At eight o’clock on a Tuesday morning, the tiered lecture hall was thick with resentment. There were fifty students in the class. Forty-nine of them had dark circles under their eyes. Those were the marks left by pulling an all-nighter to finish an essay titled ‘The Consequences of Betraying a Werewolf.’

Everyone except me. I had planned to lie down for just a moment before starting. Unfortunately, that “moment” lasted until sunrise. Forget five thousand words, I hadn’t even written five lines.

I slumped over my desk, trying to curl into the smallest shape possible. I was done for. There was no way to make it up now. My only option was to distract him and make him happy.

With that thought, I pulled out my phone and unblocked him. My fingers flew across the screen as I typed my personal get-out-of-death-free card. My thumb hovered over the send button, and my heart pounded like crazy, ready to strike at any second.

Just then, the tapping sound of leather shoes approached. Sarek entered the lecture hall, consumed in fury—one that screamed with severe dissatisfaction. His shirt collar was loose, muscles taut beneath the fabric. After being blocked all night, that werewolf looked like he could kill someone.

“Hand in your assignments.”

He casually tossed his laptop onto the lectern and turned on the projector. However, instead of displaying the lecture slides, the big screen showed Sarek’s private chat.

The entire class froze, and so did I. The contact name at the top read “Luna (Draft),” and worst of all, the chat background was the only image I had ever sent him. It was the photo of my expense receipt from that night.

In the dead silence, everyone stared at the screen filled with red exclamation marks.

[Yesterday 11:30 p.m.: Baby, I was wrong. I won’t be so aggressive anymore. Please talk to me… You like sausage, right? If I buy a sausage shop, will you talk to me again?]

[Today 2:15 a.m.: Baby, I cried all night. My pillow is soaked. If you’re afraid of me, I can wear a bite guard. I’ll be very good… Now, I’m jealous of the me from that night. At least he could hear your voice as he got off. Now I have nothing…]

My mind went blank. Was this the same werewolf king who threatened to tear us apart on the battlefield? No, this was a drenched stray werewolf begging for shelter in the rain.

And about him getting off… Was this even allowed to be projected on the big screen?

However, none of the students laughed. Instead, despair spread through the room, because knowing too much usually meant one thing: death.

A vampire in the front row crossed himself. A witch in the back hurriedly deleted her browser history. Everyone silently drafted their last wills, seriously considering where they’d like to be buried and whether the feng shui would be decent.

Meanwhile, Sarek was completely unaware. With his back to the screen, his sharp gaze locked onto me like a blade.

“Mila. Where’s your assignment?”

My legs went weak as I stood up. “P-Professor…”

“You didn’t do it?” His eyes narrowed. “It seems you’re quite attached to getting F’s.”

He stepped closer, one pace at a time, continuing, “Would you like me to draft your withdrawal application for you?”

The oppressive presence of a top predator crashed down on me.

His shadow swallowed me whole as he looked down. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

At that moment, I secretly hit the send button.

“Ding!”

The notification sound exploded through the silence. Sarek froze and then lowered his head to check his phone. At the same time, everyone’s eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets.

On the big screen, the little bunny avatar lit up with a new message.

[I’m sorry, my love. I didn’t mean to block you that night. I miss you too. I’ve been thinking of you so much that my legs are weak.”

The coldness around Sarek vanished instantly. The corners of his mouth shot upward before he forcibly suppressed the smile. His Adam’s apple bobbed.

He replied immediately, the eagerness impossible to hide. His reply popped up on the screen.

[Be good. I will call and comfort you after class. Please don’t be mad anymore, baby. I was too aggressive. From now on, I’m yours.]

A dead silence filled the class. No one dared to laugh. It felt like they were witnessing a bloodthirsty Tyrannosaurus suddenly putting on a pink bow and dancing ballet. It was deeply unsettling. After seeing something so private, the lecture hall might very well become our mass grave.

Sarek put away his phone and walked away with noticeably lighter steps.

“Since this is Mila’s first offense, her assignment can be postponed. Sit down.”

I collapsed into my chair, having narrowly escaped death. However, before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, the atmosphere turned unbearably heavy again.

In his good mood, Sarek finally noticed something was wrong. Why did every student look like they were ready to die, and why were they all staring past him?

With that, he turned around sharply.

The air froze. On the screen, the humble “I can wear a bite guard” and the freshly sent “I’m yours” gleamed like fatal evidence.

Sarek stiffened for a full three seconds before he slowly turned around. His face was dark as a storm cloud, his eyes narrow. Shame and fury twisted together, and the pressure in the room warped the air itself.

“Who saw that?”

His voice was barely louder than a whisper, yet it was enough to send a shiver down everyone’s spine. The students below went pale. One by one, they shut their eyes, mentally preparing for judgment day.

