85 Noisy

There was a short silence, but before long, everyone began speaking again.

To them, there was a more important matter at hand than Cassian's feelings.

"Carlos! Want to hang out with us after school?" A boy with a soccer ball under one arm was the first one to approach Carlos after the incident.

Still in shock after what happened with Cassian, Carlos wasn't in the right state of mind. "Eh? No, sorry. I actually can't stay after school," he replied reflexively.

And it was true. He wasn't allowed to do any after school activities.

"Oh, come on! Just for a little bit!"

"N-No, I really can't!"

"What? You don't like soccer? Is that it? Then we—"

"Bro! He already said he didn't want to hang out with you, Trajan!" Another boy cut in. He was the second one. Turning around to Carlos, he showed a fawning smile. "Carlos, want to come to my house and do homework? I have very good grades, so you can rely on me!"

Eh? After slowly digesting the information, the Rochester heir was a little tempted. Going to a classmate's house to do homework together should be alright. He could ask Father to grant him permission.

But before he could say a thing…

"No! You should come to my house! Terry (the second one) is lying. He got an 85 on the last algebra test! I got a 94!" The third boy cut in, ruthlessly exposing Terry.

Carlos blinked. "Ah? Uh… Then… I… I'll go to y—"

"My family owns a 5-star restaurant chain! Come with me! We can eat for free!" A fourth person barged into the conversation.

"Well, uh—"

"No! My family owns …"

More and more people came, trying to get Carlos to hang out with them, trying to impress the Rochester heir with their family backgrounds, academic achievements, and various other information.

Everyone wanted to take this opportunity to make connections with the Rochester family.

The other members of the family were always shrouded in mystery. Eyrie, the eldest, was homeschooled, before jumping straight to a prestigious university overseas. In that school, every student had a status that was sky high, and no one bothered currying favor. People with low status couldn't even be admitted!

Carol, the second eldest, attended the Golden Rose Academy (the one that Carlos is attending) from middle school to high school graduation. Still, she emitted an aura so cold that no one dared approach her, afraid that they would be cut into pieces by her judging eyes. In addition, the girl had no weaknesses that could be observed beside her lone wolf nature, so no one could exactly tempt her with anything.

As a result, all those families that wanted to cozy up with the Rochester family couldn't do it through Eyrie nor Carol.

As for the head of the Rochesters, General James (yes, this is Mr. Rochester's first name) Rochester, he was a sly fox that kept almost everyone at a distance. No one could take advantage of him, and he only befriended those that were of use to him.

And so, with a possible line of connection to the Rochester family cut with General Rochester, Eyrie, and Carol, there only leaves one person that could be exploited.

Carlos.

Carlos, from what various people have observed, was innocent, naïve, and stupid. He had so many weaknesses, such as bad grades, no experience in society, stupid (socially, or low EQ), had a big mouth (blabbered about everything he knows, including family secrets),… etc.

He was easy to exploit, easy to manipulate, and take advantage of—this was almost everyone's evaluation of Carlos.

Previously, Cassian had called dibs on Rochester heir, and with no one that dared to stand against him, Carlos had quickly fallen into his hands.

Now that the two had a falling out, this was the perfect time to widen the cracks between the Hall and Rochester heirs and pave a path for oneself.

Carlos��� gaze flitted around in panic.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Cassian and his gang looking at him with smirks on their faces.

He could almost hear it. 'This is what you get for being mean and not forgiving us' was written all over their faces.

Cassian met his eyes, and the boy's sneer grew wider. He propped his leg onto the chair in front of him in dominance. He seemed to have recovered from the previous shame.

Carlos stiffened and looked away. It seemed like they weren't planning to help. Maybe if they had helped me, I could've considered forgiving them… But I told them we were breaking it off, so they have no obligation to help me.

Did I make a mistake again?

He stifled a hiccup that was about to arise and focused on the situation in front of him.

It was chaotic, and the boy couldn't keep track of who he was talking to.

He was overwhelmed.

He didn't want to have attention like this. Although he appreciated his classmates' attitude towards him, he wanted to speak too.

Looking at his peers that looked at him with expectation and fawning, the boy wasn't sure how to react.

Who to say 'yes' to?

While Carlos was brooding over the choices, he was hit by a sudden realization.

He couldn't even stay out after school anyway! He was supposed to ride the mech with Fei!

He couldn't say 'yes'!

If he did, then that meant he couldn't spend time with Fei!

Compared to these people, Fei was much more important!

Finding the solution to this dilemma, the boy finally had a direction to head in.

Taking a deep breath, he half shouted, "I…"

The students around him quieted down, anticipating Carlos' answer.

"I… I can't go. I have to go home right after school ends. I have another friend I want to be with."

"What?! No! You're lying, aren't you, Carlos!" The answer caused an uproar, and chaos returned.

People began to advertise themselves again, and suddenly, it was as if Carlos hadn't spoken at all.

The boy gritted his teeth in annoyance.

Everyone. EVERYONE. They are all like this. Why can't they listen to what I have to say for once?

I already said that I can't go anywhere else after school.

Don't they want to be my friend? They why are they ignoring me?

Why are they acting as if my opinion doesn't matter?

Is this how friends act?

No. Fei isn't like that.

So why are these people like this?

Carlos balled his fists, fed up with all of the noise. It felt like stubborn flies were buzzing by his ears.

Just as he was about to burst—

BANG!