Chapter 1

It was the start of the new school year again, and countless luxury cars could be seen parked outside the school gates.

One by one, students dressed in expensive, custom-made uniforms got out of their cars and made their way toward the classroom blocks.

"Hey, did you guys hear about the new transfer students?"

"I heard about them ages ago. There are three of them too."

Another person sidled over. "Why is St. Toria allowing all these random losers in now?"

"Isn't this because of Lindsey Yule? The school found a new direction after she came here."

The female student who first started speaking scoffed. "New direction? You don't know about their twisted interests, do you? Sure, they're providing financial aid, but mostly, they just want to see how these financial aid recipients will act when faced with an absolute class divide."

"I agree. I heard the three spots were filled via a lottery pick. That's how arbitrary this all is."

"But seriously, I'm still kind of curious. Do you think there'll be another Lindsey Yule?"

"Surely not."

"Who knows? I've heard that these poor people have plenty of tricks up their sleeves. Otherwise, why are so many people so protective of Lindsey? Look at the state of St. Toria now. Is there anyone here who would dare mess with her?"

As they were talking, a young lady carrying a backpack walked past them. The three of them exchanged glances and fell silent, but they kept giving each other nudges for some reason, with smiles on their faces.

Lindsey Yule naturally noticed their little movements.

She had already been at this school for over half a year now, so she had long since learned to ignore these relatively harmless behaviors. She wasn't affected by them mentally either.

"Lindsey!"

Lindsey stopped in her tracks and turned in the direction of the person calling out.

"Whitney," Lindsey answered.

Her voice was as soft and gentle as the spring breeze. This was in line with her appearance too. She didn't have strikingly glamorous looks, but her features were easy on the eyes.

Whitney Zedd, whom she had replied to, was very different from her. While she was a poor scholarship student, Whitney was a true socialite from the upper class.

The Zedd family owned over two-thirds of the luxury entertainment venues in the country. Plenty of business deals that ended up being reported on the news were often discussed and signed in their establishments.

Whitney didn't walk up to Lindsey right away. Instead, she placed an arm around the shoulder of one of the students who was talking earlier.

With a warm grin, she said, "I noticed you guys having a delightful conversation earlier. Why don't you include me too? That way, we can all share in the fun. It's the first day of school after all, and I'm feeling especially cranky from not getting enough sleep."

The female student swallowed nervously, and the smile plastered on her face was so awkward she might as well have been crying.

"We… We were just talking about the transfer students. We didn't t-talk about anything else."

"That's right!" affirmed the other two.

"Is that so?" responded Whitney with a smile as she tightened her arm around the student's shoulder.

Alarmed, the student quickly lowered her head while her body trembled slightly, wanting to avoid Whitney's intense gaze.

Whitney's lips curled up into a smile as a layer of ice covered her eyes. Her voice dropped low as she leaned in, sounding like the devil's whisper. "If you don't want to become the next Cece Walter, then you'd better watch your mouth."

The three of them nodded vigorously. "We understand. We're sorry. We're very sorry!"

"Lower your voices! There's nothing to be proud of here."

"Seriously, why are they being so loud? What if Lindsey hears them?" Whitney thought to herself.

Whitney's voice carried a hint of impatience, and her arm that had been on the other student's shoulder had now moved up to the back of her head.

"Make sure I don't hear anything I shouldn't hear from Lindsey."

Her voice, though gentle, sent a chill down their spines.

"Understood. We understand clearly," the three of them answered in low voices, not even daring to lift their heads.

They had their backs to Lindsey, so she wasn't able to catch what they were saying. She only stood in her spot quietly, marveling at how close they must all be for them to be talking so long while standing out there in the open.

If she had known, she would've pretended not to notice anything earlier. That way, she'd probably have reached her classroom by then.

While Lindsey's thoughts were running all over the place, Whitney had already let the three students go and walked up to Lindsey. She linked her arm through hers habitually.

"Been waiting for long?" Whitney chuckled, her voice filled with vibrance.

"Done chatting?"

"Yup. Nothing much to chat about anyway."

Lindsey nodded in response, not pursuing the topic any further.

"What have you been up to over the holidays? You didn't take me up on my offer when I invited you to spend the holidays at our villa, and you didn't reply to my messages either. Are you seeing someone else behind my back?"

Whitney's eyes narrowed dangerously when she said the last sentence, but Lindsey hadn't noticed.

"I told you I needed to work, and I also needed to spend some time taking care of my mom at the hospital. Also, I might not have replied to your messages, but I did call you."

Whitney could potentially send over 100 messages to her a day, and it would just waste too much time if she replied to them one by one. Thus, after she visited her mother, she would give Whitney a call.

