Ayaan's nightmare continued to grow darker.

In his dream, photographs of him and Advik had somehow spread throughout the entire college. The same people who once feared him because of his status were now pointing fingers at him, laughing openly. Students whispered behind his back, society mocked him, and even his own family looked at him with disappointment. Just because of one accidental kiss, his entire reputation had been destroyed. The laughter around him grew louder and louder until it became unbearable.

Suddenly...

A bucket of freezing cold water was poured over him.

Ayaan's eyes shot open.

He gasped for breath as he jerked upright on the bed, his heart pounding wildly inside his chest. It took him a few seconds to realize everything had only been a nightmare. A long sigh of relief escaped his lips.

"Thank God... it was just a dream."

But before he could relax...

His eyes landed on the person standing right in front of him.

Advik.

Holding an empty bucket.

The moment Ayaan saw him, the cold water on his body suddenly became very real.

"You idiot!" he shouted furiously. "How dare you throw water on me?"

Seeing that his Kumbhkaran of a roommate had finally woken up, Advik folded his arms and smirked.

"Oh... Mister Nawab finally woke up? Honestly, I thought you'd already left for another world. Bringing you back from there would've been impossible."

Yesterday, Ayaan had somehow ignored Advik's cold-water stunt.

But today...

His patience snapped.

This guy was getting far too comfortable around him.

Still glaring at Advik, Ayaan pulled off his soaked T-shirt without caring in the slightest. Then he stood up on the bed and began changing his wet clothes.

The moment Advik saw him removing his shirt...

His entire body froze.

Before he could even stop him, Ayaan was already standing shirtless.

A perfectly sculpted muscular body.

Broad shoulders.

Fair skin.

Well-defined abs.

Tiny droplets of water glistened under the morning sunlight, making him look even more unreal.

Any girl would've found it difficult to look away.

And unfortunately...

Advika was still a girl.

Her cheeks instantly turned crimson.

Feeling her face burn with embarrassment, she hurriedly looked away.

"Oh God..."

"How am I supposed to survive two whole years in the same room with this guy?"

Never in her life had she stood this close to a half-dressed man.

For a brief moment...

Her brain completely stopped working.

Then...

Her eyes widened in horror.

Ayaan had now started removing his lower as well.

Panicking, Advika reacted without thinking and quickly grabbed his wrist.

Completely unaware of what was going through Advik's mind, Ayaan looked at the hand holding him before angrily shaking it off.

"What now?"

"Do you want me to fall sick?"

"Was throwing cold water on me this early in the morning still not enough?"

His sharp eyes narrowed dangerously.

"And how dare you hold Ayaan Singhania's hand?"

"I've been watching your behavior since yesterday."

"Looks like your courage has grown a little too much."

His words finally pulled Advika out of her embarrassment.

The blush instantly disappeared.

Replacing it...

Was anger.

Without hesitating, she pinched Ayaan's hand hard.

"Ouch!"

"Oh, Mister Nawab," she shot back, "stop shouting so much."

"Have you forgotten what the PT instructor announced yesterday?"

"We were all supposed to report to the ground at four in the morning."

"And every roommate has to go trekking together."

Stepping away from him, she pointed toward the door.

"Now do whatever you want."

"I'm leaving."

"If something happens to you later..."

"That's your problem."

With that, Advik stomped out of the room, clearly still annoyed.

Watching him leave, Ayaan slapped his forehead.

"Oh, shit!"

"How did I forget that?"

He looked down at himself before shrugging.

"Well..."

"I've already had my bath."

"So I just need to get dressed."

Within minutes, he changed his clothes and hurried toward the university ground.

The entire ground was already filled with hostel students.

Everyone had started running around the massive track in pairs.

Standing confidently in the middle of the field was a heavily built man holding a wooden stick in one hand and a whistle hanging around his neck.

Sudhir Sir.

The infamous PT instructor of the boys' hostel.

A man whose strictness was feared by every student on campus.

The moment he spotted Ayaan entering late, he blew his whistle loudly.

"Ayaan Singhania!"

Completely unfazed, Ayaan casually walked toward him with both hands in his pockets, looking less like a late student and more like a fashion model walking down a runway.

The boys running nearby immediately started whispering.

"Today's over for him."

"PT Sir never spares anyone."

"Not even seniors."

Even Anuj and his group slowed down, eagerly waiting to watch Ayaan get humiliated.

Finally...

