Looking Up from Below

As Leila was quite popular, the rumours she started about her cousin, Aelia we're soon spread to all the graduating students.

Aelia had noticed that as more and more students were crowding inside the auditorium, many of them were pointing fingers at her and whispering to each other.

Seeing this, Aelia frowned but continued to ignore the matter.

Soon, she heard one of her classmates whisper to her friends, "Hey, have you heard the recent rumours about our Ice Beauty?"

The friend whispered back, "Oh! The one about how our top student has used her connections to remain at the top of the class? Of course, everyone has heard of it. In fact, initially I had doubted it as just a rumour, but I've got some insider news! I've got a friend in the Arts department and today she told me that the rumours were indeed true, as Aelia's own cousin, Leila, has confirmed it."

Aelia's classmate shook her head in disgust and replied, "Tsk! Tsk! This proves that we should never judge someone by just one's appearance. Aelia acts so dignifiedly and elegantly that we were nearly fooled by her disgusting act!"

These two girls were sitting right in front of Asher and Aelia and having not noticed Aelia sitting just behind them, they had not tried to lower their voices that much.

Aelia could clearly hear their false accusations but did not attempt to clarify the rumours. She knew this was definitely a part of Reine's plans, so she wanted to see the entire play, before butting in.

Asher, with his keen sense of hearing, could hear the malicious rumours floating about his Angel. He felt displeased and frowned in anger.

Seeing this, Aelia looked into his eyes and gave him a small smile. Noticing that the displeasure on Asher's face had yet to recede, Aelia squeezed his hands in a comforting gesture.

Actually, after hearing the rumours, though Aelia did not pay much attention to them and had rationalized that as much as she tried, she could never make everyone happy and satisfied, she could not help feeling a little bit frustrated at their wrong accusations.

But now, after seeing Asher getting angry on behalf of her, Aelia felt her frustrations completely disappear. Asher's trust in her had given Aelia a deep sense of comfort and security.

The warmth she felt in her heart increased when she heard Asher reassuring her, "It's alright, my Angel! The ones who really know you will know what type of character you actually have! They will trust you regardless of everything and will never believe in these ridiculous rumours. As for those who are now accusing you are just inconsequential people who are excited to see the drama unfold!"

Aelia was grateful for Asher's reassurance and gave an innocent peck to his cheeks to show her gratefulness.

At this not only was Asher surprised, but Aelia's seniors who were sitting behind them all had shocked looks on their faces.

At first, they too could hear the rumours and wanted to clarify that it was not that Aelia could not use her connections to get top scores in each of her examinations, but it was that Aelia did not need to do so. After all, she was already at the level of doctoral studies and was carrying on her own research.

Though they felt frustrated on behalf of their junior sister, Javen, the group leader of the research team stopped his teammates from clarifying this matter.

He said, "Let them talk and blabber as much as they want. We'll see how they can continue speaking when Aelia receives her doctoral degree!"

Hearing these, the frustrations in their hearts finally dissipated and they decided to comfort their junior sister.

However, instead of seeing a displeased Aelia, they were forced to eat dog food by their junior sister, who had previously shunned away from any relationship with the opposite gender.

Seeing this blatant public display of affection, the seniors thought, 'It is indeed true that when a girl finds her beloved, she would forget her brothers and sisters, and seek comfort in her lover's arms.'

Though Asher was initially shocked by Aelia's quick peck on his cheeks, he soon recollected himself and said dispiritedly, "Angel, that was too quick to even let me feel the warmth of your lips. Here, do it once more! I'll be ready this time."

Hearing Asher's shameless words, Aelia glared at him and quickly covered his mouth with her hands.

She felt indignant at Asher's words. If she gave him an inch, he would take a thousand miles.

Seeing Asher still jutting out his cheeks and waiting patiently for her kiss, Aelia glared at him and poked his jutted cheek with her finger.

This entire exchange was seen by Reine, who was sitting diagonally behind Asher and Aelia.

However, Reine misjudged their playful banter as a quarrel between the couple. She thought that after hearing the rumours, Asher had confronted Aelia about the matter and then the couple had started bickering with each other.

Reine looked on with a pleased smile and could not wait to see Aelia's expression when it would be announced that her name was eliminated from the list of graduating students.

Soon, the new Head of the Chemistry department came on stage and after a brief introduction, began to announce the top students of the department.

He started from the fifth rank and gradually moved upwards. As each of the students whose name was announced came to the stage, the audience clapped and congratulated them.

At third rank, Mr Spivak called out Reine's name. Reine went up on the stage with a proud expression on her face. After receiving her certificate, she bowed to the crowd to accept their congratulations.

After throwing a smirk in Aelia's direction, Reine was about to get off the stage, when Mr Spivak withheld her. He clarified that the university had arranged to take a picture of the top three students with their certificates on stage.

This came as a pleasant surprise to Reine. She almost could not control the gloating expression on her face, when she thought how she would be standing up on the stage, while Aelia would not only have to look up from below, but she wouldn't even be able to pass her graduation.

Soon, the name of the student who was ranked second received his certificate and stayed on the stage for the photograph.

However, when the name of the student who had ranked first was called, everyone got shocked on seeing that it was not Aelia.

This further cemented their doubts about Aelia as the top scorer for consecutive years.

Someone whispered, "See, told you, the rumours were indeed true! This time maybe she got frightened at the truth being suddenly disclosed and had not dared to use her connection."

Another student replied with a nod, "You're right! I'm surprised to see that even a reputable institution like the Phillon National University has shameless students like Aelia!"

Hearing this, Reine's friend, Natalie responded to them, "You guys! Why are you so naive? In today's times, where in the world will you find a place that's complete corruption-free? What we only can do is whenever we face such situations, we should uncover these dishonest acts and bravely confront the corrupt individuals. Just like Leila did!"

Hearing this Leila nodded and shyly said, "Actually, I wanted to stop my cousin before it's too late! I know that she has lost face because of this incident, but I had to stop her from straying to the wrong path!"

Hearing Leila's righteous words, the crowd of students really appreciated Leila's honest character.

However, the scene was quite different where the Chancellor of the University and the Dean of Sciences, Mrs Hansley were sitting. They looked at the stage with an ugly expression on their faces and Mrs Hansley quickly got up on the stage to confront Mr Spivak about this sudden change.