"But we only talk for five minutes a day. Sometimes, it's even less!" Whitney pouted, clearly unimpressed with it all, but was unable to say much more.

"Did that idiot Shawn bully you while I was away? Look at you. I haven't seen you for just a break, and you've lost so much weight. Are you sure you don't want to come live at my place, Lindsey?"

Lindsey shook her head, not saying anything.

"Speaking of which, where is Shawn?"

Lindsey always came to school in the Chilton's car, and previously, Lindsey and Shawn Chilton could usually be seen walking down this path together. Today, however, Lindsey was alone, and Shawn was nowhere to be seen.

"He went to the classroom first."

"Did you guys have a fight again?"

Lindsey shook her head. To be more precise, Shawn was angry with her, and she didn't even know why. He would often have these random temper tantrums, but he would eventually get over it a few days later, so Lindsey wasn't really bothered.

Whitney, who was no stranger to this, didn't plan on pursuing the matter either. Instead, she changed the subject.

"I heard that a new scholarship student is coming to our class. It'll be great if they're as interesting as you," she said with a hint of excitement.

Lindsey thought back to when she had just arrived. She could only hope that this person would be someone with a strong mental state.

By the time the two reached their classroom, Shawn was already seated—just as Lindsey had said. The morning rays were soft as they shone gently on his face, making his features appear even more defined.

Lindsey really liked Shawn's amber eyes. They seemed to carry a deep affection when looking at others, but unfortunately, he never looked at anyone properly.

Shawn, likely feeling Lindsey's gaze, looked over. But before she could say anything, he snorted coldly, not even bothering to hide his temper tantrum.

Lindsey looked away. She was planning on following Whitney and getting a seat on the other side when Shawn suddenly kicked the chair in front of him.

It made a big enough commotion to attract quite a lot of people's attention.

With a sigh, Lindsey backtracked and headed over before sitting down in the seat in front of him.

Only then did Shawn's expression soften considerably.

Whitney shot him a glare, but he only lifted his chin smugly, looking like a soldier who had just won a battle.

The seats in the classroom slowly filled. When the bell rang, their homeroom teacher ushered a female student in.

Chapter 2

The new female student had a small face with crystal clear doe eyes and a tiny braid plaited into one side of her hair. And even though she was dressed in simple white shoes and a white dress, it did nothing to hide her beauty.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Sienna Langston, and I'll officially be a student of St. Toria as of today. I hope we can all be friends soon in the days to come."

Her soft and gentle voice was the type that easily drew others to feel sympathy for her.

And yet, the expected welcoming hoorays and compliments never sounded. Instead, there was only a light smattering of polite applause, and the classroom fell quiet again quickly enough.

Sienna pursed her lips, and she blinked her eyes innocently. Her intertwined fingers showed how nervous she was.

The teacher said nothing else except to ask her to find an empty seat.

"Alright, let's start our class."

With that, the screen next to the whiteboard lit up, and the class knowingly fished out their tablets from their desks, most of which were the newest models.

Sienna felt a little out of place. She clutched her notebook so tightly that her fingertips turned white. No one was looking at her at all, and yet she could somehow feel countless mocking gazes fixed on her, causing her face to flush a deep pink.

When the lesson ended, Sienna hadn't managed to catch anything. The completely different teaching methods and class styles made it hard for her to adjust. A huge sense of inferiority enveloped her, making it impossible for her to focus on the lesson.

Everything was different from what she had been expecting.

At first, she had thought they would all be a bunch of arrogant trust-fund babies, and it would be enough of a miracle if they didn't disrupt the class.

In reality, however, not only did they take notes and listen to the class diligently, but they'd also ask questions and give their own input when appropriate. The teacher didn't find them disruptive at all, and instead carved out a time specifically so they could discuss the feasibility of these ideas of theirs.

More importantly, the teacher even managed to wrap up the lesson five minutes before class ended and elected a new class president.

While in her seat, Sienna instinctively covered her notebook with her books when she saw people gathering around her.

"Sienna, right? Hi!"

"Hello," Sienna responded sweetly.

"Your skin looks amazing. Which spa do you go to?"

"I've never been to a spa," Sienna answered shyly, a flush creeping across her cheeks.

In reality, not only had Sienna been to a spa before, but she went quite often too. Her mother cared a lot about appearances, so the moment she hit puberty, her mother would take her to the spa every month for facial treatments. She herself would also go to bed early, as well as use all sorts of skincare products just to maintain her beauty.

"You think she's like you guys? Sienna was born pretty."

"T-That's not true. You're all very pretty," Sienna said.

Her head was hung low, and her hands were clutching her skirt, making her look as if she were a startled deer that only made her seem even more endearing.

