Chapter 3
I crushed Eulalia on all fronts.
Her research was a total disaster, and most of her data couldn't stand up to scrutiny.
I won this competition without even breaking a sweat.
After it was over, Eulalia stood in the corner, her face ashen as she quietly wiped away her tears.
"I'm sorry, Tobias. I wasn't good enough. I let you down," she said.
Tobias, with a stoic expression, offered some words of comfort.
"Don't worry about it. You did well," he said.
Romilly Snow gave Tobias a sarcastic smirk.
"Nothing's impossible, but even you can't handle it, Tobias. Today, it's Bellamy Pierce's show!" she declared.
The crowd was full of people who knew us.
Everyone got what Romilly was getting at.
Things got a little tense between us.
People started whispering and gossiping among themselves.
Eulalia stood timidly beside Tobias, her doe eyes wide and innocent, looking delicate and lost.
"Tobias, I... I didn't mean it like that," she stammered.
Someone took screenshots of Eulalia's social media posts and photos from the competition and posted them on the campus wall.
Tobias's reputation needs no introduction.
The post blew up in no time.
People started commenting: [Nothing in the world is too hard as long as Tobias is here!]
[The grass is always greener on the other side， even when it comes to boyfriends.]
[Right? If someone else doesn't want it, I don't want it either. Whatever belongs to someone else is always better!]
The confession wall has always been the epicenter of campus gossip.
And with Tobias in the spotlight, the post spread like wildfire.
The post spread like wildfire.
Within half a day, everyone on campus knew about it.
Some were just there for the drama, while others were genuinely pissed off.
Eulalia had already been exposed. People had dug up everything about her.
She couldn't even walk across campus without people recognizing her and whispering or pointing.
Eulalia's face was ghostly pale, her eyes swollen from crying as she hurried back to her dorm.
Her roommate spotted her and immediately whipped out a bottle of disinfectant, spraying it wildly into the air.
"Ugh, why is this place so filthy? The fake nice-girl vibe in here is suffocating. I could seriously puke," she complained.
Eulalia ducked her head, bit down on her lip until it hurt, and bolted out of the room.
The whispers and snickers behind her only got nastier.
"She really has no shame."
"She's disgusting."
Her face was flushed and burning as she hurried over to Tobias, who was busy with his experiment.
She was sobbing, tears streaming down her face, looking heartbreakingly pitiful.
Tobias had just finished his observations.
Turning, Tobias spotted Eulalia, her head bowed as she quietly sobbed.
"What's wrong?" Tobias asked.
His brow creased in concern.
The moment Eulalia tried to speak, tears spilled down her cheeks.
She ducked her head, trying to stifle her sobs, her teeth digging into her lip as she fought to stay strong.
"Tobias, can we just not talk right now? I'm scared," she whispered.
Tobias rubbed his brow.
A hint of impatience flickered across his face.
He didn't ask any more questions, just watched her in silence.
Every now and then, he'd hand her a tissue.
Once Eulalia had finally stopped crying, she took a shaky breath and, gathering her courage, confessed to Tobias about the whole confession mess.
"I'm sorry, Tobias. It's all my fault. I dragged all of you into this," she said.
"I was just so anxious, and when you helped me sort out the data, I got so happy I didn't think straight," she added.
Eulalia wiped her tears, murmuring her explanation in a trembling voice.
"I never thought Bellamy would be this angry," she whispered.
She sounded like the world was out to get her, every word dripping with wounded innocence.
"Maybe I should just go and apologize to Bellamy again. It's all on me. I keep dragging you into this mess, Tobias," she said.
He never bothered with campus drama.
He ran on his own timetable.
Only his studies and me could ever get him to change course.
But he also understood that once something like this happened, the consequences would be completely out of his control.
Tobias's face grew even more forbidding, his expression downright frigid.
"Understood," he said, his voice cold.
Tobias stood waiting for me at the library entrance, umbrella in hand.
Outside, the rain was coming down in sheets, but he held the umbrella effortlessly with just one hand.
His aloof, almost untouchable aura caught the attention of everyone passing by. Some tried to hide their stares, others didn't bother.
When he spotted me, his usually unreadable eyes softened, a subtle smile flickering across his face.
"There's something I need to explain to you," he said.
"Bellamy, Eulalia is just my underclassman," he said.
"Her data affects the whole group, not just her. I wasn't doing her any special favors. I was just helping out, that's all," he added.
I looked into his eyes, hoping to see something familiar there again.
But there was nothing.
"Bellamy, I'm sorry!" Eulalia called out from behind Tobias.
We both turned to see who it was.
Eulalia was standing there in the pouring rain, completely drenched.
She bowed low, nearly doubled over at a full ninety degrees, just standing there in the downpour.
She looked genuinely apologetic and so vulnerable, like she might shatter if you touched her.
"I messed up the experiment data yesterday, and I was terrified I'd ruin it for everyone. I freaked out and called Tobias for help," she stammered.
"I wasn't thinking straight. It's all my fault, I swear it won't happen again. Please, forgive me. And don't blame Tobias," she pleaded.
People streamed in and out of the library, shooting curious looks our way.
It was impossible to tell if the streaks on Eulalia's face were tears or rain. Either way, she looked absolutely wrecked.
But even then, there was a subtle smirk on her lips, like she was sure she'd get her way no matter what.