Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Don’t Go Around Harming People

A group of girls, led by Mona Lowell, surrounded Aurora Sinclair and began to loudly berate her.

One hot-tempered girl reached out to shove her, but before she could even touch Aurora’s clothes, her wrist was seized.

“Aurora Sinclair, what are you doing? You’re hurting me!” the girl shrieked.

Aurora Sinclair glanced at her, then pulled back her hand, shoved it in her pocket, and slowly rose to her feet.

The soreness in Luna Jennings’s leg vanished in an instant. Even the sharp pain from her calf cramp was gone.

“Huh? My calf stopped cramping!”

She quickly got up and took a couple of steps, her expression growing more and more surprised. Not only had the cramp disappeared, but her calf now felt full of strength. She felt like she could run another 800 meters with no problem.

Luna Jennings’s eyes burned with admiration. “Aurora, you know how to treat cramps?”

Aurora Sinclair nodded, her expression as wooden and aloof as ever.

The other girls immediately fell silent, their faces flushed with embarrassment.

Mona Lowell bit her lip and forced a smile. “Sinclair, I misunderstood. But maybe next time, if you’d just say a word or two, we wouldn’t have this kind of misunderstanding…”

The other girls, as if regaining their confidence, chimed in to agree.

“Exactly! You should’ve just said you were treating her leg. Then none of this would’ve happened.”

“Why wouldn’t you tell anyone?”

A flicker of resentment flashed in the girls’ eyes.

’This Aurora Sinclair is so manipulative!’

Luna Jennings defended her with a smile. “Aurora is a really good person, she just isn’t very talkative. Don’t hold it against her.”

As she spoke, she tried to link arms with Aurora Sinclair, who quickly sidestepped her.

Luna Jennings froze for a second, then smiled again. “Aurora, let me buy you an ice cream bar! Come on…”

Mandy Warren watched them walk away, muttering in displeasure, “She really is a freak! Now she’s making Luna Jennings act weird, too!”

***

The two arrived at the school’s convenience store, where they happened to see Ethan Lowell and his friends.

Upon seeing them, Alex Warren grabbed two more ice cream bars from the freezer.

Alex Warren was a little chubby with a round face. When he smiled, his eyes would narrow into thin crescents.

“Sinclair, have you really been training in martial arts since you were a kid? What rank are you now?”

Aurora Sinclair didn’t quite understand. “What’s a rank?”

Alex Warren was dumbfounded. ’Isn’t that common knowledge?’

The two stared at each other blankly for a long moment, until Alex Warren’s face turned red.

Ethan Lowell smacked him on the back and looked at Aurora Sinclair. “Do you know how to play basketball?”

“No.”

“I’ll teach you. Dribbling and shooting are on the P.E. test.”

At his words, Luna Jennings grew excited and started tugging on Aurora Sinclair’s sleeve. “Hurry and say yes! Lowell is on the school basketball team!”

Aurora Sinclair glanced at Luna Jennings, then nodded at Ethan Lowell.

The group returned to the athletic field with the two girls in the center, drawing the attention of the other students from Class Six.

Mona Lowell’s brow furrowed again, her lips pressed into a thin line. Beside her, Mandy Warren sneered, “Look at that, the bastard son found the bastard daughter.”

Although Ethan Lowell was the young master of Kingsford’s Lowell family, his origins were less than honorable. His birth mother had been a secret mistress, kept hidden from the public eye.

***

「On the basketball court.」

Ethan Lowell expertly demonstrated a few dribbling moves, then tossed the ball to Aurora Sinclair. “Give it a try!”

Aurora Sinclair caught the ball, bounced it a few times, and began to dribble forward, mimicking Ethan Lowell’s movements.

At first, her movements were slow, about a third of his own pace, but her speed quickly matched his.

While Luna Jennings was still practicing her dribbling, Aurora was already skillfully maneuvering the ball to the hoop for a perfect layup.

Her movements were clean and decisive, impressing everyone who was watching.

Alex Warren led the cheers, letting out a sharp whistle.

Luna Jennings asked in astonishment, “Aurora, you knew how to play basketball this whole time?”

“I don’t…” Aurora Sinclair shook her head again.

The onlookers were speechless.

’Fine! Whatever you say, Boss Rory!’

Seeing how fast she was learning, Ethan Lowell challenged her to a one-on-one match. Aurora Sinclair was so fast that Ethan couldn’t guard her at all, and she scored point after point on him.

Alex Warren mercilessly heckled from the sidelines. “Hey, boss! How’s it feel to have the student surpass the master? Keep this up and you’ll lose the shorts off your ass…”

“Screw you!”

A ball came flying at him.

Ethan Lowell scratched his cheek and offered a word of praise. “You’re not bad!”

Aurora Sinclair just nodded, her face devoid of any excitement or bashfulness.

He felt a little awkward. ’After getting so used to girls blushing, acting shy, or getting excited around me, Aurora Sinclair’s indifferent reaction is seriously making me question if I’ve lost my touch.’

The bell signaling the end of class rang. Luna Jennings grabbed her uniform jacket and called to Aurora Sinclair to head back to class.

Alex Warren stared after her slender figure with a strange look on his face. “Boss, there’s something… uncanny about Aurora Sinclair. Even though she was just copying you, her movements were way faster!”

