The Beautiful Wife of the Whirlwind Marriage Book

Novel - Contemporary Romance

The Beautiful Wife of the Whirlwind Marriage

Synopsis

Wealthy, powerful and handsome; Gu Jingze is the cream of the crop in the entire country. Every guy wants to be him and every girl wants to be with him. His life is perfect... except that he has one tiny secret that keeps him from getting close to any woman—apparent impotency.

That is, until he wakes up in bed with a total stranger one day. The next thing he knows, he is forced to marry this stranger; a feisty and boisterous woman by the name of Lin Che.

Lin Che is an average girl whose only aim is to become a successful actress. Ostracized by her family and forced to become independent, she cooks up a scheme to attain her goal. But her plan fails and she ends up marrying this cold and seemingly heartless Gu Jingze. Not only that, she must now find her place in high society, where jealous women and devious plots lay abound - all while juggling her new career.

Two strangers under one roof: From the outset, they agree to stay out of each other’s lives, but he somehow always manages to appear during her moments of crisis. Slowly and unwittingly, Lin Che begins to find it difficult to imagine a future without him. Will their relationship grow, or is their marriage destined to remain just a contract?

Synopsis

[Mature Content. No Rape]

'All it took was breaking one rule that she was not supposed to'

He was the bad boy with tattoos. She was the good girl with glasses, and she was his.

—

When Julianne Winters decides to move to the dormitory of the reputed University, she has everything planned so that she can complete her graduation and leave the place. But her plan is quick to catch fire from the moment the eyes of Roman Moltenore from senior year lands on her. And his appearance screams nothing but TROUBLE.

"What rules?" Julianne asked with a frown as she read through the page. She was sure she hadn't seen any rules of the campus mentioned on their website.

# 4. No using cell phones.

# 12. Students should not roam outside the campus after eleven in the night.

The further she read, the more bizarre it turned out to be. Her friend turned the page and then pointed at the last rule # 29. Listen to Roman Moltenore.

"This is made up. Look, the last one is even written in pencil." Julianne couldn't believe that her friend from the next dorm thought she would fall for it. "And no phone?"

"It is important you abide by all the rules. Especially number twenty nine," said the girl in a serious tone. "Remember not to get involved with Roman. If you happened to see him, run in the other direction. There is a reason why it is written down here."

With the rules of the campus, she resorts to sending handwritten letters to her uncle. But who knew it would end up in someone else’s hand! 

Chapter 1

One way to be welcomed: Punishment

[All it took was breaking one rule that she was not supposed to]

Julie pushed the round-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose for the fifth time out of nervousness since she had gotten inside the car. Her brown eyes noticed the trail of trees finally paused and two massive gates stopped the car from moving forward.

"Looks like the security in here is tight. Feels like I am dropping you off to prison," her uncle Thomas Winters chuckled in humour.

"I hope you know how to break in and free a person from prison, Uncle Tom," she joined in the joke. And at that moment, Julie had no idea how close her uncle's words were true that he had spoken about the university she would attend and live for the next two years.

The watchman at the gates came and stood next to her uncle's side of the car's window. The watchman was lean and tall, with his hair on the shaggier side. He bent his upper body, placing his hand on the edge of the window.

Upon seeing the watchman not speak right away, and instead stare at her and her uncle, Uncle Thomas said,

"I am here to drop my niece."

"Do you have the student ID?" asked the watchman in a gruff voice, and his eyes shifted to look at Julie. For a moment, she noticed a flicker of red in his eyes that disappeared after a second. Did his eyes change colours or was she imagining it?

Her uncle handed the card to the watchman to inspect closely before handing it back to him.

"Let them pass," said the watchman, and the gates automatically slid away from each other. Julie could feel the watchman's gaze on her, and it made her slightly uncomfortable.

Once the car passed, the watchman's eyes turned red again and he ran his tongue over his sharp fangs. 

As they drove inside the Veteris premises, Julie took note of the line of the trees on both sides. There were tall buildings on both sides that looked like mansions, and at the centre, there was a bigger building that looked nothing less like a castle.

"I still cannot believe you got admitted into this university. I heard only a few students get through," said Uncle Thomas, while tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as if he were anxious to leave her all by herself.

When her uncle pulled the car over not too far from the main building, Julie freed herself from the seatbelt and stepped out of the car. The university felt like a whole different world away from the city because of its location, surrounded by acres of land that was mostly forest.

