Chapter 79: Insults and Defiance

If they thought they could spew nonsense right in front of Shani with impunity, they were dead wrong.

She had stayed quiet until now because she refused to waste breath on people who could only whisper behind her back.

But intentionally shouting it within earshot, and bringing her younger siblings at the orphanage into it, crossed a line.

"If you’re in the wrong, just own up to it! Don’t get cocky with us," one of the male students barked, visibly annoyed at being challenged.

"Just hurry up, drop out, and turn yourself in to the police," a female student chimed in, nodding in agreement.

"Exactly! All the nepo babies have already been weeded out. The remaining students are the ones with actual talent. Stop bringing shame to Grand Academy!" another boy piped up.

Only one female student remained silent. She was Shani’s former Class 5 classmate and the only person who had apologized to Shani during that incident with Nora.

Shani recalled her surname was Cyrus. In the overall rankings for the first monthly exam, she sat dead last at rank 74.

She looked increasingly panicked as her peers grew more aggressive and Shani’s expression hardened into ice.

"Calm down, guys. We’ve been manipulated by fabricated photos and spun narratives before. Maybe this time—"

"Just because you’re in dead last, are you hoping you can be like her? Parading around as the Prince’s partner and clinging to high-ranked students?!" the girl beside her snapped, cutting her off.

Cyrus’s eyes widened in hurt disbelief.

"Besides, you were the one who brought up the post in the first place! Weren’t you trying to mock her too?!" the other boy chimed in, turning on Cyrus.

Shani’s brow furrowed at the boy’s accusation. Although all four had been sitting together, only three had actively sneered at her.

Shani had assumed Cyrus hadn’t said a word because she possessed some semblance of sense, but perhaps she needed to re-evaluate.

She observed Cyrus closely. The girl bit her lower lip, but there was no panic of a caught instigator in her eyes, only deep hurt.

"You know I brought it up because I wanted us to figure out how to talk sense into the people commenting on it," Cyrus protested softly.

The three of them looked caught off guard by her pushback.

For a moment, silence fell over them, before one of the boys barked back, "Who knows what your real intentions were?!"

Cyrus simply shook her head in disappointment. She stood up, taking a step away from them. "You should apologize to Shani."

"Ha! Now you think you can boss us around? You’re literally ranked dead last!" the girl scoffed, refusing to back down.

Cyrus looked at them with a sigh before turning toward Shani.

"I’m sorry. If I hadn’t brought up the post, you wouldn’t have had to hear them slander you and the children at the orphanage."

Shani remained slightly guarded regarding Cyrus’s true intentions, but since she hadn’t said anything malicious and had offered a sincere apology, Shani wasn’t about to hold a grudge.

She offered a quiet nod in return.

Cyrus then walked over to the far side of the room and took a seat by herself.

"So much money, yet such a loser. I’m going to demand even more money from her mother," the girl muttered under her breath, out of Cyrus’s earshot.

But Shani and the two boys heard it crystal clear. The two boys let out mock snickers.

Shani frowned. ’What’s the deal between them?’

Briefly side-tracked, Shani quickly refocused on the matter at hand.

She pinned the remaining three with an icy glare. "Are you going to apologize to me for what you said?"

One of the boys snorted. "Apologize? Do you honestly think you deserve one?"

"Just ignore her. She’ll get hauled off by the police eventually anyway," the other boy waved a dismissive hand.

"Are you seriously still spouting nonsense?" Shani was utterly baffled by their stubbornness.

The girl lifted her chin smugly. "You don’t command us. What are you gonna do about it, huh?"

"What am I gonna do?" Shani let out a dry, sarcastic chuckle.

"You know that woman who tried to frame me at the police station? I pressed charges, and she’s currently being processed. I can easily do the exact same thing to you!"

"Go ahead and try!" the boy dared her.

The girl beside him opened her mouth to echo the challenge, but a loud, thunderous BAM against the classroom door rattled everyone inside.

Bram Slater stepped inside, scanning the classroom that housed a grand total of five students.

"This class keeps getting emptier," he remarked with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

"You lot! Sit properly!" he commanded lazily, directing his dull glare at Shani and the three students she had been confronting.

