I pondered the matter and drew a blank. I had no idea what could've happened. "What's wrong?"

Dwane gnashed his teeth. "It's all because you refused to let us help you. Luca spread rumors about you being an asshole who wanted to steal his girlfriend after trying and failing to cause trouble for you, right? Now, even the administrators are aware of this. Ms. Logan wants to see you!"

I shrugged. "Ms. Logan is pretty nice. I should be fine as long as I tell her the truth."

Dwane gave me a look that told me he thought I was too naive. "Did you forget about how she was interested in you when classes first started? You turned her down because of Stacy. She's going to have a field day mocking you now."

Another dormmate, Sullivan Harris, said, "We're getting off-topic, guys. What actually happened was that we heard about Luca pulling some strings and trying to get you punished."

Our univers

Running into Stacy on the way to Aurora Building had affected my mood. And so, when Hazel Logan saw me, she thought the rumors were true. She thought I'd really gone up against Luca for Stacy's sake.

"Come in, Xavier." She gave me a stern look.

Hazel was a beautiful woman with elegance and poise; she also had a great figure. She'd just graduated from her master's and was currently doing her Ph.D. During a meeting after the semester had started, she'd asked to exchange numbers and later told me bluntly that she was interested in me.

She'd even said that even though she was six years older than me, she wasn't any worse than the young women my age. In fact, she could provide me with more than they could.

At the time, I'd been wholly dedicated to Stacy, so I'd turned her down in no uncertain terms. Now, seeing her again, I realized I still wasn't attracted to her.

Stacy had broken my he

After the debacle at Mrs. Whitfield Senior's birthday celebration, Stacy's reputation had thoroughly soured within the upper crust. What I needed to do now was to make things worse for her.

Part of the upper crust was aware of the mess she'd gotten herself into, but no one in our university was aware. There was also the incident of Luca coming to cause trouble for me while framing me on the forum for being an asshole.

I'd be a pushover if I didn't get back at him for that. I wanted Luca to know that he'd offended someone he couldn't afford to!

The person managing the university's forum was a junior. His name was Sean Jones, and he was a genius. He would later achieve success in the field of public relations. Celebrities with all sorts of scandals or bad publicity would end up as A-listers because of his methods.

I sought him out, partly because I wanted him to help me get back at Luca and Stacy. More importantly, I wanted to take him under my wing so I could tap into his full potential.

I was at a cafe and seated at a table by the window when I saw Sean. I waved at him and greeted, "Hi, Sean."

He hurried over to me. "Did you need anything from me, Xavier?"

He sat down, looking reserved. He didn't seem to dare to look at me.

I raised an eyebrow. "I do, actually. Would you like to have a coffee?"

I knew for a fact that Sean would become a renowned public relations officer in the future. He could change any celebrity's destiny… yet he looked so cowardly now.

I wasn't looking down on him or anything, but anyone who could achieve success in their field would have a unique demeanor and charisma. These would affect their futures in their fields.

If a public relations officer were to seem as reserved and awkward as Sean currently was, no one would have faith in their abilities.

Sean smiled awkwardly at me. "I, uh, I don't like coffee."

He suddenly retracted the hands he'd placed on the table. That was when I noticed that he seemed to have chilblains on them.

Could one get chilblains when the weather was hot? Still, it was evident he didn't want me to see them. So, I acted like I hadn't noticed anything.

"I wanted to ask you for a favor." I handed him an envelope.

He opened it to see Luca's photos inside. The latter had been photographed with different women each time. I watched Sean closely and noticed his pupils constricting when he saw the first photo. He frowned and asked, "What are these for?"

Before I could say anything, he shot to his feet and said righteously, "I'm sorry, but taking photos of people without their consent is against the law. There's no way I'll break the law with you."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Wait!" I stopped him. "The world isn't just black and white, Sean. The law is the bottom line, but there are many things that it doesn't cover. Morals and ethics are the ones that govern these matters.

"Certain people are unethical and immoral. Why should we allow them to get away with the things they've done and continue to harm more people?"

I figured that most people would agree with me upon hearing that. I could tell Sean needed money. The chilblains on his hands were proof. Unfortunately, something went wrong somewhere. Sean didn't agree to help me. He remained where he was as I said my piece. Once I was done, he strode off.

I leaned back in my seat and took a sip of my coffee. How interesting it was to see such a righteous person refuse to seek justice for others.

There could only be one explanation for someone who was struggling to stay afloat and refusing to grab hold of a life buoy—someone else mattered more to them than their survival. And it was precisely this person who was keeping Sean from sticking to his principles.

I looked at the women in the photos. Who was the one holding Sean back?

I had someone investigate Sean. At the same time, I had my subordinates post anonymously on the forum. The post was titled, "Luca Hodge and His Girlfriends".

This was only the beginning. Later, I would release the news about Stacy's pregnancy. I wondered whether Luca would be expelled then.

I returned to the dormitory in a good mood, where my dormmates were waiting for me. Our dorm leader, Dwane McNeil, became agitated when he saw me.

"You're finally back, Xavier! Something bad has happened!"

I pondered the matter and drew a blank. I had no idea what could've happened. "What's wrong?"

Dwane gnashed his teeth. "It's all because you refused to let us help you. Luca spread rumors about you being an asshole who wanted to steal his girlfriend after trying and failing to cause trouble for you, right? Now, even the administrators are aware of this. Ms. Logan wants to see you!"

I shrugged. "Ms. Logan is pretty nice. I should be fine as long as I tell her the truth."

Dwane gave me a look that told me he thought I was too naive. "Did you forget about how she was interested in you when classes first started? You turned her down because of Stacy. She's going to have a field day mocking you now."

Another dormmate, Sullivan Harris, said, "We're getting off-topic, guys. What actually happened was that we heard about Luca pulling some strings and trying to get you punished."

Our university was one of the best in the city, and they viewed punishments seriously. Not only would the punis

Chapter 11