My Wife is a Hidden Big Shot-Chapter 174 - 168: The Campus Belle is Single?
Aurora Sinclair was silent for a moment before quietly putting the money into her bag.
Across from her, Luna Jennings breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up with a smile. "Aurora, I heard Arcadian University has a viral restaurant. You should take me to check it out!"
Aurora Sinclair looked a little baffled.
"This one! It’s a restaurant that’s a special perk for single people. They say the guys who work there are incredibly handsome..."
Besides dropping something off, the main reason for Luna Jennings’s visit was to experience the viral restaurant called "Don’t Cry, Singles."
Apparently, the restaurant was started by an Arcadian University alumnus and caters exclusively to single men and women.
The restaurant has a single entrance that splits into two areas, one for each gender. All the servers are single students from Arcadian University.
The owner’s hiring policy is strict: applicants must be single. The moment an employee gets into a relationship, they have to leave.
The story goes that the restaurant was opened to help with the dating woes of older students and young faculty at Arcadian University. Because the students and junior faculty were too busy to date, this alumnus seized the business opportunity and opened a theme restaurant exclusively for singles.
Later, it somehow blew up online and instantly became a must-visit spot for Arcadian University freshmen.
Once Aurora Sinclair understood, she glanced at the little boy beside Luna Jennings and asked, "You’re bringing your brother?"
Luna Jennings replied helplessly, "He insisted on coming along. My family lives on the Kingsford University campus, so I couldn’t shake him!"
Luna Jennings’s parents were both professors at Kingsford University, and she had grown up on campus. So naturally, she applied to Kingsford University as well, making her a legacy student through and through.
It wasn’t far from Kingsford University to Arcadian University—only three bus stops. Luna Jennings had been wanting to visit Aurora Sinclair for a while, but she’d been caught up in military training since the semester began and had only gotten home yesterday.
***
The trio left the coffee shop and headed for Arcadian University’s viral restaurant.
Aurora Sinclair played the part of a clueless Arcadian University tour guide, pointing out the surrounding buildings for Luna Jennings.
It wasn’t until they neared the College of Physics that Aurora Sinclair finally found a place she recognized. Pointing to the tallest building, she said, "This is the physics lab building. Professor Greene’s office is at the very end of the top floor, and the student labs are below..."
Luna Jennings was speechless.
’Just as expected of Professor Greene’s star pupil.’
As the trio passed through the College of Physics, more and more students started greeting Aurora Sinclair. One of them even said directly, "Hey, campus belle! I just saw Professor Morgan go into Professor Greene’s office. If you go now, you can catch him for lunch."
The suggestive look on the male student’s face made Luna Jennings suspicious.
After he walked away, Luna Jennings nudged her and whispered, "Who’s Professor Morgan?"
"A professor in the College of Physics."
"...What class of yours does he teach?"
"University Physics."
Luna Jennings pondered for a moment. ’So he teaches one of her core subjects!’
She pressed on, "How old is he?"
Aurora Sinclair thought for a moment. "Twenty-eight."
"Whoa! He’s that young?" Luna Jennings exclaimed. The youngest professors at her university were over thirty-five. Wasn’t this Professor Morgan a little too young?
’No wonder that guy’s attitude was so strange. He had the gossipy look of someone who thinks they’re having an affair.’
’Aurora going to have lunch with a young professor... Could it be that she has a crush on him?’
’He’s twenty-eight. He must be married by now, right?’
’Just a little while ago, a story broke online about an associate professor who got involved with a student and cheated on his wife, drawing the wrath and condemnation of netizens.’
’Aurora Sinclair is so naive. Surely she’s not being deceived, is she?’
At this thought, Luna Jennings could no longer remain calm. She grabbed Aurora Sinclair and started grilling her about Professor Morgan.
"Aurora, is that Professor Morgan married?"
"No."
"Is he popular at school?"
Aurora Sinclair thought for a moment, then nodded.
Luna Jennings’s heart skipped a beat. ’That associate professor from the news also lied to his student, claiming he wasn’t married. He was also mature, handsome, and had a way with women.’
"Is he handsome?"
Aurora Sinclair nodded again. "He looks a lot like Darius Lynch."
"Darius Lynch? For real? Do you have a picture? Let me see..."
Aurora Sinclair took out her phone and scrolled through her chat history with Beta Morgan, pulling up a few candid photos he had taken of Alvin Morgan while ranting.
When Luna Jennings saw that she was already discussing the professor with friends, her heart sank. ’It’s over. Aurora has really fallen for him!’
The photo quality was decent, but they were mostly shots of his profile or the back of his head.
