Aethron stood still, staring at the massive school in front of him.
Although Zenith College was only a high school, it had more than ten thousand students. With its size, it felt like a small city.
The main school building alone was larger than the entire campus of many universities.
Inside the campus, there were four swimming pools, two professional football fields, and three basketball courts. There were also modern gyms, laboratories, and research centers.
Everything looked overwhelmingly grand.
Aethron unconsciously swallowed.
"This place is really… on another level," he muttered.
In truth, Aethron's family's financial situation normally wouldn't be enough for him to attend a school like this.
However, he had graduated from middle school with extraordinarily high grades. On top of that, someone he didn't know had written a special recommendation letter for him.
Because of these two factors, he had been accepted into Zenith College.
Although Aethron wanted to find out who had written the letter, the school administration refused to reveal any information.
They only said, "It's confidential."
Realizing that there was currently no way to learn the truth, Aethron decided to let it go for now.
There was no point in dwelling on it.
He took a deep breath and focused ahead.
Countless students were entering through the massive school gate. Some walked in on foot, while others stepped out of luxury cars and calmly made their way onto campus.
Sports cars, tinted-window limousines, chauffeur-driven vehicles…
They stopped one after another in front of the school.
Watching this scene, Aethron felt as if he had entered a completely different world.
There was one thing Aethron didn't notice.
Many students around him—especially the girls—were blushing as they looked at him and whispering among themselves.
Some excitedly tugged at their friends' sleeves, others secretly tried to take photos, while some simply watched from afar with admiration.
"So handsome…"
"This can't be real…"
"Is he really a student?"
Such whispers floated through the air.
Yet, Aethron was completely unaware of all of it.
Aethron walked toward the entrance and handed his student card to the security staff to enter the school courtyard.
There were three security guards at the gate.
All three froze for a brief moment as they looked at Aethron.
Even though they were normally only attracted to women, they couldn't help but feel affected when they saw him.
A short silence followed.
The guard quickly regained his composure, trying not to show anything. With a professional expression, he checked Aethron's student ID.
After a few seconds, he handed it back.
"You may enter," he said.
Aethron nodded in thanks and walked into the campus.
Aethron boarded the campus shuttle bus.
Although it was called a "bus," he felt that term was almost insulting. It could carry only about thirty passengers, yet every seat gave off a luxurious VIP lounge atmosphere. There was enough space to stretch his legs comfortably.
With soft leather seats, personal screens, and a quietly running air-conditioning system, it felt almost like a private jet.
By the time Aethron got on, the shuttle was already more than half full.
He glanced around briefly.
Then, he quietly chose the most isolated seat and sat down.
He didn't want to draw attention in the crowd.
However, the "isolated" spot Aethron had chosen quickly lost its loneliness.
Suddenly, he heard a male voice beside him.
"Hello, may I sit here?"
His voice sounded polite and gentle. But his actions told a different story.
Before Aethron could even respond, the boy had already plopped himself down in the seat next to him.
Aethron looked at him in surprise.
The boy was about 1.55 meters tall, slightly shorter than average for his age. He was quite overweight—almost chubby to the extreme. He had black hair and brown eyes.
The wide smile on his face made him look much more friendly than his size suggested.
"Uh… sure," Aethron murmured, not quite knowing what to say.
The chubby boy turned to Aethron with a friendly smile and introduced himself.
"Hi," he said cheerfully.
"My name is Darian Honest. My family owns a chain of five-star hotels."
He spoke proudly, slightly puffing out his chest.
Then he looked at Aethron with curious eyes.
"So, what's your name?"
There was sincere excitement in his voice.
It was clear that he was eager to make a new friend.
Aethron spoke with a gentle and sincere smile.
His smile was so natural and charming that Darian felt momentarily mesmerized.
"My name is Aethron Marlow," he said calmly.
"My family isn't as wealthy as yours. At best, we're probably just slightly above average."
There was neither embarrassment nor pride in his voice.
Only honesty.
That attitude made Darian like him even more.
Because of his family's upbringing, Darian normally never befriended people he considered "below" him financially.
Most of the time, he looked down on them and kept his distance.
But Aethron was different.
He was so handsome that he naturally drew attention without trying. More than that, he carried a strange "aura of contrast" around him.
He was both humble and confident.
Both simple and dazzling.
This contradiction confused Darian.
For the first time, he felt that the person in front of him wasn't "below" him—on the contrary, he felt superior.
In that shuttle bus, it was Darian who suddenly felt small.
Darian suddenly became excited and started talking rapidly.
"That's incredible!" he said, his eyes shining.
"So you managed to study here without being rich? That means either your grades were extremely high… or you received a recommendation letter from someone very important."
His tone was filled with admiration.
Normally, if Aethron had been someone else, Darian would have looked down on such qualifications.
He would have simply said, "You don't belong here," and moved on.
But the more he looked at Aethron, the more he felt forced to admit that Aethron was superior to him.
