The Alchemists

EIGHT YEARS LATER

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Aleksis eagerly walked with long strides as she followed Mr. Miller's secretary into his office.

Her tanned face, having spent so many months in the Caribbean, looked rather disheveled and her long, messy hair did not diminish her distinctive beauty.

Her blue-green eyes didn't attract much attention this time because she covered them with glasses like Uncle Rory used to do.

Aleksis was a very beautiful girl who was used to making herself appear messy and nerdy. She usually wore big glasses and old-fashioned clothing or torn jeans and oversized shirts so as not to attract men, as that would certainly make her bodyguards react badly.

At first glance one would think this girl was just a nerd who didn't deserve a second glance.

"Please sit down, Aleksis..." Mr. Miller welcomed Aleksis kindly and invited her to sit on the sofa. "We don't usually accept sudden student transfers, but Mr. Van Der Ven contributed to the construction of the new library and we appreciate his good intentions in sending his niece as an exchange student for one year."

"Thank you, Sir." Aleksis smiled happily. She knew that Kurt Van Der Ven, her father's right hand, could easily take care of everything she wanted. She just needed to ask. "I'm excited to start studying here."

"Good. Students are given the choice to live in our dormitory or to look for apartments outside of campus. You can contact Ms. Lauren outside if you need help to arrange your accommodation. Lectures start next Monday."

Aleksis earnestly listened to some advice from the university director before excusing herself to take care of her move to the dormitory.

Ms. Lauren welcomed her well and gave Aleksis several documents to study.

"So, do you wish to stay in our dorm or outside?" asked Ms. Lauren after Aleksis signed several files.

"I want to try living in a dorm," Aleksis said quickly. "I want to have many female friends."

"Didn't you have any female friends in your previous school?" asked Ms. Lauren, who was astonished.

Aleksis shook her head. She was almost 20 years old, but Aleksis never had a single female friend. All her life was spent on adventures with Uncle Rory or accompanying her parents around the world.

You could say that her best friends were her mother and her two younger siblings. They were very close, but it was really not the same as having normal friends.

After feeling satisfied with exploring the world, she longed to be like other girls who went to public university and made friends with people from all walks of life.

St. Mary University was her university of choice because it was located in Singapore and was a strategic starting point to explore Asia and Australia. She could therefore easily to go on adventures if she wanted to.

Another plus point was that her brother, Terry, was also studying there so she didn't need to worry about adjusting to campus life because she already knew someone on campus.

Terry would soon graduate from his major in Film and she herself would start her major in Management of Information. The two could meet often because their departments were located close by.

"My family moves around a lot, so I never have close friends," Aleksis said with a slight smile.

That would change, she thought to herself. She was ready to settle for several years and live like a commoner. It would be very interesting compared to the sheltered life she was used to having.

"Oh, what a pity. What do your parents do to move around so much?" asked Ms. Lauren, interested. "Are they in the military?"

"Uhm... they are researchers," Aleksis answered, trying to choose a sentence that had the most obscure meaning. Her mother had a variety of interests and her father had many professions that he could pursue depending on his mood.

Currently they were enjoying their honeymoon together for the umpteenth time so Aleksis could get away from home for one year and live as an ordinary girl. Her two younger siblings were sent to study with Uncle Aldebar.

"Oh, they are researchers? Very good..." commented Ms. Lauren, looking impressed. The girl in front of her did look like a nerd, maybe her parents were indeed very smart. "All right. Everything's settled. You can enter the dorm this afternoon and you will start studying next Monday."

"Thank you, Ms. Lauren." Aleksis stood up and excused herself.

She walked out of the administration building with a happy face and when she arrived outside she breathed in deep. She couldn't wait to be a regular student and make friends with people her age.

She stretched her arms and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. Unconsciously her lips exclaimed happily, "Yeahhh…!!"

"Watch out for flies. You don't want to unintentionally swallow them," said a voice from behind her, making Aleksis gasp and look away.

A tall young man passed by with a mischievous smile. He has long blond hair which was tied with red string, and his handsome face was covered with a pair of large black sunglasses which made him look rather mysterious.

He gave off an indifferent vibe as he had both his hands in his pockets when he walked lightly away from Aleksis.

"Nicolaeee...!!" Some of the girls who saw him pass by became hysterical and shouted his name. The young man waved at them and continued his journey towards the library building.

"Watch out for flies?" Aleksis murmured in confusion.

Jeez...

Look at those girls… If I wanted to be like a normal girl, should I copy their attitudes? But that's so cheesy...

Do I have to scream out at guys like them?

"Nicolaeee...!!" She screamed while pouting her lips with exasperation. Huh... seriously. This looks dumb.

"Hey... Please don't embarrass me..." Suddenly a hand patted Aleksis' head and when she turned around, she saw Terry covering his face while shaking his head. "Don't tell me you're also a fan of that pretty boy Nicolae..."

Aleksis pursed her lips and hit Terry. I'm not a fan of any pretty boy.

"You're late. I took care of the registration myself," she said curtly.

"I was busy, sorry." Terry shrugged, but he didn't try to avoid his sister's punch. "Wanna have lunch?"

"Yesss. You're paying." Aleksis' sullen face immediately changed to a sweet smile as she took Terry's arm and pulled him toward the cafeteria. "I eat a lot, you know..."

Terry laughed and followed Aleksis to the cafeteria and pulled two chairs for them.

The atmosphere in the noisy cafeteria suddenly became quiet when students started noticing their presence.

Aleksis was confused to see everyone staring at her in surprise.

"Jeez... Why are people staring at me like this? Is there something on my face?" she whispered to Terry.

The young man shook his head while rolling his eyes.

"They must think you are my girlfriend... Don't mind them." Terry pretended not to see the probing gaze of the girls around them and nonchalantly called the server to order food.

"Gosh? Do they really think that I have such poor taste?" said Aleksis in an annoyed tone, while Terry quickly knocked on her head. Aleksis immediately protested, "Heyyy... I am still growing, you know! If my brain is injured and not fully developed, you must take responsibility!"

Inwardly, Aleksis now believed what Terry told her yesterday - that her brother was very famous on campus. She could see all the girls around them staring at her with hatred and jealousy because she was eating at the same the table as Terry. They thought she was his girlfriend.

Her brother was indeed very handsome and being the head of the student council last year made him highly respected on campus. Naturally, many girls wanted to be his girlfriend.

Ahh... If only they knew that Aleksis was just Terry's sister, maybe those girls wouldn't throw her these hateful looks, and instead, they would try their best to win her heart.

Even though Aleksis and Terry had different parents and different family names, but by DNA it could be proven that they were both biological siblings.

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