Chapter 4

By lunchtime, I decided to use my trump card.

Ethan was a germaphobe and super picky, preferring incredibly bland food.

He wouldn't eat anything with strong aromatics like onions, ginger, or garlic, let alone anything with an intense flavor.

I dragged him to the notoriously pungent pasta place on the other side of campus.

Not only did I order spaghetti, but I also added double stinky cheese and double cilantro.

When the bowl arrived, the smell alone could knock a person out.

I pushed the bowl towards him.

"Honey, eat up. This place is amazing."

I deliberately emphasized "honey," intending to disgust him.

Ethan looked at the bright red, green, and bizarrely smelling noodles, and sure enough, his brow furrowed.

My heart surged with delight.

Get mad!

Just lose it!

Say you can't stand me anymore and want to break up!

But instead, he just picked up his fork, slowly selected a noodle, and put it in his mouth.

I was stunned.

"Don't you think it smells?"

He swallowed, his expression unchanged.

"It's alright."

"But you used to not even eat onions!"

He looked up at me.

"No one forced me to eat them before."

He picked up a piece of stinky cheese and placed it in my bowl.

"You ordered it, eat more."

I looked at that piece of stinky cheese, on the verge of tears.

The system dinged.

[Had lunch with target. Reward: Twenty dollars.]

I listlessly poked at my noodles.

Twenty dollars.

At this rate, I'd have to be in a relationship for the rest of my life to save up for the condo down payment.

After eating, Ethan wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"I have moot court practice this afternoon. Are you coming to watch?"

I immediately shook my head.

"No, I'm going back to the dorm to sleep."

He stood up, walked over to me, and suddenly reached out to pinch my cheek.

"Okay, let me know when you wake up, and I'll bring you dinner."

His actions were so natural that people at several nearby tables turned to look.

I covered my face, stammering.

"Y-you, don't touch me like that."

He chuckled.

"Boyfriend's privilege. Might as well use it."

Back in the dorm, Chloe had already scrolled through ninety-nine pages of the university's gossip forum.

"Lily! You're trending! You're absolutely viral!"

She shoved her phone in my face.

The post title was bold and bright:

[BREAKING! 100 Confessions Later, They're Official! Law School Ice Prince Falls for English Lit's Relentless Suitor!]

The comments below were all shocked.

[OMG, did this girl cast a spell on him?]

[Has Ethan been possessed? He actually held Lily's hand to the library this morning!]

[Not just held hands, they even ate spaghetti in the back alley for lunch! Ethan eating spaghetti! The world has gone mad!]

I lay on my bed, my eyes unfocused.

"Chloe, I think I got a raw deal."