MIRA
No. I wasn't going to let things go so easily anymore like I always did before.
I had finally started a new life after coming to China, and I refused to remain that quiet version of myself-the girl who stayed silent back in India in front of everyone. School friends, college classmates, people from every corner of society... I had spent years swallowing my words just to avoid conflict.
But not anymore.
This time, I would fight for myself.
Why did it always have to be me apologizing first? I had apologized enough in my life. For once, I wanted the apology.
Especially from the tall man standing in front of me-the same man who had managed to embarrass me ever since the moment I stepped foot in China.
I saw the two of them standing quietly in the hallway, as if Aunt Shu-Zhen was waiting for Yuze to finally say a single word.
Sorry.
But Yuze only kept staring at me the entire time with that same straight expression of his. Honestly, I could never understand this man.
The silence stretched painfully between us.
I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow at him.
His stares kind of scared me every time. He had this way of looking at people that made it impossible for me to hold eye contact for more than five seconds. His eyes were like violent sea waves during a storm-cold, restless, and impossible to predict.
So I looked away again.
Forget it. I would make him apologize someday-with a proper plan.
Right now, sleep feels far more important.
And more than that, the sight of that poor woman standing there, still hoping the situation would somehow improve, only made me feel worse.
"Aunty, I don't need any apologies," I said at last, breaking the silence. "And moreover, he doesn't even look sorry..."
I looked at him again.
Did he just roll his eyes?
"If being honest for someone's well-being requires apologizing..." he finally said, his tone calm as ever, "then maybe try being a little more sensible."
Before I could even react, he turned and walked toward the door.
The audacity of this man-
But just before leaving, he looked back at Aunt Shu-Zhen.
"Come downstairs and get some rest," he said. "Don't waste your energy apologizing on behalf of me for a sin I didn't even commit."
Then his eyes shifted toward me again.
And for a brief second, I caught something in them.
...Disgust?
That stare of his sent chills down my spine.
I already knew how stubborn that man could be, and how his ego always seemed to stand taller than he did.
Aunt Shu-Zhen let out a guilty sigh and shut her eyes tightly for a moment before looking back at me.
"I'm really sorry, Mira," she said, bowing once again. "Please don't misunderstand him. He's not usually like this, but... ugh, I don't even know anymore. I'm honestly embarrassed."
She stepped closer and gently held my hand.
"I'll make him understand, so please... don't misunderstand him."
Misunderstand?
I frowned slightly.
What exactly was I supposed to misunderstand here?
The man had done nothing but criticize me ever since I arrived in China. Every conversation with him somehow ended with me feeling either embarrassed, irritated, or completely stupid.
And somehow I was the one misunderstanding him?
I looked toward the still-open door where he had disappeared moments ago.
That cold expression.
That look in his eyes.
That tone.
Everything about him felt like a warning sign wrapped inside human skin.
So why did everyone keep insisting there was something else underneath it?
_____________
That night, I didn't continue the conversation any further.
Some arguments simply become too exhausting to carry on, especially when only one side seems willing to understand.
But what stayed with me the most wasn't Yuze's cold words or that unsettling look in his eyes.
It was Aunt Shu-Zhen.
The sight of her pale face, standing there apologizing over and over on behalf of her son, only filled me with a deeper resentment toward him. No mother should have to lower herself like that because of someone else's pride.
And somehow, by the end of it all, it became me apologizing again-
apologizing to her for making her feel sorry.
That night, I couldn't sleep either.
I kept staring at the ceiling, wondering how I was supposed to change anything when my life already felt like the same exhausting cycle repeating itself over and over again.
Maybe this was just another version of the hell I had tried so desperately to leave behind.
The next morning, I got ready as usual and headed toward the university campus.
I didn't see Grumpy Goggles.
Not Aunt Shu-Zhen either.
And honestly, I tried my best not to even glance toward the bakery downstairs.
I decided to keep my landlord's words in mind this time-seriously.
To stay out of each other's way.
Because at the end of the day, facing that man would only create more problems for me anyway.
So I made a decision.
I would ignore him completely.
"HEEEYYYYY!!!! MIRA, COME HERE!" she shouted, suddenly springing up from her seat.
Every single head in the classroom turned toward me.
Wonderful.
I forced out an awkward smile and waved nervously, already taking one careful step backward toward the door.
An-An narrowed her eyes immediately.
