Chapter 129: A Natural Fit

Kiran let out another heavy sigh, much more dramatic this time.

"My partner keeps delaying because of training. He doesn’t care about anything else! He doesn’t care about our baby beast, or resonance—"

Clink. The sound of Eric’s spoon hitting his bowl echoed softly. He raised his head from his holographic screen.

"We agreed to start resonance tonight, didn’t we?" he asked, looking at Kiran.

Seeing Eric’s completely innocent face only made Kiran even more irritated. "That’s only because I didn’t stop nagging you about it!"

"True," Eric replied casually, without putting up the slightest resistance.

He then turned back to the holographic video in front of him, even turning his screen to show Jeryon, who was sitting across from him, as if Kiran’s eyes weren’t glaring at him so hard they looked ready to pop right out of her head.

In truth, Kiran knew how indifferent Eric was toward anything that wasn’t ribbon essence, yet his behavior never failed to annoy her.

Thud. Thud.

She punched Eric’s upper arm, feeling the solid muscle forged from years of intense training, only to grow even more exasperated when Eric didn’t seem to feel her hits at all.

Sitting across from Kiran, Sonny watched the whole spectacle unfold.

Leaning over toward Noella, he whispered in a gossipy tone, "When it comes to ribbon essence, Eric acts just like me. But when it’s about anything else, he’s as cold as the prince."

Noella nodded. She had noticed it too.

"Those two are—" Sonny was about to continue gossiping when he noticed a massive shadow looming over him.

Sonny turned his head stiffly, finding Garth standing behind him, smiling with a raised brow.

Instinctively, Sonny slid over toward Jeryon’s side, completely forgetting his usual fear of being anywhere near the prince.

"Noella, let’s head to class," Garth invited after giving a polite nod to Noella’s friends at the table.

Noella looked up with a serene expression. "I’m not finished eating yet. You can go ahead to class."

Garth’s smile faltered, replaced instantly by a bright red blush. "Sorry— sorry for interrupting your meal."

He spun around and rushed off with hurried steps, as if being chased by something.

Everyone at the table stared in utter dumbfounded silence. Garth had arrived with a broad, confident posture, only to leave with slumping shoulders and flustered panic.

"He only got turned down for walking to class together, but he acts like he got his heart broken," Kiran commented offhandedly.

Shani and Sonny turned in unison to look at Noella, only to see her calmly continuing her meal.

Is Noella truly that oblivious? Shani silently asked Sonny and Kiran with a look.

Kiran gave a hesitant nod. Maybe, she replied with her eyes.

Sonny suddenly clapped his hands, drawing confused looks from everyone at the table.

"I just realized... everyone sitting at this table is insanely dense!" he declared, scanning his eyes from Noella on his left, to Shani, Kiran, and Eric across from him, and finally to Jeryon on his right.

He nodded to himself, thoroughly impressed by his own acute observation.

"Who are you calling dense?! I get things just fine!" Kiran protested indignantly.

She was well aware that something was brewing between Shani and Jeryon, as well as Noella and Garth. She refused to be grouped in as dense!

However, Sonny shook his head with utter gravity. "All of you are the exact same!"

Kiran shook her head in refusal, diving straight into a heated debate with Sonny, who stubbornly held his ground.

Their argument eventually concluded with Kiran taking her frustration out on Eric, punching his upper arm once more.

"I’m not dense, right?" She demanded backup from her partner.

Eric gave an automatic nod, despite having been completely glued to his video the whole time.

Seeing that, Kiran’s temper flared right up.

She scoffed in annoyance and turned her face away, silently swearing not to say another word to her partner ever again. Their relationship was strictly business from now on!

Swiveling her body toward Shani, she focused on finishing her food.

Noticing the sudden absence of chirping from beside him, Eric glanced over, only to be met with Kiran’s cold back.

The corners of his lips curved up slightly before he asked in a relaxed tone, "I’m planning to order ice cream for tonight. Do you want vanilla or chocolate?"

"Van—" Kiran answered enthusiastically before realizing mid-sentence that she was supposed to be giving him the silent treatment.

Her body, which had almost turned back toward Eric, quickly pivoted back toward Shani.

"Hmm, you don’t want any?" Eric asked. Kiran stayed silent.

Eric shrugged his shoulders. "Alright, guess not. I was actually planning on ordering some for lunch today, too."

"Just order it!" Once again, Kiran’s body reacted faster than her brain. She immediately bit her lower lip upon realizing her tongue had slipped.

"I’ll order a double flavor then, vanilla and chocolate, if you want," Eric said, refraining from teasing her indecisiveness.

"Fine! But you have to order ice cream for lunch and tonight. Tomorrow, too!" Kiran finally abandoned her attempt at staying angry.

"You shouldn’t eat sweet foods too often. Not tomorrow. The day after," Eric countered calmly. Kiran pouted in displeasure, but gave a reluctant nod anyway.

The others at the table watched the two of them, thoroughly dumbfounded.

After breakfast, they headed up to the fifth floor. Mondays were dedicated to resonance classes, where all students returned to their respective home classrooms.

Shani’s friends headed into Class 1, leaving Shani and Sonny to walk toward Class 2.

"Shani! I’m so glad we’re classmates!" Luca greeted Shani outside the classroom, alongside Sonny’s other friends.

Without Sonny having to say a word, his friends enthusiastically greeted Shani and introduced themselves.

Shani could clearly see their excitement toward her, even if she had no idea what about her had gotten them so worked up.

Chatting along the way, they stepped into the classroom. Only then did their eyes fall upon Shani’s assigned seat.

Ranked 40th, Shani was supposed to sit in the far back corner.

However, because a certain student had received a demotion penalty down to their class, that student occupied the absolute back corner seat, while Shani’s desk sat right beside hers.

"Shani, will you be okay?"

...