If the situation weren't so inappropriate, Elaine would have applauded Lydia right then and there.

It was unbelievable—how did Lydia manage to win over someone like Reign, this untouchable giant? Though they weren’t from the same department, anyone with some seniority at the university knew that Prof. Hawke, the most rigid and distant professor at the Institute of Life Science, was, in matters of the heart, a hopeless romantic who’d only ever waited for his one true love—the "first love" who was overseas. Despite years of pressure from his family to marry, he refused to date anyone, all in the hopes of reuniting with her.

For Lydia to have gotten him, that was no small feat. Elaine couldn’t help but feel impressed, though that feeling quickly turned to worry when she saw the cold, indifferent look Reign gave Lydia. There was no sign of affection, not even a flicker of interest—only a faint trace of impatience.

It was just like how he had rejected countless women who had confessed to him over the years.

“Prof. Jow,” Reign nodded politely at Elaine, then turned to leave. As he passed her, his eyes briefly landed on the jeans in her hand, and a sneer tugged at his lips. The look in his eyes was clear: Really?

Elaine’s head spun.

As soon as Reign left, she locked the door and rushed toward Lydia, grabbing her by the neck in frustration. “Lydia! Have you lost your mind? Are you enchanted by Prof. Hawke’s looks? I warned you, don’t get involved with him! You can’t handle him.”

Elaine was angry, worried, and frustrated for Lydia all at once. “Look at you—you’re half-dressed, and he’s still indifferent! He may act like a gentleman, but don’t be fooled—he’s a scumbag. You have no idea how many women he’s hurt in private. And no matter how much you’re worried about your uncle’s illness, you cannot go after him!”

Lydia struggled to breathe under Elaine’s grip, finally managing to slap her hand off her neck before gasping for air.

Elaine, finally calming down, sighed deeply. “I shouldn’t have told you that Pruetol was developed by Prof. Hawke’s team. I shouldn’t have told you that 80% of Hawke BioPharma’s patents are in his name. If I hadn’t said anything, you wouldn’t have ended up in this embarrassing situation with him.”

After a long pause, she added with a sigh, “Well, it’s just the two of us who know about this. I won’t tell anyone, and I don’t think Prof. Hawke would either, so you can just pretend this never happened. Don’t feel guilty.”

Lydia had already changed into the new jeans and, after hearing Elaine ramble on, suddenly spoke without warning. “Reign has already given me the medicine once.”

Elaine’s eyes widened. “Wait, you mean… you and Prof. Hawke, you two…”

She opened her mouth but couldn't finish the sentence.

Lydia calmly finished it for her, “We slept together. After that, he tried to brush me off, so I asked him for Pruetol.”

“So, you were planning to ask him for Pruetol again just now?” Elaine asked, disbelief written across her face.

“Yep.”

Elaine couldn’t help but feel that Lydia was being a little too optimistic. She didn’t believe that Reign would suddenly develop feelings for Lydia. They hadn’t known each other long enough, and Lydia had no idea just how cold and ruthless Reign could be when it came to cutting someone off. She also didn’t realize how deep his feelings for his first love were.

“Anyway,” Elaine said, though her heart was heavy with worry, “I’ll figure something out for you with Pruetol. There are other ways to get it. You don’t have to tie yourself to Prof. Hawke. There’s always a way around things.”

Her words were calm, but inside, Elaine was deeply concerned.

Elaine had heard this story from someone a while ago. Years ago, the Hawke family had arranged a marriage for Reign. The two met, and the woman seemed quite pleased with him. However, somehow, news of this engagement reached his first love overseas, and she congratulated him over the phone. After that, Reign broke off the engagement with the woman.

Apparently, the woman wasn’t willing to let go and tried to make a scene several times, which only irritated Reign. Soon after, her family’s business began to collapse, and the engagement was called off. The woman was from a wealthy family, so it was a high-profile affair. But Lydia, with no power or wealth, had no idea how easily Reign could push her aside, especially if he was already emotionally involved with someone else.

Elaine couldn’t bear to see her best friend end up hurt.

On Lydia’s side, what started as a small attempt to tease Reign and keep him interested for a night, quickly turned into an unexpected situation—she truly didn’t have the time.

Vera had slipped in the hospital cafeteria and broken her leg, needing surgery that very day. Lydia had no choice but to juggle two hospital wards, looking after both Harris and Vera. She was exhausted and had no energy to think about Reign.

By the time she finally found a nurse to take over for a bit, half a month had passed.

The moment she returned home, she sent the first message to Reign: "Prof. Hawke, I’m free tonight."

Confidently, she pressed send, only to be shocked when a glaring red exclamation mark appeared in the chat box.

Reign had blocked her.

Lydia was frantic. Harris's medication was almost gone, and now Reign was completely cutting ties with her. She didn’t know what to do. Lying in bed, she cried for hours, her pillow soaked with tears.

But by evening, she had to pull herself together. She used foundation to cover the dark circles under her eyes and forced herself to head out for a photography job. That evening, she had a shoot at the birthday party of a rich second-generation heiress. Her studio was hired to take pictures of the birthday girl and her friends having a good time.

Elaine came to pick her up, and the moment she saw Lydia’s swollen eyes, she was taken aback. “Prof. Hawke dumped you already? I told you it wouldn’t last between you two. He’s just too difficult to handle. Even you couldn’t keep him.”

Lydia shot her a look and retorted, “It has nothing to do with Reign. It’s my family’s situation.”

Elaine, of course, was aware of Harris’s poor health, which was why she had suggested that Lydia find a way to get help from Reign. Originally, she had meant to suggest that Lydia ask Jayden to intervene on her behalf. But Lydia, bold as ever, had bypassed Jayden entirely and gone straight to Reign.

Not wanting to upset Lydia further, Elaine quickly changed the subject. “Just focus on your work tonight. I’ve got nothing to do, so I’ll tag along as your sidekick and see what high society is all about.”

Lydia nodded silently.

She sat quietly for a while, then suddenly asked, “Why do you think I can’t handle Reign? Is it because he has someone in his heart?”

Elaine, concentrating on driving, didn’t respond right away.

After a brief pause, Lydia added to herself, “But I heard that his first love is getting married to someone else.”

Elaine glanced at her and, with a knowing smile, said, “So what? As long as Prof. Hawke likes her, that’s all that matters. Don’t tell anyone, but I overheard him talking on the phone once. He said he wouldn’t let her marry anyone else.”

Lydia was taken aback. She didn’t expect Reign to be that obsessive and possessive. She was left processing this new information, then couldn’t help but sigh, “I wish I could make Reign think about me like that.”

She felt a pang of jealousy toward his first love. If only she could make Reign as devoted to her as he was to her, then she wouldn’t have to worry about begging him for a few boxes of medicine.

Lydia had given him everything—her first time and then some—but in return, she was blocked, discarded like an afterthought. And yet, this jerk was still hopelessly devoted to another woman, making her feel completely insignificant.

She sighed again, deeply disappointed.

By the time they arrived at the birthday party, Lydia’s mood only worsened when she ran into some familiar faces.