Chapter 398 - Asking Her To Be Her Muse

~ University of Imperial Knight ~

Just like what she had planned, Olive dropped by at the University of Imperial Knight, hoping that this time she would get to know the 'new girlfriend' of Clifford.  She still assumed that Zhen-Zhen was Clifford's woman.

She was about to step out of her car when she realized something.

'Olive, how foolish are you? How can I search for someone without knowing her name? I didn't have her picture as well,' Olive facepalmed at that thought. 

There were lots of students on the campus. She would be lucky if she could bump into her. But there was only a low chance of that happening unless she would wait near the gate and watch every student who would come out of the school after their class.

She exhaled deeply as she mumbled to herself, " That's so troublesome. I should have hired an investigator to find out her background. Sigh. What was I thinking before?"

But since she was already there, she decided to visit and see Liam. She was certain that Liam would be surprised to see her. He was not expecting her presence today. She was somehow excited to see an old friend.

She got out of her car and proceeded to the faculty building. Olive was another woman whose beauty stood out in the crowd. When she walked inside the campus, she had caught much attention, most especially from the college boys.

She looked like a fashion model with her looks and figure. In fact, she's not a model but a fashion designer. 

Just like Clifford and Tristan, she belonged to one of the prominent families in the City of Empire. Their family business was focused on the fashion industry.

Olive Patterson was already famous abroad. She's an international fashion designer. After breaking off the engagement between Clifford and her, she stayed abroad and focused on her career.

Aside from being a fashion designer, Olive was very hands-on in managing their family business. She's the President of one of their company branches abroad. Just recently, she decided to transfer back here to the City of Empire.

Some students were able to recognize her so they tried to ask for her autograph. Some also took pictures with her. She was friendly and approachable. She entertained those students. 

After fulfilling their request, Olive didn't waste more time as she headed to the faculty room to see Liam. The other professors who were inside the faculty room were also surprised by her sudden visit.

They welcomed her warmly. Just like other students, some young professors also asked for her autograph. They also took pictures together with her.

She learned from them that Liam was still in his class and he would be back in the office during the break time. Since there were only 15 minutes left before his class would end, Olive just decided to wait for him while she was being entertained by the other professors.

After a few moments, Olive's attention was caught by a tall and handsome young man in his white long sleeve polo shirt and black slacks who just entered the office. Their eyes met each other.

At that certain moment, Olive was mesmerized by his emerald eyes. She just stared at him intently, not breaking their eye contact.

"Oh, Miss Olive, Professor Liam is here," One of the professors said, informing Olive. She also waved at Liam and said, "Prof. Liam, your friend is here, looking for you."

When she heard her voice, Olive snapped out of her deep stupor. The stunned expression on her face a while ago was soon replaced by a confused look.

'That guy? Did she just call him… Liam? Is that really Liam Clark, my old friend?' Olive couldn't believe what she was seeing right now.

'His appearance is different from the Liam that I know. Is this the result of that tragedy? Was this the reason he finally returned?'

Olive had so many questions running in her mind right now. But there's only one way to find an answer: To talk to Liam and ask him personally.

Liam walked toward them. Olive was sitting on the vacant chair in front of Liam's desk. He faced Olive with a friendly smile.

"Hi, Liam., it's been so long. How have you been? Do you still remember me?" Olive greeted him first. She was still assessing Liam's expression. She couldn't tell what's on his mind right now.

She thought Liam would be surprised to see her. However, she was the one who was utterly astounded after seeing him. Not only his appearance changed, but also his temperament. He had a friendly vibe, compared to Liam from the old days.

Liam paused for a moment, just staring at Olive's face. It looked like he was taking his time to remember Olive.

Äfter a few moments, Liam finally had spoken. "Hello, I am sorry If I have a hard time recognizing you. I can't remember everyone after my accident. My memories are in shambles."

Olive just fell silent. She didn't know what to say. She knew that the accident caused a great impact on Liam both physically and mentally. She didn't want to trigger bad memories for him.

"But… wait… if I could remember correctly, you are Olive, right?" Liam spoke up once again.

When he said her name, Olive's doubt disappeared. 'He remembered me. He knew me. So this is Liam. But why? Why did he change his appearance? Is this one of his coping mechanisms to forget that incident before?'

Olive just set aside those questions for a while. She visited him to see how he was doing, not to ask him questions that might bring up the past.

"Yes, it's me, Olive. I'm glad you still remember me. I'm your good friend during our college years." Olive said to him cheerfully, reminding him about their connection in the past.

Liam just gave her a faint smile before sitting on his chair. The two of them engaged in a conversation like those friends who didn't see each other for so long.

After a while, Olive decided to leave since Liam still had another class for today. They just agreed on meeting each other again some other time.

Liam escorted Olive going out of the faculty office. While they were walking in the hallway, they passed by the Student Council Office and saw the students holding a large tarpaulin.

Olive halted on her steps when she caught a glimpse of a familiar face. That familiar face was the one printed on the large tarpaulin.

"What's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop?" Liam asked Olive curiously.

Olive turned to Liam as she pointed her finger toward the tarpaulin the students were carrying.

"Liam, do you know that woman… the woman printed on the tarpaulin?"

Liam followed her line of sight and saw Zhen-Zhen's picture in the tarpaulin.

"That woman is Lillie Meyer, a first-year student of photography class. She had just recently crowned as the Campus Belle of this university. They will post this tarpaulin in the different areas on the campus to congratulate her. Why did you ask?"

Olive was taken aback when she heard that. She didn't want to admit but Zhen-Zhen's beauty was one of a kind, no wonder she won the title of Campus Belle of this prestigious university.

First time in her life she felt insecure toward a person. She became more jealous of her. 

'Maybe, this was one of the reasons why Clifford falls for her.'

"Oh… Do you know where she is right now? Can I meet her?" 

Liam didn't understand why Olive suddenly became interested in Zhen-Zhen. "She will be in my next class. She's my student."Why do you want to meet her?"

Olive contemplated for a moment whether to tell Liam her true intention or not. In the end, she just made an alibi.

"I am a fashion designer, remember? I want to see her and ask her whether she wants to be my muse. I think my designs will look good on her. Can I talk to her? Even for just several minutes?" Olive requested Liam since he was her professor for the next class. This was a good opportunity for her to get to know Zhen-Zhen.

Liam nodded his head with a smile. "Sure, I can give you ten to fifteen minutes only. You can also ask her to meet you when she's available if ever she's interested to be your model. But I will not let you take her away to skip my class."

"I got it. Thank you, Liam!"