Austin's car was moving at a moderate speed. However, who would have thought he'd only circled the campus area and parked back in his original parking spot. Emma blinked repeatedly. It felt like waking up from a short dream. "What the hell? Is he joking?" Emma thought, staring outside the car.

"Don't grumble in my car," Austin said quietly, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"How did he know?" she thought. Emma glanced to the side. The grown man wasn't looking at her at all, as if indifferent to her presence.

Austin stared straight ahead as he said, "Get out of my car! Do you want your friends to further misunderstand our closeness?"

"No!" Emma replied loudly.

Austin smiled. The girl beside him was truly unique. Every move she made him feel the need to patiently hold back his emotions.

"So, why are you so quiet?" Austin now turned his gaze to Emma.

"Okay. Sorry." Emma immediately opened the car door and got out, then slammed it shut with a loud bang.

Austin let out a long sigh. "I don't care," he said, ignoring Emma's attitude.

Emma was now walking down the street toward the economics faculty building. Every eye was on her as if she were a star, commanding the attention of everyone around her.

"Who is that woman? She's so bold to cause trouble with Mr. Austin," said one of the male students from the medical faculty.

"She looks like she's from the economics faculty. But she's pretty, too," added another male student.

"Watch your eyes!" Jason said coldly, suddenly standing behind the two male students. He couldn't stand the thought of anyone being attracted to Emma's beauty.

The two male students immediately fell silent. They were afraid to see Jason's rather intimidating face. The other students were also watching. Jason resumed his steps and followed behind Emma. He wanted to make sure she arrived safely, even though he didn't greet her and only observed her from a distance.

After making sure Emma was in her classroom, he returned to the medical school building. Emma was already in her classroom. She had just sat down when a message came in from Jason.

“What really happened between you and Austin?” Jason’s message.

Emma sighed softly, then her fingers moved across her phone screen to reply to Jason’s message. “I’m not in a relationship with him. He was just bullying me because I asked for leniency on the assignment he gave me,” Emma replied.

Not long after, another message arrived from Jason. “Don’t get too close to him. I’m jealous."

Emma stared at her phone screen for a long time. She felt something strange. “Why wasn’t I happy when Jason said he was jealous when I was close to another guy? Do I really have no feelings for him?” she thought. She ignored the message and didn’t want to reply. She simply put her phone on the table and chose to chat with her friends.

***

That afternoon, Emma drove her car. Before arriving home, she stopped at a supermarket. She wanted to buy some basic necessities, as she had run out of groceries at home.

After parking her car, Emma immediately went inside. She grabbed a few items she needed. Before she knew it, her cart was already full. "Oh my, I bought a lot of stuff," she said quietly. She then went to the cashier.

Emma took everything out of her cart. The cashier calculated the total price. "The total is $1,053," said the clerk.

Emma immediately took out her wallet. Her eyes widened when she saw that there was only $700 in it. "Oh my God! Very embarrassing. I left my debit card at home," she thought, confused.

"Sorry. Can I have less?" Emma was so embarrassed. There were still many people waiting in line behind her.

"I'm sorry. No way," the cashier said sternly. Emma was at a loss for how to pay the difference. The people behind her were looking at her impatiently.

"Use this." Suddenly, someone handed a debit card to the cashier.

"Mr. Austin?" Emma was surprised to see her professor suddenly beside her. "Why are you here?"

Austin ignored Emma's question. He was busy typing his card password to pay for Emma's purchases. Afterward, the cashier handed him a receipt. "Here's your card. Thank you."

Austin took the card and left. Emma carried her shopping bags and immediately followed him.

"Mr. Austin, wait!" Emma tried to catch up with Austin, carrying quite a lot of groceries.

Austin stopped walking and looked back. "Why?"

Emma stopped too, then set her groceries on the floor and pulled her wallet out of her bag. "I can only pay you this much. I'll give you the rest tomorrow. Thanks for helping me."

"You just pay tomorrow. Who knows, you might need the money later. Don't be so careless next time," Austin grumbled. He then left Emma.

"Thanks." Emma smiled as Austin left. "He's annoying, but he has a soft heart." She picked up her groceries and exited the supermarket.

Once in the parking lot, Emma put them in the trunk. Then, she got into her car and started the engine. "What happened? Why won't it start?" Emma kept trying, but the engine still wouldn't start.

Austin's car, which was passing Emma's, immediately stopped. He rolled down his window. "Why?"

"My car won't start," Emma replied, relieved to see Austin.

Austin sighed. "You're really bothering me. Let's get in my car!"

"But," Emma said, still confused about her car.

"Hurry up! There are lots of cars waiting out back!" Austin ordered. Emma immediately got out of the car, took her groceries from the trunk, and then got into Austin's car.

"So what about my car?" Emma asked once she was in Austin's car.

"Let's get out of the parking lot first. After that, I'll call my regular mechanic," Austin replied, focusing his gaze ahead.

"Thank you. Just drop me off in front. I'll call an online taxi," Emma said, looking at Austin.

"No need. I'll take you home." Austin glanced sideways, making Emma look away.

Elsewhere, Jason smiled the entire way. He couldn't wait to see Emma. His days had become brighter since she arrived. He was also excited to write his thesis so he could graduate on time and finish his studies. After that, he planned to marry Emma.

"I wonder what it would be like to get married while studying? It sounds fun. I'd definitely be more enthusiastic. If I wait until I get a job, it'll be a long time. Especially since medical school takes a long time. If I don't marry her soon, what if someone else takes her?" Jason grumbled to himself as he drove.

"Okay, enough. I'm overthinking things. Now I have to think about how to make Emma fall in love with me so she can't take her eyes off me." Jason grinned to himself like a maniac. Falling in love can really make people lose their minds.

The atmosphere in Austin's car was awkward. Neither he nor Emma spoke. Austin seemed focused on driving with his usual cold expression, while Emma kept stealing glances at her lecturer.

"Why are you so quiet?" Austin suddenly spoke.

"What?" Emma looked to his side. "So, what should I say?"

"Show me the way to your house! Am I a fortune teller who can tell where your house is?" Austin replied without the slightest smile.

"You're so curt," Emma growled inwardly.

"Just go straight. At the intersection, turn right. Then, before the intersection, there's that alley," Emma replied quickly. Austin remained silent, not responding to her. "Do you understand?"

"Am I so stupid that I don't understand what you're saying?" Austin replied with a straight face.

"Annoying! Curt! Arrogant!" Emma continued cursing inwardly. Austin remained silent despite hearing her.

Soon, Austin's car arrived in front of Emma's house. Emma immediately got out of the car and took her groceries from the back seat. Just then, Jason's car pulled up behind Austin's.