Chapter 216: The Kiss that Echoed As the news of Seraphina declaring Xin as her boyfriend spread through the school like wildfire, the atmosphere in the corridors shifted.
Whispers and hushed conversations followed Xin wherever he went. The students, previously oblivious to his existence, now stared at him in a mix of awe, curiosity, and envy.
Xin found himself at the center of attention, a spotlight he had never anticipated.
The hallway, once bustling with students rushing to their classes, now seemed to move in slow motion.
Every step he took was accompanied by intense gazes and clandestine discussions, as if he were a character in a drama series suddenly thrust into the limelight.
Maximillian, the leader of Seraphina’s fan club, hadn’t taken the news well. His previously confident demeanor had crumbled, and he was now confined to a hospital room, suffering from a severe mental breakdown.
The once confident and suave Maximillian was now a mere shadow of himself, haunted by the fact that Seraphina had chosen Xin over him, who had liked her since kindergarten.
In the classrooms, students would steal glances at Xin, their eyes wide with curiosity.
Girls giggled behind their hands, their whispers buzzing with speculation.
Boys, some intrigued and others resentful, exchanged knowing looks.
The teachers, too, seemed to regard Xin with newfound interest, their eyes lingering on him a beat longer than necessary.
"You still holding up?" Victor asked Xin during class.
Xin sighed. "Somewhat."
Victor let out a laugh, his eyes filled with pity. "I told you to stay away from that woman. She’s nothing but trouble."
"It’s not her fault," Xin defended. "I was just being careless."
Victor rolled his eyes. "I see that you’re falling into the palm of her little hands."
Xin decided not to comment on that, instead choosing to focus on his plate.
However, he soon noticed someone else’s eyes on him. Glancing over, he saw Vivi sneaking glances in his direction.
When their eyes met, she shot him a glare before huffing and turning away.
Xin frowned, puzzled by her sudden hostility.
"What’s her problem?" Xin wondered, deciding to brush it off and ignore her completely.
During lunch breaks, Xin found himself surrounded by a crowd, their questions and congratulations overlapping in a cacophony of voices.
Some were genuinely happy for him, while others couldn’t hide their jealousy. The atmosphere was charged with a mixture of excitement and tension.
. Even during extracurricular activities, Xin was no longer just another participant. He became the focal point of attention, the center of a whirlwind of conversations.
His interactions with Seraphina were dissected and analyzed, every gesture and word scrutinized for hidden meaning.
Maximillian’s absence from school only heightened the intrigue.
Rumors circulated like wildfire, speculating about his condition and the cause of his breakdown. Some said he couldn’t handle the rejection; others whispered about a deeper, more sinister reason.
The air filled with suspense and gossip, and Xin found himself inadvertently becoming the epicenter of the school’s attention.
In the midst of it all, Xin tried to navigate the newfound attention with a stoic face and no care attitude.
But every now and then, he couldn’t help but feel the weight of the eyes upon him, a constant reminder that he was now at the heart of the school’s fascination, all because of a simple fake declaration of love.
The school had transformed into a buzzing hive of gossip, with some students reveling in the romantic fairy tale that seemed to be unfolding between Seraphina and Xin.
They whispered excitedly in huddled groups, their eyes wide with wonder, painting vivid, exaggerated stories of love letters and secret rendezvous.
However, not everyone was swept away by the tide of romance. There were skeptics, the cynical minds that couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the supposed couple.
After all, despite the declarations of love, Seraphina and Xin rarely seemed to hang out together during school hours.
Some students, with their keen detective skills sharpened by too many romantic novels, started to question the authenticity of their relationship.
One particularly sunny afternoon, Xin and his friend Victor were having lunch in the bustling school canteen.
Their conversation was, of course, about Guildbane as they savored their food.
Unbeknownst to them, the school was holding its collective breath, waiting for any signs of the romantic connection they had all heard about.
Suddenly, like a scene from a melodramatic movie, Seraphina sashayed into the canteen. Her hair flowed behind her like a shampoo commercial, and her steps seemed choreographed to perfection.
As she passed by Xin’s table, she shot him a sultry glance and blew him a kiss, her hand floating in the air with all the elegance of a pageant queen.
The reaction was instantaneous and utterly chaotic.
The ladies in the canteen erupted into a chorus of delighted squeals, their voices reaching pitches that only dogs could comprehend.
Some clutched their chests dramatically as if their hearts had been stolen by this sudden display of affection.
On the other side of the spectrum, the men let out collective cries of despair. Their faces contorted into exaggerated expressions of heartbreak.
In the midst of the chaos, the canteen seemed to come alive with a cacophony of screams, cries, and even a few well-timed swoons.
Xin and Victor were caught in the epicenter of the storm. Their attempts to continue their lunch conversation were drowned out by the symphony of emotional outbursts around them.
The school had descended into sheer pandemonium, all thanks to a blown kiss and a love story that seemed to defy the very laws of teenage romance.
As they tried to make sense of the madness, Xin couldn’t help but shake his head, realizing that he had unwittingly become the protagonist of a high school drama that was both overwhelming and utterly bewildering.
"That woman really is a witch, and these fools are her cult," Victor whispered under his breath.
"Huh?" Xin looked at Victor, puzzled.
Victor quickly responded, "Nothing, forget it."
"But man, this really is a big turn of events. A gigantic turn of events," exclaimed Pluto, clicking pictures of Xin nonstop. "Please, tell me how you and Seraphina first met. Where is your secret rendezvous? How did your romance come to be?"
As Pluto bombarded him with questions, Xin could only sigh in response.
He couldn’t wait to log into Guildbane and escape from all this chaos.