Linzhang Academy sat in the center of Lincheng.
As the only university college in the entire city, it had always been the dream destination for Lincheng’s students.
Bai Fan was no exception.
Of course, he wasn’t enrolled in the normal full-time academic track. He was in what was called the “Social College Class”—or “Shezhuan Ban” for short.
The difference between the two was simple: the former admitted students through the standardized, unified college entrance exam, while the latter accepted anyone who could pay the tuition.
Most of the people in the Social College Class were working adults hoping to further their education.
A few years ago, Bai Fan had been working under Master Mo, so naturally he’d had no time for proper secondary school.
But getting into Tianqi Academy—the university where his parents had once taught—and searching for clues about them…
That had always been his dream.
So, even though time was tight and money was tight, he’d signed up for the Social College Class and prepared for the triennial college entrance exam.
That near-fatal accident a while back had set him back on quite a bit of coursework. Now that he finally had time, he had to catch up.
Besides, he’d paid 20,000 credit points for this year’s tuition.
Every time he missed a class because of something important, he felt like he’d thrown away a few hundred credit points.
It hurt.
Bai Fan glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was almost six in the evening. Time for class.
Why start at six? To avoid overlapping with the regular students’ schedule, of course.
Normal students had class from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
Night School students went from 6:00 PM to 10:30 PM.
The school’s official explanation was: “The curriculum for regular students differs from that of social students. Mixing them would disrupt the educational order of both groups.”
But anyone with eyes could see the truth—even the academy’s administration looked down on these “social students.”
They’d set up a “Social College Class,” but deep down, they felt these students had bought their way in. How could they compare with those who’d earned their spots through the proper exam?
Linzhang Academy had deliberately made that distinction.
For the “social students,” even though they attended the same school, they always felt second-class.
But what could they do about it? After all, they were “social students.”
Bai Fan, however, didn’t feel that way.
He took things in stride. As long as he had a chance to study, that was good enough. Why nitpick?
Besides, there was still the regular path to higher education, right?
He believed he could make it in.
With one minute left until six, he scanned the room.
Some were playing on their phones, others gaming; some chatted, others just shot the breeze. The classroom was as rowdy as a market.
“Hey, have you heard? There’s supposed to be a new homeroom teacher today.”
“Is she a hottie?”
“Nah, it’s a guy. Heard he’s pretty young.”
“A guy? Well, that’s boring.”
“Who wouldn’t want a pale-skinned, beautiful, big-chested, long-legged lady teacher to come in?”
“Even if the class is dull, at least she’d be nice to look at.”
“You paid all this money just to eye up the teachers and the schoolgirls in their uniforms?”
“Correction: it’s not my money. It’s my parents’ money. They just won’t give up. They forced me to take another round and go for that exam.”
“At this point, haven’t they figured out what their son is really made of?”
Bai Fan sighed inwardly.
With this kind of discipline and atmosphere, no wonder the regular students looked down on the Social College Class.
Sometimes, they only had themselves to blame for fitting the stereotype.
That Teacher Huang would probably come stomping in again any minute now, fuming as she tried to bring order to the chaos.
Ding.
The minute hand hit exactly six o’clock.
Bai Fan’s gaze sharpened.
In that instant, he felt an unusual aura settle over the room.
For a split second, he imagined he could hear the director off-camera shouting into a megaphone—
“Alright, everyone on set! The male lead is about to make his entrance. Get your looks, expressions, movements, and positions right!”
The director yelled, “Action!”
And then the male lead stepped into the classroom.
Every single student in the room was drawn to the gaze of the person at the front.
A clean white shirt. A fringe of hair lightly brushing the corners of his eyes. Glasses glinting with cold light under the fluorescent lamps.
He was like an icy peak slowly melting in the sun, exuding a limpid, water-like aura.
“Everyone, quiet down, please.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but the classroom had already begun to hush the moment he walked in.
The chattering students fell silent one by one.
It was a strange feeling. His eyes swept across the room from the podium without locking onto anyone in particular.
Yet everyone felt, vaguely, that those eyes were fixed on them, their cool, gentle sensation lingering on their skin long after.
“Let me introduce myself.” He turned and began writing on the blackboard. “I’m your new homeroom teacher. My name is—”
Bai Fan’s mind had gone blank the moment he walked in.
One thought consumed him: What is he doing here?
Shouldn’t he be at the Security Bureau investigating…
The name was already written on the board.
Lin—Xin—Cheng.
Bai Fan stood frozen, still not having snapped out of it.
The young man on the podium swept his gaze over lightly.
“The student in the front row, first seat,” he said calmly. “You’re zoning out.”
He was pointing directly at him.
Bai Fan jolted, as if electrocuted, snapping back to his senses.
“S-sorry.” His good-student instincts kicked in, and he stood up to apologize without thinking.
“It’s fine. Sit down.” Lin Xincheng’s lips curved into a barely perceptible smile.
He paused, then turned his gaze toward the door.
“Oh, right. Besides me, the new teacher, we have a new teaching assistant joining us today.”
As soon as he said that, a head of wine-red hair poked in through the doorway.
She was all smiles.
“Hello, everyone~” She bounced like a candy, “My name is Ruan Mingxi. I’m your new teaching assistant. If there’s anything you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask.”
Bai Fan, who had just managed to pull himself together, went right back to being frozen stiff.
Her… she came too.
Ruan Mingxi’s arrival instantly ignited the entire classroom.
She was clearly the prettiest girl they’d ever seen in real life, no less stunning than any movie star on the silver screen.
“Whoa, a babe assistant… this is the kind of thing you only see in anime, right?”
“Is that hair natural or dyed? It’s so pretty. I want to get one like it.”
“Such a beautiful girl. Why would she become a teaching assistant? She should be walking the runway, right?”
“Could it be like in those animes where she followed some guy she likes to school?”
Lin Xincheng lightly tapped the desk.
“Quiet.” The air seemed to ripple with an invisible wave, and the students it touched fell silent in that instant.
Ruan Mingxi laughed.
“I’m really happy you’re all so enthusiastic,” she said, blinking. “But we still have to follow classroom rules, okay~”
With that, she stepped into the room.
Then—
Thump.
She tripped over nothing.
She went tumbling straight into the arms of Bai Fan, who was sitting in the front row, completely stunned.