At the critical moment, someone suddenly stood up and applauded. “Congratulations, Professor! Congratulations! Your partner has had a change of heart. This is a rare love story!”

The crushing pressure around Sarek faded as the entire class achieved instant enlightenment.

“That’s right! We wish you a lifetime together!”

“Professor, you’re so devoted! I’m so moved!”

Thunderous applause erupted across the lecture hall. Everyone was clapping like their lives depended on it.

Sarek froze. Being praised for devotion hit his emotionally starved, prideful werewolf heart dead center. His shoulders relaxed, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

“That’s enough,” he said, adjusting his tie with deliberate restraint. “Since you all know already, there’s no need to hide it. She truly can’t live without me.”

That comment made me speechless. Had he no shame?

“But–” His tone changed abruptly. “While capital punishment is waived, punishment remains. Homework doubled.”

A chorus of wails nearly tore the roof off until…

“Professor! I have a way to find your partner!”

Silence fell instantly, and all eyes snapped to the front row. A bespectacled male elf stood with his hand raised, eyes sharp and intelligent. He was the president of the Detective Club.

Sarek’s eyes lit up. “Speak.”

In the corner, I clutched my head, face twisted, screaming silently, ‘Please shut up. Please shut up!’

The elf adjusted his glasses, and as if possessed by the spirit of a legendary detective, he said, “Professor, look at the chat background image. The sausage receipt on the left—see the name? That motel is right below the girls’ dorms!

“And the bedsheet pattern in the corner belongs exclusively to Welcome Motel’s themed rooms on the back street! It’s the only location in the entire city!”

The classroom exploded.

“What? She’s a student here?”

“Professor! I’m part of the Detective Club. I’ll trace the IP address!”

“My aunt owns that motel! I’ll call her to check last night’s surveillance footage!”

“I’ll ask the dorm supervisor who didn’t return that night!”

“Professor! I’m useless, but I can add her on social media and say good things for you!”

What a room full of traitors! Just to avoid homework, they’d all lost their minds, scrambling to sacrifice me at the altar.

Sarek, however, was beaming. He waved his hand grandly.

“Excellent. Whoever finds her gets an A. And from now on, you may skip my class freely.”

The class erupted. “Yes!”

I looked at my classmates, all whose eyes were glowing with excitement, and finally understood that I was now a little bunny trapped in a wolf’s den. I was doomed.

Just as the tech nerd was about to open his laptop, the classroom door slammed open with a bang. Standing in the doorway was the most feared disciplinarian on campus—the deputy vice-chancellor, a black mamba serpent beastwoman, her expression dark.

“What’s all this noise?” she snapped. “The mayor just did an inspection of the campus, and it sounded like there was a party going on in here!”

She slithered swiftly onto the podium, her voice sharp.

“And another thing!” She raised her tablet as she spoke, “The mayor was reviewing the surveillance with me, and he saw someone in this class on their phone during the lecture!”

Then, she adjusted her glasses, her cold gaze slowly locking onto me in the corner. As she slithered toward me, I knew I was done for. She had seen me replying to the messages!

Just as I closed my eyes to accept death, a vampire student nearby dropped his phone in shock, his unfinished suicide note abandoned mid-sentence.

“Ah… Uh…”

A witch who’d been frantically deleting her browsing history accidentally hit play instead, and an unmistakable sound echoed through the entire classroom.

We all silently looked at her with deep respect. The deputy vice-chancellor’s face sank.

“Oh? So it wasn’t just one person? What is this, a party?”

Taking advantage of the chaos, I switched apps at lightning speed and opened the photo album full of decoy study materials.

“Phone! Hand it over!” she barked.

I raised my phone with an innocent expression. “I’m innocent. I was researching something.”

When she took it, she froze. On the screen was a diagram titled, “Complete Anatomical Breakdown of the Male Werewolf’s Reproductive System.” Detailed illustrations included the normal form, the combat form, and methods used to facilitate that transformation.

The air went dead silent. The deputy vice-chancellor’s face was red.

Then, a large hand suddenly took the phone from her. Sarek glanced at the close-up of the combat form. Surprise flashed through his eyes, followed by amusement. He looked at me with a half-smile, as if I were some shameless pervert who’d been coveting his body for years.

“Ahem.” He cleared his throat, his voice slightly hoarse. “Mila has an admirable thirst for knowledge. To think she’s even delving into such… in-depth topics.”

He tossed the phone back to me and looked at the frozen deputy vice-chancellor.

“That’s enough. I’ll handle these students myself, especially Mila. Her fundamentals are lacking. Some structural interpretations are incorrect. They require… personal correction.”

The deputy vice-chancellor left in disgust.

Before I could even breathe a sigh of relief, Sarek bent down suddenly, his lips brushing near my ear as he spoke in a low voice, “Come to my office after class and lock the door. There are some things I need to ask you alone, you ignorant little bunny.”