Evening prep was about to begin at Silvercrest Academy, and students were steadily filing back into their classrooms.

  Ethan Blake, who only days ago had looked like the poster boy for defeat, now walked through the corridor with newfound swagger. His eyes sparkled with confidence, and his back was straighter than ever.

  Just then, a familiar voice called from the classroom door.

  “Ethan, come with me. I’d like a word,” said Ms. Scarlett.

  Although the school hadn’t publicly announced the identity of the student who’d tipped off the police about the underground gambling ring, Scarlett clearly knew. She kept track of her class better than anyone. Calling Ethan aside just before the evening study session?

  Ninety-nine percent chance it was to praise him.

  From the back of the room, Damien Westbrook tapped his pen against the desk, eyes narrowing.

  Scarlett Vaughn… one of the key heroines.

  And now she was asking the protagonist to the office for a one-on-one chat?

  Every webnovel he'd ever read flashed through his head like a warning light.

  Protagonist + Heroine + Private Time = Flag Raised.

  Not on my watch.

  He grabbed an English mock test from his folder and casually walked out of the classroom.

  —

  In the teacher’s office…

  Scarlett had barely offered Ethan a cup of tea and started commending his "outstanding civic responsibility" when the door creaked open again.

  Damien stepped inside, waving the test sheet.

  “Ms. Vaughn, sorry to interrupt. I had a question about this section here. Mind taking a look?”

  Ethan’s face visibly tensed. That smug grin on Damien’s face? Infuriating.

  Scarlett, on the other hand, lit up.

  Damien was the top scorer in Silvercrest Academy. Naturally, she was more than happy to help.

  “Of course. Come here—let’s take a look.”

  She scooted her chair slightly, allowing Damien to stand beside her desk.

  Ethan stood to the side awkwardly, fists slowly tightening.

  Compared to Aria’s youthful grace, Scarlett Vaughn carried a calm, intellectual allure that Ethan had fantasized about more than once. Today had felt like a golden opportunity.

  But now… this cocky trust-fund brat had crashed the moment.

  And he wasn’t even subtle about it.

  Every time Scarlett tried to wrap up her explanation, Damien would casually ask another follow-up. A second question, a third, a hypothetical scenario, then grammar clarification… it just kept going.

  The man was clearly stalling.

  Time ticked by. The bell rang, signaling the start of evening prep.

  Still, Damien lingered.

  It was technically allowed—self-study could be done anywhere, and asking a teacher questions? Still counted as studying.

  But staying meant Ethan couldn’t.

  He had no valid excuse.

  Unable to keep standing there like a third wheel, Ethan turned on his heel and left the office, his jaw clenched.

  Damien, still standing at Scarlett’s desk, wore a lazy grin.

  One more flag denied.

  And the evening had only just begun.

  But just minutes later…

  Ethan Blake returned—test paper in hand, eyes determined.

  Clearly, he wasn’t ready to give up his rare opportunity for alone time with Ms. Scarlett Vaughn.

  Technically, during evening prep, students were free to ask teachers for academic help—but let’s be honest. In a class like 12-A, only the cream of the crop dared to stroll into a teacher’s office uninvited. The average or barely-passing students? They usually wouldn’t even think about it.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  And yet here was Ethan—barely scraping by on his last English exam—stepping into the room like he belonged.

  The audacity.

  Meanwhile, Damien Westbrook was still comfortably seated beside Scarlett, drawing her attention with another “hypothetical” question about reading comprehension.

  It was a delicate game of academic chess—but eventually, even Damien ran out of clever angles to keep the conversation going.

  That’s when Ethan, like a snake waiting in the grass, pounced.

  “Ms. Vaughn, I had a question about—”

  But before he could finish—

  “Ethan,” Damien said brightly, flashing a perfect smile. “Ms. Vaughn’s been helping me for over twenty minutes. She must be exhausted. I’ve already mastered this section. If you’re stuck, I’m happy to explain it to you.”

  His voice was pure generosity on the surface, but the smugness behind it could have been bottled and sold as cologne.

  Ethan’s mouth twitched. He was ready to snap back with something acidic—until Scarlett chimed in:

  “Damien’s right,” she said with a warm, slightly weary smile. “He really does understand this content. Ethan, if he’s offering to help, just let him. I could use a bit of rest.”

  She reached for her water bottle and rubbed her temples. Her voice was going hoarse.