She heard her uncle speak, "Your luggage must have already arrived here as we sent them three days ago. The rest of them are here." He pulled the luggage out from the car's trunk, and Julie took hold of them. When her uncle closed the trunk, he turned to her, "Are you sure that you don't want to stay home and attend the nearby colleges? I can get you a second-hand car and you can commute-"

"You've already done so much for me, Uncle Thomas. I will always be thankful for it. Please don't worry about me," Julie smiled so that her uncle wouldn't feel troubled.

After what happened a few months ago, Julie moved to her uncle's home, her mother's younger brother. He was a generous and warm person, happily married and had a ten-year-old son. The last thing she wanted to do was to disturb their family life.

"It is the least I can do," sighed Uncle Thomas. Julie could feel her heart turn heavy, but she didn't let it deter the smile on her lips. She didn't want Uncle Thomas worrying about her. "Come here, give your old uncle a hug before you go."

Julie hugged her uncle, receiving a pat, while being asked, "I read in the form that you will be allowed to visit us every last Sunday of the month. Let me know once you settle in and also visit us. And be a good girl, and if you need anything, you know I am just a call away and if you need-"

"Yes, Uncle Tom. I know," she smiled, and he nodded.

She waved at her uncle once he got into his car and left. Now that she stood alone with the trolley bag in her hand, she finally took note of the people around her.

The place where she stood didn't look deserted, and some of the students walked in and out of the buildings.

She pushed her glasses again as she stared at the entrance of the building. It had been only a minute since her uncle had dropped her off at the university, and she could feel the eyes of the students, who were around, watching her.

"Deep breath," whispered Julie to herself. When she inhaled, at the same time, her nose tingled, "A-achoo!"

The little sneeze only brought more attention to her, where the students who were outside the building turned to look at her. She quickly looked at her luggage, catching hold of the handle, she climbed up the stairs one stair at a time with another bag over her shoulder. Walking through the hallway, she caught sight of the main office and stepped inside there.

A woman stood behind the counter, writing something in the register, and Julie said, "Hi."

The person looked up at her, "How can I help you, dear?" asked the woman.

"I am Julianne Winters, I recently received my admission to the university and I was looking for my schedule and details about my dorm," Julie let the office woman know in one breath without a pause.

The woman stared at Julie before asking, "Let me take a look. Did you bring the issued card?" Pulling the card from her pocket, Julie handed the card that she had received through the mail.

While the woman tried to print her details for her, Julie turned behind to look at the empty hallway. It seemed like the classes were going on. It was the beginning of the academic year, and she was already one week behind. The university looked much better than what she had seen on the internet.

"Here, you go," said the woman, and Julie saw sheets of papers being placed on top of the counter. "The first one has your schedule, and the next two pages have the details of the dormitorium along with the rules. Make sure to read them."

What a strange way to call a dormitory like that, she thought to herself.

"Thank you," Julie offered the woman a smile for helping her. The woman frowned on hearing the trolley's wheels make noise from the desk to the door before resuming her work.

Stepping out of the room, Julie dragged the trolley behind her with one hand and the other holding the papers that she had collected from the office room. Looks like she had completed one step, and the next one was to find her dorm. But before she could take a look at the printed papers, she heard a slight commotion.

What was that sound? Julie asked herself, and she stopped in her tracks.

In a second, two grown-up boys stepped into the hallways but not how normal people would do. They entered with one person punching the other one.

Her eyes went wide behind her glasses when she saw them punching and pushing each other against the walls in turns. The fight didn't look like a small one as they put all their might into it. She flinched when she heard the sound of something crack, not knowing who had broken their bone on their face.

One of the boys had a faded mohawk blonde hair who looked nothing less than a raging bull that had been taunted. "I will fucking kill you for pulling that shit!" he growled, gritting his teeth.

"Over your dead body, Jackson. Tell me when you are ready to die," a small chuckle escaped from the other person who replied. Julie could only see the black leather jacket that the person wore.

"Today is the day you go down!" said the first boy.

The bull appeared to be in a rage and went straight at the other boy, swinging his hand right at the boy's face. And for a moment, just for a moment, he looked triumphant before the leather boy stood straight, landing a blow at the bull boy.

As the physical fight continued, Julie finally caught sight of the boy in a leather jacket.

