It was another early morning, followed by a full schedule of classes.
Shen An was completely numb.
He dragged his exhausted body back to the classroom, slipping in just one minute before the bell rang.
The moment he sat down, he collapsed onto his desk. Song Rui and Wang Yuqiong exchanged bewildered glances on either side of him, with no idea what was going on.
Wang Yuqiong spoke up first. “Didn’t you wake him up this morning?”
Song Rui blinked, equally puzzled. “I did call him, and he was already up by then.”
“Then where did he go?”
“I… I don’t know.” Song Rui shook her head and picked up the now-cold breakfast from nearby, gently placing it on Shen An’s desk.
Wang Yuqiong eyed Shen An’s face, which was etched with exhaustion. Remembering all the messages she’d sent last night with no reply, she felt a twinge of irritation.
This guy—had he been completely wrung dry yesterday?
How else could he be this tired!
Hadn’t recruitment just ended?
But just as she was about to rouse him, Song Rui grabbed her hand and whispered, “He looks really worn out. Let him rest a bit?”
When it came to thoughtfulness, Song Rui took the cake.
She wouldn’t have minded if Shen An slept even longer. Thanks to their daily online chats, she knew full well how hectic his schedule had been lately.
Gazing at his fatigued expression, Song Rui felt a pang of sympathy.
Wang Yuqiong narrowed her eyes but didn’t insist on waking him. She let him rest.
Still, she harbored some dissatisfaction deep down. It made her look like the inconsiderate “bad woman” who didn’t know how to be gentle. But this guy was probably out cold anyway.
He surely couldn’t hear her conversation with Song Rui.
Shen An slept straight through four classes.
And he woke up right on cue—at the end of the last morning class.
Stretching lazily, he took a deep breath and let out a strange little hum. “Mmm~ Hah~”
Damn, that nap felt amazing.
Wang Yuqiong watched him coolly from the side and said dryly, “Finally decided to get up?”
Shen An leaned back in his chair with a lazy grin. “Rare of you not to wake me.”
Then he picked up the cold breakfast from his desk and said softly to Song Rui, “Thanks.”
“It’s gone cold, though. How about we skip straight to lunch?”
Song Rui watched him cautiously, hoping to share the meal with him.
Wang Yuqiong narrowed her eyes. “You two have time to plan lunch dates? Song Rui, didn’t you get the message? We’re heading to the Art Troupe soon.”
“Huh?”
Song Rui really hadn’t received any message.
She could only look at Shen An in confusion.
“Yeah, Yuqiong’s right. We’re going over there shortly—it’s the first official meeting for all the new members.”
Shen An yawned. “I just forgot to send it to you last night.”
He was usually in charge of the Office’s messages, but right now, there were only three new members in the Office.
Oh, right—he’d almost forgotten one.
Shen An twisted around to look behind him. Shen Lianyao sat quietly right after Wang Yuqiong, meeting his gaze with calm eyes.
“You scared me—I thought you’d already left, Shen.”
Shen An flashed a grin. “We’re heading to the Art Troupe together soon.”
Shen Lianyao frowned slightly. “Got it.”
Tch.
Talk about ice-cold.
Shen An racked his brain but couldn’t think of anything he’d done to offend her. Why was she acting so strangely toward him?
Then again, Shen Lianyao wasn’t singling him out—her demeanor toward everyone was pretty much the same: flat and aloof, the epitome of ascetic coolness.
That gave Shen An even more to gripe about.
He’d helped her out once, after all. Shouldn’t he at least get some special treatment?
Before he and Shen Lianyao locked eyes for long, however, Wang Yuqiong pinched his ear and fixed him with a stern stare. “Where the hell were you last night? You didn’t even send the message?”
Uh…
Shen An turned back around, slumping his shoulders. “How do I even explain? I fought a world war yesterday.”
Wang Yuqiong snorted. “A world war? Sounds busy enough. No messages sent or returned, then you crash the moment you get here. Do I even exist in your eyes anymore, as your class president?”
Shen An couldn’t wrap his head around how this had anything to do with her being class president.
But if he chalked it up to Wang Yuqiong’s little jealous streak bubbling over, it all made sense.
She always got a bit tsundere around Song Rui and Shen Lianyao.
“Master, stop nagging. You nag, and my head starts to hurt.”
Shen An covered his ear, his face twisted in clear annoyance, like he wanted no more of it.
Wang Yuqiong gritted her teeth silently, reining in her anger.
Endure!
She’d make him explain later when they were alone!
Song Rui was curious too and timidly joined in. “What’s this world war about?”
Wang Yuqiong blinked, then smirked triumphantly.
You might ignore me, but you can’t ignore your little sidekick, right?
Ugh.
Why was she even comparing herself to Song Rui?
Shen An shot Song Rui an exasperated glare. She shrank back meekly.
“Ask Yuqiong. She knows.”
Shen An casually passed the buck back to Wang Yuqiong. Song Rui tilted her head, her eyes brimming with curiosity as she turned to Wang Yuqiong.
Wang Yuqiong’s eyes sharpened. When had this jerk told her?
Oh… wait.
She narrowed her eyes, a faint glint of murder in her gaze. “Troupe Leader Zhao?”
Snap.
Shen An snapped his fingers. “Spot on.”
