Guan Sheng, upon receiving An Ning's message, did indeed stand up. The gloom that had hung over him for three consecutive days lifted, and his beaming expression made Huo Qin raise an eyebrow.
"Staying for lunch?"
Huo Qin mentioned it after Guan Sheng finished his work report.
When the boss offered to treat, Guan Sheng nodded immediately, even more certain that the gloom over him had dissipated completely and his luck had returned.
The two didn't go far for lunch. Huo Qin chose a restaurant downstairs from the office, and to give Guan Sheng a setting where he could freely express himself, he deliberately booked a private room.
Guan Sheng didn't find anything unusual about two men sitting in a private room.
Mainly because he had long witnessed Huo Qin's popularity. He hadn't dined with Huo Qin often, but almost every time, someone of the opposite sex would try to strike up a conversation with him.
"A private room is good—this way, you'll have fewer people to turn down, Mr. Huo."
Guan Sheng sighed as he picked up the menu. If he had a constant stream of romantic attention, and all of it high-quality, he wouldn't see a pretty girl and immediately think she was a gift from heaven.
Which had led to that huge misunderstanding.
"You're not bad yourself."
Huo Qin took a sip of tea and returned the compliment politely.
Guan Sheng thought about himself. He really wasn't bad—a local, a graduate from a prestigious university, landed a good position at a law firm right after graduation, and had a major client like Huo Qin.
With that thought, he happily dug into his meal.
Huo Qin waited for him to bring up something related to morality, but who knew—by the time the meal was finished, aside from a couple of mentions of work, Guan Sheng had kept a smile curling at the corners of his mouth the entire time, looking like he'd won the jackpot.
The young man's delighted smile looked utterly lecherous in Huo Qin's eyes. His action outpaced his reason as he lifted his foot and kicked Guan Sheng in the shin.
"You've been grinning all day. What, planning to completely break through moral limits and become a shameless pervert?"
Guan Sheng hadn't even had time to gasp from the sudden kick when he heard Huo Qin's question.
He immediately realized who Huo Qin was talking about and hastily waved his hands.
"I wouldn't dare. After I found out her age, I originally planned to delete her. But when I sobered up on Saturday and thought it over, I figured she's a high school student—working part-time at an exhibition and taking on translation jobs online. She's probably in financial difficulty. Cutting off her income because of my own selfish desires didn't seem right, so I sent her a message."
"And then?"
"She didn't reply until yesterday. I thought she was afraid of me, thought I was a pervert. Who knew she just had too much on her plate and no time to go online."
When Guan Sheng had nothing more to say, Huo Qin let out a light scoff.
His smile had been about to split his face in half, and in the end, it was only this.
Huo Qin wasn't disappointed that An Ning had normal taste in men—he was exasperated that he'd spent most of the morning fixated on Guan Sheng's smile.
"Exceptional foreign language skills but financially struggling?"
"I didn't ask her, but she mentioned she uses the internet at an internet café. Judging by when she sends me her translations, she seems to be doing translation whenever she's not in school. Using her time that efficiently doesn't seem like just a hobby."
High school students have far tighter schedules than college students—classes all day, evening study sessions, and some schools even only give Sunday afternoon off.
Hearing "internet café," Huo Qin recalled what those people had said when he encountered An Ning last time.
She seemed to have grown up in a family where her parents weren't well-off and weren't responsible either.
Once he understood the meaning behind Guan Sheng's smile, Huo Qin put the matter out of his mind. The next day, however, when he saw the head of the Public Relations department, he naturally asked about this year's corporate charity budget.
Upon learning that there was still a considerable amount left, Huo Qin gave a brief "Mm" and said, "Go check if there are any upcoming middle school English competitions in Jiangcheng. If there are, sponsor them. If not, contact the education bureau and organize one. The company will cover all expenses, and the first-place prize will be ten thousand yuan."
After stating the prize amount, Huo Qin paused for half a second. "Is that too much?"
