The First Class Meeting

"Hello everyone, I am the advisor for Finance Class One. My full name is Zhao Chang. You can call me Professor Zhao or Instructor Zhao. It's an honor to spend the next four years with all of you. Before we begin our first class meeting, I’d like to address two matters."

The man standing on the podium, wearing gold-rimmed glasses with a well-proportioned figure and looking remarkably young, was none other than the advisor for Finance Class One.

As a side character, Liu Muye hadn’t given Instructor Zhao much attention in his writing—not even bothering to give him a proper name. Throughout the book, he was simply referred to as "Instructor Zhao."

Now, hearing this unnamed side character introduce himself with a full name, Liu Muye found it rather amusing—it was as if he had casually written a book and somehow created an entirely new world. How fascinating.

Instructor Zhao paused before continuing, "This Sunday at 8 PM, the university will hold a welcome party for new students on the main field. Anyone interested is welcome to attend and join in the school’s group activities."

"One more thing—due to recent water pipe maintenance in the residential area, there will be a water outage this Friday night. All dorm buildings will be affected from 8 PM Friday until 8 AM Sunday, totaling thirty-six hours. If possible, I recommend going home for the weekend. If you must stay on campus, stock up on water in advance and try to manage."

These two announcements from Instructor Zhao would later become key plot points in the story.

The first was the welcome party, where Shangguan Yurou—dressed so beautifully that she was mistaken for a performing music student—was pulled onto stage by the staff. The actual singer, a senior who had eaten something bad, was still stuck in the bathroom.

Standing on stage in confusion, Shangguan Yurou ended up singing along to the accompaniment, stunning the entire audience. That was how she earned the title of "Sweet Campus Belle" and became a school celebrity.

It was also on that stage that Nangong Ye fell completely for Shangguan Yurou, realizing after the party that he had truly fallen in love with her.

As for the water outage plot…

Since Shangguan Yurou had run away from home in a fit of anger to attend Silia University, she naturally couldn’t go back for the weekend. Running out of stored water, she decided to book a hotel room off-campus to shower.

But the moment she stepped out, she ran into the bodyguards her family had sent to find her. She turned and fled—just as Nangong Ye happened to appear. Mistaking her pursuers for criminals, he grabbed her hand, drove her to his family’s hotel, and hid her there…

(Why did the male lead always coincidentally show up when the female lead needed him? Plot convenience, of course.)

"What are you thinking about so deeply?" Han Juyou nudged Liu Muye’s arm with her elbow. "Why are you ignoring me?"

"Huh?" Liu Muye, lost in recalling his novel’s plot, blinked blankly at her. "Were you talking to me just now?"

"Who else?" Han Juyou rolled her eyes. "Was I talking to a ghost?"

There were no assigned seats in university. During this class meeting, Nangong Ye and Shangguan Yurou sat in the third-to-last row discussing lunch plans, while Liu Muye and Han Juyou sat in the second-to-last row debating novel-writing. The other two girls from Han Juyou’s dorm were in the very last row, heads bowed as they played games on their phones.

Han Juyou asked Liu Muye a question: "Last night, you told me not to make the villain’s fate too tragic in my novel. What did you mean? I still don’t really get it."

"Uh…"

Liu Muye stared at her face for a few seconds before answering, "Just don’t give the evil villain too much screen time, and try not to kill them off in the ending."

"If they’re an evil villain, why shouldn’t they die in the end?" Han Juyou frowned. "Keep them alive to marry them for New Year’s or something?"

"..."

Liu Muye felt his vision darken at her words. Rubbing his temples, he sighed. "You’re writing a romance novel—why do you even need a major villain? Readers these days don’t want angsty, revenge-driven stories. Why not just write a simple, sweet romance?"

"...Huh. That actually makes sense."

Han Juyou rested her chin on her hand and nodded thoughtfully.

"Trust me, I’ve been reading web novels for years. I know what works."

Liu Muye finished with a confident pat on his own chest.

Instructor Zhao, scanning the room for volunteers to introduce themselves, immediately spotted Liu Muye’s enthusiastic gesture and pointed at him. "Alright, this student seems eager. Why don’t you go first?"

"Wait—what?"

Liu Muye froze, staring dumbfounded at Instructor Zhao.

Han Juyou covered her mouth, stifling laughter, and whispered, "Go on, Young Master Liu~"

She even gave his thigh a light pat for good measure.

Liu Muye shot her a look and thought, Just you wait. You’re next.

He walked to the podium, hesitated for a moment, then began, "Hello everyone, my name is Liu Muye. I’m happy to be your classmate…"

While Liu Muye spoke, Han Juyou secretly snapped unflattering photos of him—editing the decent ones into ridiculous images.

After just three sentences, Liu Muye turned to Instructor Zhao.

Zhao Chang raised an eyebrow. "That’s… it?"

He’d assumed Liu Muye, so confidently thumping his chest earlier, would have a lot to say. But three lines?

"I’m pretty ordinary, so there’s not much to share. But that girl over there? She’s got plenty to say—why not call her up?"

Liu Muye pointed directly at Han Juyou, who was hunched over her phone, busy turning his photos into memes.

"Very well. Next, let’s have this young lady introduce herself."

"Huh?" Han Juyou’s head snapped up, her expression mirroring Liu Muye’s earlier bewilderment.

As Liu Muye stepped down, he smirked. "Your turn, Youyou~"

Now it was his turn to cover his mouth and snicker.

"Don’t call me Youyou!"

Han Juyou glared at him before marching to the podium.

"Hello everyone, my name is Han Juyou. I’m happy…"

Her introduction was also three sentences long—and aside from her name, she copied Liu Muye’s script word for word.

"Professor, I’m done."

"Dismissed." Instructor Zhao shook his head, amused, and waved her off.

"Any other volunteers?" He scanned the room. "If not, I’ll start calling names."

Silence. No one ever volunteered for these things.

So Instructor Zhao picked up the class roster and began summoning students one by one.

With Liu Muye and Han Juyou setting the precedent, the self-introductions from the other students followed nearly the same pattern—only the names differed.

But when it was Nangong Ye’s turn to take the stage, things finally took a different turn.

…