Her gaze shifted to another student.
"I enjoyed the attention?" she repeated.
"You mean being morally coerced, sometimes even threatened, to date the school bully? Or constantly being dragged somewhere during class because someone wanted to confess? Receiving creepy gifts and disturbing confession letters? Or being teased and mocked as a 'snowflake'?"
The girl who had spoken earlier looked stunned, her expression quickly shifted between embarrassment and indignation, unsure how to respond.
"You all make it sound like I should feel honored by all the attention I received," Yeri continued evenly. "Did I force any of you to do those things? Did I brag about it to everyone or post about it on social media? Did I go around talking about any of you behind your backs?"
Her voice remained calm, but each question landed heavily in the silent hallway.
"If you think I've wronged any of you," she added, "then bring out the evidence. Chats, receipts, messages, screenshots... anything."
The once noisy crowd suddenly fell completely silent.
"What's wrong with her today?" someone muttered from the crowd. "She used to be timid, but look how she talks now. Does she think we're all beneath her?"
Yeri turned her head toward the student who spoke. "Do you mean easy to bully?"
Her calm gaze made the girl stiffen.
"Am I really timid?" Yeri continued evenly. "I think you all have your own perception of me. But the way you define me doesn't mean that's who I actually am. Are you saying it's my fault that I didn't turn out according to your expectations? What exactly do I gain from listening to you?"
The girl opened her mouth, clearly ready to argue back but before she could say anything, a loud voice suddenly cut through the hallway.
"Is there a fight here? Let me join!"
Loki pushed his way through the crowd with visible excitement, he looked around eagerly only to find the stage empty.
When he spotted Yeri, he paused.
"No one's fighting?" he said with disappointment. "Boring…"
Yeri glanced at Nina, the two exchanged a silent look and began to leave.
However, the girl who had spoken earlier was unwilling to let the matter drop. She came from a wealthy family herself, and being publicly countered had left her feeling humiliated.
"What, leaving already?" she called out sharply. "Since you're so great, why not share some tips on how to seduce a big shot? You seem so proud of your achievement, why not introduce us to Shin Keir too? If he really loves you, it shouldn't be a big deal for us to become friends with him, right?"
Yeri stopped walking and turned to look at her.
She didn't recognize the girl nor did she remember seeing her in any of her classes.
"What made you think it's easy to befriend my boss?" Loki spoke first before Yeri could respond. "And why do I have a feeling you're looking down on him?"
"Loki, are you even a man?" a boy suddenly stepped forward to defend the girl. "Picking a fight with a girl?"
Loki smirked and casually rolled up his sleeve. "Oh~ we have a gentleman here, then whoever started this bickering can come face me instead."
Then he pointed lazily toward Yeri.
"After all, Student Yeri is my boss's woman. I have to protect her."
The boy laughed mockingly. "So the rumor that you're her lapdog was- "
His voice abruptly stopped, his eyes had landed on the tattoo visible on Loki's arm.
Not just him, several students nearby also saw it.
Whispers immediately spread.
"Isn't that… Hexion?"
"That can't be right. He's just a high school student."
"But that mark… Is it real?"
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
The boy who had been laughing earlier turned noticeably pale.
"I suddenly remembered why I transferred here," Loki said, scratching his head casually. "The boss told me to watch over Student Yeri."
His eyes suddenly brightened with excitement.
"Chance! I can finally report that I did a good job!"
Before anyone could react, Loki grabbed the boy by the collar.
The boy panicked immediately. "You- this is a school! Violence is a crime!"
"Loki," Yeri said calmly. "Don't make trouble."
Loki glanced at the boy in his grip, and muttered under his breath. "…Right, I forgot they're just kids."
With Loki standing there, no one dared to say another word.
Even the girl who had started the argument earlier had suddenly learned restraint.
After all, who didn't know the name Hexion?
More importantly, the fact that Shin Keir had actually sent someone from Hexion just to watch over Yeri meant that he truly valued her.
At the same time, it quietly crushed the rumors that their engagement was merely a mutually beneficial arrangement.
As for Loki being Yeri's lapdog? Obviously, people had misunderstood.
After that day, the news that Loki was connected to Hexion spread wildly throughout the school.
Students either avoided him completely or suddenly became extremely friendly whenever he was around.
---
Over the past few days, despite the legal team sending out formal notices to those who had spread slander and released malicious materials about Yeri and Shin, the public's fascination with the issue only seemed to grow.
The rumors surrounding Shin Keir's illegitimacy, the allegations that Eleanor Keir had been abused, and the growing number of people demanding answers had also stirred discussion online.
