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  Chapter 149: Birthday Party Invitation?

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  However, none could have predicted that behind the "pgue god," there existed an even more unfathomable, ancient force- the god of fate, reigning in solitary glory for eternity…

  She was, quite simply, Xanthia- a figure who, on the surface, appeared to be as innocent as a mb, gentle, fragile, and undeniably kind-hearted.

  At times, the true mastermind behind everything seemed almost inconspicuous, especially now, when Xanthia had grown accustomed to wearing the "pin gear" she had exchanged from the system's shop. It had led her to resemble a country girl, much to the amusement of onlookers.

  Should she let her hair grow long and braid it into two pigtails while donning a pair of bck-framed gsses, she would most certainly give off an even stronger rural charm.

  Wait- hold on. Isn't the pigtail-and-gsses look someone's particur type?

  Who could bme them? With Xanthia’s beauty, even in such a modest appearance, she still radiated a certain cuteness!

  Furthermore, one mustn't underestimate the charm of such a "country girl" look. With a mere change of hairstyle, the removal of gsses, and a fresh, fashionable outfit, she could effortlessly transform into someone dazzling and utterly fashionable.

  Once she had gotten used to wearing such effortlessly comfortable attire, there was simply no way she would go back to the more uncomfortable clothes she used to wear in reality. Doing so would undoubtedly diminish her happiness levels.

  Thus, even in the most "country girl" attire, Xanthia always exuded an almost ethereal purity. It was yet another quirk of the system's design- her clothes never seemed to get dirty.

  As, though, as soon as she eyed higher-tier gear- blue, purple, or gold- she found their exchange prices skyrocketed beyond her tolerance.

  She suspected that the system, clever as it was, had a hidden agenda.

  "Do you fancy looking even more stunning in high-quality, special-equipped gear?" it seemed to ask. "Then go ahead, hurt others, and harvest their misery for points!"

  But Xanthia was no fool to be led by the nose.

  She could massacre countless people just to rake millions of points for her own benefit.

  But Xanthia never crosses the boundary, employing both god-complex and psychopathy is something she afraid to embrace.

  The high-tier gear in the shop was undeniably tempting, but with their steep prices, she simply chose to turn a blind eye. After all, she could always earn skins by completing welfare tasks, and there was no rush.

  Once she crosses that line, for her, she will forever goes straight down into the abyss and never return.

  Who else, if not Xanthia, the world will absolutely turn into real hell for everyone.

  "I don't work for money, money works for me..."

  With a cool, steady strategy, she knew that the system would become more desperate and keep upping the stakes- though, as a tool, the system could never outwit her. After all, she had thoroughly trained it like a well-behaved pet, ready to be controlled at her whim.

  For example, just today, she had earned the "Gothic Lolita Dress" from completing a welfare task. She couldn’t wait to try it on when she returned to her apartment after school- it was sure to bring her a surge of happy points.

  Unfortunately, it was still early- only the first evening study session had ended. Xanthia had no intention of skipping the next one; she'd stick to her usual schedule and head home after the second session.

  Meanwhile, a certain bit of gossip had begun to spread through the first-year Css 3.

  This bit of news finally overshadowed the attention that had been on the "kings" of the css.

  As expected, Lhoraine, the self-procimed "Gossip Queen," immediately caught wind of it and turned to Xanthia with excitement. "Xanthia, did you hear? That boy, Dionysius El Papadopoulos, from Css 1, is hosting a birthday party tomorrow afternoon. I heard a bunch of people from our css got invited. The venue's at his vil, too! How lucky, right?"

  Xanthia, upon hearing this, couldn't help but think back to her spring break, when Dionysius had invited her, and she had, of course, agreed to attend.

  As for the vil itself, she already knew it well, courtesy of the memories left by her predecessor. There was even a room inside specifically for her, since she had once stayed there for a period. So, she felt no particur excitement or curiosity about it.

  "Really? So, who from our css got invited, then?" she casually asked.

