No, no, I've got this. Seriously, you go get some sleep, Rose," Jasmine said, waving her off.
Rose nodded, "Alright then. Just shout if you need anything."
"Don't worry about it."
Jasmine watched Rose scrolling on her phone, not even glancing her way. She let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She started flipping through the photos she'd She scrolled through her photos, tossing out one after another. None of them worked. She stopped, shifted in her chair, tilted her head a bit, and tried again. This time, something clicked. The shot wasn't showy, but it had a quiet confidence she really liked.
She threw on a quick filter—nothing dramatic—and sent it to Evan.
Now she just had to wait.
Jasmine didn't doubt he'd answer. The photo wasn't bold, but the message behind it was obvious. Even if Evan was still hanging around with Emily, Jasmine had made her intentions clear. Guys always picked up on these signals—she knew it. Attraction didn't always care about loyalty; sometimes curiosity did the trick.
That idea made her smile—a sly little grin as she put her phone down.
—
In the boys' dorm, Evan stepped into the bathroom, planning to head straight to bed afterward. Morning runs weren't optional if he wanted results. Height, stamina, discipline—everything mattered.
His phone buzzed while he washed his hands.
He glanced at the message, then the photo.
Jasmine knew how to present herself—he'd give her that. Confident, deliberate. But comparison was unavoidable. Against Emily, the impact dulled.
Evan didn't linger. Interest alone wasn't enough. Timing mattered more.
He was about to lock his phone when a voice interrupted him.
Hey, Evan! You done in there? I'm about to explode, hurry up!"
"Yeah, I'm done," Evan said, stepping forward and opening the door.
Nathan barged in, ready to unzip, but then he paused. His eyes landed on Evan's phone.
Nathan grinned, "Wow, Evan, searching for girls online now? Gotta admit, these are pretty nice."
That's when Evan realized he'd left the photo on display in his rush to open the door. Too late now.
Nathan kept going, "I'm just saying, dude, you should get a girlfriend. Look at me—I found one right at the start of the semester. You've met her, right? She's gorgeous, and she treats me like a king…"
He was so busy bragging, he actually forgot for a second that he needed to pee.
Evan just looked at him, deadpan.
Does Jasmine really treat you well, Nathan? Would you still think that if you knew she just sent me that photo? Honestly, if I snapped my fingers, she'd probably run right over.
Evan couldn't be bothered to answer. He walked back to his bed, silenced his phone, stuffed it under his pillow, and closed his eyes.
Some doors didn't need to be opened immediately. Leaving them half-closed was often the smarter choice.
"Hey, I'm talking to you…" Nathan called after him, annoyed, but the urge to pee finally won out.
Still, Nathan couldn't shake the feeling something was off. He convinced himself Evan was just sulking because he didn't have a girlfriend. Nathan, on the other hand, was already in a relationship—and with a real catch, too. No wonder Evan felt inferior.
That thought stroked his ego, and his mind wandered back to the photo on Evan's phone. Why did it look so familiar? He shook his head, deciding it wasn't worth worrying about.
—
Back in the girls' dorm, Jasmine lay on her bed, staring at her phone. Ten minutes had passed, and Evan still hadn't replied. Her brow furrowed. Was she—
Jasmine frowned. Was she the one who missed it because she'd fallen asleep? Or maybe she saw it and just didn't want to say anything. Maybe they all just slept through it.
Still, Jasmine felt pretty confident about the back photo she'd just sent. Evan hadn't replied, but she figured he was probably just asleep and hadn't seen it yet. Even so, she couldn't help herself—she picked up her phone and opened her chat with Nathan.
"Are you asleep?" she typed.
"I'm not asleep!" he shot back right away. "Baby, weren't you asleep? Why are you messaging me now? Did you just wake up or something?"
Nathan had just finished putting on his pants when Jasmine's message popped up. He grinned and replied in a flash.
"Yeah, I just woke up," Jasmine answered, not really caring about the details. She got straight to the point: "Is Evan asleep?"
Nathan blinked at his screen, a little confused. "Evan? Why do you want to know about him?"
"Just tell me if he's asleep or not," Jasmine insisted.
"Oh, hang on, let me check. He probably isn't. He just went to the bathroom," Nathan replied, already stepping out to check.
Nathan didn't think much of Jasmine's question. He had plenty of confidence—he was local, owned two houses, not nearly as broke as Evan. No reason to be insecure.
"He's asleep," Nathan texted after glancing at Evan, who was lying there with his eyes closed.
Then, curiosity got the better of him. "Hey, Jass, why do you need to know about Evan? He's not that useful. He doesn't know nearly as many people here as I do."
Jasmine saw the messages but didn't bother to answer. She felt relieved, honestly. So Evan really was asleep. She'd expected this.
Nathan sent another message: "By the way,baby, guess what? Just now, when I went to the bathroom, Evan was in there too. When he opened the door, I saw him looking at a picture of some girl's back."
"He probably found it online," Nathan went on. "Honestly, he's so desperate for a girlfriend."
Jasmine read Nathan's long string of messages and froze. Her face fell. She knew exactly whose photo Evan had been looking at. Hers.
So he saw it. Why no reply, though?
