Chapter 425

Sebastian Valdemar turned his head, his gaze settling on Sophia Lowell. "No need to apologize. This has nothing to do with you."

He secretly wished the rumors would spread.

Sophia lowered her head, scrolling through her contacts for Vivian Ashcroft. "I'll call Vivian and ask how to remove the trending topic. This kind of publicity could affect your chances of finding a girlfriend."

"Then why don't you be my girlfriend?"

Sebastian's voice was soft, drowned out by the roar of construction machinery. Sophia looked up, puzzled. "What did you say?"

He forced a bitter smile. "Don't bother. The hype will die down soon."

"Are you sure?" Sophia frowned. "You're a well-known professor. Your reputation matters. Unlike me—I'm used to these scandals."

She insisted on dialing Vivian's number.

Sebastian hesitated, swallowing his words. He wanted nothing more than to be tangled in these rumors—maybe one day, they could turn real.

Just as the trending topic was taken down, Sebastian's phone rang. It was Arthur Ellison, the dean.

"Professor Valdemar, are you still in Seattle? Come back immediately. There's trouble."

Sebastian's chest tightened. "What happened?"

"A female student staged a public confession for you at the campus gates. It's causing an uproar. Combined with your recent scandal, if this escalates, the education board will get involved."

"How is that possible?" Sebastian's brows furrowed.

"I don't understand it either. The moment you trended, this happened. The girl brought a megaphone, making it seem like you led her on and abandoned her. Teacher-student relationships are already sensitive, and on top of that—"

Sebastian glanced back at Sophia sitting on the steps and suddenly understood. "What's the student's name?"

"Tiffany Roscente. Your first-year grad student. The Roscente heiress." The dean sighed. "Rumors about her crush on you have been circulating. Now it's blown up. We can't afford to offend the Roscentes. Handle this quickly."

Sebastian withdrew his gaze, staring into the distance. "Understood."

As he was about to hang up, he added, "Dean, I want to switch students."

"You mean—"

"Transfer Tiffany Roscente to Professor Mackillop. I can't supervise her."

The dean paused. "Fine."

After ending the call, Sebastian kicked a pebble at his feet.

This was undoubtedly Ethan Roscente's doing. Seeing Sebastian and Sophia in the headlines had made him act.