With two wads of tissue stuffed up his nose, Shen An hurried out of Zhao Qingyu’s lounge and rushed back to the office.
He pushed open the door. Everyone was mostly there.
Shen Lianyao was already seated in the office, and Wang Yuqiong hadn’t left either. The three women each occupied an office chair.
Following Zhao Qingyu’s instructions, Qi Taili was standing there explaining something to them.
The moment the door opened, Qi Taili reacted first. She turned and glanced at Shen An, and the other three women’s gazes followed suit, all focusing on him.
Qi Taili blinked, eyeing him suspiciously. “What’s… this about?”
She gestured toward her own nose.
Song Rui started to rise in concern, but Shen An quickly waved her off, signaling that she shouldn’t worry.
“It’s nothing. I just bumped it by accident, so it held me up for a bit.”
Shen An cleverly framed his nose injury as the reason he’d spent so much time in Zhao Qingyu’s lounge.
“Bumped it?”
Qi Taili looked adorably dazed for a moment, then gasped. “Does it hurt a lot?”
“I bumped my nose once before. Blood came gushing out like a waterfall. I was so scared I plugged it right there with two fingers.”
She waved her small hand for emphasis.
Shen An’s mouth twitched. “And then?”
“Then I held it shut with my fingers while I went looking for tissues. Took forever to stop the bleeding. When I went to the doctor, he told me not to grow my nails so long next time—it caused secondary damage to the wound.”
As she spoke, Qi Taili couldn’t help breaking into a silly, dopey grin.
…
Shen An was momentarily at a loss for words.
He blinked. She blinked back. They stared at each other, both acutely aware of the awkwardness.
The other three women looked equally stupefied, as if they’d all tuned into some parallel dimension.
An invisible crow flapped silently through the air.
Qi Taili’s smile vanished in an instant. She suddenly looked utterly dejected, like a storm cloud had rolled over her. “I think I just acted dumb again.”
Shen An chuckled lightly and shook his head. “Keeping your nails that long isn’t a good idea. But next time you get a nosebleed, tilt your head back— that’ll make it harder for the blood to flow out.”
“That’s why I don’t grow them long anymore.”
Qi Taili held out her small hand right in front of Shen An’s face. “See? Aren’t my new manicure super cute?”
What a leap in conversation.
Shen An let out a puff of laughter. He lowered his voice. “Not as cute as you, Senior Sister.”
“Ey~”
Qi Taili flushed with shy delight, her eyes lighting up in that “great minds think alike” way.
“Ahem.”
At that moment, Wang Yuqiong cleared her throat lightly, cutting off the bizarre tangent.
Qi Taili snapped back to reality and tugged at Shen An’s sleeve. “I already went over the recent workload for the office with them. The rest is up to you!”
“I haven’t had lunch yet.”
“Then go grab something to eat, Senior Sister. Thanks for your hard work.”
“Hehe, good luck!”
Qi Taili turned to leave. “You guys good luck too!”
The three women smiled and nodded, watching as Qi Taili exited the office.
Once she was gone, Wang Yuqiong let out a quiet sigh of relief.
She held no prejudice against Qi Taili—no malice at all. In fact, she rather liked her; she was kinda cute, after all.
It was just that her cuteness came with a side of chattiness that made Wang Yuqiong’s scalp tingle.
Good thing she hadn’t joined the Singing Group…
“So, how about it? You all get the gist of what needs doing next, right?”
Shen An clapped his hands to draw the three women’s attention back to him.
Wang Yuqiong raised her hand first.
“Hm?”
“I don’t really get it.”
“You’re not even in our department. Why don’t you head back to your Drama Group?”
Wang Yuqiong narrowed her eyes. “What? I just like hanging out here. Got a problem?”
“Then at least stay quiet and don’t interrupt our office meeting.”
“Hmph, as if I’d care!”
Wang Yuqiong pouted, shooting Shen An a glare that said, Just you wait, missy’ll get you later.
“Actually… I… don’t really get it either.”
Song Rui timidly raised her hand.
“Good grief. Senior Sister Qi just gave you a personal rundown—did you even listen?” Shen An said, exasperated.
“I…”
Song Rui ducked her head, nervously twisting her small hands together.
Wang Yuqiong jumped in to bail her out. “I was listening carefully too, but Senior Sister Qi went into a lot of detail. Why don’t you sum it up for us?”
