Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism
Chapter 73 Meeting Lucy - Long-awaited Impressions

Lucy's expression suddenly changed, catching everyone's attention. Casey Lambert, the Vice President of the club, spoke up. "Lucy, it's just a rumor for now. We haven't confirmed whether they are together or not."

The news of Violeta being Jasper's girlfriend has been circulating in the school for a long time, and everyone has taken it for granted.

Furthermore, someone even witnessed Violeta feeding Jasper soup in the cafeteria!

Many pairs of eyes saw it happen.

It's not just an unfounded rumor.

Lucy pursed her lips and forced a smile. "It's fine. After all, it's been over a year since we broke up. It's normal for him to have a girlfriend, right?"

"But Violeta is acting arrogant because of her connection to the tennis club!"

"Yeah, that's right. Lucy, you don't know. This Violeta is really going too far..."

The conflict between the two clubs had been ongoing for quite some time.

Recently, the situation escalated significantly when the cheerleaders were expelled from the bus by the tennis league.

Several former cheerleaders vehemently criticized Violeta, even going so far as to exaggerate the incident where Zelena was provoked and supposedly 'hit' by Violeta in class.

"She hit someone?"

"Yes! If someone hadn't intervened in class, Lena would have been hit!"

Zelena interrupted deliberately. "Stop talking about it. I believe my sister didn't mean it."

Their discussion continued.

Lucy listened to their excited chatter and formed a negative impression of Violeta in her mind.

Furthermore, the fact that Violeta was Jasper's "current girlfriend" only intensified Lucy's dislike for her, even though she hadn't met Violeta in person yet.

"Alright. I've heard everything you guys said. Since Violeta is so confident, we must make her regret it at this year's Moon Festival! We'll show her that our dance club is not to be messed with." "That's great!"

Everyone became excited.

"With our club president leading our rehearsals, we'll definitely give those monkeys from the tennis club a good beating!"

Zelena felt pleased to see how much the Dance Club members despised Violeta.

News about Lucy's return to Toland University spread throughout the campus within half a day.

At noon, on the second floor of the cafeteria.

The members of the tennis club sat together for lunch, with Violeta and Kaylee also present. Nolan sat at a nearby table with the club members.

Lucy entered the cafeteria with the dance club members following behind. As soon as they entered, whispers filled the air.

"Look, it's Lucy."

"She's finally back. I thought she wouldn't come back."

"Oh no, it's going to be a typical battleground. Look over there..."

The seats next to the window were occupied by the tennis club members.

Jasper and Violeta sat at the same table. Next to them were the vice president of the tennis club and Nolan, the student council president.

Almost two-thirds of the tennis club members had arrived.

When the two groups met, the previously noisy cafeteria suddenly fell silent.

The onlookers lowered their voices and quietly observed.

Lucy's gaze fell on Jasper, and she felt a tinge of bitterness in her heart.

She remembered that when they were together, Jasper never ate in the cafeteria.

Those young masters disliked the cafeteria's food.

But now...

They were all sitting in the cafeteria, having a meal with Violeta.

Lucy's gaze slowly shifted to Violeta, who was sitting next to Jasper. Indeed, she had a beautiful appearance.

Violeta, who was drinking soup, felt the hostile gaze on her and put down her spoon. She gently lifted her eyes and met that gaze.

Lucy looked stunning in her luxurious attire, with her long black hair flowing down and delicate features.

Their eyes met, and Lucy lowered her eyelashes slightly.

Kaylee whispered in Violeta's ear, "Vio, that's Lucy! Jasper's ex-girlfriend."

Violeta remained composed. She only glanced at Lucy before shifting her gaze. She playfully teased Jasper across the table. "So, she's your ex? She's quite beautiful. Not bad." Jasper and his companions also directed their attention towards Lucy.

After more than a year, Lucy had remained unchanged.

Jasper stayed indifferent and simply responded with a soft "Hmm."

Lucy approached the members of the dance club, and Zoren and Liam exchanged glances, sensing her strong presence.

Her voice was gentle. "It has been over a year since we last met, everyone. It seems like your tennis club has some new members."

Hayden leaned back in his chair, lips slightly pursed, his gaze fixed on Violeta across from him, completely ignoring Lucy.

Zoren asked, "Lucy, when did you come back?"

Liam added, "It's been so long. We thought you wouldn't return."

Lucy replied, "Why wouldn't I come back? I just went out to have some fun and relax. I still have many friends in Quinston, I can't just abandon them."

The Trivia family was one of the most prestigious families in Quinston, so Lucy and Zoren naturally belonged to the same social circle.

Lucy didn't know Violeta, so she didn't even consider her as the daughter of a prestigious family. She thought she was just an ordinary freshman at Toland University who was lucky enough to join the tennis club, which caught Jasper's attention.

While they were talking, Violeta quietly ate her meal.

"Aren't you going to introduce her? Is she a new member of your club?"

Violeta realized that Lucy was referring to her, so she looked up and smiled at Lucy, introducing herself, "Hello. I'm a freshman, Vio—"

However, Lucy coldly interrupted her. "Did I ask you?"

Her tone was sharp, and anyone could tell that Lucy was intentionally trying to embarrass Violeta.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have been speechless after being questioned like that. Even Kaylee, who was sitting next to Violeta, felt her palms getting sweaty.

But Violeta still maintained a smile.

"I have heard of your name before. It's truly a pleasure to meet you today."

Jasper furrowed his brows and said to Lucy, "Who did you provoke to make you so temperamental? Did you lose your manners while studying abroad?"

Lucy sneered. "I have no manners. She has the best manners."

Zoren was dumbfounded.

Liam was no better than Zoren.

Both of them could tell that Lucy hadn't forgotten about Jasper.

It seems that Vio was misunderstood!

Zoren lightly kicked Violeta's foot under the table, signaling her to finish her meal quickly and leave this troublesome place so as not to get involved with Lucy.

Receiving Zoren's signal, Violeta picked up her plate.

"Eat slowly. I have classes in the afternoon."

Kaylee also stood up quickly, preparing to retreat from this chaotic place with Violeta.

Just as the two were about to leave,

A person emerged from behind Lucy and deliberately bumped into Violeta, causing the plate to tilt and the soup to spill all over the floor.

"Clang-"

The plate fell to the ground, shocking the people at the table.

"Vio!" Zoren quickly stood up. "Are you burned?"

A trace of barely noticeable annoyance flashed in Violeta's eyes as she looked at the plate on the ground, the spilled soup, and the leftover food. She glanced sideways at the person who bumped into her.

At first sight, she immediately recognized Casey, a member of the dance club who had previously spoken up for Zelena. She was the cheerleading team captain during the bus incident.