Allie stepped out of the dorm building with coffee in one hand and her laptop bag slung across her shoulder, determined to start the day without thinking about last night's noodle shop or the way Lin Xuan had unexpectedly softened around midnight.
It had been…strange.
The Ice Prince laughing quietly over a bowl of noodles wasn't an image that matched the version of him everyone whispered about.
But the moment she crossed the courtyard, reality came rushing back.
Two girls sitting on a stone bench stopped talking.
A group of students near the fountain glanced at her and quickly looked away.
Allie sighed.
"Great," she muttered under her breath.
The rumors had apparently evolved overnight.
Now she wasn't just the girl who arrived with Lin Xuan.
She was the girl studying privately with him.
Which, judging from the looks she was getting, was apparently even worse.
She walked faster toward the engineering building.
Maybe if she stayed busy long enough, the whispers would fade.
Or at least become background noise.
Unfortunately, the universe had other plans.
"Allie!"
She turned.
Lu Feng jogged toward her across the courtyard, basketball tucked under his arm and a grin bright enough to power the entire city grid.
"Morning, Chicago."
"Morning," she said. "Why do I feel like everyone on campus is staring at me?"
Feng laughed.
"Because they are."
"That's not comforting."
"It's impressive."
"Impressive?"
"You went from anonymous exchange student to campus headline in forty-eight hours."
Allie groaned.
"I hate this school."
"You'll get used to it."
They walked together toward the engineering building.
"Well," Feng added casually, "being seen leaving the noodle shop behind campus with Lin Xuan at midnight didn't exactly help."
Allie stopped walking.
"…what?"
Feng blinked.
"You didn't know?"
"No!"
"Ah."
"Feng."
"Yes?"
"Explain."
He scratched the back of his neck.
"Someone saw you two."
"And?"
"And posted about it."
Allie buried her face in her hands.
"Oh, my god."
"It wasn't that bad."
"What did they say?"
Feng pulled out his phone and read dramatically.
"Ice Prince spotted eating late-night noodles with a mysterious American girl."
She groaned louder.
"This is a disaster."
"Relax," Feng said cheerfully.
"At least they didn't say you cried in the nurse's office."
"That is not helping."
They entered the engineering building.
The whispers immediately doubled.
Allie could practically feel the eyes tracking her movements across the hallway.
"Okay," she whispered.
"I'm going to hide in class until society forgets I exist."
"That might take a few weeks."
She glared at him.
"You're enjoying this way too much."
"Maybe."
Before she could respond—
A familiar voice cut through the hallway.
"Miss Reed."
Both of them turned.
Dean Liang stood near the stairwell, hands clasped behind his back.
Allie straightened immediately.
"Good morning, Dean."
"I trust you are adjusting to the academic environment."
"Yes, sir."
"Good."
His gaze shifted to Lu Feng.
"Mr. Lu."
"Morning, Dean."
Then the dean looked back at Allie.
"I've spoken to Mr. Lin regarding your academic support arrangement."
Allie felt her stomach tighten.
"Oh."
"Your professors have expressed optimism about your placement here."
"That's…good."
"Yes."
The dean nodded once.
"Mr. Lin will ensure that optimism is justified."
Which was apparently academic language for don't embarrass us.
Then the dean walked away.
Feng exhaled.
"Well."
"That felt threatening."
"Welcome to elite universities."
Allie rubbed her temples.
"I need coffee."
"You already have coffee."
"I need stronger coffee."
By the time she reached the Quantitative Analysis lecture hall, the room was already half full.
And Lin Xuan was already there.
Of course he was.
He sat in the same seat as yesterday— center row, perfectly positioned to see the board.
Laptop open.
Notes organized.
Expression unreadable.
Allie hesitated at the top of the stairs.
This is going to be awkward.
But she forced herself to walk down.
When she reached the row beside him, he didn't immediately look up.
"You are two minutes early today," he said calmly.
"That's an improvement."
Allie blinked.
"Wow."
"What?"
"You're complimenting me."
"I am acknowledging progress."
"Close enough."
She sat down.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then she said quietly,
"Apparently, the campus thinks we're secretly dating now."
Lin Xuan finally looked at her.
His expression remained completely neutral.
"That is incorrect."
"I know that."
"Then the rumor is irrelevant."
"You say that like people here operate on logic."
"They do not."
"Exactly."
Lin Xuan returned his attention to his laptop.
"Then ignore them."
"That's easy for you to say."
"It is."
"Why?"
"Because rumors about me occur constantly."
She paused.
"…fair point."
Before she could say anything else—
Lu Feng dropped into the seat behind them.
"So," he whispered dramatically.
"Power couple."
Allie groaned.
"Please stop."
Lin Xuan didn't turn around.
"Feng."
"Yes?"
You are distracting my student."
Feng grinned.
"Your student?"
Allie muttered,
"Don't start."
Feng leaned back in his chair.
"Relax, Ice Prince. I'm just observing the campus romance arc."
"There is no romance arc."
"Sure."
Professor Zhang entered the room.
The lecture began.
Equations filled the board.
Allie tried to focus.
Really tried.
But the formulas moved too quickly.
