(Volume 2) Chapter 51: Shadows in the Hallway

The bright, warm rays of the Monday morning sun streamed through the glass windows of Leo’s studio apartment, painting the floorboards in golden light. Leo blinked his eyes open, stretching his tall body out across his twin mattress before sitting up with a relaxed sigh. He looked out the window, watching the busy city traffic move down the streets below. After the incredibly fun and chaotic weekend holiday down at the golden beach, returning to the normal routine of campus life felt a bit surreal. He got dressed in a comfortable pair of casual pants and a loose shirt, grabbed his dark backpack, and headed out the door.

He stepped out of the main apartment complex gates, starting his morning walk down the sunlit public sidewalk.

SLAM!

Before he could even finish taking a deep breath of the morning air, two heavy weights suddenly violently crashed straight into his broad back.

"Leo~! You absolute legend!" Soren screamed comically, throwing his arm around Leo's neck.

Gideon lunged from the other side, aggressively shaking Leo's shoulder with a look of pure, tearful betrayal. "Don't you dare act cool, man! Tell us everything right now! How was your weekend holiday?!"

Leo let out a quiet rumble of laughter, easily balancing their weight as he kept walking. "It was good, guys. Really relaxed. Why are you both making such a huge fuss out here?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with us!" Soren cried out, his face melting into absolute, tearful frustration. "We know exactly what happened! You literally spent your entire weekend down at the ocean front with five of the most attractive women on the campus! You got to see all of them walking around in beautiful bikinis, and you didn't even ask your best friends to come along with you! You completely betrayed the brotherhood, Leo!"

Leo stopped dead in his tracks, his dark eyes blinking in total surprise. "Wait... how do you two even know about the beach trip? I didn't tell anyone."

"Stella told us!" Gideon blurted out, crossing his arms comically. "We ran into her last night, and she was practically bragging to everyone about how much fun she had teasing you on the sand!"

Leo let out a long, grounded sigh, rolling his dark eyes toward the sky as his usual annoyance rushed back. That annoying Stella... he thought to himself, shaking his head. How on earth does she manage to spread information across the entire city so quickly? She is a human megaphone.

He offered his friends a relaxed, reassuring grin, patting their shoulders. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry, guys. I promise I will invite you both the next time we plan an outdoor trip. For now, let's keep moving or we are going to be completely late for the morning attendance."

"Fine... but you're buying us cheap sandwiches at lunch!" Soren muttered as the three of them hurried down the remaining avenue toward the university entrance.

.....

They reached the grand central plaza of the university a few minutes later. The courtyard was packed with students rushing toward their buildings. Right near the main lobby doors, Professor Genevieve was standing with her clipboard tucked under her arm, her beautiful face twisted into a look of absolute, authoritative annoyance as she strictly scolded a group of rowdy students for making too much noise in the hallway.

"Leo! Good morning!"

A cheerful shout cut through the crowd as Chloe and Stella came jogging across the pavement together. Chloe’s crimson eyes carried a warm, deeply happy glow as she smoothly walked up to his side, her face painting itself in a light pink blush. "Good morning, Leo! Did you get proper rest after the long trip?"

"Good morning, Leo!" Stella chimed in playfully, waving her hand with her usual carefree, goofy grin.

"Good morning," Leo offered a relaxed, warm smile, greeting them back casually.

Standing right behind him, Soren and Gideon let out matching, deeply annoyed sighs of pure jealousy. They glared at Leo’s back before turning on their heels. "Yeah, yeah. Good morning. We're heading to the computer labs before our brains melt from the sight of this luck. Bye, Leo!"

Leo chuckled, waving them off. But the exact microsecond his friends walked away, he noticed a sudden, drastic shift in the air.

He turned his head slightly, his dark eyes locking onto Stella’s face. She had completely stopped smiling. The cheerful, annoying mask she usually wore was entirely missing. Instead, she was staring fixedly down the long corridor walkway, where Professor Julia was calmly walking toward the faculty lounge, her stunning honey-caramel hair and striking curves catching the light. Stella’s green eyes were completely serious, sharp, and filled with a deep, silent anxiety that looked zero percent like her normal playful behavior.

Leo’s brow furrowed deeply, a heavy sense of curiosity filling his mind. What on earth is going on with her?

.....

A short while later, the morning lecture officially started. The vast tiered classroom was completely quiet as Professor Julia stood at the front, her velvety, sophisticated voice echoing smoothly through the room as she wrote notes across the main chalkboard.

