This scumbag Leo Lee really plays his cards well. He can't have Elise Don, but he's unwilling to let anyone else have her either, completely blocking everyone's path.
Isn't this bullying, if not?
"You're truly despicable."
Elise Don was furious, raising her hand to slap him.
But given the significant difference in size between the two, Leo Lee raised his elbow easily intercepted Elise Don's hand, firmly holding it.
In the midst of this struggle, Leo Lee felt a certain heat, taking advantage of the situation to move closer, attempting to steal a kiss.
Just then—
"Ahem."
In the cool corridor, there came a deliberate cough, causing Leo Lee and Elise Don to turn around simultaneously.
The corridor and the terrace were only separated by a transparent glass door, marking the boundary between darkness and light.
People outside couldn't see inside, only two tall men emerged from the equipment room.
"Young man, don't go too far." An admonition from a teacher's tone.
Leo Lee eased up a bit, releasing Elise Don.
The teacher gave Leo Lee a stern look, saying nothing more, turning instead to his student.
"System's down. As for the elective courses, it'll have to be like this for this term. It'll be tough on you, Oliver Bloom."
The teacher patted Oliver Bloom's shoulder and left ahead.
Oliver Bloom stood in the corridor against the light, looking back at the two on the terrace, the three met eyes unexpectedly.
This scene was indeed beyond expectation.
Clearly, she was a victim, but Elise Don genuinely felt her face flush.
When she heard "Oliver Bloom", never in her wildest dreams did she expect to meet him here when he was supposed to be at the parking lot.
Even more unexpectedly, Leo Lee opened the door and walked into the corridor, casually greeting Oliver Bloom.
"Did Fatty Jun say he arranged dinner with you tonight, still at the old place?"
Oliver Bloom's gaze, only a glance of surprise at Elise Don, finally fell on Leo Lee's face.
"Not set yet. He said he'll wait until his girlfriend finishes school."
Leo Lee: "Fatty Jun is always so wishy-washy."
Their interaction was quite familiar, and they even mentioned Leo Lee's old buddy, Fatty Jun.
Doesn't that mean they are probably long-time friends?
And they both deliberately avoided mentioning Elise Don, walking shoulder-to-shoulder towards the staircase, showing a brotherly camaraderie.
Watching this, Elise Don's initial embarrassment and awkwardness suddenly turned to anger that couldn't be contained.
It turns out, Oliver Bloom is the scumbag's buddy, so he might as well be a scumbag too.
Once this thought was confirmed, it was like a fire in her mind, spreading rapidly, consuming all rationality.
Why can Leo Lee limit her life without any guilt?!
And why does Oliver Bloom witness her embarrassment time and again, yet remain cool and indifferent?!
Because they are friends, are even their wicked ways so similar?!
Elise Don grew up privileged, without any need to deliberately strive for what ordinary people find hard to attain, simply put, she could rely on her father.
However, when it comes to self-respect, her father can't help her; she has to rely on herself.
Her competitive spirit was thus awakened by Leo Lee and Oliver Bloom time and again.
Since Leo Lee won't let it go, and Oliver Bloom dares to treat her like air, Elise Don has no choice but to embrace the evil within, needing to make some earth-shattering moves to not lose face as a grand beauty.
...
As the sun set, Elise Don's first action upon returning to the dorm was to charge her phone.
Katherine Blue walked in right behind her, glanced at the table, and casually asked, "Got your phone back, huh?"
"Yes." Elise Don replied coldly, her eyes fixed on the computer screen, browsing the campus website.
Katherine Blue changed into a cool short-sleeved shirt and shorts, leaned against Elise Don's desk, looking all excited.
"Did you know the elective course system crashed today?"
"What's it to me?" Elise Don slowly moved the black mouse.
"What's it?!?" Katherine Blue's eyes sparkled, "All the girls on campus went crazy!"
"Oh."
Elise Don finally reached the Sports Academy's webpage, studying it seriously, the old-fashioned layout, an overwhelming amount of information, not even a single picture, making her a bit annoyed.
Seeing Elise Don's lack of response, Katherine Blue decided to drop some breaking news.
"The system crashed, so the sports elective courses need to be re-registered. I heard Oliver Bloom is on campus this semester, and many people took the chance to signed up for swimming classes!"
Elise Don's hand paused.
Sports electives were chosen at the end of last semester, unexpectedly, a situation erupted, causing a campus-wide scramble.
"You know who Oliver Bloom is, right?" Katherine Blue started explaining, "He's a professional athlete, ranked top ten in the world..."
"I heard the swimming class is overflowing with people this semester, Coach Ray might not be able to handle it, Oliver Bloom is going to be his assistant..."
"…Do you think I'm lucky? Just happened to grab a spot."
Katherine Blue's excitement today stemmed from this.
Elise Don looked at the Sports Academy webpage, Katherine Blue's voice continued beside her, she remained silent, vaguely recalling the incident at the equipment room entrance that afternoon.
Coach Ray is known for being strict with sports classes at school, Elise Don knew this, so what he said to Oliver Bloom, probably referred to the elective courses.
"Hey, speaking of," Katherine Blue poked Elise Don's hand, "what about your elective courses, did you re-register?"
Elise Don shook her head, she was completely taken up by the scumbag today, so mad she lost her mind, unaware of this matter.
Katherine Blue: "I remember you signed up for aerobics before... Well, as long as it's not swimming, you should be able to sign up."
Katherine Blue went off happily with her basin to take a shower, leaving the dual occupancy room quiet.
Elise Don's fingertips lightly moved, clicking open the swimming team's latest news release—
"Congratulations to Oliver Bloom from our school for winning one gold and one bronze"
A long article, with only one post-competition photo of Oliver Bloom.
The deep blue waves reached just below his collarbone, exposing his shoulders, arms gripping the pool's edge, muscles knotted and rippling, his goggles pushed up, eagle eyes water-draped, directly staring at the distant scoreboard.
Elise Don finally saw Oliver Bloom's full appearance.
Or rather, it was those eyes that gave her further insight into this person.
His focused gaze exuded a subtle pressure, containing a secret emotion.
He wasn't looking at the score, but confirming the score.
Confirming if the event, this competition, proceeded according to his expectations.
This was a deeply hidden sense of control.
Elise Don leaned back, wrapping her arms around her chest, curious about what would happen if such a man were given the green hat treatment, handed to the domineering Leo Lee.