Aditya had an aggrieved expression on his face as he ate his lunch. His lunch box had three layers. The first layer was a salad which consisted of green leafy vegetables like broccoli, lettuce, legumes and some lentils. Another layer was a little better and contained fruit salad consisting of strawberries, apricots and Jackfruit.

The last layer was what kept Aditya going. It contained a spicy salmon dish along with a can of yoghurt, which made him gulp as he resisted digging into the bowl. The whole diet was aimed at giving him high amounts of natural sources of calcium, vitamin D and C. These food items were beneficial to heal fractured bones.

Aditya knew that if he ate the salmon first, he wouldn't be able to eat the salads, especially the broccoli. So, he began eating the vegetable salad first. But reality betrayed Aditya. Before he could finish the salad, the salmon was poached by Kumari.

Aditya stared at the girl beside him who ate the dish with gusto while he chewed a piece of lettuce inside his mouth. The bitter flavour made it even more hard to look at Kumari, so he focused on his second layer. At least, he had the fruits.

A warm, spring breeze enlivened Aditya's mood as he ate. The canteen was undergoing an overall renovation, and the tables had been arranged in the garden for students to use. It was a refreshing experience to eat under the trees. Aditya would have enjoyed it if not for having his lunch taken.

But the tragedy of his lunch had not yet ended. The fruits were grabbed by a white buffalo. Well, to be fair, Kranthi was much better than Kumari. He gave a vegetable sandwich, containing persimmon, cucumber and mint sauce, in exchange. Kumari, on the other hand, did not seem to have the thought of giving up her lunch. She had always been a glutton, yet managed to remain slender. Where was all the food going?

Aditya was reminded of those days when Sameera would bring delicious food for him every day. He would drag her into the shade of the banyan tree, away from Kumari, and gossiped while eating lunch. Sameera was always gentle and had a comfortable aura around her. Aditya did not know if where she was at the moment.

Just as Aditya was reminiscing about old times, Bhadra and others came and sat on the other side of the table. Aditya smiled at Anupama as he said, "Anu, wishing you a Happy Birthday and many more to come."

Aditya had stopped addressing Anupama as Anu since the dreams had started. At that time, he knew that she was not interested in him. In the present dream world, Aditya and Anupama had become the best of friends. She had accompanied him for many years and helped him a lot. Because of that, Aditya did not notice anything different in calling Anupama as 'Anu' at the moment. Anupama slightly raised her eyebrows when she heard Aditya as she smiled back.

Kumari and others also gave their greetings to Anupama. Anupama was in her school uniform and did not wear a new dress. In school, students wear allowed to wear the clothes of their liking on their birthdays.

Anupama was looking radiant and had a bright smile on her face as she came and sat beside Kumari. She thanked Aditya and others for their wishes, and she started conversing with Kumari. Ever since the terrorist incident where Kumari, Anupama had become very close to each other.

Anupama had built a wall around her heart and mind, which made it hard for people to get close to her. A traumatic incident, where it was a matter of life and death, facilitated the quick transition from acquaintances to close friends. The fact that Aditya once had a crush on Anupama and that he had a small affair with Kumari, strangely helped matters.

Aditya stuffed the last spoonful of salad as he looked at Jatin as he asked, " Jatin, working on anything exciting lately?"

"Well, this is not the place to speak about the exciting things that I had been doing," Jatin grinned as he continued, "you should ask Bhadra, his elder sister's getting married."

"Oh! So that's the news that you wanted to share with me?" Aditya asked Bhadra as he took a bite of Kranthi's sandwich.

Bhadra smiled as he nodded, "Yup, my elder sister found her better half. Just a few days ago, my mother was talking about employing a marriage broker. So, my elder sister opened up about her lover. It was quite a surprise to everyone. My parents were tensed when they came to know this matter. But it worked out well, in the end."

"And your parents agreed to this marriage?" Aditya asked as dipped the sandwich in yoghurt. He had no idea how it was going to taste and wanted to find out.

The acceptance of love marriages varied a lot in India. Some families were cool with their children choosing their partner. And then some families preferred to select the partners to their children. It mostly depended on the families, themselves.

Jatin scoffed as he said, "Well, the bridegroom's family is as rich as Bhadra's, if not more. I heard that the bridegroom, himself, owns a unicorn startup, and is quite good looking. However, you see, the bridegroom is the ideal candidate. As long as one possesses high social status, wealth, and is professionally competent, barriers like caste, religion, place of origin do not come into play anymore. Try loving a poor fellow, and we will see all kinds of obstacles popping up."

