The fourth day, after finishing the morning classes, there was no class in the afternoon, which was rest ti.
Hexia sat on the bed with her hands pressing down on her thighs as her feet swung lightly. Her gaze occasionally drifted to the courtyard outside the window.
She was the only one in the room, savoring a rare mont of relaxation. She didn't want to go out at this ti and preferred to be idle in the bedroom or perhaps take a nap later.
The leaves outside the window rustled in the wind as the sky turned overcast, looking like rain was on its way, but Hexia was in a good mood.
She actually didn't dislike the rain; she even liked it a bit. When the heavy rain pattered against the ground, it seed as if the whole world quieted down, leaving only the sound of the rain hitting the earth.
The water gurgled down the storm drains, carrying floating leaves. Little cats and dogs would shake their wet bodies and lie down next to her, waiting together.
It was already September. Hexia estimated the ti in her mind. It seed like her birthday was approaching. Her birthday was in November, and she would turn 17 in another two months.
She had been so busy lately with all sorts of things, as well as adapting to the new environnt, that she hadn't written in her diary for a long ti.
Rembering this, Hexia got out of bed, went to the desk, sat on the hardwood chair, and found her diary.
"September 7th, overcast
I've arrived at the new school and made quite a few friends. I rember Deloris
Life is gradually stabilizing. I kind of like the rain."
After writing these words, she used a black pen to sketch an umbrella on the page, along with three mushrooms beneath it. The drawing didn't have any particular aning; it was simply sothing that ca to mind and she liked, so she drew it.
Closing her diary, Hexia lay on the bed, hugging a pillow, and started her nap. Perhaps she would slowly wake up to the sound of rain outside.
In the evening, at Edith Academy's 'Rose Hall'.
The spacious hall boasted a high do from which delicate chandeliers hung like exquisitely cut gems, casting a bright and dazzling light that illuminated the entire hall. The inner walls of the do were adorned with gold-leaf vine patterns, not too many, just enough so as not to overwhelm people visually.
Below, nurous students dressed in new uniforms went back and forth through the hall. So conversed with friends, so sat quietly at tables, and so danced simple steps in the dance floor to the music.
This wasn't a very formal dance; people hadn't changed into dance-appropriate dresses, and the atmosphere was relaxed.
After a few days of interaction, the newcors were roughly acquainted with each other, and today in the hall, they chatted and laughed together.
Hexia and Annelli didn't arrive early. When they entered the hall, many students were already there, most of whom recognized her from her speech that day.
"Good evening, Tilan."
"Good evening," the girl nodded in response.
"Tilan."
"Tilan just arrived, huh."
"Do you want to dance?"
"Thank you, but I'd rather not."
Following etiquette, the girl responded politely to greetings from fellow students before entering the hall. A girl with light pink hair holding a wine glass approached her.
"Would you like to try so low-alcohol fruit wine, Tilan? I recomnd this 'Romantic Sea Breeze'. It's made with orange juice and blue curaçao to create a green color, then mixed with ice cubes and sparkling water, and garnished with a lemon slice for a gradation from green to transparent. It's not only appealing to the eye, but also tastes great," the girl with a side ponytail explained her fruit wine to Hexia.
"Thank you, Ran Bei'er. In that case, I'll have one as well."
"No problem, Tilan. Just a mont," Ran Bei'er replied and went over to the bartender to place the order. Soon, a glass of chilled, bubbly fruit wine was brought to her.
"I'll have the sa," Annelli said, intrigued by the newly served fruit wine.
She had been following Hexia closely lately, only parting for a small fraction of the ti.
The three of them were sipping wine in a corner of the hall, watching the dance floor and the milling crowd, occasionally taking sips of the cool fruit wine and continuing their usual conversations.
"The environnt at Edith Academy is quite nice. I was afraid I wouldn't get used to it before I ca," Ran Bei'er said, leaning casually against the table and swirling her wineglass idly, tasting it in small sips.
