"Are you sure I can stay here?" June whispered into Jia's ears, causing her to recoil and squeak in shock. The students in the room all turned to the two of them, causing Jia to throw them apologetic looks.
Their eyes lingered longer on June, silently asking who the newcomer was.
Jia merely smiled and scooted closer to June in hopes of covering him. However, it was no use. He was too colorful not to be noticed.
"If you wore a less eye-catching color, then maybe we can pull this off," Jia muttered under her breath.
June leaned closer to Jia, their noses almost touching. She let out a small gasp while he continued to look unfazed.
"What was that?" he whispered. "I didn't hear what you said."
Jia placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away.
"Nothing," she awkwardly chuckled. "Just stay put until the end of the class so you won't be noticed, okay? Then, we'll go and follow the girl right afterward."
June held out an okay sign with his fingers and sat back on his seat, relaxed.
June looked around the room and found himself marveling at the new, foreign environment.
It had been a while since he properly sat in a classroom.
Truth be told, he had never actually stepped foot in a university before. He had always thought of going but never got the chance to due to his tough life circumstances.
So, he wanted to enjoy it until the end.
However, June also didn't forget his main objective. Right after this class, he will confront the woman who has been stalking him for quite some time.
He continued looking around but didn't find a trace of her.
He then glanced at the wall clock and saw there were only a few minutes before Jia's class started. Maybe, she was running late.
"Are you sure she's in this class?" June asked, nudging Jia's shoulder once more.
The pretty girl turned to him, her cheeks almost a permanent shade of red.
June noticed that her cheeks had been red for a while. Was she sick but still helped him with his ridiculous mission?
June felt a bit guilty.
He definitely needed to make it up to her after all of this ended.
"She's already here," Jia said, overcoming her shyness.
June sat straight and looked around the room once more. There, in the corner, huddled like a little mouse, was the girl he had been looking for. If Jia hadn't pointed it out, then he would have never noticed her. From his view, she just looked like a very dirty mop.
Mr. Klin would definitely not approve of her.
"I know," Jia whispered, seeing the look on June's face. "I almost never notice her too. If you ask our classmates, then I believe they also wouldn't be able to recognize her."
"I should be more observant then," June said, disappointed that he couldn't see her right away.
However, he had no time to be disappointed once an old, wrinkly man came into the room.
For some reason, June felt himself getting nervous. He sank down into his seat, hoping that the old man's eyesight would prevent him from seeing June at all.
"Good afternoon, class," he greeted. "Pass your assignments."
June froze as Jia brought out her assignment and passed it to the person in front. He didn't even bother greeting them!
The others also quickly obeyed his instruction, making June feel like the old man was quite principled.
"What subject is this again?" June asked.
"It's Foreign Studies," Jia whispered back. "It's an elective I have to finish in order to graduate. However, I feel like it'll finish me instead," Jia joked.
June chuckled and nodded in understanding.
However, that small movement seemed to be a mistake since the old man's sharp eyes immediately caught it.
His eyes narrowed, and although June and Jia were sitting at the very back, he caught a glimpse of the weird-looking student trying to hide himself under the table.
"You there," he said, pointing his long stick to the very back.
"Oh no," Jia whispered, already dreading their interaction.
June pointed to himself, and the old man slowly nodded, building the tension in the room.
"Yes, you," the old man said, fixing his glasses. "I don't recall seeing you around here."
June found himself spacing out as the students all turned toward his way. The stale girl, too, turned toward him, and fortunately, it seemed like she couldn't really recognize him with his current get-up.
Jia also felt suffocated by the attention June was currently getting, so she closed her eyes and decided to take one for the team.
She stood from her seat, the chair scraping on the floor and making a loud noise.
"He's a visitor, Sir Park," Jia loudly exclaimed.
Sir Park raised his eyebrows in surprise as he found Jia, one of his top students, exclaiming so enthusiastically in his class. She was usually calm and only spoke when needed.
"A visitor?" Sir Park asked. "And who might this visitor be, Jia? I don't recall ever allowing non-enrollees in my class."
"I know, sir," Jia sighed, trying to come up with an excuse. "But my cousin just arrived from the airport and had no time to change, you see," she chuckled, gesturing to June's ridiculous outfit.
"You could have left him alone," Sir Park insisted. "Let him go. I don't have time to entertain non-enrollees in my class."
June was about to leave, not wanting to make a fuss. He could just stand outside their classroom and wait until Stale Girl came out.
However, Jia knew Stale Girl better. She was very hard to see.
Jia didn't want all of her and June's hard work to go down the drain, so she came up with another excuse.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir," she said in a resolute voice.
"My cousin…Carl," she said when she saw the Karl Marx book on her table, "is from another country, so he doesn't know how to speak our language."
June's eyes widened slightly.
"I can't let him go loose since he doesn't know his way around here."
"A foreigner? Carl, you say?" Sir Park wondered.
Jia nodded, glancing at June. "Yeah, he—he can only speak Eng
—"
June frantically shook her head, so Jia instantly knew not to finish her sentence.
"Ch–Chinese!" she said out of nervousness.
"My Cousin, Carl, who only knows how to speak Chinese, yes!" Jia awkwardly chuckled.
"You can't let him leave," she insisted.
"So, let me get this straight," Sir Park said, slowly pacing back and forth.
"Your cousin, Carl—which is a Western name, by the way, can only speak Chinese and no other language, so you brought him to our class instead of letting him wait for you in the student's lounge?" he clarified.
Jia pursed her lips, now realizing how ridiculous her story sounded.
"Yes?" she said, sounding unsure.
Sir Park paused for a moment, and it seemed like the world was going to burst into flames at any point.
However, a wide smile suddenly appeared on his face, making Jia confused.
"What a nice surprise, then!" Sir Park exclaimed. "My wife's Chinese, so I'm fluent in the language."
"So…why don't you engage with me in a conversation, Carl?" he smirked.
