The morning air was cool as Maya and Carter walked across campus together, the sound of students talking and laughing surrounding them as they made their way toward the science building.
Sunlight spilled across the stone pathways between the buildings, while the occasional breeze carried the smell of coffee from the nearby café.
Carter walked beside Maya with his backpack hanging loosely from one shoulder, his hands tucked comfortably into the pockets of his jacket.
Maya, on the other hand, carried her books neatly against her chest while occasionally glancing down at the schedule on her phone.
After several moments of comfortable silence, Carter suddenly glanced toward Maya.
“So, Kingsly seems gay.”
Maya’s eyes shifted toward him.
She continued walking without changing her expression.
“Yes,” she replied simply.
“Because he is.”
Carter nodded slowly, almost as though he had just received confirmation about something he had been wondering for a while.
“Really?”
Maya looked at him again.
“Yes, really.”
“Okay,” Carter replied while shrugging casually.
“I was just wondering.”
Maya studied him for a second before looking forward again.
“Why were you wondering?”
“I don’t know,” Carter admitted with a quiet laugh.
“He just has a certain energy about him.”
Maya gave him a skeptical look.
“That is probably one of the worst ways you could describe someone’s personality.”
“I wasn’t insulting him.”
“I know.”
Carter smiled before looking ahead again.
“Still, he’s an interesting guy.”
“Interesting isn’t the word I’d use.”
“What would you use?”
“Annoying.”
Carter laughed.
“Fair enough.”
They continued walking for another few moments before Carter suddenly pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Did you see the article he wrote about us?”
Maya glanced over at him.
“No.”
Carter unlocked his phone and began scrolling through the campus media page.
“You should probably see it.”
“Why?”
“Because it already has eighteen thousand views.”
Maya immediately stopped walking.
“Eighteen thousand?”
Carter stopped beside her and turned his phone toward her.
“That’s what I said.”
Maya quickly took the phone from his hand and began scrolling through the article.
Her eyes moved across the headline, then down toward the photograph Kingsly had taken of them inside the library.
The image showed Carter sitting beside her with his arm wrapped around her shoulders while she stared toward the camera with an expression that clearly suggested she had been caught completely off guard.
Maya’s eyebrows slowly rose.
“He actually posted this?”
“Apparently.”
She continued scrolling.
The comments were even worse.
Some students were congratulating them.
Others were arguing about when the relationship had supposedly started.
Maya stared at the screen in disbelief.
“People actually believe this.”
Carter leaned slightly toward her.
“That’s kind of the point.”
Maya looked at him before handing his phone back.
“This guy is like Big News Morgans.” Carter said happily
Maya blinked.
“What?”
“Big News Morgans.”
Carter repeated the name slowly, clearly expecting her to understand.
Instead, Maya stared at her blankly.
“You don’t know who that is?”
Maya shook her head.
“No.”
Carter looked genuinely surprised.
“You don’t know Big News Morgans?”
“Should I?”
“He’s from One Piece.”
Maya’s expression changed immediately.
“You watch One Piece?”
Carter placed a hand against his chest as though she had just questioned something extremely important about his character.
“Of course I watch One Piece.”
Maya raised an eyebrow.
“I didn’t know you watched anime.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I didn’t know.”
Carter laughed before shaking his head.
“It’s 2025. If you’re not watching anime or reading manga, you’re the weird one.”
Maya stared at him for several seconds.
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“It is.”
“It really isn’t.”
Carter slipped his phone into his pocket.
“Anyway, Big News Morgans is basically a giant bird who runs a newspaper and publishes news about everything happening around the world. If something important happens, Morgans somehow finds out about it and makes sure everyone else finds out too.”
Maya looked toward the science building before looking back at him.
“So you’re saying Kingsly is basically the university version of him?”
“Exactly.”
Carter nodded confidently.
“Except Kingsly doesn’t have wings, and he probably isn’t going to fly across campus shouting breaking news.”
Maya shook her head while trying not to laugh.
“You are seriously comparing the head of the school media page to a giant talking bird.”
“I’m saying they’re both obsessed with news.”
“That’s slightly better.”
Carter smiled proudly.
“Thank you.”
“It wasn’t a compliment.”
“I’ll take it anyway.”
Maya rolled her eyes before continuing toward the building.
For several seconds, she remained quiet.
Then her expression gradually became more serious.”We need Kingsly.”
Carter looked at her.
“Why?” You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
“Because if we’re going to make this believable, we need someone who can control what people see.”
Carter’s smile faded slightly as he listened.
Maya continued speaking while keeping her voice low enough that the nearby students wouldn’t overhear.
“The rumors are already spreading faster than we can correct them. If we’re going to use this fake relationship to make Ryan believe we’re actually together, then we need the story to stay consistent.”
Carter nodded slowly.
“So you want Kingsley to keep posting about us.”
“Exactly,” Maya replied.
“If he keeps putting pictures of us on the media page, people will eventually stop questioning whether we’re together.”
“They’ll just accept it.”
“And Ryan will eventually accept it too.”
Carter nodded.
“That’s the plan.”
Maya thought about it for a moment before making a face.
“But I actually hate that guy.”
Carter glanced at her.
“Why?”
“Because I actually knew him before all of this.”
Maya sighed, her expression becoming slightly more annoyed as she remembered the past.
“I’ve been at this university for one year, and Kingsly and I were actually friends when we first arrived. Then he wrote some article about me because he wanted more attention for the Newspaper Club, and ever since then, I’ve wanted to put my hands around his neck every time I see him.”
Carter’s eyes widened.
“Wow, Maya.”
He stared at her with a mixture of amusement and disbelief.
“You have a dark side.”
Maya immediately shook her head.
“What? No, I don’t.”
“You just said you wanted to choke him.”
“I said I wanted to.”
“That doesn’t make it better.”
Maya laughed.
“I’m not actually going to do it.”
“You better not.”
“I won’t.”
By the time they reached the science building, the hallway was already crowded with students rushing toward their classrooms.
Carter adjusted his backpack before looking toward Maya.
“We’ll talk to Kingsly after class.”
Maya nodded.
“Sounds good.”
“And try not to threaten him.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good.”
“Unless he annoys me.”
Carter gave her a flat look.
“Maya.”
“I’m joking.”
She shook her head before walking into the classroom.
The lecture hall was already beginning to fill, with students taking their usual seats while quiet conversations echoed throughout the room.
Maya immediately walked toward her regular seat near the front.
She placed her notebook on the desk, carefully arranged her pens beside it, and pulled out the calculator she always kept in the front compartment of her backpack.
Carter followed her.
Instead of walking toward his usual row behind her, however, he pulled out the chair directly beside hers.
Maya stopped arranging her things.
She slowly turned toward him.
“What are you doing?”