Hexia sat with a bit more posture, while Annelli seed engrossed in her personal terminal and wasn't paying attention to the events on the dance floor.
"Indeed, everything is very comprehensive and even luxurious," Hexia also sighed slightly. Just the complintary beverages here would cost thousands of Federation Coins if bought outside.
"The decorations inside Edith Academy actually have a lot in common with Saint Ingo," Ran Bei'er observed, gazing at the towering do. Speaking in such a spacious setting seed to carry an echo, and the mingling sounds of porcelain and glass clinking gently with human voices created an inexplicably relaxing atmosphere.
"Have you been to Saint Ingo Academy, Tilan?" Ran Bei'er suddenly asked.
"Well... I've been, but only visited so parts with others," recalled Hexia of the past.
"Actually, when I first saw Tilan, you reminded of soone."
"I have a guess about whom you're going to ntion," Hexia thought that this kind of thing couldn't be kept hidden forever.
In those years, her sister was well-known at Saint Ingo Academy, and even now, nearly five years later, there are still those who rember; it's not surprising.
"She's my sister, but I don't want to rember anything about her," the young girl shook her head and slowly took another sip of the cool fruit wine from her glass.
"Sorry, it was sothing I shouldn't have brought up," Ran Bei'er realized she might have said sothing wrong and felt a bit embarrassed.
"You're very strong, Tilan. In your place, I probably couldn't have been so calm and composed," Ran Bei'er twirled a strand of her hair, seemingly pondering how to make up for her earlier impoliteness.
"Do you have ti during the next vacation? My family has a castle in the southern fourth district with beautiful scenery. Would you like to co over and play?" she offered.
"The next vacation should be in three days, right? I'll be quite busy during that ti. If it's in the middle of October, I might have so free ti," Hexia briefly reviewed her schedule.
"Then let's settle on that. We'll have a get-together at my place in October. We can go rowing then, and there are also many cute animals roaming free in the forest next to the castle," Ran Bei'er suggested.
"Uh-huh," nodded Hexia.
Just then, Annelli, who had been preoccupied, finally realized sothing and looked up, but seeing Hexia agreeing, she didn't want to make her backtrack now.
After the party in the hall ended, Hexia and Annelli headed back, and it was on the way that Annelli finally ntioned the reminder she had forgotten earlier.
"Ran Bei'er's family background is quite complex. You should be a bit careful when visiting her," she said.
"Is there potential danger?" Hexia didn't understand.
"Well, it's hard to say. It's not necessarily dangerous, but there are uncertainties," Annelli thought for a while before explaining in detail to Hexia.
"The upper echelons of Jade Skirt consist of high-ranking federal officials, heads of large corporate groups, or various masters and stars. Ran Bei'er's family background is rather unique; she cos from an old family that seldom interacts with the outside world, so we have always had very little information about them."
"It seems her family accumulated wealth quite a long ti ago. They arrived in Jade Skirt early on but have always been conservative in their dealings, which is why they're not very well-known," recalled Annelli, summarizing the data from the past couple of days.
There were quite a few who approached Tilan. Though on the surface, all seed friendly, the complexities of the world were not to be ignored, and Annelli was too aware of the power dynamics within the families of Jade Skirt's upper crust.
If it weren't for her constant presence behind Hexia, making it clear that Hexia was not without her own backing, Hexia might have faced various tests and bullying by now.
"I understand," the girl nodded slightly.
While Hexia might not be very familiar with the upper tier of Jade Skirt, her songstress talent and empathic ability allowed her to be very sensitive to others' emotions. During these days, many of those who had befriended her indeed had ulterior motives.
Such people were plentiful, and it wasn't that they were all necessarily bad. Many simply considered making a good connection effortless, and others were curious about her, which drew them close.
The truly genuine ones who wanted to be friends or, more accurately, those whose intentions were fairly pure and simple, were probably just Deloris. That was why she had specifically highlighted that na alone in her journal.
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