“Fifteeeen!”
1649 Words
Seraphina stepped out holding a washed towel and underwear, intending to dry them on the balcony.
She saw a tall man at the doorway and shrieked—dropping the underwear straight onto his face.
Derek didn’t even get a proper look at her before damp fabric slapped him full on.
It slid down his shirt and landed near his shoes.
For someone with a severe germophobia, the sensation made his skin crawl. Rage flared instantly.
As Seraphina crouched to pick it up, he stepped on it—hard.
“So our dorm has a pervert,” he said, eyes sharp enough to cut.
Seraphina froze, clutching one corner of the lace, staring up at him.
Luckily, she’d already put the wig and binder back on—worried about dorm inspections.
Her soft body was swallowed by an oversized black sleep shirt. She still looked like a handsome little boy.
Except now she looked exactly like a “pretty boy” caught stealing a girl’s pink lace underwear.
“W-who are you?” Seraphina demanded, flipping the accusation out of pure panic. “How can you just walk into someone else’s dorm?”
She forced her voice lower. This man felt dangerous. If he noticed anything off, she was done.
Derek gave a cold laugh, grinding his shoe lightly. “Do you not know you need a student ID to get in?”
Seraphina realized at once—this was the owner of the empty bed.
Great. Just her luck. And he was arrogant on top of it.
“Go on,” Derek said lazily. “Tell me why you’re holding a girl’s underwear.”
Seraphina’s mind went blank. She couldn’t think of a lie fast enough.
“That singing earlier was pretty sweet,” Derek continued, voice turning teasing. “Don’t tell me you’re actually a—”
“It’s my girlfriend’s!” Seraphina blurted, cutting him off.
Derek paused, then raised an eyebrow. “Your girlfriend’s.”
Seraphina clenched her teeth and forced confidence. “Is it wrong to take my own girlfriend’s underwear?”
He watched her—really watched her—eyes sharp as blades.
Her face screamed lie.
Hah.
A lying, effeminate pervert. Interesting.
Derek’s disgust sharpened into something colder. “Let go.”
Seraphina shuddered at the command—softly spoken, yet impossible to disobey.
She stared at the underwear he’d dirtied, a sour sting rising behind her eyes.
Afraid he’d dig deeper and tear her secret open, she loosened her grip and let go.
“Since it’s your girlfriend’s,” Derek said, hooking the underwear up with his shoe like it was trash, “then wash it clean.”
Seraphina’s eyes reddened, trembling as she waited for what came next.
In the next second, the filthy underwear smacked into her face.
“Then put it on,” Derek said, voice low and cruel, “and let me see how much you love your woman. Understand?”
“You—!”
The curse surged to her tongue—then died there.
She couldn’t afford to anger him.
The way he stood, the way he looked down on her—everything screamed money, power, and a background she couldn’t touch.
In QUEEN BALY, ninety percent of students were rich beyond reason.
This man’s arrogance wasn’t bluff—it was entitlement.
She couldn’t fight.
Seraphina closed her eyes and swallowed her rage. “Fine. I’ll… make sure you’re satisfied.”
She gambled that it was a passing whim—he’d forget soon enough.
Derek’s mood brightened immediately. “Good.”
He nodded, pleased. “Then I’ll be looking forward to it.”
He turned and left, his presence cutting the air like frost.
Seraphina collapsed onto the floor as if the bones had been pulled from her body.
A second later, her tears came—violent, unstoppable.
She cried until she was exhausted, then took out her phone and called her mother on WeChat.
Hearing her mother’s voice, she instinctively swallowed back her sobs.
“Mom… how is my brother?”
Her mother sounded worn out. “He’s okay for now. He’s past the critical stage. What about you? Are your roommates treating you well?”
Seraphina paused, then lied, “N-no… they’re fine. They’re all… pretty nice…”
Before that bastard showed up, they really were.
Her mother sighed. “That’s good. I’m sorry, my Seraphina… it’s just your brother…”
Hearing the tremor in her mother’s voice made Seraphina’s heart ache. She immediately crushed all her sadness and forced a weak smile into her tone.
“Don’t worry, Mom. You and Dad just stay overseas with my brother. I’ll be careful.”
Her mother sniffed. “Alright. If anything happens, call me anytime. I’ll ask your uncle to go help.”
That profit-driven uncle?
Better not.