His expression was that of boredom, as if he was dealing with a child right now. The tall boy had thick black locks of hair that covered part of his forehead and slightly high cheekbones. She noticed the two prominent cufflinks on the right lobe of his ear.

Julie looked back and forth, wondering where the teacher was to stop the fight that had broken in the middle of nowhere.

Some students started to pour into the corridor, watching the fight like Julie on the sides. She flinched when the dark-haired boy raised his leg, spinning it to leave a kick right across the blonde boy's jaw. The bull fell on the floor, and the other boy hissed, feeling the cut on his lip.

"You look better as a carpet on the ground," said the one who stood.

Julie decided not to stay around as she had a dorm to find.

Turning around, she started to walk away from the scene while most of the students witnessed the fight. She had taken only seven steps away from where she had been standing when she heard a whistling sound.

Before she knew it, the papers from her hand slipped, and so did her bag along with the trolley suitcase. While the two sheets of papers fell near her, the third one slipped right below a box placed at the side. The two delinquent boys had found no better spot to continue their fight.

It was because one of the boy's in the fight decided to crash right at her, and Julie felt as if she was that last pin in the bowling alley and had been bowled to stagger forward. And though she didn't fall flat on her face, her loose glasses fell right on the floor. Her eyes grew wider, and she gasped in horror on hearing it crack!

Her glasses!

Julie knew first impressions were important. If she stayed quiet now, with so many people in the hallway, they would believe that she was a pushover, and it would eventually lead to being bullied.

She had another pair of spare glasses, but this one was her favourite!

Gritting her teeth, Julie snapped around and heard the blonde mohawk boy wince in pain . Just when he was about to take a step towards the other person, she caught hold of the back of his shirt. This caught the boy off-guard, and he lost his balance to fall on the floor.

A collective gasps were heard from the students as if she had committed a grave sin. And then, there stood the boy with the piercings, a slight snicker escaping his lips. The reaction only poured fuel on the person on the floor, and he snapped his eyes to look at her as if he was ready to stomp on her.

When Julie had woken up this morning, she had recited to herself how great her day was going to be. How she was going to look ahead instead of looking over her shoulder at the past that she was trying to hide. She had told herself that she would smile and talk to people. She wouldn't hide.

And though that was what she meant, pulling a boy to have him fall on the floor was the last thing she had on her list to do today!

The hand that had pulled him turned to a fist, and she brought it towards her chest in awkwardness. The delinquent mohawk boy pushed himself up to stand right in front of her, and suddenly she regretted her action. Compared to the boy, she was small in size, and she gulped.

"You fucking bitch!" the boy growled, ready to pounce on her, and at the same time, one of the teachers arrived at the scene.

"What is going on here?!" The voice boomed in the hallway, and the students who had been enjoying the fight quickly started to disperse.

The mohawk boy was quick to drop his hand back to his side, and Julie's eyes fell on a man, who was probably in his late thirties. The man wore a black suit and had a chin beard. His arched eyebrows gave out a stern expression as he glared in her direction, where the two boys stood near her.

"In Ms. Dante's office. Now," ordered the man.

Neither the leather boy nor the mohawk boy put a word of protest, and Julie was glad that she was saved. Phew! Just missed, she thought to herself before bending down and picking up her glasses. She picked up the sheets that had slipped out of her hand while not realizing she had lost the third sheet.

"Do you need a special invitation to come to the office?" the man questioned her.

"Me?" Julie looked at the two boys, who had already started to walk. "No no, that's a misunderstanding. I wasn't with them in the fight. Yo-"

"The office," said the man sternly.

"But I didn't-"

"Detention for not obeying the teachers instructions," snapped the teacher, and Julie's eyes widened. For what?! She screamed in her mind.

Chapter 2

Strange students: Dormitorium

When Julie was about to open her mouth to speak again, the teacher said, "It would be wise for you to follow my word unless you want to take a walk in the deeper parts of the forest."

Julie pushed her luggage to the side and decided to pick it up later before following the other two students. She wore her glasses back in their position where one of the frames had cracked.

As she walked, she noticed how wide the corridors were, and paintings were hung on either side of the walls. The paintings were of old towns, villages that were of olden times, along with the landscapes. She saw the boys disappear behind the large black doors, and when she came to stand right in front of the door, for a moment, she paused before pushing the door and stepping inside.

