Just then, someone else entered the classroom. A chilly breeze carrying a hint of dust followed behind.
Lucien, arriving fashionably late, walked in with his usual calm and composed demeanor. But when his gaze landed on the girl who was supposed to be in the infirmary, his steps faltered for a brief moment.
His eyes lingered on Serena, visibly surprised—but before the emotion could fully surface, he quickly masked it and looked away.
Serena caught that momentary hesitation. A playful smile rose to her lips as she waved at him. "Hi!"
Lucien didn't respond.
She blinked, still undeterred, and added cheerfully, "Hiiiii~"
The air remained silent.
Lucien took the seat next to her, his expression cold as if nothing had happened yesterday. He moved with swift, restrained precision, opened his book, and focused intently on reading, as if Serena were nothing more than a passing breeze.
Serena frowned in confusion and leaned slightly toward Elena. In a whisper, she asked, "Why's he ignoring me?"
Elena glanced at Lucien with a blank expression and shrugged. "Who knows."
But Serena was clearly not the type to give up so easily. She leaned toward Lucien and waved a hand in front of his eyes.
No reaction.
She went all in—waving both hands and miming an exaggerated silent performance, her voice lilting with mock drama: "Hiii~ hiiii~ hiii-hiii-hiii~"
Finally, Lucien closed his book with a soft thud. Without turning his head, he said in a voice as cold as a frozen lake under moonlight:
"Please compose yourself, Miss Serena. Stop disturbing my reading."
The classroom fell silent.
Serena froze, her smile stiffening as she slowly lowered her arms.
Even Elena hadn't expected Lucien to say something like that. She frowned slightly, as if about to intervene—only to see Serena pause, then sigh, lips pouting slightly.
"Fine, fine. I won't play anymore," she muttered, turning her head in a small huff.
But the next second, she suddenly leaned in close, her face only inches from Lucien's.
"Still able to ignore me now?" she said softly, her tone both playful and determined.
They were so close they could hear each other's breaths. Lucien visibly tensed, his fingers tightening on the book. His usually calm crimson eyes widened in surprise as they met Serena's sparkling pink ones.
Her gaze was bright as starlight, and her smile was mysterious and confident—like she'd just found the answer to a puzzle.
"You do care," she said softly, as if declaring victory.
She leaned back into her seat with a featherlight motion, her body language triumphant.
"That's all I needed to know," she added gently, her voice like a spring breeze. "Because you're my most important friend, too."
"..."
At that moment, sunlight streamed in through the classroom windows and lit up her face. Her smile was radiant and warm—utterly impossible to ignore.
Lucien, meanwhile, sat frozen, fingers trembling slightly. Deep in his heart, some long-held wall cracked just a little—pierced by that light.
——
Break time.
The four of them regrouped in the studio to make the final preparations for the upcoming Starlight Creative Challenge.
The moment Serena sat down, a shadow suddenly lunged at her—
"WAAAAAA—SERENA!! I thought you DIED—! WAAAHHH!!"
Aiden wailed, clinging to Serena like a soggy noodle, practically smearing his tears and snot all over her.
"If you died, our project would become your posthumous work! Do you know how tragic that is?! I'd have to live with the guilt for the rest of my life—!"
Smack!
Serena slapped him across the face and shoved him off.
"Shut up, you jinx," she snapped. "Who gave you permission to curse me to death?"
Aiden rubbed his cheek and crawled back to the corner, looking pitiful.
Just as the mood in the room began to lighten again, a cold voice cut through the calm like ice.
"Once our project is submitted… I, Lucien Blake, will officially sever ties with you all," Lucien said, expressionless. "You're a dull group with no real usefulness. I hope we never associate again."
The room went dead silent. Even Aiden stopped sniffling.
Everyone froze, and the air seemed to solidify for a second.
"…Are you done?"
"Ughhh~"
A long, exaggerated groan of disdain broke the silence.
Everyone turned to look. It was Serena.
She arched a brow and let out a dramatic sigh before rolling her eyes so hard it was almost theatrical. With a casual shrug, she strolled up to Lucien, arms spread wide in mock exasperation.
"Here we go again" she drawled, full of teasing, "Our dear Lucien, always so dramatic You pretend not to care, but every time it's the same—'Let's cut ties~ Don't bother me~ Please maintain boundaries~'"
She scrunched her nose and mimicked his aloof tone with a flair of ridiculous dramatics. Then she added with a triumphant grin:
"Oh my, you guys are so boring~ Ha! Don't forget—you're my smartest and strongest teammate, and there's no way I'm letting you just walk away like that!"
Off to the side, Aiden was already shaking from trying to hold in his laughter, while Elena coughed and turned her head away, clearly hiding a smile.
Lucien's usually icy expression finally cracked a little. His brows twitched, his eyes flickered ever so slightly.
"I'm being serious. I seriously want to cut ties with you," he mumbled again.
"Oh?" Serena still wore a bright grin, but her eyes were firm. "Well, I'm seriously not listening~ I'm not listening, not listening, la la la~"
She turned around with a playful wave, twirling her fingers in the air.
"Didn't hear a thing~ Once again, Lucien's 'cool and distant' act has failed~"
Lucien watched her carefree, confident figure as she walked away. He pressed his lips together but, in the end, said nothing in return.
——
Two days later.
The Starlight Creative Challenge Exhibition Day had finally arrived.
The academy's main showcase hall was packed. Over a hundred teams from different years and departments had set up their booths, each presenting works that radiated creativity and talent.
The competition had two stages:
Stage One – Day 1: Projects were displayed publicly. Contestants stood by their booths to explain their designs, demonstrate functionality, and discuss the development process. Judges would visit each exhibit, scoring based on presentation skills, clarity, and overall impact.
Stage Two – Days 2–3: Judges would review the projects independently and meet for group evaluations. No further input from contestants would be accepted. Scoring criteria focused on creativity, practicality, technical execution, and aesthetic appeal. Final rankings would be determined based on a combined score from both stages.
Standing beside their display table, the team—excluding Serena—was visibly tense. Nearly all surrounding booths were manned by older students who stood tall, confident, and eloquent, already seasoned in competitions like this.
Compared to them, they felt like kids thrown into the adult world, awkward and self-conscious.
"They're totally staring at us…" Aiden whispered.
"I-I know!" he stammered, nervously twisting his fingers. "Do we look ridiculous? Too young?"
Elena muttered, "Feels like they're just waiting to laugh at us…"
Only Serena remained unfazed, humming a cheerful tune, looking relaxed as ever.
She turned to the others, smiling brightly as she patted their shoulders. "Come on, don't be so nervous. Just relax~ Everything's going to be fine."
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at her teammates, like a fire had just been lit inside them.
"And don't you think," she said brightly, "it's actually kind of exciting to be competing alongside so many upperclassmen?"
As she spoke, she even bounced on her feet twice, light and full of a quiet confidence.
What none of them noticed, however, was that just a short distance away, a few upperclassmen were watching them from the corner and chatting quietly among themselves:
"See that bouncy little blonde girl? She's so cute..."
"Their design is actually quite creative. I wouldn't have thought to use that material for structural support—very unique approach."
"They're young but brave. Just being here and taking this seriously is impressive in itself."
Unfortunately, the four younger students had absolutely no idea they were being admired. Instead, they looked stiff and guarded, as if they were certain they'd been "targeted." One of them even misinterpreted a senior's harmless smile and nod as some kind of smug provocation.