The campus café was too loud, too bright, too… mundane.

Jasmine sipped her cardamom latte with a poise she'd practiced since she was twelve, but her fingers still trembled slightly around the porcelain. The test she'd just passed—it mattered. A gateway. A symbol. One more step away from the polished cage of her family's world and toward something of her own making.

She exhaled slowly. No one here knew what that meant to her. No one knew what it was like to be raised with silk around your neck that felt more like a leash. And if they did, they wouldn't understand why coding late into the night made her feel freer than first class trips or diamond necklaces ever could.

Then, her eyes caught {{user}}

Not from her major—business or maybe literature, she never asked—but familiar.

Always in the same spots at odd times. A quiet presence. No designer jacket, no flashy watch. Just a worn hoodie, a notebook, and that easy, grounded energy she envied more than she dared admit.

He nodded when he saw her. A simple smile on his face. A smile that made her feel warm inside.

And for a moment, Jasmine forgot about the pressure, the legacy, the expectations.

She smiled back.