Chapter 305 Jumping onto Sebastian
Liam paced anxiously, his voice tinged with worry. "You've never cared what others said about your appearance before. Why this sudden interest in losing weight? Is someone giving you a hard time?"
Hestia had always been raised to be confident and optimistic, never troubled by body image issues.
Even in elementary school, when classmates excluded her for being overweight, she'd remained cheerful and unbothered. Now she was suddenly talking about dieting?
Hestia had always been so carefree and thick-skinned. What could possibly have happened to make her commit to weight loss?
Liam's heart trembled with concern.
Hearing him veering toward conspiracy theories, Hestia quickly explained, "I watched this health video that said moderate weight loss is good for me. I can't stay this size forever, so I thought I'd give it a try."
Liam frowned intensely. A health video? Something didn't add up.
He knew Hestia well—her greatest passion was eating, followed by tinkering with beakers and test tubes in the laboratory. She rarely watched videos online.
And she certainly wouldn't decide to diet because of one random video.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Liam's mind. "You haven't fallen for someone, have you?" he blurted out.
Hestia's face instantly flushed crimson. Thankfully, over the phone, Liam couldn't see her reaction. "No! I'm here to study, not for romance! Dad, I've got class and I'm about to be late. Gotta go, bye!"
She hung up abruptly.
Liam remained suspicious. Hestia's overreaction spoke volumes.
She was still so young—whichever boy was trying to steal her heart would have him to answer to!
Hestia grabbed breakfast and hurried to class. Today was Professor Sebastian's lecture.
When she arrived, Camilla and Royce were already seated, with ten minutes to spare before class began.
"Eating so little again?" Camilla eyed her breakfast with concern.
Royce's brow was furrowed. He'd been in a mood for the past couple of days, though no one knew why.
In those few moments, Hestia had already devoured one sandwich and was staring longingly at her waffle, reluctant to finish it.
"Is it really worth it?" Royce asked flatly.
"Of course it is! I've lost five pounds already !" Hestia defended.
"You're just torturing yourself," Royce muttered, then turned away and noisily flipped through his textbook.
Hestia was puzzled—why was Royce so agitated about her weight loss?
"What's this? Hestia, did you drop this?" Camilla picked up a business card from under the seat.
Hestia was about to respond when Camilla asked, "Why is Darren's card here?"
"Camilla, you know him?" Hestia perked up.
"Yes, he's part of Sebastian's team. He also works at Harmony College as an advisor, I believe."
Hestia's eyes lit up. "What's he like?"
"He's nice, polite, academically strong. Everything he's achieved has been through his own hard work."
"Is he married?" Hestia asked, feeling it was important to know.
Camilla shook her head. "Not that I know of."
Hestia had just begun to feel relieved when Camilla added, "But he does have a girlfriend."
Hestia fell silent.
"Why are you asking?" Camilla suspected she knew the answer.
"At the mixer last time, I accidentally bumped into him. Instead of getting upset, he helped me with my plate. I thought he seemed nice and just wanted to know more about him!" Hestia explained.
Soon the bell rang, and Professor Sebastian entered. "Today we'll discuss molecular evolution and phylogenetics..."
During the ten-minute break, Hestia slumped dejectedly on her desk.
Royce couldn't take it anymore. "You've been absolutely miserable these past few days!"
Hestia looked up. "Are you talking to me?"
"Yes, you!" he confirmed.
To his surprise, Hestia nodded in agreement. "I know."
Royce was taken aback.
"Look how thin I've gotten from hunger. I've never suffered like this in my life. Dieting is torture, so I've decided... I'm done with it! Never dieting again!" Hestia said.
"How about I treat you and Camilla to lunch after class?" she added.
Before either could respond, Hestia declared, "Great, it's settled then!"
Royce and Camilla exchanged glances.
"Should we get steaks? French cuisine? Maybe Mexican? Or a seafood buffet? Or just burgers, fries, and fried chicken? Actually, why choose? Let's have a bit of everything! Perfect!" Hestia said excitedly.
Hestia waited hungrily until the bell finally rang.
Sebastian stood at the podium. "That's all for today. Class dismissed."
Before he could finish, Hestia had already grabbed Camilla and Royce, dashing out of the classroom in a blur.
Sebastian's request for "Camilla to stay behind" died in his throat as she disappeared.
After a satisfying feast, Hestia sat back in her chair with a contented sigh, looking completely blissed out.
She made up her mind, thinking to herself, 'I'm never dieting again! Even if I meet a guy I like in the future, I won't starve myself anymore.'As for Darren?
Once she learned he had a girlfriend, Hestia lost interest.
With no afternoon classes, they each headed home after lunch.
As Camilla reached the alleyway, she spotted Sebastian walking ahead.
Smiling, she caught up and playfully poked his shoulder.
Sebastian turned but saw no one—Camilla had deliberately hidden on his other side.
He instinctively turned the other way but still couldn't see her.
Camilla had switched sides again, standing beside him, grinning like a child after a successful prank.
Sebastian laughed. "Good thing it's me—someone else might have been startled."
"If it wasn't you, I wouldn't have dared," Camilla replied without thinking.
"Why is it different with me?" Sebastian's gaze deepened.
She hesitated, then answered seriously, "First, we know each other well, so I'm comfortable teasing you. Second, you're brave and can handle it."
"How do you know I can handle it?" Sebastian asked, amused.
"From just now," she replied confidently.
As they climbed the stairs together, Sebastian asked, "How are you finding Lloyd's lab?"
"It's great! Professor Wallace is wonderful, and the equipment is state-of-the-art."
"Settling in well?"
Before Camilla could answer, a dog's bark echoed from above.
Without warning, a husky came charging down the stairs.
Camilla only saw a black and white blur lunging toward her. Frightened, she closed her eyes and instinctively jumped to get her feet off the ground.
The dog's fur brushed past her leg as it continued down to the next floor.
She sighed with relief, then realized with embarrassment that she had leaped into Sebastian's arms!
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