No one knew exactly how Tang Buyi handled the "slap incident," but it was ultimately left unresolved. Ye Qiu understood that, due to his relationship with the old man, Tang Buyi always regarded him differently, never treating him merely as a bodyguard but more like a family member. Besides, Ye Qiu had just helped him resolve the Wolf Mountain land issue, so it was unlikely that Tang Buyi would punish him over Shen Erli.
Shen Monong didn't return with her uncle and aunt, confirming that she really didn't get along with the eldest son of the Bei family. Ye Qiu found it strange, too. He had interacted with Bei Kesong, who was an exemplary man in terms of background, appearance, and manners, embodying the refined demeanor of a noble scion. Such a man would normally be very appealing to women, but for some reason, he couldn't win over Shen Monong's heart.
By now, Ye Qiu had gradually settled into university life and had formed his own small circle. Yang Le, Li Dazhuang, and Lan Kexin, the archaeology department's belle, were all part of this group. Most of the time, they were together for classes, meals, and walks. Sometimes, Yang Le and Li Dazhuang would go play basketball and had invited Ye Qiu a few times, but he always declined. They assumed Ye Qiu wasn't very athletic and stopped pressing him.
Chen Huaien's attitude toward Ye Qiu had changed significantly. He often discussed ancient artifacts with Ye Qiu during class and was pleasantly surprised by Ye Qiu's impressive insights. This only heightened Chen Huaien's enthusiasm, and sometimes the entire class would consist of a dialogue between him and Ye Qiu, leaving the other students both envious and jealous.
Ye Qiu soon realized this could attract unwanted attention, so after deliberately underperforming in a few of Chen Huaien's classes, the professor eventually gave up on the idea of singling out Ye Qiu. However, he still occasionally inquired about the progress on the *Along the River During the Qingming Festival* project, to which Ye Qiu could only respond with excuses about ongoing work.
Recently, Ye Qiu had been frequenting the library, focusing on thick, dusty volumes like *Lost Civilizations*, *Mysteries of Ancient Treasures*, *History of European Mythology*, *World History*, and *UFOs*, hoping to find something about the mysterious ring. Unfortunately, his search remained fruitless.
Meanwhile, Professor Sun's lectures on *Research and Appreciation of Ancient Characters* continued to be as lively as ever, in stark contrast to the snores echoing around the classroom. But he didn't seem to mind the students' lack of engagement, content to lecture on for his own enjoyment.
Yang Le, disgusted, used a bunch of tissues to block Li Dazhuang's drool from spreading onto his desk. Turning to Ye Qiu, who was sitting in the row in front of him, he said, "Next time, let Dazhuang sit by himself. I can't stand sitting with him anymore. His drool is practically flooding the desk."
Yang Le had developed a habit of bringing extra tissues to every *Ancient Character Research* class, just in case Li Dazhuang's drool overflowed onto his side of the desk.
Seeing Ye Qiu and Lan Kexin stifling their laughter, Yang Le chuckled and said, "That old professor is really something. It's like he's not even trying to teach us anything; he just enjoys the sound of his own voice up there. Ye Qiu, you're the class monitor. Why don't you just organize a shopping trip for everyone next time we have his class? I bet he could lecture to an empty room for two whole periods."
"What? Is class over?" Li Dazhuang, who had been sound asleep, groggily lifted his head at the mention of class, looking around in confusion.
Li Dazhuang should really be called Li Dazhen (Li the Loud). His sudden outburst completely drowned out Professor Sun's voice, waking up several other dozing students as well. Professor Sun, lost in his world, finally noticed the disruption and pointed his chalk at Li Dazhuang, asking, "You there, what do Song dynasty people call the calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan?"
"Yanliu Style?" Li Dazhuang, still half-asleep, looked around for help but found none, so he guessed.
"Very good. Seeing the river of drool on your desk, I was worried you'd say [***]," the old professor replied, his face stern.
The class was stunned, realizing that this old professor was no pushover. After all, anyone who had become a professor at Shimu University had to have led a remarkable life.
Li Dazhuang blushed furiously, nearly hiding his head under the desk.
As soon as the professor left the classroom, the laughter everyone had been holding in burst out uncontrollably. They pointed and laughed at Li Dazhuang, even those whose desks had equally large puddles of drool.
"You guys are terrible friends, not giving me the answer," Li Dazhuang complained, feeling humiliated.
"I told you, but you didn't hear," Yang Le chuckled.
"You had a good answer! [***] wasn't your fault," Ye Qiu teased, rubbing salt in the wound.
"Sigh, I've made poor friends. I used to complain about the lack of girls in our class, but now I think it's a blessing. At least I didn't embarrass myself in front of any beauties," Li Dazhuang sighed, feeling better at the thought.
Chen Hailiang, who had just reached the door, heard the laughter from the classroom and walked in, curious. "What's so funny?" he asked with a smile.
Chen Hailiang had a good rapport with the students, so someone quickly recounted what had happened. Laughing, he said, "If you actually listened, you'd realize Professor Sun is incredibly knowledgeable. We used to sleep through his classes too, and now we regret it. Mastering ancient characters is crucial for artifact appraisal and postgraduate exams, so don't make the same mistake we did."
Chen Hailiang had been an archaeology student himself and stayed on as a teacher due to his excellent grades. Since he had been Professor Sun's student, his words carried weight.
After speaking, Chen Hailiang turned his attention to Ye Qiu. "Ye Qiu, could you step outside for a moment?"
Ye Qiu followed him out, finding him waiting in the hallway. "What is it, Mr. Chen?" Ye Qiu asked.
"It's about your recruitment work for tomorrow. Are you prepared?"
"More or less," Ye Qiu replied, though he hadn't given it much thought. He planned to have Yang Le and Li Dazhuang set up a table and recruit students. If that didn't work, he'd ask Lan Kexin to use her charm.
"Good. Here's the thing: the school has assigned us another task. You know the freshman military training starts in half a month, right? After it ends, there's the annual Freshman Welcome Party. The school requires each department to put on three performances, but given our department's situation, we only need to do one. Can you figure something out?"
With only twenty students in the archaeology department, nineteen of whom were male, where were they going to come up with a performance?
Ye Qiu felt a wave of frustration. He regretted not refusing the class monitor position when he had the chance. Now, it seemed like one troublesome task after another was piling up.
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8