POV: {Aaliyah}
She found Chen Wei beneath the old ginkgo tree behind the East Pavilion—a place no one visited during exam week except the burdened. His phone was in hand, but he wasn't looking at it. Just watching the golden leaves fall like memories.
"I thought I'd find you here. Someone might think you go to school here with how often you're around," she said softly.
He didn't turn. "You were always too observant."
She stepped closer, gravel crunching beneath her flats. "You're angry."
"I'm past that," he muttered. "Tired. Tired of playing the gentleman while they tear her apart. Tired of waiting for justice that won't come—for someone like her."
"I know. But you can't bulldoze everything just because they slandered her. It's not just about Yichen anymore."
He turned, eyes dark. "Then what is it about? Appearances? Letting this circus continue while she drowns in it?"
She swallowed. "It's about doing the right thing... the right way. You proposed marriage, Wei. That wasn't just a move. That was personal."
"You think I don't know that?"
His voice cracked,just enough to let her see the man behind the mask. The one who paced at night. The one who read every rumor and memorized every insult.
"I care about her," he said, quieter now. "More than I should. I never meant to fall for someone who flinches when the world looks at her. But I did. And now… this."
"She doesn't flinch from weakness," Aaliyah said. "She flinches because she's been strong for too long."
He looked away. "I should've protected her better."
"Maybe. But throwing a ring at the problem won't fix it."
Silence lingered between them, heavy with unspoken things.
"What do you think Jian is doing?" he asked suddenly.
"I don't know. But it's confusing her too. She's trying not to expect anything, even though some of the pictures are his. Maybe he's trying to help. In his own way."
Chen Wei scoffed. "His way isn't good enough."
"No. But it might be all he has right now. Especially since seeing them together would only stir things up."
He said nothing.
She stepped beside him and laid a gentle hand on his arm.
"She's strong, Wei. But even strong girls need allies. Don't make her choose between protectors. Just be one."
He didn't move, but his jaw unclenched slightly.
"Thanks," he said at last. "For reminding me what she needs."
"Always."
And beneath the ginkgo tree, they stood in silence, steady,while the golden leaves drifted to the earth.
---
POV: {Li Yichen}
Her room felt colder than usual, though the window was shut. She curled deeper into the blanket, pretending the silence didn't gnaw at her.
Her phone buzzed beside the pillow. She didn't need to check. The name always brought warmth.
Aaliyah.
She picked it up.
"Yichen, are you okay?" The concern in her voice was soft, but real.
"I'm fine. Just tired of hearing lies."
"I know. That's why I want you to come stay with us for a bit. Just until it dies down."
Yichen hesitated.
But going would mean hiding.
Was she hiding?
"I appreciate it, Aaliyah," she said slowly. "But disappearing now will only make it worse. If I vanish… they'll think I'm guilty."
A pause.
"You don't have to carry this alone."
"I'm not. Not anymore."
Another pause.
"Is this about Professor Jing?"
She didn't reply right away. The silence stretched, taut and dangerous.
Then finally, "I think he's not who they think he is. He's trying to help. Just… from a distance. To protect me."
"I figured. The timing of his statement felt strategic—like a distraction."
Exactly. A calculated move to shift Genwai's attention.
And it worked.
But it made her feel even more alone.
She blinked quickly, forcing down tears.
"Yichen?"
"I'll think about it," she said. "Your offer. Thank you."
The call ended.
She stared at the screen for a beat, then reached for her jilbab.
She needed air.
Because if this was about more than rumors…
Then maybe the real game hadn't even started.
---
POV: {Jian Mazhir}
The room was too quiet.
Not calming—this silence was intrusive. Like the air itself was eavesdropping.
Jian Mazhir leaned back in his chair at the School of Business, staring at the ceiling. He hadn't moved in twenty minutes. The tea was cold. Emails unopened. Phone buzzing, facedown.
Her name. Again.
He exhaled slowly.
It wasn't supposed to go this far.
He closed his eyes, memories intruding—
Her voice, breathless after winning the Dean's scholarship.
Her hand trembling as she held her first accepted research paper.
Her fierce insistence on staying late, perfecting her group's pitch.
She was brilliant—not just smart. She rewrote questions.
And that was the problem.
Because Jian wasn't just her professor anymore.
Somewhere between her ambition and her pain...he'd fallen for her.
He hadn't meant to. He was always careful. Distant. Boundaried.
But Yichen made detachment impossible.
She never flirted. Never pushed.
Her resilience pulled him in. Her honesty kept him there.
Now?
Now she was being dragged through the mud—because of him.
And Chen Wei…
Jian's eyes flicked to the memo on his desk. Wei's name stamped across it.
Power. Money. No subtlety.
Proposing marriage in a boardroom? That wasn't love. That was control.
Still, Jian had remained silent. Because speaking up would detonate the entire thing.
"Professor Jian Mazhir... romantically involved with a student."
The press would devour it. The Board would destroy her.
So, he stayed quiet.
Stayed away.
It killed him.
Last week, he stood outside her dorm, hidden. She came out, hooded, pale. Their eyes didn't meet.
He wanted to call out...to tell her this was all a strategy. That the coldness was a shield. That the formal complaint he filed was a cover.
But she wouldn't understand.
Not yet.
He had sacrificed faculty alliances, his ethics post, delayed her hearing, removed her name from projects—just to buy her time.
None of it mattered if she thought he had abandoned her.
A knock broke his thoughts.
His assistant peeked in. "Sir, the press wants to know if you'll comment on the student case. They say you filed the disciplinary notice."
He turned calmly. "Tell them no comment."
"Yes, Professor."
The door shut.
Jian stared at her contact name on his phone.
Call her?
Would she answer?
He opened his notes app and typed:
" If I could explain without ruining everything, I would.
If I could protect you without hurting you, I would.
I don't regret caring for you, Yichen.
I only regret that caring means staying away."
He saved it.
Didn't send it.
Instead, he stood, gathered his coat, and walked into the night.
If he couldn't be her shelter in daylight…
He'd be her shadow in the dark.
---
As Jian stepped into the courtyard, wind tugging at his coat, something made him pause.
Across the stone path, beneath the arch of the East Faculty Hall—Chen Wei stood waiting.
No smoke. No swagger. Just stillness.
Their eyes met.
No words.
But the message was clear.
This wasn't silence.
It was a challenge.
A line drawn.
A war between two men.
Not for pride.
Not for control.
But for what it means to protect a woman—without ever possessing her.
And Jian knew…
This time,
he couldn't stay in the shadows.