Orm and Ling had just reached the college gate when Orm's eyes locked onto Phon walking across the courtyard, chatting casually with some friends. Her anger flared instantly. Without a word, she stormed toward him, grabbing the collar of his shirt with both hands and pulling him down slightly, even though she wasn't strong enough to actually overpower him.Phon raised an eyebrow, leaning down with a smirk. "Orm? What are you doing? Why are you grabbing my collar?""Why did you do it?" Orm demanded, her voice shaking with rage. "Why did you hurt Ling? Do you have any idea what you've done?"Phon's smirk faltered slightly, but he shrugged. "I did it for you.""What?!" Orm nearly shouted."You were humiliated, Orm," Phon said calmly, straightening up and prying her hands off his collar. "I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. I took revenge for you."Orm glared at him, her fists clenched at her sides. "It was my humiliation, Phon. You had no right to interfere!""You didn't tell me to, but I still did it," Phon replied, his tone nonchalant. "You're my friend, Orm. I couldn't let her get away with talking to you like that."Orm's anger bubbled over. "Are you insane? Who takes revenge by throwing a chair at someone? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!"Phon's jaw tightened. "She deserved it—""Don't you dare!" Orm snapped, cutting him off. "Whatever she said to me, that was between me and her. You had no right, Phon. None!"From a distance, Ling was watching the scene unfold. At first, she had been curious about why Orm was yelling at Phon, but as she listened, her chest tightened. Orm was defending her. Truly and completely. Ling's heart softened, and her gaze shifted to a girl standing nearby with a broken arm in a sling. Suddenly, the pieces clicked in Ling's mind—Phon had attacked that girl, not Orm, that night in the classroom.Ling felt a pang of guilt herself. All this time, Orm had been carrying the blame for something she hadn't even done.Later that day, Orm's good mood from scolding Phon didn't last long. The professor had called her to his office after class. She walked in nervously, and before she could say a word, he looked up from his desk with a stern expression."Orm," the professor began, folding his hands in front of him. "About the incident with the research papers…"Orm gulped. "Y-yes, sir?""As punishment for your actions, you will need to complete three individual research projects by the end of the term to make up for the one you tore up.""THREE?!" Orm nearly shrieked, her eyes wide. "Sir, I couldn't even finish writing the introduction to the first one! How am I supposed to do three?""That's for you to figure out," the professor replied curtly, already turning back to his paperwork."Please, sir," Orm begged, practically falling to her knees. "Can't you lower it to, like, one project? I'm not good at this stuff! I'm practically allergic to research!"The professor glanced up, clearly unimpressed.Before Orm could plead further, Ling stepped into the room, her calm demeanor in stark contrast to Orm's desperation. She stifled a laugh at the sight of Orm practically groveling on the floor."Professor," Ling said politely, "if I may, I believe the blame for what happened lies with me."Orm whipped her head around. "What are you talking about?"Ling ignored her. "I overestimated Orm's abilities and placed too much pressure on her during the group project. I said some things I shouldn't have, which led to her outburst. If anyone deserves punishment, it's me."The professor studied Ling for a moment, then nodded slightly. "Fine. I'll reduce it to one research project. But Orm will still have to complete it alone."Orm groaned, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "Even one is too much…"Ling smirked, hiding her amusement behind her hand. "You'll manage, Orm. I believe in you."When they returned home, Orm's gloomy face was the highlight of the evening for Sia and Tina."Let me guess," Tina said, holding back laughter. "You got in trouble, didn't you?""She has to do a whole research project," Sia added with a grin. "By herself.""Ha, ha," Orm muttered, slumping onto the couch. "So funny."Ling, meanwhile, couldn't resist taking advantage of the situation. "Orm, since you're already doomed, how about you start by getting me some water? My hand still hurts."Orm glared at her. "You have another hand. Use it."Ling said sweetly. "It's so hard to pour water ."Grumbling, Orm stomped to the kitchen. This became the new routine—Ling acting like royalty while Orm, out of guilt, played the dutiful servant.That night, Orm sat at the dining table, glaring at a blank piece of paper in frustration. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out how to start the project.Ling walked over, noticing Orm's defeated posture. She hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly. "Orm, if you want… I could help you."Orm's head shot up. "Really? You'd do that?"Ling shrugged. "Well, you're clearly hopeless without me. Might as well save both of us the embarrassment."They worked late into the night, with Ling explaining concepts and Orm scribbling notes. Eventually, exhaustion got the better of Orm, and she dozed off at Ling's desk. Ling watched her sleep for a moment, a small smile tugging at her lips."She's… cute when she's not yelling," Ling murmured to herself.She gently adjusted Orm's blanket before returning to the research, completing most of it while Orm slept. Eventually, Ling dozed off too, resting her head beside Orm's on the desk.When Orm woke up the next morning, the first thing she saw was Ling's face mere inches from her own. She blinked, her heart racing as she realized how close they were. Their noses were nearly touching, and Ling's peaceful expression made Orm's cheeks heat up.Orm hesitated, leaning slightly closer, but the sound of the door creaking open made her jump. She quickly pretended to still be asleep as Sia walked in.Sia glanced at the two of them, smirking. "You two look cozy."At that, Orm "woke up" and jumped to her feet, pretending to shove Ling away. "I wasn't cozy! She was just in my way!"Sia laughed. "Be grateful, Orm. Ling finished most of the research while you were drooling on her desk."Orm froze, guilt washing over her again. When Sia and Tina left, Orm carefully collected the papers from Ling's desk. As she did, she brushed a strand of Ling's hair away from her face and hesitated, leaning slightly closer.Ling's eyes fluttered open.Orm froze, her face mere inches from Ling's."What are you doing?" Ling asked, narrowing her eyes."N-nothing!" Orm stammered, grabbing the papers and running out of the room.By the time they reached college, the two were bickering again."You didn't even thank me for finishing the research," Ling said."I didn't ask you to finish it!" Orm shot back."Fine! Next time, I'll let you fail.""Fine! Go ahead!"Sia and Tina, walking behind them, sighed in unison."Some things never change," Tina said with a shake of her head."Yeah," Sia agreed. "But I think they're getting closer, even if they don't realize it."