Soon the man who ordered the three of them to come to this room arrived, and the door closed again. He walked forward, bending down to speak to person who was in the chair that was turned around.

On the front side of the room, on the left side, stood the leather jacket boy. In the middle stood the bull who was glaring at her, and she stood on the right. When the chair turned around, Julie caught sight of a woman whose blonde hair had been combed back and let down to reach below her shoulders. She had high cheekbones and her lips unpainted.

"Why am I not surprised to see both of you here for the second time this month. Moltenore and Jackson," the woman said with a smile on her face, looking at the two boys as if they were her two favourite students, and she was excited to see them.

"Ms. Dante it was-" responded the boy next to Julie.

"Silence!" The smile from Ms. Dante's face instantly dropped, and she snapped, "Fighting in the middle of the hallway. How disgraceful. You aren't wild animals of the jungle but senior year students of this university. Being the students who studied here for so long, I would have expected some discipline. Students can get hurt, or you might end up damaging the property belonging to the institution."

The woman's eyes then fell on Julie to have her stand straighter than before.

"Did you start recruiting your juniors to get involved in the fight or are you two fighting over her?" questioned Ms. Dante.

Julie's face turned red at that question, and she was glad she had worn her glasses to cover a part of her face when it didn't do a good job. Clearing her throat, she said, "I-I am a new student and arrived here today," she tried to explain to the headmistress. Taking a step forward, she said, "I just took my schedule and the dorm details from the office when I ended up in the middle."

"She fucking pushed me!"

Oh boy, thought Julie in her mind. The bull boy was more upset about him falling on the ground than being hit by the other guy.

"Language, Jackson," warned the male teacher.

"Pull," Julie corrected what the boy said and then turned back to Ms. Dante. "I swear I didn't know it would make him fall. I mean I am so small, I don't have that much strength to make him fall."

"You pushed me!" the boy with the short mohawk haircut glared at her.

"Pathetic," said the dark-haired boy from the other side. "At least now you know how weak you are. To fall from a girl's push."

Why was the other person intent on pouring gasoline over the blazing fire?! Julie was sure that if the headmistress was not sitting in front of them, the two boys would have broken some more bones.

"Why don't you meet me outside the building and I will show you who is weak," challenged the blonde boy.

"That is enough, Jackson. I prefer no blood to be spilt in this place. Seems like it was only a misunderstanding, Mr. Borrell," said Ms. Dante, and her hazel eyes shifted to look at Julie. Hearing this, Julie was relieved.

"She still needs to serve detention. She failed to follow my word of instruction. Not once but twice," mentioned Mr. Borrell.

"I was only trying to explain that I had nothing to do with the fight," Julie quickly said.

Mr. Borrell didn't seem satisfied with her explanation, and his eyes narrowed at her, "Are you telling me that you failed to notice that I am a teacher here? Or perhaps I look eighteen years old instead of thirty-eight?"

Ms. Dante raised her hand so that Mr. Borrell wouldn't continue to intimidate Julie on her first day here. "Julie Winters is it?" asked the headmistress, and Julie nodded her head.

Julie didn't know if she should feel privileged that the headmistress knew her name or worried that she was the only person to join late this year. "As it is your first day, Julie, I will ask Mr. Borrell to spare you this time." The woman offered her a friendly smile, but after Julie had seen the smile fall a while ago from the woman's face, it would be a lie if she said the smile didn't daunt her. "You can leave."

Julie nodded her head, whispering a thank you before turning around and dashing out of the room. Her footsteps were quick, walking towards the hallway where she had left her luggage at the side.

Dragging the trolley suitcase behind her, Julie stepped out of the building. She noticed it wasn't just those delinquents, but some of the students here had peculiar styles. The last place she had studied had strict rules where: piercing, lipstick, tattoos, and other accessories warranted detention to a student.

Looking down at the sheets in her hand, she tried to figure out the layout of the campus.

"Fresh meat on the campus with fresh b-ow! What was that for?" Hearing the voices behind her, Julie turned to look at a girl and a boy around her age.

"Stop being weird," said the girl, who had shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair. Her lips were painted red, and her blue eyes turned to look at Julie. "You appear to be a new student, but have already made an impression."

It took a second for Julie to realize that the girl was speaking about the little hallway incident. Getting in the spotlight was not something she was comfortable with. Not knowing how to reply to it, she asked,

"I was looking for the dorm. Could you be kind enough to point me in the right direction?

