Chapter 433 William and Hayden （34）
Could it be that William...
After a brief pause, Hayden regained her composure. Although she usually preferred a spot at the back, she chose an empty seat in the second row from the front this time.
William's dark eyes followed her as she walked into the classroom, not blinking once.
When she looked up, and their gazes met, she was clearly startled, and he knew then that she wouldn't approach him.
Watching her settle down into a second-row seat, he expected it, yet to claim there was no flicker of emotion would be utterly false.
The first time was Hayden's initial intimate experience and her first real night. How could a woman like Hayden give herself to a man and then act like he was non-existent?
For the past few days, William had been racking his brain, trying to figure out what he might have done to upset Hayden. Could it involve Michelle?
"Hey, hello, you're Hayden, right?"
As Hayden settled into her seat, a friendly young man with Asian features approached her and greeted her in perfect English. Hayden, noticing his presence, smiled slightly and nodded in response before focusing on her work.
Usually, she kept to herself during classes, often being the last to arrive and the first to leave. She rarely participated in student organization events, so while she may have seen her classmates around, she hardly knew them well enough to remember their names.
However, the young man wasn't deterred by Hayden's lukewarm reception and, with even more enthusiasm, extended his hand and introduced himself: "Hi, I'm Remy, from Maplewood Grove. Nice to meet you."
Hayden looked up at Remy again and, out of politeness, briefly touched his hand before quickly retracting hers and smiling faintly, "Me too."
Seeing Hayden's seemingly non-resistant behavior, Remy was eager to continue the conversation, but just at that moment, the professor entered the classroom, and everyone quieted down as class began.
What would normally be a dry and dull subject was brought to life by the professor, who managed to elicit frequent laughter from the students.
While the professor lectured energetically, William sat at the back of the room, his mind fixed on Hayden. He observed her engaging with the person next to her, paying attention to the class, and smiling in tune with the professor. William found himself more and more captivated by her.
While the whole class was engrossed in the professor's lecture, William was the only one distracted, gazing in Hayden's direction.
Most notably, William's appearance was remarkably distinguished; he stood out in any crowd. When the professor noticed William's distraction during a question-and-answer segment, he smiled, walked over, and pointed at him to answer a question.
The professor made his way to the back of the room. Naturally, all eyes followed. Michelle, who was seated in the front, craned her neck, locking her gaze on William with an intensity hotter than anyone else's, bordering on voracious.
When William was called upon, he rose with unhurried grace and nodded to the professor in acknowledgment.
Everyone noticed his striking looks and remarkable poise, which immediately captured their attention.
The large auditorium classroom quickly filled with hushed whispers, becoming a clamor of voices, except for Hayden, who sat there flipping through a book, seemingly uninterested in the commotion.
"Let's settle down, please," the professor said, raising his hand for silence. As the room quieted, he asked William a question.
The professor had assumed that William had been distracted by flirting throughout the class and wouldn't be able to answer the question properly.
To his great surprise, William answered perfectly and expanded on the topic, elucidating the professor's question with precise detail.
As William finished, the professor was the first to give a round of applause, a gesture of sheer admiration.
Once the professor started, the rest of the class reacted and applauded.
Amid the thunderous applause, Hayden couldn't resist looking back...
With just a glance, she was ensnared by William's deep and mysterious eyes. Her breath caught, and she quickly withdrew her focus.
Hayden had finally decided to look back at him. That was no small feat.
As their eyes locked, William smiled slightly and elegantly took his seat again.
The class lasted over two hours, and when the professor announced dismissal, many students, most of whom were female, crowded around William.
With an ostensibly casual glance back, Hayden gathered her things and saw the throng of women around William, which inexplicably annoyed her.
"Hey Hayden, would you please join me for lunch?" Remy seized the opportunity and promptly extended the invitation.
Hayden was about to decline, but when she thought of a certain man behind her, she immediately changed her mind and agreed with pleasure.
"That's wonderful, then please, Hayden!" Remy smiled and made a gentlemanly gesture.
Surprisingly direct, Hayden reached out, looped her arm intimately through his, returned his smile radiantly, and said, "Let's go!"
Remy, visibly thrilled, linked his arm firmly with hers, and they walked out together, sharing in an unexpected delight.
Surrounded by a group of people, William felt a bit helpless. He politely apologized, explaining he had urgent matters to attend to when he realized that Hayden had already left, arm in arm with someone else.
He immediately took long strides to catch up.
This time, he caught up with Hayden and Remy in the corridor.
As William suddenly stepped in front of them, Remy greeted him with a friendly smile and introduced himself.
However, William merely gave him a curt nod and then fixed his gaze solely on Hayden.
Meeting his intense look, Hayden asked indifferently, "Something wrong?"
