Chapter 29: Gossip Among Classmates

The rumbling of the gears gradually subsided, and the elevator doors slid open. Hexia stepped out into a world as bright as day, joined by a crowd of other pedestrians.

On the 44th floor of Arpeggio City, the pedestrian street was bathed in the brilliant, artificial light of the domed ceiling, mimicking the brightness of a daytime surface. Many young people bustled about, chatting and laughing. The storefronts along the street were filled with gleaming displays and the latest merchandise, catching the eyes of passersby.

Hexia: [Where are you guys? Are you there yet?]
Lina: [We’re at the Three-Color Cold Drinks shop. Just waiting on you and Dudu.]
Hexia: [Got it, I’m almost there.]

Setting aside her personal terminal, Hexia headed toward the shop across the street. In truth, she had already reached the meeting point, but she didn’t want to walk in only to find no one else there yet and end up sitting alone in awkward silence. She preferred to wait until her companions arrived.

As she stepped through the revolving glass door, a blast of cold air greeted her, making her shiver, though it felt more comfortable as she moved further inside.

The layout of the shop was a large, crescent-shaped space. On the black crescent, individual tables and circular chairs were arranged to form private nooks. In the center, cradled by the crescent, was a small stage, though no performance was taking place at the moment.

"Hexia, over here!" Before she had even scanned the room for long, Hexia heard Lina calling out.

As she walked over, she noticed Millie was there too, sitting with Lina. But judging by her expression, she didn't seem very happy; she was clutching her tea, lost in thought. Lina was dressed in an avant-garde style today, wearing short leather shorts paired with a cropped jacket, with a purple-red gradient eyeshadow accentuating her eyes.

"Hexia’s here! Sit down for a bit, we’re still waiting on Dudu. Oh, what would you like to drink? I’ll order for you."

"That’s alright, I’m not really thirsty." Hexia shook her head.

"You’re as modest as ever." Lina swiped through the projection menu on the table and ended up selecting a popular drink for Hexia.

Before long, a hemispherical robot delivered the beverages. The drink was a translucent purple-red liquid filled with bubbles, tasting cold and refreshing. It contained a small amount of alcohol, much like a fruit beer. Seeing that Lina had already ordered it for her, Hexia didn't want to refuse and simply picked it up, sipping it slowly.

"By the way, how did you do on your exam, Hexia? Any results yet?" Lina asked.

"I haven’t received a reply yet."

"It should be soon. I’ve seen classmates in our group lately either celebrating or wailing—some happy, some sad." She pulled Hexia to sit beside her. "But you’ll definitely pass, Hexia. You’re one of the few people in our class who actually studies hard."

"Thank you."

The two chatted for a while about their classmates. Most of it was Lina talking, sharing plenty of gossip—who had recently confessed their love, who had applied to a school far away, who was seeing someone from another school, and so on. Even though they belonged to the same school and class, Hexia felt like she and Lina lived in completely different worlds. Lina always seemed to know all kinds of rumors, which never failed to surprise her. Compared to the meager number of contacts in Hexia’s address book, Lina’s spanned dozens of pages; she was constantly chatting, talking to people, and posting updates.

She snapped a photo of the shop's decor, included Hexia and Millie in the frame, and posted it.
*‘Out having fun with my classmates today~☆’*
*I guess this is what it’s like to be a social butterfly,* the young girl thought.

After waiting a while, the other girl, Dudu, arrived. Carrying a handbag, she hurried into the shop, scanned the area, and headed straight for their table.

"Phew, ran into some annoying guy on the way, which held me up. Sorry about that."

"It’s fine. Do you want something to drink? I’ll order it."

"I’ll have a 'Crystal Swirl Pineapple Wine'."

"Tsk, tsk, you’re really not trying to save me any money, are you?" Lina rolled her eyes at her but ordered with a smile nonetheless.

"You said you were treating! If it were anyone else, I’d be even less polite." Dudu waved her hand, pulled out her bag, opened her makeup case, and began touching up her face.