"Dorm?" questioned the boy who had spiky black hair, and his eyes fell on the trolley. "Of course." Julie noticed a piercing in his mouth, which was unusual because there was a pin on his tongue.

"I am Julianne Winters," Julie introduced herself with a smile.

"Olivia Trosney," said the girl with a polite smile, "This is Maximus Marudas. Let me take a look at that. The dormitorium block and room number is usually printed there."

Julie handed the sheets, and once Olivia took a look at them, she said, "Looks like your dormitorium is next to mine. Let me show you the place," the girl jerked her head.

Maximus stared at Olivia for a second longer before saying, "I will see you later." He offered Julie a smile and stepped inside the building from where she had stepped out.

Olivia led Julie towards her dormitory.

"It's quite unusual to have transfer students as it is almost a week since classes started. What brings you here?" questioned Olivia.

"I moved to Woodward two months ago," replied Julie. Receiving a questioning gaze from the blue-eyed girl, she added, "My parents...they passed away and I had to move." She clutched the strap of her bag.

"I am sorry to hear that," Olivia shared her sympathy, but Julie could sense the hollowness in the words that the girl uttered. "It must have been hard to start afresh."

Julie smiled, "My uncle has been very supportive so it is okay. He lives two hours away from here." She tucked the piece of her hair behind her ear that had come to settle on the side of her face. "This place looks quite isolated. I noticed there was no town for at least half an hour until I reached the main entrance gates."

Olivia's painted lips pulled from one corner. "It is to keep the students safe. Apart from what you saw, and the thirty minutes drive you spoke of, it all belongs to Veteris. In Latin, Veteris means old, people who belonged to an old lineage, and word is that they were once the Lords of these lands."

"Must have been a nice time," replied Julie looking at the tall trees while they walked past on the footpath. While walking next to Olivia, she felt the discreet looks some students gave them, but Olivia seemed unfazed by the attention.

When they reached the dormitory, some of the girls stared at her. But after a few seconds, she realized they were looking at Olivia. Julie wondered what that was about.

"Here is your room," said Olivia, and Julie walked forward to see the door that had '100' number nailed on it. "You should be fine from here."

"Thank you again for showing me the way," Julie thanked the blonde girl.

As Olivia walked away from her, apart from the other girls who were out of the rooms staring at her, even Julie noticed the wide fish stockings and the denim shorts on Olivia, which she hadn't taken note of earlier.

Julie pushed the door open, carrying her luggage inside with her and closed the door shut.

She leaned her back against the door while her eyes took in the things that were in the room. Indeed two of her luggage had already made its way and were kept in the allotted room before she had even reached the university. It was a cosy room, and with only one bed, it meant Julie had the room all for herself. Now that she was away from the outside world and back into her shell, the bag that she had been carrying on her shoulder dropped on the ground with a thud.

As the room was located at the end of the corridor, she had two window views. Walking towards one of the windows, she looked outside at the trees. For the next two years, this would be her home. Once she would complete her graduation, she would leave not just this place but also the state.

After unrolling the mattress on the bed, the first thing Julie did was sleep. She was tired because of the ride, the first day in this place and her life. Right now, all she wanted was a good rest, and she would think about the rest of it later.

Laying down on the bed like a starfish, she fell asleep.

But as Julie's mind dipped itself in her dreamland, she heard the thunderous knocking on the door.

'Open the damn door! Do you think you can hide there forever?' demanded the voice, threat laced in it.

Sweat started to form on her forehead while her breathing quickened. The knock on the door continued, and she looked around the room, which didn't have a single window to escape. She started to feel suffocated, and she moved into the corner.

When the knocking on the door stopped, the person on the other side of the door said, 'Open the door now, Julianne.'

Julie's eyes snapped open, her brown eyes looking at the door of her room and her breath shallow. It was a dream, she duly assured herself. A sigh escaped from her lips before she sat up and grabbed the papers she had collected from the office room. She spotted her major subject which was biology and her minor classes in the schedule that she had selected when applying to this place.

Turning the page, her eyes fell on the highlighted words 'Rules'. She remotely remembered the office woman mentioning it.

Julie read it, "Rule one. Do not step out of Veteris's property without permission during your academic years. Rule two. Listen to the teacher's instructions because they mean well. Rule three. The gates to the Blue block where classes are conducted will be locked after nine and unlocked after twelve," when she turned the page, it was the last one. "I can live with these three rules," she placed the papers on the empty table.

