What Do They Really Look Like

At the entrance of the Royal Academy of Mathematics.

Su Li had just arrived at the academy entrance by carriage when she sensed something was different today.

Normally, standing outside the academy, you could see students coming and going, and many early risers reciting their books with heads bobbing. But today, not only were there no students in sight, even the gatekeepers had vanished.

Su Li and Lola got out of the carriage, exchanged a glance, and both felt a wave of unease.

The fact that both of them were women had spread throughout most of the Jin Empire. Could it be that the academy students were biased against female teachers and had all run away?

Lola bit her lip. Normally calm, even she couldn't help but let her imagination run wild at this moment.

"We'll know once we go in and take a look," Su Li said.

"Yes," Lola nodded. The two entered the academy one after the other, only to find it eerily quiet, as if not a single soul was present.

Su Li walked a few steps and frowned. "Lola, could the students really be so old-fashioned? The moment they found out we were women, did they all just leave?"

Lola pursed her lips and frowned slightly. She glanced at a classroom with its doors and windows tightly shut, signaled to Su Li with her eyes, and quickly pulled her into the classroom's blind spot.

In the classroom next door, the doors and windows were tightly shut, but it was packed with students. At the front, several students peered out through the cracks, whispering, "When will Dean Jade Evans and Professor Lola arrive? Are they here yet? How long do we have to keep hiding in here?"

"What do Dean Jade Evans and Professor Lola actually look like?" a younger student couldn't help but ask.

The question sparked everyone's curiosity about what the two looked like.

One student whispered, "Dean Jade Evans is Princess Lily Hayes. They say she's breathtakingly beautiful, so much so that Prince Alexander Hayes is utterly smitten. So she must be very good-looking. As for Professor Lola... I haven't heard much about her looks, but if she works alongside Princess Lily Hayes, she must be at least decent-looking. She can't be an ugly duckling, right?"

Another student immediately retorted, "That's all just exaggerated gossip! I've heard that the smarter a woman is, the uglier she looks. Dean Jade Evans and Professor Lola are both geniuses, so naturally... maybe they're ugly ducklings."

"Nonsense! I once caught a distant glimpse of Princess Lily Hayes, and she was absolutely not ugly—she was stunning!"

"Really? Is it possible for someone to be both that smart and that beautiful? I find it hard to believe!"

The students launched into a lively debate about Dean Jade Evans's looks, quickly forgetting they were supposed to be hiding in the classroom. Their voices grew louder and louder.

Even Su Li, who had never trained in martial arts, could clearly hear their conversation from outside.

"I bet ten coins that Dean Jade Evans is a beauty, and so is Professor Lola!"

"I bet twenty coins that neither of them is good-looking!"

"I think Dean Jade Evans is beautiful, but Professor Lola probably isn't..."

Su Li and Lola listened as the students inside actually started betting on their looks. Both women felt a vein throb on their foreheads. They exchanged a glance, then suddenly charged toward the classroom door. With a swift kick, Lola sent the door flying open with a loud bang.

The students who had been making bets turned around in shock, just in time to see the door panels flying over their heads...