Chapter 33: He Is So Handsome

Crystal stood up, but when she tried to pass Nathan, he blocked her way. She gave him a dirty look and said, “Professor Davis, would you please make way for me?”

Nathan immediately slid out of the way, but as she took her first step, she tripped on his foot and sat on Nathan’s leg. Crystal was wearing a thin skirt, so when she landed on Nathan, she could feel the heat of his body through the delicate material. She felt his hot breath on her neck when he opened his mouth; when he said, “You’re getting good at this.”

Crystal, of course, understood the words’ dual meaning, but she was not in the mood to have a fierce battle of the tongue with him in front of her classmates, mainly because some of them - especially the girls - thought that she had fallen on his leg on purpose.

Crystal sprang to her feet, and Nathan stood up to stand beside her. He looked at her and said, “Sorry. As a gentleman, I should have stood up first.”

Finally, Nathan sat back down, and Crystal walked to the podium. She relieved Frank, and he left his notes for her to read from. Then, after glancing at his notes, Crystal picked up the chalk and drew a k-line pattern on the blackboard to represent the market, starting with the basic pattern and moving on to the various technical patterns. She was calm, professional, and clear-thinking.

Then, as she finished a deep technical form, she went to the right side of the blackboard and stood on her toes to draw an icon in the top right corner. Unfortunately, it was too high for her to reach, even when she stood on the tips of her toes. She was about to give up when Nathan came up behind her. Crystal’s back stiffened when she sensed his presence. Crystal was afraid, but she didn’t dare to move. Luckily, she wasn’t good at dealing with what she viewed to be ambiguous behavior.

That being said, it wasn’t until Nathan pressed against her and reached out to help her draw the icon that she allowed herself to breathe. Then, as he stepped away from her, she turned and hurried back to her seat.

As Nathan began teaching, Serenity whispered to Crystal: “The two of you look perfect together!”

Crystal: “But we are a tragedy.”

Serenity: “Come on. It isn’t that bad.” Serenity noticed that a group of girls was giggling and watching a man outside the window. “Look who’s out there!” one of them said.

“He is so handsome.”

Crystal and Serenity looked out the window and saw that a strange man was looking at them. Serenity looked at the man. Indeed, he was a handsome man. He had curly bangs, a straight nose, and he was wearing a long white suit. “I recognize him from somewhere,” Serenity whispered, “but I can’t place where.” She thought about it for a moment, and then she realized where she had seen him!

Serenity quickly covered her face with her book, and when Crystal saw that, she leaned over and whispered, “What’s the matter with you? We’re still in class. What are you doing?”

Serenity: “Shh...”

Crystal: “Are you all right?”

Serenity: “Leave me alone. Tell me when the man is gone.”

Crystal looked out of the window. The man was gone, so she said, “The coast is clear. He’s gone.”

Serenity checked to see if the man was really gone, and then she set her book on the desk. Crystal twirled her pen skillfully and said, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Who was that?”

“It’s a small world,” Serenity replied, not answering the question. “How did he find me?”

Crystal set her pen under Serenity’s chin and used it to lift her head. “It’s obvious that you know who he is,” she said. “Spill the beans.” Serenity: “He’s the handsome guy I met last time.”

Crystal rolled her eyes and asked, “Which time?” but before Serenity could answer, Crystal realized that she thought she knew who the man was. “Is he who I think he is?”

Serenity nodded her head and said, “He is.”

Crystal put her hands on her face and said, “Is he here for you? If so, your ass is grass!”

Tears began to well up in Serenity’s eyes, and she said, “Don’t I know it...?”

Crystal thought for a moment, and then she said, “Wait a minute, you apologized to him, didn’t you? It’s okay. Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s forgiven you. Maybe he just happened to be passing by. Did you see how he looked? He must not be a student. I think he’s here to sell insurance or credit cards or something.”

Serenity thought about how she had dislocated the man’s shoulder. Later, when she realized that she had hit the wrong person, she panicked and fled. “No,” she admitted. “I didn’t apologize. I ran away.”

It had been months since that happened. Serenity had no idea that the man was so narrow-minded. If she’d known, she might have forced herself to go back and apologize. She wondered if the man had a grudge against her and was coming after her.

Crystal gasped. “What? You ran away without saying sorry?” Crystal suddenly realized that her voice was getting loud, so she adjusted it and whispered, “you are too timid.”

Serenity: “I was caught between two men. Would I have survived if I had stayed there? By the way, did he see me?”

Crystal: “I don’t think so. How could he have seen you with your head behind a book?”

Serenity: “Phew! As long as he doesn’t see me, I can go into hiding until he moves on. Of course, I cannot go with you to get your phone tonight. I’m sorry, but I am afraid of being ambushed. You should ask Frank to go with you.”

Crystal: “Why are you so afraid of him? Is he a monster?”

Serenity: “I’m afraid he’ll pick on me. If he asks me to pay for my medical expenses, where would I get the money?”

Crystal: “I will take care of that, but you owe him an apology.”

Serenity: “No. I would rather just avoid him.” Crystal shrugged and said, “It’s your funeral.”

Sure enough, as soon as the class was over, Serenity went straight to the dormitory without looking back. Considering the fact that she was a taekwondo master, Crystal could not believe how timid she was.

Crystal thought about asking Frank to go with her to pick up her phone. In the end, though, she decided to go by herself. After all, the shop was only a ten-minute walk from the school. She selected some songs on the phone Nathan had given her, put on her headphones, and listened as she went.