Instead of making him uncomfortable, this feeling strangely impressed him even more.
Even though they had known each other for only a few minutes, Aethron had already made Darian admire him.
Aethron and Darian were about to continue their conversation when someone suddenly boarded the shuttle.
Almost all the male students froze the moment they saw the girl enter. It felt as if their hearts were about to jump out of their chests.
Even Darian stood there with his mouth slightly open for a moment.
The only person who didn't react was, as usual, the dense Aethron.
The girl's bright crimson hair flowed down her shoulders. Her shining violet eyes seemed to pierce straight into one's soul. Her facial features were so perfect that she looked like a goddess.
She was about 1.72 meters tall—only a few centimeters shorter than Aethron.
With her cold and distant aura, she resembled an ice-cold goddess.
The atmosphere inside the shuttle completely changed the moment she arrived.
The beautiful girl scanned the inside of the shuttle with a cold expression.
She was looking for a place to sit.
As her gaze slowly moved across the seats, a handsome young man with silver hair and blue eyes, sitting alone at the front, suddenly spoke up.
"Lilveth! You can sit here, my seat is empty!"
The excitement in his voice was impossible to hide. It was obvious that he knew her.
However, Lilveth didn't show the slightest bit of interest.
She walked right past him without hesitation.
As she passed by, she murmured coldly,
"Useless insect…"
Her words instantly drained the color from the silver-haired boy's face.
Everyone on the shuttle watched the scene in complete silence.
Lilveth continued scanning the inside of the shuttle.
Her gaze moved across the seats—until it stopped on Aethron.
Her violet eyes widened slightly.
Her breath halted for a brief, almost unnoticeable moment.
Her heart felt as if it were about to stop.
These were emotions Lilveth had never expected to feel.
Before she could even understand what was happening, a whisper slipped from her lips.
"So handsome…"
Her voice was so quiet that no one else could hear it.
And strangely enough, she liked the feeling.
Without hesitating, she quickly walked toward Aethron's seat.
She shot a cold, hateful glance at Darian, who was sitting beside him.
Then she spoke in a sharp voice.
"Get up. You're sitting in my seat, you little pig."
Darian wanted to respond to the insult.
He was about to open his mouth and say something.
But he was both affected by Lilveth's overwhelming beauty and overwhelmed by his instincts, which screamed only one thing at him:
Lower your head and obey.
Otherwise, something very unpleasant would happen.
That warning echoed in his mind like an alarm.
In the end, Darian clenched his teeth and stood up from his seat, trembling.
His head was slightly lowered.
As for Aethron, he had no intention of getting involved in this situation.
After all, he had only known Darian for a few minutes. There was no reason to anger a girl who looked powerful and dangerous for his sake.
So, he chose to remain silent.
However, it seemed that Lilveth's humiliation was not over yet.
She shot Darian another cold glance and spoke in a commanding tone.
"First, clean the place your greasy butt touched. I don't want my clothes getting dirty because of you."
Her words were sharp like blades.
Darian's face turned bright red from embarrassment. His eyes filled with tears as he lowered his head even more.
Silently, he opened his bag and took out an expensive-brand wet wipe.
With trembling hands, he began wiping the seat.
The shuttle fell into a deathly silence.
Watching this scene, Aethron felt a tight pain in his chest.
He felt sorry for Darian.
But at the same time, seeing him submit so easily didn't sit right with him.
"He could've stood up for himself…" Aethron thought.
He couldn't help feeling that part of what Darian was going through was caused by his own weakness.
Darian quickly finished wiping the seat.
With his head lowered, he moved to the very back of the shuttle so that no one would have to see his face anymore.
He sat there quietly.
Meanwhile, Lilveth wasted no time and sat down next to Aethron.
As if she deliberately wanted more physical contact, her body lightly brushed against his.
The distance between them was almost nonexistent.
A faint violet scent reached Aethron's nose.
Unconsciously, he turned his head slightly and glanced at Lilveth.
At that moment, he noticed a strange expression on her face.
It was like that of a small child who had finally obtained something she really wanted.
The shuttle finally started moving and headed toward the main school building at full speed.
Not a single word was exchanged between Aethron and Lilveth.
Yet, strangely enough, even this silence seemed to satisfy Lilveth greatly.
Aethron was gazing out the window.
He was lost in the passing buildings and trees.
Meanwhile, Lilveth secretly glanced at him, trying not to be noticed.
She gently bit her lip.
Her cheeks flushed red.
Her heart was beating uncontrollably fast.
On the other hand, the silver-haired boy who had invited Lilveth earlier clenched his fists tightly.
He stared at Aethron with hatred in his eyes.
For a brief moment, his eyes flashed blood-red.
But it lasted only a second before returning to normal.
Aethron, meanwhile, was trying to avoid trouble.
Yet it seemed that trouble was slowly coming straight toward him.
Unfortunately, our dense Aethron had no idea about any of it.