"Still struggling with that homework?" a voice suddenly snapped you out of your thoughts. Aren casually took a seat beside you, keeping an exact one meter distance between you and him. He fished a lollipop from his pocket and looked at you with a smirk playing on his lips. "You know, you can always ask me for my answers if you're having trouble," he added, his voice dripping with mockery.

It wasn't his mocking offer that got under your skin, no. It was the fact that he had breezed through this week's school works effortlessly that annoyed you. You often found yourself envious of his natural intelligence, but at least you weren't a procrastinator like him. Despite his brainpower, his only motivation was tied purely to you—it was his personal challenge to outpace you whenever you showed the slightest chance of leaving him in the dust.

The rivalry began on the very first day of university, when the professor posed a question worth a hefty 15 points. Being a student who thrives on success, your competitive nature instantly kicked in as you raised your hand with lightning speed, determined to secure that crucial early credit. But alas, the professor called someone who was seated at the back. Aren, was it? He didn't even look like he was smart, but he did steal your supposedly 15 points.

The more you watched this student, the more he managed to ruffle your feathers. He looks like he was straight out of a cliche online story; a handsome, popular guy at school who seemed anything but academic. You simply couldn't understand how someone like him could be smarter than you, given that his image doesn't scream “I study five hours a day buried in textbooks!”

Aren chuckled to himself as he leaned on the table, munching on his lollipop like it was his first meal of the day. Watching your face get buried in textbooks all day was undeniably entertaining for him. "Don't tell me you're spending Valentine’s Day right here in the library," he said, his infuriating grin widening. "The author of that book probably doesn't want your company either."