Zhu Zhuqing passed through the academy's side gate and returned to the dormitory area. As she rounded a bend in the stairs, she spotted someone leaning against the wall at the end of the corridor.
Dai Mubai.
His arms were folded across his chest, his back rested against the wall, and one foot was braced against its base. He looked as though he had been waiting for a while.
Hearing footsteps, he turned his head. His gaze settled on Zhu Zhuqing, a lazy curve tugging at his lips. "You're back?"
Zhu Zhuqing neither stopped nor looked at him. She skirted around him along the other side of the corridor as though she had heard nothing.
Dai Mubai straightened and strode in front of her in two steps, blocking her path. "Don't be in such a hurry to leave. I heard you went to see the vice dean? Quite resourceful, aren't you?"
Zhu Zhuqing stopped and raised her eyes to him without saying a word.
Dai Mubai leaned half a step closer and looked down at her. "You probably don't know this, but when I first enrolled, I was punished with copying the academy rules a hundred times. I nearly wrote my hand off, but after I finished, I noticed something."
"There's a very interesting rule about normal interactions between students. Its wording is pretty vague.
"Besides, you're still my fiancée. There don't seem to be many people at the academy willing to take this matter seriously."
His words sounded like a reminder that going to anyone for help was useless, because the rules themselves had loopholes.
He tilted his head. "So, when you went to see the vice dean, did he stand up for you? Or did he think this wasn't his concern either?"
Zhu Zhuqing listened quietly until he