Ayaan stopped in front of Sudhir Sir.

The instructor glared at him angrily.

"So..."

"The Number One Bad Boy of Delhi doesn't even know what reporting time means?"

Instead of answering...

Ayaan simply looked back with his usual cold, emotionless eyes.

His expression almost seemed to say...

"If I'm the Bad Boy... obviously I'll act like one."

For a brief second...

Even Sudhir Sir lost his confidence.

Avoiding Ayaan's terrifying gaze, he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"O-Okay..."

"It's your first day."

"I'm letting you off with a warning."

"Now go..."

"Complete your rounds."

Without saying a word, Ayaan simply walked away and joined Harsh and Saksham.

Watching everything from a distance, both Advik and Anuj stood there with disappointed faces.

They had been waiting so eagerly to see Ayaan get scolded.

But then they remembered...

The man standing there wasn't an ordinary student.

He was Ayaan Singhania.

The famous Bad Boy.

Someone who rarely bowed before anyone.

Still pouting over the ruined entertainment, Advik continued jogging around the track.

Suddenly...

A familiar voice spoke right beside his ear.

So close...

That he could feel Ayaan's warm breath.

"You tried really hard to hide it..."

Ayaan said with a mysterious smile.

"But..."

"I know your secret now."

The moment those words entered Advik's ears...

His entire body went numb.

His heartbeat skipped.

For a second...

It felt as though the ground beneath his feet had disappeared.

The moment Advika heard Ayaan's voice so close behind her, her heart almost stopped. For a split second, panic flashed across her face. Did... did he find out my real secret?

Noticing the color drain from Advik's face, Ayaan couldn't help but grin to himself. Jogging beside him, he casually said, "I finally figured it out."

He leaned slightly closer before adding with a smug smile, "You've been hiding it from everyone... You like boys, don't you? I caught you, Mister Gandhi."

Just moments ago, Advik's face had turned pale with fear.

Now...

It flushed bright red with anger.

His running steps came to an abrupt halt.

Looking straight into Ayaan's eyes, he snapped, "Mind your own business."

"And who exactly told you that I'm interested in boys?"

Instead of backing down, Ayaan confidently defended his theory.

"Oh really?"

"Then explain something."

"This morning, when you saw me without my shirt..."

"Why did your cheeks suddenly turn red?"

Those words instantly robbed Advik of every answer.

His eyes subconsciously avoided Ayaan's gaze as they wandered everywhere except his face.

Before he could think of a proper excuse...

A loud whistle echoed across the ground.

PT Sir had called everyone back.

Within seconds, all the students formed two neat lines in front of him.

Relieved by the interruption, Advik immediately walked away without answering another question.

Watching him leave like that, Ayaan scratched his head in confusion.

"Oh God..."

"Why did he react like that?"

His expression slowly stiffened.

"What if..."

"...what I joked about..."

"...is actually true?"

The thought alone made him shiver.

Before he could overthink further, another whistle pulled him back to reality.

Soon, every student stood in formation as PT Sir began explaining the trekking activity.

"This is your destination map," he announced while handing everyone a folded map.

"The room number circled on your map is your checkpoint."

"You and your roommate must reach that location together and bring back the coded coin placed there."

After explaining the routes, possible obstacles, and a few safety instructions, he finally blew his whistle once again.

"So, boys..."

"Ready for your goal?"

The whistle echoed through the chilly morning air.

Instantly...

Every pair sprinted toward the forest trail.

Ayaan and Advik also received the map carrying their room number and silently started walking toward their destination.

Neither of them spoke.

Neither even looked at the other.

The awkwardness from the morning still lingered between them.

Ayaan held the map in one hand while carefully studying the route. His expression clearly showed how annoyed he was.

"Who even comes up with these useless activities this early in the morning?"

"Couldn't they just let us sleep?"

His irritated face didn't escape Advik's notice.

Looking at Ayaan's grumpy expression, Advik almost felt like laughing.

At least someone else was suffering too.

Meanwhile...

Ayaan was still secretly annoyed about the bucket of cold water Advik had dumped on him that morning.

"You think you can prank Ayaan Singhania and get away with it?"

A mischievous smile slowly appeared on his lips.

As his eyes wandered around the forest trail, they suddenly landed on something crawling near a rock.

A small forest crab.

It looked harmless enough.

Without thinking twice, Ayaan quietly bent down, picked it up from behind, and hid it inside his palm.