"Oh no," she pointed at me accusingly, "don't you dare run away from me."
"I wasn't running away," I lied smoothly.
"You ignored my call."
"I did not ignore it."
"You put your phone on silent."
"...That information was not supposed to be discovered."
She gasped dramatically before marching toward me through the rows of desks like an angry detective finally catching the criminal.
Meanwhile, I was still calculating my survival chances.
Not good.
Very not good.
Before I could even attempt another excuse, she grabbed my wrist.
"Caught you," she declared proudly.
A few students nearby started laughing while I covered my face in embarrassment.
"Please," I muttered, "not so loudly this early in the morning."
"No," she replied instantly. "I stayed awake waiting for your call like a heartbroken girlfriend in a drama."
"That sounds like a personal problem."
"That sounds like betrayal."
I let out a tired sigh. "Yesterday was complicated."
An-An paused for a moment.
Her playful expression softened slightly as she looked at me properly for the first time that morning.
"...Wait," she said more quietly now. "You actually look exhausted."
I blinked.
And somehow, after last night, those words alone nearly made me want to collapse onto the nearest chair.
I dropped my bag onto the chair beside hers and let out a long breath.
"You have no idea," I muttered.
Xian An immediately pulled me down to sit beside her, her curiosity now fully awake.
"What happened?" she asked, lowering her voice dramatically. "Wait-no. Let me guess. Was it the tall demon downstairs again?"
I stared at her.
"How do you always know?"
"Because your face literally changes whenever that man is involved."
I leaned back in my chair and covered my eyes for a second.
"I swear he exists only to ruin my peace."
"Oh my God," An-An gasped, already invested. "Tell me everything."
And somehow, despite deciding the entire morning that I would ignore Yuze completely, I found myself explaining the whole situation from the top beginning of my China tales.
My first interaction with that monster.
The café.
The arguments.
His stupid attitude.
His even more stupid face.
Xian An listened with full concentration the entire time, occasionally looking horrified, amused, or personally offended on my behalf.
Then, after a long silence, she slowly said,
"...Okay, wait."
"What?"
"I think he likes you."
I nearly choked on air.
"What kind of psychological damage led you to that conclusion?"
"I'm serious!" she whispered loudly. "Men are weird. Especially the quiet ones."
"He looked at me like I committed tax fraud."
"That's still eye contact."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"You are genuinely useless."
"And you," she said proudly, "are in denial."
" If only I tell you about everything as per I know about that man and the people in this University knows about him you are going to question yourself" She said in one breath with sparkling eyes towards me.
Before I could argue back, the classroom door suddenly slid open.
And the moment I looked up-
My smile disappeared.
Because standing near the entrance, speaking to the professor casually like he owned the entire university-
was Yuze.
What was he even doing in the finance department?
Wasn't he supposed to be in the architecture department?
And out of all the people in this entire university... why did it have to be him?
As those thoughts ran wildly through my head, I could already feel my expression falling apart beyond my control.
Meanwhile, the girls around the classroom had completely lost focus.
Whispers spread from one corner to another the moment Yuze stepped inside.
"Oh my God..."
"He's seriously so handsome."
"Is he a senior?"
"Yes, and he's from the architecture department."
"That face is actually insane..."
I nearly rolled my eyes hearing all of it.
Breath-taking?
Sure.
If cold arrogance and emotional damage counted as attractive, then yes, absolutely breathtaking.
None of them knew how unbelievably rotten that man was from the inside.
Xian An leaned closer to me, clearly entertained by my expression.
"...Your eyes are twitching."
"Because Satan entered the classroom."
She bit back a laugh.
Unfortunately for me, at that exact moment, Yuze turned his head slightly.
And his eyes landed directly on me.
Oh no.
The moment his eyes landed on me, I reacted instantly.
I snapped my head away and stared straight out of the window like it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the entire universe.
Yes. The sky. Very important. Very urgent. Very distracting.
Definitely not a 6-foot-tall problem standing inside the classroom.
Behind me, I could feel the atmosphere shift again-the whispers, the attention, the awareness that something had just happened between us.
I kept my face completely still, refusing to turn back.
Nope.
Not doing this today.
Not in front of everyone.
Especially not him.
Beside me, Xian An leaned in again, her voice barely contained excitement.
"...Did he just look at you?"
"No," I said immediately.
"That was very fast denial."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You literally turned away like you saw a ghost."
