Who wouldn’t be jealous? Most of the girls in Skyward Academy were at the age where young hearts easily fluttered. Arthur’s name was already legendary within the school. Even a man as eccentric as Mr. Devon had personally traveled across multiple cities just to recruit him. And in the end, he had still lost him to another university. For someone like Mr. Devon to personally chase after a student—only to fail—naturally made Arthur seem even more exceptional in everyone’s eyes. At least, that was how most of the girls saw it. Many had even looked into Arthur’s background and learned that he had suffered abuse at the hands of his own family as a child. That only made them admire him more. Growing up in such a cruel environment, yet still rising above it all, proving himself to be so brilliant—how could they not be moved? Before they realized it, Arthur had become the dark horse prince in the hearts of Skyward Academy’s female students. But of course, he already had a fiancée—Ashley. If Ashley had been someone like Lindsay, a wealthy heiress from Evergrand City, they would have understood. But she wasn’t. She was just the daughter of a disgraced politician from Seacity—a background that plenty of Skyward Academy students could match. That made them even more resentful. And so, Ashley had become the shared enemy of the academy’s female students. The looks they gave her were filled with mockery, disdain, and even outright contempt. Ashley had long since grown used to this so-called "special" treatment. Without sparing them a glance, she walked to a seat by the window and sat down.Not long after, the professor arrived, and the lecture began. For the duration of the class, under the professor’s authoritative presence, everything remained peaceful. Ashley managed to absorb the information she had been hoping to gain. But as soon as the lecture ended and the professor left, the atmosphere in the classroom shifted. The chatter exploded again. Ashley had just finished packing up her notes and was about to leave when a group of girls suddenly blocked her path. The girl leading them stood with an air of arrogance, looking at Ashley with open disdain. "Hey! You think you can just leave?" Ashley’s gaze turned ice-cold. She wasn’t afraid of these pointless confrontations, but after an entire day of dealing with them, she was beyond exhausted. And there was no real solution to this. People would say whatever they wanted—she had no control over their mouths. Her chilling stare made the leader of the group flinch for a split second. Ashley’s voice was calm but firm. "Move." Her tone wasn’t loud, but to the girl in front of her, it was like a knife to the chest. The leader, Lily, was momentarily stunned, frozen in place. The other girls quickly nudged her, snapping her out of it. Lily scowled, embarrassed by her momentary hesitation. How had she let Ashley’s gaze intimidate her? Annoyed at herself, she instantly grew angry. She sneered at Ashley and said, "Give me Arthur’s contact information, and I’ll let you pass." Ashley nearly laughed out loud."How desperate are you for a man," she shot back, "that you’d come to his fiancée and ask for his number?" Her words were brutally direct. Lily’s expression twisted in an instant. Some of the male students still lingering in the room started whispering among themselves, chuckling at the scene. Lily wasn’t conventionally attractive. She was unusually tall and broad-shouldered—almost burly in appearance. Among the students, she had a reputation as someone you didn’t want to mess with. Because of her intimidating presence, very few guys had ever pursued her. If anything, some of them even made fun of her behind her back. And now, with so many people still in the room, they weren’t even bothering to hide their snickers. Lily’s face turned red, then white. She knew they often gossiped about her body. Whenever she caught them doing it, she would usually storm over and threaten them until they shut up. But today, with so many people present—more than she could handle—she couldn’t do anything about it. So instead, she directed all her frustration toward an easier target—Ashley. Glancing at the girls still watching from the sidelines, Lily suddenly came up with an idea. She may have been big and strong, but she also had a loud voice. When she raised it, everyone in the classroom could hear her. And so, she deliberately spoke in an exaggeratedly loud tone. "You keep saying Arthur is your fiancé, but school’s been in session for months! How come he’s never once come to see you?"