Chapter 608
Reece wasn’t stupid. He knew Jillian was just the mouthpiece and that the bribe had come straight from Vanessa.
Even though he had talked tough, he was just an out-of-state kid from a working- class family. Going toe-to-toe with literal billionaires definitely made his stomach churn.
But the enemy of his enemy was his friend. If he was going to catch hell for this, it was better to stand alongside someone as fearless as Mira than to get crushed alone.
“Wait, seriously p>
“They think just because they’re rich they own the place? Buying class elections? What is wrong with them p>
“Exactly. And they just tried to intimidate Mira. That’s straight-up bullying p>
“I’m a Mira fan, and I’m officially sick of those two p>
Hearing the hostile murmurs rippling through the crowd, Vanessa mentally cursed Jillian into oblivion. Useless idiot. I gave her one simple task, and she turns it into a PR disaster!
And Luna was just as bad, completely abandoning her polished image. Who practically threatens a classmate in front of thirty witnesses? How did she expect people to react?
“Reece, whoever insulted you, take it up with them. Don’t drag the rest of us into your drama p>
“I certainly hope Jillian’s little bribery attempt had nothing to do with you p>
Reece fired back smoothly.
Either way, the new class president had real spine. He wasn’t the type to grovel to the rich and step on the weak, and that earned him a significant bump in Mira’s estimation.
Plus, he had just backed her up on the violin. Overall, her impression of him was highly favorable.
After grabbing their orientation uniforms, Mira and her crew headed back to the dorms.
Since the Leadership & Discipline Orientation started bright and early tomorrow, Mira decided to crash on campus tonight instead of heading to her apartment.
Since it was still a bit too early for the dinner she had promised, she figured she’d freshen up and chill for a bit before they headed out.
Elara went back to her room next door, leaving Mira and Leah lounging on their respective beds, scrolling through their phones.
“Mira, look! The class already posted your performance on the Aethelgard Social Forum p>
Leah called out.
Mira opened the university’s app she had just downloaded and immediately saw several threads featuring her singing.
Scrolling down, the comment section was an absolute avalanche of praise, driving the post straight to the top of the trending page.
“Holy crap, you guys are so lucky to have a literal superstar in your class p>
“Wow! Her voice is incredible. I would kill to have been there live p>
“You guys literally got a private acoustic concert during orientation p>
“Those songs hit right in the feels. She’s so soulful! I’m officially a fan p>
“That second song though I’ve never heard it before. Is it an unreleased original? Liked and saved p>
“I’m so jealous of Comp Sci Class 2. I need to transfer immediately p>
One of her classmates smugly replied, “Eat your hearts out p>
Naturally, there were a few haters in the mix.
“She’s just an attention whore. Who starts belting out a concert at their very first class meeting p>
Comments like that were instantly dog-piled by her defenders. “You’re just bitter and talentless, so you can’t stand seeing someone else win p>
After taking a brutal beating in the replies, the trolls quickly deleted their comments and vanished.
Mira had seen it all a thousand times back in Melvion City. She skimmed the drama for a few seconds before closing the app.
Remembering the spiritual hymn,
she realized she hadn’t actually copyrighted it yet. She quickly
snapped a photo of the sheet music and texted it to Kieran Holt, telling him to fast-track the legal paperwork.
Her claim during the class meeting about already owning the copyright had been a total bluff specifically designed to scare off anyone looking to steal her intellectual property.
As a cutthroat businesswoman, she always had to stay three steps ahead.
Just then, Vanessa and Jillian walked into the dorm room. Mira and Leah didn’t even bother looking up to acknowledge them.
The room was firmly split into two warring factions, and any hope of a peaceful coexistence was dead. Mira just wanted them to stay on their side of the invisible
line.
The other two rustled around for a bit, whispering furiously to each other, before Vanessa’s loud,. deliberate voice our through the silence “Come on, Jillian. We’re going to the Solflare Grand Hotel tonight. Let me show you how the real elites live p>
With her chin tilted haughtily in the air, Vanessa strutted out the door like she owned
the world.