"I enjoy windows," I replied flatly.
Xian An made a sound like she was holding back laugh.
I could feel my heart beating a little too loudly in my ears, and I refused to acknowledge it.
After a few seconds, I slowly risked a glance back.
Just slightly.
Carefully.
The classroom felt the same-gossiping voices, shifting attention, Xian An still beside me-
But the front...
He wasn't there anymore.
My brows pulled together slightly.
I looked again, more properly this time.
The professor was speaking like normal, students were settling, and the space near the entrance where he had been standing-
was empty.
Gone.
Just like that.
I froze for a second, almost unsure if I had imagined it.
"...Huh?" I muttered under my breath.
Xian An leaned in immediately. "What? What happened?"
"...He's gone," I said slowly.
She blinked. "Who?.....OH"
I looked back toward the door again, just to confirm.
Nothing.
No presence. No tall figure. No annoying calm expression.
Just an ordinary classroom again.
And for some reason I couldn't explain-
that should have felt like relief.
But it didn't completely.
"Let's have lunch together today. I'm going to tell you something really interesting," An-An whispered into my ear.
I didn't know what to say at first, but thinking about our conversation earlier in class... I felt a little too eager to hear whatever she was about to reveal.
"...Fine," I said slowly. "But it better actually be interesting."
She grinned like she had already won something.
"Oh, trust me. It is."
---
The rest of the classes passed in a blur.
I tried to focus-tried being that "new version of me" I had decided on last night-but somehow my thoughts kept slipping back to everything at once.
The café.
Aunt Shu-Zhen's apology.
His expression.
And that strange moment in class when he looked at me... and then just left.
No explanation. No confrontation. Nothing.
Like I didn't even matter enough to stay in the same space.
I hated that thought more than I should have.
The final lecture ended with the professor closing his notes and the usual rustle of chairs filling the room.
I packed my bag slowly, still thinking about everything that had happened since morning-like my mind refused to settle on a single thought.
Before I could even properly stand up, An-An suddenly grabbed my wrist.
"Come on," she said.
I blinked. "Where?"
"You said yes already. Lunch."
"I said yes to lunch, not kidnapping."
She ignored me completely and practically dragged me out of the classroom.
The hallway outside was louder, filled with students heading toward the cafeteria in waves. I tried to keep up with her pace, but she was unusually determined today-like she had a deadline to meet.
"An-An," I said suspiciously, "why are you acting like this?"
"Like what?"
"Like you're hiding something."
She glanced at me over her shoulder and smiled innocently.
"I always act like this."
"That is not reassuring."
We reached the cafeteria area, and instead of going to the usual crowded tables, she pulled me toward a quieter corner near the window seats.
"Sit," she ordered.
"...Excuse me?"
"Sit."
I narrowed my eyes but obeyed anyway, dropping my bag beside the chair.
She sat opposite me, leaning forward slightly, elbows on the table, watching me like she was about to start a performance.
That alone made me nervous.
"Okay," I said slowly, leaning in as well. "What is going on? You're acting way too dramatic for just lunch."
Her smile widened just a little.
"Am I?"
"Yes."
She tilted her head.
"Then maybe..." she said lightly, "it's because what I'm about to tell you isn't just 'lunch talk.'"
I straightened slightly, interest immediately sparking in me.
"...Alright," I said, voice lowering. "Tell me."
Her fingers tapped once against the table.
And for a brief second, she didn't speak-like she was choosing her words carefully.
Then she looked straight at me and said-
"Once upon a time, I had a huge crush on this guy of yours," she said.
For a second, I didn't even react.
My brain just... refused to process it.
Then I slowly blinked.
"...Huh?" I let out, very intelligently.
An-An watched me like she was waiting for exactly this reaction, resting her chin on her hand.
I frowned slightly. "My... guy?"
She nodded once, like it was obvious.
And that was when it finally hit me.
My eyes widened a little before I could stop.
"Wait-what do you mean 'your guy' ?" I asked, voice rising slightly. "Since when do I have a 'guy'?"
An-An tilted her head, completely unbothered.
"Since you started getting irritated every time he breathes in your direction."
"That is not-"
But I stopped mid-sentence.
Because I suddenly realized how that sounded.
And for the first time in a while...
I had no immediate comeback.
And somehow I wanted to know more.
Thank you Moonies for always supporting my novel.
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