“Uh…”
Did Shen An know?
Like hell he did.
But pulling out his phone in front of the three of them would look kinda lame.
He sneakily turned his gaze to Shen Lianyao. “You get it, Lianyao?”
Shen Lianyao nodded calmly. “Mm-hm.”
“Mind summarizing it for us?” Shen An rubbed his hands together.
“Isn’t that your job?” she said softly. “You’re the temporary president.”
Right—he’d been appointed temporary minister of the office last night, put in charge of all its affairs for the time being.
Though he’d only found out that morning by scrolling through messages.
“Then I order you to summarize it.”
“Fine.”
Shen Lianyao quirked her lips and shot him a disdainful glance.
But she didn’t refuse. She stood up, walked over to the small blackboard nearby, and reorganized the notes Qi Taili had left behind.
The tasks weren’t complicated to describe, but executing them sure was.
First up: Assign each person their responsible departments, then collect every member’s class schedules and some basic personal info.
Next, use those schedules to allocate duty shifts for workdays.
That was task one.
Task two: Compile each department’s plans for the quarter and report them up the chain to Zhao Qingyu for any necessary adjustments.
Task three involved the Freshman Welcome Gala—ensuring every department stuck to the plan and stayed on schedule. Those prepping performances would prep them; those handling logistics would handle logistics.
In short: supervision and oversight.
Oh, and there were the weekly booth duties too, which the office had to coordinate and schedule.
Shen An listened quietly all the way through, and already his head was starting to throb.
“Got it all now?”
He asked, a touch of guilt in his voice.
Song Rui nodded. Wang Yuqiong nodded too.
“Why are you nodding?”
“Because I like it!”
“Sigh. Why don’t you just join our office part-time?” Shen An patted Wang Yuqiong’s shoulder. “We could use you.”
“No can do.”
Wang Yuqiong shook her head firmly. “I’m with the Drama Group now.”
“Well…”
“Want me over here that bad? Go talk it over with Troupe Leader Zhao.” Wang Yuqiong’s lips curved in a provocative smirk. “If she’s cool with it, I’d be happy to switch.”
“Hmph, don’t need you anyway.”
Shen An snorted and shoved his way past Wang Yuqiong, plopping down in the middle seat.
“Hey!”
Wang Yuqiong glared daggers at him before turning and leaning against Song Rui’s chair.
“So, any departments you’re eyeing?”
Shen An clapped again to refocus their attention.
“We’ve only got three people, so each of us will handle three or four departments on average. Of course, each department has their own contacts to liaise with us.”
“But we can’t slack off—we still need to drop in personally.”
Wang Yuqiong crossed her arms leisurely. “Shouldn’t you be the one deciding that? You’re the temporary president.”
Song Rui nodded. “Yeah, just assign me wherever. I’ll go with it.”
Shen Lianyao’s brows furrowed slightly, but she stayed quiet.
“I’m not trying to play dictator here. Just democratically asking your opinions, y’know?”
Shen An sighed.
“Oh, come on, quit pretending it’s a democracy and just decide already.”
Wang Yuqiong kicked the ball back to him. “I bet you’ve already got a plan in mind.”
Damn…
Shen An shot her a covert glare. She stuck out her tongue and made a goofy face back at him.
But Wang Yuqiong wasn’t just messing with him.
Shen An really was the only one among the four who had a solid grasp of both internal and external dynamics.
Internally, setting aside how well he got along with the two girls, at least he could keep things balanced.
Shen Lianyao was too aloof; Song Rui too timid.
Externally, he had good ties with the other departments, so he definitely had more comprehensive info than Shen Lianyao or Song Rui.
Song Rui only had a decent understanding of the Singing Group, while the rest of the departments were a complete mystery to her.
Shen Lianyao might know a little about the Dance Group, but the other departments were blank slates for her too.
That made assigning Shen An to handle the arrangements the theoretically best choice.
“What about you two? Any preferences?”
Shen An asked again.
Song Rui shook her head, but this time Shen Lianyao raised her hand.
“Lianyao?”
“I… could I join the Dance Group?” Shen Lianyao asked, her head lowered, her tone carrying a hint of earnest plea.
If Shen An remembered correctly, this was the first time Shen Lianyao had ever asked him for anything, and the first time her tone had been this “gentle.”
And this request was right within his expectations.
He nodded slightly. “Sure. If you’re set on the Dance Group, then Song Rui, you pick the Singing Group.”
