Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 346: The shame was overwhelming

Westbrook Academy.

Vanessa sat on the edge of the gym, dressed in her gym clothes.

It was already the afternoon, and she was in PE class. But because of a knee injury, she didn’t have to participate. Instead, she just sat on the sidelines, watching.

Her eyes, however, were fixed on one particular figure on the basketball court—a girl who was full of energy and life.

That girl was Lila, her classmate who sat right behind her.

Even though they were seated close to each other in class, Lila seemed completely different from the person Vanessa had in her mind.

Vanessa didn’t have any friends in class. She didn’t like people knowing too much about her situation, and she definitely didn’t want to be pitied. So, she rarely spoke to anyone.

But Lila was an exception. Because they sat near each other, they had a few chances to talk.

So, Lila was one of the few classmates Vanessa had a clearer impression of.

But the Lila she remembered was much more introverted.

Yet, the girl she was watching today was a completely different person—radiating confidence and energy like a high school star.

When they arrived at class that morning, the girl sitting next to her immediately caught everyone’s attention. But at that moment, no one—including Vanessa—recognized that this girl was their classmate.

When Lila’s identity was finally revealed, the shock that rippled through the class was like a storm.

To make things even crazier, some of their classmates had apparently been at the scene of an accident earlier that morning, and the news spread quickly. There was even a video online, which only fueled everyone’s excitement. Soon, a crowd had gathered around her.

It was like something out of an anime, where a mysterious transfer student shows up and steals the spotlight.

Vanessa didn’t join in, but she watched from the sidelines, feeling a bit concerned.

If the Lila she remembered—the shy, quiet one—was suddenly thrown into the spotlight like this, she’d probably faint from the attention.

But to her surprise, Lila handled it like a pro, effortlessly blending in with the crowd and chatting with everyone like she’d been doing it her whole life.

So, what had happened to Lila? The difference was so stark, it was like she was a completely different person.

Vanessa had gone through some changes herself, but she wasn’t really aware of them.

Still, the drastic change in Lila, combined with the fact that Lila had saved her earlier, made Vanessa feel a bit concerned for her.

It wasn’t until she snapped out of her thoughts that she realized she’d been watching Lila all day without even noticing.

Since starting high school, this was the first time Vanessa had paid so much attention to someone else.

But the more she watched, the more surprised she became. Everything about Lila seemed to defy her expectations.

For example, Vanessa never would’ve pegged Lila as the athletic type.

Yet here she was, absolutely dominating on the basketball court.

Even though Vanessa didn’t know much about basketball, she could tell that Lila had serious skills.

Her three-pointers never missed, her dribbling was unstoppable, and she was single-handedly crushing the other team, which had several members from the school’s basketball club.

Lila’s dazzling performance left Vanessa completely mesmerized.

But just then, she heard a familiar shout.

“Watch out!”

Vanessa snapped back to reality, just in time to see a basketball flying straight toward her. She had no time to react.

But in the next second, everything went dark as a figure dove in front of her.

The ball didn’t hit her, but now she was lying on the gym floor, and a pleasant, familiar scent filled her nose.

In that moment, Vanessa was transported back to earlier that morning, when the same scent had surrounded her as the girl pulled her out of the depths of despair.

“You okay?”

A voice brought her back to the present. Vanessa opened her eyes to find Lila’s face just inches from hers.

The girl was still on top of her, one hand braced against the floor near Vanessa’s face, the other holding the basketball she had just intercepted.

At this close distance, Vanessa could clearly see Lila’s bright eyes, her long lashes, her soft, glossy lips, and she could even feel the warmth of her breath.

Vanessa could no longer maintain her usual composed expression. Her cheeks quickly flushed a deep red, as vivid as a sunset.

Still a bit shaken, she nodded, stammering, “I-I’m fine.”

By now, the other students had gathered around to check on them.

“You okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

Ethan tossed the basketball back to the others and then slid off Vanessa, sitting on the floor beside her, leaning back on his hands. “I’m done. I need a break. Someone sub in for me!”

Naturally, his request was granted, but before the girls from the basketball team left, they extended an invitation.

“Lila, you have to consider joining the basketball team! If you join, forget about just winning nationals—I’m pretty sure we could take Westbrook Academy’s girls’ team all the way to the moon!”

The over-the-top enthusiasm almost made Ethan choke, but he smiled and replied, “I’ll think about it.”

“Lila, you’re really good at basketball,” Vanessa said, speaking up for the first time since arriving at school.

“Just average,” Ethan replied casually.

Vanessa’s expression grew a bit complicated. If this was “average,” then the basketball team might as well disband right now.

But Ethan was just being honest.

After all, in this world, basketball skills were on a whole other level—so high that even Michael Jordan would probably be benched in this crazy reality.

Their high school’s basketball team was once known as the “Generation of Miracles,” practically unbeatable in the country.

So, Ethan didn’t feel right claiming that the basketball skills he was showing off using Lila’s body were anything extraordinary.

If he were in his own body, though, he could’ve easily shown Vanessa what a real “360 Dunk” looked like.

Just then, Ethan turned his head and gave Vanessa a look of mild exasperation.

“W-What is it?” Vanessa asked, feeling a bit nervous under his sudden gaze.

Huh? Vanessa, are you seriously asking what’s wrong?

“I mean…” Ethan sighed. “Did you already forget what you promised me this morning?”

“Huh?” Vanessa blinked, confused.

Ethan’s expression turned serious. “You’re zoning out again, aren’t you?”

At that, Vanessa finally remembered. That morning, Lila had warned her not to space out again.

The first time she’d zoned out, she’d almost been hit by a truck.

And now, the second time, she’d nearly been knocked out by a basketball.

If it weren’t for Lila stepping in both times, Vanessa didn’t even want to think about what could’ve happened.

She had no grounds to argue, and she could hear the concern in Lila’s voice.

So, she lowered her head and admitted her mistake. “Sorry, I’ll be more careful. It won’t happen again.”

After all, this had already happened twice. Even if she was usually carefree, she knew she had to take this seriously now.

Ethan believed her, but he still felt the need to drive the point home. “Alright, then repeat it for me.”

Vanessa’s face froze. She knew exactly what he wanted her to repeat, and she struggled to suppress her embarrassment as she stammered, “D-Don’t zone out.”

“And… and…”

The second part was even harder to say. Her face turned bright red.

But then she saw Lila’s encouraging gaze, and after a moment of hesitation, she pressed her lips together, closed her eyes, and forced herself to finish.

“And… look at the traffic lights when crossing the street.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Vanessa couldn’t help but cover her face with her hands. She felt like she’d just been publicly humiliated, and the shame was overwhelming.

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