After being forced to drink the leftover food from Julian Bai the day before, Grace Gu woke up the next morning to find a cold message on her phone: "Out for work." He had vanished again without a trace, but Grace didn't dwell on his disappearance. After all, the phone call hadn't been easy to handle, and judging by Julian Bai's attitude and the formal way he addressed her, it was clear he was probably from the prestigious North Court family of Huadu.
Just when Grace was feeling bored, Shirley Chu's call came in. After hanging up, she walked out, surprised that Shirley had already started following through on his promise. As she asked the driver to take her to Hong Kong University, she hadn't expected that Qi Yu would show up to pick her up. Seeing the calm and indifferent boy, she smiled slightly.
"Teacher is waiting for you. Let's go in."
Looking at the driver still waiting for her, Grace wasn't sure when she'd be back: "You can head back now."
The driver immediately shook his head, explaining that Secretary Yan had called earlier, telling him to wait for Miss Gu, or his job would be on the line. He couldn't afford to leave.
Seeing his concern, Qi Yu calmly said, "If you don't take her back, he won't have an explanation.
"
Grace understood and, after a moment of hesitation, said, "Wait here for a while. I should be back soon."
"Sorry for the trouble."
Qi Yu shook his head. "It's no big deal."
Without another word, he turned and led the way, taking her to a place that didn't resemble where she had previously met Shirley. This seemed more like an office. When Shirley saw them approach, he immediately stood up, noticing Grace's eyes scanning the surroundings. He smiled and asked, "Do you like it here?"
"It seems very peaceful," Grace said, taking in the tranquil atmosphere and elegant decoration without feeling any dissonance.
"I'm glad you like it."
Hearing his words, Grace paused, slightly confused. "What do you mean, Teacher?"
Qi Yu, noticing her puzzled look, smiled and told Shirley, "Teacher, don't hide it from her anymore."
"This will be your territory from now on," Shirley finally said, a smile playing on his lips.
It took Grace a while to process this, and when the realization hit, she exclaimed in surprise, "Did the principal agree?"
Shirley, pretending to be unhappy, responded, "Your teacher's face is enough to make even the principal comply. Besides, with your ability, how could he refuse?
"
He paused for a moment, then added, "What worries me most is you. Have you sorted things out with Julian Bai?"
Upon hearing this, Grace's smile faded, and Shirley, seeing her reaction, couldn't help but feel troubled. That young man, Julian Bai, could be quite difficult when he caused trouble, and Shirley had no real solutions for it.
"Teacher, I'll talk to him about it. If things don't work out, I won't blame you. Don't worry," Grace said, taking a deep breath and speaking gently.
Shirley felt a little awkward. It wasn't that he didn't want to protect his student, but the fact that she was involved with someone like Julian Bai was troubling. He sighed inwardly as he thought about it. Though his heart was heavy, he kept his tone light, "I'm still worried about your teaching experience. Sometimes, you may understand, but the students might not."
Grace nodded. After all, the context between their worlds was different. Some things she understood might be difficult for others to grasp.
"But don't worry," Shirley added. "In the coming days, I'll have Qi Yu help you familiarize yourself with the environment at Hong Kong University. He'll also take you to listen to how the other teachers conduct their lessons.
If you feel you can use your own methods to help them understand, I won't force you to stick to rigid methods."
His distaste for traditional teaching methods was evident, but Grace wasn't arrogant enough to think she could make every student understand her way, especially considering the teachers' years of experience.
As Qi Yu showed her around, Grace noticed something strange: "Why do so many students call you 'Teacher Qi'?"
"I teach piano," he replied淡ly.
His calm answer explained her question. Grace thought it was odd that Shirley had chosen someone as cold as Qi Yu to guide her, thinking it would have been better to let Emily Gu do the job—at least she wouldn't have frozen her.
Thinking of Emily's fiery warmth compared to Qi Yu's icy demeanor, Grace couldn't help but smile slightly, wondering which would prevail: the fire extinguishing the ice or the ice melting the fire.
If Grace and Qi Yu's interactions were cold and formal, Emily definitely wouldn't have been able to stand it. However, to her surprise, as soon as Emily appeared, Qi Yu's expression softened considerably, a faint blush rising on his face.
"Grace, what brings you to Hong Kong University?" Emily asked, winking at Qi Yu before wrapping her arms around Grace in a friendly hug.
Grace, laughing, replied, "When I saw you earlier, you looked like you were about to explode. Who made our little princess so mad?"
She had noticed Emily's angry expression before, and it was clear that when Emily saw her, there was a brief moment of shock. Apparently, Emily didn't realize that the person with Qi Yu was Grace.
Upon hearing this, Emily felt even more embarrassed. There had been gossip about Qi Yu laughing and talking with a beautiful girl around campus, but no one had mentioned it was Grace. If it had been someone else, she might have thought they were flirting with Qi Yu, but with Grace, it was obviously a different story. After all, with Grace being Julian Bai's woman, Qi Yu wouldn't dare to make a move—especially since the Bai family had been the ones feeding him.
Seeing Emily's flustered face, Grace decided not to tease her further, instead explaining, "Teacher asked me to familiarize myself with the place. I might be giving a lecture on classical music to the music students here."
Understanding, Emily smiled and then pouted, "Why didn't you tell me about something so big? Do you not consider me your friend?"
Grace smiled and responded, "I didn't expect much, and when Teacher called me today, I didn't think it would happen so soon.
You were in class, so I didn't want to bother you."