Just as Lucas arrived outside the Academic Affairs Office, he heard an argument coming from inside.

One of the voices belonged to his counselor, Theresa Frost.

Her usually calm and gentle voice now carried obvious anxiety.

"Director Felix, is expulsion really necessary over a conflict between students? They’re both young people. Surely this matter can be handled another way."

A heavy snort came from inside.

"Theresa, you’re still too naive."

Director Felix leaned back in his chair and rubbed his forehead.

"Do you even know who Lucas hit this time? It wasn’t some ordinary student. It was Kai Vayne, the son of Sebastian Vayne."

"The Vayne Family owns Evercrest Group. Every year they donate tens of millions to this school. Sebastian Vayne is practically one of our biggest financial supporters."

His expression became increasingly helpless.

"Now Sebastian has made his position very clear. If Lucas isn’t expelled, the Vayne Family will cut off all future donations."

Theresa’s face turned pale.

She naturally understood what losing that amount of funding meant to the school.

Several projects currently under construction relied heavily on outside sponsorship.

And Evercrest Group had been one of the largest contributors for years.

Even so, she still couldn’t accept it.

"Director Felix, can’t we negotiate? A major demerit, suspension, community service... anything would be better than expulsion."

"Lucas is only months away from graduation."

"If he’s expelled now, years of hard work will be wasted."

Director Felix shook his head.

"It’s not that I don’t want to help him."

"It’s that I can’t."

"The moment the Vayne Family got involved, this stopped being a simple student dispute."

He paused before adding quietly,

"If it were any other student, we could discuss it."

"But this is Kai Vayne."

Outside the office, Lucas stood quietly.

A trace of warmth appeared in his eyes.

He honestly hadn’t expected Theresa to argue for him like this.

Most people would have distanced themselves immediately after hearing the Vayne Family’s name.

Yet she was still trying her best to protect him.

The truth was that Lucas had always gotten along well with Theresa.

Although she was only a few years older than her students, she treated everyone sincerely.

Whenever students had difficulties, she was usually the first one willing to help.

Many students respected her.

Lucas was no exception.

Without knocking, he pushed the door open and walked inside.

The sudden movement startled both of them.

When Theresa saw him standing there, her beautiful face immediately tightened with worry.

"Lucas?"

"Why are you here already?"

There was even a hint of panic in her voice.

She had originally planned to speak with the principal first and see if there was still room for negotiation.

She never expected Lucas to show up himself.

Before she could continue, Lucas smiled.

"Counselor Frost, thank you."

"But this really isn’t a big problem."

"The school won’t expel me."

The moment those words came out, Director Felix almost laughed.

He looked at Lucas as though he were looking at an ignorant child.

"You must be Lucas Gray."

"You still haven’t realized how much trouble you’re in, have you?"

"The person you hit is Kai Vayne."

"The Vayne Family can influence people you can’t even imagine."

"For them, expelling a student is easier than crushing an ant."

Throughout the entire exchange, Lucas remained unbelievably calm.

From beginning to end, there wasn’t the slightest trace of panic on his face.

It was as if the possibility of being expelled didn’t concern him at all.

The more Director Felix watched him, the more irritated he became.

In his eyes, Lucas was simply a stubborn student refusing to accept reality.

Even now, after learning about the Vayne Family’s influence, he was still acting as though none of it mattered.

Meanwhile, Theresa was becoming increasingly anxious.

She had spent the last several minutes doing everything she could to help him.

Speaking up on his behalf.

Trying to find a compromise.

Yet Lucas looked completely unconcerned.

It was enough to make anyone frustrated.

If this had been any other student, they would probably be begging by now.

At the very least, they would show some fear.

But Lucas seemed completely different.

It genuinely felt like he didn’t care.

Finally, Lucas slowly stood up from his chair.

He glanced at Director Felix and spoke calmly.

"Since we’re not getting anywhere here, let’s take this matter to the principal."

"I don’t have all day to waste."

The moment those words fell, the office became quiet.

Director Felix stared at him for several seconds before letting out a cold laugh.

"You want to see the principal?"

"Fine."

"Let’s see if the principal gives you a different answer."

In truth, Director Felix wasn’t worried at all.

As far as he was concerned, the outcome had already been decided.

The Vayne Family had spoken.

The school would never risk losing Evercrest Group’s support over a single student.

Beside them, Theresa felt a headache coming on.

She looked at Lucas with annoyance.

This was the first time she had genuinely wanted to hit one of her own students.

She had been fighting for him this entire time.

Yet Lucas looked more relaxed than anyone else in the room.

Did he really not understand the seriousness of the situation?

Looking at his calm expression, even she began to feel uncertain.

Without saying another word, Director Felix grabbed a folder from his desk and headed for the door.

Theresa quickly followed behind.

Lucas simply placed his hands in his pockets and walked after them.

The three of them soon left the Academic Affairs Office together.

As they walked through the administrative corridor, quite a few staff members looked over curiously.

News traveled quickly at universities.

Many people had already heard that a student had beaten Kai Vayne.

Others had heard rumors that the Vayne Family was demanding an expulsion.

Whispers immediately followed them down the hallway.

Theresa’s expression grew even more worried as she listened.

Director Felix merely sneered.

Only Lucas remained completely indifferent.

To him, the discussions around him were no different from background noise.

A few minutes later, they arrived outside the principal’s office.

The large wooden door stood at the end of the corridor.

The golden nameplate beside it reflected the overhead lights.

Director Felix adjusted his suit and straightened his tie.

Even he seemed slightly nervous.

After all, the principal rarely involved himself directly in student matters.

Theresa unconsciously clenched her hands together.

Her heart had already risen into her throat.

Lucas, on the other hand, simply stood there quietly.

His expression never changed.

Then Director Felix raised his hand.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.