  From a teacher’s standpoint, it was perfect: one high-performing student helping another. Collaborative learning.

  But from Ethan’s?

  It was a slap in the face.

  He clenched his fists. Hard. But he couldn’t argue—not in front of Ms. Vaughn. He managed a tight-lipped smile.

  “Sure. Thanks a lot.”

  “No need to thank me,” Damien replied smoothly, looking every bit the perfect honor student.

  But beneath the surface, their gazes clashed like swords.

  Tension thickened the air for a heartbeat longer—until Ethan spun around and walked out.

  Clearly, he had no intention of asking Damien anything.

  Not that Damien cared.

  【Ding! You’ve successfully disrupted the protagonist Ethan Blake’s bonding event with heroine Scarlett Vaughn.】

  【Villain Points +200.】

  Damien’s smile widened as he stood and lazily made his way back toward the hallway.

  But as he turned the corner—

  Thud.

  He nearly bumped straight into someone.

  A tall, broad-shouldered figure took a quick step back, gripping a heavy-looking duffel bag.

  “Hey, watch where—” the man began, clearly irritated.

  Then he froze.

  “Ah—Damien. Didn’t see you there.”

  Coach Leonard Chase, the school’s gym teacher. A brick wall of a man with arms like steel pipes and a buzz cut to match.

  His tone softened instantly. Because everyone knew who Damien Westbrook was—and no one wanted to get on the bad side of Silvercrest Academy’s golden boy.

  Damien glanced down at the bag. Something about it seemed… off. Too full. Too secretive.

  But he didn’t press. Not yet.

  Instead, he offered a polite smile. “My bad, Coach.”

  This student… was not someone to offend.

  This student... he couldn’t afford to offend.

  Coach Chase, forced a stiff smile at Damien Westbrook and quickly shuffled past.

  But as the man passed, Damien caught something unexpected.

  A faint scent—floral, feminine.

  He sniffed once more to be sure. Roses.

  His eyes drifted to the large, opaque duffel bag Coach Chase was carrying with an unusual amount of care.

  So that’s what’s inside. A bouquet.

  Just as Damien turned to look back, he saw Coach Chase disappear into the faculty office, quietly shutting the door behind him.

  Inside that office?

  Only Ms. Scarlett Vaughn.

  There was only one conclusion.

  Coach Chase was about to confess.

  Damien let out a quiet chuckle. With Scarlett’s beauty and grace, it wasn’t surprising she had admirers. But a muscle-bound gym teacher? That wasn’t happening.

  Still, if the original plot had played out without interruption...

  Ethan Blake would’ve still been in that office. And when Coach Chase barged in with roses and a shaky confession, Ethan would’ve stepped in—heroic and righteous—to shut it down.

  He’d win Scarlett’s favor on the spot.

  Damien could already picture it:

  After getting rejected, Coach Chase would storm off in a jealous rage. Later, he’d corner Ethan after school with some goons—maybe a few shady ex-students from the local gym.

  Scarlett, being the caring teacher she was, would insist on walking Ethan home for safety.

  Cue the ambush.

  Coach Chase returns, this time not just to pick a fight with Ethan—but with twisted thoughts about Scarlett too.

  And then—bam.

  Ethan erupts with justice-fueled strength, beats the thugs senseless, saves the day.

  The girl falls harder.

  Plot armor, once again, doing overtime.

  Coach Chase? Just a side-character villain. A tool for making the protagonist look good.

  But not this time.

  Not when Damien was in the picture.

  He turned sharply and walked straight toward the office.

  There was no way he was letting this “hero rescue” arc play out.

  When he opened the door, it was like stepping onto the set of a cheesy TV drama.

  Right there in the middle of the office—

  Coach Chase, down on one knee.

  A massive bouquet of roses in his hands.

  “Scarlett, I know this might be sudden, but I’ve admired you for so long…”

  Ms. Scarlett Vaughn looked utterly cornered—arms stretched forward, gently trying to push the bouquet away, her expression tense and pained.

  Discomfort. Awkwardness. Thinly veiled irritation.

  Just as expected.

  Damien leaned casually against the doorway, one brow raised.

  “Am I interrupting something important?”

  His voice shattered the silence like glass underfoot.

  Scarlett’s eyes shot up—relief flickering across her face.

  Coach Chase froze mid-confession, bouquet still outstretched, lips parted with no words.

  Damien smiled, eyes calm.

  The script had just changed.