Annoyed, Jasmine glanced down at her own legs. They looked pretty good, honestly. So what was up with Evan? Was he really that into Emily?
"Baby, why'd you go quiet again?" Nathan messaged after a bit, clearly getting impatient.
Jasmine didn't answer. She just flipped her phone over and stared at the ceiling.
Nobody said a word that night.
At 6:40 the next morning, Evan's phone alarm dragged him out of sleep. He shut it off, rolled out of bed, and headed to the bathroom—eyes barely open.
He was still brushing his teeth when Emily messaged him.
"Are you awake?"
"Yeah, I'm up," Evan typed back.
"Great. Want to meet up? I'm downstairs at the boys' dorm now. Let's go to the playground together?" she replied almost instantly.
"Okay." Evan sent back, tossed in an "okay" gesture, then put his phone away and finished up in the bathroom.
When he came out, he saw Jack, Ryan, and Nathan all knocked out, sleeping like rocks.
As Evan started changing, Jack cracked one eye open, groggy and confused. When he realized Evan was already getting dressed, he sat up, looking shocked.
"Seriously, Evan, why are you up this early?" Jack mumbled.
"Going for a run," Evan grinned.
"You ran yesterday too, and now again today? Are you actually doing this?" Jack stared at him, kind of amazed.
Yesterday, he figured Evan was just talking big about running. Guess not.
Evan nodded. "For real."
Jack gave him a thumbs up, totally sincere. "Man, you're already in college, and you're still running in the morning instead of sleeping in? I respect that."
Then Jack rubbed his eyes—he'd been up gaming with Ryan until 2 a.m. and barely got four hours of sleep. He flopped over, faced the wall, and was out again in seconds.
Evan just shook his head, a little amused. He reached for his phone to check if Emily had arrived yet, and there it was—her message saying she was at the dorm entrance.
"I'm coming down now."
He walked out, texting as he shut the door quietly behind him.
As he headed downstairs, another message popped up: "No rush, take your time."
Evan glanced at it but didn't bother replying—he was already on the first floor and could see the exit.
He stepped outside and spotted Emily right away, standing under a willow tree by the dorm entrance. Hard to miss her.
She'd tied her hair up in a high ponytail—probably for the run—which made her face look even brighter and more delicate. Her neck was slender and pale. She wore a summer tracksuit: short-sleeved shirt, loose trousers, sneakers. Just casual sportswear, but on her? She looked amazing. She had this quiet confidence, something almost goddess-like.
Even though the pants covered her legs, you could still see her shape. She was tall—171 centimeters—and her proportions were just… well, you could tell people noticed.
Evan caught a few guys sneaking glances at Emily as they came and went from the dorm. Nobody dared to approach her, though. She was just that intimidating—her looks made everyone around her a little self-conscious. Guys might check her out, but nobody had the guts to actually say hello.
Honestly, when a guy runs into a girl that pretty and put-together, it's tough not to feel a little inadequate. Most just give up before even thinking about trying.
Emily noticed Evan too—she'd been watching the door since she got there.
"I'm here!" she called, waving her pale arm, a big smile lighting up her face.
She was so at ease, standing there with that bright smile. It kind of made Evan look good by association.
After she called out, a bunch of guys nearby glanced over at him, their faces full of envy. Who wouldn't be jealous? She was standing there, waiting for him.
Evan didn't care about the stares. He walked right up to Emily and took her hand.
She froze for a second, and then her cheeks went pink.
She kissed him secretly yesterday, but this was the first time they'd ever held hands. And for Emily, it was her first time ever.
This was actually the first time she'd ever held hands with a guy who wasn't family.
Honestly, she felt a little shy and nervous.
But Emily's just herself—bright, open, always composed. Even though her cheeks turned a little pink, she still looked calm and graceful.
"Want to go for a run on the track?" she said, her hand still in Evan's.
"Yeah, let's start with a run," he answered. Evan held her hand and led the way toward the playground. A few boys watched them, clearly jealous.
No wonder successful guys always end up with beautiful women. It's a real confidence boost.
Evan felt a little proud just thinking about it and glanced over at Emily.
Emily must've noticed him spacing out, because she looked over, curious. "What are you thinking about?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Nothing much. Just that having a beautiful girlfriend really does wonders for your confidence."
Emily broke into a smile, her eyes shining with a bit of pride. She couldn't help but feel happy at his compliment.
The boys' dorm wasn't far from the school playground. After about seven or eight minutes, Evan and Emily arrived.
"Wow, a lot of people actually get up early to run," Emily said, surprised at the crowd jogging around.
"Yeah, more than I expected," Evan replied. Just as he was about to say more, he spotted their counselor, Claire Wilson, running laps too.
Today, Claire was dressed head-to-toe in white—white shorts, white casual pants. She looked healthy, athletic, and full of energy. There was something easy and natural about the way she swung her arms while running.
Emily caught him looking. She glanced over at Claire and asked casually, "You know her?"
There was a hint of caution in her voice. The woman Evan was watching was almost as striking as Emily herself.
"Yeah, of course. That's our class advisor," Evan said, snapping out of it.
Emily relaxed right away.
Oh, just the counselor.
That's fine. Doesn't matter how pretty a counselor is.