He had been so focused on seeing Noreen that he’d forgotten to make his act convincing.

Luckily, he was in the far corner, so he hadn’t been noticed.

But people are greedy.

At first, he thought just seeing her from a distance would be enough.

Then he wanted to hear her voice.

And after that… he was no longer satisfied with that distance.

He wanted to get closer, just a little closer.

So, for the second lecture, Seth moved forward five rows.

Of course, he still sat on the side, at least not in a place that would draw Noreen’s attention.

This time he was better prepared. Not only was he ‘fully disguised,’ but he also brought a notebook.

However, by the end of the class, his notebook was filled with Noreen’s name.

He hadn’t written down a single thing related to the course material.

Fortunately, the student next to him wasn’t nosy and didn’t notice his little secret.

Perhaps because he hadn’t been caught the first two times, Seth moved forward another five rows for the third lecture.

The large lecture hall only had twenty rows, so he was now in the middle.

Although the seat wasn’t prominent, his attire was somewhat conspicuous.

During the class, Noreen glanced in his direction several times.

Seth had never been so nervous.

It really felt like a student getting caught by the teacher.

He was on edge for the entire class, and just as he thought he was about to make it to the end, Noreen suddenly started asking questions, randomly calling on students to answer.

At first, she called on students by name. But when she got to the seventh question, Noreen paused, then said, “The student in the tenth row, on the end, the one wearing a hat. Please stand up and answer my question.”

Seth seemed unable to react, remaining seated for a long moment.

The student next to him had to pat him on the arm, reminding him to stand up and answer Professor Gilmore’s question.

Seth stood up, but his mind was completely blank regarding the question Noreen had asked.

He had been too busy looking at her.

“What’s the matter? Can’t you answer? It’s a simple question. Weren’t you paying attention?” Noreen’s fingers tapped a rhythm on the lectern. Her voice was unhurried but filled with authority.

A student nearby kindly whispered the key part of the answer to him.

But Seth didn’t dare to speak.

The moment he opened his mouth, Noreen would surely recognize him, and everything would be exposed.

At that critical moment, the bell rang.

Noreen looked away, her tone becoming light again. “That’s all for today’s class. You’re dismissed.”

And just like that, Seth had narrowly escaped.

But he knew he couldn’t come to the remaining lectures.

When Seth had dinner with Jude later, his mood was clearly off.

Only after Jude pressed him did he explain what had happened.

Jude felt disheartened after hearing the story.

He had just relaxed for a week. Was he going to have to go back to living on edge again?

“Seth, why don’t you just be upfront

about

Even if you can’t be lovers,

you can be friends, right? It’s normal for friends to see each other

From Jude’s perspective, he couldn’t quite understand.

It took a long time for Seth to finally speak. “We can’t be friends.”

“She said it herself. She hates me.”

“She even said that if she had two bullets and was locked in a room with me and her most hated enemys she’d shoot me twice.”

Jude fell silent. “…That’s some serious hatred.”

Back when he heard Noreen say that, he had felt disappointed too.

But at the same time, he was glad she hated him.

Because that way, she would finally give up on him.

And draw a clear line between them.

Hate was always easier to let go of than love.