Knock, knock—
A soft knock came from the door, but Mu Wannuo didn’t look up.
“It’s unlocked. Come in.”
The person outside heard the voice, pulled the handle, and pushed the door inward.
The door opened.
A girl with long black hair and a pair of questioning black eyes walked in.
In her hand, she held a freshly bought cup of soy milk and a piece of bread, both covered with a heat-preserving film.
It was Ying, Director Zhang’s apprentice and also a student in Mu Wannuo’s class.
She walked cautiously, respectfully approached Mu Wannuo’s desk, and placed the items on the side table, not daring to be careless.
Given Mu Wannuo’s rank and identity, Ying felt it was only natural to act this way.
Not to mention, anyone who had attended Mu Wannuo’s classes knew that her teaching ability far exceeded that of other lecturers.
Mu Wannuo could make even the most complex teaching material understandable with just a short sentence or two, and her metaphors were clear and relatable.
It was no exaggeration to say that as long as you were willing to learn, following Mu Wannuo meant there was nothing you couldn’t learn.
This was why Mu Wannuo had quickly become the most talented and attractive lecturer in the entire school.
It wasn’t until Ying reached the desk that Mu Wannuo put down her pen and looked up at her. “Find a chair and sit down. No need to be so formal.”
Ying hesitated, muttering inwardly, ‘Was it that obvious?’
Ying was indeed nervous. After all, very few people were ever called to Mu Wannuo’s office alone—almost none, in fact.
Add to that the suddenness of the invitation, and she had no idea what Mu Wannuo wanted to talk to her about.
The pressure of the unknown made her try her best to appear natural even though she was tense.
But now, she had been seen through at a glance.
However, the words Mu Wannuo had just spoken, though they sounded stern, contained a strangely soft undertone.
That helped Ying relax a bit.
‘As expected, she’s amazing!’ Ying’s mind was filled with endless praise.
Every bit of her acting had been seen right through.
She found a chair in the corner, carried it to the side of the desk—level with Mu Wannuo—and sat down.
Seeing this, Mu Wannuo took out two prepared test papers that were short quizzes, glanced them over, and compared them.
Then she rubbed her forehead, looking resigned, and said, “Ying, your grades have been dropping badly recently. It’s time to rein in your playful attitude.”
With that, she handed the two papers to Ying.
Ying paused in confusion, took the papers, and glanced at them.
The first was from a previous quiz; the second was from the latest one.
She compared them as well, and indeed, the second one had much worse results.
But that only baffled Ying more. She looked away from the papers and stared at Mu Wannuo in confusion.
“Teacher Mu, it’s true my grades dropped, but the difficulty of the two papers is completely different. Isn’t it normal to do poorly on a harder test?”
Yes, compared to the first, the second quiz was at least twice as hard.
After taking it, she had talked with many classmates, and almost everyone’s scores had declined.
“Difficulty increases, but people should also be progressing. If it feels hard, it just means the progress is too slow.”
Her explanation didn’t sway Mu Wannuo’s opinion. Mu Wannuo crossed her legs, placed her left hand on the desk, and tapped her fingernails on the surface.
Not giving Ying a chance to argue, she continued, “If you have anything else to say, you can take another look at the questions now. Every single one was covered in class—none of them go beyond the curriculum.”
Ying knew perfectly well what Mu Wannuo was getting at.
Of course the questions didn’t exceed the curriculum, but they were still extremely difficult.
“I know they don’t exceed the curriculum, but they’re really hard.”
After going back and forth twice, Ying felt wronged.
She couldn’t understand—wasn’t it normal to perform poorly when the difficulty spiked?
Why was Mu Wannuo acting like she wanted to hold her accountable to the very end?
That inexplicable emotion gave Ying the subconscious courage to talk back.
Mu Wannuo remained calm, her expression still indifferent. “At the end of the day, as long as you put in enough effort, given Ying’s intelligence, there isn’t a single question on these papers you couldn’t solve.”
“Doesn’t that turn studying into being a machine?”
Ying didn’t understand why Mu Wannuo was suddenly putting so much pressure on her.
But that was exactly what Mu Wannuo wanted.
If she could redirect Ying’s focus from play back to studying, she could reduce Ying’s contact time with Ning Chuxue.
In truth, she had more efficient, tighter plans.
But that would be going too far.
Out of respect for Director Zhang, she didn’t want to overdo it yet.
After thinking it over, using “declining grades” as the reason was the most appropriate.
That was also why Mu Wannuo, knowing that it would put pressure on Ying, still chose this approach.
“Studying and playing complement each other, but your current state is too focused on pleasure, neglecting your studies.”
Mu Wannuo had naturally done her homework before calling Ying in, so she faced the questions with confidence.
“I called you here to remind you. Today is the last day before the break. I hope you can recognize your shortcomings again.”
At that moment, Mu Wannuo really looked like a caring teacher concerned about her student.
If you set aside the real motive behind this, it was indeed the case.
“I understand. If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”
With that, Ying stood up and turned to go.
Mu Wannuo didn’t stop her. She let her leave the office until she had completely disappeared from the doorway.
Mu Wannuo switched her crossed legs, picked up her phone from the desk, and muttered, “The biggest threat: Ying.”
“Anyone who has contact with Ning Chuxue needs to be watched.”
She planned to push all of them away, until the only people left around Ning Chuxue were her three sisters.
“I can’t take too big a step now. Can’t let Chuxue notice anything.”
With that thought, she crept to the bedroom door.
It wasn’t locked. She opened it just a crack.
Through the gap, she saw Ning Chuxue still sleeping, and sleeping very soundly.
After confirming that nothing earlier had been discovered, she carefully closed the door again.
“Everything is still under control for now.”
Little did she know that her plan to pressure Ying had not only failed but had backfired.
Ying left Mu Wannuo’s office, walking anxiously down the long corridor.
She moved on instinct, stepping into the elevator and pressing the button for the first floor.
“Did Teacher Mu really have such high standards?”
Ying felt suffocated, not for herself, but for Ning Chuxue.
Ever since Ning Chuxue had been placed in the same class as her, she had been observing this little girl who had captured her heart at first sight.
After a few days of observation, she found that Ning Chuxue was very shy and never took the initiative to talk to others.
Ying had originally assumed that was just how Ning Chuxue was naturally.
She wasn’t sure about the relationship between Ning Chuxue and Mu Wannuo.
But the first time she saw them together, she thought they might be family, or at least close friends.
Anyway, the relationship couldn’t be bad.
Now, having personally felt the pressure Mu Wannuo put on her, and thinking back to Ning Chuxue’s always timid and submissive personality, a bad feeling arose.
‘Could it be that Chuxue turned out this way because of constant pressure at home?’
A thought suddenly emerged in her heart—she wanted to help Ning Chuxue get out of this predicament.