When Jiang Fan and Shu Yue stepped back into the office, every teacher resting inside paused their work all at once. Their curious gazes swiveled toward the pair.

Office life held little fun. Beyond idle chatter, the biggest thrill was gathering to watch colleagues scold students.

As soon as Jiang Fan entered, the teachers burst into laughter. Someone called out, "Jiang Fan, dragged in for another lecture by Ms. Shu again?"

He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to Shu Yue. "Teacher, two apology letters please. And a pen."

After all, he’d skipped school yesterday without warning. At No.1 High, ditching class was serious misconduct. A mere apology might not cut it.

They shouted louder, "You must’ve slept through Ms. Shu’s class again!"

Jiang Fan widened his eyes. "How can you slander my innocence out of nowhere?"

"Innocence? I saw you doze off right in front of Mr. Hu yesterday morning. Nearly gave him a heart attack."

The office buzzed with cheerful chaos. Shu Yue cut in sharply, shooting each colleague a glare. "Enough! Seriously, are you all literary geniuses now? Don’t you have classes? Get docked pay for being late and don’t come whining back."

Most teachers here were young hires with no barriers between them. Such jokes flew often, and no one took offense.

Jiang Fan, a frequent visitor, knew the easygoing male teachers well. They’d chat casually if they bumped into each other on campus.

But Shu Yue had spoken. Others wouldn’t linger. Breaks lasted only ten minutes. Soon, the heckling teachers filed out one by one. Shu Yue finally settled down to talk with Jiang Fan.

She pulled up a plastic chair for him, then sat at her desk.

Seeing her calm demeanor, Jiang Fan couldn’t help asking, "Ms. Shu, no apology letter today?"

She glanced sideways at him. "Do you think writing one actually works for you?"

Jiang Fan scratched his head sheepishly. If apologies helped, the stack on her desk wouldn’t tower so high.

After a long sigh, Shu Yue slid a blank sheet toward him. "Write one anyway. Your audacity grows by the day. First, explain why you left school yesterday afternoon."

Jiang Fan took the paper. He couldn’t admit he’d skipped to an internet café. Though that wasn’t his real goal, he’d rather not mention Mu Yuli to Shu Yue.

"Same as my note," he said. "Work emergency. Too urgent to ask you face-to-face. Sorry, Ms. Shu. Next time I’ll—" He caught himself. "Next time I won’t."

Shu Yue tapped his head lightly, exasperated. "You have my number. Why not call or text?"

"Uh, you won’t believe this. My girlfriend deleted all my contacts. See?" He showed his phone. Only one number remained, labeled "Demon." Shu Yue eyed him oddly.

"Quite the jealous girlfriend. Add me on WeChat then. She won’t delete that, right?"

She wouldn’t. Mu Yuli allowed practical apps. Jiang Fan smoothly added Shu Yue.

Her profile picture surprised him—a pink-haired anime girl, totally unlike her stern image.

"Whoa, Ms. Shu. That avatar’s so girly. Never saw that coming."

"What? I’m a young lady too, you know! Asking for a beating, huh?" She glared fiercely. Jiang Fan apologized instantly.

"Focus," Shu Yue snapped. "With you, chats always veer weird. My blood pressure spikes just seeing you."

Jiang Fan silently protested inwardly. But if he spoke now, she might really hit him. He stayed quiet, waiting.

"I didn’t call you just about yesterday. Midterms are a week away. With your current credits, poor grades risk expulsion. You don’t want that, do you?"

Jingjiang No.1 High was a top provincial school. Yet some students simply couldn’t keep up. To maintain a 100% first-tier university admission rate, pressure was unavoidable.

The midterms acted as a trial. Failing students might transfer schools or take leave to study. Harsh, but the school had its reasons. Jiang Fan couldn’t fight it.

"Oh, that?" He shrugged casually. "Don’t worry, teacher. Passing is easy. Anyone can do it."

He seemed relaxed. Though he napped through classes daily, he’d been reincarnated countless times. He’d repeated senior year over a dozen times. Even a fool would retain something after hearing lessons that often. His past foundation was solid.

Exam knowledge was ingrained in his bones. That’s why he answered Shu Yue’s questions so fast.

But Shu Yue knew none of this. She only saw a student on the brink of expulsion.

"Spare me," she said dryly. "If you’d ever given me peace of mind, I wouldn’t be losing hair over you." She leaned forward, voice edged with threat. "I swallowed my pride to find you a tutor. Don’t pull any stunts this time."

"A tutor? No, Ms. Shu, I really don’t need—"

"Ms. Shu, I’m here. Who needs tutoring... Huh?"

A familiar voice made Jiang Fan turn. The cheerful girl entering froze mid-sentence, stunned.

"Oh, Meng Yao. This is Jiang Fan from Class Five. He’s your responsibility now."

Jiang Fan fingered the tissue pack Shu Yue had given him earlier. He guessed the girl opposite might need it soon.