Toward The Galaxy のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 11 - チャプター 20

[This feels great! She overpowered them physically and mentally! You did great, Layla!][Am I the only one who notices that Professor Grant carries milk candy on his person at all times? He definitely prepared it for Layla! These details are giving me diabetes!]The sun made his side profile appear gentle, and as I stared at him, I felt my heart melting.“Samuel,” I called out to him.“Yeah?”“Thank you.”‘Thank you for opening a window for me when I was stuck in that cramped city and thought that my world was going to be restricted to that place. ‘Thank you for catching me without hesitation when I buried my past and walked toward you.’He stopped walking and turned to stare at me with the light shining behind him. Then, he leaned forward with amusement in his eyes. “Layla, don’t you think you’re being a stranger by thanking your boyfriend?”“What should I say, then?”He pointed at his cheek. “At the very least, you should give me a substantial reward.”His gaze was st

Rose tugged at Tyler’s sleeve timidly, and tears welled in her eyes. “Tyler, don’t act this way… Layla didn’t do it on purpose. She’s just… being deceived by Professor Grant. When a man’s rich and important, he can easily deceive women…”“What would you know?!” Tyler flung her arm off and snapped at her impatiently. “Shut up!”This shocked Rose so much that she trembled. She started crying and staring at Tyler as if he had done her a huge disservice. It was his first time yelling at her after all. Before today, she had enjoyed being treated like a princess by these four outstanding boys. She thought that she was the main character of this small corner of the world. But the moment Layla showed up, Layla destroyed everything with just a few words and a gaze. The “protective circle” she relied on for survival had cracked. Mark slowly rose from the ground and dusted off his knees. His face was devoid of emotion, and his eyes were so empty that it was terrifying. He did not look a

[Also, congratulations, Layla. You’re gorgeous when you stand in the light.]The stream of messages was like a stone thrown far too late into my calm heart. It only caused a few ripples. This was the first time one of them had apologized to me. It was also the first time one of them had admitted that I was not at fault. I stared at the last message for a long time, specifically, at how Mark said I looked gorgeous in the light.My nose stung, but I could not shed a single tear. Mark was right. It was too late. Even though the part where they stabbed me in the heart had healed, the scar would remain forever. Besides, they had stabbed me more than once. I picked up my phone and replied, [Read.]Then, I blocked his number as well. Once that was done, I turned off my phone and shut my eyes. The moon was bright outside the window. ‘Don’t turn back, Layla. Your life is right ahead,’ I told myself. …Mark’s remark of wanting to stay away from them because they were idiots

Most of the chatter in the room disappeared as they ducked their heads to do their calculations or whisper among themselves. Samuel leaned against his chair and drummed his fingers against the table. He said nothing as if he was waiting for everyone to think of a solution. As I stared at the data line that deviated from the theoretical curve, I suddenly had an idea. During the summer camp, Samuel had shown me a niche article talking about a certain concept—the non-Hermitian skin effect. Back then, I had only read it as something interesting. I found it too theoretical and impractical. However, this strange curve looked far too similar to the non-Hermitian skin effect. I felt my heart racing. Would a freshman showing off her knowledge before a group of top-notch physicists look ridiculous?I instinctively turned to Samuel, and he turned to me too. But his gaze was calm, as though he was saying, “If you’ve thought of something, just say it.”I took a deep breath before ra

In the end, his face and the permanently perfect smile on it had stiffened up so much that he looked like a mannequin. Tyler and Ethan were dumbfounded as well. They stared at me dumbly, like they were staring at a stranger. “Are you done analyzing him?”Samuel’s voice appeared from the side with a lazy drawl. He then came over and held my shoulder before whispering into my ear, “Which department does he belong to? Sociology or psychology? Is he practicing on you?”I could not help but snicker. Samuel did not even look at them and just said to me, “Let’s go. Didn’t you say you were hungry? Let’s grab supper.”With his arm still around my shoulder, he turned around. He never spared the trio a single glance. He ignored them completely, which was even more hurtful than any insult. “Layla!” Finally, Tyler could no longer hold back. He shouted at me, “Do you really have to be so cruel?!”I stopped walking but did not turn around. “I’m not the one who was cruel. You are. Wh