  "Well, first and foremost, there's Marcus and his crowd. You know, Marcus and Dionysius were middle school cssmates, and they’ve kept in touch since. They often py basketball together, so it's no surprise he got an invite. But what I didn’t expect was that Dematero’s been invited too! Dionysius even promised Dematero that he could bring more friends along."

  Lhoraine spoke with obvious astonishment as she mentioned this.

  For Xanthia, however, there was nothing too surprising about it. She already knew that Dematero and Dionysius had been "secretly meeting" for some time, exchanging information about their past lives.

  The current dynamic between Dionysius and Dematero could best be described as "lord and strategist."

  Before Xanthia could respond, Elena La Loannou interjected sharply, "What? that guy, how on earth is he even connected to Dionysius? He’s invited to the party? Your gossip isn’t even credible."

  Lhoraine, clearly irked, shot back, "Elena La Loannou, I know you’re holding a grudge against Dematero, but don’t take it out on me. My gossip is over 80% accurate. You can doubt my character, but you can't question the value of my intel!"

  Clearly, Lhoraine was quite proud of her reputation and wasn’t going to let Elena get the better of her. Unlike Xanthia- who was patient and gracious- or Yannis, who blindly fttered Elena- Lhoraine had no intention of indulging her.

  The tension had started after Elena had once criticized Lhoraine’s suggestion for Xanthia. The small-minded childish Lhoraine hadn’t forgotten that.

  In her eyes, Elena was simply envious and want to join the party as well.

  Perhaps, try to seduce the star of the event?

  After all, a girl like Xanthia- beautiful yet from an ordinary background- could only rise in this small school society by tching onto someone with influence. It wasn’t shameful; after all, it was Dionysius who had made the first move, not Xanthia desperately chasing after him.

  Thus, Lhoraine concluded that Elena's attitude was nothing but jealousy and envy. After all, if Dionysius had shown interest in Elena, she'd likely have thrown herself at him.

  But Lhoraine was absolutely wrong in her assumptions.

  Elena, ever self-aware, was no shallow flirt. She wasn’t out fishing for whatever fish she could catch; instead, she preferred to go after the ones she could completely control. Someone like Dionysius, with his family background and power, was exactly the kind of person she would steer clear of or sometimes, despise.

  She has her own preferences when it comes to real romantic retionships – she wants to take on the role of the dominant partner and dislikes being the submissive one.

  Elena wasn’t jealous of Xanthia in the least. On the contrary, she felt sympathy and protectiveness toward her.

  A sweet girl like Xanthia, with her innocent charm, didn't belong in retionships that would ultimately cause her harm. Elena, with her more mature mindset, could see it all too clearly- and wanted to protect her from heartbreak.

  "Apologies... I wasn’t questioning the validity of your gossip, I was merely surprised that Dematero was invited," Elena hurriedly apologised.

  Elena's attitude towards girls was always somewhat more favorable than her attitude towards boys.

  "Since you're so surprised, why not ask Dematero directly? After all, he is surrounded by quite a number of cssmates now, including quite a few girls. It seems they’re all hoping to curry favor with him in the hopes of getting an invitation to Dionysius's birthday party," Lhoraine remarked, entirely unconcerned with Elena’s apology. In fact, she intentionally mentioned something Elena would never do- go up to Dematero and ask him. There was no way Elena would lower herself to approach him, not after everything that had happened.

  Elena couldn’t help but gnce in Dematero’s direction. Sure enough, she saw him surrounded by a group of cssmates, several girls among them, all looking on with hopeful expressions.

  A cold look crossed her face. Once again, it became clear that in this world, only Xanthia, who acted with sincerity, could be trusted. As for some of these girls, they were utterly untrustworthy. Only a while ago, they had treated Dematero as a "public enemy," and now here they were, fawning over him, hoping to ingratiate themselves.

  She was thinking specifically of Hannah, who had been so dismissive earlier, now suddenly sweet as pie!

