Chapter 594: It’s Like They’re Having an Affair

Ivy Sherwood took Quentin Blackwood for a stroll around her university, sharing many stories from her school days. Her experiences weren’t exactly thrilling—just a rather ordinary academic life. Yet, Quentin listened with great interest, never interrupting.

Ivy looked at him. "What about you? What were your university days like?"

"My university..." Quentin paused for a moment before continuing, "I was very busy.

"I didn’t actually attend classes much; I was basically just enrolled in name. I had so many things to handle every day that studying took up only the tiniest fraction of my time."

He had already founded his company by then. He was a fast learner with a near-photographic memory. Even without going to class, he completed all his required credits in a short period and continued onto higher degrees. For Quentin, studying and taking exams were as effortless as eating and drinking.

Listening to him, Ivy couldn’t help but sigh. "If you said that any louder, you might get beaten up."

"Why?"

"Because you’re a genius! Lustre University is a top-tier institution, and many of the people who make it here only get in after putting in a tremendous amount of hard work. By making it sound so easy, aren’t you just inviting jealousy?"

"I worked very hard too. It’s just that no one knew about it," Quentin said.

Back then, in order to establish a firm foothold for himself, he wished he could stretch every single minute into an hour. He had very little time left for studying, which forced him to memorize everything quickly. As for meals, he hardly had time to eat at all, which was exactly how he ended up with his stomach issues.

"I know." Ivy gazed at him with bright, fervent eyes.

Quentin’s heart trembled fiercely as Ivy went on. "I’ve always known that your journey hasn’t been easy. No one’s life is smooth sailing. You must have experienced countless setbacks, gradually accumulating experience step by step to build the DG and the Quentin Blackwood of today."

She stood directly in front of him as she spoke. Even though it was clearly nighttime, Quentin felt as if he were looking at the sun. It was right there before him, shining brilliantly, illuminating his little corner of the world. Sunlight would always break through the clouds eventually, and those radiant rays casting down brought a warmth that nothing else could compare to.

Ivy leaned in, standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to Quentin’s cheek. Then, she whispered in his ear, "You’ve worked so hard, my Mr. Blackwood."

Quentin’s Adam’s apple bobbed rapidly. Suddenly unable to hold back, he pulled Ivy behind a large tree nearby.

"What—"

Before she could finish asking what he was doing, her lips were sealed.

Ivy’s eyes widened. Though the large tree blocked out the light and cast them in shadow, there were students coming and going just a short distance away. They could easily be spotted. This was setting a terrible example—she was an upperclassman, after all!

People passed by one after another, chatting away, while Ivy was so tense she didn’t dare move a muscle.

"Relax," the man murmured indistinctly.

How could she possibly relax at a time like this? She was dying of nervousness. Even though they were at a university where dating no longer meant getting caught and publicly reprimanded by the dean of discipline, Ivy still felt that doing this here was inappropriate.

She reached out and gripped Quentin’s clothes, crumpling his expensive suit jacket.

Quentin held her close, though he didn’t dare tease her for too long.

By the time the two emerged from behind the tree, Ivy felt as if she and Quentin had been having an illicit affair. She couldn’t shake off that timid feeling of a student afraid of being caught by a teacher. She had never experienced this kind of thrill back when she was actually in school, yet here she was, experiencing it now.

"Hurry, let’s go!" Ivy said, pulling him along.

As they walked past the academic buildings and the sports field, Quentin kept leaning in to steal a kiss, as if trying to leave a memorial mark in each spot.

If he had known earlier that Ivy was his childhood betrothed, he would have started paying attention to her when she was very young. They should have had much more time together.

The two sat down together on a bench bordering the sports field. Ivy looked up at the sky.

Suddenly, she gasped, "Look at the stars!"

It had been a long time since she had last gazed at the stars like this, especially a sky so full of them. The stars twinkled and the moon hung high, looking so beautiful it felt surreal.

Quentin also looked up, joining her in stargazing. But compared to the stars, he preferred looking at Ivy while she looked at other things. To him, Ivy was more beautiful than anything else in the world.

"The starry sky is so beautiful tonight," Ivy murmured.

Quentin nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is."

"I heard the auroras in the Frostlands are stunning. Let’s go see them together someday, alright?" Ivy leaned her head on his shoulder, fantasizing about the future.

"No problem. We’ll go together," Quentin said, reaching out to grasp her hand. His large palm completely enveloped hers.

"What about the baby?" Ivy asked. "Are you just abandoning our child?"

In the future, it might very well be three of them traveling together.

"If you want to bring the baby, we’ll go as a family. If you think they’d be a third wheel, we’ll leave them behind."

"Then our baby might start doubting if they’re actually biologically ours."

"A child of Quentin Blackwood must first learn to be independent, and then join me in protecting their mommy."

Quentin mentally added, "If there ever comes a time when Daddy isn’t around, they need to protect Mommy in my stead."

By the time the two finally walked out of the campus hand in hand, it was getting late.

Ivy took Quentin to get something to eat. This was Lustre U’s famous food street; there were plenty of delicious options, and the students loved coming here. By the time they finished walking through the street, Quentin’s hands were full of various snacks.

Ivy loved the food, but she would only take a couple of bites before losing interest, leaving the rest to Quentin. He could barely carry it all. Of course, Quentin also made sure she didn’t eat too much of this unhealthy food.

"Do you remember that bar over there?" Ivy pointed toward a spot at the end of the street.

Of course Quentin remembered. Not long after he had first returned to Lustre, a drunk Ivy had called him, mistaking him for a driver, and he had come to take her home.

"Want to grab a drink?" she asked.

"You can’t drink alcohol."

"If I can’t have alcohol, there are other things. Otherwise, how would this bar dare to open so close to a university?"

Ivy pulled Quentin inside and immediately ordered two glasses of juice. They found a place to sit and slowly sipped their drinks, somehow managing to make the juice feel like wine.

Quentin knew that Ivy still loved Lustre. Compared to Aethelgard, this was the place where she had grown up, a place overflowing with memories.

The two of them stayed out quite late. Ivy had taken him along, retracing her steps through all these memorable spots. Her sudden whim to bring Quentin here might have been influenced by Ovillette earlier today.

Ovillette had wanted to walk the paths her mommy had once walked alone. Now, Ivy wanted to lead Quentin down the paths she herself had once walked.