Iris strolled deeper into her campus, determined to familiarize herself with the distance she needed to cover and the time it would take to walk from her faculty to the main gate.
She felt the need to be aware of her surroundings and have an escape plan in case of any future emergencies.
This was crucial to her since she would study here for two years until graduation. She briskly walked, trying to imprint the layout of her faculty's location in her memory — even though she had the memories of the young Iris. However, this girl had never surveyed her surroundings.
After a few minutes of walking, she noticed she was the sole person traversing the wide pedestrian area. Several cars passed her by, and she could sense the people inside staring at her oddly. Some classmates even pulled over and offered her a ride. She rejected their kindness.
'Damn it, why do I still attract people's attention even when I dress like this?' she muttered, hastening her pace while pulling her hat deeper to conceal her face. Hoping no one asked her again.
However, she felt the universe was against her plan; suddenly, another car pulled up beside her, and she could hear a man screaming her name loudly.
'That voice!!' Iris's heart pounded as she recognized the familiar voice. She cursed inwardly before adjusting her expression and turning around to face the car.
"Hey, Justin!" She forced a cold smile as she met Justin Darkwood's glittering gaze.
"Wow!! Finally, you remember me, huh!! I thought you'd forget about us after the accident and cut ties immediately..." Justin smiled broadly and asked Niles, driving the car, to stop.
She silently gulped, remembering what her grandmother had said this morning. Justin's sentence clearly wants to remind her of their encounter yesterday, right? She felt so embarrassed!
"Iris, come with us..." Justin continued his words, gesturing for her to join him in the back row. "Why are you walking in this freezing temperature?? Where is Granny Gray? Why didn't she drive you?" he asked.
Iris no longer heard Justin's words; her gaze fell on the window in the backseat. It was so dark from the outside that she couldn't see through it, yet she was certain Xavier Darkwood was there, staring at her.
Somehow, she wasn't ready to meet him at that moment. She still needed to find the right place and time to talk to him and express how she felt now.
"No need..." she said and walked away. However, after only a few steps, she heard another voice calling her name, a deep and commanding voice. Her mind began to muddle at how alluring that voice was.
"Iris, get in the car," Xavier said.
She stopped in her tracks again and turned to look at the car. To her surprise, the back window was now rolled down, and she could see Xavier's shining golden-yellow eyes gazing back at her. She felt fascinated for a moment but quickly shook her head and refused to get in the car.
"Xavier, I need to talk to you." When she saw Xavier frown, she immediately continued, "Let's walk and talk!" she proposed. She wanted to talk to him alone, to straighten out what had happened over the past few months between them.
Not waiting for Xavier to answer, she immediately turned around and continued on her way, ignoring Justin's calls for her to stop.
Her mind was now occupied with forming lines to talk to Xavier and make it clear about her attitude toward him; she would not bother him anymore—she wasn't the young Iris who had a crush on him.
After a few steps, she didn't hear any sound from him, which made her feel sour.
'Xavier Darkwood, what icy attitude do you have?' She silently scolded him, shaking her head in disappointment. 'Iris, oh... Iris, how could you fall in love with him?'
She couldn't help but smile bitterly, knowing that men wouldn't respond as he used to in the past, ignoring her with his expressionless face.
Feeling disappointed, she turned off the sidewalk onto the main road, finding a small path through the now snow-covered park. The stone path was still visible enough for her to walk with ease.
While thinking that Xavier and the others must now be driving toward their faculty, she heard footsteps not far behind. Feeling curious, she turned around and was surprised to see Xavier walking towards her with his calm pace.
Amazed by his domineering figure, she could only stare at him without saying anything. Lost in her own thoughts, she mumbled to herself, 'If only this guy were older, he would be the perfect partner for me, right?'
"What do you want to say?" His cold voice snapped Iris back to reality, and her trembling eyes met his sharp gaze.
Iris immediately turned her gaze elsewhere. "Let's talk while walking!" She didn't want to face his domineering gaze, so she continued walking.
As he walked beside her, she said, "Xavier, I'm sorry for what my grandma said yesterday. I know she was very rude to you and the others. She did that to protect my feelings, so I hope you don't mind what she said..."
They continued to walk without saying a word, but Iris' mind remained confused. This man was very reserved in speaking. Why was his cold demeanor so similar to hers? She, too, wasn't someone who was easy to get along with and didn't engage in much conversation with others. She preferred to be alone.
Just as she was about to continue her words, she heard Xavier speak.
"I don't mind. I can understand your grandmother!" he said with an expressionless face.
"Thank you! Xavier, you don't have to worry because I won't bother you anymore. You can continue to ignore me because I will do the same too!" Iris said firmly.
If this man hated her, the best course of action was to avoid him. After all, she didn't have any particular feelings for him anyway.