TPCF 06

Chapter 6

The man walking over, one hand in his pocket and the other holding a wrapped box, was unmistakably Rutger. He was about to wave the box at Anita when he spotted Edmund standing beside her and frowned.

“Who’s this guy now?”

“Me? I’m her boyfriend.”

Anita’s mouth fell open. What did this man just say?

She looked over at Edmund, who was smiling shamelessly with his arm draped casually over her shoulder. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

“What… kind of crazy nonsense is that?”

Seeing Rutger’s expression harden, Anita quickly grabbed Edmund’s sleeve and whispered urgently.

“What are you doing?! You never said you’d help me like this!”

“This kind of thing is the most effective way to get rid of a stalker.”

“He’s not a stalker!”

“What? You could’ve said so earlier.”

“What are you two whispering about? Boyfriend? What the hell are you talking about…?”

Realizing his mistake, Edmund tried to backpedal. He discreetly withdrew his arm from Anita’s shoulder and started babbling more nonsense.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ve been a bit mentally unstable lately. You know Dr. Ray? That famous psychiatrist? I’ve been seeing him every Sunday. He told me not to believe anything I say myself, because most of it’s just hallucinations.”

Anita pressed her hand to her forehead. He was dragging his image straight through the mud.

“Please, senior, just stop.”

“So you’re saying you’re a lunatic, is that it?”

Rutger’s disgruntled voice cut in, and Anita felt like crying. How was she supposed to fix this situation? Honestly, things were more peaceful when that random guy confessed to her earlier.

“Thank you for your help, senior. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

“Me? That Wellington Ice Cream shop across the street.”

“I’ll buy every flavor and send it to the student council office. So please, just go for today. Please?”

“Alright, fine. But if that guy does anything weird, you’d better come straight to me. Ignoring it only makes things worse.”

“Yes, yes.”

Anita rattled off her words like a machine gun and quickly ushered Edmund out of Rutger’s line of sight. She swallowed dryly, feeling the sting of a sharp gaze on her back, and turned around.

Sure enough, Rutger was standing there with his arms crossed, eyes narrowed at her. His gaze seemed to say:

“Well, Anita. Let’s hear what excuse you’ve got now.”

But Anita, instead of panicking, felt a surge of defiance. They weren’t even anything to each other, so why did he act like he had some sort of claim over her? He pushed her away when he wanted, but acted close only when it suited him. It was infuriating.

“Anita.”

“Stop calling me.”

She turned her head away and stared at the ground. Rutger let out a sigh. It was a clear sign that she didn’t want to talk.

“Alright, fine. Just take this. You like this kind of stuff.”

“……”

Anita looked down at the box he handed her, her expression troubled. It was wrapped in pretty pink paper with a yellow ribbon. As she untied the ribbon and opened the box, a refreshing scent filled the air.

“Lemon pie…”

A year ago, Anita would’ve been overjoyed just because he gave her something. She would’ve been so excited over the cute wrapping and ribbon that she wouldn’t have been able to sleep that night. Over something as small as this.

“I don’t like this. Take it back.”

Anita had never liked lemon pie in her life. She hated sour foods, but she forced herself to eat it, pretending it was good. Just to have even a small thing in common with Rutger.

“What?”

“I don’t like it anymore.”

Lemon pie, in fact, was something Rutger liked. Not that he would ever realize it.

—

Back in her room, Anita slumped over her desk in a gloomy mood. As she let out a long sigh, the pages of the book spread out on the desk fluttered over.

She couldn’t avoid Rutger forever. Sooner or later, she’d either lose her patience and quit school entirely, or Rutger would resort to some kind of tactic. He was the type who had to have everything he wanted, no matter what.

Anita reflected on why she had chosen biology in the first place. She had originally wanted to major in creative writing and become a novelist.

But back then, Anita had been emotionally drained from dealing with Rutger’s unreadable and secretive behavior. To her, biology had become a kind of doctrine, a refuge.

It reminded her that even someone like Rutger was just a human being—made of blood, bones, flesh, and muscle. That he, too, was a living organism, breathing and surviving just like her. That fact brought Anita a strange sense of comfort.

It wasn’t love. It was just dopamine.

Anita repeated that to herself. Like she always did.

Of course, life would be so much easier if it were really that simple. Just knowing the principle behind your behavior doesn’t mean you can control it. No matter how many times Anita tried to brainwash herself into believing it was just a chemical reaction, the moment she stood in front of Rutger, her lips would dry up and her mind would go blank.

The next day, Anita stopped by Wellington Ice Cream to have a gift packaged for Edmund. Even though his interference had led to Rutger grilling her, he had tried to help.

As the clerk packed vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, coconut, and all sorts of other flavors, Anita suddenly froze. The sharp lemon scent brought back memories of the previous night. She shook her head, trying to drive the scent out of her nose.

While she was lost in her pointless ritual, the clerk finished wrapping the gift.

“Please send this to the student council office at Aberdeen University. Just say it’s for Edmund—they’ll know.”

Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know his last name. But surely there weren’t two Edmunds in the student council. After paying, Anita stepped outside. The clear sky and gentle breeze greeted her.

Located in the southwest of the Empire, the Aberdeen region was a sunny and peaceful place all year round.