Mandarin technical terminology blurred together.
She felt the same sinking feeling she had yesterday.
Then..
Xuan noticed patterns.
It was the way his mind had always worked.
Patterns in data.
Patterns in code.
Patterns in people.
Most people believed human behavior was chaotic, emotional, and unpredictable.
They were wrong.
People followed patterns,s too.
And Lu Feng – of all people – was usually one of the easiest to predict.
This is why the change was immediately apparent.
Xuan was halfway through rewriting Professor Zhang's model in a more efficient notation when he noticed Allie's pen stop moving beside him.
Her notes had slowed.
Her shoulders stiffened slightly.
The same thing happened yesterday.
The technical Mandarin class was brutal, even for native speakers. For an exchange student, it was closer to academic warfare.
Xuan had considered writing a small clarification for her.
Not out of kindness.
Efficiency.
If she understood the material faster, tutoring sessions would be shorter.
But before he could slide his notebook across –
A small piece of paper appeared on Allie's desk.
Xuan's eyes shifted upward slightly.
Lu Feng.
Of course.
Allie blinked down at the paper.
Then her expression brightened with relief.
She began writing again.
Xuan's pen paused.
Interesting.
He didn't turn around.
Instead, he watched through the faint reflection in his laptop screen.
Feng leaned forward in his seat behind them, speaking in a whisper.
Allie nodded.
Then scribbled down more notes.
Xuan returned to his screen.
But his thoughts had already moved somewhere else.
Feng rarely helped people academically.
Not because he wasn't capable – Feng was frighteningly intelligent when he bothered to apply himself.
But effort bored him.
He preferred basketball courts, art exhibitions, and flirting his way through social events.
Which meant something about this situation had captured his attention.
Xuan continued typing.
Yet his mind began running silent calculations.
Feng had walked Allie to the study session yesterday.
Feng had waited for her outside the dorm.
And now—
He was helping with her lecture notes.
Consistently.
Xuan finally spoke without turning around.
"Feng."
The whispering behind him stopped.
"Yes?"
"Your explanation is incorrect."
Allie froze slightly.
Feng leaned forward.
"Oh?"
Xuan continued typing.
"The professor is describing a cultural resistance coefficient, not a structural one."
There was a pause.
Then Feng chuckled softly.
"Well, look at that."
Allie looked between them."
"Wait…so which one is right?"
Xuan turned a page in his notebook and slid it toward her.
"Mine."
Feng laughed behind them.
"Of course it is."
Allie looked down at the notes.
"…Okay, yeah, that makes way more sense."
She began rewriting her page.
Feng leaned back in his chair.
"Well done, Professor Ice."
Xuan ignored him.
But the exchange had already confirmed his suspicion.
Feng wasn't just helping casually.
He was paying attention.
Too much attention.
The lecture continued.
Professor Zhang moved through equations with ruthless speed.
Allie struggled to keep up.
And every few minutes –
Another small note slid down from the seat behind them.
Sometimes Feng.
Sometimes Xuan.
The pattern continued quietly.
Until halfway through the lecture, when Allie whispered,
"Thank you."
She wasn't sure which of them she was thanking.
Xuan's pen paused again.
Feng answered first.
"No problem, Chicago."
The nickname rolled off Feng's tongue with effortless warmth.
Xuan didn't like the way it sounded.
Not because it was disrespectful.
But because Allie smiled.
A small one.
The kind people didn't fake.
Xuan returned to his notes.
Yet a strange tension settled in his chest.
Something subtle.
Unfamiliar.
Annoyance, he decided.
Yes.
Annoyance.
Feng had always been impulsive.
He collected interests the way other people collected shoes.
Music for one month.
Painting the next.
Basketball always.
And apparently now,
The American exchange student.
Which meant the pattern would fade soon enough.
It always did.
Still.
As the lecture ended and students began packing their bags, Xuan watched Feng casually leaning forward again.
"So, Chicago," Feng whispered.
"You free later?"
Allie blinked.
"For what?"
"There's an art market near the river tonight."
"That sounds fun, actually."
"You should come."
Xuan closed his laptop.
The sound was louder than necessary.
Both of them looked at him.
"Miss Reed," Xuan said calmly.
"You have a tutoring session with me at seven."
Allie blinked.
"Oh—right."
Feng smirked slightly.
"Busy schedule."
"Yes," Xuan replied flatly.
Feng stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Well then."
He looked down at Allie.
"Rain check, Chicago."
Then he turned and walked out of the lecture hall.
Allie watched him go.
Then he turned back towards Xuan.
"…he's nice."
Xuan stood.
"Yes."
"That sounded disapproving."
"It was an observation."
"What kind?"
Xuan picked up his notebook.
"The kind that suggests Lu Feng becomes bored easily."
Allie tilted her head.
"That didn't answer my question."
Xuan met her gaze briefly.
And for just a moment
Something sharp flickered behind his calm expression.
"Exactly," he said.
Then he walked toward the door.
Leaving Allie to follow.
And leaving behind a thought he hadn't quite solved yet.
Because if Lu Feng's attention towards Allie continued to follow this pattern,
Then the equation between the three of them was about to become significantly more complicated.