"What are you thinking about so early in the morning? You seem completely out of it."
"It's nothing," Amelia pulled herself back to reality amid Jaso's questioning.
She reached out to touch the ends of her hair and took out a rubber band to tie it up.
"You look really distracted, not like there's nothing going on," Jaso said, driving and chatting casually.
Amelia slightly lowered her eyes, knowing that if she didn't give a clear answer, Jaso would keep asking.
"I'm thinking of cutting my hair."
"Cutting your hair?" Jaso's tone rose, as if he had heard something incredible.
"You used to treasure your hair so much, often saying that your head could be cut and your blood could flow, but your hair could never be cut."
Jaso's surprise was not unreasonable, as the former Amelia was very different from the current Amelia.
But perhaps it was because they were too close that others had suspicions while the Cobb family members themselves never noticed.
"I don't want to keep it," Amelia said indifferently, with a hint of disappointment.
Jaso, afraid that she might be in a bad mood, nodded in agreement: "It's fine not to keep it."
Amelia could see that the Cobb family's concern for her was far beyond her comprehension, but there was something deliberate about it.
They deliberately tried to please her, deliberately making her the center of attention.
Amelia's fingertips, resting on her knees, pressed together, her thumb and index finger alternately picking at her nails, her gaze downcast, making it hard to see what she was thinking.
Jaso glanced at her, not noticing anything unusual.
"I heard from mom the last time that you're interested in international relations?"
Amelia gave a faint hum of acknowledgment.
"I know a few friends who are negotiators. I'll take you to meet them next time."
Amelia was taken aback, her gaze falling on Jaso in surprise.
If they were negotiators, then there should be none in the Capital University that she didn't know.
Or at least everyone should know her by her reputation.
"Alright," Amelia was looking forward to it, looking forward to the day she would meet all these people.
It was as if a headless fly had suddenly seen hope.
"But it'll have to wait for a while; I heard something big happened to them a few days ago, so they probably don't have the energy for this right now."
Amelia nodded: "No rush."
When they arrived at the school, Amelia went to class.
As soon as she entered the classroom, she ran into an acquaintance. Abner's eyes lit up when he saw her and he waved her over.
"Are you here too? Did you take French as an elective?"
Amelia nodded.
"You used to only take art classes," Abner was puzzled, feeling that he didn't know Amelia well, or perhaps she was no longer the Amelia he had known.
"Language is the beginning of art," Amelia said as she reached out to take out the textbook and place it on the table, giving off a gentle and ethereal impression.
It seemed as if all the affairs of this world could not hold her interest.
Abner stared at Amelia for a while and then smiled, "Are you going to the gathering at the college tonight?"
Amelia hesitated for a moment, thought of something, and shook her head, "No."
She had almost been drugged at the last gathering, would she go again?
She wasn't sure what the situation was now, so how could she dare to participate in private events?
Abner wanted to say something, but seeing Amelia holding her book ready to start class, he held his tongue.
During the French class, the professor was in high spirits.
Amelia sat in the audience, flipping through her book from time to time and looking at the materials in front of her.
On the blackboard, as the PowerPoint slides changed, the professor looked around: "Which of you can translate the sentence on the blackboard?"
Amelia looked up at the blackboard, her pupils slightly constricting.
This scene was all too familiar.
Once before, a similar question was posed by a professor, and she and someone else had a disagreement in class. They had argued back and forth, debating fiercely, and had become famous as a result.
That was in her youth, but nowadays, Amelia was no longer the inexperienced girl she once was.
She looked at the blackboard, and the astonishment in her eyes subsided as she slowly raised her hand.
"You say it," the professor called on her.
Amelia slowly stood up: "I shall pass away, but you are eternal."
The professor's amazed gaze fell on Amelia, not hiding his shock.
"Have you been to Frenco?"
Amelia slowly shook her head.
"Then you must have a unique perspective on Leovaria's culture," the professor seemed to have discovered a new world.
Amelia shook her head again: "Not really a perspective, just a liking."
"What's your name?"
Amelia's thin lips moved slightly, and only she herself knew the trembling feeling in her body.
"Amelia... Cobb," she hesitated for a moment before finishing.
Upon hearing her name, the professor's astonishment intensified: "You have the same surname as the international negotiator Evelyn Cobb?"
Amelia's heart trembled; she was dead, but everyone remembered her in their own way.
"I've heard of her."
Her tone light and gentle, she narrated the matter as if it concerns someone else's family.
The professor seemed to remember something and fell silent for a while. He gestured for Amelia to sit down.
Just as everyone thought he was about to share a story, he suddenly sighed and stopped speaking.
Amelia sat down, her head bowed so that nobody could see her emotions.
"Teacher, are you talking about our senior, the chief negotiation expert at the Negotiation Institute, Evelyn Cobb?"
It seemed that someone in the class had heard of Evelyn's name and asked the professor.
The professor nodded.
The curiosity of the class was left unresolved as the bell signaling the end of class rang.
The teacher said class was over and left, giving everyone the feeling that he was fleeing in a panic.
Amelia sat by the window in the classroom, staring blankly out the window.
Her thoughts drifted back many years, when there were not as many tall buildings at Capital University.
In recent years, several high-rise buildings had been erected intermittently.
She had been too busy with work to come back and visit her old teachers for many years; it must have been a long time since she last saw them.
But even after so long, her former teachers still remembered her.
"Amelia..." Abner's voice brought her thoughts back to the present.
"Class is over."
Amelia responded with a hum, gathering her belongings and preparing to leave.
"Amelia..." Abner seemed not to expect Amelia to leave so quickly, so he caught up with her in a hurry.
Amelia heard his voice and stopped, turning slowly to look at him: "Abner, I offended you in the past, but now I hope we can maintain a distance. Can't you see that there are many people watching us?"
Abner's face flashed with embarrassment, only then noticing that people around them were taking pictures with their phones.
Amelia glanced at him and turned to leave.
What now for Abner, watching her retreating footsteps, feeling his toes move slightly.
Seconds later, he hurriedly followed with his book in hand and reached out to grab Amelia's arm: "Didn't you say it before? Other people's eyes are other people's eyes. Why should we care?"
"Besides, we're both innocent, right?"
Young love was beautiful, and even just sitting together in silence was enough to send those uncles and aunts into a frenzy.
Amelia, if it had been in her previous life, might have been one of those frenzied individuals as well.
She looked at Abner, silent for a while.
Just as she was about to speak, suddenly, a horn sounded near the entrance of the teaching building, drawing her attention away.