Daisy remained buried in her arms, muttering muffled threats that no one could decipher, her crimson ears peeking out like tiny flags of surrender. The trio wasn’t letting up. Sophie leaned closer, nudging Daisy’s shoulder with exaggerated conspiratorial glee. "C’mon, spill! What does he actually do when you’re alone? Secret serenades? Candlelight dinners? Midnight pizza raids?"
Hannah’s smirk deepened, her tone clipped but teasing. "Yes, Daisy. You can’t just let us sit here in ignorance. Details, please. We deserve the inside scoop."
"Leave me alone," Daisy mumbled into her sleeves, voice barely audible.
Sophie poked her in the side, grinning. "Aw, come on, Daisy, don’t hide. Your boyfriend’s right here."
Even Elara, usually timid and reserved, peeked from behind her notebook, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Daisy groaned into the desk, trying to sink through the surface. "I—It’s nothing! Absolutely nothing!"
Rex finally leaned back, throwing his hands up in mock surrender, , stretching his arms as if he hadn’t just been the one throwing gasoline on the fire. "Alright, alright, ladies," he said,his tone easy, almost like he was settling down a group of kids. "Before someone calls the authorities for emotional abuse, let me clarify something... it was just a joke. I was just messing around."
That earned him three skeptical looks immediately.
"Just a joke?" Sophie repeated, arching an eyebrow like she didn’t believe a word.
"Yes, just a joke." Rex nodded with mock seriousness. "I can’t go around writing vows in the middle of class. It needs a proper environment , you know."
The trio giggled, but Daisy still refused to lift her head. Rex glanced sideways at her, smirking faintly. "Alright, sweetheart, enough dramatics," he drawled, his voice light and teasing. "If you stay buried like that, people are going to think you’re really crying, and then I’ll look like the jerk who made my girlfriend cry in class."
With a muffled whine, Daisy peeked out between her fingers, glaring daggers at him even as the pink crept up her neck again. "I am NOT your—!" she started, but Rex just reached out and flicked her pen, cutting her off.
"Relax, babe," he said with a smug half-smile. "I’m only joking. No wedding invites yet. You can sit up without worrying."
Daisy gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing like she couldn’t decide which insult to hurl first. Finally, she settled for crossing her arms in a huff, glaring daggers at him while her cheeks stayed stubbornly red.
Daisy gaped at him, her mouth opening and closing like she couldn’t decide which insult to hurl first. Finally, she settled for crossing her arms in a huff, glaring daggers at him while her cheeks stayed stubbornly red. "I swear... I’m going to get you back for this, Rex."
Rex smirked, leaning back in his chair like he’d just achieved world peace. "Good. That’s the spirit. But for now, we’ll call a truce, yeah? Consider it... temporary mercy from your oh-so-doting ’fiancé.’" Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
The laughter was still echoing in little bursts around their cluster when the sharp click of heels against the polished floor cut through the noise.
Professor Lin swept into the room with her usual composed authority, a stack of neatly arranged notes tucked under one arm. In an instant, the room transformed. The beauty trio exchanged quick glances, then slid gracefully back to their own seats as if nothing had happened. Sophie wiped her eyes in a rush, Hannah cleared her throat and smoothed her blouse, and even Elara schooled her face into its usual calm mask.
Across the room, chairs straightened. Pens clicked into readiness. Books snapped open.
Rex raised a brow, amused. A minute ago this place sounded like a comedy club, and now it was dead serious. That was the thing about this university. Sure, they teased, gossiped, and joked like normal students, but the second a professor walked in, everyone snapped into scholar mode.
This wasn’t some third-rate by-name college where professors had to beg students for attention. Here? Everyone respected the grind. Everyone respected the teachers. These were academic tyrants through and through, the kind of students who could dismantle a case study in five minutes flat or ace an exam with questions designed to break average minds.
"Good afternoon," Professor Lin’s voice rang out, crisp and steady. Instantly, a chorus of greetings followed in perfect unison, not out of forced politeness, but genuine acknowledgment.
And just like that, lecture began.
Rex settled into his chair, Elara quietly scribbling next to him, the beauty trio busy in their own corner. For once, the chatter around him faded into background noise. He forced himself to pay attention. And, surprisingly... it was working.
For the first time in a long while, he genuinely understood the lecture, at least to some extent. His persistent studying with the Aeon glasses had finally started paying off. Every detail, every concept that had once been a blur now made sense... or at least made enough sense that he could keep up. The air in the classroom felt charged, studious, almost electric in its seriousness. It was different from anything he’d experienced before.
Because, honestly, the level of education here was leagues beyond what he had initially expected. Not just a little higher—much, much higher. In his past life, he’d ended up in a third-rate university, where courses were outdated, professors seemed more interested in passing time than teaching, and the students? Even worse. They were just coasting, goofing off, chasing social status, or wasting hours on meaningless antics.
At graduation, all he had gotten was a useless piece of paper. No skills. No connections. No future prospects. The world knew the value of a degree from such an institution... or rather, they knew the lack of it. Getting a decent job was basically impossible. Most of his peers had to scrape by on the lowest rungs of society, trapped in menial jobs that barely paid for food, rent, and nothing else.
And that’s exactly where the impression came from... the way people loved to spout it like gospel: studying is useless. "Look at him," they’d say, voice dripping with smug satisfaction. "Four years in university, a fancy degree hanging on the wall... and now he’s pushing papers, making coffee, running errands.
"Studying doesn’t matter. Even if you go to university, you end up with nothing."
"Look at him," they’d sneer, nodding at some poor soul slogging away in a dead-end office. "Spent four years in university, got his fancy degree... and now he’s stuck doing menial jobs, making coffee runs, pushing papers, just like anyone else." They’d shake their heads, puff out their chests, and add, " I didn’t even finish high school, and I’m still doing better than him."