Chapter 27: Chapter 27: She’s a Person Too

Jean Quincy’s face went pale with fright. If that had hit her, she’d have broken bones, if not died.

Her whole body was trembling as she clung desperately to the arm of the person beside her, shrinking into her embrace.

Aurora Sinclair glanced at the terrified Jean Quincy in her arms and didn’t move. She looked up at the roof of the school’s academic building. A circular empty space was left where the round school crest had once been.

More and more students were gathering around, and whispers could be heard, speculating again that Aurora Sinclair was a jinx.

Just then, Ethan Lowell appeared, his expression grim. He said to Aurora Sinclair, “You should get out of here. Fatty went to find Mr. Barron.”

Jean Quincy seemed to finally regain her strength. Her expression changed drastically as she pushed Aurora Sinclair away, but Ethan Lowell spoke first. “That school crest had already fallen off. It was just left on the roof waiting for repairs. I saw it the day before yesterday. There’s no way it could have fallen from that spot.”

Aurora Sinclair gave Jean Quincy a calm look, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Her slender figure looked lonely from behind.

Jean Quincy watched her leave, her expression complicated.

“We thought the teachers getting involved would make the person behind this back off a little. Looks like we were wrong… Good thing she was always following you!” Ethan Lowell said sarcastically, giving her a cool glance.

Jean Quincy froze.

“Jean—”

Having heard the news, a sweat-drenched Zeke Quincy rushed over. He gripped Jean Quincy’s shoulders and looked her up and down. “Are you hurt?”

Jean Quincy numbly shook her head.

After confirming she was unharmed, Zeke Quincy finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then, as if remembering something, his expression hardened, and he gritted out, “I’m calling Grandpa right now to have Aurora Sinclair thrown out of Kingsford—”

Seeing this, Jean Quincy immediately stopped him. “Zeke, she saved me! That crest was already broken. Someone pushed it down on purpose!”

“What—”

Jean Quincy repeated what Ethan Lowell had said. Fury slowly filled Zeke Quincy’s eyes as he clenched his fists. “Let’s go. We’re finding the principal!”

That afternoon, the news that Jean Quincy had nearly been hit by the school crest went viral on the campus forums.

The topic of Aurora Sinclair being a jinx was brought up again, and this time, many students who had previously remained neutral changed their stance.

Some were even preparing to petition the school to have Aurora Sinclair expelled!

The incident caused such a huge uproar that it finally alerted the school administration. To avoid attracting public attention, the school had no choice but to step in to guide and pacify the students’ emotions.

The district-wide joint exams were just around the corner, and Principal Lawson was afraid this incident would affect the school’s overall performance and reputation. He immediately had the situation reported by Ethan Lowell and Zeke Quincy suppressed, and the controversial threads on the school forums were forcibly deleted.

Under the high-pressure tactics of the homeroom teachers, the matter was swept under the rug.

As for the rumors about Aurora Sinclair, they were effectively and strictly forbidden by the teachers on the surface. But in private, the students’ dissatisfaction and ostracism towards her reached a new peak.

Other classes weren’t as bad, but most of the students in Class Six began launching personal attacks. They moved Aurora Sinclair’s desk out of the room and wouldn’t let her into the classroom.

Some girls also tried to pick a fight and teach Aurora Sinclair a lesson, but they couldn’t even touch the hem of her clothes. Eventually, everyone found out she knew martial arts, so no one dared to physically confront her. However, the cold shoulder was everywhere.

In the end, Aurora Sinclair moved her desk to the very back of the classroom, far away from all the other students.

Luna Jennings couldn’t stand it. She copied Aurora and moved her own desk to the back, continuing to be her deskmate.

“Let’s just see if Aurora can jinx me!”

The two of them were completely isolated by most of the students in Class Six.

This went on for two or three days. Leon Barron spoke to the class several times, but it had little effect.

***

Alvin Morgan listened to Beta Morgan’s report, his long fingers tapping a rhythm on the desk. His expression didn’t betray whether he was angry or not, but for Beta, who knew him well, his heart was already pounding with fear and his back was tingling.

’His master was truly furious!’

“Did you find anything?”

“It was deliberate!”

“Then release it.”

“Should we notify…?”

But a cold glance from his master made Beta Morgan obediently shut his mouth, accept the order, and leave.

The next day, Kingsford No. 1 High School made the front-page headlines.

Several clips of surveillance footage were leaked online, attracting widespread public attention.

