“Why’d you like it and then unlike it? What’s up?”
“Sorry. It was an accident.”
“What was an accident? The like or the unlike?”
“The like.”
“If you like it, then just leave the like! Why unlike it afterward?”
“I was worried there’d be a misunderstanding.”
“Who would misunderstand—me or you?”
Revina chose not to answer Alan’s question. To hell with the fact that Alan was now her professor. Besides, no professor would punish a student just because she didn’t reply to his message. Especially not over a message that unimportant.
Revina had completely lost her motivation to work on her thesis. She chose to lie down on her bed. She figured she didn’t need to meet Alan tomorrow. She could consult with him in a few days, after finishing the opening chapter. Revina closed her eyes.
The next morning, Revina returned to campus. She was happy because she didn’t have a thesis consultation scheduled today, nor did she have an MKP class, which meant she was free from that unwanted professor. Revina could only keep praying that she wouldn’t see that man anywhere on campus today—not even pass him on the way.
After class, Revina went to the cafeteria. She ordered a plate of her favorite batagor. She chose a table at the very end and enjoyed her meal. She was startled and instantly lost her appetite when the person she least wanted to see suddenly sat down across from her.
“Can I sit here? The other tables are full.”
“Whatever, Professor.” Revina stood up, intending to leave the table even though she hadn’t finished her batagor.
“Revina, if you’re uncomfortable with me sitting here, just say so.”
“Um, I-I’m not uncomfortable, Professor.”
“Then why are you leaving?”
“I—”
“If there’s really nothing between us anymore, you should be able to act normal, right? You don’t need to be afraid of acting awkward in front of me!”
Revina had no choice but to sit back down. She resumed eating her batagor.
A few seconds later, Alan started a conversation.
“How’s your thesis going?”
Revina immediately choked.
“Cough... cough!”
“Sorry. Drink some water!” Alan offered her a glass of water.
Revina drank it all.
“Thanks, Professor.”
“Sorry if I startled you.”
“No, Professor. It’s just that I didn’t plan on consulting you about my thesis today. Maybe in a few days. I haven’t finished the first chapter yet.”
“Okay, no problem. But do it soon, okay?”
“Yes, Professor.”
“Ahem, if there’s anything you want to ask when you can’t meet me in person, you can always message or call me. You still have my number, right?”
“If you don’t, I can message you first later. You still have the same number, right?”
“Yes, my number’s still the same. But you don’t have to, Professor. I still have your number.”
“Oh, I see. Good. I thought you’d deleted it or blocked me.”
“No, Professor. I’m not that dramatic.”
Several other students noticed how close Alan and Revina seemed at that moment. Some of them still didn’t know that Alan and Revina had once been in a special relationship. Instead, they envied Revina for being so close to their idolized new professor.
One mischievous student took a picture of Alan and Revina together in the cafeteria. Even though all they were doing was sitting across from each other and enjoying their own meals, it was enough to inspire unexpected thoughts and assumptions in anyone who saw them.
The photo was posted to the student’s social media account with a caption that invited negative comments, especially toward Revina.
“Heartbroken, guys... The professor chose his thesis student. Even though the girl’s already taken. Oh, my favorite campus activist, poor you. What a tragic fate. :("
It was obvious that the “I” mentioned in the post referred to Irsyad. Revina and Irsyad’s relationship had already spread across the entire campus. That was hardly surprising, since everyone knew Irsyad. The activist was famous all over campus. Naturally, his relationship was now the hot topic among the students.
Many people thought Revina had been the one to seek her thesis adviser’s attention first. Others called Revina selfish, accused her of taking advantage of the situation, said she was ungrateful and couldn’t be satisfied with one man, and left plenty of other negative comments about her character.
When Irsyad saw the post, he reacted like any other boyfriend would upon seeing his girl paired with another man. Especially when that man was her ex-boyfriend. Irsyad immediately went looking for Revina.
“Revina, I finally found you. I need to talk to you. Do you know about this post?” Irsyad showed his phone to Revina.
“I already know, Ir. But... don’t misunderstand. I didn’t do anything with Kak Alan. All the tables in the cafeteria happened to be full, and then Kak Alan suddenly sat down at my table.”
“I believe you, baby. I just don’t like you being close to him for any reason. I was even shocked when I found out he was your thesis adviser.”
“I don’t want this either, Ir. I really want to forget Kak Alan. But there’s nothing I can do.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I can’t help you either. The head of the program won’t just allow you to change thesis advisers, especially without a clear reason.”
“...” Revina only pouted.
“Baby, you know I really hate that the post brought so many negative comments down on you. I won’t accept people treating my girlfriend like that.”
“They don’t know what really happened, Irsyad. They just think I stole the attention of their idolized professor.”
Irsyad pulled Revina into his arms. “Rev, be patient, okay? You don’t need to care about those comments. I’ll always be on your side.”
“The important thing to me is that you don’t misunderstand, Ir. That’s all. I don’t care about anything else.”
“Okay... I don’t misunderstand at all. Let’s just forget about it, okay? Um, where are you going? Are you heading straight home?”
“Yeah, Ir.”
“Great, come on. I’ll take you home!”
The next day, Revina had a consultation scheduled with Alan. She wanted him to check the opening chapter she had finished. Revina knocked on Alan’s office door. She knocked several times, but no one answered. When Revina turned around to leave, she came face-to-face with the owner of the office.
“Professor... Professor Alan.”
“You were looking for me? What’s up?”
“Um, I... I wanted to consult about my thesis, Professor.”
“Oh, so you’ve made some progress?”
“I just finished the opening chapter, Professor.”
“All right, come in! Sorry you had to wait so long and keep knocking on my door when I wasn’t even inside. I ran into a little trouble on the way here.”
“I didn’t ask, Professor!” Revina wanted to say.
But in reality, all she could do was stand there and listen to Alan ramble.”}ાહી 亚洲男人天堂json һәмкар with invalid? Wait output format JSON valid except embedded quote in caption? We have escaped? In JSON rendering shown inner “ and :(