Patricia watched Marian's silhouette fade away at the restaurant's entrance, her smile slowly vanishing with it. Once Marian was out of sight, Patricia's expression turned serious and anxious again.
She reached for her phone on the table, unlocked it, and was about to open an app when she hesitated, as if it were something dangerous. She tossed the phone back onto the table, taking deep breaths to calm herself. But after only a couple of seconds, her trembling hand reached for the phone again.
With a few more deep breaths, she nervously opened the search engine and typed in the phone number for YUCN University. Seeing the numbers pop up on the screen, she steadied herself and dialed.
"Hello, could you please tell me if there's still a teacher named Wendy Cooper at your university?"
-------------------------
Next door at another restaurant
Sophia and Brandon had just arrived in their reserved private room when they ran into President Poe.
President Poe seemed surprised to see Brandon there. He paused for a moment, then broke into a wide grin. "Brandon? What brings you here today?"
As he spoke, he walked over and gave Brandon a friendly pat on the shoulder before turning to Sophia with a smile. "You two have already met, I assume? No introductions needed?"
Sophia shook her head with a smile. "No need, we've met."
"Good to hear," President Poe said with a chuckle. "I was going to introduce you two earlier, but I know how busy Brandon is with work. I didn't want to impose."
Brandon chuckled, "You should have introduced us sooner, President."
President Poe looked at him in surprise, teasing, "Did I hear that right? Brandon, the guy who lives and breathes work, actually wanted to meet a girl? Just the other day, the former principal and your class advisor were chatting about you. They said you're one of the most outstanding students but also the one they worry about the most. Apparently, a few of you have been openly dating, including you and the top student, someone named Sophia, I think."
Brandon cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed.
Sophia looked at President Poe, puzzled. "What?"
Her surprised expression amused President Poe, who gestured for them to sit and continued, "You're surprised too, huh? You seemed like such a model student, but it turns out you dared to have a high school romance."
"Are we even dating?" Sophia couldn't help but ask, glancing at Brandon, surprised by the revelation.
Brandon looked at her, then turned back to President Poe with a grin. "President, you're spreading rumors now."
President Poe laughed heartily. "Not dating? Really? Your advisor said he used to see you waiting at the school gate every day, walking home together, attending night classes together. He was so worried you two would get too involved and neglect your studies. But he didn't want to talk to you directly and risk upsetting you, so he lost sleep over it for days. In the end, he had no choice but to separate you two in class—one east, one west, one in front, one in back. That's how he nipped your little romance in the bud."
Sophia was speechless.
Brandon gave President Poe an amused look. "Make sure to thank him for me, will you?"
President Poe, missing the sarcasm, nodded cheerfully. "I'll be sure to pass that on."
Brandon smiled, then suddenly pulled Sophia closer, turning to President Poe. "Let me formally introduce you: my girlfriend, and wife, Sophia."

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