Under the gaze of the two women, Maxwell Peary took a seat. He was separated from them by only an aisle. Nia Mitchell swallowed nervously. Phew, that scared me to death! Her little heart had been thumping non-stop, almost threatening to jump right out of her chest. It wasn’t until he had sat down that Nia remembered to breathe. Fiona Sutton registered Nia’s subtle expressions, a tiny smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "Nice pick. Your type?" Fiona glanced at the man sitting not far away, hinting that Nia should go for it if she liked him. Nia giggled awkwardly. What on earth is she thinking? She silently cursed Maxwell a few hundred times in her mind. Hadn’t they agreed beforehand? She would meet Fiona, and then introduce him to her friends later. Why was Maxwell following her now? ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⁂𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⁂𝓷𝓮𝓽 Just as Nia was forcing a smile, a woman suddenly approached from nearby. She wore a rose-red one-piece suit. Her voluminous chestnut waves were casually draped over her shoulders, and her large eyes, set in a delicate, palm-sized face, were quite captivating. The lady approached Maxwell, offering him what she considered her most charming and elegant smile. "Hello, sir. My surname is Mu. May I be friends with you?" Maxwell furrowed his brows. He ignored the woman completely and took a sip from the water cup in front of him. The woman was rebuffed. Seeing Maxwell act as if he hadn’t heard her, she felt rather awkward and didn’t know how to react. "Sir, it’s just a simple friendship. Isn’t that a bit too stingy of you?" The lady hadn’t expected this man to lack such basic courtesy as to not even look at her. Maxwell spat out the word in a low voice. It wasn’t loud, so not many people heard it; in a way, he was saving her some face. Well, that was Maxwell’s perspective. The woman in red, however, didn’t see it that way. She felt Maxwell was blatantly slapping her in the face. "Why are you being so cold, sir?" The woman smiled, and without waiting for Maxwell’s permission, she sat down directly opposite him. Maxwell’s head snapped up, his icy, hawk-like eyes sweeping over her. The woman was stunned. It felt as if her heart had stopped supplying blood for an instant; her face turned completely pale. "I’m sorry for interrupting." With that, the woman hastily fled. Nia and Fiona heard every single word of their exchange. Nia pouted, glaring resentfully at the woman. Hmph! How dare she flirt with my man right in front of me! Utterly shameless! Fiona’s mouth fell open in surprise, and she raised her eyebrows at Nia. Nia couldn’t stand it any longer. She pressed a hand to her forehead, though her eyes kept secretly glancing towards Maxwell. Not long after that woman left, another one approached Maxwell. Within the ten minutes Nia waited for her food, no fewer than five women had already approached him. Nia sat there, her expression numb and her mouth twitching, yet she had already begun to eat her meal with forced composure. "Nia, Nia, you go hit on him too!" Fiona, enjoying the drama and not minding making it worse, kicked Nia’s foot lightly under the table, signaling her to go for it too. Nia was mortified and awkwardly continued eating. "I’m not kidding! Just because those women failed doesn’t mean you will too." Fiona encouraged her to give it a try, even though all the previous women had been dismissed with a single, curt "Scram." Nia couldn’t stand Fiona’s relentless goading—a mix of muttering, hinting, and outright suggestions. "Fine! I’ll go!" Nia exclaimed through gritted teeth, then shot to her feet. The Dining Hall had been quite peaceful, so when she suddenly yelled, everyone turned to look at the commotion she caused.