A Strict Professor

All eyes in the lecture hall turned towards Aiden, the tall, dark-skinned man, including Nicholas's piercing gaze. His bright eyes flickered between Aiden and Amelia, causing a momentary pause in Amelia's racing heart. The intensity of Nicholas's stare seemed to penetrate her soul.

"What's your name?" Nicholas asked his tone now cold and authoritative, pointing directly at Aiden.

Aiden met Nicholas's gaze with a regretful expression. "Aiden Wu," he answered, his voice tinged with remorse.

Nicholas's voice remained diplomatic, though firm. "Alright, Mr. Wu. I'll forgive you this time. But if you shout randomly in my class again, I'll ask you to leave the room before the lecture is over." His words hung in the air, conveying a clear message of consequences. Then, he shifted his attention to another student. "And you, wearing the blue shirt, please move to the back corner over there."

Amelia's surprise was palpable as she realized Nicholas was referring to her. She had thought she wouldn't be affected by the situation. "Me?" she asked, momentarily taken aback.

"Yes, you in the blue shirt. Who else?" Nicholas intentionally avoided mentioning Amelia's name, creating the illusion that they didn't know each other.

"My name is Amelia, sir. You can call me Amy," Amelia introduced herself, even though no one asked for her name.

"Who?"

"Huh?"

"Who asked for your name?" Nicholas clarified, causing the whole class to burst into laughter.

Nicholas quickly regained control of the class, his authoritative presence calming the chaos. He addressed Amelia once again, his irritation apparent. "You were gossiping in my class, right?"

"Shouldn't there be a warning first, sir?" Amelia tried to defend herself. "Aiden received a warning earlier."

Nicholas shook his head. He was already annoyed because Amelia mentioned marriage. "I don't tolerate gossipmongers in my class. So, please choose! Sit alone in the corner or leave the class altogether."

Amelia's brows furrowed. How could she be treated so unfairly? If Aiden received forgiveness for his first mistake, she should have also received a warning, shouldn't she?

Frustrated, Amelia got up and walked out. She looked at Nicholas with an annoyed gaze, determined not to be treated unjustly. She had to fight back by leaving the class.

"If you leave, I won't count your attendance for today's class," Nicholas said, trying to prevent Amelia from leaving.

In her heart, Amelia didn't care. She continued walking towards the exit. It was better to skip class than to be treated like a toy.

However, Amelia's steps halted when Nicholas said, "Isn't it a shame? I plan to consider absences in the grading."

Amelia's ears turned red with anger. She felt powerless at the moment because she was just a student.

Stamping her feet forcefully, Amelia turned around and climbed the stairs to sit in the highest row in the corner.

Throughout the lecture, Amelia couldn't concentrate. She grumbled in frustration, cursing in her mind multiple times. Somehow, her love for Nicholas couldn't diminish her current annoyance. Love is love, and class is class. They're different matters.

"He said not to tell anyone so that he could treat everyone fairly? But he himself isn't professional from the start," Amelia whispered softly so that no one could hear.

"Hey, you in the blue shirt! Solve the problem on the board. Use the same method as I did earlier," Nicholas suddenly said, catching Amelia off guard while she was lost in her thoughts.

"Sir, my name is Amelia!" Amelia exclaimed again, not liking being called by the description of her clothing.

"Yes, you. Please come forward and solve this problem!" Nicholas ordered.

Amelia stepped forward and received the marker that Nicholas handed her. "I want to see how far your knowledge can take you," Nicholas whispered quietly with a sardonic smile, challenging his wife's abilities.

"This is easy, right?" Amelia sneered. "Vector addition. Even an elementary school student could do it."

Indeed, the problem given by Nicholas was very easy. Amelia could solve it in just one minute. She was about to return to her seat with confidence. However, Nicholas called her again and asked her to solve a second problem.

"You want a problem that's at the level of a real student, right?" Nicholas taunted with narrowed eyes.

Now it was Nicholas's turn to sneer. Amelia could only watch as he wrote a series of letter multiplications denoting vectors on the board. Her mind couldn't command her hand to write anything as an answer.