Chapter 15: Seraphina’s Reward
“You sang with so much feeling. You must be exhausted.”
Seraphina Frost’s voice was soft enough to melt into water. She was still holding Tessa’s cold little hand, and that warm touch seemed to carry a magic that allowed no resistance.
“I’ll take you somewhere you can rest.”
Before Tessa could react, before she could even make a sound of refusal, Seraphina turned and led her deeper into the stairwell with a quiet force that left no room for argument.
Tessa felt weak all over. Singing just now had drained every bit of her mental and physical strength. Under Seraphina’s gentle yet overwhelming presence, she could not summon even the smallest bit of resistance. She was like a lamb caught by the back of the neck by an elegant hunter, completely controlled by the other girl’s aura as she was led away.
The three girls from Room 407, who had just squeezed out of the crowd, happened to see the whole thing.
Chloe Hart covered her mouth in excitement, her eyes sparkling. “Wow! It’s Seraphina! She took Tessa away! Is this exclusive VIP reward time for our Tessa?”
Iris Lane remained concise as ever. Looking at the two figures disappearing around the corner, she calmly judged, “Aura suppression. Tessa had no chance to fight back.”
Only Vanessa Rose leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. Watching their backs, she lightly ran the tip of her tongue over her lips and gave a teasing whistle.
“My, my. The warm-up is over, and now the main course begins. I’m very curious how our innocent little Tessa is going to be ‘devoured’ by that possessive upperclassman.”
The three of them returned to their seats and were just about to gossip when Chloe’s phone began vibrating wildly. She looked down and her eyes widened.
“Oh my God. Check the forum!”
On her phone screen, Halewick University’s campus forum had completely exploded.
Only a few minutes earlier, a post had been force-pinned by an admin and marked in red. The title was sensational enough to be criminal.
[God-Tier Live Performance! Arts Department Discovers a Heavenly Songstress. One Unheard Original Song Made the Whole Room Cry!]
Inside was a high-definition video of Tessa singing onstage. The person recording had clearly been close, capturing her sacred yet broken expression, as well as the tear that slid down at the very end, with perfect clarity.
The views and replies were climbing at a visible and terrifying speed.
[1F: Holy crap, first! I was there! I swear this is the best song I’ve ever heard in my life. No contest.]
[2F: What kind of divine voice is this? Can a human really make that sound? Ethereal, fragile, and just a little sweet. I’m dead. Don’t save me.]
[3F: Original! Absolutely original! I searched every music database I could find, and this song doesn’t exist. What kind of monster genius does our school have now?]
[4F: I declare that from today on, Tessa Vale is my one and only wife. Who agrees? Who objects?]
[5F, SummerSweet Tessa Guard Captain: Absolute nonsense. Tessa belongs to Riley. Only Riley’s strong arms can protect a work of art like her.]
[6F, Eternal SeraTessa Royal Guard: Hilarious. That athletic sweet potato only makes Tessa sweat. Didn’t you see Seraphina take her away right after class? That was a winner’s declaration.]
[7F: Stop fighting, stop fighting! Today we don’t pick ships. Today we are all believers of the Heavenly Voice Church.]
Tessa knew nothing about the storm tearing through the forum.
Click.
The moment the door closed behind her and locked automatically, Tessa’s heart trembled with it.
This was a private lounge, decorated with elegant warmth. The air was filled with a cool, rich gardenia scent, mixed with the faint fragrance that always seemed to come from Seraphina herself. Together, they formed an invisible, tempting net that wrapped around Tessa completely.
She felt like a butterfly that had wandered into a web.
And the beautiful, deadly spider was walking closer with a gentle smile.
Seraphina paid no attention to Tessa’s stiff body. She sat gracefully on the sofa by the window. Today, she wore the Student Council uniform skirt suit, and her long, smooth legs, wrapped in high-quality sheer black tights, were crossed with effortless elegance.
She patted her firm thigh and looked up at Tessa, giving her a command that was gentle yet impossible to refuse.
“Come here. Lie down.”
Her voice seemed to carry a spell.
“You’re tired. You need to rest.”
Tessa’s brain was sluggish from extreme exhaustion. Almost on instinct, she walked over and lay down as told.
Seraphina’s fingers pressed in slow, gentle circles against Tessa’s temples with just the right amount of pressure.
That soothing force seemed almost magical. Tessa’s tense nerves loosened bit by bit, and the fatigue lodged in her mind gradually began to fade.