The female student who had spoken earlier pursed her lips and didn't say anything more.

"Hey, Lindsey!" someone shouted.

Lindsey looked up, papers still in hand.

As the newly elected class president, she had been whisked away by the teacher the moment the bell rang to get some forms that needed to be filled in by her classmates.

"Lindsey, you're both scholarship students, so you should have stuff to talk about, right?"

Lindsey looked at Sienna just as Sienna looked at her too, the latter seemingly just realizing there was another scholarship student in the class with her.

"But aren't I from the first batch? Where did this Lindsey come from? And it looks like she gets along with everyone pretty well?" Sienna thought to herself.

Just earlier, Lindsey had even won the seat for the class president by a landslide.

"There's a form that everyone needs to fill out. I've written some instructions on the whiteboard, but if there's anything you don't understand, please ask—"

"I don't understand what you mean!" Sienna interrupted.

She got to her feet and bit down on her bottom lip, her face filled with indignance.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"I may be a scholarship student, but I was admitted here based on my own merits. I'm no different from any of you!"

Zachary Murdock scratched his nose, looking a little embarrassed. "I didn't mean it like that."

Suddenly, someone scoffed.

"No different? That's not necessarily true," drawled Whitney, one of her legs crossed over the other, looking rather laid back.

And even though she was looking up at Sienna, her presence didn't weaken in the slightest. Instead, it even seemed to overpower the latter just a little.

Sienna swallowed nervously. "At the end of the day, everything you have comes from your parents, right?"

"Then why don't your parents have money? Do they not want it? And of course, my parents' money is for me to spend as well. Who else would spend it? You?"

The consecutive retorts left Sienna speechless. Feeling both frustrated and angry, her eyes misted over.

Whitney scoffed, and her glare was filled with mockery.

"I just think that… Even though I'm a scholarship student, I still deserve respect. You're lucky to be born with a silver spoon, but there are plenty of people who struggle just to survive. Surely, you can't say that they're not working hard enough."

Hearing these comments, the gazes from the rest of the class abruptly changed.

Sienna hadn't expected such a response, and her heart began to race.

Lindsey sighed inwardly. What Sienna had said hadn't been wrong, but her target audience hadn't been right either.

Given the class difference between them, saying such words in front of those who were "born with a silver spoon" would only achieve the opposite of the intended effect.

Did Sienna really think that these wealthy, prestigious families would raise fools?

Lindsey cleared her throat and clapped her hands.

"Alright, I'm handing out the forms now. Fill them in and return them to me before the lunch break. Also, there'll be start-of-term tests next Thursday and Friday. If you don't pass them, you'll have to go back and redo your 10th grade, so study well!"

A wave of groans erupted.

No one lingered around Sienna, just as no one mentioned what had occurred earlier either. It was as if nothing had even happened.

After Lindsey finished speaking, she walked off the podium and up to Sienna.

"The teacher asked me to show you around the campus. I'll take you around during recess later."

In a way, this offered Sienna an out, so she sat down and took the form that Lindsey handed her.

After that, no one came to speak to her again. This lasted until the recess when Lindsey led her out of the classroom.

"The school has two outdoor fields and two indoor gymnasiums. The other sports all have one indoor and one outdoor arena each too. There are also three libraries and five cafeterias, along with other various amenities, but I won't list them out one by one because there are just too many of them.

"The campus is quite large, and we won't be able to cover it in one day, so I'll just show you the main areas. As for the specifics, you can check your student handbook. There's a map and detailed information inside, and you can come to me if you have questions," Lindsey explained carefully.

"Lindsey, are you a scholarship student too? You seem quite close with the rest of the class."

"I transferred here during the second half of 10th grade, and most of us in this class were already in the same class then."

"10th grade? But aren't the scholarship spots only available starting this year?"

"My situation is a little different."

"Different?"

Lindsey didn't intend to continue the conversation, and this displeased Sienna, who assumed that the former was intentionally trying to play it coy.

After a few seconds of silence, Sienna continued, "Since you're a scholarship student as well, your family must not be well off either, right? But I saw you taking notes with a tablet earlier, just like the rest of them."

"The teaching pace here is quite fast, so it'll be a waste of time doing handwritten notes. Using tools is just much more efficient."

"Where did you get your tablet? It looked like the newest model too," Sienna asked as she glanced at Lindsey.

Sienna's probing tone made Lindsey feel uncomfortable, but she still responded. "Shawn lent it to me."

"You take their handouts?"

Chapter 3

Handouts?

Lindsey didn't know how Sienna even came to that conclusion.

"Have you no dignity? Why would you accept their handouts?"

Sienna hadn't even waited for Lindsey to respond before slapping another label on her. Her tone was accusatory, and there was even an air of superiority, as if Lindsey was some disgusting vermin that did not deserve to see the light of day.

