Entering the University, Ethan was stunned.
National Capital University was even larger than he expected.
The moment Ethan passed through the main gate, he stopped.
A massive stone sign stood above the entrance.
NATIONAL CAPITAL UNIVERSITY
Students moved in every direction.
Bicycles were parked in rows.
Some students carried suitcases.
Others were dragging bedding toward the dormitories.
Older students shouted directions at newcomers.
Volunteers stood near tables helping freshmen register.
Ethan looked around.
"This is..."
He couldn’t finish the sentence.
The campus was beautiful.
Not in the luxurious way of the Cole family home.
It was different.
Large trees covered the roads.
Old academic buildings stood beneath them.
The buildings were not particularly extravagant, but there was something dignified about them.
The campus felt old.
Established.
Important.
This was where some of the brightest young people in Moon Nation came to study.
Ethan tightened his grip on his suitcase.
He had made it.
He was officially a student of National Capital University.
A strange excitement filled his chest.
For the first time, his future felt completely open.
No grandfather comparing him to someone else.
No father telling him to behave.
No mother asking whether he had eaten.
No Victor teasing him.
And—
No Elena.
He smiled.
This was going to be a good few years.
However, it wasn’t all good.
At first, he was quite ecstatic about this new phase of life then the reality of university life hit him that evening.
The dormitory had four beds.
Four desks.
Four wardrobes.
And one small window.
Ethan stood in the doorway, looking at the room.
Then at his suitcase.
Then back at the room.
He had grown up in a military family.
He was used to discipline.
He was not, however, used to sharing a room with three complete strangers.
One of his roommates was already unpacking.
Another was sitting on his bed reading.
The third was struggling to push a large wooden box underneath the bed.
The moment he noticed Ethan, he looked up.
"New roommate?"
"Yes."
"Which province?"
Ethan told him.
The boy’s eyes widened slightly.
"You’re from the Shaw—"
He stopped.
Then corrected himself.
"The Cole family?"
Ethan nodded.
The boy immediately became more polite.
"Oh."
Ethan sighed inwardly.
He had been recognized.
Again.
He put his luggage down.
"I’m here to study. Don’t treat me differently."
His roommate blinked.
Then grinned.
"Good. Because I was about to ask whether rich people know how to wash their own clothes."
Ethan stared at him.
"...I do."
"Excellent."
The roommate laughed.
"Then we’ll get along."
For the first time that day, Ethan relaxed.
Maybe university wouldn’t be so bad after all.
The day passed with the roommates introducing themselves, their college entrance examination scores and what course they were in.
Naturally all four had a score above 600 or they wouldn’t even get an admission to National Capital University.
But Ethan wasn’t the highest scorer, it was the guy who was grinning at him named Liam.
Liam Carter was his given name. He had secured a whooping 630/710 and was the provincial top scorer but he was easy to get along with.
His demeanor was humble and he seemed to be in good spirits.
He wasn’t reading but casually unpacking. A relaxed atmosphere surrounded him.
The next roommate was Marcus Reed. He had scored a 607. Just one point behind Ethan.
He was the one forcing a box below a bed.
He had just glanced at Ethan and ignored him, fully focused on forcing the box below the bed.
The last one was Daniel Hayes, who scored 604 and he was busy reading.
He hadn’t even spared a glance at the other three, engrossed in his own reading.
It seemed like he wasn’t the least bit interested in them.
With that, time seemed to pass and soon, night fell.
The following morning, Ethan woke before his alarm.
He wasn’t one to oversleep.
Years of military discipline had honed him to the very bones.
For a moment, he had forgotten where he was.
He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling.
Then he remembered.
National Capital University.
The Capital.
His first instinct was to go back to sleep.
His second was to get up before anyone else.
The second won.
By seven in the morning, the campus was already awake.
Students rode bicycles toward their classes.
Others walked with books in their hands.
The dining hall was crowded.
Steam rose from bowls of breakfast.
Someone was arguing about an examination.
Someone else was trying to borrow a pen.
A group of students laughed loudly near the entrance.
Ethan carried his breakfast outside.
He found a quiet place beneath a tree.
For a moment, he simply sat there.
He looked at the students around him.
Some had come from wealthy families.
Some had probably grown up in villages.
Some had traveled hundreds or even thousands of kilometers to reach this place.
But once they entered National Capital University, they were all students.
No one cared where you came from if you couldn’t pass your examinations.
Ethan smiled.
That was how it should be.
He opened his breakfast and quickly ate in a few hurried bites.
His first lecture was beginning soon.
He stood up.
And as he walked toward the academic building, he felt something he hadn’t expected.
Pride.
Not the pride of being a Cole.
Not the pride of defeating Elena.
Not even the pride of being accepted into one of the country’s best universities.
This was different.
This was his own achievement.
His own future.
And Ethan Cole had no idea that several hundred kilometers away, Elena Shaw was already beginning to build a completely different future of her own.
For the first time in eighteen years, the two rivals were walking in completely different directions.
Neither of them knew that one day—those paths would cross again.
A/N: Currency changed to Luni. 1 Luni=100 cents