?Chapter 334:


    The doubt and skepticism hung in the air around him.


    It was rare for someone from a humble background to make it big. Everyone here had been raised with top-tier education, with private tutors at their disposal since they were kids.


    Mnie snorted softly. Pulling out her phone, she quickly snapped a picture of Ethan and sent it to Mariana. She texted, “Check out the new guy in our ss. Total country bumpkin. No clue how he even got in!”


    At that very moment, Mariana sat across from Rosanna in an upscale café, delicately savoring exquisite desserts that looked almost too beautiful to eat.


    Their phonesy idle on the table between them, like silent sentinels waiting to be summoned.


    Without the slightest regard for Rosanna’s presence, Mariana tapped the photo that Mnie had just sent.


    The image revealed a teenager — his clothes unremarkable, but his face bore a quiet handsomeness that drew the eye.


    Rosanna caught a glimpse and recoiled slightly, eyes wide in recognition. “Wait… him? Why is he in that photo?”


    “Who?” Mariana asked, her brows knitting into a frown.


    “He’s from the slums — down in the old quarter,” Rosanna replied, her tone caught between disbelief and concern.


    “The slums?” Mariana echoed, skepticism creeping into her voice. “Are you sure? This boy is Mnie’s new ssmate. She’s in the special admissions ss at Wront University — only the crème de crème make it in. Kids from powerful families, top achievers. Someone from the slums doesn’t just stroll into that world.”


    Rosanna stared again at the photo, her certainty deepening like roots burrowing into soil. She couldn’t be wrong. After all, she had shared years of hardship with Ethan in those very slums.


    “I’m certain,” Rosanna said firmly. “His name is Ethan Watson. But how on earth did hend in Wront’s elite ss? And in the same room as Mnie?”


    Feel the magic on gα?ησν????s


    Mariana’s face turned cial, like a pond icing over in a sudden frost. A slum dweller, rubbing shoulders with Mnie? The very idea wasughable.


    Without a second thought, she typed a message to Mnie. “Is his name Ethan Watson?”


    Mnie’s reply came almost instantly. “Yes. How did you know, Mariana?”


    “He’s from the slums,” Mariana answered. “Did your teacher put him in the wrong ss by mistake?”


    The words struck Mnie like a p. From the slums? Sharing a ss with her? The idea was not just offensive — it was a personal affront.


    Proud as she was, there was no way Mnie would tolerate sharing a ss with someone from the slums. To her, it was an insult.


    She lifted her gaze toward the back of the ssroom, where Ethan sat, and her jaw tightened with fury. She was going to drive this lowlife out of her ss.


    Mnie rose to her feet, striding toward Ethan like a storm rolling in. “Hey,” she barked. “Why are you pretending to be mute? Didn’t you hear your ssmates asking questions?”


    Ethan nced up, his brows knitting, lips parting as if searching for the right words in a foreign tongue. He had never been good at dealing with strangers, and now their eyes burned holes through his skin.


    “I don’t know what to say,” he mumbled, almost too softly to hear.


    “Don’t know, or just too scared to talk?” Mnie pressed, her brow arched in mocking inquiry. She studied his averted gaze with cold amusement. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or are you really that dim? They asked you where you’re from. That’s not quantum physics.”


    A hush fell over the ss.


    .


    .


    .