Once the 'Crystal Swirl Pineapple Wine' arrived, Dudu put away her makeup tools and closed the case. Only then did the group begin to talk in earnest.

"What’s wrong with Millie? She hasn’t said a word." Dudu looked at the girl who was still staring blankly.

"Her?" Lina tilted her head and continued, "Millie’s been dumped." Despite saying that, Lina couldn't hide the smile on her face.

Millie finally snapped out of her own world. "Hmph, men are all trash."

"Tell us, what exactly happened?" Dudu asked, full of curiosity.

Millie clearly didn't want to answer, turning her head away in a huff. After a moment, she looked at Lina and said, "You tell them."

"Fine, fine. I’ll express the indignation for Miss Millie." Lina held up a finger and wagged it. "So, the story goes like this..."

Hexia and Dudu listened as Lina explained what had happened in the few weeks since graduation.

Essentially, Millie’s family had introduced her to a potential suitor. His family background was decent—his parents were middle managers at a pharmaceutical company. The two had a good first impression, so they tried dating a few times, going shopping, watching movies, and visiting the underground cavern amusement park in the neighboring Ouka City. Everything was progressing well until one day, while they were staying at a hotel, Millie accidentally noticed something wrong with the incoming call notifications on his personal terminal. After that, she noticed he was always distracted and absent-minded.

The rest was simple: Millie had Lina ask some acquaintances at the guy’s school to look into him, only to find out he was a known playboy on campus, and word was that some girl had even gotten pregnant by him. The impact was too much for Millie, and the two broke up shortly after.

"I made my dad give the matchmaker a real piece of his mind. What kind of people are they?"

"Looking back, half the time we went out on dates or to dinner, I ended up paying because I thought he was such a good guy at the time." Millie was still fuming.

"Hahaha, that’s hilarious! I never thought Millie would be the one to get played." Dudu was laughing so hard she was slapping the table.

"Alright, alright, let’s not talk about that anymore." Lina smiled and comforted Millie, telling Dudu to stop poking the bear. "Anyone can have poor judgment. Besides, he put on a great act, all flowery words and sweet talk. How else would he have fooled so many girls?" Lina waved her hand dismissively.

"Actually, you can’t trust most of what people say; it’s all cheap. Unless someone spends real money on you, it’s not sincere. Don’t you think so, Hexia?"

"Uh." Hexia didn't know why the conversation had suddenly turned to her. "I suppose so." She looked away.

"Hehe, Hexia’s shy again. Alright, I won’t pick on you. I just saw you weren't saying anything and wanted to liven things up." Lina reached out and held the girl’s hand warmly.

"That much is true." Dudu, sitting across from them, was fiddling with her personal terminal, seemingly replying to a message. "By the way, did Clara not come today?" Dudu asked, remembering something.

"Her? She went on a trip. I heard she went to the South First District."

"Isn’t the South First District just the administrative and educational center? Most of the fun places are in the South Third or South Fifth Districts," Dudu said, confused.

"I don’t know. She just said there was some celebrity she admires holding a meet-and-greet there, and she wanted to go."

"Hey, she wants to be an idol herself, why is she out chasing stars?"

"I’m not sure. I think that happens sometimes. A lot of minor idols publicly state they like a certain big star so that the big star’s fans will love them by association, feeling validated and taking a liking to the minor idol, which helps them gain followers," Lina explained her perspective.

"Forget it, let’s not worry about that. We’ve been sitting here for a while, how about we go see a movie?" Lina stood up.

"Let’s go, let’s go." Dudu pulled up the sulking Millie. "Don't be angry anymore. You’ve got us sisters here. Let’s go see a movie to blow off some steam and forget all about that guy."

The four of them headed toward a cinema not far down the street, where a giant, wide-format poster hung over the entrance.

*Please Hold My Fingertips*
*A romance spanning 400 years, taking you through the rare and beautiful moments in an era of war.*