Seraphina wiped her tears with her sleeve. “Okay. I’ll rest now. Training starts tomorrow.”
“Alright. Be good, my girl.”
After the call, Seraphina felt a little better.
Two weeks earlier, her brother Lucas had been injured in a racing accident overseas and was now being treated in a foreign hospital.
QUEEN BALY was an elite school, with terrifyingly high tuition.
Even so, Lucas had given up another prestigious university and repeated a year just to get in here.
Because the benefits were simply too tempting.
First, any student who graduated successfully would receive priority offers from companies partnered with the
school—especially the Fu Group, the nation’s number-one corporation by market value.
Second, for students with excellent grades but limited finances, the school generously provided full scholarships.
However, this policy only lasted through this year.
Meaning that if Lucas took a leave or withdrew, the benefit would be gone—and afterward they would have to pay an annual tuition of 320,000.
To avoid wasting time, and to secure the scholarship, Seraphina had no choice but to follow her parents’ arrangement: suspend her own studies and enroll in her brother’s place.
The next morning at eight, massive waves of freshmen poured onto the track field. Military green shimmered under the sunlight.
Seraphina thought that no matter how arrogant that bastard was, he’d still have to stand at attention in front of a real instructor—and the thought almost comforted her.
But the moment she saw him appear in camouflage, reality slapped her hard.
That rude, unreasonable bastard was actually their formation’s—
Instructor?!
“Oh my god, he’s so handsome!”
“If my instructor looked like that, I’d train for a whole year!”
“I heard he entered QUEEN BALY at sixteen, served two years in the army at eighteen, and came back to finish his junior year!”
…
Standing at the back, Seraphina listened to the excited chatter and felt utterly miserable.
And, to make matters worse, her period had started that morning.
Derek stood with his hands behind his back, posture straight as a pine tree.
“Alright, everyone—dress right!”
At his command, all discussion stopped, replaced by scattered footsteps.
“Eyes front!”
“At ease.”
“Attention!”
“Count off!”
“One!”
“Two!”
…
“Fifteen!”
“Stop!” Derek’s booming voice made the first three rows flinch.
“Number fifteen. Didn’t eat breakfast, did you? Again.”
Seraphina was furious. Not only had she skipped breakfast—her stomach was cramping badly.
With no choice, she called out again, “Fifteen!”
Derek walked over in full view of everyone.
“What’s your name?”
Seraphina looked up at him. Just one glance sent chills through her spine, and she immediately looked away.
“Sera—no. Lucas.”
Damn it. He was only two years older than her—so why did a single look from him feel so terrifying, while she could
only shrink back?
Derek stared down at her.
“Lucas. Say your number again. Louder.”
Seraphina swallowed, took a deep breath. “Fifteen!”
“Are you even a man? Again!”
Fighting the sting in her nose, she forced all her strength into it.
“FIFTEEN!”
The moment the word left her mouth, laughter erupted around her.
“Hahaha, that’s too much—so soft!”
“Did a girl just count?”
“Fifteeeen!”
…
The mockery dragged Seraphina straight back into the nightmares of middle school.
She bit her lip. Tears hit the ground the moment she lowered her head.
“Laughing?” Derek’s sharp gaze swept over the undisciplined students.
Born with silver spoons in their mouths, their innate sense of superiority kept them laughing even now.
Derek gave a cold chuckle.
“All of you! Drop! Boys—one hundred push-ups. Girls—fifty. Now!”
The laughter turned into complaints. One after another, they glared maliciously at Seraphina as she obediently lay down.
“Lucas! You got this!”
Seraphina turned and saw Alex cheering for her. She smiled faintly and started under Derek’s whistle.
One. Two. Three…
Her arms were weak to begin with, and the pain in her lower abdomen only made it worse. After twenty, she couldn’t push herself up anymore.
“Can’t go on?”
Derek knelt in front of her, smiling at her misery.
“Sorry, Instructor… I really can’t…”
“You still have eighty left. If you can’t finish, run ten laps. Decide.”
She tried to push herself up again—but her arms collapsed, and she fell back onto the scorching ground.
“Tsk.” Derek shook his head. “With stamina like this, your woman must be pretty unlucky.”
He stood up.
“Same for everyone. Anyone who doesn’t finish—ten laps around the track.”
“Damn, is he trying to kill us?”
“It’s all that sissy’s fault.”
“Just wait till later.”
- Writer
