Arriving at the Academic Affairs Office, Chen Nannan came to a stop just outside the door.
Meeting Shen An’s slightly puzzled gaze, she handed him the files she had been carrying before pushing the door open.
“Good day, teachers~”
Several teachers were on duty inside the office.
Chen Nannan greeted them with easy familiarity, and they all responded in kind.
Shen An watched the exchange and thought to himself that his assistant class supervisor must be one of those students teachers just loved.
After the greetings, Chen Nannan didn’t linger. She headed straight toward the back.
Following in her footsteps, Shen An entered a small office within the Academic Affairs Office.
He knocked lightly on the door. A pleasant baritone voice came from inside. “Come in.”
The door clicked open.
A female teacher sat in the small office.
She appeared to be in her early thirties, strikingly beautiful, with glasses perched on her nose. Her refined features carried an air of dignity.
Unfortunately, the stern expression typical of traditional teachers was etched across her face.
That solemnity detracted from her beauty—especially for students. Their first impression was unease and fear rather than admiration.
Having graduated years ago, Shen An had no such qualms. He openly sized her up.
A private office in the Academic Affairs Office meant she was either the director or at least oversaw this floor.
At her age, that position was intriguing.
Unless, like Zhao Li, she was nearing forty but exceptionally well-preserved.
A closer look dispelled that notion.
The faint lines at the corners of her eyes confirmed she was truly around thirty—no older than thirty-five.
Either her abilities were exceptional, or her background was.
That said, her taut, pretty face made her seem rather dull.
“Teacher Pei?”
Chen Nannan greeted her with a playful lilt.
Teacher Pei glanced up. “Nannan, here to turn in the materials?”
“Mm-hmm.”
She pointed to the two stacks of files in Shen An’s hands. “These are the new students’ records and documents.”
“I see. Just set them on the desk.”
“Um~ One of them isn’t filled out yet.”
“Oh?” Teacher Pei adjusted her glasses and turned her gaze to Shen An. “A new student?”
“Mm-hmm.”
As Chen Nannan smiled, she gave Shen An a discreet poke.
“Hello, Teacher Pei. I’m Shen An, from English Class One.”
“Shen An…”
Teacher Pei listened to his introduction. Behind her lenses, her bright eyes flickered, and she arched a brow.
“Hello. I’m Pei Xiuran, Deputy Director of the Academic Affairs Office and your department’s guidance teacher.”
Her name suited her scholarly beauty perfectly.
“If you run into any problems, feel free to come to me.”
“Thank you. If Senior Sister Chen can’t sort it out, I’ll come trouble you.”
“Mm. Nannan, you’re supposed to be the senior sister here. How could you make your junior carry everything? Those are heavy.”
Chen Nannan bowed her head, a touch of apology in her posture.
Shen An said gently, “I offered to carry them for Senior Sister.”
“Tsk. You’re quite the caring one toward your senior sister. Look after Nannan, will you? She doesn’t have a partner, and wrangling a bunch of newbies will wear her out.”
“I will.”
“Good. Set the files down first—they look heavy.”
“Oh~ So, Teacher, we’ll finish filling it out and bring it back?”
Chen Nannan asked softly.
“Of course.”
With Teacher Pei’s permission, Chen Nannan tugged Shen An out of the office.
But Shen An couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Teacher Pei’s gaze… it had seemed odd.
As he turned away, his sharp intuition told him: Teacher Pei was staring right at him.
The strange sensation vanished in an instant, leaving him puzzled.
In another empty office nearby, Chen Nannan took the files from Shen An’s hands and set them on the desk.
Seeing him still lost in thought, she tilted her head. “What’re you thinking about?”
“Oh, nothing. Just that Teacher Pei is really pretty.”
“Isn’t she? I think so too.”
Chen Nannan covered her mouth and giggled before turning serious. “But don’t get any ideas. Teacher Pei is super strict.”
Shen An raised a brow. “Is that how you see me, Senior Sister? You’re always warning me not to get ideas.”
“Uh…” Chen Nannan looked embarrassed. “Sorry. I… I just want you to focus on your studies.”
“Looks like you must snag scholarships every year.”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“Heh.”
No matter what, it always circled back to studying well. No wonder the teachers adored her.
Chen Nannan pouted. Why was he speaking in riddles again?
“Also, you’re pretty sly, Senior Sister. Dumping the files on me right before we went in. They were heavy!”
Shen An rubbed his aching shoulder in mock complaint.
Looking timid, Chen Nannan pressed him into a chair and began massaging his shoulder ingratiatingly. “I just wanted to give you a chance to shine. Make a good impression in front of the teacher.”
Shen An knew it was her good intentions, of course. He was only teasing.
From this, he gained a bit more insight into Chen Nannan’s personality.
The girl was genuinely kind—and a little clumsy about it.
“What? Are you mad?”
“No. I just wanted to warn you, Senior Sister: I’m not the ‘good student’ type by nature.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t look so shocked. I’m letting you know ahead of time—I’ll definitely skip classes. Might even end up on the criticism list at semester’s end.”
Chen Nannan’s little mouth fell open. She seemed utterly floored.
A freshman saying that…
She frowned. “Why?”
“Why skip?” she asked earnestly.
“Is college even college if you don’t skip a few classes?” Shen An shot back righteously.
“Pfft~ Where’d you pick up that nonsense? You just started, so no funny ideas!”
Chen Nannan advised him earnestly. “Your parents didn’t have it easy, right? Don’t think college means total freedom. Freedom without self-control is just indulgence.”
Shen An leaned back. “I don’t have parents. I’m an orphan.”
That single line shut down everything she had been about to say.