Some overly zealous netizens had even gone so far as to call the police, demanding an investigation. Yet neither KGG nor Shin had personally addressed the matter.
Even so, those topics failed to dominate the trending lists the way Yeri did.
Her name seemed to hover over social media like a storm cloud that refused to drift away.
Aside from the anonymous accounts constantly stirring the waters, Venice's frequent updates only added more fuel to the fire. She posted videos, shared vague narrations, and spoke in suggestive half-truths that left just enough gaps for netizens to eagerly fill with their own theories.
In one of her livestreams, she casually mentioned that Calin Ricci and Shin Keir had once been very close, but somehow became distant after he started dating Yeri.
Netizens immediately began speculating that Calin was Shin's ex-girlfriend.
The theory quickly gained traction, especially after many people recalled the confrontation between Madam Keir and Madam Ricci at the engagement banquet.
The incident where Eleanor Keir had slapped Calin and spoken harshly to her was also released, this time exploding into a full-scale controversy.
Why had Madam Keir been so furious with Calin?
Why had she clearly opposed Calin marrying Shin Keir?
Almost overnight, a dramatic love triangle between the three began circulating online, with many speculating that Yeri had been the third party who destroyed Shin and Calin's relationship.
The clash between the two powerful socialite was also reinterpreted by netizens as a reflection of a long-standing conflict between the Keir and Ricci families.
Was the engagement simply the spark that ignited it?
As the theories multiplied, condemnation toward Yeri grew harsher.
Meanwhile, Calin's fans began demanding that Shin Keir publicly apologize to her.
But Shin's loyal supporters quickly fought back, digging up past scandals connected to Calin, reposting old gossip articles and accusing her of deliberately trying to link herself to Shin Keir for attention.
The online battlefield became increasingly chaotic.
However, Venice had one more card to play as she casually mentioned Yeri's abduction.
She told viewers not to be too harsh on Yeri, saying that her cousin had recently been kidnapped by Madam Nafplion.
Within hours, the story exploded. Resourceful netizens quickly dug into the case and uncovered fragments of information:
Madam Nafplion had believed Yeri was responsible for her son's death and had abducted her in an attempt to take revenge.
She since been declared mentally unstable and confined to a psychiatric hospital.
"I heard Madam Nafplion hired a group of thugs to ruin Yeri. Was she rescued before anything happened?"
"My source said she was in a very, very bad state. You wouldn't even recognize her face."
"I have an insider at Neri Medical Hospital where she was admitted. I heard it was pretty serious."
"Can someone explain what 'bad' means? How exactly was she ruined? Are we all thinking the same thing?"
"Shin Keir better snap out of it. I know she's a victim, but getting engaged to someone who's been passed around… I really admire Shin Keir's tolerance. Didn't know he was so charitable."
Reading the increasingly absurd comments, Calin couldn't help but chuckle.
The internet truly had a talent for inventing stories more dramatic than any television drama.
Still, she had to admit something.
She hadn't been wrong to approach Venice, that woman clearly despised Yeri.
In fact, Venice looked almost eager to push her cousin into the sea of online hatred, letting netizens drown her in their collective outrage.
Because of it, Calin had been in an exceptionally good mood these days.
So good, that she had almost forgotten her fiancé, Bryce Gate.
There was a knock on the door before it opened and Madam Ricci stepped inside.
"Calin, what have you been busy with these days?" she asked. "Why haven't you asked Bryce to start planning the engagement?"
Calin barely looked up, her eyes still fixed on her phone.
"I told you," she said lazily. "He's been busy lately."
Madam Ricci slowly walked around the room, studying her daughter with a thoughtful expression before stopping in front of her.
"Is that so? Or are you still waiting for Shin Keir to change his mind and turn to you?"
Calin's fingers paused over the screen. "What do you mean?"
Madam Ricci seemed to recall something and her expression shifted, a mixture of concern and annoyance crossing her face.
"I remember now," she said slowly. "That woman in the photo you used as a reference for your plastic surgery… It was Yeri Zhi, wasn't it?"
The realization had struck her only recently. When she saw Yeri at the engagement banquet, something about the girl's face had felt strangely familiar.
Now she understood why.
She had once seen that very face on Calin's phone.
Calin had not expected her mother to remember something so trivial but she merely shrugged.
"So what? It was just a reference photo. Do I look exactly like her?" She leaned back lazily in her chair. "What are you making such a big deal out of?"
Madam Ricci stared at her.
Others might have been fooled by Calin's casual tone but she was her mother. She knew her daughter far too well.