They entered his community with all the groceries, about half an hour away by car. His car was a second-hand car he was still paying off with his semi-decent salary.

As he locked his car and watched as Khalifa walked towards the building, his feet halted a little.

Inexplicably, Cauis had the sense of abducting young girls.

What was he doing? Inviting a student home?

He hadn't even invited his ex in his home; She just barged in herself.

However, he quickly gathered himself, regaining the poise a professor should have.

He guided her to his home, located at the third floor of a middle-class residential building in the city center.

It was a one-bedroom unit with monotonous colors and zen design.

At the end of the hallway, there was also a quaint balcony with three potted plants.

Cauis asked her to wait in the living room and turned on the television for her.

She did as she was told, behaved like the student in his memory. It was just that after a while her eyes wouldn't be on the screen, but in the kitchen.

She watched as he worked in the kitchen with skill and seriousness, chopping vegetables, handing the knife with ease.

She watched his back and admired his back profile, wide and masculine.

Very handsome.

She licked her lips; she couldn't wait to bury her fingernails in there.

It was just that... the man was definitely the upright type.

This meant that no matter how attracted he was, there was a high chance he'd run away and just masturbate somewhere else than do the deed with his own student.

So, in order to ensure success, she'd have to do a bit of seduction so that all his reason would fly away.

He didn't buy the alcohol in the end though, so she couldn't get him drunk to facilitate the seduction.

Pausing for a while, thinking, she decided on what to do and, after turning off the television, she stood up to join him in his cramped kitchen.

"I want to help you out, may I?"

Cauis paused and wanted to refuse, embarrassed to get the birthday girl to cook, but she had already approached him and his personal space and he had that inexplicable urge to sniff her again.

"Hmm..." He uttered without realizing it.

Khalifa smiled and she took off her old-fashioned braid and turned it into a clean ponytail instead.

The new hairstyle revealed the beautiful shape of her face, and... Cauis didn't notice he was staring until she was already standing beside him.
***
Khalifa smiled and stood next to him, preparing the food, as if she didn't notice this gaff.

The Other Her was a good cook because she had no choice, which really helped her out this time.

After all, no mage could really cook. Who told that place to be boring and have a nonexistent food culture.

"You aren't bad." Cauis commented as he watched her knife skills.

"Well, we had no choice."

Cauis gave her a knowing smile.

They maintained a companionable silence for a while, and Cauis had never felt so relaxed when someone was in his personal space.

The only sounds they heard were the chopping of vegetables, the boiling water, the heating oven, and each other's breathing.

"So… are you alright now, professor?" She asked, genuinely caring.

Caius was both warmed and embarrassed. After all, he only pretended to faint.

He cleared his throat, as he placed the vegetables into the soup. "I'm fine now, thanks. I… shouldn't be fainting again any time soon."

She laughed.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Wasn't it your first time participating in the run? How's your health?" Then he paused, and blushed. "I'm your advisor after all, your teachers tell me things sometimes."

She nodded in understanding. "Well, I just thought I wouldn't get healthier with what I've been doing."

He smiled and complimented her, but he noticed that she was sweating a little. "I'll turn on the AC."

"No it's fine, professor." She said, and simply took off her loose-fitting outer sweater.

As she lifted it, the lower part of her shirt stuck to the sweater, letting him peek at her glorious curves again, and a bit of smooth silky skin was even exposed.

He gulped and looked away after some time, much longer than he would've liked.

She continued back next to him, preparing ingredients, not knowing she almost gave him a nosebleed.

He breathed in to calm himself before resuming the task at hand. "Tell me about your childhood?" He asked, trying to sound casual. It seemed that Khalifa thought so as she spoke up in a relaxed way.

"Well, I grew up in an orphanage." She paused. "It was fine, I'd like to think I grew up well."

He looked at her with pity. "Yes, you grew up better than most." He said.

He didn't ask her to elaborate; He knew it wouldn't have been all sunshine and rainbows.

"What about you, professor?"

"I was luckier than you. I knew my parents, and I did have happy memories of them." He said, looking at the air in a short daze, as if reliving a memory.

"But life happened and they were taken away from me when I was about 8 years old."

"Well, I think the professor grew up very well, too."

He couldn't help but turn to the girl who was peeling the potatoes with a peaceful expression.

She seemed to have noticed his stare and blinked, and he caught a flash of her eyes usually hidden by her reflective glasses.

Thankfully he was paused in his chopping or else things could've been bloody.

Was this girl always so charming?