Shani finally took her seat, though she had no intention of letting the matter slide.

Having only five students didn’t prompt Slater to wrap up early. He taught right up until the scheduled end time, unaffected by the sparse attendance.

Once class was dismissed, Shani lingered behind to check on the progress of her bloodworms and their egg clutches.

"Shani, you’re the only one whose bloodworms have already laid eggs," Cyrus said, stepping over. Feeling a bit awkward, she kept a polite distance.

Shani offered a brief nod without turning around.

"Would you mind telling me how you did it?" Cyrus asked cautiously, before quickly adding, "I mean, I saw you applying a different treatment. Maybe that’s how you got them to lay eggs so quickly."

Shani finally turned her head, studying the girl closely. Cyrus fidgeted nervously under her gaze, but stood her ground, waiting for an answer.

"Adjust the temperature and swap out the leaves meant for nesting," Shani said at last.

Cyrus blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting Shani to actually share her methods. She rapidly jotted down the advice.

Shani wasn’t stingy with information, provided she deemed the recipient worthy.

Besides, she omitted the exact procedural details, the precise recipe had already been licensed to the Mortis Company as a trade secret.

Cyrus thanked her profusely before applying Shani’s tips right away. She even pulled out her device to photograph her bloodworms, eager to track their daily progress.

Shani left first, leaving Cyrus to her work.

She walked alone down the quiet hallway, absorbed in her smartwatch, oblivious to how much time had slipped by in class.

She stopped by the restroom to wash her hands.

Even though she hadn’t touched the bloodworms or their feed directly, she preferred to clean up. Especially since she planned to head straight to the cafeteria afterward.

Just then, someone stepped out of one of the stalls. A familiar face, Nora.

Shani instantly went on high alert.

By instinct, she shifted toward the farthest corner sink, taking a defensive stance much like she had when dealing with Mrs. Rourken.

"How does it feel now? Do you have concrete evidence to clear your name? surveillance footage?" Nora sneered, dropping her sweet facade entirely.

"So Mrs. Rourken’s stolen ring incident really was your doing?" Shani asked, her gaze turning frosty.

Nora let out a satisfied laugh. "What if it was? Even if you’re released, your name will forever be tainted as the primary suspect."

"You learned your lesson from the classroom incident, huh? Making sure there are no cameras around," Shani replied, completely unbothered by Nora’s taunts.

Nora smirked viciously. "Sarcasm won’t save you. Your police report for defamation and verbal assault against Mrs. Rourken and her son won’t even go anywhere."

"Vivienne Ashbourne only needs to say a single word, and everyone at the police precinct will bow down. You know House Ashbourne, one of the Top Ten Prestigious Families, right?"

Nora stepped closer to Shani, her face dripping with arrogance. "Did you really think you can ruined me? You couldn’t be more wrong."

SLAP! "Ah!"

Shani’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

Nora had crazily slapped her own cheek. She then aggressively disheveled her own hair and ripped the front collar of her top.

"Why are you slapping yourself? Have you lost your mind?" Shani demanded, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Nora leaned in with a sly smirk and whispered, "They call me a pretentious princess, so let me show you what a true pretentious princess act looks like."

Instantly, Nora’s expression shifted to one of pure terror. She stumbled backward, collapsing dramatically onto the floor.

"Help! Shani, please don’t hit me anymore!" Her pain-filled shrieks echoed throughout the entire restroom.

"Are you seriously doing this?" Shani stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.

In between her agonized cries, Nora flashed a sinister grin and whispered, "Good acting, right?"

Immediately after, she resumed screaming in theatrical agony.

Moments later, frantic footsteps echoed outside the restroom.

Several female students, including Cyrus, rushed inside, only to find Shani standing over Nora, who was slumped on the floor with a swollen, red cheek, messy hair, and torn clothes.

"What happened?" Cyrus asked, her tone neutral and free of immediate judgment.

Shani flashed a faint, knowing smile. Reaching up, she lightly tapped an earpiece tucked beneath her silver hair. "Lawyer Rivers, did you get all of that on record?"

...