"No need, I'll do it myself."

"Understood," Xu Nana nodded.

Qin Yong continued, "Teachers Lin, Jia, and Ni, you three will be in charge of Songjiang Campus."

"Teacher Lin Pengfei will lead the team."

As long as he didn't have to go to Guangyuan Campus, Lin Pengfei was fine with anything and nodded his agreement.

Of the seven teachers, only Chen Xuan and Li An remained.

Given the situation, it was clear the two of them would be heading to Guangyuan Campus together.

Qin Yong's gaze finally settled on Li An.

"Teacher Li and Teacher Chen, you will be responsible for Guangyuan Campus."

"Teacher Li will lead the team."

After the assignments were set, Qin Yong went over the important points for the upcoming mock grading activity.

"Tonight, someone will add you to a group chat. The teachers responsible for each campus will explain the details there."

"Arrange your schedules accordingly. No need to check in at your campuses on Monday and Tuesday."

Seeing no objections, Qin Yong added, "Given the workload, each person will receive a 600 yuan stipend, to be included in next month's salary."

"Meeting adjourned."

...

After the meeting, Qin Yong returned to his office and sent the list of the seven teachers to the academic coordinator at the main campus.

With the people chosen, the rest was no longer his responsibility.

He had selected these seven based on three criteria.

First, he was confident in their professional competence; as examiners, they wouldn't make mistakes.

Second, this event would help bring the young teachers closer together and strengthen team cohesion.

Lastly, it was a small perk for the younger staff.

Especially for those undergoing the elite teacher assessment—this past month, they'd been busy with both summer classes and the evaluation.

He'd seen their hard work.

Six hundred for two days—consider it a paid break.

He knew the task itself was light, just a bit tedious.

But they were young.

Strong backs, resilient postures.

Not like old He, who had to stand and stretch after sitting for a while.

...

In reality, this mock grading was a sales tactic by Blue Sky to accelerate course consumption.

Students participating only needed to pay for one class period to receive a professional evaluation from a teacher.

Parents, eager for their children to advance, had already purchased extra classes—they wouldn't mind paying for one more.

The phrase "mock exam" alone hit the parents' soft spot.

That evening, after Li An finished the first half of his performance and picked up his phone, he saw he'd been added to a group chat half an hour prior.

A user named "Guangyuan Coordinator, Teacher Liu" had left a long series of messages.

The main points:

"Greetings to all the teachers."

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Please gather Monday morning at 7:30 in the third-floor conference room of Guangyuan Campus. No tardiness permitted."

"Mind your attire: male teachers, no flip-flops or shorts; female teachers, no shorts or short skirts."

"As for grading standards, use your discretion—try to avoid failing anyone."

The rest was mostly filler.

Li An scanned the group members' list, matching the avatars with their campus nicknames. Seldom did handles stray beyond the likes of "Rose Life," "Serenity," or "Xixi's Mom."

He was sure none of these teachers would have trouble with the dress code.

But one nickname, marked as "Songjiang Li Minghao," caught his eye: a cartoonish dog emoji.

He tapped on the avatar and glanced at the nickname.

"Jumping Egg."

Now that was interesting.

"Not bad," he thought.

On a whim, Li An changed his own alias.

Yudong Li An: Noted.

No sooner had he sent his message to the group than Chen Xuan texted him.

Yezi: Using your phone during work hours, pay will be docked.

Leaning against the wall behind the piano bench, Li An shot a short video for Chen Xuan—first a few seconds of the idle piano, then a glimpse of the diners in the hall.

Eight Thousand One: It's break time.

A moment later—

Yezi: The place looks nice.

Eight Thousand One: What are you up to?

Yezi: Having dinner with a friend.

Eight Thousand One: Oh?

Yezi: What's with the "oh"?

Eight Thousand One: Nothing. Any meat?

Yezi: All meat.

Eight Thousand One: Seriously? You don't even like meat.

...

City South, MixC Mall.

Fifth floor, Yulidao Charcoal Grill.

"Hey, hey, hey, Comrade Xiaomi," Sun Yuman reminded Chen Xuan that the meat was ready.

"Mhm," Chen Xuan replied distractedly, snapping a photo of the table.

She intentionally caught Sun Yuman’s hand in the shot and couldn’t hide a smile as she hit send.

At that moment, "Fess up, who is it?" came Sun Yuman’s sly voice.

Meeting her mischievous look, Chen Xuan calmly set her phone down on the table.

"It's a colleague," she replied openly.

Sun Yuman pressed, "Male or female?"

"Male."

"What kind of colleague?"

"A colleague I'm on good terms with."

"He likes you."

Chen Xuan considered, "Probably, but I’m not sure."

"Do you like him?"

Chen Xuan nodded. "I do."

"..."

"..."

"No way..."

Sun Yuman was stunned. Had the iron tree finally blossomed?

Chen Xuan confessed so calmly.

Xiaomi had finally fallen for a guy—unbelievable.

But the next second, Sun Yuman’s happiness turned to worry.

Chen Xuan had no experience in relationships, and men these days could be so insincere.

What if she got hurt by a player?

No, she needed to get to the bottom of this.

Sun Yuman began an interrogation worthy of a background check.

Chen Xuan patiently answered all her questions, as openly as possible without exposing Li An’s privacy.

She understood what her friend was concerned about.

After the Q&A, Sun Yuman let out a long sigh.

"It sounds like he’s pretty decent."

Regular lifestyle, simple habits, hardworking and ambitious.

Having had a girlfriend wasn’t a big deal—they were both in music, who hadn’t dated once or twice in college?

Suddenly, Sun Yuman remembered something. "Wait, isn’t this the guy who’s a bit slow on the uptake?"

Chen Xuan smiled, tacitly confirming.

Sun Yuman teased, "No wonder you haven’t been hanging out with me lately—so this is why!"

"There’s just been too much work," Chen Xuan explained. "By the time I get home every night, I just want to sleep."

Sun Yuman understood. It was like her own daughter was getting married.

"Such an important thing, and you didn’t tell me!"

Chen Xuan laughed, "I’m telling you now, aren’t I?"

Sun Yuman thought for a moment—she really couldn’t have found out if Chen Xuan hadn’t told her.

"Want me to look into his past for you?"

In Rong City, it would be easy for Sun Yuman to investigate someone, especially from the Conservatory.

"Xiao Yu, you know me best."

Chen Xuan’s tone wasn’t stern, but it carried a kind of calm.

She would have told Sun Yuman about Li An tonight even if she hadn’t been asked.

As her closest friend, she was happy to share, even feelings buried deep within.

But some lines shouldn’t be crossed.

She respected her best friend, just as she respected Li An.

"Alright, alright, I was just saying. Eat up, eat up," Sun Yuman said, seeing Chen Xuan’s attitude.

She could have doubts about the man, but she trusted Chen Xuan’s composure.

Still, who could predict where feelings might lead?

"Anyway, if you two really end up together and he ever hurts you, I’ll chop him up myself."

With that, Sun Yuman stuffed a piece of beef into her mouth, grease glistening at the corner of her lips.

"No need," Chen Xuan handed her a napkin. "I’ll handle it myself."

Sun Yuman looked up with a hiss.

All she saw was Chen Xuan’s face, gentle and serene.

In that instant,

Her worries suddenly seemed unnecessary.

—

A sudden chill ran through Li An, making him shiver and miss a chord with his left hand.

"Dongzi, turn off the air conditioner above me."

"You got it, An."

As he played the lackluster "Autumn Leaves," his mind was filled with thoughts of that table full of meat in the picture.

So tempting.