Chapter 3

A long silence settled between us.

I kept my head down, saying nothing, my peripheral vision catching a speck of dried mud on Logan’s sneakers.

"I just feel... guilty. Like I broke Chloe’s trust."

I had always been the odd one out in my friend group.

I hated socializing; my only real obsession was studying.

My mom had gritted her teeth and made a decision completely contrary to my lazy nature.

She had shipped me off to join the brutal ranks of competitive exam preppers.

Before I left.

She had clapped my shoulder, giving me earnest instructions: "Sweetheart!"

"It doesn't matter if you don't get into the top master's program! Just bag a guy from this elite university and you'll bring honor to the family name!"

"And be careful out there. Don't let anyone play with your feelings."

Much to my mom's disappointment...

Once I entered grind mode, I studied furiously, and my module scores shot up like crazy.

I left all my slacking peers in the dust.

In just three months, I climbed from a mediocre mock-exam rank straight to the top tier.

That one afternoon, I had been frowning over a brutal practice problem.

My phone screen lit up with messages from him.

A string of voice notes, breaking down the problem's logic with infinite patience and clarity.

Finally, a line of text popped onto the screen:

I'll bring you a packet of specialized review notes tomorrow.

Total silence in the room.

That text had been Harper’s idea—she had pushed me to send the original question.

She claimed that if you want to know if a guy likes you, you just have to test the waters.

I thought she was full of it.

If her radar were that sharp, the messy breakups and makeups between her and her ex could have spanned an eighty-episode drama.

Logan's prompt reply felt blinding.

I couldn't hide the fact that I was using him as a study buddy anymore.

Before me, plenty of girls had pretended they were studying just to camp out near him in the lounge.

Not only did they derail his focus, but they also bragged loudly: The campus genius? Just a little snack to spice up my study sessions.

Thanks to those girls, the road had already been blown to pieces before I even got here.

Logan looked down at our chat log and let out a soft, sudden chuckle.

The laugh felt oddly out of place in the quiet courtyard below the dorms.

"Maya."

"Do you want to get into the graduate program here?"

I jerked my head up in shock.

Our university had a widely known secret.

A few years ago, the department’s most prestigious professor had publicly stated:

Logan was the most gifted student he had ever seen. His direct fast-track into the PhD program was set in stone.

For all these years, let alone a girlfriend, Logan hadn't let a single girl get close to him.

This was the very first time he had ever volunteered to tutor anyone.

The area below the dorm sank into a dead silence.

A student passing by murmured, "You clearly know..."

Logan lowered his eyes, pocketing his phone.

"Prep exams are a personal journey."

"If being around me makes you this jittery, then perhaps I'm in the way."

Finally, he looked back at me.

"Your foundation is solid. With my guidance, your chances of getting in are much higher."

"Of course, if I ever become a distraction, it simply means my methods were flawed and my discipline lacked. It has nothing to do with anyone else."

Back then, Logan was the one who had volunteered to tutor me.

For so many days and nights, he had taught me meticulously, holding nothing back.

I knew he was only doing it because Chloe asked him to.

Yet, I had developed dirty, selfish feelings for him.

I kept my head down, not daring to look at him.

Logan’s voice turned very quiet. "Tell me... did you, even for a second, see that person in me?"

I shook my head.

I saw Logan as a beacon on my academic grind, a brilliant mind up in the clouds.

If I had known from the start that he was Chloe's babysitter, I wouldn't have dared cross the line.

I looked up again.

Logan wore a simple white t-shirt, looking fresh and poised.

Just like the day we met.

A strange sense of relief washed over me.

Right.

Logan was just Chloe’s cousin.

My tone firmed up, half answering him, half reminding myself.

"A senior is just a senior."

With the knot untangled, I cheerfully darted off to study.

I didn't notice the silhouette behind me, standing frozen in place for a very long time.