Hailey smiled and said, "You'll find out when the time comes."

"Alright then, let's stop bothering Hailey."

"We should grab a bite."

With that, a few female students pulled Hailey away. Before long, the crowd of onlookers began to disperse.

Rebecca and Olivia stood frozen. Rebecca's anger surged, and she dug her nails into her palm. This was nothing like she had envisioned.

It was infuriating.

"Olivia, did I mess up again?" she asked.

"No, Rebecca, you didn't!" Olivia reassured her. "Just forget about it. Let's move on and leave this behind us."

"But Hailey doesn't want to be friends with me anymore."

"Even if she doesn't, you've still got me. I'll always be your best friend," Olivia replied.

Rebecca nodded. "Alright, let's get something to eat as well."

Just as Hailey was having lunch with a few of her classmates, a sudden stir spread through the crowd.

"Breaking news!"

"What is it? Tell us!"

"I just heard that Mr. Pilsner is coming to give a lecture!"

Jonah was on his way, and although it had been some time since he last visited Aspenfield University, given his prominence on campus, the news spread like wildfire.

Hailey fluttered her long eyelashes in surprise. Jonah hadn't said a word about this.

Why had he chosen today to return?

The students around her buzzed with excitement.

"Yay, Mr. Pilsner is back!"

"Mr. Pilsner is more than just a handsome face. He's also

exceptionally intelligent. The way he speaks at the podium is absolutely riveting!"

"Alright, stop daydreaming. Don't you remember? Mr. Pilsner already has a girlfriend!"

"Whoever she is, she's one lucky woman."

As Jonah's girlfriend, Hailey couldn't help but agree. She was indeed quite happy.

"Hailey, Mr. Pilsner's lecture is about to start. We should head in!"

Hailey clutched her design drafts. "I still have one more design to finish."

"That's

you can do it later. But

you can't miss Mr. Pilsner's class. If

you skip

it now you won't ass f

another shot

Vel

Soon enough, Hailey was ushered into the lecture hall by her classmates. As she hoped to stay under the radar, she made her way to the very last row.

While Jonah was the talk of Aspenfield University, Hailey had no interest in latching onto his fame.

Still, wasn't he supposed to be busy today?

He'd been swamped with work at the office for the past few days. So what made him suddenly decide to give a lecture here?

Just then, two familiar figures appeared. It was none other than Rebecca and Olivia.

Both of them took their places in the second-to-last row. As Hailey glanced up, she saw Rebecca staring right at her.

Rebecca felt like an ever-present shadow, impossible to shake off.

Hailey chuckled coldly and turned her head.

With Jonah's class right around the corner, the lecture hall quickly filled to capacity.

Everyone eagerly awaited his entrance.

Suddenly, a wave of excitement rippled through the crowd. "Look! Mr. Pilsner's here!"