He had participated in a few competitions during his school days, and as he recalled, the highest prize had been two hundred.
So many years had passed—did ten thousand still sound unreasonable?
"Mr. Huo, that's a lot."
The head of Public Relations gave Huo Qin a definitive answer. For a city-level English competition, a prize of ten thousand yuan was enough to make him want to quit his job and go back to high school.
"Then make it three thousand. Your department will plan and arrange everything—I won't be following up."
The director was initially curious about why the boss had suddenly taken an interest in middle school students' English in Jiangcheng, but upon hearing that he wouldn't be following up, he understood that the boss simply wanted to give back some money and had picked this project after hearing about English from somewhere.
Indeed, Huo Qin was simply doing charity with his surplus wealth.
Not charity targeted at any particular person, but directed at the entire group of ambitious, intelligent students.
Back in his office, Huo Qin stood by the tall windows and looked down. Not far from the company was a school—whether elementary, middle, or high school, he couldn't tell. Every time classes let out, a dense swarm of ants would scatter from the school gate along the road.
He would never be associated with anything perverse.
He had simply casually set up a competition. That person might not even participate, and even if they did, they might not win.
With the part-time job settled, An Ning's daily routine became fuller once again.
Time flew by to Friday. At noon, Shi Jiayan sidled up to An Ning, looking at her with a mix of nervousness and excitement. "I've already called my parents to tell them I'm not going back this week. Ningning, I'll go with you to set up your stall this week!"
"Such a fun activity—how could you not bring me along? I want to go too."
Chu Hang overheard them and immediately became interested. Although An Ning's goods were all girls' things, he had never set up a stall before. "I'll help you two hawk your wares."
"An Ning, where do you usually set up? I have nothing to do this weekend—I'll go check it out."
"Yeah, me too. I'll bring my friends to support your business."
Suddenly becoming the center of attention, An Ning twisted the lid of her thermos shut, looked at the sparkling gazes around her, and spread her hands. "I'm not planning to set up a stall this week."
Her business at the night market last time had been good, and quite a few people had noticed.
She had gone to the internet café yesterday to take a look and saw that a stall was already selling butterfly hair clips.
Once this kind of high-volume business was no longer exclusive, the profits would drop significantly.
Besides, she hadn't finished the translation work in her hands yet. Rather than going out to look for new merchandise, she planned to take a week off.
That way, when Teacher Zhao stole glances at her, there would be a little less hesitation in her eyes.
Noticing that the stars in the eyes of those around her had dimmed, An Ning blinked. "Maybe… do you all want to go boating?"
She had discovered a large lake in the park last week, and quite a few people went boating there on weekends.
"Great! Boating sounds great!"
Shi Jiayan had never gone out with An Ning to places off campus before, and she immediately responded with excitement.
"Where are we going boating? If it's the lake at Forest Park, we could go hiking in the mountains in the morning?"
"Huh?"
At the mention of hiking, Shi Jiayan's eyes went wide. She finally had a weekend off—was Chu Hang crazy? Who would want to get up early to go hiking?
But before she could voice her objection, Lu Jingya and Rong Kelin, who was standing next to Chu Hang, had already voted in favor.
"Hiking sounds great. The ginkgo trees and red maples look especially beautiful this time of year, and I haven't had a chance to see them yet. I'll bring my camera tomorrow—we can take photos."
At the mention of photos, Shi Jiayan couldn't help but feel tempted.
But… her gaze swept over Chu Hang and Rong Kelin. Lu Jingya had been asking An Ning questions about homework every day lately, so it made sense for her to hang out with them. But what were these two doing butting in?
Noticing Shi Jiayan's stare, Chu Hang let out a sly chuckle. "What are you looking at me for? Classmate Jiayan, if you treat me to a big chicken leg, I'll consider carrying you up the mountain when you can't climb anymore."
"Who said I can't climb?"
