Chapter 51 She Wanted to Tear Michael's Face Apart
Ethan deliberately raised his voice for that last sentence, clearly meant for everyone else to hear.
Every school had one or two legendary figures. James was the well-rounded academic star, while Ethan was the notorious troublemaker.
Perhaps it was their complementary personalities that made these two such good friends.
Ethan came from a wealthy family and had lived a privileged, indulgent life since childhood. His family's biggest worry was that he wouldn't get into a decent college.
Last year, he'd had James help him cram for all his subjects, and he'd performed exceptionally well on his SATs, good enough to get into a respectable university.
Unfortunately, James had been injured and performed poorly on his own exams.
When Ethan learned about this, he felt it was completely disloyal for him to abandon James and go off to a good college after James had spent so much time tutoring him.
So he'd gotten into a huge fight with his family, defying everyone's opinions and insisting on taking a gap year to repeat senior year with James.
He'd been rebellious and arrogant his whole life—neighbors used him as a cautionary tale, and his peers didn't like being around him. Only James remained unaffected by the gossip and continued to treat him kindly.
Their friendship mattered more than anything—college could wait.
Besides, his family had money. Worst-case scenario, he could study abroad.
Thank God he hadn't gone to college and had chosen to stay at Oakwood High School instead. Otherwise, when something like today happened, who would have James's back when he faced all this gossip alone?
"Thanks," James said.
James cleared his tray, took it to the return station, then found a quiet corner to call Sophia.
She picked up almost instantly. Sophia seemed to be dealing with the situation too, her voice sounding somewhat cold, "Hello, James. What's up?"
James didn't mind Sophia's distant tone, speaking gently, "Sophia, I heard about the trending topics. Are you okay at school?"
Sophia's eyes flickered slightly. She hadn't expected James to call just to check on her.
After a moment of surprise, she couldn't help but soften her tone, "I'm fine. These baseless rumors—my classmates won't believe them. You don't need to worry."
"That's good." James clearly sighed with relief, then added, "If things get bad at school, just take a day off and go home. Don't let yourself get hurt."
After hesitating for a long while, Sophia asked uncertainly, "James, seeing those trending topics, isn't there anything else you want to ask me?"
Like, why did Andrew and John fight over her? Did they really want to marry her? Had she deliberately planned some conspiracy?
James chuckled softly, "I trust you. As long as you're okay, nothing else matters. Besides, didn't you say it yourself? Those two guys from the Smith family are both crazy—no need to pay attention to whatever they said."
Sophia burst out laughing. Even though she hadn't been with the Johnson family for very long and they didn't really know each other that well, James's trust in her was completely irrational.
"James, you should head home after school this afternoon. I'll be late, so don't wait for me for dinner."
"Okay, stay safe. Text me when you're almost home and I'll meet you at the door."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Sophia's smile immediately vanished, her eyes filled with cold intent.
Rumors must already be flying around Oakwood High School. James had heard some unpleasant gossip, which was why he'd called right away to check on her.
She'd seen the trending topics—all vague insinuations. No one dared to definitively spread tabloid news about the Smith Group, since the Smith Group's legal team wasn't just for show.
These kinds of dirty, low-class tactics were common in Emerald City, and everyone was used to them by now.
But uninformed outsiders especially loved reading gossip about elite families. The Johnson family, an ordinary household that had gotten involved with the Smith family through the whole fake heiress situation, was bound to become fodder for people's idle chatter.
This time, it was Sophia's daily conflicts with the two Smith family heirs that had dragged the Johnson family into it.
"Sophia, what did James say? He didn't blame you, did he?" Amelia sidled up, showing no concern, as if just asking casually.
"No, he told me to stay safe."
"I knew it! Real family members always have each other's backs unconditionally, unlike that heartless Smith family couple!"
As she spoke, Amelia wrinkled her nose in disgust and cursed, "Andrew and John both have something wrong with their heads. You're not even eighteen yet, and one of them is ten years older than you, the other eight years older. How can they have the nerve to say they want to marry you? And making such a big scene about it! Michael must be furious seeing those trending topics!"
"He won't be," Sophia said with certainty.
"How could he not be? Michael is so jealous—remember when I just took one sip of your coffee? The way he looked at me, like he wanted to murder me. Now everyone's starting to want you, and you think he can stay calm? Not a chance!"
Recalling past events, Amelia felt very annoyed.
Sophia was supposed to be her friend—Michael was the one disrupting their friendship!
Sophia curved her lips but didn't argue with Amelia about such trivial matters.
She scrolled through her messages. There were new messages in the Johnson family group chat.
Ray's interview had gone smoothly. He'd heard about the trending topics at work today and was worried about whether Sophia was being bullied at school. Mary had also sent a bunch of caring messages.
Neither of them had said a word of blame, which warmed Sophia's heart.
After sending a few reassuring replies, she put away her phone and said to Amelia, "Lend me your car after school. I need to go to the hospital."
"What?" Amelia was shocked and disapproving. "At this time, there are definitely a bunch of paparazzi staking out the hospital entrance. If you show up, won't that basically confirm that even after leaving the Smith family, you still have close relationships with them?"
"That's exactly why I'm going to see those reporters," Sophia said with a faint smile that made her thoughts unreadable.
Amelia didn't understand, but she respected Sophia's decision.
At dismissal time, Amelia and Sophia left together. When they reached the school gate, they saw Michael's car parked there.
Amelia gasped and leaned over to whisper to Sophia, "See! I told you! Michael is probably angry and came looking for you!"
Sophia couldn't help but smile as she watched the tall, straight-backed young man get out of the car and walk over. She wasn't panicked at all—she knew Michael wouldn't argue with her over such groundless rumors.
Sure enough, Michael stopped in front of Sophia, his eyes filled with tenderness as he said softly, "Going to the hospital? I'll drive you."
"How did you know we were going to the hospital?" Amelia's eyes widened. Were there Michael's spies in their class, constantly eavesdropping on her conversations with Sophia?
Michael shrugged casually, raising an eyebrow at Amelia with slight smugness, "No one understands Sophia better than I do."
Amelia immediately clenched her fists, grinding her teeth.
Damn it! She wanted to tear that infuriating face of Michael's apart!