Ethan Lowell took a sip of water and replied nonchalantly, “I couldn’t even touch her.”

Alex Warren’s expression faltered, his gaze turning serious.

***

Inside the girls’ restroom, Mandy Warren suddenly asked, “Mona, why did your young master suddenly start teaching Aurora Sinclair how to play basketball? He couldn’t have fallen for her, could he?”

Mona Lowell glanced toward one of the stall doors, the corners of her lips curling up. She seemed to be in a good mood. “He’s always patient with pretty girls. He taught Jean Quincy from the art class before, too.”

“But it feels different. He bought Aurora Sinclair an ice cream bar, and he was way more focused when he was teaching her than when he taught Jean Quincy!”

“I’m not sure about that. But people in the family are saying the Family Head is considering potential marriage alliances for him, and the Sinclair Family is a big name in Kingsford…”

Their voices gradually faded away.

The door to the stall they’d been talking about swung open, and Jean Quincy emerged, her face a mask of fury.

***

Outside a lab in the Arcadian University School of Physics, Beta Morgan appeared, looking weary from a long journey.

His expression was grim, and his eyes were filled with urgency.

Through the transparent, reinforced glass, a physics experiment was in progress. Blinding flashes of light flared intermittently.

Several figures in protective suits and goggles were clustered around a device, operating it with intense concentration.

Beta Morgan pressed the doorbell.

Inside, Benjamin Morgan looked up at the sound. He made a quick gesture to Beta, then turned to Alvin Morgan and reported, “Sir, Beta Morgan is back.”

Alvin Morgan didn’t stop his work, only humming a quiet acknowledgment. He finished the final set of the experiment before shutting down the equipment.

“Compile the data.”

After giving the order, Alvin Morgan exited the experimental area and began to remove his protective suit.

As soon as Alvin emerged, Beta Morgan rushed to report. “Sir, those men from The Shadow… they’re all dead.”

He had spent the past several days handling the five Shadow Killers that Aurora Sinclair had captured, never expecting things to go wrong at the very last step.

“They were alive and kicking when we handed them over, but today we received word from The International Penitentiary that they’re dead. Do you think there might be a mole…”

Alvin Morgan cut him off sharply. “Immediately erase all traces of Aurora Sinclair in Sunstone!”

“Huh?”

Alvin Morgan shot him another glance, and Beta Morgan understood at once.

’Such double standards,’ he grumbled to himself.

He lifted his arm to check his watch. “Sir, Miss Sinclair will be getting out of school soon.”

Alvin Morgan grunted in acknowledgment and started walking toward the elevator that led to ground level. “Go buy a chicken-and-rice bowl.”

Beta Morgan was speechless.

’Sir, I’m hungry too!’

***

The final bell rang at Kingsford No. 1 High School.

Aurora Sinclair began to slowly pack her bag again. This time, no one said a word. They all knew she was heading to Arcadian University for tutoring with Professor Greene.

Alex Warren called out from behind her, “Sinclair, let’s walk out together!”

Aurora Sinclair nodded and walked over to Ethan Lowell and his friends.

Just as they reached the stairwell, they saw Jean Quincy and Zeke Quincy approaching from the opposite direction.

Zeke Quincy’s first instinct upon seeing Aurora Sinclair was to turn and leave, but Jean Quincy actually walked right up to her.

“Cousin, heading to Arcadian University?”

Master Sinclair had long been boasting to everyone at home about how Professor Greene had personally offered to tutor Aurora. Jean Quincy naturally knew about it, but she just figured Aurora had gotten ridiculously lucky.

Aurora Sinclair nodded, her expression blank.

Jean Quincy managed to suppress her scorn and resentment, turning to Ethan Lowell with a sweet smile. “Ethan, are you all going to the internet cafe today?”

With one hand in his pocket and his backpack slung over a single shoulder, Ethan Lowell gave a cool, deadpan nod.

Jean Quincy’s cheeks flushed. She had a thing for that type of aloof, cool guy—just like her idol, Darius Lynch, when he played the character Mr. Alexander.

“Ethan, I heard you got scouted by Team PL. Congratulations!”

Ethan Lowell nodded again and offered a curt, “Thanks.”

Team PL was one of Veridia’s top teams in the *Glory* e-sports league. With two international championships and three runner-up titles, their strength was not to be underestimated.

A little while ago, Ethan Lowell had been scouted by Team PL’s manager and was just waiting to graduate high school before officially joining the team to begin training.

Zeke Quincy was practically bursting with envy and jealousy.

The groups said their goodbyes at the school gate. Ethan Lowell, Alex Warren, and their friends headed off coolly toward the internet cafe.

The cars for the Sinclair and Quincy families arrived one after the other. Jean Quincy’s smile vanished. She stepped close to Aurora Sinclair and warned in a low voice, “You country bumpkin, stay away from Ethan! If you don’t, don’t blame me for what happens next.”

Aurora Sinclair gave her a single glance, said nothing, and turned to walk toward the Sinclair family car.

Furious at being ignored, Jean Quincy shouted after her, “Aurora Sinclair, if you’re such a jinx, then stop dragging other people down with you!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep