After dance and singing shows done by some graduates, which lasted for about forty minutes, it was finally time for the award ceremony.
"All the top ten rankers are requested to come to the backstage area as the award ceremony will soon begin," The anchor informed the audience, and a few figures rose from the audience and went to the backstage area.
"I'll be going then," Katy informed Samantha and stood up from her seat.
"Alright! Smile as brightly as possible," Samantha gave a thumbs up to her friend with exhilaration clearly written on her face.
'She's even more excited than I am,' Katy smirked at Samantha's reaction as a warm sensation welled up inside her. With a subtle smile on her face, she soon excused her way out from the rows and finally reached the backstage.
She was among the last few rankers to reach the backstage area and attracted only a cursory glance from the other rankers. However, there were two exceptions to that.
"Gosh, it suddenly started smelling rotten in here," Gwen commented while staring towards Katy and exaggeratedly waving her hand around her nose.
Her comment attracted a few chuckles from the other rankers, who also weren't very fond of Katy. To be honest, no one in the top ten was fond of her because of her family's status.
"Gwen, that's no way to talk to your course mate. How could you insult her like that?" a rough, manly voice suddenly reproached Gwen's earlier behaviour. The man had sharp facial features and a toned physique that was enough to swoon the hearts of many women.
His voice carried a certain charm and confidence to it, which made one listen more closely to each word in a subconscious attempt to win his favour.
However, to Katy, that voice was the most abhorrent in the universe, and she couldn't help but clench her teeth in disgust when she heard it.
"Haha, Victor, you jest! I was only having fun with my friend Katy here. Isn't that right?" Gwen eyed the other three women beside her, who instantly understood their assignment.
"Yes, Victor, Gwen was just teasing Katy a little. It was all in good health."
"Gwen's right, Victor. See, Katy doesn't even look concerned since it was all just a joke,"
"Indeed, Victor, you need to concern yourself with such small things,"
The three women chimed in and gave Gwen the required support.
"I'll believe that for now," Victor narrowed his gaze a little and turned towards Katy and gently said, "Katy, don't get affected by such comments, alright? If you ever feel down by them, you can always share your frustrations with me. That's what friends are for, right?"
A charming smile appeared on Victor's face when he finished his words, as his gaze fell upon Katy, who had been trying her best to control her emotions since Victor appeared in front of her.
'If I didn't know what kind of man you are, I would have once again fallen for your sweet talk,' Katy thought to herself in anger, but on the surface, she replied to Victor with a bright smile on her face.
"Of course, Victor, we are friends. Gwen's fond of teasing, so you need not worry about her."
A subtle frown appeared on Victor's face the very next moment.
'Normally she would be quite hurt by such comments though…' he thought to himself, but kept those thoughts in her head and continued, "I see. That's good. Oh, and Katy, I have something to tell you after the graduation ceremony is over. So how about we grab a coffee in the café on the other side of the street?"
Before Katy could reply to Victor's words, Gwen suddenly chimed in on the conversation.
"Is it just me, or are you planning to propose to Katy after the award ceremony?" Gwen joked in a probing manner as her three friends started giggling at those words.
"This…" Victor made an embarrassed expression when he heard Gwen's words, and made the four women's eyes widen in shock.
It wasn't just them. It was the same with all the surrounding rankers who were keeping a close eye on this small discussion.
"You really like her?!" Gwen couldn't help but ask out loud in disbelief.
A subtle smirk formed on Victor's face, which was caught by only Katy among everyone present.
'So, he had this intention from the start,' Katy concluded in her mind, seeing that momentary smirk on Victor's face, which was soon covered with a defeated one.
"I'm sorry, Katy," Victor said as he turned towards Katy and continued, "I wanted to share my feelings with you in private, but with things as they are now…I think I would be doing a great injustice to my feelings towards you if I were to remain quiet now. So, Katy…"
Victor got on his knees the very next moment and asked Katy out, "I've been keeping my feelings submerged for a long time now, Katy. The moments of friendship we shared are something ingrained deep within me, and I'll never forget them…However, I truly want to increase the level of intimacy we share, so Katy, will you be my girlfriend?"
"WOOO!"
"He really did ask her out!"
"Damn, I'm so jealous right now,"
Victor's friends cheered from behind while a few others shared their thoughts in surprise at the sudden turn of events.
'This bitch!' A hate-filled glint formed on Gwen's face the very next moment when she heard Victor's words. She wasn't the only one who shared those thoughts, as the majority of women in the room shared the exact thoughts towards Katy.
Victor was not only a talented actor but was also a recognised heartthrob for all the women on campus, and for such a man to confess his feelings to Katy, a woman of poor family background, was something very hard to digest for them.
A similar incident had also happened in Katy's previous life, and at that time, due to the gazes of all the people around her, she ended up agreeing to become Victor's girlfriend even though she had never seen him in that manner.
But now that she was seeing the same scene unfolding right in front of her eyes, Katy could clearly see through the deceit that was being played out in front of her.
'He knew that I was insecure about my family background, but still deliberately chose to confess to me in front of all these people. It's clear that he's indirectly forcing me to accept his proposal.'
Katy wanted to publicly slap him the very next moment, but she held herself back.
'It's not the right time, Katy, calm down,' She repeated those words in her mind and finally adjusted her mindset.
With another deep breath, she looked straight into Victor's eyes and, with an apologetic expression on her face, she said, "I'm sorry, Victor. I've always seen you as a good friend and nothing more."
The surroundings quietened the very next moment at those words, and the women couldn't help but gawk towards Katy with incredulous expressions on their faces.
"W-What?" Victor's expression crumbled the very next moment at this unexpected answer, and he was lost for words.
Katy savoured Victor's reaction to the fullest while preparing a set of answers in her mind for the argument that was going to follow next.
However, the very next moment, the anchor announced the start of the award ceremony, and they all were made to line up appropriately by one of the faculty members.