Chapter 125 Thick-skinned
Liana was rather satisfied with Kayley’s flattery. That was also why she picked Kayley as her deskmate back then.
She stared at Kayley with a soft smile on her face. After seeing her approving look, Kayley was encouraged and tried even harder.
Right after she praised Liana, Kayley started to assail Catherine, making the latter a foil for Liana. “The art section of our class can only count on Liana. Some people are merely filters. Hopefully, they won’t embarrass Class 8!”
Her tone was really sarcastic and dismissive. Worse still, her voice was not low. People around them all heard her clearly. Yet, they didn’t dare to make a sound or take a stand, afraid of causing trouble.
However, as Kayley’s words reached Bryan’s ears, of course, he couldn’t hold back his temper, let alone Ronin. In Ronin’s eyes, Catherine was like a goddess. How could he allow anyone to slander her at will?
Bryan and Ronin stood up at the same time. Instantly, the atmosphere in Class 8 was filled with tremendous tension. Everyone held their breath, not daring to utter a word.
Kayley was a bit flustered. She watched the two of them with worry and regretted saying those bold words in order to please Liana.
She forgot one thing. That was… just because Catherine didn’t care didn’t mean that the people around her didn’t care either. Liana also looked extremely embarrassed. After all, Kayley was speaking for her sake.
Bryan and the others didn’t care about who she was or whether she was a girl. Whoever dared to mess with their boss had to pay a price for that. Bryan directly pointed at Kayley and stared at her coldly.
“Did you sign up for it?” he questioned. Kayley didn’t dare to say anything more. Intimidated by Bryan’s imposing manner, she subconsciously shook her head.
Immediately, Bryan snapped, “Who do you think you are? How can you get to judge if our boss can do it or not? You didn’t even sign up for it. How can you have the cheek to accuse others?”
As soon as Bryan finished speaking, Ronin said in a sarcastic tone, pretending to be Kayley, “Of course, she has the cheek to say that. After all, her cheek is really thick-skinned. Otherwise, why would she talk like that?”
“Hmph!” He deliberately snorted in an exaggerated way, trying to make this known to everybody at school.
“Bryan, have you ever heard about this? The ugly always makes more trouble. Her heart is as bad as her face!”
Bryan was not talkative. He had been well-educated since he was little. Certainly, he couldn’t be as mean as Ronin when dissing a girl.
What Ronin said just crushed Kayley’s pride. She felt extremely aggrieved, and her eyes turned red. She wanted to fly into a rage, but she could not afford to offend Bryan.
Besides, Ronin, the new straight-A student at school, didn’t seem to be easy to deal with. Nor did she dare to mess with him.
She wanted to ask Liana for help, but Liana didn’t even take a look at her and only lowered her head to focus on her exercise as if she had nothing to do with what was going on.
Liana seemed to be immersed in studying, but she was holding her pen so tightly that it would be almost broken.
She didn’t expect that Bryan and Ronin would defend Catherine to this extent and even allow no one to say anything far-fetched.
But she wouldn’t offend Bryan to embarrass herself, let alone offend him for Kayley’s sake. Lonely and helpless, Kayley, just like a clown, had no other choice but to face the ridicule of Bryan and Ronin.
Besides, even George also stood up and defended Catherine. Previously, he didn’t like Catherine, but what happened this time changed his mind. Catherine seemed to be different from his expectation. At least, she wasn’t that difficult.
He stood up and said, “When other people laughed at our class for not having enough students to sign up for the school party, it was Catherine who stood forward to defend our class’s honor. She not only tried her best to persuade other classmates to sign up for the event but also joined it herself. The spirit to defend the class’s honor is worth our learning.
“As for the ranking, it doesn’t matter. Participation is more important. As the class monitor of Class 8, I propose giving Catherine a round of applause!”
After saying that, George started to clap his hands. Of course, Bryan and Ronin also did that, and the other students followed suit.
The deafening applause sounded like slaps in Kayley’s face, rendering her embarrassed beyond words.
Meanwhile, Catherine was still sleeping with her head resting on the desk. Even though she heard the rumors, she didn’t have to do anything. Ronin and Bryan could deal with it well.
Sitting in her seat, Liana was shaking with anger. In her eyes, Catherine was deliberately against her.
A glimmer of gloomy fierceness flashed across Liana’s eyes. She thought with deep resentment, “Catherine wants to steal the thunder from me? I won’t let her go! I promise!”
After school, Catherine got rid of Ronin and went back to the Swanns’ alone. Having eaten roasted food for several days in a row, she wanted to have a rest tonight.
As soon as she crossed the door, she saw a group of servants getting out of the living room. Instantly, she slightly knitted her brows and subconsciously avoided the servants before entering.
Then, she saw a black piano in the center of the living room. Under the crystal lamps, the dazzling piano was shining.
Catherine walked toward the piano and stopped by its side. She recognized that it looked fine and took her hand out of the pocket, trying to test the tone of the piano. However, all of a sudden, a stern and furious voice came. “Don’t touch it!”
Catherine subconsciously raised her head and looked at Rachael, who snapped at her from a distance. Rachael also met Catherine’s gaze. Then, she cast a dismissive glance at Catherine and said with
disgruntlement, “Keep your hands off the piano. It’s really expensive. It’s not only made of a master but also an antique. You can’t afford it at all. Got it?
“Besides, you can’t play the piano. What if you break it?”
Catherine threw a look at the sign on the piano. It was a foreign brand. If it was made of a famous master, it was worth a lot, indeed. It would probably cost a few million dollars!
She snorted. A sardonic look flashed in her dark eyes.
Seeing Catherine’s cold face, Rachael hated her even more. This piano was bought by Rachael for Liana. Liana was going to attend the celebration gala.
The Swanns were also board members of Loyalty Academy. Of course, she knew the significance of the school celebration gala. If Liana could get a good ranking and show her talent in the event, it would help her marry into a better family.
Hence, she didn’t scruple to spend an arm and a leg to buy the piano, doing Liana the favor. Back then, when Liana was born, Rachael was hit really hard again. She went to the fortune-teller, asking when she could give birth to the heir of the Swanns.
She remembered that the fortune- teller said as long as Catherine was sent away, she could give birth to a boy. However, the prophecy didn’t come true.
The fortune-teller told her that Liana was a boon for her. Liana’s birth would bring good luck to her and make her give birth to a boy next time. As expected, the next year, Rachael gave birth to Johnathan.
Afterward, her position in the Swanns was becoming more and more secure. Everything went smoothly in her life. The fortune-teller was right. Liana was a boon for her.
On the contrary, as for Catherine, whom she considered the jinx, she wished that Catherine could stay as far away from her as possible in case of causing her trouble.
