“Elena!”
Adrian’s face was dark as he strode toward her.
He was dressed in a gray designer suit with a casual cut. At six foot one, with gold-rimmed glasses framing his sharp features, he looked every bit the polished, wealthy academic.
Adrian was used to people looking up to him. He carried himself with the quiet arrogance of someone who had always been praised as an exceptional student—refined, confident, and just a little too proud of himself.
But today, he could barely keep his temper in check.
He walked straight to Elena’s desk.
“…Come outside with me. I need to talk to you.”
His jaw was clenched, his voice tight with frustration.
Adrian was well known among the mathematics students at Westbridge University. But with tens of thousands of students on campus, there were plenty of people who had never heard of him.
The elderly professor was one of them.
He had spent his entire career studying classical art and had never paid much attention to the mathematics department.
To the professor, Adrian was simply a young man who had walked into his classroom and was now bothering one of his students.
Adrian couldn’t care less about the professor’s lack of recognition.
He needed Elena to tell him that yesterday’s rumors were completely false.
That she had gone straight back to her dorm.
That she hadn’t stayed out all night.
And that she certainly hadn’t been picked up by some absurdly expensive car.
“No.”
Elena didn’t even look up.
“We still have class.”
Adrian’s expression darkened.
He reached for her arm, his voice turning sharp.
“Who drove you away yesterday?”
Elena was a dance student. Her daily physical training alone put her miles ahead of Adrian when it came to speed and reflexes.
More importantly, she had already been wary of him.
The moment his hand came toward her, she pulled her arm away, leaving him grabbing nothing but air.
“What does it have to do with you?” she asked calmly.
“We’re not together anymore. But even when we were, remember what happened when you got into another girl’s car and I asked you about it?”
Adrian frowned.
“That’s not the same—”
“You told me I was being too controlling.”
Elena finally looked at him.
“You said you were an independent person and that if I couldn’t understand that, then maybe we weren’t right for each other.”
She gave him a faint smile.
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“Well, now you got exactly what you wanted. Happy?”
Adrian’s irritation deepened.
“That’s different! I already told you—we’re just friends!”
Elena gave a small, dismissive laugh.
“Sure.”
Adrian had expected her to say that whoever had driven her away was just a friend too.
Then he would have had something to argue about.
Especially after she had previously claimed that she couldn’t stand those rich heirs who kept hanging around her.
But this?
She wasn’t even going to explain herself?
The anger in Adrian’s eyes grew hotter.
The whispers around them only made things worse.
“What’s wrong with that guy? Is he Elena’s boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend, I think. She just said they broke up.”
“He’s not bad-looking, I guess. But honestly, he still doesn’t look good enough for Elena.”
“And physically? He doesn’t even look like he works out. I’m in better shape than him.”
“So he got dumped.”
“Wait, did they really break up? Or is she just saying that because they’re fighting?”
“…”
Every word reached Adrian’s ears.
He took a slow breath, forcing down his anger.
Then he reached for Elena again.
“Just come outside for a minute. I need to ask you something.”
“I told you, I have class.”
Elena leaned away from him.
“If you have something to say, wait until class is over.”
“Elena, stop pretending. You don’t even care about this class—”
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
The elderly professor had been watching them for some time.
He finally lost his patience.
He pushed his glasses higher up his nose and fixed Adrian with a displeased stare.
He had spent his entire career studying classical art. He had no idea who this supposed star student from the mathematics department was.
All he saw was a young man standing in his classroom and repeatedly bothering one of his students.
Adrian froze.
“Professor, she’s my girlfriend. We’re just sorting out a personal matter…”
“I’m not.”
Elena folded her arms.
“Professor, he’s my ex-boyfriend. I broke up with him last night.”
The students around them had initially been unsure about what was going on.
Now there was no ambiguity.
Their curious looks toward Adrian quickly turned into open disdain.
Adrian’s face went pale.
Then, almost instantly, it flushed red.
He stared at Elena in disbelief.
He had thought she was merely throwing a tantrum last night.
He had never imagined she would actually announce their breakup in front of an entire lecture hall—and leave him absolutely no room to save face.
The professor’s brows drew together.
He had already developed a very good impression of Elena that morning. Sure, he had been a little annoyed when he first caught her using her phone during class, but young people were young people.
Besides, she wasn’t even a student of classical arts. Yet when he asked her to demonstrate a dance, she had willingly come forward and given the class an excellent performance.
Now this young man was disrupting his lecture and making his student uncomfortable.
The professor’s temper flared.
“If she has already made it perfectly clear that she wants to break up, what exactly are you doing standing here and grabbing at her in front of everyone?”
He stared at Adrian sternly.
“You’re a student at Westbridge University. Do you not even understand basic courtesy and respect?”
Adrian had been praised by his teachers his entire life.
He was the kind of student professors held up as an example to everyone else.
He had never been publicly scolded like this.
His jaw tightened.
“Professor, you’ve misunderstood. I’m not harassing her. I just—”
“I saw what you were doing with my own eyes!”
The professor cut him off.
His gaze was sharp enough to make Adrian instinctively straighten.
“Which department are you from? Who’s your academic advisor?”
Adrian took a step back.
“I…”
“If you don’t even know how to respect a fellow student, then I’ll call your advisor over myself. Perhaps you need a refresher on basic student conduct.”
Adrian’s heart sank.
A wave of humiliation washed over him.
He couldn’t afford this.
He had competitions coming up. He had research projects to work on.
If he got reported for harassing a female student by a professor from the arts department, the story would spread throughout Westbridge by tomorrow.
Then he really would become famous.
How was he supposed to show his face around campus after that?
And how was he supposed to face Victoria?
“…There’s no need, Professor.”
Adrian clenched his teeth and forced the words out.
His expression was dark with humiliation.
He turned and gave Elena a deep, resentful look.
She’ll regret this.
One day, even if she came crawling back and begged him for forgiveness, he wouldn’t forgive her so easily.
“No need?”
The professor’s face darkened.
“Do you think I’m asking for your permission?”
His voice rose.
“You’ve tried to put your hands on my student several times in front of the entire class. She has already told you that she wants to stay for the lecture, yet you keep pressuring her to leave with you.”
He glared at Adrian.
“I’m standing right here. Do you have no respect for your professor?”
“What an attitude!”
Adrian’s face had become impossibly dark.
He had been the model student his entire life. Even his family had rarely spoken to him this harshly.
And now, in front of an entire lecture hall, a professor had publicly dressed him down without giving him the slightest chance to save face.
For someone who had always been admired and praised, the humiliation was almost impossible for Adrian to swallow.