”What’d I miss?” Ying Sheng muttered beneath her breath. She doubted it was anything important since it was probably just announcements. She didn’t keep up with the class all that much because it only circulated around one project that needed to be done by early May. Xing Yue, a redhead who always seemed to wear the finest brands of clothing, smirked at her as she turned to Ying Sheng , donned in a sophisticated navy blue sheath dress.

”Girl, this is like the tenth time you’ve been late this semester,” she whispered as Dr. Harris went back to lecturing.

Ying Sheng shrugged, knowing most of those days had been tough ones when it was hard to drag herself out of bed. She had just been proud she had made it to class in the first place because it would’ve been easier to just not come at all and face the stress of it. Plus, other people skipped all of the time. They were all seniors. Dr. Harris could cut them some slack since the semester is about to end.

”I’m here now,” she pointed out. She wished that the class didn’t last three hours, especially since they typically didn’t do much in it but talk about their business plans. She figured it would be more beneficial to use the time to actually work on them, but what did she know?

A girl leaned forward to peer pass Xing Yue, her brunette bangs falling against her forehead.

”He’s talking about the drafts due today,” she told them.

Ying Sheng’s eyes narrowed in confusion, not knowing what she was talking about. She didn’t remember anything about a draft being due today. She didn’t even have a completed draft to turn in, and it would surprise her if anyone else did.

”Draft for the business plan?” Ying Sheng asked them as she looked between the two girls. She hoped that she was just hearing this wrong.

Xing Yue gave Ying Sheng a surprised look.

”You didn’t know? He talked about it last class… toward the beginning of it,” Xing Yue murmured.

Ying Sheng internally groaned, realizing she was probably late last class too and had missed the announcement. She turned and watched the twenty other people in the class move to turn in their drafts of their business plan on a table toward the front of the room, her heart sinking into her stomach. She had nothing to turn in right now. Her partially done draft was on her laptop on her desk at the apartment.

”Maybe he’ll take it late,” Xing Yue told Ying Sheng with a sympathetic smile as she stood to go turn her draft in.

Ying Sheng forced a nod, trying not to look too bothered about the whole ordeal. Over the past few days, she hadn’t bothered to really work on her business plan because she had been spending more time with Liam and finishing up other work for her other classes. The business plan just slipped her mind, and she knew that she would pay for that.

Shame casted itself over Ying Sheng like a dark cloud, her shoulders slumping slightly as she remained at her desk.

She wanted this right? To come to business school and open her bakery but why does everything suddenly feel empty? She thought coming to business school and fulfill her dream will make her feel complete but at the back of her mind she can’t shake the thought that something important is missing.

Ying Sheng she was sure that she would get an email from Dr. Harris later on, asking why she hadn’t turned anything in. He wasn’t the worst professor she had ever had, but he was certainly a strict one. She would just have to turn in the unfinished draft that she had and hope that she didn’t fail this grade for the draft.

”Take the rest of the time to talk to others around you about your progress on your projects so far,” Dr. Harris announced once everyone returned back to their seats.

The last thing that Ying Sheng wanted to do was hear about how everyone else was on top of their game with this project, while she was still falling behind. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She would sit down at her desk and try to work, but it felt like a brick was in her chest. She felt too weighed down to do anything, and all that helped was happy distractions.

”I’m just ready to get done with all of this and vacate ,” Xing Yue sighed as she tapped away on her phone, using the cover of the student sitting in front of her so that Dr. Harris couldn’t see.

”I swear. I’m tired of doing classwork. I just want to actually work and make money now,” The brunette girl muttered as she stared aimlessly toward the front of the classroom.

Ying Sheng was ready to graduate too, but she also couldn’t help but worry about reaching that point. She would really have to face the real world without the safety net of college. Something about going to school made her feel safe in a way, but that would all end soon. She couldn’t afford to continue on to graduate school, so she would have to be tossed to the wolves come graduation.

Then, she would have to try to put her business idea into motion. She would have to find a building, find the money, and every other little detail that went into establishing her dream bakery. Deep down, she knew how to do what needed to get done, but she still felt like she was being held back, like she couldn’t move forward.

Her parents were so successful in their business ventures and boasted about that all the time. They prodded her to be just as successful or she’d be a failure. There was no grey area for them, and that was a huge leap for Ying Sheng to get from where she was at now to where they were at. It almost seemed impossible, but she doubted they cared about that.