The Professor|| Sylus

School and HIM

As they settled for the night, Mei dedicated herself to studying for this week's lectures, determined not to let anything slip through the cracks. The lingering weight of her past still hovered in the back of her mind, but she was slowly learning to navigate it, much like she imagined Sylus did with his own.

Monday came, and as she dressed in her school uniform, she noticed something was off—a small section of her polo shirt was cut. She frowned, inspecting the tiny tear. "Jeez...not my uniform," she muttered in frustration. "You could've at least spared that." She pouted slightly but quickly covered the damage with a sweater, hoping no one would notice.

When she got downstairs, Sylus was already gone, as usual. It wasn't surprising anymore—he always left early to clock in as a professor at the university.

As she prepared to leave for school, only to be met by the same familiar chauffeur from last time.

"Good morning, Miss," the chauffeur greeted with a polite smile. "Sylus has instructed me to always bring you to school from now on."

Mei blinked, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation. She felt like a child being chauffeured around, but after getting lost the last time she tried to navigate the complex on her own, she wasn't going to argue. "Alright," she agreed, sliding into the back seat, wondering if this was Sylus' way of making sure she was always safe—or just teasing her from afar.

As they arrived at the school entrance, Mei stepped out of the car and immediately caught the attention of her friends Ayako, Yuki, and Hana who were standing nearby.

Yuki's eyes widened in surprise. "Mei?! When did you start coming here with a car?"

Caught off guard, Mei looked at the three of them and quickly fumbled for an excuse. "O-oh, well, my family started a huge business, and I guess they're babying me now..." she stammered, trying to play it cool, but her voice wavered with uncertainty.

"Huge business?" Hana questioned, clearly intrigued.

Before Mei could dig herself into a deeper hole, Ayako swooped in to save her. "Come on, guys, we might be late!" she exclaimed, grabbing Mei's arm and pulling her away from the conversation.

"No fair!" Yuki called after them as they hurried off, but Ayako was already leading Mei toward their classroom.

Once they were safely seated, Mei let out a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Ayako."

Ayako smirked, casually pulling out her textbooks. "You should've ended that conversation with a better lie, at least. Something more specific."

Mei groaned, leaning on her desk. "It's hard! I don't lie casually to you guys."

Ayako chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, things are different now, Mei. You're hanging out with someone who has a lot of eyes on him, so a little quick thinking wouldn't hurt."

Mei bit her lip, feeling the truth in Ayako's words. She didn't like lying, especially to her friends, but her life had changed so drastically in such a short time. She had to be careful—about Sylus, about everything. "I know," she sighed, "I'll get better at it, I guess."

Ayako leaned in closer, lowering her voice. "Good thing that whole issue about Sylus seeing a girl at the mall has toned down. You really owe me for keeping your secret."

Mei smiled softly, grateful for Ayako's loyalty. "I know I can trust you. Thanks for looking out for me."

Ayako gave a reassuring nod before they both turned their attention back to class. Though the day had started with a bit of tension, Mei felt a little more at ease knowing Ayako had her back, even when things got complicated.