Ch. 1
...
On her very first day at college, Mahira ended up getting hit by the "crush" bus. But that feeling didn't last long, because the person standing in front of her suddenly scolded her loudly. Instantly, Mahira snapped out of her daze.
Standing before her was Arizan Zaiyan Ihsan—a Physics professor at University College London (UCL). He was staring at her with sharp, angry eyes. Seeing that, Mahira got scared and immediately lowered her head, mumbling softly,
— "Sorry… I didn't notice. I bumped into you by mistake."
Hearing that, Professor Arizan calmed down a little. Honestly, the fault wasn't entirely hers—he had been in a hurry himself. At the same time, Mahira had been walking around, trying to find her classroom. And that's how they collided.
At first sight, Mahira had a crush on Arizan. But she still didn't know that he was actually her professor.
Arizan was already busy, and when he noticed Mahira staring at him blankly, he got even more irritated.
— "Can't you walk carefully? Because of you, all my papers are messed up!"
Even after that, Mahira kept staring at him. That only made him scold her again.
Quickly, Mahira bent down and helped pick up his papers. But as he took them from her, Arizan said coldly,
— "Idiot."
And then he walked away.
Mahira stood there, staring after him with her mouth slightly open.
Then she lightly slapped her own cheek and said,
— "Mahira, get yourself together! Didn't you see how he glared and scolded you? How can you have a crush on a devil like that?!"
Looking around, she noticed many students staring in her direction. But then she realized—they weren't looking at her. Following their gaze, she saw that everyone was actually staring at Professor Arizan. As long as he was visible, their eyes stayed fixed on him.
After he disappeared, everyone slowly went back to their own business.
Mahira let out a sigh of relief and thought,
— "That devil seems pretty popular! Well, good thing no one paid much attention to me. That scolding just now… ugh, how embarrassing!"
Composing herself, she muttered,
— "Anyway, let's find the classroom first."
Ariba Tabassum Mahira—a girl from a middle-class family. Her dream had always been to study in London. Through hard work and talent, she earned a scholarship. And to fulfill that dream, she came to University College London to study Physics.
After a lot of effort, Mahira finally found her classroom. Standing in front of the door, she took a deep breath.
— "Everything will be fine… stay calm, Mahira," she told herself.
As she pushed the door open and stepped inside, her heart started racing.
The classroom was full of students—some chatting, some busy on their phones. Mahira quietly went and sat in a corner. Everything felt unfamiliar—new place, new people.
After a while, the room suddenly fell silent.
Mahira looked around in confusion. Everyone was staring at the door.
She looked too…
And her eyes widened.
Standing at the door was that same man.
That "devil"!
Professor Arizan Zaiyan Ihsan.
For a moment, Mahira felt like her heart stopped.
— "Is… is this real?" she whispered to herself.
Arizan slowly walked in. His eyes held the same cold intensity as before. Standing at the front, he spoke in a deep, firm voice,
— "Good morning, everyone. I'm Arizan Zaiyan Ihsan. I'll be your Physics lecturer."
It felt like lightning struck Mahira.
— "What?! That devil is my professor?!"
She lowered her head, holding it in shock.
— "Oh God… I got called an idiot by my professor on the very first day! I'm done… my life is over…"
Everyone in class was listening attentively, but Mahira had only one thought in her mind—
'What am I going to do now?'
Just then—
— "You."
That deep voice called out.
Mahira flinched and looked around.
— "Yes, you. The girl in the third row."
Now there was no mistake. Everyone's attention was on her.
Her throat went dry.
Slowly, she stood up.
Arizan looked at her coldly and asked,
— "Do you know the basic definition of force?"
Mahira's mind went completely blank.
— "I… I—"
A few students chuckled softly.
Arizan's expression hardened even more.
— "If you don't even know the basics, then why are you here?"
Those words hit her hard.
But this time, she didn't stay silent.
Gathering her courage, she said,
— "Force is the interaction that changes the motion of an object… Sir."
The whole class went silent again.
Arizan stared at her for a moment.
Then he nodded slightly.
— "Sit down."
There was no longer the same anger in his voice… instead, something subtly different.
Mahira sat down, her heart still pounding.
But somewhere deep inside, a strange feeling began to grow—
He's not just cold… there's something more to him…
And on the other side—
While continuing the lecture, Arizan glanced at Mahira for a brief moment.
A faint, almost invisible smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
— Interesting…