Five minutes later, Jake, who had already adjusted his mindset, appeared before the crowd again with a serious expression on his face. Even though they had seen him before, the group of girls couldn't help but be captivated by Jake's perfect physique, and some of the bolder ones even had a flirtatious look in their eyes. This made Jake, who had just managed to regain his composure, almost want to run away again.
"Ahem, stand properly, get ready to start the class," Jake said, trying hard to put on a serious and earnest expression.
The girls obediently stood in position, but their faces still carried playful expressions. Jake didn't push them too hard either. After a warm-up session, they started swimming. Jake got into the water as well and personally demonstrated a few simple moves, as well as breathing adjustments and smooth movements while swimming. His professional explanations made even the initially playful and mischievous girls adopt serious expressions.
Of course, there were also some who found Jake's movements so precise, his swimming posture so stylish, that their gazes towards him became bolder.
"Teacher Jake, do you have time after class?" Not long after Jake got out of the water, Xenia approached him with a cheerful smile.
"What for?" Jake looked wary.
"To go shopping." Xenia said with a playful grin, "I went shopping with Teacher Jake yesterday, and it felt really nice. So, I'd like to invite Teacher Jake to go shopping again today."
Jake quickly glanced around and noticed that while several students were looking in his direction, they were too far away to hear Xenia's words. He breathed a sigh of relief.
If these gossip-loving girls were to find out that he was going shopping with a female student, who knows what kind of rumors might circulate.
"I don't have time," Jake decisively declined, "I have something to do in the afternoon."
"What's the matter? Do you need me to accompany you?" Xenia asked.
"No need." Jake refused again.
"Stingy." Xenia rolled her eyes at Jake, "Are you going to hang out with that female classmate of yours?"
Jake knew she was referring to Winni and replied somewhat exasperatedly, "What are you thinking? Winni and I are just regular classmates."
"Well then, tell me about your university life. I'm quite curious." In fact, from Winni's attitude towards Jake yesterday, Xenia could already tell that there was no possibility of a romantic relationship between Jake and Winni in university, and they might even have had some unpleasant interactions. Therefore, she didn't doubt Jake's words.
However, Xenia was quite curious about what happened between Jake and Winni during their university days. More precisely, she was curious about Jake's past life and what kind of person he used to be.
"It's all in the past, and I don't want to talk about it," Jake declined.
"If you don't tell me, I'll tell all the students here that you spent half the day shopping with me yesterday," Xenia threatened. Seeing Xenia's triumphant expression, Jake felt a bit annoyed, but he had no choice but to share some of the things that happened between him and Winni in university.
In reality, there was no animosity between Jake and Winni. Of course, there wasn't any close relationship either. In fact, they weren't even that familiar. The reason Winni had treated Jake the way she did was related to her roommate Zora.
Zora was Jake's university classmate and also the most attractive girl in their class. She was the beauty of their department, quite popular during their time at the university. While she might not have been as prominent as Wendy and Xenia are now, the difference wasn't that significant. Winni and Zora were classmates and roommates, having a good relationship.
The unpleasantness between Jake and Winni stemmed from a "late-night talk" session in their dormitory. After lights-out, instead of resting, the residents would have discussions. The most common topics in the guys' dormitories were naturally girls and games.
That evening, someone sparked the topic of discussing the types of girls they admired. Jake casually mentioned that he liked the kind of girls Zora represented.
Little did he know, somehow, that statement spread the next day, making Jake the laughingstock of the class. As Zora's roommate and close friend, Winni directly pointed at Jake, telling him to stop reaching for things he couldn't have, stating that he was nowhere near Zora's league and he should give up on that idea.
At that time, Jake's appearance and demeanor weren't particularly impressive, and his family's financial situation was also quite ordinary. On the other hand, Zora had good grades and a beautiful appearance. They seemed mismatched, especially since many guys were pursuing Zora, some wealthy, some talented, and some handsome. Jake was definitely among those with the least favorable conditions. So, not just Winni, but others as well, thought that Jake wasn't up to Zora's standards.
As for Zora herself, while she didn't say anything directly, there was no interaction between her and Jake after that incident. In fact, they didn't have much interaction before that incident either. After all, they belonged to different social circles at the time.
This incident continued to affect Jake. Even though he wasn't the only one in their class who liked Zora, he was the one who got exposed. Besides, his own circumstances weren't great either. This naturally made him the subject of ridicule for many. Winni even assumed that whenever Jake got closer to Zora, he was trying to pursue her and warned him repeatedly to stay away.
In truth, the whole incident was a misunderstanding. Jake had just spoken without thinking at the time. He did have some favorable impressions of girls like Zora, as pretty girls often elicit positive feelings from others. However, it wasn't really liking. Jake didn't actually have feelings for Zora. But once the news got out, the nature of the situation changed, and he became the butt of jokes for many.
"That's it?" Xenia asked.
"That's it," Jake shrugged, his expression relaxed. It was clear that this incident no longer had any impact on him, and he had long stopped caring about it.
"What does Zora look like? How does she compare to me? Did you really like her?" Xenia continued to inquire.
"Uh, well..." Jake felt a bit awkward, "Liking is a strong word. I had some favorable impressions at the time, but that faded after that incident."
"You haven't finished answering my question. Who's prettier, me or her?" Xenia didn't let Jake off the hook and continued to press him.