Time always flew by. A morning slipped away in the blink of an eye, and noon arrived. Qianning High School, seemingly uneventful on its first day, welcomed its inaugural dismissal.

Qianning High wasn’t a full-time boarding school. Local policies limited it, and most students lived in Qianning City. Making it fully closed would spark outrage and waste resources terribly.

So, a semi-closed management style became the best choice.

From her window, Senior Bailin watched the campus explode with noise and bustle as the dismissal bell rang. She knew this energy would fade in ten minutes. Half an hour later, silence would return.

For ordinary students, it was leisure time to head home. But for Senior Bailin, noon meant handling office chores.

She had no lunch break. Since she didn’t return to her residence, resting was unnecessary.

Wasting time meaninglessly was pointless. She preferred fulfilling work hours in the office. Spare moments could go to reviewing textbooks.

Occasionally, she did take a break. No one knew where she went. She called it a secret.

Some maliciously guessed she met a lover in secret.

Bai Ling just laughed. “Meeting in secret” was partly right, partly wrong. She simply sneaked peeks at someone special when she couldn’t resist.

She could access Junior Li Ming’s private info anytime. But observing his actions was far more interesting than direct results.

“Today, thank you for your guidance again, Junior Li Ming…”

A happy, gentle smile spread across her face. Knowing the person she longed for was right here made even boring documents look pleasant.

***

School’s out, Xu Peng muttered inwardly.

He packed his books briskly. As a sophomore, he had too many textbooks to carry daily. Like most students, he left them in the classroom.

Otherwise, lugging them up and down stairs would be exhausting.

Luckily, Qianning High had solid security—dedicated cameras and guards. Student Council Discipline patrols roamed randomly, logging unregistered suspicious people for security.

The guards weren’t old gatekeepers. They were young, strong guys. A real thief would get “special care.”

After all, the saying “Qianning is full of tycoons” wasn’t a joke.

“Xu Peng, why so slow? I’ve waited forever. Are you even going home?”

Xu Peng had barely packed half his things. His sister, Xiao Ye—Discipline Department head—was impatient. She’d finally gotten a relaxed day and hated wasting it on his dawdling.

Anxious, Xiao Ye’s thick braid swayed. Without her heavy glasses, she looked unexpectedly pretty.

“Annoying. I didn’t ask you to wait. Go home first.”

“So rude. What’s wrong today? You’re acting like you swallowed dynamite.”

Xiao Ye noticed her brother’s unusual irritability. If she knew he’d accidentally seen Senior Bailin’s body, she’d understand his frustration.

Senior Bailin had let it slide. But today, Xu Peng kept recalling that intimate scene whenever calm. Guilt and helplessness washed over him.

“…None of your business. Where are we eating? I’m not eating at home.”

“I give up. The Shaxian place by the gate.”

“By the way, I won’t come home later. Tell Mom and Dad. After eating, I have Student Council work—tasks Senior Bailin gave me about pre-military training.”

Xu Peng stuffed the last book into his desk, clapped his hands, and casually dropped his decision.

“What? You have work? Why didn’t Senior Bailin tell me?”

Xiao Ye shot him a suspicious look but didn’t dwell. Senior often asked her, Xu Peng, or others for help when busy.

“Oh, she just told me after I finished earlier. You weren’t in her office, so you wouldn’t know.”

Xu Peng lied without flinching. Muscular but sharp, his dark, fierce face hid the lie well.

Years as siblings gave Xiao Ye intuition—he was hiding something. But she couldn’t pinpoint what.

“Fine. I’ll QQ Senior to confirm.”

Xiao Ye pulled out her phone. Xu Peng’s already dark face turned stormy. Was this shooting himself in the foot…?

“…Don’t trust me?”

“It’s not distrust. Reporting is necessary. Or Senior might think you’re a pervert with ulterior motives. I don’t want to see you mobbed by guys.”

“Do as you like.”

When Xiao Ye said “ulterior motives,” Xu Peng’s tense face nearly cracked. He almost snatched her phone to stop Senior Bailin from recalling that embarrassment.

“…Huh, so fast. She must be on her phone.”

Xu Peng’s heart leapt to his throat. He leaned toward her phone, terrified Senior would reply, “I never asked Xu Peng for help.”

If she did, no explanation would fix her distrust.

Xu Peng peered over. The message felt like heavenly salvation! It read:

Xiao Ye: Senior, I’m leaving my useless brother with you again today. Please don’t hold back—dump every task on him~~!

Senior Bailin: Oh… alright. Be careful going home. Remind patrol members to stay alert.

Xiao Ye: (｡･∀･)ﾉﾞ Hi!

Thank God, Buddha, Virgin Mary, Jade Emperor, Mom and Dad! Xu Peng’s rigid body swayed violently as relief flooded in.