Her mouth opened and closed, at a loss for words.
She was still rubbing his shoulder. Looking down closely, she noticed the damage to his shirt. The white fabric, otherwise clean, bore stubborn stains like dust on a spotless floor.
Her fingers brushed lightly over a tear in the material. In an instant, her mind conjured up a flood of heartbreaking scenes.
An orphan from childhood… no one to rely on, adrift and alone, fending entirely for himself…
Poor thing…
Girls always had strong empathy, and Chen Nannan was a prime example.
Heart aching for him, she murmured, “I’m sorry. I… I didn’t know about your situation…”
“It’s fine.”
Shen An naturally placed his hand over hers, patting the smooth back.
Chen Nannan’s cheeks flushed pink. She shyly pulled her hand away, taking it as simple reassurance.
She turned and sat across from him, chattering on. “All the more reason to cherish it, though, right?”
“Getting into college wasn’t easy. It’s a great opportunity.”
Shen An suddenly chuckled. Under Chen Nannan’s stunned gaze, he said softly, “Senior Sister, you didn’t fall for that again, did you?”
Huh???
Chen Nannan jolted in shock and hurriedly flipped open his student file.
In the parents’ section, two names were clearly listed!!!
That jerk!!!
She slammed the desk. Her face flushed with fury. “Shen An!”
Shen An propped his chin on his hand, grinning at her. “You look good even when you’re mad, Senior Sister.”
“You…”
Chen Nannan was livid.
In that moment, her good impression of him plummeted to zero!
She despised liars the most.
Especially liars who used something like that!
“You think that’s funny?”
Her cheeks puffed out, her nostrils flaring as if snorting in rage.
Shen An said gently, “I was just a little touched.”
“Touched by what? What’s so touching about it? Liar!” Chen Nannan crossed her arms, fuming.
“It’s been a long time since anyone’s nagged me like that, but I don’t like getting sappy. So I joked around.”
“Hmph~”
Chen Nannan dismissed it as more nonsense.
“Let’s fill out the forms.”
She tossed a pen at him curtly, clearly done talking.
Shen An didn’t mind. He picked up his student file and started filling it out.
He had his personal records memorized by now, so he didn’t need to reference it constantly.
Chen Nannan glanced over, about to close the open file.
But her eyes snagged on the parents’ section again…
She froze. Her heart skipped a beat.
Neither the father nor the mother…
had the surname Shen.
This…
Chen Nannan silently gazed at Shen An’s file, a faint sourness stirring in her heart.
Perhaps…
He wasn’t lying.
Even if his parents were biological, the different surnames surely pointed to some significant hidden story.
Curious now, Chen Nannan flipped through the other sections of his file.
She read slowly, going over his enrollment records from elementary school all the way to high school.
The more she read, the more shocked Chen Nannan became.
“Your grades are really impressive… Full marks in English on the college entrance exam? And almost full marks in math too.”
From the records in the file alone, Shen An’s academic performance had been exceptionally outstanding from childhood onward, and every school he’d attended had been a top-tier institution.
This completely contradicted what Shen An had claimed about being “completely insulated from good students.”
With grades this excellent, wasn’t he a model student?
Hearing Chen Nannan’s surprised praise, Shen An’s hand trembled slightly as he filled out the form.
“Just take a look. It’s like the packaging on a pack of instant noodles—for reference only.”
Shen An said indifferently.
“How could that be? These are all real records in the file.”
Chen Nannan was obviously still somewhat naive.
Well, most normal people wouldn’t even consider the possibility of a forged file.
“No, no, no. You might not believe me, but English and math are what I’m worst at.”
Shen An quickly shook his head in denial.
Chen Nannan let out a cute huff. “Still trying to fool me? I’m not that dumb! I can read numbers and Chinese just fine.”
With that, she waved the file right in front of Shen An’s eyes. “See? College entrance exam English: 150 points. Math: 145.”
Shen An’s mouth twitched. “Whatever makes you happy.”
Hearing this, Chen Nannan smugly assumed she’d seen through Shen An’s little deception ahead of time.
Shen An sighed inwardly, shaking his head. He should have been upfront with Zhao Li from the start.
This was all so inexplicable…
Zhao Li probably never imagined that even his identity as a psychologist was fake.
“So, you won’t skip classes anymore. You’ll attend properly, right?”
Chen Nannan set the file down, clasped her small hands together, and gazed at Shen An with pleading eyes.
Shen An blinked in surprise.
Her clear eyes brimmed with eager expectation, and for a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to turn her down.
But actually making him go to class…
Shen An would shut down completely.
He sighed. “Realistically, whether I skip class or not doesn’t affect you at all, does it, Senior Sister?”
“You’re the assistant class supervisor, not the actual teacher.”
Chen Nannan shook her head, her expression deadly serious. “As your senior sister and assistant class supervisor, it’s my duty to make sure you study properly.”
“No bad habits, got it?”
Shen An chuckled helplessly. He set down his pen and said softly, “Do you show this much concern for everyone, Senior Sister?”
“I…”
Chen Nannan stammered.
“Or… is it just me you care about this much?”
Shen An narrowed his eyes, his smile tinged with a subtle ambiguity.
Now Chen Nannan stammered even more, her face flushing red. “Of course… of course not!!”
“Good.”
Shen An breathed a sigh of relief. “If you only kept tabs on me and nagged me every day, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
Chen Nannan arched an eyebrow and tilted her head. “?”
“Don’t stare at me like that. I’ll get shy~”
Shen An gave a bashful smile.
Chen Nannan snorted. “Drop dead, Shen An.”
“Hurry up and fill it out! No more chatting.”
