The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

THEY didn't wait long. A few minutes after the call that Snow made to the vice-chairman, the head teacher of the Disciplinary Committee and her secretary came rushing in. Once she entered the utility room and saw the situation inside, she could immediately tell what was happening.

Three men were holding down four unconscious younger men. Based on the state of the four, there must have been quite the struggle here. Then, when she glanced to her left, she saw Snow Campbell comforting a beautiful black-haired teenager.

The youth was in a terrible state. His hair was disheveled. His clothes were in a disarray. And there was a startling red mark on his cheek, as if someone had slapped him.

"W-what happened here?" the secretary said, clearly shocked by the situation.

The teacher's expression turned ugly. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence could see what happened here. Before rushing to this place, the vice-chairman had already filled her in with what happened.

Someone pulled the black-haired teenager to this unused utility room. Snow Campbell had seen this scene and quickly called his bodyguards to help the teenager. Between the time of his call and the time his bodyguards arrived here, many things could have happened. And the results of that was this teenager assaulted like this. If those bodyguards hadn't arrived, worse things could have happened.

She glared at the four young men before turning to her secretary. "Go and check the identities of those four. If they are students here, a simple facial recognition would do."

If it turned out that they were students here, then she'd make sure that they would be expelled.

"Yes, ma'am," the secretary said, quickly doing what the teacher ordered.

The teacher then walked towards where Snow Campbell and the youth were. As she got closer, she finally recognized the black-haired youth. It was that Astrid Townsend.

She remembered because the other made quite the impression due to his outstanding appearance. She even heard that he had already signed to an entertainment company.

"Hello, I'm the head teacher of the Disciplinary Committee, Miss Caldwell. Can you tell me exactly what happened here?" she asked.

"Ma'am… I—It's—" Astrid's breath hitched, as if he was having trouble recounting what had occurred here.

"I can explain to her what happened here if you want to," Snow said in a timely manner, there was also an appropriate expression of worry on his face.

Astrid shook his head. "No, no, I- I can do it."

He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself to the things he had to say next. But despite that, he was still trembling. He clenched his fists and closed his eyes. When he opened them, although his body was still shaking, his eyes were now filled with determination.

"I was on my way to class when I- I was suddenly d-dragged here. Then, those… those four taunted me and tried to- tried to do unspeakable things. I- I tried to fight back. But- but I was clearly overpowered. I—" Tears gathered in his beautiful black eyes. He bit his lip and tried to prevent them from falling. "That's when Snow and his bodyguards came and rescued me. If not for them, I—" A sobbed escaped from his throat. "I'm sorry. I—"

"It's okay, Mr. Townsend," Miss Caldwell quickly comforted him. She was now quietly cursing the four young men once again. "You can take your time."

Astrid forced himself not to let a single tear slip up and continued, "After I was rescued, we found out from these… these despicable people that they were paid by—" he stopped. A conflicted expression passed on his face. As if he was troubled whether to tell the teacher what they found out or not.

Snow knew that that was his cue. So, he gently patted Astrid's shoulder, as if giving the other encouragement.

"Don't be afraid. You can tell the teacher who this villain is. I'm sure the school will do something about him. If they don't, then I'll just tell my father about it and make sure that they do," he said in an indignant tone.

Miss Caldwell might have been offended by the latter part of what the other said, but she couldn't exactly refute it either. After all, she knew all too well that this academy wasn't exactly the 'cleanest' of establishment.

If this person who paid those young men to do this to Astrid Townsend was from a powerful family, then it would be hard for them to punish the person. Especially since the victim seemed to have no connection at all. Well, now that the young master of the Campbell family had spoken, that would change how the school would handle this case.

So, she said without hesitation, "Mr. Campbell is right. The school will definitely punish the one responsible. So, don't be afraid and just tell me everything."

Astrid bit his lips. Then, took a deep breath once again. "They said, they said they were paid by Jesse Norris. They were told to take photos of me in- in compromising positions. So that he, so that he could blackmail me."

Miss Caldwell frowned. She knew who this Jesse Norris was. His uncle was a wealthy business and his cousin was also an actor with who had considerable fame.

"Why does he want to blackmail you?" she asked.

Astrid was silent for a few seconds before answering, "Because Polaris is planning to sue him for libel. It was for spreading… malicious information about me. I- I think he was planning to blackmail me so this suit would not go to court."

What else could Miss Caldwell not understand? She turned to Snow, asking with her eyes if what the other said earlier about letting his father handle this was the truth and not just mere lip service. The other seemed to have perfectly understood what she meant because he quickly nodded.

"The school will definitely give appropriate punishment to all who are involved in this sordid affair."

Astrid looked down and said in a quivering voice, "Thank you, ma'am."

But what the teacher couldn't see was the triumphant smile that crossed Astrid's face.