You could tell from his profile that he was indeed handsome, and his hair was especially dark and thick—not like the balding "Mediterranean" professors at her own college.
’That was a huge bonus!’ 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
’Young, highly educated, handsome, and a college professor. If he wore glasses on top of all that, he’d be unstoppable.’
"Aurora, does he wear glasses?"
"Sometimes."
"Rimless?"
"Mhm..."
"..."
Luna Jennings immediately scrolled through her phone and found a promotional still of Darius Lynch. In it, he was playing a university professor, a pair of rimless glasses perched on his nose.
This was the still of Darius Lynch most beloved by female students—he had the perfect look of a girl’s first love.
"Does he look like this?"
Aurora Sinclair’s eyes widened in surprise. She nodded, impressed. "He does..."
’She knew it!’
Luna Jennings ground her molars. "Aurora, let’s just hurry up and get to the restaurant..."
***
The viral restaurant was located next to Arcadian University’s artificial lake, and the scenery was beautiful.
It was the middle of autumn, and colorful leaves were everywhere. A grove of ginkgo trees created a carpet of brilliant yellow. A gust of wind made the scene even more magical, and many people were nearby doing street-style photoshoots.
When they arrived, a long line had already formed at the entrance, full of freshmen there to see what the hype was about.
Aurora Sinclair’s appearance instantly drew everyone’s attention. People scrambled to pull out their phones to take pictures and upload them to the school forums and class group chats.
[Location: Don’t Cry, Singles. Campus belle spotted! All single guys, get over here quick!]
The men in the Arcadian University freshman social circles practically exploded.
[WTF, the campus belle is single? Where is Don’t Cry, Singles?!]
[Is the campus belle trying to tell us she’s single?]
[SOBBING! My lab class isn’t over yet. 100 bucks to any bro who can save me a spot!]
[+1, same here! 100 bucks, DM me for the money transfer!]
...
Eve Lowell had just gotten out of class and was on her way to lunch when she heard a guy nearby exclaim, "Hurry over to Don’t Cry, Singles! The campus belle is there!"
"For real?"
"Check the relationships section on the forum! Someone posted a picture."
The moment Justine Archer heard this, she whipped out her phone to check. Sure enough, she saw Aurora Sinclair queuing outside "Don’t Cry, Singles." She said with a sneer, "Eve, that green tea bitch from the Sinclair family is making a scene again."
Eve Lowell looked at the post, but instead of getting angry, she actually smiled. "Isn’t this great?"
"Eve..."
"The more men she finds, the less she’ll compete with me for Young Lord Morgan." Eve Lowell walked away, her head held high with pride.
’No wonder Young Lord Morgan values her,’ she thought. ’An eighteen-year-old Great Martial Master... Her martial arts talent is truly exceptional. My own grandfather was tempted, let alone the Morgan family.’
’The Great Families of Kingsford place a high value on martial talent; every family wants to recruit experts for protection. Given the Morgan family’s unique situation, Young Lord Morgan was probably being deliberately ambiguous that day just to make his grandfather drop the idea of a marriage alliance.’
’So, Aurora Sinclair is just a bodyguard for the Morgan family. Nothing more.’
At this thought, Eve Lowell’s mood improved immensely. "Come on, let’s go get lunch."
「Meanwhile」
Alvin Morgan was in his office, having tea with Professor Greene.
Professor Greene had been away on a business trip. The moment he heard Alvin Morgan was sick and hadn’t been to the lab, he got so worried that he rushed back overnight. He had been watching over him for the past two days, afraid his body wouldn’t be able to handle the strain.
"I should go teach the freshman lecture instead!"
"No need."
"But your health..."
"It’s fine." Alvin Morgan took a sip of tea, his expression nonchalant.
Seeing him like this, Professor Greene couldn’t help but tease, "So you’ve really fallen for that girl, have you?"
Alvin Morgan didn’t reply, but his eyes were filled with laughter.
’These past few days,’ Alvin thought, ’while I’ve been sick, Aurora Sinclair has been so concerned about me. She sends messages right on schedule to remind me to take my medicine. She’s practically become my little mother hen.’
"Professor Greene..."
A knock came from the door.
Two graduate students who had just finished supervising an undergraduate lab session knocked and came in to deliver lab reports.
Just as the door opened, someone shouted from outside, "You guys, hurry up and pack! We’re already late..."
Professor Greene disliked students shouting in the lab area. "What’s the big rush?" he asked.
The graduate student glanced over his shoulder and said with a smile, "I heard your prized pupil is in line at ’Don’t Cry, Singles.’ They must be rushing over to have lunch with the campus belle!"
