Gwenda paused, watching Olivier speak to Mr. Smith, who then left. When the dean departed, Olivier approached Gwenda with a grin. Before he could speak, however, Gwenda cut him off sharply. "Mr. Petit, my lecture is about to begin." Without giving him a chance to respond, she turned and led Hattie toward the classrooms.

Abandoned, Olivier watched Gwenda's grumpy figure stalk away in stunned disbelief before bursting into laughter. His eyes twinkling with amusement, he lazily followed toward the classrooms.

"Goodness, is she mad at me because I left without saying goodbye?" he thought gleefully. It was time to reel in his catch.

At the elevators, Gwenda was sullen and clearly in a bad mood. Hattie, beside her, watched warily before asking worriedly, "What's wrong, Gwenda?" This was the first time she'd seen Gwenda so angry since starting work.

"Nothing," Gwenda replied coldly.

"You know the man from earlier?"

"I don't!"

"But there was something off about the way he looked at you."

Hearing Gwenda's answer, Hattie suspected the truth. Dropping her concern, she asked inquisitively, "You really don't know him?"

Gwenda gritted her teeth. "What's with all the questions?"

"Well, it doesn't matter if you know him or not, we'll be seeing him again soon," Hattie said slowly, grinning.

Gwenda frowned. "What?"

"There, look." Hattie pointed at the posters on the elevator doors.

Gwenda looked and gasped sharply upon seeing the content. "He's the keynote speaker for today's lecture?"

"Yeah, didn't you read the information sent earlier?"

Gwenda was speechless. How on earth could she have found time to read it with her busy schedule?

"I'm so screwed. How can I possibly sit through this lecture now?" Gwenda thought in despair.

After a moment, Gwenda said tentatively, "Why don't we leave now?"

The elevator doors opened immediately. Hattie sighed and pulled Gwenda inside. "Gwenda, this lecture has required credits. You can't skip it; it will affect your graduation."

"But"

"There's no 'but'!" Hattie became assertive. She didn't want a university dropout for a boss, so she forcibly pulled Gwenda into the elevator before she could run.

Inside, Gwenda lifelessly watched the flashing floor numbers. When they reached their floor, she glumly followed Hattie into the classroom, which had few empty seats. Perhaps Olivier's popularity accounted for the packed room.

Gwenda and Hattie could only sit in the corner. Fortunately, the podium was far away. Relieved that Olivier wouldn't see her, Gwenda thought, "I'll just slip away after taking attendance."

As she thought this, the noisy classroom fell silent. A tall figure entered, strode confidently to the podium, and stopped before the blackboard. Gwenda heard the girls around her gasp in unison.

"No way he's that handsome!" "Thank the stars I came half an hour early! Olivier Petit is so my type!" "He's definitely my type too! I wonder if we can get his contact information after class?"

Hearing their excited whispers, Gwenda frowned and grumbled, "Are they for real?"