“I’ll get straight to the point. On Friday, I’d like to ask you two to help look after someone for me.”
Their counselor, Fu Qianping, was a capable-looking middle-aged woman whose face seemed to carry a perpetual air of exhaustion.
Yeah, a bit like a high school senior in the grind of their final year.
Mo Xiangwen had heard that university teachers had it pretty easy, so he had no idea why she looked so worn out.
Still, that didn’t stop him from showing her the respect she deserved as a teacher. After all, he and Yan Nuoya were her students. A little politeness never hurt… or at least, that’s what he’d originally thought.
“Since you’re asking us to look after someone, Teacher, is it a child?” Yan Nuoya asked.
“She’s a bit petite, but not exactly a child.”
Fu Qianping gently rubbed her temple with the hand propping up her head. “It’s my daughter. She’s just a little younger than you two, and she wants to come take a look around H University.”
Mo Xiangwen frowned. “If she’s just a bit younger than us, she must be at least a high schooler by now. Girls that age don’t need looking after.”
Truth be told, deep down, he saw this as nothing but trouble.
Just a bit younger suggested she might already be an adult.
An adult who needed caretaking was either a total spoiled brat or had some physical disability.
He couldn’t afford to cross the former, and he couldn’t shoulder the responsibility for the latter.
Yan Nuoya wore a pensive expression too, probably wrestling with her own doubts.
“It’s not like that. She’s a good girl.” Fu Qianping let out a faint sigh. “She just has some health issues and is a bit introverted.”
When a mother calls her daughter a “good girl,” she might not be lying—but that didn’t make it gospel truth.
Yan Nuoya clearly understood that.
“Teacher, we’re not professional caregivers,” she said softly. “You mentioned your daughter isn’t well, but we don’t know her condition. We really wouldn’t know how to take care of her.”
The subtext was obvious: refusal.
“Teacher, I feel the same way.” Mo Xiangwen shook his head. “If her health is so fragile that she needs escorts just to stroll the campus, she should be focusing on recovery.”
“Especially since it’s still September—autumn hasn’t fully set in. The weather’s still sweltering; it’s no place for a patient to be wandering around.”
This wasn’t about refusing to give their counselor face. He genuinely didn’t dare take on the job.
He wouldn’t even dare ask her outright in her presence—what if something happened to her daughter?
He wasn’t a doctor. He had no miracle cures.
“You both make excellent points, Mo Xiangwen and Yan Nuoya.” Fu Qianping fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly. “This is asking too much of you. I’ll just bring her myself when I have time.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t help, Teacher,” Mo Xiangwen apologized.
“Sorry, Teacher,” Yan Nuoya echoed.
“It’s fine. My request was unreasonable.” Fu Qianping shook her head, then seemed to remember something. “Oh, right—Yan Nuoya, I’ve approved your application on my end, but it still needs sign-off from the higher-ups.”
“Okay, thank you, Teacher.” Yan Nuoya nodded in gratitude.
Application? What application? And it needed leadership approval? The questions flitted through Mo Xiangwen’s mind, but it wasn’t his business, so he kept quiet.
“Alright, that’s all for now. You can go,” Fu Qianping said.
Yan Nuoya had just turned to leave when she hesitated and asked, “By the way, Teacher, mind if I ask one more thing?”
“About the application? If the materials check out, it should go through,” Fu Qianping replied, assuming that was the concern.
“No, I wanted to ask why you picked me and Mo Xiangwen to show your daughter around campus.” Yan Nuoya’s brows furrowed slightly. “If she’s not well but still wants to visit, wouldn’t it make more sense to hire a professional caregiver?”
He was curious about that too, but damn, she was direct.
“Ahem, Teacher, what Yan Nuoya means is…”
“It’s fine—a perfectly reasonable question.” Fu Qianping waved it off with a sigh. “Truth is, the main reason is that after seeing you, Yan Nuoya, I got a little anxious.”
The two exchanged a glance and waited in silence for her to go on.
“My daughter’s hair is the same color as yours.”
Yan Nuoya prompted, “What do you mean by that, Teacher?”
“It’s white—slightly different from yours, but not unattractive in my eyes.”
Fu Qianping gave a faint smile. “You’re so confident and beautiful, Yan Nuoya. I was hoping Shishi could pick up a little of that confidence from you.”
Well, two white-hairs. Was this still the real world he knew?
Mo Xiangwen blinked, unleashing a torrent of inner snark while keeping his expression neutral.
“In that case, it doesn’t really involve me, does it? You could’ve just asked Yan Nuoya, Teacher.”
“Ahem. The thing is, I heard from the class president and vice president that you don’t interact much with anyone besides Mo Xiangwen.”
Fu Qianping looked mildly embarrassed but pressed on candidly. “I worried that on her own, Yan Nuoya, you might unintentionally put pressure on Shishi. So I figured I’d bring him along too.”
Great. So he was non-transferable merchandise.
“As for not waiting until she’s better—one reason is her condition only bars strenuous activity. Light walking is fine.”
“And the other is her own wish.” Fu Qianping shifted topics smoothly. “She wants to visit H University. As her parents, we want to make that happen—and with club recruitment season underway, it’ll be lively.”
“I see, Teacher.” Yan Nuoya pondered for a moment before nodding. “Can I take some time to think it over?”
“Of course—that’s your prerogative.” Fu Qianping’s eyes brightened. “Just let me know by Friday. That goes for you too, Mo Xiangwen.”
Mo Xiangwen hesitated but nodded without flat-out refusing. “Okay, Teacher.”
Part of him hated to shut her down cold, and part of it was noticing Yan Nuoya probably had something to discuss with him.
“Alright then, off you go.” Fu Qianping nodded. “I’ll wait to hear from you.”
Yan Nuoya walked out of the office alongside him. After they’d gone a short distance, she spoke up as expected. “About what the counselor said—what do you think?”
“…It could turn into a real hassle,” Mo Xiangwen sighed. “And I hate hassles.”