"Sienna Langston," Lindsey started, not showing any anger.

"You need to understand why you're here. Everyone here is busier than you think, so no one will protect that fragile ego of yours. If a person's single word or action can be misconstrued as looking down on you, then I can only say that deep down, you are the one looking down on yourself.

"If you continue with this mindset, then you won't be fit to stay at this school."

"Right. I'm not fit, but you are, aren't you? Ha! I could never bring myself to accept anyone's second-hand items. I can still get good grades without those electronics!"

Lindsey frowned. For some reason, Sienna seemed like she was a completely different person.

"Then good luck to you," responded Lindsey simply.

It was better to respect other people's choices than give oneself an aneurysm arguing with them.

After their little tiff, Sienna seemingly didn't want to be around Lindsey anymore. So, she just said that she was tired and wanted to go back to the classroom.

This naturally didn't matter to Lindsey. The only reason she brought Sienna around was because the teacher had instructed her to, and it was one of her duties as the class president.

When they got back to the classroom, Lindsey reached into her desk and realized that she had forgotten her water bottle. Thinking back, she realized she had left it on the dinner table that morning when Shawn kept rushing them to leave.

Lindsey sighed and was just about to get her tablet out to go through her notes when she felt a kick on her chair.

She turned around to look at Shawn.

"Buy me something to drink." A trust-fund baby was indeed a trust-fund baby; even his requests were so matter-of-fact.

Lindsey took the card that he had placed on his table. "The usual?"

Shawn snorted in response and then turned away. Seeing his behavior, it wouldn't be surprising if even a three-year-old turned out to be more mature than him.

"Same for me too, please," Zachary said, his hands clasped together while looking at her.

"Me too. An iced coffee, please," Whitney chimed in with her order as well.

The word spread quickly, and soon enough, more and more people were listing out their drinks and snack orders. Lindsey took her phone out to take the orders down and was just about to ask a question when Sienna slammed her hand down on her desk and leaped up.

"You're all going too far!"

Startled, the class exchanged glances with each other, not understanding how they had offended her yet again.

"Yes, we're financial aid recipients, but we're also students here. We came here to study, not to be your servants. Who do you think you are to order Lindsey around and have her buy things for you?" she yelled while she positioned herself in front of Lindsey protectively.

Meanwhile, Lindsey, with one hand holding the card and the other pointing at herself, was looking very confused.

"Uh… I know you're really mad, but settle down first. Have you misunderstood something?" Zachary asked, looking perplexed.

"We pay Lindsey when we ask her to bring us stuff. We're not freeloading," he continued to explain.

"That's right. It's 50 dollars each time. That's way more than anyone can earn doing delivery," another classmate affirmed.

"So, just because you pay her, you have the right to bully her? She's just a teenage girl. You all ordered so many drinks, how is she supposed to carry all that back here?"

Lindsey patted Sienna on the shoulder. "Actually, I can just borrow a cart from the supermarket owner."

When doing business, one should broaden one's horizons and way of thinking.

Sienna stared at her in disbelief.

"They're using money to denigrate you. Have you no dignity, Lindsey?"

Sienna tried to snatch the card from Lindsey's hand, but Lindsey was gripping it so tightly that it wouldn't even budge. In the end, she could only give up and glare at Lindsey in disappointment.

Lindsey was puzzled. She provided the labor and received a corresponding fee. How was she being denigrated?

"50 dollars is already considered denigrating? Who are you looking down on?" Shawn asked.

He rested his feet on the desk and tilted his chair back, looking both arrogant and aloof.

Lindsey looked over at him and gritted her teeth. She was clearly scared, yet she still resolutely stood in front of Lindsey protectively.

"You have arms and legs of your own. You can go buy your own stuff. Lindsey is a student, not a delivery person. She isn't required to run errands for you. If you want to bully her, then you'll have to go through me first!

"It's drinks you want? Fine! I'll go buy them!" she said with her head held high, looking tough and determined.

Shawn raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze.

"Looks like someone is trying to stop you from earning money, Lindsey."

"She'd be better off not earning money this way!"

"That's not true! That's not true at all!" Lindsey blurted.

As determined as Sienna's statements had sounded earlier, Lindsey's plea sounded just as urgent.

Lindsey was only smart and decisive when it came to two things—first was her studies, and second was money. Thus, her response had been expected by the rest of the class.

A handful of them couldn't help but laugh, but it carried no hint of mockery.

Even Shawn, who was looking at Lindsey, who had stuck her head out from behind, couldn't help but grin. However, his expression hardened again as if he suddenly thought of something, and his smile disappeared.

