Adam looked straight into Ethan’s eyes.

For a second, he did not answer.

Then he smiled.

"My limit?" Adam asked. "And I am supposed to learn it from you? Wow."

The corridor became quiet.

Ethan’s face changed at once.

Until now, he had been looking at Adam like he was playing with someone beneath him. That one reply broke the arrogance. Adam had not shouted. He had not stepped back either. He had only smiled and said the words like Ethan’s authority did not matter at all.

That made Ethan angrier than a loud insult would have.

One of the student council members behind him stopped smiling.

Ethan took a sharp step forward.

"What did you say?"

Adam did not move.

Students around them had already slowed down. A few were standing near the side of the corridor, pretending not to watch while watching everything.

Ethan raised his hand.

It was not high enough to look like a full swing yet, but the meaning was clear. He was about to slap Adam right there or at least grab him hard enough to make him bend.

Adam saw the movement.

But before Ethan’s hand could come down, a voice came from behind them.

"Both of you, stop right there."

Ethan’s hand froze.

Adam turned his eyes slightly.

The students behind them also looked back.

A professor was walking toward them with a serious expression. He was not running, but his steps were quick enough to show he had seen enough.

Ethan lowered his hand slowly.

The professor stopped near them and looked at Ethan first.

"What are you doing?"

Ethan’s expression changed fast. The anger on his face became controlled, and his voice became smoother.

"Sir, I was only asking a suspended student why he is walking around campus."

He said it clearly enough for the nearby students to hear.

The professor did not answer him at once.

He turned toward Adam.

The moment he saw Adam properly, his face softened.

"Adam," he said, almost with relief. "You finally came. Welcome back."

The reaction hit the corridor harder than Ethan’s raised hand.

The students who had been watching looked at one another.

Ethan also froze for a moment.

Welcome back?

That was not the tone a professor used for a student who had sneaked into campus. That was not even the tone one used for a problem student who had returned after punishment. It sounded almost polite.

The surprise on the students’ faces became clearer. A few of them had been ready to laugh at Adam a moment ago. Now they looked unsure whether laughing would put them on the wrong side of the scene.

Ethan felt that change too.

That made the professor’s smile feel even more irritating, as if Ethan had been corrected without anyone raising their voice.

Ethan looked from the professor to Adam.

"Sir, he was suspended," Ethan said.

The professor turned back to him.

"You can go now, Ethan."

Ethan’s jaw tightened.

"Sir, I am the student council president. I only wanted to confirm if he is allowed here."

"He is allowed here," the professor said.

The words were simple.

The professor continued, "Adam was brought back by the higher authorities of the university. The matter has been reviewed. He has already received enough punishment."

The students around them became even quieter.

Adam stood there without speaking.

He could feel the change around him. A few minutes ago, the corridor had treated him like someone who had slipped back into a place he did not belong. Now a professor had said openly that the higher authorities had brought him back.

That did not remove the whispers.

It only changed their direction.

Ethan looked like he wanted to ask more.

The professor did not give him the chance.

"Adam is a bright student," he said. "Students make mistakes, and we expect every student to get a second chance when the college decides it is right."

The professor looked at him again.

"Adam, class is about to start. Come."

Adam nodded.

Then he looked at Ethan.

He did not say anything.

He only smiled once. That smile was enough.

Ethan’s eyes became colder.

Adam turned and walked with the professor toward the classroom.

Some students moved aside for them.

The corridor slowly started breathing again after they passed, but Ethan remained standing in the same place.

One of the student council members behind him leaned closer.

"Ethan," the boy said in a low voice, "this feels wrong."

Ethan did not answer immediately.

His eyes stayed on Adam and the professor as they walked away.

He had seen teachers protect good students before. He had seen teachers tolerate rich students.

But Adam did not fit any of those boxes.

That was what made the scene sus in his eyes.

Adam was supposed to be a scholarship student.

Adam was supposed to lower his head when someone with a position spoke.

That was the picture Ethan had already made in his mind.

A poor student could study well. A poor student could keep quiet and earn sympathy from teachers. A poor student could even be useful to the college if his marks were high enough.

But a poor student was not supposed to stand in the corridor and answer him like that.

He was not supposed to smile after being protected by a professor.

He was not supposed to make Ethan feel, even for one second, that the space in front of him did not belong to Ethan anymore.

Instead, the professor had welcomed him back in front of everyone.

Ethan’s fingers curled slowly.

Then he spoke so softly that only the boy beside him heard it.

"There was only one person in this college I disliked this much."

The boy looked at him, confused.

Ethan’s eyes did not leave Adam’s back.

"John," he said.

Then his voice became even colder.

"And now Adam."

The matter isn’t over for Ethan yet. He turns and leaves, still remembering their entire interaction. It has now become a matter of prestige for him as a scholarship student is challenging him.