"No, there are many families who accept their children's choice even if the opposite person is poorly placed in society," Kranthi said in a righteous tone. Bhadra smiled at Kranthi, but one could tell that he did not agree with him. Kranthi was a novice when it came to the customs of the 'Haves'.

Frankly, Aditya was no better. His parents' marriage was a classic example of the way families reacted to a love marriage if they felt that the lover was not well-matched with their daughter or son. Aditya had no idea about how much the situation had changed since the last twenty years. Aditya knew that most of the wealthy class in the past were family-based businesses instead of successful individuals.

India, like most other traditional, eastern societies was a collectivist society that emphasised family integrity, family loyalty, and family unity. The interests of everyone, in the family, were interlinked, and a change in the status quo would have far-reaching implications.

So, the families had to be extra careful about who they were letting into their family. This new person would positively or negatively influence the business, leading to the rise or fall of the company. Thus, the whole family and the coming generations were going to be implicated because of this new person. A lot of things changed in the past two decades of prosperity, but the remnants of the past linger around.

Aditya's mother had spoken about this issue with him when he had revealed that he had a crush on Anupama. Aditya was just a stubborn teen at that time and so brushed off her words. His mother had smiled and said that if Anupama truly fell for him and their parents became an obstacle, Maahi will help. Aditya smiled as he ate the sandwich when he remembered his mother.

Jatin turned towards Kranthi as he said, "Do you watch a lot of movies?"

"Yes, why?"

"As expected."

"What do you mean?"

"Kranthi, Jatin, leave it. Bhadra, has a date being fixed for the marriage?" Aditya asked as he grudgingly looked at Kumari sharing his salmon dish with Anupama.

"Yup, it happens to be after our final exams next month. It is convenient for us as we will be free, at that time," Bhadra said with a smile.

"After the exams?" Aditya slightly frowned as he had plans to visit Africa at that time. By that time, according to Tya, he would have activated the 'Gene Regulation' ability, and he would have the capability to deal with the Organisation, at last.

Aditya would not delay his plans for something as small as a friend's elder sister's marriage. He nodded at Bhadra while he started making up excuses for skipping this event, in his mind.

"Adi, you might be thinking that this marriage will be over in half a day time. Bhadra's brother-in-law wanted a full-fledged Indian marriage ceremony. A big fat Indian wedding. You will have to prepare yourself for spending at least a week with us. I am informing you so that you won't find any excuses to skip this event. Bhadra will be busy with all the preparations and hosting. You will have to be with me if I have to survive through the marriage," Jatin added as he looked at Aditya.

"The marriage ceremony will take a whole week?" Aditya faintly muttered when he heard Jatin. These filthy rich people sure have a lot of money to spend. Aditya conveniently forgot that, currently, he had tens of millions of USD at his disposal. He could be safely addressed as one of those filthy rich people.

"Why do you have to look after the arrangements? Aren't their professionals who do this kind of stuff?" Kranthi asked with curiosity. He was interested to know more about this wedding.

"Well, there are such people, and we will indeed employ them. But I have to supervise them and act as a mediator between them and my family so that the arrangements keep up with my elder sister's taste. You may not know, but my elder sister is very particular about the fine details. If I mess up her marriage, even a little, I am finished. That is the reason that I want you guys to help me in the preparations," Bhadra replied with a smile as he looked at Aditya.

Aditya replied in the affirmative as he would help Bhadra, in the preparations, as much as he could. But beyond that, he could only apologise. As for the marriage itself, he might have to skip the whole thing. Kranthi conversed with Bhadra about the wedding while Aditya felt his stomach rumble. He was thinking about buying some food at the cafeteria.

Just as Aditya was about to get up, he discovered Yu Yan timidly walking towards him. She handed a box to Aditya and explained, "Aditya, this is mutton stew. In China, we call it as 'yáng ròu pào mó'. It can help to heal your injuries faster. I had got it made for you..."

Aditya did not wait to hear the explanation as he grabbed the box and opened it. He pulled a chair from the adjacent table and said, "Come, sit. Also, today is elder sister Anupama's birthday, go greet her."

Aditya dug into the hot, steaming stew before someone else can grab it from him. Instead of noodles, this stew used bits of unleavened bread, which soaked up the rich flavour. Combined with chilli sauce and pickled garlic on the side, the taste was delicious.

Aditya was going to skip the afternoon classes as he had to meet up with Thomas and others. A few materials had to be given last-minute touch-ups. As he had to accompany Kumari for shopping in the evening, it was better to take care of these small things.