Chapter 1
I was happily waiting for the experiment to end so I could celebrate my one-year anniversary with my boyfriend, Alex Carter.
But then, our professor accidentally sent the semester grading sheet to a group chat with over a dozen people.
Even though he deleted it right away, I still caught a glimpse that my boyfriend, who was also the TA, had given me the lowest grade in the class.
Seeing how embarrassed I was, my lab mates tried to comfort me.
"Alex is always super strict, and when it comes to grading, he never goes easy. Emily, seriously, don't let it get to you," one of them said.
"Yeah, everyone knows Alex is the nightmare in the whole lab building. Getting a low grade? That's nothing. He's made me cry before, just by scolding me," another chimed in.
"Same here. Even the professor never thought I was stupid, but the moment I messed up an experiment, Alex just stared me down and told me to go drop out. I was absolutely terrified," someone else added.
Was that really true?
But I saw with my own eyes that he gave Sophie Grant the highest grade.
Even though Sophie messed up three times, he never got angry. He actually stayed up all night with her, helping her redo the experiments.
*****
I was absentmindedly holding a reagent bottle, lost in thought.
Just then, Alex came back from checking on the lab next door.
He was in his white lab coat, silver-rimmed glasses on his nose, his gaze as cool and indifferent as always.
When he saw us all clustered together, chattering, he frowned in obvious displeasure.
My lab mates, afraid of getting scolded by him, quickly scattered and went back to their experiments.
Before leaving, they reminded me, "Emily, seriously, keep your temper in check. Don't get into an argument with Alex, or not even Professor Daniel Adams could help you then."
Alex was always strict, both with himself and everyone else, and he absolutely hated mixing personal feelings with work. That was why we always kept our relationship a secret.
My lab mates just thought Alex and I were nothing more than fellow students, so they were genuinely trying to look out for me.
And honestly, they weren't exaggerating. Alex really did have the power to do that.
Alex was Daniel' star student. During his master's, he published five papers in top international journals and even one in Nature, which directly helped our professor get promoted from associate to full professor.
After that, he went straight into a PhD program, became a TA at the university, and job offers flooded in before he even graduated. His future was basically limitless.
Every time Daniel saw him, it was like seeing his own son. He practically worshipped Alex.
So, if anyone in the lab ever dared to argue with him, they'd only be screwing themselves over.
After all, the last person who pissed off Alex ended up dropping out.
I nodded.
"Alright, I won't argue with him," I said.