Lindsey hadn't noticed the change in his mood. Instead, she walked out from under Sienna's "protection" and stood in front of her.

"Sienna, I know you're trying to help, but you really have misunderstood. I was the one who suggested this errand-running idea. Where there's a demand, there's a market. You pay the money, and I provide the labor.

"Everything is fair and reasonable and has absolutely nothing to do with so-called denigration or bullying. It's just a mutually agreed-upon business model. It's all just business, you know?"

Lindsey didn't bother to hide her yearning for money, and her attitude displeased Sienna greatly.

"Lindsey, I… I'm trying to help you!"

"Thank you, but I don't need it."

"How can you be so materialistic?"

"I don't have money, so I need to earn money. Isn't that natural?"

Lindsey's expression was too innocent-looking, and her tone was insistent and rational.

Sienna's chest heaved with frustration, and she wanted to say more, but the bell for class rang right then.

Lindsey immediately deflated. Not only did she not manage to get something to drink, but she had lost out on the payment too. That was nearly 500 dollars that had gone out the window! Darn it!

"I'm sorry, everyone."

The others didn't say anything else and returned to their seats.

Sienna stared at Lindsey, then, as if finding her hopeless, sighed and walked back to her desk as well.

Lindsey wasn't bothered by this at all. The only thing going through her mind right then was the money that had flown right out of her hands. By the time she came back to her senses and wanted to return the card to Shawn, she noticed that he was no longer in the classroom.

15 minutes later, Shawn reappeared at the classroom door with two bottles of water in hand.

The teacher didn't say anything, and Shawn successfully returned to his seat.

The next second, something started poking Lindsey in the back, again and again. She assumed that Shawn wanted his card back, so she just handed it back to him. However, he didn't take it. Instead, he poked her a few more times.

Lindsey spun around, only to find the thing poking her to be a bottle of water.

She looked at Shawn and, with her eyes, asked what he was doing.

A flash of impatience crossed Shawn's face, and he scribbled something down in his notebook.

"I bought two, and I can't finish them both. You can have one."

There was a certain "flourish" to his words, and it was only because Lindsey had gotten used to reading them that she understood what he wrote.

"Thank you," she mouthed.

She then accepted the bottle of water and didn't forget to return his card to him either.

"I guess he's really thirsty. Otherwise, with how lazy he usually is, there's no way he would've walked all the way to the supermarket to buy these," she thought to herself.

The bottle had already been opened, but there was no sign that it had been drunk from. Lindsey didn't think too much of it and only assumed that Shawn had changed his mind after opening it.

Regardless, she didn't need to suffer from thirst anymore.

"Thank you for your generosity, kind sir. May you find toilet paper in the toilets today," she joked to herself.

She took a sip of the water, and her shoulders visibly relaxed quite a bit.

A grin had just appeared on Shawn's face when he felt his phone vibrate. He checked it, and it was a money transfer of five dollars from Lindsey.

"You're the true master when it comes to denigrating others, Lindsey!" Shawn seethed to himself.

He gripped his phone tightly, and he gritted his teeth so hard they were at risk of crumbling. His glare was so fiery, it was as if he wanted to burn a hole through Lindsey's back.

Chapter 4

During the lunch break, the students broke off into twos and threes and made their way to the cafeteria.

Sienna walked back and forth between the stalls.

The prices of the meals all exceeded her budget. Even the cheapest salad could cost around 80 dollars.

"Does this school use its own currency?" Sienna mused to herself.

She gripped her meal card tightly in her hand. It contained the food allowance that the school had sponsored for her. But with these meal prices, her balance would fall to zero within just half a month.

"Sienna?"

Lindsey had just come out of the back kitchen, and she was wearing an apron while holding one of those large ladles that cafeteria ladies were always seen holding.

"Lindsey? What are you doing back there?"

"I'm working part-time."

The meals here were all top-quality, so the prices were all pretty high too. She naturally needed to find a way to be able to afford her meals.

Thus, she had gone asking each cafeteria one by one and finally landed on this one. Though she didn't receive pay, she only needed to work one hour, and she'd be able to get a free lunch.

And after she had gotten close with the main chef, he'd sometimes sneak her some extra food. The other staff would occasionally give her snacks and fruits as well.

Lindsey really liked this job.

She noticed Sienna standing around there awkwardly and figured out what it was about.

"If you don't mind, I have some extra food here. It's not a lot, but it can still fill you up substantially. Do you want it?"

Sienna's jawline tightened, looking as if she couldn't bring herself to do something like this. But after remembering her mother's teachings, she only hesitated for a little more before nodding.

"Weren't you curious about the new scholarship student before? How come you haven't said much today?"

