Chapter 325 - Nicolae to the rescue (1/2)

”Mel... get up ... You are innocent. They are only bullies who use their parents' power to oppress others. You cannot let them bully you...”

Aleksis hurriedly knelt to get Mel on her feet, but Anjali immediately slapped her cheek very hard. Aleksis who did not expect the assault did not manage to defend herself on time. Her body stumbled to the side.

She almost hit the hard table when in a split second someone jumped out and caught her body.

Aleksis did not get slammed on the table but on a rather broad chest of a tall young man dressed in a gray shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The young man quickly protected her. Because he was hugging Aleksis' it was his back that received the impact.

”Ugh ...” The young man grunted. He quickly balanced himself and made sure the girl was unharmed. ”Are you okay?”

He released Aleksis from his arms and touched her cheeks which had turned red from Anjali's slap.

Aleksis stared at Nicolae. His face was only inches from hers so she found herself unable to say anything.

The cafeteria immediately exploded into turmoil.

”Hey ... Nicolae ... why are you protecting her ?!” Anjali protested with a very angry face. ”She deliberately challenged me and looked for trouble even though I was more of a senior than her. I was simply giving her lessons to respect the seniors. She is just a sophomore, but her attitude towards seniors had been very rude.”

Nicolae didn't care about Anjali at all. He repeated his question to Aleksis.

”Are you alright? Does your face hurt?”

Aleksis shook her head slowly. ”Th... thank you ...”

She broke away from Nicolae who was still touching her cheek attentively.

They had only met four times, but Nicolae's attitude toward her was too caring. Aleksis felt uncomfortable, especially after considering that this young man was one of the IDEAL HUSBAND CANDIDATES of the girls on the campus.  He was the reason why she got bullied this morning in a public lecture class. Ugh ...

Aleksis intended to tease the girls by sticking herself to Terry and make them jealous, but that was because Terry was her own brother. She did not want to get involved with Nicolae and add more to her problems.

”If you want to have lunch, there is a better table ...” Nicolae said, smiling broadly. He took Aleksis' food tray from Anjali's table and pulled Aleksis' hand before leading her to a spot in the corner. ”I eat here. You can use my table anytime...”

What is wrong with this Nicolae? wondered Aleksis, confused. Since class this morning Nicolae had been too friendly to her, as if they knew each other.

However, they were NEVER formally acquainted. The first time they met was when he teased her about how her yawning would get her to eat flies. The second time was when Aleksis mistakenly hugged him from behind thinking he was Prince Siegfried.

The third was when they encountered each other within the Continental Building elevator. The last was their meeting as teacher-student in the public lecture class this morning.

They were not even friends. Why did he so kindly allow Aleksis to eat at his dining spot?

”Yours? Aren't all the tables on this campus owned by the university? Why do you people claim all the tables? Did you buy it yourself and bring it here?” Aleksis asked curtly. ”If so, tomorrow I will also bring my own table.”

Nicolae laughed at Aleksis' words. ”We did not bring our own table here, but if you become one of the campus' seniors, there are some advantages you can get and privileges that go with that status. This includes your favorite table that will not be disturbed by others. Over the past years, no one has used this table because they respect me. That's all.”

Aleksis was about to argue, but when she turned to Anjali and saw the girl and her four cronies look very furious yet could not utter a thing, she felt relieved. Mel was also gone as soon as she saw Nicolae came to help Aleksis, so she won't have to face Anjali's fury for standing up for Aleksis.

Hmm ... they are angry but cannot touch me since Nicolae is around, she hypothesized.

Aleksis finally sat down on a chair in front of him and continued gorging on her meal. Nicolae watched her for a few moments then smiled broadly and joined her for lunch.

Anjali and her friends could only look at them from afar with annoyed faces. People in the cafeteria also began talking about the incident. The discussion about it immediately became a hot topic on St. Mary's Splitz social media group.

After eating, Aleksis raised her face and looked at Nicolae. This young man made her curious.

He was very handsome so it was only natural for him to have a lot of fans. But Aleksis did not expect him to be so smart that he could become a teacher assistant this semester.