Chapter 57: 29 Gossip Among Classmates
The gears ceased their rumbling, and the tightly shut elevator doors opened, allowing Hexia and a crowd of pedestrians to step into a world as bright as day.
On the 44th floor of Payin City's pedestrian street, the overhead dome lights illuminated the entire commercial district, making it as bright as daytime on the ground. Many young people bustled about, laughing and chatting, while shop windows glittered enticingly with numerous new products, drawing the eyes of passers-by.
Hexia: [Where are you guys, have you arrived?]
Lina: [We're at the Tricolor Ice Beverage Shop, just waiting for you and Dudu now.]
Hexia: [Alright, I'm almost there.]
After putting away her personal device, Hexia walked towards the store across the street. In fact, she had already reached the agreed meeting place, but feared the awkwardness of sitting alone if she entered before the others arrived, so she preferred to wait for her companions.
Entering through the revolving glass door, a blast of cool air hit her, making Hexia feel a bit cold, but it was more comfortable as she proceeded inside.
The interior layout of the shop was a wide crescent, with black crescent moons dotted with coffee cup-like tables and round chairs, forming private spaces. At the center of the crescent embrace was what seemed to be a small stage, though there were no performances at the moment.
"Hexia, over here~" Just as she walked in and looked around, Hexia heard Lina's call.
As she approached, she noticed Mili was there too, sitting with Lina, but she didn't seem very happy, holding her drink in thought.
Lina was dressed in avant-garde style today, with short leather shorts paired with a cropped jacket, her eyes highlighted with purple-red gradient eyeshadow.
"Hexia's here, take a seat first. We'll wait a bit longer for Dudu. By the way, what do you want to drink? I'll order for you."
"No need, I'm not really thirsty," Hexia shook her head.
"You're still as simple as ever," Lina said as she flipped through the projected menu on the table, and finally chose a popular drink for Hexia.
Before long, a hemispherical robot delivered the beverage.
The purple-red transparent liquid was full of bubbles, and it was incredibly cool and refreshing to drink. It contained a small amount of alcohol, somewhat similar to fruit beer. Seeing that Lina had ordered, Hexia didn't want to refuse, so she picked up the drink and slowly sipped it.
"By the way, how did your last exam go, Hexia? Have you gotten the results yet?" Lina asked at this moment.
"I haven't received a reply yet."
"It should be soon. I've seen classmates either celebrating or wailing these days, some happy, some worried," she said, pulling Hexia to sit beside her.
"But you'll definitely pass, you're one of the few in our class who really studies hard," she comforted the girl sitting beside her.
"Thank you."
Afterward, the two chatted for a while about the recent situations of their classmates. Lina did most of the talking, which included plenty of gossip, like someone confessing their love, another applying to a faraway school, and another who started dating someone from a different school.
Even though they belonged to the same school and class, Hexia felt that Lina was from an entirely different world. She always knew various bits of gossip which was surprising.
Compared to her own pitifully short contact list, Lina's stretched for dozens of pages. She was almost always chatting with someone or updating her social circle.
At this moment, she took a photo of the shop's interior and included Hexia and Mili in the shot, then posted it online.
'Out with classmates today~☆'
This must be what a social butterfly is like, the girl thought.
After a while, another girl, Dudu, arrived, carrying a handbag and hurrying into the shop. She looked around briefly and made a beeline for Hexia's table.
"Phew, I ran into an annoying guy on the way here, so I was delayed a bit, sorry," she apologized.
"No problem, what would you like to drink? I'll order."
"I'll have a 'Crystal Pineapple Drink' then."
"Tsk, you certainly don't skimp on my money, do you?" Lina rolled her eyes but still smiled as she placed the order.
"You're the one who said you were treating, if it were anyone else, I'd be even less polite," Dudu waved her hand, then took out her makeup case from her bag and began touching up her makeup.
Only after the 'Crystal Pineapple Drink' arrived and Dudu put away her makeup tools, closing the case, did the group start talking altogether.
"What's with Mili? She's been quiet the whole time," Dudu looked at the girl who was lost in thought.
"Her~" Lina shook her head, then continued.
"Mili got her heart broken." Despite saying that, Lina couldn't hide the smile on her face.
Mili finally snapped out of her own world, "Hmph, not a single man is good for anything."
"Tell us, what exactly happened?" Dudu asked, full of curiosity.
However, Mili clearly didn't want to answer, she turned her face away in a huff, and only after a little while, she turned back to Lina and said, "You tell them."
"Alright, alright, I'll express Miss Mili's indignation then." Lina raised her finger and shook it.
"It's like this…"
Hexia and Dudu listened to Lina's explanation, finally understanding what had happened in the weeks since graduation.
It seems that Mili's family had introduced her to a suitor, whose family background wasn't bad either, with parents being middle management at a pharmaceutical company. They both had a good impression of each other at first sight, so they tried dating a few times, shopping, watching movies, and even playing at the underground amusement park in the neighboring Okar City, and so on.
Everything was progressing well until one day at the hotel, Mili accidentally discovered some call information on his personal terminal wasn't right, and afterwards, she noticed that her suitor was distracted and often spacey.
The rest of the story was simple, Mili had Lina find someone from the suitor's school to dig up some dirt, only to find out he was known as a lady's man there, and then it turned out there was a girl who got pregnant because of him.
This was too much of a shock for Mili, and the two of them broke up quickly.
"I had my dad give the matchmaker a good scolding. What kind of people are they?"
"Now that I think about it, I was the one who treated him during dates and meals, many times because I thought he was a decent person," Mili said, still puffed up with anger.
"Hahaha, that's funny, even Mili can be taken advantage of," Dudu laughed, slapping the table.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore." Lina smiled, consoling Mili and asking Dudu to stop provoking her.
"Everyone makes mistakes in judgment sometimes. Besides, the guy really did put on a good front, sweet-talking with one set of lies after another. Otherwise how could he have deceived so many girls?" Lina waved it off.
"Actually, most of the stuff people say can't be trusted, it's quite cheap, unless they spend real money on you, that's the true sentiment, right, Hexia?"
"Uh." Hexia didn't understand why the conversation had suddenly turned to her.
"I guess." She turned away, looking to the side.
"Hehe, Hexia is shy again. Alright, I'll stop teasing you. I just noticed you've been silent the whole time, wanted to get you involved," Lina said generously, holding the young girl's hand.
"That's true." Across from them, Dudu was fiddling with her personal terminal, apparently replying to someone's message.
"By the way, isn't Clara coming today?" Dudu seemed to remember something.
"She went on a trip, supposedly to South First District."
"But isn't South First District the administrative and education center? Most of the fun places are in South Third District, South Fifth District." Dudu was puzzled.
"I don't know. She just said there's some star she worships there, wanted to go to a fan meeting."
"Hey, she herself wants to be an idol, so why chase after stars?"
"I'm not sure about that. It seems there are such cases, quite a few minor idols openly express their admiration for some major stars, and those stars' fans will develop a sense of kinship, feeling recognized, and then take a liking to the minor idol, which helps them gain fans," Lina shared her view.
"Forget it, let's not worry about that. We've been sitting here for a while now, how about going to watch a movie?" Lina stood up.
"Let's go, let's go," Dudu pulled up Mili, who was still sulking by her side.
"Stop being angry, you still have us sisters with you. Let's go watch a movie to cool off, then forget about that guy."
Afterward, the four of them walked to a nearby cinema. Now, the marquee also displayed a large, broad movie poster.
"Please Hold My Fingertips"
A romance spanning over 400 years. Come experience the rare beauty of love in an era of war and strife~