Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism

Chapter 9 The Four Influential Figures of Toland University's Computer Science Department

The four men turned to look at Violeta. At that moment, Violeta also remembered who they were.

In her previous life, Mr. and Mrs. Blake stopped paying for her tuition fees after Zelena persuaded them. As a result, Violeta had to work part-time to save money, and she wasn't interested in what happened on the school forum.

However, she had heard about the four most popular male students discussed on Toland University's forum. They were Hayden, Zoren, Jasper, and Liam.

When Violeta first arrived at the school gate, she had overheard someone mentioning Hayden's name. It had sounded somewhat familiar to her, but she couldn't recall it. Everything came back to her now as she saw the four of them standing side by side.

They were the four influential figures of Toland University's computer science department!

No wonder Violeta couldn't remember who Hayden was. In her previous life, they were beyond her reach. She never expected that Zoren, one of the four influential figures in the computer science department, would turn out to be her cousin! Violeta utterly flabbergasted!

As the four men approached her, Hayden stared at her and said to Zoren, "Your cousin seems dumbstruck."

Zoren was also astonished. He had always heard rumors about Violeta being ugly, unattractive, and unpresentable, and he believed it! He never expected the ethereal-looking girl standing before him to be his cousin!

Who spread the rumor saying Violeta is ugly? Are they insane?! If ever I find out who spread those rumors, I won't let them off easily! They're lucky if they can get away unscathed!

"Vio!"

Violeta smiled at Zoren. "Hello, Zoren."

Zoren immediately explained, "Violeta, it's not that I didn't want to pick you up. I had something urgent to do in the morning and was held up. I was worried you would be late for enrollment, so I asked Hade to pick you up. Did anything happen? Hade is actually a nice guy, just a little cold."

Violeta glanced at Hayden and said reluctantly, "He was alright."

At this moment, Jasper and Liam approached Violeta to greet her. "Hello, Vio."

"Hello."

Zoren introduced Jasper and Liam to Violeta. He spoke to them disdainfully, "She's my cousin. Why are you calling her 'Vio'? Don't even think about it. Vio, they're not very nice. Don't be fooled by their good looks. They're all jerks!"

Jasper exclaimed, "Who the heck are you calling a jerk?"

Liam added, "Zero, come here so I can say something to your face. I don't want to scare Vio."

Zoren was dumbstruck as he was pulled aside by his friends. Violeta couldn't help but laugh as she watched them fool around.

The corners of Hayden's lips curved when he saw Violeta smile. "Let's go."

"Where to?"

"To eat. You said you would buy me a meal, remember?"

Eat? Violeta looked at the time. It was only half past ten in the morning. Who eats lunch this early?

"Do you eat lunch this early?"

"I usually have lunch from half past ten in the morning to half past two in the afternoon."

Violeta was dumbfounded. This guy is ridiculous. Who the heck eats lunch for four hours? © 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

Hayden asked, "So, are we going to eat now?"

Before Violeta could answer, Zoren rushed over. "Come on, Vio. I'll show you around campus."

Hayden's piercing gaze was instantly directed at Zoren. It was much more intimidating than Jasper and Liam's. Zoren froze and understood at once. "I got it. Hade, are you hungry? Let's go eat first."

Hayden raised his brows. Not bad. At least Zero is sensible.

Violeta was dumbfounded.

The four of them had grown up together since they were young and could understand Hayden's thoughts with just a glance. They knew each other best!

Violeta had to attend her freshman orientation in the afternoon and was worried about being late, so she chose to eat at Toland University's cafeteria.

Hayden and the others didn't usually eat at the cafeteria, but they went along with it for Violeta's sake.

Toland University's was constructed beautifully. It resembled an art gallery from a distance. Three floors offered a wide variety of food from multiple cuisines.

It was strange because this was supposedly Violeta's first time in the cafeteria. Still, she seemed to know her way around. She confidently went to the second floor, where she paid after they ordered.

The five of them found a seat by the window.

When Violeta was studying at Toland University in her past life, her favorite dish at the cafeteria was spaghetti and meatballs. She wasn't hungry but couldn't hold back and dug in eagerly when she saw the meatballs on the plate.

Hayden and the other three didn't touch the food on their plates and only took a few bites. They weren't hungry either, and they weren't used to eating cafeteria food. Although the food didn't taste bad, it wasn't particularly delicious either.

Hayden leaned back in his chair and watched Violeta eagerly digging in. He asked casually, "Is it good?"

Violeta looked up. She had marinara sauce in the corners of her mouth. "Yes."

When Zoren heard it, he couldn't help but take a meatball from her plate and taste it. "It's just spaghetti, marinara sauce, and meatballs. It's quite ordinary." Zoren didn't know what the dish meant to Violeta.

In her previous life, Violeta had the chance to be an extra in a film. Unfortunately, the shoot location was far from Toland University. She saved up for the round-trip train tickets and hotel expenses two weeks in advance.

During those two weeks, Violeta only survived on frozen meals and leftovers. There were many times when she wanted to order the cafeteria's spaghetti and meatballs. Still, she had to give up on her craving to save money.

Although the cafeteria's spaghetti and meatballs weren't outstanding, they meant something to Violeta. Perhaps it felt like a reward after enduring all the hardship. She vowed to live a better life this time.

Just then, a group of sophomores entered the cafeteria. They were about to order their food when they noticed the five individuals sitting by the window.

"Hey, isn't that Hayden and the others? And that's the freshman who got out of the car with Hayden this morning!"

"D*mn, what's going on? Hayden and the rest actually came to the cafeteria to eat. We should take a picture and post it on the forum immediately."

"Who is this freshman? She's already eating with The Beatles of the computer science department on her first day. She's astonishing."

They secretly took two photos and posted them to the forum.

Someone had already posted a photo of Violeta and Hayden on the forum earlier in the morning, and it had caused quite a commotion. With the new pictures of them in the cafeteria, the discussions on the forum intensified, and everyone speculated about Violeta's background. Violeta had no idea she had caused such a stir on her first day at school.

This was supposed to be Violeta's treat, but Hayden barely touched his food. In contrast, Violeta had cleaned her plate because she didn't want to waste food. She was stuffed and even burped.

She thought Hayden would be satisfied, but to her surprise, Hayden spoke to her as they left the cafeteria. "That meal doesn't count because I didn't eat much. You must buy me another meal."

Violeta was utterly dumbstruck. How shameless can he get?!