ALL NOVEL Chapter 23: Support from Friends
Xanthia was leisurely strolling around the campus with Luciel at this moment.
Thessaloniki First High School had a large campus area, and its greenery was well maintained. It felt like they were taking a walk in a park, and when they got tired, they could sit on the benches by the roadside for a while.
The long break during the morning classes was quite substantial, especially since it was a Saturday. Since it was a whole day of self-study classes, there was no need to save time after class for studying. Proper balance between work and rest could enhance learning efficiency.
Of course, this applied to Luciel. With her determination in studying, she was diligent to the extreme.
As for Xanthia, she didn't really adhere to the concept of "work-life balance." Her time spent on "life" far exceeded that on "work." After all, leisure brought relaxation and pleasure, and human nature tends to seek comfort over toil.
"Xanthia, that Jimmy in the back seat is too disgusting. It's bad enough that he got caught himself, but he also tried to drag you down with him. He even spoke loudly, attracting some strange looks towards you," Luciel complained indignantly.
Xanthia shrugged indifferently. Her mindset was unaffected; she had always maintained a detached and enjoyable attitude towards reliving high school life.
Maintaining a cheerful attitude at such moments would inevitably stimulate some classmates, especially after they noticed that the teachers were turning a blind eye to her.
The mindset of typical students is often contradictory. They desire to be supervised and receive attention from teachers, yet they do not wish to be strictly controlled. A little privilege is preferred; who doesn't crave freedom?
However, if the teachers truly let go completely, ignoring everything, then some people would definitely feel anxious and uneasy.
"Luciel, I'm fine actually. What Jimmy said was true. When Teacher came in to catch students, I was indeed reading manga," Xanthia said with a smile.
"Since you've already finished your homework and prepared well for the upcoming monthly exam, why not relax and read some uhh... manga? What's the big deal? It's his fault for chatting so loudly, disturbing others' study!" Luciel said with double standards. "I just hope the monthly exam comes soon. You'll prove yourself then. Let's see if certain people in our class still dare to act arrogantly!"
Luciel was displeased with Xanthia being underestimated by some people, including her current deskmate, Hera.
Hera couldn't help but smirk when Xanthia was exposed by Jimmy. Then, she even had the audacity to turn around and say to Hannah, "They say if you're poor, you should study harder. Who would have thought we have someone like Xanthia in our class? Poor academic performance and still loves to play. Poor social skills. Such people can only seek attention by playing the victim."
Hera categorized everything, looking down on those less fortunate. She never hid this aspect of herself.
Luciel immediately got angry and confronted Hera, "Do you have the audacity to talk about grades? Xanthia just had a slip-up in a diagnostic test. She'll surely bounce back next time. Before you criticize others, take a look at yourself. Ranked third from the bottom in the class and the worst among the girls. How many marks can you score?"
Hera was caught off guard by Luciel's sudden outburst. Although they didn't get along well, they maintained superficial harmony. But because of Xanthia, Luciel, who had a chivalrous spirit, directly confronted her!
As for Hera's deskmate, Hannah, she initially wanted to instinctively agree with the heiress, feeling no pressure to join in the ridicule against Xanthia. But seeing Luciel lose her temper, she instantly backed down...
Hannah was the typical fence-sitter. She had a good relationship with Hera on the surface and a decent one with Luciel. She liked to flatter Luciel occasionally. Regardless of whether it was Hera or Luciel, she didn't want to offend either of them.
Meanwhile, Hera was quickly getting flustered.
However, despite her ostentatious and exaggerated demeanor as a wealthy heiress, she was actually afraid of confrontation. If Luciel were the type who lacked looks and social skills, or if Xanthia were replaced with someone else, she would definitely resort to bullying. It was a basic skill for a wealthy heiress.
But the key was that Luciel was extremely popular in the class, had strong leadership, and was even considered the "class flower" by the boys. If Hera were to bully her, she might end up being isolated instead...
Hera could only maintain her tough stance outwardly, "Luciel, we're not even on the same level! I may not need good grades, but I can easily boss around those with good grades in the future! My future husband will be Dionysios El Papadopoulos. Do you understand Dionysios's value?"
Luciel, who was initially angry, was almost amused. Miss Hera, is this all you've got?
If Dionysios were really interested in someone like her, Luciel would despise both of them. Even Dionysios El Papadopoulos, in Luciel's eyes, was just a stepping stone to someone else.
After Hera finally decided to calm things down, Luciel couldn't be bothered to deal with her anymore, and the two began a complete cold war.
However, Hera, who was afraid of confrontation, was secretly plotting—
If I can't deal with you, Luciel, and I can't mess with Xanthia, just wait and see!
At this moment, Xanthia heard Luciel's words, and she felt the deep support coming from the other party, increasing her happiness.
Then, she hugged Luciel and leaned close to her ear, softly saying, "Luciel, you really have such a boyfriend vibe, making people feel secure. No wonder your dorm mates call you 'hubby', hehe."
Luciel was embraced by Xanthia, and the scent lingering on her made her somewhat intoxicated. She really enjoyed this feeling.
So she turned around and hugged Xanthia back, saying with great determination, "Xanthia, you just seem too fragile and easy to bully. But from now on, I'll protect you well and never let you suffer any grievances!"
Luciel felt that Xanthia was the classic gentle and delicate girl, like a fragile porcelain doll that needed her protection. The fact that Jimmy did such a thing to this gentle and cute girl made him really despicable, emotionally unintelligent, and destined to be single for life!
Xanthia sneakily glanced at the basic attributes like "constitution," "strength," and "agility" on her system panel. Compared to when she first crossed over, under the continuous enhancement of her "happiness points," they had increased a lot. With her current values, she didn't seem to be a "soft girl" anymore. But she had to admit, she actually enjoyed the feeling of being protected by Luciel...
Since she enjoyed it and felt happy, she decided to continue pretending to be a soft girl on the surface. After all, she indeed had the classic traits of a "fragile little flower," which could easily evoke others' protective instincts.
At the same time, Xanthia secretly resolved that if Luciel encountered any trouble in the future, she would definitely help as much as possible. Helping each other between friends was only natural, and it was also Luciel's way of continuously providing her with happiness points.
"Compared to Jimmy, your deskmate is quite gentle and decent. He shows responsibility and loyalty at critical times. With a deskmate like him, I feel a bit more relieved," Luciel objectively commented.
Xanthia nodded in agreement and added, "Besides being a bit talkative, Dematero doesn't have many flaws. He has a good temper, living up to his name."