Completely unaware of what he was doing, Advik continued walking ahead while observing the peaceful forest around them.

Ayaan silently caught up from behind.

With lightning-fast reflexes...

He quickly lifted Advik's backpack slightly and dropped the tiny creature inside.

Then...

As if absolutely nothing had happened...

He calmly continued walking beside him.

A few moments later, Advik glanced sideways.

"What were you doing just now?"

"Can you be serious for once?"

Ayaan didn't answer.

Inside his head, however...

An entirely different movie was playing.

He was already imagining Advik jumping around in panic the moment the crab started crawling inside his clothes.

Just picturing the scene made him smile to himself.

His imagination was interrupted when Advik called his name again.

Ayaan immediately hid his smile and simply continued walking as though he knew nothing.

Seeing no reaction, Advik sighed and decided not to question him any further.

He simply continued following the trail.

Neither of them realized...

That Ayaan's harmless prank...

Was about to turn into something far more serious.

As they continued walking deeper into the forest, something inside Advik's backpack slowly came to life.

At first...

He felt a faint tickling sensation across his back.

He frowned slightly.

"Probably just a twig rubbing against my shirt..."

Ignoring it, he kept walking.

Behind him, Ayaan secretly observed every little reaction.

A smug smile played on his lips.

"Come on... start screaming already."

"Jump around a little."

"Then ask the great Ayaan Singhania to save you."

Unfortunately for him...

Nothing happened.

Instead, Advik continued walking as calmly as ever.

Ayaan couldn't help but feel disappointed.

"What's wrong with this guy?"

"Is he made of stone?"

A few more seconds passed.

This time...

The strange sensation slowly moved upward.

Advik unconsciously placed a hand over his chest, trying to figure out what was crawling beneath his clothes.

His brows knitted together.

"What is this?"

He lightly patted his shirt, hoping whatever it was would fall out on its own.

Nothing happened.

Meanwhile, Ayaan watched everything with sparkling eyes.

"Now he'll ask for help..."

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

But once again...

Advik didn't say a word.

Instead, his expression gradually became serious.

Now he was certain.

Something was definitely moving inside his clothes.

Ayaan almost burst into laughter.

"Just a little more..."

"This is going to be hilarious."

Completely unaware of the real danger, he folded his arms and patiently waited for the drama to begin.

Suddenly...

Advik's body froze.

A sharp, burning pain shot through his back.

It felt as though someone had driven a burning arrow straight into his spine.

"AAAHHH!"

A painful scream echoed through the silent forest.

The sound instantly wiped the smile off Ayaan's face.

"What the..."

His eyes widened in shock.

This wasn't the reaction he had expected.

Not even close.

He immediately ran toward Advik.

"What happened?"

The moment he reached him, he saw Advik clutching his back tightly.

His face had turned deathly pale.

Cold sweat covered his forehead.

Every breath seemed painfully difficult.

Ayaan stood there completely confused.

"How is this possible?"

"It was just a tiny crab."

"Why is he in so much pain?"

According to his plan...

Advik was supposed to panic.

Pull the crab out.

Maybe shout at him.

Then chase him around the forest.

That was all.

But this...

This wasn't a prank anymore.

Advik felt another unbearable wave of pain spread through his entire body.

His legs slowly began losing their strength.

He couldn't even understand what had suddenly happened to him.

The world around him slowly started spinning.

His vision blurred.

His eyelids grew heavier with every passing second.

Watching Advik struggle to stay conscious...

Ayaan's own face turned pale.

For the first time in years...

Fear gripped his heart.

"N-No..."

"Advik..."

"Hey..."

"Look at me!"

But before he could do anything...

Advik's body went completely limp.

He collapsed straight into Ayaan's arms.

For a few seconds...

Ayaan simply stood there.

Frozen.

His mind had gone completely blank.

Only moments ago, he had been laughing.

Now...

The person standing in front of him had lost consciousness.

Looking around, all he could see were endless trees surrounding them from every direction.

The dense forest suddenly felt terrifying.

The morning sun had barely begun to rise, leaving the entire trekking route covered in a dim bluish light.

Holding Advik's unconscious body, Ayaan felt something he had never experienced before.

Helplessness.

He gently patted Advik's cheeks.

"Advik..."

"Wake up."

"This isn't funny anymore."

"I know you're pretending."

"Come on..."

"Open your eyes."

But there was no response.

Not even the slightest movement.

Panic completely took over Ayaan's mind.