The Truth of the Workplace: Work is Never Done

"Ha ha ha, you know what? Female teachers actually gossip a lot among themselves."

"I also heard once that..."

After Lin Yu and Tang Yimian stepped out of the bathroom,

they inexplicably ended up sitting by the bed, chatting idly.

To be precise,

it was Lin Yu listening to Tang Yimian’s one-sided storytelling.

All he had to do was react with appropriate surprise to each little anecdote.

At this moment,

Lin Yu really wanted to slap his ten-minutes-ago self.

If you’re going to comfort someone, do it properly.

Why the hell did you have to say "we’re the same kind of people"?

Now, if he dared to say, "Senior, let’s fix the pipe first," it would only make Tang Yimian feel worse.

Given her anxious state of mind, she’d definitely realize that Lin Yu had just been humoring her earlier.

So, no matter how long he had to listen to her stories,

he couldn’t drag the anxious Teacher Tang out of her emotions just to hurt her again.

"Junior Lin Yu, what about you?"

"Do you know anyone like the people I mentioned?"

After talking for ages,

the topic finally shifted to Lin Yu.

Rather than enduring this endless monologue, he figured he might as well join in with his own "Only You" moment.

"Me? Well, I haven’t started working yet, so I’m mostly around classmates."

"Some of them are pretty interesting too."

"I remember..."

Just as Lin Yu said "I remember" and was about to organize his thoughts,

a soft, steady breathing sound rose beside him again.

Lin Yu turned his head: "..."

What kind of god-tier sleeping ability was this?

Most people need a pillow to fall asleep, but Teacher Tang could doze off sitting up, no problem?

Had he even spoken thirty words yet?

Were you just tired from talking and decided to take a nap?

He’d been dutifully listening to her "neighborhood gossip lecture" for ages!

Lin Yu was itching with frustration.

He desperately wanted to shake Tang Yimian awake and tell her:

"Hey, it’s my turn now! Pay attention!"

But then it occurred to him—

what if waking her up meant another ten-minute lecture?

Better to let sleeping dogs lie.

Lin Yu tiptoed away from the bed and went downstairs to fetch the repair materials.

...

Fifteen minutes later.

The plumbing repair was successfully completed.

Another mundane daily task checked off.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host! You’ve successfully completed the limited-time mission!]

[The Water Veil Barrier has been reactivated, resolving the sect’s water crisis!]

[Rewards: 100 Sect Contribution Points, 200 Spirit Stones, 1 free System Mall draw!]

This batch of rewards came way too easily.

If every mission were this effortless,

Lin Yu wouldn’t mind sitting through a few more lectures.

Even after the repairs were done, Tang Yimian was still peacefully asleep.

Lin Yu couldn’t help but wonder—

if no one woke her, could she sleep until nightfall?

"Parents are here to pick up their kids?"

"Teacher Zhou’s here?"

"Director Li’s arrived?"

"Class dismissed?"

Keeping a safe distance, Lin Yu tested out various trigger phrases.

Finally,

when he said "class dismissed,"

Tang Yimian abruptly sat up, a blissful smile spreading across her face:

"Class dismissed, everyone! See you tomorrow—"

Mid-sentence, she blinked and looked around, finally realizing where she was.

Lin Yu: "..."

So teachers were no different.

A zombie at work, a dragon off the clock.

That genuine smile the moment she stood up—

it was even brighter than when she’d been gossiping earlier.

"Ah!"

"Junior Lin Yu, did I fall asleep again just now?"

"I’m so sorry, sorry! It’s probably because I drove nonstop to get back today..."

"Originally, my road trip was supposed to last until next week, but, well... plans change!"

"..."

This time, Lin Yu didn’t interrupt Tang Yimian.

He listened as she rambled from her road trip to other things,

and suddenly realized—

nervous chatterboxes had their natural advantages too.

If you wanted to know the little secrets of their recent life,

you didn’t even need to ask.

Just give them the right opportunity, and they’d spill everything unprompted.

From Tang Yimian’s ramblings, Lin Yu pieced together the key details.

The real reason her road trip got cut short—

was that the school had organized a "summer excursion" to a suburban wildlife park.

Of the two main teachers originally assigned to lead her third- and fourth-grade class,

both had "sudden conflicts," leaving the responsibility entirely on her shoulders.

She could’ve easily refused with a valid excuse.

After all, when she got the notice, she wasn’t even in Pingchuan City.

No need for elaborate reasons—just explain the situation and let the school assign someone else.

But.

Even without Tang Yimian spelling it out, Lin Yu could guess.

With her personality, she’d never say no to extra work assigned by the school.

And whoever arranged this definitely knew that too.

That’s why they dumped two teachers’ worth of responsibility onto her alone.

Aside from her,

there was also a young trainee teacher helping with the kids’ safety.

Along for the trip were the academic director, his wife, and their child.

Of course, they weren’t actually going there to work—it was just that the event needed a leader to make an appearance. Otherwise, how could the parents feel at ease about their children’s safety?

Such is the truth of the workplace.

Those who are articulate and skilled at reporting progress are the ones who get raises faster and climb higher.

As for those with actual competence and a diligent work ethic?

Well, they’ll just be handed more tasks—extra work, last-minute assignments, all kinds of responsibilities piling up.

You say you’ve finished your work?

Too bad.

The capable bear more burdens.

Can’t you lend a hand to your colleagues and help them wrap things up?

Lin Yu wasn’t naive enough to lecture Tang Yimian about this.

It was just her nature.

Even if he managed to lecture her once, she’d still fall into the same trap next time.

And worse, it might earn her a little “note” in the school administration’s black book.

“......”

“That’s pretty much how it went, which is why I rushed back.”

Finally.

The story of what happened after Tang Yimian woke up was told without further interruptions.

Lin Yu nodded thoughtfully.

“A zoo in the suburbs, huh? Not a bad choice for a primary school field trip.”

“Must’ve been tough handling so many kids all by yourself as a teacher, right?”

“The day after tomorrow… I don’t think I have any plans.”

“Senior, if I’m free that day, I’ll come help you out.”

“As a college student volunteer—I doubt your leadership would have any objections, right?”

[Ding!]

[Masterstroke move! As the chief disciple, taking the initiative to assist the Propagation Hall elder with worldly teachings has greatly pleased the elder!]

[Reward: 20 spirit stones.]

Hearing Lin Yu’s words, Tang Yimian’s eyes instantly lit up.

But.

Reason quickly took over again.

Tang Yimian hastily waved her hands. “No, no, how could I possibly—”

Lin Yu cut in, “But you’ll have to treat me to a nice meal! I’d really love to have dinner with you and catch up!”