Anita’s suspect was none other than the mysterious man. He had been following her, behaving as if he owned her. No matter how much she thought about it, there was no other suspicious person besides him.

She wasn’t particularly curious about his identity, and asking might make things more troublesome, so she had left it alone. But she shouldn’t have. Anita didn’t know his name, grade, or anything about him, but he knew exactly where she lived.

Life was truly unfair.

Without a single piece of evidence, accusing someone recklessly could make her an ignorant person who unjustly accused an innocent. So Anita decided to find evidence herself.

And right from the start, she faced difficulties. Finding him within the vast campus seemed overwhelmingly daunting.

Perhaps her plan was too reckless. She considered giving up and heading back. However, Anita’s expression brightened as she noticed a group of men in the distance.

The man was walking with what appeared to be a group in the distance. She stood up from the bench to speak to him, but after a moment, she sat back down.

Calling him out was fine. What would come after?

Would she boldly ask, “Have you been invading my room and following me for the past few days?” Surely, no fool would confidently admit to such a thing.

Besides, Anita hadn’t lost anything. Her limbs were intact.

Anita fiddled with her fingertips. It was an unconscious behavior she did when she was lost in thought.

Should she push him to answer? She felt like she’d be accused of blackmail.

Should she blindly follow him and investigate? That would make her no different from a stalker.

As Anita pondered her options, the man and his group continued to walk away. Biting her lip and nervously tapping her foot, Anita finally stood up.

She might not be an eloquent speaker, but she could talk.

“Wait a moment!”

The giggling group stopped in their tracks, perhaps in the midst of an inappropriate joke. They hesitated for a moment before turning around.

“Who…?”

One of the men, unfamiliar with her, squinted and asked. Anita was considering how to introduce herself, but it was a pointless deliberation. The problematic man pushed aside the person next to him and stepped forward.

“Long time no see, Anita.”

Despite the sleepless nights of the past few days, Anita’s face, which had its own human warmth, turned muddy in an instant.

Anita tried to regain her distant thoughts and continue speaking, but the man uncomfortably leaned in, causing her to evade.

“Wait. Please step back.”

Although Anita had only met him a few times, she had a rough idea about him and didn’t expect him to cooperate willingly. And her assumption was spot on.

He gave her a gaze that seemed ready to spill oil at any moment and grinned creepily.

“Why should I?”

For some reason, the image of a target at a shooting range flashed in Anita’s mind. It was a somewhat impolite thought about a person, and she quickly dismissed it.

“I just want to have a brief conversation.”

Anita said in as businesslike a tone as she could muster. But it didn’t sound that way to his companions, who nodded knowingly and looked her up and down. Their stares gave her a horrifying feeling, similar to encountering a sewer rat.

Anita did as they did. After slowly scanning them from toe to head, Anita looked them in the eye, and they grumbled and walked away.

Sometimes you get the impression that people who are openly rude are actually easier to deal with, and that was the case here. Even though Anita wasn’t particularly observant, she could easily pick up on their unfavorable disposition.

“Let’s sit and talk somewhere…”

“No, let’s do it right here.”

The scene was in the middle of a path where students with books occasionally walked by. Anita didn’t want to stand awkwardly in the middle of the path for a conversation. However, if she suggested sitting down, he might misunderstand, and she didn’t want to relocate to a secluded area due to embarrassment from the surrounding gazes.

Although Anita felt the curious glances from the surroundings, she pretended not to notice. Revealing awareness might give him an excuse to move elsewhere.

“My legs have become sturdy these days.”

“What?”

Perhaps due to the unexpected opening, his eyebrows shot up.

“Well, my dorm room is on the fourth floor. It was challenging at first, but I’ve gotten used to it, so apparently moderate exercise helps.”

“Hmm.”

The man stroked his chin.

Anita subconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt. Would he make the move she expected?

“4th floor? It’s the 2nd floor, not the 4th.”

Anita thought he had fallen into her trap and silently celebrated. But there were two problems. The first was that Anita wasn’t bold enough to trick someone into grabbing the evidence. Second, the man wasn’t as easygoing as she anticipated.

“Cute. Are you trying to get my attention?”

The man seemed more formidable than Anita thought. Her confident demeanor,  this was nowhere near the scenario she had envisioned.

“Sorry. But I couldn’t help it. It seemed like you were being threatened by that guy, so I wanted to protect you.”

“Protect? From whom?”

Unluckily, Anita missed the chance to corner him. Frustrated by her inability to speak her mind, she had to divert the conversation with a question she wasn’t particularly curious about.

“You two didn’t seem to be getting along very well, the other day in the rain.”

He was now openly revealing the fact that he had been tailing Anita.

“…”

“You should just keep an eye on him. That guy will cause trouble sooner or later. Be careful.”

“Did you follow me?”

Forced to open her mouth, she spoke reluctantly. She didn’t expect an apology, but the shameless laughter without a hint of remorse made her furious.

“Do you know that following someone is a criminal act?”

His shameless expression finally showed signs of unease. Thanks to that, Anita was able to regain some of her confidence. All she needed to do now was emphasize that what he did was a criminal act, and if he did it again, she would report him.

“Criminal act?”

“Wait….”