Shi Jiayan said irritably. The mountain at Forest Park wasn't even that tall.
"I want to go too. Let's bring snacks and have a picnic up in the mountains at noon."
Hearing that An Ning and the others were going to Forest Park on Saturday, Kang Rouyu also came over with interest.
The group had grown from two people to six. They agreed to meet at the Forest Park entrance at eight o'clock the next morning—latecomers wouldn't be waited for—and with that, the plan was settled.
Shi Jiayan lived quite far from school. Realizing she'd need to get up at six-thirty to be ready to reach the park by eight, she decided to skip going home this week and stay at school instead.
"Ningning, we can get ready together in the morning and head out together."
"I probably won't be staying on campus on weekends anymore."
"Then where do you stay on weekends? Did you make up with your dad and go back home?"
Shi Jiayan looked bewildered. On Monday, An Xin had been humiliated by Ningning—this didn't add up.
"Of course not. I've had nothing to do with him for a long time. A kind person sponsored me—you know them too."
Shi Jiayan pointed at herself. "I know them?"
An Ning nodded. "I have my own room. If you want to stay with me on weekends, I'll go ask her later. She should agree."
Shi Jiayan was a model student. If she went to ask Teacher Zhao, Teacher Zhao would definitely agree.
And the one who wouldn't agree should have been Shi Jiayan herself.
But… An Ning looked at Shi Jiayan's face—so innocent and naive, like a little lamb—and felt an overwhelming, burning desire to tease her.
"Okay, who is it?"
Shi Jiayan racked her brains but couldn't think of anyone she and An Ning both knew who would also have the means to sponsor An Ning.
It couldn't be Chu Hang, could it?
If he had that kind of ability, his tail would be wagging up to the sky.
"You'll find out in a bit."
An Ning smiled sweetly and pinched her friend's soft, plump cheek.
When school let out, An Ning led Shi Jiayan over to Zhao Wen, and Shi Jiayan's mind was still completely blank.
"Teacher, Jiayan and I agreed to go to Forest Park together this weekend. Can I take her home with me to sleep tonight?"
There are many kinds of model students. Some see their teacher and feel like they've found family—they love to crowd around and share little secrets.
Then there's the other kind: the ones who can't help but feel afraid the moment they see a teacher.
Unfortunately, Shi Jiayan was the latter.
By the time An Ning had finished talking with Teacher Zhao and the teacher had left, Shi Jiayan still hadn't snapped out of it.
It wasn't until An Ning pulled her back to the classroom to grab her backpack that she jolted awake with a start.
"I didn't say goodbye to Teacher Zhao."
"You said it—right after I told Teacher Zhao 'see you later,' you also said 'see you later' too."
"Ah? I did say that."
Shi Jiayan lay dazed on An Ning's shoulder. It was too terrifying—An Ning said it was someone they both knew, and she'd racked her brain for ages without ever daring to think of a teacher.
Having to see a teacher again after school was already scary enough, let alone living at the teacher's house—that was hell-level terror.
"Ningning, you're really amazing!"
Shi Jiayan sighed in genuine admiration.
Teacher Zhao's bicycle couldn't carry two people, so An Ning and Shi Jiayan took the bus. The whole way there, Shi Jiayan kept psyching herself up, hypnotizing herself into believing that being around a teacher wasn't that terrifying—as long as she endured the pain, she'd get to sleep in the same bed as Ningning.
That feeling was totally different from the dorm.
Her relationship with Ningning was going to leap forward tonight.
She saw Teacher Zhao all the time in class anyway—what was so scary about a teacher!
Shi Jiayan spent the whole ride bouncing back and forth between blissful daydreams and "the teacher is a big demon king."
That went on until she sat down at the dinner table.
After tasting Grandma Xu's cooking, any big demon king was thrown to the back of her mind.
Teacher Zhao's family food was way too delicious!
So scary, so tasty, so scary, so tasty… awoo, wuwu!