"Haha! I wish to see that day! Sigh! That would be such an amazing scene!" Cassandra laughed, when suddenly she saw Lana take out a velvet box from her pocket.
"I had planned to give this tomorrow, but thank god I brought it today," Lana said, her eyes gleaming mischievously as she placed the box on the table.
Cassandra blinked in surprise. "Huh? You also prepared sothing?"
"Of course!" Lana said proudly, crossing her arms. "You think I’d forget Friendship Day? Please! I even postponed my math training session for this!"
Cassandra gasped dramatically. "You... postponed training? You? The girl who once said even her future wedding wouldn’t co between her and her training session?"
Lana grinned, puffing her chest. "That’s because this is more important!"
Cassandra placed her hands on her chest, pretending to faint. "Ah, I’m so touched! Quick, soone record this mont before I die of happiness!"
"Stop being so dramatic and just open it already!"
Laughing, Cassandra eagerly lifted the lid of the velvet box. Inside was a delicate quill-shaped pendant made of crystal, glimring faintly in the evening light.
"Wow..." Cassandra whispered, her breath catching in awe. "This is... beautiful. It looks almost alive."
"Well, I had personally carved it and made sure that it’s lightweight!" Lana said proudly. "Well, if soday... if you break the crystal, you will find a secret too. Also, I know how your family often limits your funds, so I have added a QR code behind the crystal. As long as you scan it, $10,000 will be automatically transferred into your account!"
Cassandra stared at the crystal with a gleam in her eyes. Tears started to drip from her eyes, and she sobbed, "Don’t be so good to , Lana... I will fall for you!"
Lana laughed. "Eh? Go ahead then. Did you forget I am bisexual?"
However, she knew in her heart why Cassandra was so emotional.
Though Cassandra belonged to a rich family, her own father favored his nephew rather than his daughter.
Cassandra’s monthly pocket money was as low as $400.
Her father often even forgot to pay for Cassandra’s education fees. At first, Cassandra had thought that he had done it by mistake, but later she got to know...
Cassandra’s cousin, aka the nephew, had advised her father to let Cassandra sit at ho and even monitor Cassandra’s money transactions.
Even the cafeteria money was limited... to the point that Cassandra had to skip it.
And even when Lana transferred so money to Cassandra, her father took it away.
By printing a QR code behind the crystal... Cassandra’s father will never know about the hidden stash of Cassandra.
"Thank you, Lana..." She whispered gently.
"Co on! No need to be so emotional!" Lana waved her hand and asked with a gleam, "Do you want to prank that cousin of yours?"
"How?" In an instant, Cassandra’s sorrow vanished, replaced by excitent.
..................................................
Mr. Crow was thrown out of the vision, and he couldn’t help but purse his lips.
The friendship... that had existed between Lana and Cassandra... was enviable... and pure.
So how can...
Such a beautiful mory... turned so bitter?
The questions haunted his mind, while Lana’s aching heart made him feel terrible.
Lana’s eyes dulled as she whispered, her tone flat and lifeless.
"Don’t you understand, Cassandra? The Almond family is manipulating everything. They’re the ones behind these posts. And Brenda’s admirers are helping them spread it all."
Cassandra blinked, startled. "Then I’ll use my family’s connections. I’ll... "
Lana abruptly cut her off. "What do you even want from , Cassandra? To offer such ’generous help’? Why?"
Her voice was laced with bitterness. She stared at Cassandra with a cold, distant gaze... but Cassandra noticed the faint moisture gathering in Lana’s eyes.
For the first ti, Cassandra felt sothing stab deep into her chest. A guilt so sharp it made her heart physically ache.
"Lana..." she whispered, trying to reach out and take her hand.
But Lana stepped back imdiately, pointing at her with trembling fingers. "Don’t. I’m not in the mood for gas, Cassandra."
Her voice cracked on the last word, and before Cassandra could reply, Lana turned and walked away.
Cassandra stood frozen in place, her eyes filling with tears as she watched Lana’s retreating back disappear down the corridor.
’She really hates now...’ she thought helplessly, her chest tightening.
anwhile, outside the university gates, Lana walked aimlessly until the familiar noise of students faded into silence.
Mr. Crow fluttered beside her, sensing the heaviness clouding her heart.
He perched on her shoulder and gently patted her head with his wing. His feathers brushed through her hair, soft yet slightly prickly, one getting stuck in a strand.
Lana didn’t say anything. She just kept walking... until she reached her secret spot, a quiet hideout tucked behind an old stone desk near the far end of the campus.
She sat down slowly, her body trembling slightly.
Mr. Crow looked around, baffled. "Why are you sitting here of all places?" he asked, his tone half-angry, half-worried.
Lana didn’t respond right away. Her voice ca out faint and hollow. "I don’t know what’s going on anymore."
He tilted his head. "What happened between you and that girl to make you this guarded against your own best friend?"
Lana’s lips quivered. "She’s... a traitor," she whispered. "A number one cheater. She doesn’t deserve to be called my friend."
Her voice broke at the last word, and this ti, she couldn’t stop the tears.
Her shoulders shook as she cried silently, all the exhaustion and sorrow finally spilling over.
’This cheerful mask... it’s so hard to keep wearing,’ she thought. ’Every ti those mories co back, it hurts all over again.’
Mr. Crow remained silent, his gaze softening.
After a while, Lana took a deep breath and whispered, almost to herself,
"Was Cassandra always this selfish? No... she wasn’t. In my whole life, if anyone ever treated sincerely after Lucien... it was Cassandra."
Her fingers tightened against her lap.
"That’s why... I don’t understand. Why did she betray ? Why did she turn into a scapegoat and destroy everything I had?"
Mr. Crow’s tone softened. "What exactly happened?"
Lana exhaled shakily.
"In my past life, she awakened a strange power. It allowed her to sync her hand with another Weapon Blueprint Maker’s hand."
She paused, her voice trembling.
"When I finished my Master Stroke... the ultimate weapon blueprint that I planned to submit to pay off the Almond family’s entire debt, it was Cassandra who helped a little. But later, she sohow managed to create the exact sa design. Every single detail. It was a perfect replica."
Mr. Crow looked stunned. "That’s... impossible."
Lana nodded weakly.
"I thought so too. But later, every ti I designed sothing new, Cassandra sohow drew it before . It was like she could read my mind... as if, the mont I imagined it, her hand moved before mine."
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