"Forget it. I can tell right away that we won't be getting along. You can ask Shawn. I guarantee he's thinking the same thing. Right, Shawn?" Zachary asked while nudging Shawn's shoulder.

"One interesting person is enough."

Shawn and the rest of them had arrived at Lindsey's stall while they were chatting amongst themselves.

"In that case, wait for me for a second. Ma'am, could you take over for a second?" Lindsey said.

"Where are you going?"

Lindsey was just about to step into the back kitchen when Shawn called out to her.

"I'm just going to grab something. You guys can queue first and decide what you want to order."

Shawn and his group didn't pester her and just queued up behind Sienna patiently.

Sienna, with her expression dark, didn't turn around. Thus, the others didn't notice her there either and continued the conversation from before.

"That was hilarious. I was this close to not being able to hold in my laughter during class earlier. I didn't expect the great Mr. Chilton to be so humiliated." Zachary laughed while putting his arm around Shawn's shoulder before the latter pushed him away in annoyance.

"Five dollars." A laugh escaped Whitney too. "I wonder who's more denigrated now."

"I think there's only one person in school who would dare treat you like that."

"Jake Larson, why are you joining in too?" Shawn's face darkened even further.

"Exactly. And yet our dear Mr. Chilton is forced to keep his temper in check. I don't see the other scholarship students getting this kind of treatment," Zachary teased.

Shawn wasn't going to just let him continue, so he wrapped his arms around Zachary's neck in a headlock. The two of them were still messing around when Lindsey returned from the back kitchen with a tray in hand and handed it to Sienna.

Just as Sienna was about to reach for it, Zachary accidentally bumped into her.

"S-Sorry!" Zachary quickly took a step back, apologized, and went back in line.

Lindsey shook her head, and after handing the tray to Sienna, she turned to look at the rest of them.

"Alright, what will you be having?"

"Combo B, with a bottle of apple juice," Shawn answered.

He wanted to move forward, but Sienna was still standing there. With a frown, he said, "If you've gotten your meal, then move. Don't block the line."

Sienna, with her head hung low, ignored him and remained quiet and frozen to the spot.

Shawn clicked his tongue and was just about to raise his arm when Sienna started trembling.

The next second, the tray and all its contents were flung onto Shawn, with chunks of food and sticky gravy dripping down his uniform. The tray fell onto the floor with a loud clunk, and with it, everything abruptly fell quiet as if someone had pressed the mute button.

Shawn looked down at his stained uniform and shoes, and a scoff escaped him. He lifted his head slowly and met Sienna's indignant-looking eyes.

"Is it fun mocking me like that? You're all disgusting for making fun of me while right in front of me."

"Who mocked you?" Whitney asked, her expression cold.

"Who? You very well know who!" Sienna answered Whitney, but her eyes were fixed on Shawn.

"Do you have a death wish?"

Shawn lifted his hand and wrapped his fingers around Sienna's throat. Sienna's face turned red, and she tried to pry his fingers off her.

"Hey, Shawn, calm down."

With one on each side, Zachary and Jake tried pulling him off, but to no avail.

Anyone could tell that Shawn was a bomb on the verge of detonating.

Lindsey gasped inwardly to herself. Shawn was not only very particular about cleanliness, but he was also very proud and cared about appearances a lot.

What Sienna had done had basically pushed all his buttons in one go.

Not having time to worry about anything else, Lindsey removed her apron and rushed out from behind the counter.

"Shawn, let go first, please?" She spoke to him as if she were coaxing a small child.

Shawn didn't respond, so Lindsey placed her hand on his arm—an arm where the veins were visibly bulging.

"I'll help you clean up. You don't want people to be pointing their fingers at you while you're here all sticky and dripping gravy, do you?"

Lindsey's words seemed to have an effect. He scoffed coldly, released his grip, and then, with a look of disgust, gave his hand a good dusting as if he had touched something dirty.

Lindsey sighed in relief and led Shawn away.

A crowd had somehow gathered when no one had noticed. They were now pointing their fingers at Sienna and whispering amongst themselves, but Sienna was unable to pay attention to any of that right then.

She had collapsed onto the group and was clutching her throat while coughing violently. There were tears in her eyes, and when coupled with her little white dress, she was quite the pitiful sight.

Yet, no one there found her pitiful, and no one reached a hand out to help her up.

Whitney stared at Sienna, then crouched down in front of her. She lifted her chin with a finger, and her eyes were filled with contempt.

"Stop acting. Not only is it terribly fake, but it's stupid. You should know that the only reason you could get into this school is with the Chilton's sponsorship, and this school is one of their assets too. For you to do that to a school board member's son…"

Whitney scoffed. She didn't finish her sentence, but that scoff alone seemed to say everything that needed saying.

