess Jianle from the other class!”

“And now you’re stringing along Tianxia too!”

“Admit it—have you betrayed the Brotherhood of Virgins?!”

As they shouted, a few of them—now draped in black robes from who-knows-where—burst into exaggerated, melodramatic tears.

Their wailing was so intense it was as if someone had stolen their mothers.

“Alright, that’s enough from you guys.”

One of the girls, unable to listen any longer, marched forward with a few others to shoo the weeping boys away to the edge of the room.

They turned their attention to Sheffil, who was still too stunned to speak.

“Sheffil, is what’s written here true?”

A tall girl picked up the newspaper and held it out in front of him.

Sheffil, finally snapping out of his daze, followed her hand and read the headline.

“Hah? Again?!”

The moment he saw the title, Sheffil couldn’t hold back.

The layout was unmistakably the same as a previous article slandering him and Jianle.

Sure enough, when he glanced at the byline, there it was again—that familiar name: Luther.

“No wonder Luther was laughing so creepily the other day… Turns out he was sitting on another bombshell.”

“Stop talking to yourself. What’s going on between you and Tianxia? Don’t tell me you actually played with her feelings?”

“Class rep… You really think I’m that kind of guy?”

“Well, you weren’t before. Doesn’t mean you’re not now.”

The class president didn’t soften despite Sheffil’s bitter smile.

Instead, she turned to Tianxia, who had been quiet the whole time.

“What about you, Tianxia? If Sheffil did anything wrong to you, Dorothy and all of us will back you up.”

“Exactly. With Dorothy here, he wouldn’t dare pull anything now.”

“Come on, it’s all just a misunderstanding! Don’t make me sound like some street thug, class rep!”

“You. Be quiet.”

Ignoring Sheffil and the class president’s argument, Tianxia calmly picked up the newspaper.

She scanned a few lines before laughing softly.

Her voice, almost like a whisper, carried just loud enough for everyone to hear.

“The person who took these photos must be quite imaginative. Sheffil was so cold and distant when he showed me around the other day, yet somehow these pictures make him look like the perfect boyfriend. If only my real boyfriend could be like that.”

“Tour guide?” Dorothy blinked.

The class president stopped mid-argument.

Even the guys who were ready to launch fire magic at Sheffil paused mid-incantation.

All eyes turned toward the serene young woman who sat so gracefully, untouched by the chaos.

“Yeah. Dorothy, weren’t you out that day? I got lost while exploring the academy on my own. Luckily, I ran into the kind Mr. Sheffil. Once he heard about my situation, he offered to help. I’m really thankful to him.”

Tianxia’s face lit up with a warm, gracious smile.

Her voice, gentle and refined, flowed like spring water in the mountains—so convincing and sincere that even Sheffil, who knew the truth, began to wonder if he had been that considerate when guiding her.

“This first article is mostly nonsense, but the one right below it is accurate. If any of you are curious about me, feel free to read it.”

She casually tore off the front-page story and pointed to the article beneath it.

Then she turned to the once-aggressive fangirl and smiled.

“I’m really sorry for ruining your paper. I’m new to this city and don’t know how much things cost yet. How much should I pay you to buy your copy?”

“Ah—no, it’s fine. It’s just a newspaper. Knowing that you and Sheffil aren’t secretly involved is enough for me.”

Blushing furiously under Tianxia’s clear gaze, the fangirl waved her hands, stumbling over her words.

Why are you blushing?

Weren’t you supposed to be Jianle’s fan?

Sheffil grumbled internally as he picked himself up from the floor.

“What a mess…”

He walked over to Dorothy’s desk, leaning against it casually.

Watching the crowd gather once again around Tianxia, he said to her,

“Yeah, what a mess,” Dorothy replied, her gaze never leaving Tianxia.

Almost as an afterthought, she added, “Oh, and after class, make sure you explain why you hid the whole tour guide thing from me.”

“You’ve got to be kidding…”

Sheffil broke into a cold sweat at the commanding tone in her voice.