Chapter 6 Teasing

    After the physical fitness tests for the girls ended, it was time for the boys' tests to begin. Angela was called by the teacher to help keep time. Lucy sat quietly, looking elsewhere, disinterested in everyone around her until one of the female students nudged her, drawing a confused look from Lucy.

    "The teacher wants us to help count how many sit-ups the boys can do." This was the first time Lucy was nudged and spoken to with such a kind manner.

    "Thanks," Lucy said, then stood up and walked away, leaving the nudger frozen in shock at the word of gratitude, so much that her friend had to come and pull her up.

    "What's wrong? Did Lucy curse you out so badly that you're shocked?" her friend asked sympathetically.

    "No, no, she said, 'Thanks.' She really said 'Thanks!'" The nudger’s friend was so surprised she had to reassure herself by placing her hand on her chest.

    "Oh my god," It was unbelievable that Luciana would use such a phrase! This was definitely gossip-worthy. Lucy walked over to the boys' side, and it was clear without guessing that the boys thought Lucy was heading straight for the president, the Crown Prince, or maybe Ion and Dale for sure. Ion swallowed hard, avoiding Lucy's gaze almost immediately, while whispering almost silently to Dale.

    "Uh, Dale, is Lucy looking this way at us?" He raised his hand to shield his face from Luciana’s gaze, not wanting her to see.

    "I don't know, I'm looking down! Don't you dare make eye contact," Dale replied, but before he could finish, Ion looked up at Lucy, then startled, turned away quickly, closing his eyes tightly and covering his face, whispering shakily,

    "Sorry, Dale, Lucy just made eye contact with me!" Dale almost wanted to smack his friend on the head. Damn it! Whatever he was told to do, he didn’t do but did everything he was told not to. Luciana swept her gaze around and noticed that the boys were quickly waving their girl friends over to come to them quickly.

    ‘Huh, pathetic idiot! Did they think I was so desperate to count for them?’ Lucy thought furiously to herself.

    Looking at Angela, Lucy couldn’t help but sigh. Angela truly had a supportive group of friends. One of Angela's group volunteered to keep time so Angela could take her place counting instead. And who would Angela choose? Obviously, the heroine's main target in this school would be the Crown Prince.

    If it were the old Lucy, she would have rushed to the Crown Prince, who never refused her, Lucy, oh Lucy. Didn't she realize he never refused her because he wanted to use her in the future? Angela looked hesitant to approach the Crown Prince, probably because Lucy hadn’t decided whom to approach yet. In fact, every girl held back, not daring to approach anyone, seeing that Lucy hadn't made her choice yet.

    Lucy couldn't help but frown in annoyance. How did she become the main problem? Of course, Lucy immediately ruled out the Crown Prince and the president as her choices. There was no way she was going to follow them around like a lost puppy anymore. No way!! She planned to randomly choose someone close by to end it quickly, but her gaze inadvertently drifted in one direction.

    Wasn't that the duo, Ion and Dale? Lucy looked at Ion's exaggerated reaction of covering his face with his hands, amused, before turning away. However, in that moment, Ion turned to look at Lucy. Of course, Lucy stared back, noticing Ion flinch and cover his eyes. Her first impression of Ion was that he was a puppy begging to be teased. Seeing this, she couldn't help but... Lucy rubbed her hands gently, turning to Ion and Dale. Predictably, Ion and Dale were sweating buckets by now. Seeing Lucy walk past themselves made them visibly relieved. Such irritating reactions. Walking towards Ion and Dale, which certainly included the Crown Prince, the prince offered a warm smile to Lucy, who sweetly smiled back. A fair exchange of smiles before she walked past the prince, leaving him with a hanging smile. Lucy couldn't suppress a satisfied smirk at the corner of her mouth before stopping between Ion and Dale, deliberately adopting a sweet tone to address the duo,

    "Please take good care of me, Ion, Dale." As expected, their names being called made them jump, both turning to look at Lucy. With a pale face, Dale managed to maintain his expression and replied.

     " Please take good care of me, Lucy," even if his response was as light as a whisper. But Ion's reaction was far more interesting. The tall figure turned back to face Lucy with a pale face, his eyes red as if about to cry, and his nose slightly red, his lips trembling before he managed to stammer,

    "Pa…Please take care of me... Lucy... Ah!! No, I mean, Luciana... Ughhh!" He covered his face in embarrassment, completely flustered at having made direct eye contact with Lucy and even mistakenly calling her by a more familiar name! Ion mentally bid farewell to his family, relatives and manager in a bitter moment, thinking his life was over. Lucy enjoyed Ion's dramatic reaction and couldn't help but smile in delight. That smile caused Dale to take a deep breath and think, along with everyone else,

     'Good luck, Ion.'

    "You don't have to be so excited, Ion. You can call me Lucy; I don't mind, Hehe," Lucy's laughter sealed Ion's fate. Watching Ion with sparkling eyes, Lucy thought he was truly born to be teased. After Lucy made her choice, the other students began to approach their friends. Angela went to the prince, and the girl who had scolded Lucy headed towards the president.

    This was probably the first time both the prince and the president turned to look at Lucy on their own, not because Lucy had called them. As the physical education teacher was about to blow the whistle, Ion lay down for Dale to hold his legs. As soon as the whistle blew, Ion started doing sit-ups immediately, but froze upon seeing Lucy's beautiful face close by, causing a momentary freeze before he hurriedly continued until time was up, panting heavily. Lucy sweetly mocked, "That's it? Just 18? That's the standard for women, and you even scored lower than me." Lucy was confident that if this were a manga, there would definitely be a black arrow shooting straight into Ion's heart, with blood spurting out of his mouth for sure.

    "Actually, it should have been more if not for... uh, because of..." Ion, initially flushed with defiance, began to falter upon meeting Lucy's calm blue eyes, utterly losing his flow. Lucy laughed internally, thinking how fun it was to tease this puppy.

    "So, what? Are you saying it's because of me?" Lucy intentionally lowered her tone, sending chills down Ion's spine as he shook his head.

    "So, it means you're just weak," Lucy concluded, looking away from Ion only to flash him a charming smile again.

     "Get up. It's Dale’s turn now," Lucy said before turning to announce Ion's score. Ion slowly got up in agony, allowing Dale to take his place as Lucy counted for him. When the teacher blew the whistle again, Dale immediately started his sit-ups, this time closing his eyes and counting along until the time was up. He then took a deep breath of relief upon finishing. Lucy turned to Ion and added,

    "Look, even Dale got 23, more than you, Ion," Ion was on the verge of tears, feeling utterly devastated. This woman was too cruel! Ion thought to himself.

    "You're not secretly cursing me, right?" Ion shook his head sincerely, trying to meet Lucy's gaze. They say when lying to someone, you shouldn't avoid eye contact, or else you'll get caught. But upon meeting Lucy's gaze, he immediately turned away. Ah, who dares to lock eyes with Lucy at this moment? Those calm yet fierce eyes!!

    "Wow, you've got quite the nerve, Ion," she leaned in to whisper beside Ion's ear, making him almost faint,

     "Better watch yourself." Then, she stood up, flipped her hair, and walked away, leaving Dale to shake Ion in an attempt to bring him back to reality.