Sienna's pupils contracted, and she lowered her head.

"So what? Is the school board member's son allowed to do whatever he wants?"

"As long as someone has money, then yes, they can do whatever they want. If you want to keep up this act of yours, then that's your business. But if you get on my nerves… Making a scholarship student disappear is honestly a very easy thing to do."

Sienna froze, and she suddenly broke out in cold sweat.

With another scoff, Whitney stood up. She took out the handkerchief that she always carried with her and wiped her hands before casually tossing it at Lindsey.

"Alright, alright. Let's break it up," Zachary said with a wave of his hand.

The crowd didn't dare linger and dispersed soon enough.

There were two amongst them who looked like they didn't belong there. They weren't wearing uniforms, but T-shirts and jeans.

"This place is too expensive. Should we go check out the convenience store instead?"

"Yup. Let's check out what else this meal allowance can be used for later tonight."

"Do you think that female student is the scholarship student the others were talking about in class?"

"It should be her. I don't think the wealthy heirs and heiresses would subject themselves to working here."

And if she had just started out at this school like them, then she couldn't have possibly found a part-time job on her first day either.

The two of them walked away quietly. Through it all, they didn't comment on Sienna's predicament. They merely wanted to finish school and not be involved in any problems.

In the meantime, Lindsey had already gotten Shawn's spare uniform.

Chapter 5

"Shawn, here are your clothes."

Lindsey had just finished speaking when the door to the showers swung open. Shawn appeared in front of her, bare-chested and with just a towel wrapped around his waist.

His skin was flushed pink because of the steam, and water droplets trickled down along the grooves of his abs, disappearing beneath the towel.

Unexpectedly, Lindsey did not seem flustered by any of it. Instead, she just calmly handed the clothes over to him.

Shawn pressed his lips together, took the clothes, then closed the door again.

The showers were quiet, and only the rustling sounds of Shawn's clothes could be heard.

"Where are your dirty clothes?"

"In the trash can."

Lindsey glanced over to the trash can in the corner and found the uniform worth eight thousand dollars to be crumpled inside sadly.

"Why did you pull me away? I wanted to teach that woman a lesson! No one has ever dared treat me like this before!"

When Shawn walked out, there was still water dripping from his hair and fury lingering on his face.

Lindsey didn't say anything. She merely covered his head with a dry towel and began to dry his hair. The action came easily to her, as if she had done it thousands of times.

It seemed natural for Shawn to allow her to do so too. He just remained seated on the bench and let Lindsey fuss over him. The energy he exuded now was completely different from that of the furious man in the cafeteria earlier.

"Yes, you're so kind, giving her some of your food. But look what happened now. I didn't even get to eat," he grumbled.

"Then what should I do? How about I buy you some mac and cheese?"

"I suffered such terrible grief, and all you're going to get me is mac and cheese? Do you even have a heart, Lindsey?

"Forget it! I'll go eat out."

Shawn got up and gave his half-dried hair a tousle. It was a little messy, but it looked unexpectedly nice and made him appear even more wild and carefree.

Lindsey had long since gotten used to Shawn's unpredictable behavior, so she just quietly picked up his used towels and bathrobe.

However, not a few seconds later, Shawn made his way back.

"No! You need to come with me so you can serve me food and water. Otherwise, I'll make sure Sienna is kicked out right now."

Lindsey didn't find Shawn's unreasonable demands surprising at all.

"Alright. Go get a hair dryer to dry your hair while I take care of these towels."

It had been more than half a year since she arrived at the Chiltons. Being around him every day, Lindsey had more or less figured him out.

He was hot-tempered, proud, moody, a bit of a clean freak, and thought very highly of himself, but at his core, he wasn't a bad person. Most of the time, what he said and what he actually did were two completely different things.

Take now, for example: After she poured a glass of water for Shawn, he had complained that she was bothering him and had insisted she sit down instead.

"I'll have all of these."

"Won't that be too much?"

Shawn shot her a look. "I have plenty of money."

"Evil, rich people," Lindsey grumbled to herself.

"Would you like anything else?" asked the waiter.

"That's all for now," he answered, before handing the menu back to the waiter.

"I haven't looked at the menu yet."

"Lindsey, are you expecting me to finish all that food by myself?" Shawn asked while shooting her a warning look.

"Who asked you to order so much…" Lindsey grumbled under her breath.

"If I don't order that many options, then how will I know which one I'll end up enjoying?" Shawn asked matter-of-factly.

Lindsey knew there was no arguing with him, so she just took out her phone, intending to transfer money to him. Shawn—seemingly knowing what she was about to do—grabbed her phone away from her and placed it face down on the table.

"Lindsey, if you dare transfer money to me again, I'll chuck that crappy phone of yours away!"

