"Professor Fu, I know. Let me do it!" Several students raised their hands, eager to impress.
But Nathaniel Fu ignored them, walking straight toward Celia's desk. His low, mellow voice carried clearly across the room."Let's ask this student to answer."
Pfft—
The Rocketry class burst into laughter."Look, everyone! Celia from Class 28 actually fell asleep, and Professor Fu caught her red-handed. What a shame!"
Ning Xiner tugged at Yara Lu beside her. "Yaoyao, that Celia really is just a pretty vase. She can't compare to you."
Yara Lu raised an eyebrow, lips curling. In her eyes, Celia was nothing special.
Still half-asleep, Celia stirred when Li Yuting leaned over and whispered urgently,"Cici, wake up! Professor Fu wants you to answer."
"What?"
Her long lashes fluttered as she slowly opened her drowsy eyes. She looked up—and met his gaze.
Nathaniel Fu stood tall before her desk, his handsome eyes lowered. She had only just woken, her delicate face slightly flushed, like a startled fawn. Her bright, misty eyes looked straight into his.
"Awake?" he asked softly.
Celia instantly sat up, flustered with regret. Why on earth had she fallen asleep in his class of all times? Now he had caught her.
Their eyes locked, the moment stretched thin.
Nathaniel pointed toward the blackboard. "Since you're awake, please solve this."
Zuo Ming, Li Yuting, and a few others from Class 28 bent over their notebooks, hurriedly trying to work out the problem to save her—but none could figure it out.
"Professor Fu, how about I try? Celia's not feeling well," Zuo Ming offered desperately. Li Yuting and the others quickly echoed,"Yes, Professor Fu. Cici only dozed off because she isn't feeling well. Could you let someone else answer?"
Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, Nathaniel's narrow eyes swept across the group before settling back on Celia. His tone was light but firm."You answer it."
Celia glanced at the complex equation on the board, then quietly said,"I don't know."
The sunlight streamed in from the tall windows, casting his towering shadow over her small figure.
Nathaniel's refined features carried both the aloofness of a stranger and the stern authority of a professor. His voice was low, deliberate."You don't know the answer. What if others laugh at you?"
Her clear, luminous eyes met his without wavering."Then I'll ignore them."
"... "
Nathaniel frowned faintly. "Come to my office after class. Sit down."
"What?"
His office? No way.
But Celia obeyed, sinking quickly back into her seat.
Nathaniel returned to the podium and calmly explained the solution.
Li Yuting leaned close, muttering, "Ci Ci, Professor Fu is so unkind! I almost think he's doing this on purpose to embarrass you. He must know you and his fiancée Yara Lu don't get along, and he's siding with her."
Celia frowned slightly. Would he really do that? She didn't want to believe it.
After class, Celia knocked on the office door.
A deep, magnetic voice came from inside. "Come in."
She pushed it open. Nathaniel sat behind his desk, writing swiftly with a pen.
Celia walked closer. "Professor Fu."
He paused, looking up at her. His tone was cool, detached."Why are you in the capital?"
Celia's breath caught.
His first words weren't about class, nor about her drowsiness—only this cold question.
Her heart ached. For one fleeting moment, she wished the words meant something else. That he wasn't interrogating her, but worrying about her.
Why are you here alone? Are you eating well? Have you been happy?
That was what she longed to hear.
But his eyes held no warmth, only distance.
Her lips trembled faintly, and for an instant her eyes lit up with hope, only to dim again.
So that's all I am to him now? Just a trespasser in his world… a question mark to be answered, not a person to be cared for.
She lowered her gaze, fingers curling tightly at her side. She had wanted to stand before him as more than just a student. But faced with his indifference, she felt the weight of an invisible wall pressing down between them—a boundary she could never cross.
And still, despite that pain, her heart betrayed her, racing simply because he was near.