Chapter 3

The Good, The Bad & The Evil

Bringing her trolley to place it on the bed, she started unpacking the things. This place looked much better for a dorm than she had expected, making her wonder if every other room of this building was furnished with cupboards and drawers. Maybe they were, thought Julie to herself because this was a reputed institution. A university where thousands of applicants applied, but barely a few made it through.

Her clothes went into the cupboards, and her books now sat on one corner of the table. She took the framed photograph from her bag, placing it on the table.

After almost three hours, someone knocked on her room's door. On opening it, she caught sight of a girl.

"Uh, hi. I live next door and thought to come and greet you. I am Melanie Davis." Compared to Olivia's loud clothing, this one looked more toned down. The girl had brown hair and a friendly smile on her lips.

"Julianne Winters," introduced Julie.

"Did you need any help? I finished my assignment and thought you might need some help to show you around," offered Melanie trying to be friendly. When Julie turned around, the girl said. "You are fast. When I first came here, it took me nearly a week to get my things sorted out."

"I didn't know what else to do. Would you like to come in?" Julie politely asked as it was rude to have the girl stand outside.

Melanie nodded her head and stepped inside, "I never thought this room would be turned into a dorm."

Hearing this, Julie asked, "Was this the janitor's room?" Considering how she had arrived late, Julie wouldn't be surprised by it.

Melanie shook her head, "No. The room was always kept locked. At least since I joined this place and remember."

"I see," replied Julie, somewhere glad to have privacy. "What year are you?"

"Junior year," on Melanie's reply, Julie's eyes brightened. "You too? I guess we'll be sharing some of the classes together."

Julie smiled, more than glad to know that there would be a friendly face to look at in the class, and she wouldn't feel like an outcast. Her previous plan of keeping a low profile had gone out of the window with a crack in her glasses, and she was somewhere apprehensive on how the next few days would go.

"This place is really strange. I went to get my schedule and these two delinquents started to fight in the middle of the hallway. It was scary," the last words came out as a whisper as if someone would hear her.

"I am sorry to hear that. In time you will get used to it. It is only a few of the seniors who often get into fights outside the buildings, but very rarely in front of the teachers. It even freaked me out initially. Me and my friend Conner, we try to stay away from it," said Melanie, and she then looked at the picture frame that Julie had placed on the table.

Julie asked, "You wouldn't mind if I borrow your notes to catch up with the lost classes, would you?"

"Of course not, let me go and get them. I finished most of my classwork and won't be needing them this weekend," offered Melanie and slipped out of the room to get her notes.

Julie was grateful for Melanie's help, and with nothing else to do, she decided to spend her time going through Melanie's notes. After dinner at night, she had tried to call her uncle to let him know that she had settled in, but her room had the worst network reception. It wasn't just her room, but the entire building that had bad network coverage.

Stepping out of the dormitory, Julie hugged herself because the temperature had dropped more than the time in the evening. Walking away from the building, she looked down at her phone while tapping it at the side.

"Oh, God! I should have known this place would have a bad network," muttered Julie to herself.

Raising her phone in the air, she tried to see if she would be able to find a signal, but nothing worked. Some of the few options were to walk towards the entrance gates where the creepy watchman was, and the next being climbing a tall tree.

Not too far away from where she was, on one of the trees, the boy whom Julie had met earlier that day outside the main building hung himself upside down on a branch.

A grin appeared on his lips as he watched the new girl jumping up and down, "Looks like someone failed to read the rules about this place. I don't know what Dante was thinking by having a student join this late, when the girl isn't even a freshman."

The girl continued to walk around with her hand in the air.

"Olivia told me that they gave her the only spare room in that dormitorium," said Maximus while he watched things upside down, his body slightly swaying back and forth. He saw the girl finally give up and return to the building. "Did you go to sleep, Rome?" he asked.

Maximus moved up to sit upright on the branch and turned to look at his friend.

On one of the nearby branches sat the dark-haired boy with his back leaning against the bark, his legs stretched and eyes closed. Even though his eyes were closed, he was still listening to Maximus.

"I would be if you weren't annoying me. Go find another tree to hang on," said the dark-haired boy.