  Aside from her, Elena also spotted their dormitory’s "big talker," Marian La Trimm. She, too, was eager to join in on the excitement. If she could somehow get into Dionysius’s birthday party, the material for boasting would be endless!

  Marian hadn’t forgotten how Hera had mocked them when she delivered her speech under the national fg, joking about how they would never be invited to Dionysius’s birthday bash. Well, now she had no intention of letting that slide. Perhaps by fttering Dematero, she might just have a chance to tag along and join the fun.

  As for fawning over this handsome, talented boy, Marian felt no shame.

  Dematero, after all, was the sports representative of Css Three, and with his unique aura of mystery, he was now considered the "pgue god." At such a young age, he had even published a novel in Pen N' Pen. Clearly, he was a potential star of the future!

  Now, with the test bit of gossip suggesting that he had been invited to Dionysius’s private birthday party, some students found it even more astonishing than the fact that he had a novel published. After all, Dionysius wasn’t just anybody- he was a radiant figure with immense influence.

  A future to look forward to? No, his future was already here.

  Elena sighed and continue in her studies.

  Fortunately, Hera wasn’t in the cssroom at that moment, or she would have certainly rushed over to Dematero to try and win his favor. After all, when she said she’d be attending Dionysius's birthday party, she wasn’t referring to the private gathering Dematero was invited to. No, she meant the grand social ga and banquet hosted at the end of the month.

  What Hera didn’t know was that Dionysius had arranged the party in response to the formal, overly-stiff birthday celebrations his elders organized for him. Preferring a more rexed atmosphere, he had opted to throw a party for his close peers instead, no strings attached, just a night of pure fun.

  "Dematero! Is it true, this gossip? How did you end up with such a connection to that big shot from Css One?" A cssmate couldn’t help but approach him for confirmation.

  Dematero remained calm, a serene expression on his face as he responded, "Yes, I did receive an invitation. As for how we got acquainted, that’s a different story. I pride myself on my literary integrity! It’s my talent that moved Dionysius. If any of you were able to publish a novel at your age, you’d be treated the same."

  "Bloody Mary! You think just writing novels is such a big deal? Dematero, you’re acting a bit too smug, don’t you think?"

  "Sincere apologies, but yes, writing novels is a big deal. I’m not boasting, just stating the facts," Dematero replied with a prideful smug and a casual wave of his hand.

  Dematero also pnned to take the opportunity tomorrow to have a word with Dionysius, alerting him to Hera and Matthew’s scheming. How dare they try to manipute Xanthia with their devious pns? He’d been outraged when he discovered their underhanded tactics.

  "I might be an ordinary person, but does that mean I can’t deal with them? If I can’t, surely the mighty Dionysius can!"

  Additionally, he was concerned for Xanthia’s safety outside the campus, which he felt Dionysius needed to take more seriously.

  "Dionysius, you get chauffeured around, with bodyguards in tow. Why shouldn’t Xanthia, your dear sister, receive the same level of protection?" Dematero grumbled to himself.

  He knew full well that his compints wouldn’t change anything. Dionysius, after all, was still young. He didn’t have the authority to provide Xanthia with such high-level security.

  Still, if Xanthia could soften her stance with her father, perhaps there was a chance of restoring her previous privileges as a "young dy."

  But the idea of Xanthia, outwardly gentle but inwardly stubborn, lowering herself to reconcile with her father was ughable. She’d sooner cut ties with him entirely.

  "Dematero, you’re really starting to act like a big shot now. Quite the show-off, aren’t you? Since you’re so impressive, do you think you could take me along to broaden my horizons?" One of his cssmates fttered him, hoping for an invitation to join the excitement.

  Dematero didn’t respond. Instead, something seemed to strike him. He suddenly stood up, striding towards Xanthia.

  "Xanthia, Dionysius specifically asked me to check with you. Would you be willing to grace his birthday party with your presence? Feel free to bring along any of your close friends; the choice is entirely yours."

  Dematero said this intentionally. He hoped Xanthia would use this opportunity to lean on Dionysius’s influence, thus ensuring her safety even outside the school campus.