Chapter 183: No Regrets, No Apologies
As the crowd grew, Sierra raised her voice. “You don’t need to apologize to me; it’s not that I won’t accept it, but there’s simply no need. I never took your actions to heart before, and I won’t start with your apologies now. If you truly feel bad, then I hope you’ll handle similar situations more calmly in the future. Don’t judge from a moral high ground without experiencing it yourself. Only those directly involved have that right.”
Her words silenced everyone, as if they had been slapped across the face. Their self-righteous attacks and online bullying had never affected Sierra, and their sudden guilt and apologies now seemed even more ludicrous. In that moment, they realized the gap between themselves and Sierra.
Thanks to her words, the students quieted down, and then Wagner, along with a few vice-principals and Ricky, approached. Before they could speak, Sierra said, “Mr. Ricky, Mr. Wagner, good to see you. I was just about to find you. I’m going to take a leave of absence for now and will transfer once things are settled. I hope you can agree.”
The expressions on Wagner and the others’ faces instantly turned grim; no one wanted to speak first. Sierra had preemptively blocked any objections they might have.
Reluctantly, Wagner said, “Sierra, I know we didn’t handle things well before, but maybe we can discuss this? You can make demands, and we…”
Sierra shook her head. “Mr. Wagner, you misunderstand. I’m not holding a grudge; I just want to see how far I can get at a more prestigious institution.”
Despite everything, she had met Jonathan and made friends like Bella here; she felt no regrets. With Sierra’s statements so clear, even those who were reluctant could no longer object.
Wagner was the most regretful of all. If he had known Sierra was such a powerhouse, he never would have allowed those foolish mistakes. If they had maintained a good relationship with Sierra, even if they couldn’t keep her, she might have spoken well of Northwind University in the future. Now, they would be lucky if she didn’t speak ill of them.
These days, Northwind University’s website was nearly crashing! Countless netizens swarmed in to attack them, accusing them of not knowing the value of what they had and even trying to drive it away. The misdeeds they had attempted to use to force her out had been exposed, and now the whole internet was mocking them. One could imagine how poor their enrollment would be in the coming years; everyone said Northwind University was a place to avoid – not only were they blind to talent, but they also bullied it.
Suddenly remembering something, Wagner quickly added, “Oh, and we’ve confirmed Yaron’s plagiarism and his online posts spreading rumors about you and Mr. Yeager. We’ve expelled him and revoked his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.”
Although it was too little too late, it was better than doing nothing. Yaron had been expelled and his degrees revoked? That was unexpected for Sierra! This bit of news actually brought a slight smile to her lips.
After saying goodbye to the vice-principals, Sierra headed to the parking lot to wait for Jonathan, but she ran into someone she didn’t expect. She had just heard about Yaron from others and was surprised to see him so soon. It took some nerve for him to show up at Northwind University.
Yaron was nearly out of his mind. Since the day of the live broadcast, his life had spiraled into hell. Everyone he knew had been calling or messaging him; even his family wouldn’t stop calling to ask what had happened. That was bad enough, but he couldn’t hide. He had ignored calls from the school thinking they would give up, but then they publicly posted his expulsion on the school website. His degrees had been revoked, leaving him with nothing at nearly twenty-five. Now, he was like a cat on a hot tin roof, too scared to even step outside, utterly despised by everyone.