“She…” Wang Yuqiong found it unbelievable.
Troupe Leader Zhao had pulled Shen An away at noon yesterday. Had they been together from noon all the way to night?
The more she thought about it, the more off it felt. Forgetting all about propriety, she pressed, “What did Troupe Leader Zhao want with you?”
“Uh…”
Song Rui wanted to wave her hand and say she wasn’t following.
“Whew, it’s a long story.”
“Then make it short!” Wang Yuqiong glared daggers at him.
“Er…” Shen An needed a moment to think up a quick excuse.
“You can chat on the way.” Shen Lianyao cut in, decisively rescuing Shen An from the hot seat.
She stood up. “We’re going to be late if we don’t hurry.”
Wang Yuqiong huffed and rose too. “Fine, let’s go—talk on the way!”
She kept her eyes locked on Shen An, her gaze screaming: “Don’t think you can escape, punk.”
Whew~
Shen An breathed a sigh of relief. He grabbed the cold breakfast and pulled Song Rui along as they left the classroom.
He deliberately kept some distance from Wang Yuqiong, lagging behind a bit with Song Rui.
Wang Yuqiong walked ahead with Shen Lianyao. As class president and discipline committee member, the two had plenty to discuss.
“You still gonna eat that?”
Song Rui pointed at the breakfast bag and asked softly.
“Why not? No sense wasting food.” Shen An opened the bag as he walked, pulling out the breakfast and munching on it.
“But eating cold food on an empty stomach isn’t great…”
Song Rui didn’t dare stop him and could only remind him quietly.
“Look, if I don’t eat now, I probably won’t get a proper meal until dinner.”
Shen An chuckled.
“How? Once we’re done at the Art Troupe, we can eat, right?” Song Rui was still so innocent and idealistic.
Shen An turned to her with a grave look. “You think we’ll wrap up before afternoon classes?”
Song Rui paused. “You mean… we’re in for a two-hour meeting?”
“Two hours might be a stretch, but an hour for the general meeting, then another for the department meeting? Piece of cake.”
Shen An had seen through all these tricks ages ago. Any department holding a midday meeting never left time for lunch breaks.
They just wanted to squeeze every minute out of your rest.
“And don’t forget—our department doesn’t have a proper president.”
Shen An added, “That senior sister of yours is just the temporary minister, filling in until recruitment ended.”
“So… what?”
Song Rui asked blankly.
“So?” Shen An gave her a sidelong glance. “Every other department has their president running the show. Guess who hosts ours?”
“I bet it’s you.”
Song Rui smiled innocently—her thinking just as naive.
Shen An couldn’t help but lightly tap her on the forehead.
Ow…
Song Rui clutched her head pitifully, utterly confused.
“I hope you work on your flaws from now on, got it?”
Shen An looked at her seriously.
Song Rui blinked in bewilderment. “What flaws?”
“Being too damn naive.” Shen An rolled his eyes. “I’m just an assistant like you. How could I possibly host?”
“But you’re the exclusive secretary!”
“Right, the exclusive secretary. So whose exclusive secretary am I?”
Shen An prompted.
Song Rui finally got it. “Senior Sister Zhao… Zhao?!”
“Bingo.”
Shen An said gently, “She’s our department head. No president right now, so she’ll definitely be running the meeting.”
Makes sense.
Song Rui nodded solemnly. “Can I take a sick day?”
“No way.”
“Boo… I wanna call in sick.” Song Rui tugged at his sleeve pitifully.
Shen An’s mouth twitched. “Why’d you chicken out all of a sudden?”
“I…”
Song Rui’s little hands nervously twisted together as she said timidly and pitifully, “I… I’m a bit scared of Senior Sister Zhao.”
“It’s normal to be afraid of her.”
“But whenever I see her, I… I start shaking.”
“?” Shen An blinked. “I think you might be sick or something?”
“No… I don’t shake like this with other senior sisters. It’s only with Senior Sister Zhao… I inexplicably start shaking.”
This kid’s fear of Zhao Qingyu was practically etched into her bones.
But clearly, Zhao Qingyu hadn’t done anything too excessive to her. Strictly speaking, Song Rui had only interacted with Zhao Qingyu during their first interview.
Song Rui had interviewed alongside Shen An.
Shen An pondered carefully for a moment, then chuckled dryly. “You wouldn’t have been overwhelmed by her aura, would you?”
Song Rui nodded without hesitation. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don’t… don’t you think Senior Sister Zhao has such a strong presence?”
“Like… like the female CEOs in TV dramas?”
“Are there female CEOs? Isn’t it always male CEOs who then fall for some intern female lead?”
“Hah?”
“Cough cough, got a bit off track.” Shen An said righteously, “Actually, Senior Sister Zhao is a really good person. Don’t be fooled by her deceptive exterior.”
“Really?”
“Of course it’s true. Look how good she is to me.”
Song Rui: …
Her big eyes flickered with intense skepticism. Are you sure that’s called “good”?
She was just short of treating you like a robot.
“What’s with that look?”
“The look that says I believe you.”
“Hmph. If you start shaking later, do it far away from me, got it?”
“Why?”
“Because it’s embarrassing.”
Shen An snorted coldly and strode forward.
“Hey… wait for me!”
Song Rui hurriedly caught up.
