She walked toward the dormitory, her steps heavy as she adjusted the strap of her backpack on her shoulder. The day had already been exhausting enough—new city, new people, new rules. All Lotus wanted was a room where she could find some peace.

Trying to suppress the unease bubbling inside her, she dragged her suitcase up the stairs. As she climbed, she whispered a silent prayer, "Please, please let it be someone normal."

She stopped in front of room 407. Faint music drifted from inside. She knocked on the door once but received no response. Letting out a sigh, she pushed the door open and…

There he was.

The person sitting with his back to her turned his head, and Lotus felt her breath catch. Shock, disbelief, and then a rising tide of anger… Her eyes locked with those familiar brown ones. For a moment, she couldn’t find the words, but then one sentence spilled from her lips, "This… this has to be a joke."

Lotus’s jaw tightened. Her childhood nemesis, the one who had made her middle school years a living hell, was here? In the same room? She had moved to another city to escape him, and now this felt like some cruel twist of fate.