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Chapter 76
As soon as Jaeylin’s hand brushed against his bare skin, Adrian jumped like he’d been burned and shuddered.
“Hey, are you crazy? Not there—on my clothes! Grab onto the clothes!”
“You told me to just grab anywhere.”
Adrian’s overly sharp reaction embarrassed Jaeylin, who protested.
“I’m sensitive, so don’t touch me however you like. Got it?”
“Alright, fine.”
When she answered, Jaeylin’s lips jutted out in a little pout. Her cheek puffed up like she was sulking, and Adrian couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter.
When they first met, she had been too scared to even talk properly. But now, whenever she was displeased, she always made sure to complain and even showed it on her face.
Compared to then, the way she expressed her feelings and communicated now felt oddly admirable… and the way she was trying so hard to look annoyed was just funny.
“Here. Hold this.”
Adrian pushed his rolled-up shirt sleeve toward her.
Walking beside him, Jaeylin clutched the sleeve tightly and tucked herself just behind his shoulder.
Using Adrian as a shield, she was no longer shoved around by the crowd.
By the time they passed the entrance to the rose garden, Stephan, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped.
It was in front of a booth, decorated extravagantly in pink.
“♡♡♡Cupid’s Arrow♡♡♡
Do you have a destined match waiting for you?
A community-based Love-Love Blind Match!
We’ll reveal your perfect soulmate♡♡♡”
“Wait! Look! Let’s try this one.”
At Stephan’s words, Lionel raised his head and read the sign.
“Doesn’t it sound fun? They’ll find the person who suits me best. Who knows? I might find my destined partner.”
Excited, Stephan clenched his fists while Nathan stroked his chin thoughtfully and nodded.
“Hm. True, this does sound fresh. I’m a little curious who’ll come up.”
Then Stephan shouted dramatically:
“Yes! I’ll marry whoever I get here!”
“Are you out of your mind?” Adrian muttered with sarcasm.
Ignoring him, Stephan strode up to the heart-shaped booth, decked out in gaudy pink.
Right at the entrance, Rita—his classmate from the Department of Magical Design—was promoting.
“Oh? Rita?”
“Oh! Stephan? Came to see the festival? Perfect. Drop by our booth.”
Though he had already made up his mind to go in, Stephan pretended to browse uninterestedly.
“Eh. I’m not really into this kind of thing.”
Rita frowned. For someone supposedly uninterested, Stephan was always the one most eager to talk about dating.
“You? Yeah, right.”
“Er, hem. Anyway, I’ll bring all the friends I came with inside, so you bring your club members to visit our booth. Deal?”
Rita frowned, considered briefly, then nodded.
“Fine. Deal.”
Pleased with the arrangement, Stephan and Rita shook hands with smiles. No one else’s opinion had factored into this decision.
“How’s that for my promotional skills?” Stephan whispered smugly to Sasha.
“That’s not promotion. That’s just a trade,” Sasha shot back flatly.
The group entered the booth flashing with pink hearts. Not long after, someone else stepped inside behind them.
It was Rosia and her friend. Having finished her student council booth duty, Rosia was also looking around the festival.
“Oh? Seniors, hello.”
Rosia greeted brightly, spotting them first.
“Hi, Rosia. Enjoying the festival?” Lionel, standing closest, responded first.
Nathan, who knew her through the student council, also chimed in.
“Trying this one too?”
“Yes. They say it shows your match, so I was curious. You’re all doing it too?”
“Yeah, we are.”
As they chatted, an usher suddenly popped up.
“Welcome! You’ll be participating, right? This is Cupid’s Arrow! Our system analyzes your community interactions and matches you with the person whose personality fits you best…”
As the usher smoothly explained, Stephan mumbled:
“How can analyzing a community tell them who matches me?”
“Yeah. This sounds like a scam,” Sasha muttered suspiciously.
“No way. There must be some method,” Stephan insisted, eager to believe in finding his match.
The usher finished his explanation and announced:
“Now, please open your community windows!”
Everyone in the booth pulled theirs up.
“Your best match will appear right here at the same time. Who will it be? Cupid’s Arrow! Let’s count down together—5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ding!”
Everyone received a message.
Stephan was the first to check and immediately screamed.
“What is this! Total nonsense! This is a scam!”
He leapt in disbelief at his result.
“No way. Do it again! Something’s wrong!”
Who could it be to make him react like that?
Jaeylin soon found out.
Because Sasha, looking coolly at Stephan, snapped:
“Honestly, I’m way too good for you. What’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem? Everything’s the problem! Anyway, I can’t marry you! No—I won’t!”
“Who said I wanted to marry you? I don’t either!”
Ignoring her, Stephan demanded of the usher:
“Hey! Is this system even real?”
“Of course. Cupid’s Arrow thoroughly analyzes each user’s traits. The accuracy is very high. At least among everyone here, you two are the most compatible.”
“Among people here? So not necessarily the entire academy?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Relieved, Stephan sighed.
Sasha, however, pinched his side hard.
“Arghhh!” he yelped in pain, jumping in place.
Unfazed, the usher lifted the curtain at the far end and continued:
“Please head this way—this leads straight into the rose garden. Now, the two of you enjoy your time together.”
“What? Why would I spend time with her?” Stephan gawked.
“Oh, you didn’t know? At Cupid’s Arrow, the rule is that matched partners go on a date—take a walk together, get to know each other better.”
“Do I have to? I’m not doing it.”
But the usher shook his head.
“It’s mandatory. Have a great time!”
And with that, he shoved Stephan out of the tent.
“Uwaaah!”
Fuming, Sasha stomped after him into the rose garden, clearly hurt by his outright rejection.
For once, Jaeylin couldn’t take Stephan’s side. He really was at fault—no matter how he felt, bluntly rejecting Sasha like that was rude.
Just then, Nathan extended his hand to Jaeylin, polite and flawless in gesture.
“Shall we go?”
“Ah…”
Checking her own screen at last, Jaeylin realized her match was Nathan.
Her first emotion was disappointment. From the start, she had secretly hoped it would be Lionel.
Even though she knew deep down it was impossible that he liked her, she still held on to a tiny shred of hope.
Sensing her glance toward Lionel, Nathan whispered in her ear:
“What’s wrong? Disappointed it’s not Lionel?”
He meant to be discreet, but Jaeylin panicked at the thought Lionel might hear.
“N-no!” she shouted, jumping in surprise.
“Oh? So it’s a secret?”
“J-just go already!”
Flustered, she grabbed Nathan’s hand and pulled him toward the exit where Sasha and Stephan had gone.
And in that moment, Nathan happened to notice it—the fleeting, icy glint in Lionel’s eyes as they brushed over their joined hands.
“C-can you keep it a secret?”
As soon as they stepped into the rose garden, Jaeylin pleaded, her voice trembling.
“Please… don’t tell Lionel, ever.”
Knowing full well how close Lionel and Nathan were, her gaze shook like a small boat tossed in a storm.
Nathan reassured her.
“Of course. Don’t worry. I’m not going to go spreading around something you want kept hidden.”
Just then, Adrian burst out of the tent. Startled, Jaeylin flinched.
Finding the two blocking the way, Adrian barked:
“You left ages ago—why are you still hanging around? Move.”
He strode past at a brisk pace, followed by Rosia’s friend, who looked utterly bewildered.
