"The tall girl with pink hair was Freya Hazel."
Hyacinth Chua looked ahead sorrow flickered in her eyes, but it quickly vanished.
"Freya Hazel?"
Aurora Perish didn't remember the name of the novel character at all. She had read that clichéd novel when she was younger, but it had faded from her memory over time.
Names? No. Places? No. Appearances? No. Unlike other transmigrated protagonists who remember everything, Aurora Perish wasn't like that. Even though that name came up repeatedly in the chapters, she still couldn't recall it. The only reason she remembered Hyacinth Chua's name was because of the original host's memories.
Aurora Perish had so many problems in her life that she couldn't be bothered to remember the names or appearances of people she had no real connection with.
She might remember the plot of a story if it was interesting, but she was more likely to remember it if it was a clichéd novel. Those were the ones that made her laugh to herself when she thought about the funny moments.
Hyacinth Chua noticed the confused expression on Aurora Perish's face for a moment, then saw her shift to an accepting one, as if thinking, "Yup, I don't remember it. No more thinking about it." Hyacinth Chua sighed. "It's the one I told you about before—the person who stalked Rose Sallow."
Aurora Perish didn't quite catch how Hyacinth Chua referred to Rose Sallow—because the words that grabbed her attention were: "the person who stalked Rose Sallow."
The one who stalked Rose Sallow?
As she tried to recall the person she had seen earlier—dark pink hair, olive skin, and taller than the student now standing in front of her—Aurora's mind began to connect the dots.
In the early chapters of the story, the only person who ever stalked the female lead was the third female lead. Aurora Perish remembered that plot point clearly—it had stuck with her, mainly because it was the first time she'd read such a bizarre novel, filled with the author's particular... kinks. She had still been a young adult back then. Up until that point, her experience was limited to comics and video games, so stumbling onto that kind of novel had been both shocking and oddly compelling.
The third female lead's obsessive behavior toward the female lead had deeply unsettled Aurora when she first read it. She remembered cursing the third female lead countless times as she read—but even so, she couldn't stop. It was the only novel she had access to at the time. She couldn't afford physical books, and the only reading she could manage came from Wattpad, where downloading stories was free and easy.
So now—seeing someone with dark pink hair, olive skin, and above-average height who else could it be?
Freya Hazel.
The third (female) male lead.
Aurora Perish, who had previously maintained a nonchalant demeanor, now widened her downturn grayish eyes in shock.
Freya Hazel?
She was one of the most toxic and annoying of the male leads!
Aurora Perish remembered all too clearly what Freya Hazel had done—she had stalked and physically harmed the female lead while carrying out some disturbing behavior. After all, My Secret Relationship with My Teacher was an 18+ novel.
When Freya Hazel behaved this way with the female lead, the readers actually liked it. The thought made Aurora Perish shudder and gave her goosebumps.
Aurora Perish didn't understand why—or how—readers liked Freya Hazel that much, and frankly, she didn't want to understand it at all.
Back then, readers seemed to adore obsessive characters. The most popular ones were often stalkers who carried out twisted actions but were still portrayed as kind in their own way—characters who "genuinely" wanted you, even if it came at the cost of your mental stability or physical well being.
What baffled Aurora Perish the most was how unreasonable it all felt. The third female lead, Freya Hazel, was somehow more popular among readers than the actual main character, Hyacinth Chua.
Aurora Perish didn't remember what Freya Hazel looked like at all, but she was still biased toward the main character, Hyacinth Chua. Despite Hyacinth's arrogance in the novel and her mindset that resembled a spoiled second-generation heir, she was generous and gentle toward her loved ones. She loved engaging in verbal battles with her friends, yet she always treated them with kindness.
Perhaps it was because Hyacinth Chua tended to ignore most people.
Aurora Perish glanced at Hyacinth Chua beside her and suddenly realized just how tall the second male lead truly was. Despite not being differentiated yet, Aurora Perish was already quite tall herself. She couldn't help but feel a pang of envy for the original owner's height. In her previous life, she had only been 157.5 centimeters and never received proper nutrition during childhood. She had always been stuck in that awkward in between—neither tall nor short.
But then Aurora Perish looked down. In that moment, all her earlier gloom vanished. She was now 175 centimeters tall, and the ground felt so far away. A smug satisfaction bubbled inside her, though she kept her expression perfectly neutral.
Meanwhile, while Aurora Perish felt satisfied with her current height, Hyacinth Chua—standing beside her—was deep in thought, analyzing all the possible obstacles they might face in their current situation.
She couldn't stop thinking about who she had seen earlier. A wave of goosebumps ran down her spine. Hyacinth Chua used to be furious with Freya Hazel, especially back when she was still chasing after Rose Sallow. Even though she had foolishly focused only on Rose, she couldn't ignore the eerie feeling of being watched—like a predator lurking just behind her or to her side—every time she was with Rose.
Eventually, she investigated. But even after pouring through hours of surveillance footage, it was nearly impossible to identify anything. The person always remained in CCTV blind spots, and the footage quality was too poor to get a clear look. But then—one video stood out. Just one. In it, Freya Hazel could be seen watching Hyacinth while she was talking to Rose Sallow. No other footage followed. Just that single, haunting moment.
Later, Rose Sallow confessed she too felt like she was being watched. Hyacinth dug deeper for months and finally confirmed that it was Freya Hazel who had been following Rose. But despite having resources and wealth, it was still impossible to investigate further—Freya Hazel was just that elusive. It was as if she always knew their next move before they made it.
That's what made her terrifying.
So when Hyacinth noticed Freya Hazel looking their way earlier—and how she didn't even look at Hyacinth for long, only briefly glancing her way before shifting her gaze to Aurora Perish, her lips curling faintly—Hyacinth's instincts screamed at her.
Even though she hadn't differentiated yet, Hyacinth Chua could sense danger from a mile away.
That's why, without thinking, she immediately grabbed Aurora Perish and pulled her close—silently warning her not to look in Freya Hazel's direction again.
Hyacinth Chua was glad that Aurora Perish was cooperative—she immediately looked away when pulled and never glanced back. Who knew if one day Aurora Perish might accidentally catch the attention of an unwanted criminal... or a tiger?
Hyacinth sighed in relief when she noticed that Aurora Perish's face remained blank, showing no sign of discomfort. She was grateful that her friend didn't seem the least bit unsettled.
Little did Hyacinth Chua know, Aurora Perish was actually screaming internally—mentally bouncing around with excitement just because she was tall in this life. While still keeping a perfectly emotionless face.