The grin on Maximus's lips widened, "I would, but this one looks s-" in the next second, the dark-haired boy placed his hand on the branch where Maximus was sitting, and the branch broke. Maximus landed on the ground on his feet. "Fine fine, I am going," and he left.

The person on the tree turned his head, looking in the direction of the girl's dormitory.

Back in the girl's dormitory, Julie stared at the failed message that she had tried to send to her uncle because of the network problem, she dropped the phone next to her. Thankfully, her uncle had dropped her here today, and he would possibly guess that she was busy settling in here.

The next day, Julie tried to catch up with the basic things regarding the classes she had missed until the time of lunch. Both she and Melanie walked to the campus' common lunchroom. It was located on the ground floor of one of the many buildings that the Verteris owned. The floor had large windows and seating arrangements for students and the staff of the university.

On her way, Julie felt the eyes of people on her, and she pushed her glasses closer to her face.

"Is it my imagination or can you also sense some of the people looking at us," whispered Julie to Melanie as they made their way to stand in one of the two queues like the rest of the people. How much of an impression had she left on everyone in the main office that people remembered her?

"They must be curious after what happened," replied Melanie, who stood behind her. Julie had already mentioned what happened yesterday, and the girl had offered her sympathies.

"The students here like to stare," murmured Julie, taking one step forward when the students in front of her moved forward. It wasn't that the previous place where she studied didn't have students who weren't curious, but this was a little more evident. "Even yesterday, when I entered the dormitory floor."

"Oh, that," Melanie's eyebrows raised, and she said, "I think most of us were surprised to see Olivia walk you to your dorm door. Everyone knows that Olivia has never made an appearance in our block. It was possibly the first time she entered our dormitory. I think that is why the girls are curious if you are somehow related to her," explained Melanie.

"Seems like she's popular," Julie responded, and Melanie nodded her head.

"Not just her, but her entire group is. Many want to associate themselves with them," replied Melanie.

It made sense to Julie now that a nobody and a new student like her had been helped by one of the popular people of this university, thought Julie to herself.

When the students in front of her cleared, it was finally her turn to get her meal, and if there was one thing she had to praise about, it wasn't the ambience or the architecture or the vast grounds on which the university stood. It was the variety of food that this place had to offer. The food in the lunchroom lived up to the reputation that this university held, and Julie approved it from the bottom of her heart.

"Mel!" someone called from one of the tables, and Julie saw a lean boy with curly brown hair, who seemed like he had reserved seats for them.

"I was worried we would have to wait after looking at the full table, for seats," said Melanie when they reached near the table. "Julie, this is Conner, my friend even before we entered Verteris. We have studied in the same primary school. Conner, this is Julianne, a new student who arrived only yesterday and lives next to my dorm."

"Conner Lee," the curly boy introduced himself. "Welcome to the university."

"Julianne Winters, thank you," Julie thanked him with a smile. She took her seat along with Melanie next to her and Conner at the front.

"I am surprised to see that the university is still accepting students this late," commented Conner, his eyes curiously looking at Julie. "A person I knew in my town had applied here around the same time Mel and I did. Considering how the guy's grades were better than ours, I believed that he would be accepted here. But he received the rejection letter because the time had passed, even though the letter did go through."

"Maybe they stopped accepting students," said Melanie, who started to eat her noodles.

Conner waved his spoon, "I think it was because he applied it late." He then turned to Julie and asked, "So what brings you here, Julianne? Like us, was it your dream to study in this renowned university or did you get through with a recommendation?"

"Two months ago, I moved to my uncle's house," she said as she had rehearsed in her mind many times, "And decided to apply here along with the rest. I just turned lucky in getting accepted here," answered Julie and Conner nodded his head.

She asked, "How long have you both been studying here?"

"For three years. Students who belong to the elite family have been studying here for around five to six years compared to us ordinary students, who started here late. But then that is only because most of us were not able to get admission," explained Melanie, and Julie stopped her.

"I didn't know the students here were divided into two groups," Julie voiced her thoughts.

"You would be surprised with how things here are," chuckled Melanie.

"Two would be wrong," said Conner while he picked up the Pepsi can to take a sip from it. "But we have the good, the bad, and the evil."

"I don't think I have ever heard this version before," said Julie, leaning slightly forward as her interest grew. "Aren't bad and evil almost the same?"

Melanie shook her head at Conner's words but didn't stop him from explaining it while she continued to eat her meal.

