Ji Yun was a happy-go-lucky person. She complained about Mrs. Wang in the office for a long time. It was not until she looked through the window and saw that almost all the students had arrived that she remembered that she had not introduced Su Meng and Jiang Ning to each other.

"Oops, I forgot to make proper introductions between the two of you. But you two must have chatted before I arrived, correct? You two were previously classmates, right?"

Su Meng shook her head, and Jiang Ning didn't say anything.

"Oh, I forgot, Su Meng is in my class, B class, unlike Jiang Ning, who is the top of A class and the provincial scholar."

Ji Yun patted Jiang Ning on the shoulder with joy and asked curiously,

"Why did you choose to study science instead of attending numerous art colleges, even though you were the top scorer in the art exam in your province? And what prompted your decision to return now?"

"Miss Ji, you must be joking. It was merely a stroke of luck that I happened to be the highest scorer at that time. As for science..."

Jiang Ning intentionally paused, casting a brief glance at Su Meng, before shaking his head in helplessness.

Su Meng was shocked by his sudden look, and and her immediate thought was: [Why was he looking at me?]

Could it be that she had done something to offend him at school? That shouldn't be the case. She didn't even talk much to anyone in the studio!

Ji Yun seemed to be inspired. Her eyes brightened as she swiftly assessed the two individuals.

[Ding! Ring!]

The ringtone interrupted their thoughts. Ji Yun put her arms around their shoulders and teased them as she returned to the classroom.

"It's time for class. We can talk about this later!"

When the three of them pushed the door open and entered the studio, they noticed that the students hadn't resumed their seats. Instead, they were engaged in a discussion around Su Meng's painting.

Classmate A asked, "Who is the talented artist behind this drawing?"

Classmate B, "Don't you find this style somewhat familiar?"

Classmate C: "I got! I got i! It bears resemblance to the artistic style of the renowned painter Zhou Shaoyang!"

[Zhou Shaoyang!]

Su Meng panicked. She quickly squeezed into the crowd and concealed her painting.

"Class begins! Are you all hard of hearing? Can't you hear the bell?"

Ji Yun wore a grim expression as she raised her voice, causing everyone to slump back down in disappointment.

Su Meng covered her chest with the painting and walked back to Jiang Ning with her head down.

"Let me introduce the new intern teachers, Ms. Jiang and Miss Su. Well, you two can find seats towards the back first. I'll draw a model picture for them first."

Seeing that the classmates were watching Miss Ji's demonstration, Su Meng carefully unfolded the painting in front of her chest and tried to find a bag to collect it, only to realize that the bag was on the other side of Jiang Ning.

"Excuse me, please step aside."

After a long time, Su Meng received no response from him. Jiang Ning remained silent and motionless.

Su Meng looked up at him in confusion. His face appeared rigid and devoid of smile.

Why was he so moody? Did I irritate him once more?

Seeing that he didn't move, Su Meng had no choice but to squeeze past him to get her painting bag back.

Jiang Ning held the painting bag and stared at Su Meng with a cold face.

Su Meng instinctively bowed her head. Upon noticing that a corner of the painting had been creased, she immediately withdrew her body and released her grip on the painting case.

"You have a good temper, don't you?"

"What?"

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted when a young man, positioned at the rear of the room, interjected. He hopped out of his seat and leaned against Su Meng.

"Miss Su, are you really studying art?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Well, Miss Su, your dressing style is quite outdated! How did you end up becoming an art teacher?"

Su Meng paused for two seconds, and blushed. She could only pretend to be calm and lowered her head to sharpen a pencil.

"Ouch!"

After being kicked by Jiang Ning, the boy let out a miserable scream and ran far away.

"If anyone doesn't want to see my drawing model painting, please leave!"

As soon as Ji Yun spoke, the boy could only stand up awkwardly and return to his chair silently.

"Why didn't you say anything when others laughed at you?"

Jiang Ning was feeling sulky deep down. Just from observing Su Meng's reaction, he could tell that Su Meng and Zhou Shaoyang were more than just regular classmates.

"They are students. Why would I argue with a student?"

Su Meng said lightly, while Jiang Ning said sarcastically.

"Given your temperament, it is likely that your career as a teacher won't endure for long."

"How did you know?"

Su Meng was a little overly enthusiastic, and her somewhat loud voice caught the attention of numerous students.

"Ahem, Miss Su, keep your voice down, please."

Upon Ji Yun's words, Su Meng's head bowed so deeply that it nearly grazed her chest.

Jiang Ning cocked his head and smirked.

"So you can get angry too."

"You..."

For the whole morning, Su Meng didn't give Jiang Ning a good look. Finally, when the morning class was over, Su Meng said goodbye to Ji Yun and left in a hurry.

After returning to the classroom, Jiang Ning didn't find any trace of Su Meng. He learned from Ji Yun that she was going home for dinner.

"Poor girl. She didn't go back for dinner. She must have gone back to cook for her uncle and aunty again!"

Jiang Ning furrowed his brow, showing his displeasure in the corners of his eyes, but he remained silent.

"If she had performed well in the provincial art exam, several universities would have been interested in sponsoring her tuition fees! I even requested the class president of Class B to persuade her!"

"Class president? Zhou Shaoyang?"

Ji Yun nodded.

"Yeah, it's unfortunate how fate can play tricks on people. Her talent is extraordinary, but her proficient color skill, only surpassed a modest 100 points. Even if the school wished to assist, their hands were tied."

Jiang Ning stopped talking and ordered an extra boxed meal.

It was already 12 o'clock when Su Meng arrived at Su Na's rental apartment.

She opened the door in a hurry and saw Su Na kissing another man.

"Sorry. Sorry..."

Su Meng wanted to escape, but Su Na grabbed her.

"Who asked you to come? How did you get the key!"

"Aunty gave me..."

Su Na snatched the key and paced back and forth anxiously outside the door.

It was not until Su Meng realized that the main focus of Aunty's request for her was not cooking for Su Na, but rather surveillance.

"Don't worry. I won't tell aunty."

"Yes, you won't tell her immediately. Are you implying that you might exploit this to manipulate me into working for you in the future? Su Meng, don't even think about it!"

Su Meng had always believed that Su Na was being persecuted and had treated her as an intentional enemy. Now, it appeared that her beliefs were justified.

"I didn't think so..."

Su Meng really didn't want to take care of Su Na. After all, she only had a brief two-hour window for lunch and rest. If she were to engage in cooking, she wouldn't even have the luxury of time to eat herself.

Now, bumping into Su Na's boyfriend on the first day wasn't a bad thing. At least in the near future, Su Na wouldn't let her come back. Also, Su Na will most likely tell aunty not to let Su Meng come. Therefore, she can save herself from cooking for Su Na.

"Take this ring!"

"Ah..."

Su Meng was confused. What did Su Na mean? Did she try to bribe her?

"What? Consider it as your silence bribe. Don't let me see you at the door of my house in the future!"

"Alright."

Su Meng was very sensible. She got on the motorcycle and left without looking back..

The man lazily walked to the door, held Su Na in his arms, and asked lazily,

"Did you bribe her? Why did you give her jewelry? Don't you value the gifts from your boyfriend?"

"No. She doesn't deserve it. Don't worry, I'll get the ring back tomorrow!"