Leo sat near the middle row, with Stella sitting right on the seat beside him. Nominally, Leo was supposed to be looking at the humanities graphs, but his dark eyes kept drifting sideways, carefully observing Stella's expressions. Throughout the entire hour, she hadn't spun her pen once. She hadn't whimpered, she hadn't tried to lean against his shoulder, and she hadn't dropped a single teasing remark. Every single time Professor Julia turned around to face the class, Stella’s entire body would subtly go rigid with a quiet, frozen fear.

Leo leaned his head closer to her side, his voice dropping into a low, gentle whisper so the other students wouldn't hear. "Hey. Stella."

Stella violently flinched, her emerald eyes snapping toward him in absolute shock as she was caught completely off guard. For a fraction of a second, her fingers trembled against her notebook before she desperately tried to force a small smile. "E-Eeh? What's wrong, Leo? Missing my voice already?"

Leo didn't smile back. He kept his dark eyes locked dead onto her pale face, his tone serious and grounded. "You've been completely silent for the last hour. Every time you are out in the halls, you are always so playful and annoying. But whenever Professor Julia enters the room, you get unusually serious and anxious. Do you know her personally?"

Stella’s breath caught sharply in her throat. A deep, heavy hesitation clouded her emerald eyes, and she tightly clutched her pen until her knuckles turned slightly white. She looked down at her messy notes, her voice dropping into a remarkably soft, forced tone that lacked all her usual energy. "No... no, I don't. I don't know her personally at all, Leo. You're just... you're just overthinking things."

She quickly turned her head back toward the chalkboard, completely cutting off the conversation. Leo sat back in his seat, his mind filled with a profound silence. She is lying, he thought with absolute certainty. The fear in her posture is entirely too real.

.....

By the time the afternoon lunch hour arrived, the chaotic campus energy had returned.

Leo sat at their large corner table inside the busy cafeteria, surrounded by the beautiful women of his circle. Nicole sat right opposite him, her short chestnut-golden bob bouncing as she traded a cute, blushing argument with Chloe over the weekend beach photos. Senior Cynthia sat right next to Leo, her amber eyes carrying a warm, disciplined glow as she elegantly poured him a fresh cup of tea, while Stella had forced her loud, cheerful mask back on to laugh at Chloe's frantic expressions. The conversation was incredibly wholesome, warm, and filled with genuine, lighthearted happiness.

Leo offered them a relaxed grin, setting his fork down and standing up from the floor cushions. "I'll be back in just a single bit. I need to wash up."

"Don't get lost, you giant dummy!" Nicole called out flusteredly, her face flushing pink as she looked away.

Leo walked out of the rowdy cafeteria building, moving down the quiet corridor leading toward the central men's facility. Entering the empty, tiled washroom block, he walked up to the sinks, turning on the tap to let the cool water run over his large hands. The quiet room was completely still, the splashing water the only sound bouncing off the walls.

"You certainly know how to build a very colorful circle of friends, Leo."

Leo froze completely, his entire body locking rigid as a sudden shockwave hit his brain. That voice... it was exceptionally sophisticated, velvety, and carried a cold, deeply knowing warmth that he recognized instantly.

He aggressively turned his head around, his dark eyes widening in absolute, profound shock.

Standing right inside the threshold of the room, having smoothly closed the heavy door behind her, was Professor Julia. The new faculty member looked exceptionally beautiful, her elite hourglass silhouette dressed in a form-fitting charcoal-grey business skirt suit that perfectly tracked her striking curves. Her warm honey-caramel hair was pinned up elegantly, and her piercing smoky-grey eyes carried a dark, dangerous spark as she stood blocking the only exit.

Leo swallowed a heavy lump in his throat, his posture tensing as he took a step back against the sink frame. "Professor... Julia? What the hell are you doing inside here? This is strictly the men's washroom."

Julia didn't offer a formal apology. Instead, a slow, subtle, and deeply mysterious smirk traced her mature lips. She took two quiet, deliberate steps forward, closing the physical distance effortlessly until her voluptuous frame was standing mere inches away from his tall body. She leaned her beautiful face forward, her smoky-grey eyes locking dead into his dark gaze as her breath caught right against his skin.

"The room don't concern me, Leo," Julia whispered smoothly, her voice laced with an intense, hidden intensity. "I've been following you for a very long time. It’s really, truly nice to finally meet you face-to-face."

Leo stared down at her close profile, his mind filled with confusion and anxiety.

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