"But… That phone is yours."

Lindsey's phone's battery had been draining too quickly, and it would turn itself off every so often. This meant Shawn had been unable to reach her a lot of the time, though Lindsey herself hadn't been bothered by it too much.

Finally, Shawn had had enough and had brought Lindsey to his room so she could choose one of his spare phones to use. The reason he had given her was that she wouldn't have any more reasons not to answer his calls.

Lindsey's retort caught Shawn off guard, and he could only shoot her a glare.

"Eat your food!"

Despite his ferocious expression, Lindsey soon found a slice of pizza on her plate.

Lindsey ate her food quietly, nibble after nibble. Even when she was starving, she always ate very slowly.

Shawn just sat there staring at her and only started eating when he saw her finish the slice of pizza.

A "warm-hearted" scene like this would've been impossible just half a year ago.

It had been the middle of winter then. She had been wearing a thin sweater and had carried a backpack on her back when Simone Tabler led her into the Chilton house.

…

"Ma'am."

"Where's Shawn?"

"Mr. Shawn is upstairs in the game room."

"He's playing games again? Ask him to come down. Oh right, bring me two glasses of hot cocoa and a blanket."

"Yes, ma'am."

Shawn made his way down quickly. He was dressed in silk pajamas and with slippers on his feet, looking anything but presentable.

Lindsey, meanwhile, was sitting on one side of the couch with the blanket wrapped around her and the hot cocoa in hand, looking both demure and nervous.

That was the first time the two met.

Shawn's Adam's apple bobbed as he slowed his footsteps. He continued studying Lindsey as he made his way over.

"I thought your business trip was going to last a week, Mom. Why're you back so early?"

"Something came up," Simone answered while patting the seat next to her, indicating for him to come sit.

"This is Lindsey Yule. She'll be staying with us from now on. You're the same age, so be nice to each other. Lindsey, this is my son, Shawn Chilton."

"Hello."

Compared to Lindsey's politeness, Shawn seemed much more aggravated.

He leaped up to his feet, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. "What? Mom, who is she? Why is she staying here? Why are you bringing random people into our house? And don't you think teenage boys and girls should keep their distance? Also, why didn't you discuss this with me at all? How am I supposed to explain this when I bring my friends over and they see her?"

The long rant he fired off was enough to show his great disgruntlement at the situation. It was as if he were a puppy who found out someone had invaded his marked territory.

"No way! I won't agree to this!" he declared resolutely.

"It doesn't matter even if you disagree. Either way, Lindsey will be staying here with us, and that's a done deal. I don't usually care about the troubles you cause, but you don't have a say in this."

"Mom!"

"Calling me 'Mom' isn't going to change anything," Simone said with a raise of an eyebrow.

She then calmly took a sip of her hot cocoa.

An elegant mother and her hot-tempered son—what a combination.

"Come, Lindsey. I'll show you to your room. Everything happened too quickly, so I've only asked them to tidy up the guest room. Have a look and let me know what else you need.

"I've already arranged for more clothes to be delivered, and someone will bring them by later. You need to dress warmly, especially since it's the dead of winter. It'd be a shame if you get sick."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Call me Ms. Tabler."

Simone patted Lindsey on the shoulder and led her up the stairs while completely ignoring her own son.

This frustrated Shawn even more, and so when Lindsey couldn't stop herself from turning around to look at him, she happened to meet his anger-filled eyes.

Simone patted Lindsey's head lightly and said in a gentle tone, "If Shawnie finds out something nearly happened to me, he'd definitely throw a tantrum in order to make me pull out of this project.

"I'm afraid things aren't going to be smooth-sailing for you these next few days. Once I'm done with the project, I'll come back and explain everything to Shawnie."

"It's okay." Lindsey wasn't really concerned.

Simone was paying for her mother's medical fees, had allowed her to stay with them, and had even sorted out her schooling situation. That had surpassed everything that was expected of Simone.

Thus, she could empathize with everything, be it Simone's request or Shawn's reaction.

"But don't worry. Shawnie is a good kid. He might sound rude sometimes, but he's never crossed the line. I'll give him a warning before I leave too. If he runs his mouth, go ahead and teach him a lesson if you need to. Boys are tough. A few scoldings here and a few smacks there won't hurt anyone."

"Don't worry. I'll just stay in my room for the most part."

Simone looked at her with guilt and pity in her eyes.

"I'm sorry to have to put you through this, dear child."

At the end of the day, Shawn was still her son. So even though she had said that, it would still make her feel a little unhappy if someone outside of the family had scolded or smacked him.

It was a good thing Lindsey was an understanding person. And that was exactly why she had decided to bring Lindsey home.