Her stiff body relaxed without her realizing it. A comfortable sigh slipped from her throat, and her tightly furrowed brows slowly eased.
Seraphina watched the peaceful expression that appeared once Tessa let down her guard, and the smile at her lips softened further. As if performing a small magic trick, she took a beautifully packaged strawberry cream cake from the mini fridge nearby.
“This is my afternoon tea.”
Using a small silver spoon, she elegantly scooped up a little cream and cake, topped with the bright red tip of a strawberry.
“But your lips looked dry after singing just now, so I’ll let you have some first.”
Smiling, she slowly brought the strawberry, covered in snow-white cream, to Tessa’s lips.
Under the bright light, the cream on the strawberry glistened with a wet, tempting shine.
The intimate posture made Tessa’s shame meter explode instantly. She kept her mouth tightly shut, her small face flushed bright red, her body trembling slightly from sheer nervousness.
“What’s wrong?” Seraphina’s tone was still gentle, but her eyes carried a trace of force that allowed no refusal. “You don’t want the strawberry I’m feeding you by hand?”
Under Seraphina’s gaze, which seemed to see through everything, all of Tessa’s resistance collapsed.
Resigned, she parted her soft pink lips slightly.
Seraphina smiled in satisfaction and steadily fed the bite of cake into her mouth.
Sweet cream and tart strawberry juice burst across Tessa’s tongue at once. Mixed with overwhelming embarrassment, the taste made her mind go blank. She could only chew in tiny, unconscious bites.
However, Seraphina’s “evil deed” did not end there.
When feeding the second bite, her wrist “accidentally” trembled slightly. A streak of white cream landed precisely at the corner of Tessa’s slightly pouting mouth.
Seraphina stopped feeding her.
She did not reach for a napkin. She simply sat there and quietly admired her “masterpiece.”
That startling white smear against Tessa’s soft, rosy lips created a contrast so vivid it made the air feel dangerous.
Seraphina’s eyes deepened instantly.
…
[Ding! Detected extreme “Possessiveness” from Seraphina Frost. Affection Points +20!]
[Ding! Detected deep “Romantic Attachment” from Seraphina Frost. Affection Points +50!]
[Ding! Host performed exceptionally well. Hidden reward [Affection Surge] triggered. Affection Points +30!]
A flood of system alerts exploded in Tessa’s mind, drowning her completely.
At the same time, the heavenly song from another world was spreading across the internet like a virus.
Someone had already uploaded the video to major short-video apps and social media platforms. Within a few hours, a well-known music influencer with millions of followers, Whisper in the Ear, reposted it with a comment.
[What the hell is this divine voice?! Ethereal, fragile, technically flawless, emotionally full, and the most terrifying part is that the composition and lyrics are absurdly good. Begging for the song title. If this is a debut, then she’s debuting straight into legend. Terrifying. #VoiceKissedByAnAngel# #OriginalSongstressAtHalewickUniversity#]
That post was like a spark dropped onto dry grass. The video’s view count exploded geometrically, and the tag #VoiceKissedByAnAngel# shot up the trending chart under the unstoppable push of countless users.
Inside the campus basketball gym.
“Hah… ha…”
Riley Summers had just finished a heavy bench press set. Sweat slid like streams down the firm, smooth lines of her muscles, soaking her fitted sports tank.
One of her teammates rushed over excitedly with a phone and shouted, “Riley! Riley, look! Your precious porcelain doll is trending! Oh my God, I always thought she was just pretty, but she can sing like this? This is insane. It sounds amazing!”
Riley took the phone, her brows slightly furrowed.
In the video, the girl she remembered as fragile, weak, and liable to fall at any second now stood beneath the lights in a white dress, singing a heavenly song Riley had never heard before, one that struck straight into the soul.
Riley froze completely.
She replayed the video several times, and the shock in her eyes only grew. She sincerely admired the beauty of the voice.
But in the next second, her brows drew into a deep frown.
That body of hers…
That weak body that could not even complete one proper stretch.
How could it possibly support such a powerful, perfect voice?
This was a waste of something precious.
No.
Riley’s eyes instantly became firm, burning with fierce determination.
Her training plan had to be strengthened.
Doubled.
She would personally forge a strong, perfect body capable of fully carrying that heavenly voice.
…
Inside the Student Council private lounge, Seraphina gently stroked Tessa’s burning cheek and whispered beside her ear.
“Tessa, this is your reward for singing so beautifully today.”