After a while, the long-awaited ringing echoed from outside.
Ring!
Professor Cybele stopped speaking, her legs crossed. She swept her gaze over everyone, then stopped at Zeke.
"Come with me to my office, Crimson."
She didn't wait for him to answer and stood up, leaving the room before everyone else.
When Professor Cybele was gone, everyone suddenly turned to look at Zeke, wanting to approach him.
But Zeke ignored their gazes and stood up immediately. He was about to walk away, but then his annoying deskmate suddenly stopped him.
"Zeke, do you have time after talking with Professor Cybele?" Andrei asked with a smile. Seeing Zeke frown, he immediately clarified his intentions. "Since you're new here on campus…"
"No." Zeke cut him off, shaking his head. "I'm busy."
He walked away directly, leaving Andrei in a daze. Everyone paused, their eyes showing different reactions. Some of the boys frowned in disdain, but a few of the girls looked at him, their eyes lighting up.
Whatever it is, Zeke left a deep impression on everyone's mind after Professor Cybele's class. If his introduction already made him memorable, then his excellence in Monster Biology was cherry on top.
Andrei looked at Zeke's back, then he sighed. "What a serious guy. Next time, then…"
"Andrei, you're okay with that?" A man suddenly asked, sitting at Zeke's desk casually. He had dark blonde hair, and a naturally smug face. "Why are you letting yourself get treated that way? That hotsh*t… isn't he too full of himself?"
Andrei recognized the man immediately, frowning. "Franz…"
"What?" Franz spread his hands. He raised his voice, "Don't tell me you don't think he's arrogant? No way."
He raised his head and looked at everyone, smiling slightly. "It's not just me that feels that way, right? He looks like he's something else, but is that really the case? Do you know what I heard about him?"
Everyone suddenly stopped to listen, looking at Franz curiously.
Andrei's frown deepened. He stared at Franz. "What do you mean?"
Seeing that he gathered everyone's attention, Franz grinned.
"My friends told me they saw Crimson in the training facility," He dragged his words intentionally, creating suspense. He smirked, "And they said that his class is related to wielding a stick. Somebody saw him swing a stick nonstop for an hour! Nonstop!"
Saying this, he couldn't stop himself from laughing, rubbing his eyes. "Hahahaha! I know that there's all kinds of classes… but sticks? Really?"
Class discrimination was frowned upon, but nobody spoke up for Zeke, since it was against Franz. Every class had a representative, and they were often the strongest student in that class.
Franz was the representative of Class 1-D.
His words held weight, and going against him was just foolish.
"With a stick-related class…" Franz mused, shaking his head. "I can assure you. He's nothing but a weakling. He just looks like he's strong, but all of you can probably beat him up."
One of the boys jealous of Zeke suddenly asked. "How are you so sure he's weak?"
"You think there's a chance he's strong?" Franz was amused. "How about we make a bet? Tomorrow is Friday. We have sparring in Professor Vander's class. I'll spar with him. If he ends up winning, I'll apologize to him and even give him my representative position."
Everyone fell silent.
Andrei looked at Franz quietly. Franz slowly met his gaze, spreading his hands. The two stared at each other, tension rippling from their gazes. Everyone looked at them with interest, some frowning, while some entertained.
"This is pointless."
But after a while, Andrei sighed. He shook his head and stood up from his seat, giving one last look at Franz.
"One day your actions will bite you back, Franz."
Franz was silent, then laughed.
"Who's going to bite me?"
***
In Professor Cybele's office, Zeke sat on the chair, facing a girl around the same age as him.
He didn't know how he got in this situation apart from his bad luck. After getting out of his classroom, he followed Professor Cybele to her office. But entering the office, there was another student inside, which was this girl.
The girl was beautiful. She had long, rogue pink hair, extending to her waist. She had a pure appearance, soft features, and a naturally gentle smile. Ever since he arrived here, she was the first person whose appearance left a mark in his mind.
But there was one problem.
"What's your name? Hello? Can you hear me…"
She was too damn talkative.
Zeke opened his eyes, glaring at her. "Would it kill you to shut up?"
"...!" The girl was shocked, but then she quickly regained her composure. She met Zeke's gaze without any fear and extended her hand. "Sorry, I thought you couldn't hear me. I'm Seralune Lune!"
Zeke stared at her incredulously. "Your idea of getting through to someone that can't hear you is to talk even more?"
"Huh?" Seralune thought for a moment and realized he was right. She rubbed her cheeks awkwardly. "You're right. Sorry, I haven't met a deaf person before, so I didn't know what to do…"
'I'm not even deaf to begin with…'
Zeke didn't even bother correcting her. He sighed, "So what do you want?"
"Your name." Seralune smiled. "I haven't seen you around on campus before. Are you new here? But I thought…"
Zeke cut her off, tired. "I'm Zeke, Zeke Crimson. Happy?"
"Are you asking if I'm happy?" Seralune thought for a moment, looking at Zeke. She smiled widely. "I think so."
Seeing her dumb smile, Zeke gave up. This creature, who called herself Seralune, disguised as a human, was obviously an unintelligible being who lacked basic social awareness. Did she not notice how desperately he wanted her to shut up?
'Clearly not.'
He thought, pleading for Professor Cybele to come back quickly.
Seralune changed the topic, asking curiously. "What are you doing here, though?"
Zeke suddenly lowered his gaze, closing his eyes.
Seralune was startled, looking at him in surprise as she pouted.
"Huh? Are you sleeping…? That's pretty rude…"
"Hello? Hey, hey, hey… Zeke. Zeke. Zeke."
"Crimson to Red Land? Red Land to Crimson…?"
"Okay, so be it. But don't open your eyes!"
He swore that he wouldn't answer her, no matter what.
But then, the room suddenly fell silent. Zeke furrowed his brows, his heart suddenly skipping a beat.
'Did she give up? Really?'
Doubtful, he recalled what she said last.
'Eyes…'
Zeke's eyes snapped open, and then he jumped out in shock.
A pair of amethyst pupils was reflected in his eyes. Seralune's face was right in front of him, their distance was so close that they could feel each other's breaths, a little more their faces would touch.
Both of them were shocked,
Zeke's forehead bumped into Seralune, causing both of them to fall on the ground.
Thud!
Thud!
Seralune was startled, wincing in pain as she fell. Her dark pink hair spreading to the ground. Her eyes twitched, then when she opened them, she saw that Zeke was laying over her.
"...!"
"...!"
Zeke was also shocked, losing all of his composure. He couldn't understand what had just happened…
"You…"
He looked at her, but then fell silent.
Seralune's cheeks reddened, her eyes meeting his. For a brief moment, Zeke and Seralune stared at each other, each as embarrassed as the other. Zeke quickly snapped out of his thoughts, realizing something…
'This is bad, if Professor Cybele…'
Speak of the devil, and she shall come.
Before he could move away, the door opened.
Click!
Zeke's expression changed, but he could only sigh.
'This girl…'
"Sorry, a professor called me to…"
Professor Cybele apologized as soon as she entered.
She lowered her gaze, immediately sharpening into a glare.
"… What are you two doing in my office?"