After coming out of the cafeteria, Severine distanced herself from Alina and walked ahead.
She needed to change her clothes before the next class.
"Oi, are you not mad at them?"
Alina's loud voice annoyed Severine even more.
Mad?
How could she not be? But more than that, she was angry at her own situation.
According to the novel's plot, Alina would always go against Damien, thus igniting the spark of their twisted love.
If Severine did the exact same thing, would she not be stupid?
So that was another reason why she was trying her best not to lash out.
"Don't act impulsively," she warned Alina.
If this little firecracker continued to sizzle, the novel plot would soon become reality.
She didn't care what the male lead and the female lead did—as long as they didn't involve her.
Alina let out an incredulous laugh. "I helped you, and instead of saying thank you, you are showing such a stinky face to me?"
Alina Hart felt she had fallen into some void, far away from normal life.
If not, why were all the people she met so hard to understand?
In her conception, she was clearly a hero saving the beauty, but the beauty didn't appreciate it and even warned her.
What kind of stupid logic was that?
"Be wary of Rhodes. If you keep acting like this, they'll pay more attention to you."
Leaving that sentence, which left Alina even more baffled, Severine went to her dormitory.
Unlike before, the living area wasn't clean anymore. A few packets of chips were littered on the coffee table while Alina's blanket was left on the sofa.
The mess made Severine frown, though she didn't say anything to the girl following behind her.
After changing into casual jeans, she tossed the dirtied shirt into the trash can.
Her actions made Alina's lips twitch. "I say, young miss, you are so…" She trailed off, not finding the right word.
What was the opposite of frugal?
She was never good at studying language subjects, so she tossed the thought to the back of her mind and carried two bowls of noodles toward the table.
"Forget it. Come here and eat. I especially cooked for you."
Alina's actions left Severine speechless.
For the past half a month, she had always distanced herself from this overly talkative Awakener.
Yet this girl was still as enthusiastic as she had been on the first day of their meeting.
"What are you standing there for? Auditioning for a statue? Hurry up or it'll get cold."
The aroma of freshly cooked noodles hit Severine's nose, and her appetite seemed to awaken again.
"Thank you," she said before taking the first bite.
The noodles were chewy, and the broth had mild flavors—perfect for her taste buds.
"You earlier said you were wary. Is it because you're afraid that bastard will cause trouble for you?"
"Who?"
"Damien, who else? I saw him. He was looking at us with such a strange gaze. Is it fun to bully someone as fragile as you? What a lunatic."
Alina slurped from her own bowl while dissing the young master. Her anger made the fire in Severine's chest ease up.
Funnily, her thoughts aligned well with Alina's.
Indeed, Damien was a lunatic.
The warmth of the food spread from her stomach to her heart.
{Alina Hart was like a ray of sunshine—bright, cheerful, and devoid of any malice.
Unlike Damien's dark world, where everyone wore masks of hypocrisy, Alina's face was like a mirror, showing her real thoughts.
Perhaps it was exactly that courage to be her true self that attracted Damien toward her.}
Severine stared at the nearly empty bowl, her thoughts churning.
For the sake of this warmth, she decided to give this little firecracker a warning.
"Damien is the sole heir of the Rhodes Group. To make someone vanish from the face of the earth is as easy as snapping his fingers."
Alina rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. Is the police just for show? And aren't your parents very rich?"
It hit Severine then that this girl was too naive.
She had never set foot in the upper echelon and didn't know the hidden dangers. There was no other way than to spell it out clearly.
"Alina Hart," she called her full name for the first time.
Alina stopped mid-bite, a few strings of noodles hanging down her bright red lips.
Her broth was spicy, and it had caused a faint flush to color her round face.
"Your parents' workplace, their favorite places to visit, your personal details, address, phone numbers… even the tennis courts you've visited. Just one call and I can know it all."
Alina blinked and then slurped the hanging noodles down her throat.
She looked a bit baffled as she said, "Why do you want to make a call? I can tell you all that."
A slight ache returned in Severine's temples.
Just one warning for the sake of her help, she repeated to herself.
"If I can, then so can Rhodes. As long as you've left the slightest trace on the internet, experts will know—and he will use it to hurt you."
"Why? What did I do?" Alina asked, frowning. "It was clearly he who was bullying you."
"Exactly that," Severine said, resting back on the sofa. "If he can bully me—a daughter of the Vale—what about you? You're just a nobody."
Alina slammed her chopsticks on the table. "Are you asking for a beating?"
She believed that she was good at reading people. That was why she was willing to help Severine out.
That didn't mean she didn't have a temper.
"Who are you calling a nobody?"
From teachers to students, everyone looked up to her and told their kids to be like her.
As the only Awakener and sports prodigy, she was the star of her school, alright!
"You are a tennis player, Alina. What will happen if you get your leg crippled? What will happen if your parents lose their jobs and no one hires them? What will you do if you get kicked out of the academy? You won't even get a chance to find a new school."
Severine's voice was low and calm, without ups and downs. However, her words were like heavy stones falling into Alina's heart.
The ripples turned into waves, hammering against Alina's chest.
It was as if she had experienced it all.
The sudden wave of helplessness made a cold sweat break out on her forehead.
"Fuck! Stop scaring me. It can't be that bad, right? We aren't in some melodramatic movie."
Severine chuckled, yet it held no mirth—just an empty sound that made Alina feel sad for some absurd reason.
It might be worse than a movie, Severine mused. After all, the movie ended in a few hours, but this was real life.