Chapter 5: The Violation

The whispering started before Layla even stepped into class.

Glances. Hushed laughs. And that one voice—sharp, nasal, and unnecessarily loud.

“Did you hear? Some freshman spent the night in a senior’s room. In nothing but a towel.”

Layla froze halfway into the lecture hall. The blood drained from her face.

They knew.

She wasn’t sure how—maybe someone saw her that night, maybe a camera, maybe just gossip that caught fire—but they knew. And in a place like this, it spread like gasoline.

She gripped her books tightly and forced herself to walk in. One step. Then another. Chin up. Don’t look shaken.

Kai’s seat was empty. He hadn’t shown up all day—not at the cafeteria, not at the mechanical lab, not even outside Room 303 when she passed this morning.

Maybe he was ignoring her.

Maybe he regretted everything.

She tried to breathe through it.

But her panic found no peace when her phone buzzed with an email notification: Dean’s Office: Disciplinary Notice – Dorm Violation.

Her hands trembled.

Later That Evening

The hallway outside the Dean’s office was sterile, too white, too quiet.

Layla sat stiffly in the metal chair, eyes locked on the tiled floor, as shame curled inside her like a knot of thorns. Her mind played back every touch, every moan, every forbidden whisper from Room 303 — and now it all led to this.

She flinched when the office door opened.

But it wasn’t the Dean who stepped out first — it was Kai.

Wearing a black hoodie. Jaw tense. Eyes sharp. And a tone that brooked no refusal.

“She’s with me.”

The secretary blinked. “Sir—”

“It was my fault. I let her in. I take responsibility.”

Layla’s breath caught.

He didn’t even look at her — but the way he stood in front of her, shielding her from the scrutiny of the office staff, made her heart twist painfully.

“Mr. Zhang—” the Dean's voice interrupted from inside. “You do realize the violation applies to both students. Ms. Layla will still be required to explain—”

“She doesn’t need to be dragged into this.” Kai’s voice lowered, dangerously calm. “She didn’t break the lock. She didn’t ask to be stuck in the hallway half-dressed. She knocked on a door because she had nowhere else to go. What would you have her do? Sleep on the floor?”

The Dean fell silent.

“I’m prepared to take the full write-up,” Kai added, glancing briefly at Layla for the first time — just long enough for her to see the flicker of protectiveness beneath his aloof shell.

And maybe something else.

Something deeper.

Outside the Office

She caught up to him on the stairs, breathless.

“Kai—why did you do that?”

He didn’t stop walking. “Because it wasn’t your fault.”

“But you could get suspended for—”

“I won’t. It’s my last semester. Clean record. They won’t risk the paperwork.”

Layla’s eyes stung. “You didn’t have to—”

He turned then, fast, catching her by the wrist. “Look,” he said, voice low and rough, “I don’t do this. I don’t play boyfriend. I don’t do drama. But I won’t let them make you feel small. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

She swallowed, heart pounding.

“But we did,” she whispered. “We… crossed a line.”

A beat of silence.

Then Kai’s thumb brushed against her wrist, and he stepped just a little closer.

“Then maybe I don’t regret it,” he said. “Do you?”

Layla didn’t answer.

Because she wasn’t sure anymore.

That Night: A New Twist

Layla sat in her dorm, lights off, headphones in — trying to drown out the chaos of the day with music and the hum of her thoughts.

Then her phone buzzed again.

Unknown Number:

Room 303. 11 p.m. You don’t have to knock.