Chapter 315 A Pig Teammate
All the students turned to Hera, their expressions a mix of shock and concern. Her face was pale, and her eyes trembled as she struggled to hold back tears. The room was silent, with everyone waiting for Hera to speak.
The people around Hera were young students, emotionally charged and less swayed by logic. Emotions were more likely to resonate with them, as Alice had demonstrated earlier. Hera realized that to counter Alice’s approach, she needed to rely on her acting skills rather than reason. This would test which of them could better appeal to the crowd. Hera planned to use a combination of emotional appeal and a touch of logic in her argument to navigate through the chaos Alice had created.
Hera now regretted stepping out to watch the show, only to be pulled into it by Alice. She had simply wanted to enjoy some drama from the sidelines, not become a part of it. However, Alice had targeted her from the start, turning her into the villain. Alice’s strategy seemed to be to shift the focus away from her friends’ actions and manipulate the students into morally supporting them, thereby deflecting blame onto Hera.
It seemed that moral manipulation was Alice’s forte. However, repeatedly using this tactic had exhausted Hera, making her realize that such an approach couldn’t be sustained indefinitely. Relying on emotional manipulation all the time would be draining, as it required her to keep her tear ducts ready and her acting skills sharp to convincingly portray victimhood. Thankfully, Hera only employed this strategy selectively, depending on the people she was dealing with, to avoid constant emotional exhaustion.
As she reflected on it, Hera realized that this situation was excellent practice for honing her acting skills. No wonder Alice had won a Best Actress award—she was effectively performing in real life. Hera thought with a hint of mockery, all while maintaining her own façade.
Hera lowered her head with a sorrowful pout, struggling to hold back her tears while trying to project remorse. "I’m so sorry, Miss Quinn," she said, her voice trembling. "I never intended for clearing my name to result in those behind my bullying being jailed for slander and bullying. I didn’t foresee that their past actions would come to light and add to their record." She sobbed pitifully, her apologies coming in a continuous stream as she trembled like a drenched quail.
Hearing Hera’s rebuttal, Gerald suppressed a chuckle. He understood what his young miss was doing. For someone like him, who had a keen grasp of human nature and could view situations without bias, reading people’s true intentions was second nature. Hera’s mockery and disdain for Alice’s attempt to manipulate her were glaringly obvious, and he didn’t even need to use his expertise to see through it. Her contempt for Alice’s tactics was evident in her every word and action.
After hearing Hera’s heartfelt apologies and witnessing her apparent distress, it seemed as though she was being unfairly targeted and forced to take the blame for something she hadn’t done. The students around them began to feel that Hera’s words carried weight and that Alice might be manipulating them into believing that Hera was at fault. They started to see Hera as the victim of Alice’s scheme, feeling that Hera’s only mistake was attempting to clear her name and expose the real culprits.