“Mm!”
Song Rui nodded with a grin.
“Since you’ve chosen the Dance Group, Lianyao, I’ll throw in the Street Dance Group for you too, plus the Musical Instruments Group.”
Shen An pondered for a moment before adding.
“As for you, Song Rui, your remaining two will be the Model Group and the Drama Group.”
“I’ll handle everything else.”
Huh?
Wang Yuqiong, Song Rui, and even Shen Lianyao looked surprised at that.
As everyone knew, among all the department presidents, the ones closest to Shen An were Qi Taili from the Singing Group and Yu Wen from the Model Group.
Next came the presidents of the other performance groups.
Only after that were the regular departments.
That meant if he took all three performance groups for himself, the pressure on him would be minimal.
Because from the presidents to the members of every performance group, they all had a favorable view of him and could chat with him casually.
Yet Shen An’s arrangement handed every performance group except the Host Performance Group to Shen Lianyao and Song Rui.
He was taking on all the regular departments, plus the Host Performance Group.
In terms of pressure, Song Rui undoubtedly had the lightest load, Shen Lianyao came next, and Shen An himself bore the heaviest.
Song Rui didn’t need to worry in the Singing Group—Qi Taili would surely look after this junior sister of hers.
In the Model Group, Yu Wen would take care of Song Rui for Shen An’s sake.
And the Drama Group? Wang Yuqiong was a member there herself, and a roommate of Song Rui’s to boot—how could she not watch out for her?
The Dance Group was Shen Lianyao’s top choice anyway, her preferred department, her “promised land.”
The Street Dance Group wasn’t much different from Dance, and it interested her too.
The Musical Instruments Group’s leader was on good terms with Shen An and would keep an eye out for Shen Lianyao.
Plus, the performance groups didn’t have as many miscellaneous tasks.
They only handled performance projects and content prep, while their daily routine revolved around training—far less hassle than the regular departments.
But on second thought, this arrangement really was the most logical.
Among the three, Shen An had the strongest social skills. By taking the tough nuts to crack for himself and letting the two girls handle the easier parts, it fit their roles in the office perfectly.
Logical as it was…
Wang Yuqiong couldn’t help feeling a twinge of resentment.
Why was he always so good to Song Rui? It had been the same over the weekend at the amusement park—he’d been attentively taking care of her the whole time.
Now with the group assignments, he’d shoveled all the easiest ones her way.
Hmph~
Did he think she’d definitely put in a good word for Song Rui just because she was in the Drama Group?
As if!
Wang Yuqiong puffed out her cheeks in a pouty huff.
Song Rui felt his care in her heart, naturally bubbling with delight and excitement—it was a sign of his concern for her.
But amid the thrill, she felt a bit uneasy too.
After hesitating for a moment, she said softly, “How about giving me the Host Group too?”
Shen An raised a brow and teased, “There’s only one easy performance group left—cut me a little slack, at least?”
Song Rui’s face flushed red at once. She shook her head frantically. “I… I didn’t mean it like that… I… I…”
Shen An ruffled her silky hair. “What are you getting all nervous for? I know you just wanted to help share the load. Geez, why so serious all the time? Can’t you tell I was just kidding?”
Song Rui’s already rosy cheeks tinged with a faint shyness as she murmured softly, “I just didn’t want you to get too tired.”
“Getting tired is good. Keeps people from saying I’m slacking off all day.”
As Shen An spoke, his gaze drifted toward Wang Yuqiong.
Wang Yuqiong bared her teeth at him. This jerk… always fussing over Song Rui!
Hmph, when did I ever say he was slacking off?
Cheapskate.
“No objections, then?”
Shen An clapped his hands. “If not, it’s settled.”
He looked at Song Rui, who nodded with a smile, then at Shen Lianyao, who gave a slight nod as well.
“Alright, that’s that.”
“Groups assigned—now head to your departments, say hi, get acquainted.”
Shen An stood up. “Any issues, come straight to me. Meeting adjourned.”
Seven groups and five departments, minus the office itself—that left seven groups and four departments.
Shen An in charge of: Outreach and Publicity Department, Discipline Department, Organization Department, Life Department, and Host Performance Group.
Shen Lianyao in charge of: Dance Group, Street Dance Group, Musical Instruments Group.
Song Rui in charge of: Model Group, Singing Group, Drama Group.