Conner explained, "The good students are the people here, who mind their business, and are busy studying. Well everyone study because if you don't pass the mark then you will not be detained in the year, but told to leave this place at the end of the year. The good students try not to get into trouble, but are often subjected to trouble. Then there is the bad, who fight and get involved in causing trouble to the good ones. Then there are the evil one's or the bullies. They will turn your life to living Hell here and no one will know. Some evolve like pokemon, and the evolution never goes backwards."

"Seems like I applied to a university I didn't know well about," muttered Julie. Every school or university had those kinds, but this seemed to have two extremes of the worst, she thought to herself.

Julie couldn't help but smile at his words, and at the same time, as she looked around the lunchroom, she wondered which of them she had to steer clear away from.

"Not everyone is like that, Julie," Melanie assured her. "It's just a few of them while most of them here are good people. Don't go scaring her off," she lightly scolded Conner.

Julie was glad to sit with them, and though she had spent only one day with Melanie and a few minutes with Conner, she could see herself spending the next two years with them. While they continued their meal together, she learned from their conversation that Conner had chosen arts as his major.

She was on her last few bites, finishing her plate clean, when she caught sight of three boys entering the lunchroom. On catching sight of the mohawk boy in the middle, her eyes went wide, and she ducked her head.

This was evitable as it wasn't like they attended different universities. One or the other day, they were going to cross paths, but she felt it was better to do that after a few days than now. That way, his memory about the embarrassing moment would fade, and so would his temper.

While her head was still ducked down, Melanie noticed it and frowned, "Are you alright?"

Julie carefully lifted her hand to look at the boy, who made his way to one of the nearest tables where they were seated. "I think so," whispered Julie, placing her spoons on the table. "What's that guy's name? The one with porcupine hair?"

Both Conner and Melanie turned to look at the side where Julie had nudged her head.

Conner started to laugh at the way Julie had described the person, his shoulders shaking, "That's Mateo Jackson. Good one at that. Porcupine," he snorted.

"Shh, you will get into trouble if he hears you," Melanie hushed Conner, who continued to laugh. "Julie got into trouble with him yesterday."

"That doesn't sound good," Conner cleared his throat. "It was only last week did he break one of the freshman's fingers."

"Thank you for the information. It is truly encouraging," said Julie, as it didn't make her situation any better.

Melanie said, "I don't think he would hurt a new student. Especially a female."

Right at that moment, Julie and the other students who were sitting near Mateo's table heard him threaten a junior,

"You! What do you think you are staring at?" Mateo looked extremely angry.

"We'll find her and bring her to you, Mat. She can't hide forever," said one of his friends.

Mateo smacked his hand on the table, "If it wasn't for Borrell's interruption I would have broken her hand," he gritted his teeth. "Julianne Winters, she better run or leave this university."

"How bad was the fall?" Melanie asked in a whisper.

Looks like she had hurt his pride and reputation, thought Julie to herself. "I will see you later. I am going to go and complete copying the notes." She offered them a smile, who in return gave her a look of worry mixed with pity.

She had replaced her glasses with her spare ones, and right now, she was nowhere looking forward to breaking them. It wasn't like she hadn't stood up against people in the past, but she had learned that it was better to pick the peaceful way if something could be avoided. Thankfully Mateo's back was facing where their table was, and she could see only part of his face. Quickly getting up from the table, she darted towards the doors of the lunchroom.

While Julie hurried, making her way past the doors, she almost crashed into a person if she hadn't stopped herself from moving forward. But that didn't stop her from coming to stand right in front of the dark-haired boy who had been involved in yesterday's fight.

Because of the sudden shock of unexpectedness, a soft gasp escaped her lips.

But something told Julie that he had stopped walking to avoid being crashed into her.

Unconsciously she took a step back, her neck craning to meet his black eyes. Because of his dishevelled hair that fell on his forehead, it created a shadow on his face. Straight nose, cheekbones slightly high. Standing just a couple of breaths away, she could smell his cologne.

Wow, that was a nice smell, thought Julie. What brand was it? Realizing him staring at her with a hint of annoyance, she quickly apologized

"I am sorry," breathing the words.

"No damage," he replied, and when she didn't move, he asked, "Are you going to move now?"

Julie quickly stepped aside, bolting from there to head towards her dorm to turn to a hermit for the next few hours.