In the surveillance footage, a figure circled in red was clearly shown appearing at the scene of each of Jean Quincy’s “accidents.” After the final incident with the school crest, that same figure was seen running down the stairs from the rooftop access.

The footage was too blurry to see the person’s face, but the school uniform was unmistakable.

Jean Quincy’s father, Alden Quincy, and Master Sinclair went directly to the school with the police, demanding that Principal Lawson give them an explanation.

After a series of police investigations, the suspect was ultimately identified as Mandy Warren, a student in Class Six of the third year.

This outcome surprised everyone, because Mandy Warren had always been on good terms with Jean Quincy. No one would have thought she would pull such pranks on her.

During the interrogation, Mandy Warren confessed everything. The cause was that Jean Quincy had told her about the rumors surrounding Aurora Sinclair, which led to her being mocked by the entire class.

She was angry and wanted to get revenge on Jean Quincy through pranks, while also solidifying the rumors about Aurora Sinclair and proving the whole class wrong.

But because some people had analyzed that the incidents seemed like deliberate pranks, she got scared the school would investigate. So she decided to stage the school crest “mysteriously” falling and nearly hitting Jean Quincy to definitively solidify the rumor that Aurora Sinclair was a jinx.

Upon hearing this result, besides extreme anger, Jean Quincy and Zeke Quincy were filled with guilt toward Aurora Sinclair.

Master Sinclair’s eyelids were lowered, his face was stern, and he said nothing. Standing to the side, Alden Quincy and Jade Sinclair looked even more awkward.

Principal Lawson wanted to play down the incident and handle it at the school level. After all, both sides were at fault, and he was extremely reluctant to have a criminal case involving one of his students, as it would damage the school’s reputation.

Alden Quincy and Jade Sinclair didn’t want to blow the matter up either, because the Quincy family couldn’t afford the embarrassment.

Now, only Master Sinclair was unwilling. He absolutely refused to budge, insisting on handling it officially. Thus, the three parties were at a stalemate.

“Settle this privately? What about my granddaughter’s reputation? You all care about your face and your good name, but doesn’t my granddaughter deserve the same? Jade, she is your second brother’s only child! She’s a person, too!”

Master Sinclair’s whole body trembled as he spoke, tapping his cane on the floor. The last sentence caught in his throat, and he broke into a violent coughing fit.

Jade Sinclair bit her lip hard, her eyes red-rimmed, unable to say a word for a long time.

Zeke Quincy looked at his conflicted parents, gritted his teeth, and walked with a solemn expression to Aurora Sinclair, who stood quietly in the corner like an invisible person. He bowed at a ninety-degree angle and offered a formal apology.

“I’m sorry. I apologize on behalf of myself and my sister for what we did! Please forgive us!”

When Jean Quincy saw this, she also ran over and bowed in apology to Aurora Sinclair.

This complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn in their attitude stunned all the adults in the room.

Jade Sinclair couldn’t help but wipe away her tears. She had never imagined her consistently proud children would go this far, and she felt both heartbroken and gratified.

“Grandpa, is this okay?”

The cool, stiff voice sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet principal’s office.

The eyes of the Quincys and the principal lit up, and they all turned to look at Master Sinclair.

His gaze was heavy and complicated as he looked at Aurora Sinclair. Finally, he sighed and beckoned her over.

“Aurora, come home with Grandpa—”

***

News of what happened in the principal’s office soon reached Alvin Morgan.

Beta Morgan stood cautiously behind Alvin Morgan, watching him. His master had been standing by the window for a long time. It felt as if he were a dormant volcano, all his roiling emotions suppressed deep within.

“She’s the one who asked not to press charges?”

“Yes. The two Quincy children bowed and apologized to her face, and then she told Master Sinclair she wouldn’t press the matter.”

When Beta Morgan saw his master actually take out a cigarette case, pull one out, and start smoking, alarm bells screamed in his head…

Sure enough, the moment his master stubbed out the cigarette, he heard a cold sneer. “Heh… I’m not that magnanimous.”

“Sir, you mean…?”

“Make some trouble for the Quincy family. As for that other family, I don’t want to see them in Kingsford again…”

“Yes—”

After Beta Morgan left, Alvin Morgan lit another cigarette.

He looked down at Aurora Sinclair’s default profile picture on his phone and typed a line of text with one hand.

[As long as I’m here, you don’t have to compromise for anyone!]

But in the end, he let out a soft chuckle, hit the delete key, and typed a new message.

[What do you want to eat tonight?]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep