The day before Christmas Eve, Lu Nan sent a casual message to her mother, asking if she wanted to go to University with her and a few friends the next evening. 

“It’s a Western holiday.” 

“You young people go have fun. Why would you invite me?” 

Even if she hadn’t been sulking with her daughter, Ms. Huang Li wouldn’t have gone anyway. 

However, she couldn’t resist calling her daughter back: “Don’t stay out too late, be safe.” 

“Mm-hmm, got it,” Lu Nan obediently replied. 

After hanging up, Ms. Huang sighed, thinking, if only my daughter listened as well when it comes to big matters as she does with small ones. So stubborn—who does she get that from? 

After thinking for a while, Ms. Huang realized that her daughter’s stubbornness couldn’t be blamed on her ex-husband… 

The next day at the weekly meeting, Manager Wang repeated his usual line: “It’s the last week—make sure to push those payments!” 

After the New Year, he would immediately fly to the headquarters for the year-end summary meeting, and the pressure was immense. 

So in these last few days of the month, nothing mattered to him but the payments. 

Seeing the younger employees clearly distracted, Wang Xinglong waved his hand impatiently: “I know you all are looking forward to the holiday, right?” 

The people below responded with a chorus of denials, “No,” “Not at all.” 

Wang Xinglong sighed, “After Christmas, get back to work and focus on collecting payments, got it? Meeting dismissed!” 

The group cheered, shouting “Thank you, Manager Wang,” “Goodbye, Manager Wang,” which was quite different from their earlier responses. 

Pan Sasha gave Lu Nan a look, and then quickly gathered her laptop, notebook, and pen from the desk. 

They had planned it earlier while having lunch—Lu Nan would drive, and Pan Sasha would leave the car in the city office’s parking space. 

Ever since You Xiafei transferred to the e-commerce department, she now had weekends off (lucky her). Lu Nan had already arranged a time to pick her up at her dorm before heading out. 

Although she already knew that Lu Nan had bought a car, You Xiafei couldn’t help but admire the beautiful appearance and interior of the red Mercedes and exclaimed, “I wonder when I’ll save up enough money to buy a car.” 

Lu Nan smiled and said, “Are you crazy? Your dorm’s so close to your workplace. You’d be better off saving up to buy a house instead of a car.” 

You Xiafei sighed, “A car, sure, if I try hard enough, I can afford one. A down payment of 30,000 to 50,000 isn’t that hard. But a house? It’s not something you can just buy when you want.” 

“I remember your company has good benefits, and they pay into your pension fund, right? Maybe they also offer low-interest or even interest-free loans for long-term employees. If you’re eligible, don’t miss out.” Lu Nan shared her usual advice: if you can’t afford a big place, buy a small one, or if you can’t afford one in the city, try somewhere further out. 

Pan Sasha also supported Lu Nan’s point of view. 

You Xiafei was left stunned by their reasoning. 

Lu Nan hoped that Xiafei would listen, and if not, she could always try to persuade her again later. She didn’t want her to regret not buying a house in Hailin City years later, and end up spending all her savings on a down payment for a home. 

After this topic ended, Pan Sasha suddenly remembered and asked, “Hey, how did you reply to that junior of yours?” 

You Xiafei blinked. “Which junior?” 

Pan Sasha said, “Last week, before you even suggested going to University Town, someone had already asked Lu Nan out—some junior guy.” 

“Oh wow.” You Xiafei turned to Pan Sasha, “Let me tell you, during university, Lu Nan was really… completely focused on her studies, not interested in anything else. How many seniors and juniors tried to pursue her? I didn’t expect that after half a year, a junior is still thinking about her?” 

Lu Nan helplessly said, “What? We met during the National holiday at the skateboard park.” 

“A junior who can skateboard?” Pan Sasha clicked her tongue, “How come I never run into these kinds of romantic prospects? I’ve been wearing rose quartz for months, but no luck. No romance, not even a single trumpet flower.” 

You Xiahui enthusiastically added, “You should try rhodochrosite—they say it attracts real love.” 

“Really?” Pan Sasha seemed genuinely interested. 

Lu Nan turned the steering wheel. “Wait, you’ve been wearing the rose quartz for months? Wasn’t that when you still hadn’t gotten over Chen Xiao?” 

Sasha awkwardly laughed, “There are plenty of handsome guys in the world, if one doesn’t work out, just move on. Why stick to one, right?” 

You Xiafei nodded approvingly, “Sasha, I really wish I had met you earlier.” 

Lu Nan looked at the two of them sitting one in front and one in back, nearly ready to swear sisterhood in the car, and shook her head helplessly. 

“Back to the topic, back to the topic. You still haven’t said how you replied to the junior.” 

Lu Nan was speechless. She couldn’t believe they could steer the conversation so far off-track and still bring it back. Truly, a detective at heart. “I just told him the truth, that I would visit school but I had already made plans with other friends.” 

She couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t coming, could she? 

Although the campus was large, what if they ran into each other? How awkward would that be? 

“The junior didn’t ask if the friends you’re meeting are male or female?” Pan Sasha pressed on. 

Lu Nan shook her head. “No.” 

Of course, it was because she had used a few subtle tricks in her wording to hint that Chi Yan already had plans with someone of the opposite sex. 

Pan Sasha sighed, “Sigh, nowadays, guys just can’t handle rejection.” 

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?” Lu Nan replied objectively. 

After chatting casually, they reached their destination. 

The municipal office’s weekly meeting ended early today. The three of them drove for over forty minutes to reach University Town and arrived before 5 p.m. 

“What do you want to eat?” You Xiafei asked. She had organized today’s gathering—Lu Nan was driving, and Pan Sasha had once been her customer before, so You Xiafei planned to treat them to dinner. 

Pan Sasha said, “I want to eat at the cafeteria of your alma mater.” 

Ah, that’s a bit too unrefined, isn’t it? 

You Xiafei had already guessed the dinner wouldn’t cost much—there were many affordable, good-quality restaurants near the school, but she really didn’t expect Pan Sasha, this rich beauty, to want to eat at the cafeteria. 

“Yeah, I didn’t get into Qianjiang University before, but now I have a chance to go there, I’m going to eat at the cafeteria!” Pan Sasha was stubborn. As for how many points she missed the cutoff by? She wasn’t going to say. 

Lu Nan made the decision: “Let’s go to the third cafeteria. They have good stir-fries and claypot dishes.” 

You Xiafei easily borrowed a meal card from a junior, ordered the food, and paid with cash. 

They’d barely taken a few bites when someone called out, “Lu Nan, senior!” 

Lu Nan turned her head toward the voice and saw four tall young men. The one in the middle—wasn’t that Chi Yan? 

Chi Yan took three long strides to reach Lu Nan. “You came with your friends, senior?” His tone was a bit odd, as if questioning: Just friends? 

I knew it. Never underestimate Murphy’s Law. 

Lu Nan smiled, “Are you eating too, junior?” 

“Would you mind if we joined your table?” Chi Yan asked the three ladies for permission. 

Pan Sasha had no objections and welcomed them. 

In the end, Chi Yan and his group took a long table beside them, with Chi Yan happily sitting next to Lu Nan. 

He enthusiastically recommended the best dishes from the third cafeteria, but his companions couldn’t stand it: “Old Chi, Lu Nan just graduated six months ago. She’s not going to forget everything, right?” 

Pan Sasha curiously asked, “You know Lu Nan?” She glanced at Lu Nan, as if to say: look, look, this junior probably talks about you a lot in the dorm. 

To her surprise, Chi Yan’s companion said, “Of course we know her. When we started university, at the welcoming party, Lu Nan was the host. We were briefed by the teaching assistant that Lu Nan is quite the star in the School of Economics and Management.” 

Pan Sasha was very curious: “Tell me more?” Then she complained, “Lu Nan, why are you keeping this from me, after all this time?” 

Lu Nan held her forehead, “It’s all embarrassing stuff.” 

“Senior, modesty is a form of pride,” one of Chi Yan’s companions disagreed. “You’re the only one in our school’s history to win first place in the university entrepreneurship competition in your freshman year. Professor Zhu even mentions you in class.” 

You Xiafei also joined in, “And there’s something else, I’m not sure if Professor Yu mentioned it to you—oh, maybe you’re studying Economic Law?” 

“This semester, not yet,” Chi Yan shook his head. 

“What is it?” Pan Sasha and the juniors asked, curious. 

Lu Nan closed her eyes. She might have thick skin, but listening to people praise her to her face was still too much. 

So she said, “I’m going to grab some drinks. What do you all want?” 

“Anything,” Pan Sasha waved dismissively, not caring at all. 

You Xiafei jumped in: “You guys probably don’t know this, but Lu Nan has an amazing memory. Back when we were studying Economic Law, Professor Yu would randomly pick people to recite the eight key elements of a contract and the clauses on breach of contract. Everyone would take turns, and Lu Nan could always remember her part ten seconds in advance. Right?” 

Everyone nodded. 

In the end, Professor Yu realized that this approach wasn’t working. There was no difficulty, so he… You Xiafei paused for a moment. 

As expected, Pan Sasha and Chi Yan immediately pressed her: “Then what happened?” 

The supportive laugh from You Xiafei made her feel accomplished, so she continued, “So, Professor Yu came up with a new idea—he scrambled the clauses and made people memorize them. This time, several people couldn’t memorize them. Professor Yu got a little angry, and when it was Lu Nan’s turn, he actually told her to recite them backward.” 

“Ah?” Although they knew that Lu Nan must have handled it fine back then, hearing the words “recite backward” made Pan Sasha, Chi Yan, and the others feel uneasy. The younger students, like Junior A, not only felt uneasy but also thought, ‘Professor Yu, who teaches economics law, is so weird.’ 

You Xiafei nodded and said, “That’s right, recite backward. Now, guess what Lu Nan said?” 

“What did she say?” Pan Sasha, being impatient, was already on edge! 

You Xiafei said, “Lu Nan asked, ‘Professor Yu, does ‘reciting backward’ mean starting from the last word or from the last clause?'” 

After she finished, she scanned the faces around her and saw the shocked expressions of the four guys and one girl, which made her feel satisfied. “Professor Yu said: Of course, you recite starting from the last clause. If you can recite from the last word backward, I’ll give you a full score for this semester’s class participation.’ Then Lu Nan opened her mouth and flawlessly recited it, word for word, starting from the last word backward.” 

Junior A’s mouth hung open for a while: “Senior Lu Nan is amazing!” 

You Xiafei nodded. “She’s called the human scanner for a reason.” 

When Lu Nan came back holding several bottles of drinks, the way everyone looked at her had changed. 

Sasha quickly took the drinks from her hands and said, “From now on, any card games, you must choose me as your teammate, okay? Nan Nan, promise me!” 

Receiving a wave of flattery, Lu Nan smiled as she listened: “Are you almost done eating?” 

Pan Sasha nodded: “Almost. Shall we go?” 

“Senior, you’ve barely eaten. Should I go buy something else for you?” Chi Yan hesitated. 

Lu Nan declined. “I don’t eat much at night.” 

Chi Yan frowned slightly: “But…” 

Junior A nudged him: “Come on, Old Chi, Senior is so thin, she’s definitely the type who naturally has a small appetite. You can’t guess others’ appetites based on your own. Senior is a girl! A girl!” 

Pan Sasha gave Junior A a glare, so he corrected himself quickly. “She’s a lady! A lady!” 

The vibe of the group of seven walking through the campus was distinct, with the mix of professional and student personalities making them quite noticeable. 

As they turned past the teaching building toward the auditorium, they ran into Professor Zhu. 

Lu Nan greeted him first, and Professor Zhu smiled and said, “Ah, Lu Nan? Very good, visiting the school during the holidays. It seems the event tonight is going well. Your juniors organized and planned it and even got sponsors. Should be a lot of fun.” 

“Also, here, this is for you guys. The girls just gave it to me, it was too much. “Professor Zhu handed them a plastic bag with a dozen apples tied with ribbons. He had carried them for a while, so he immediately handed one to each of the seven. 

The boys jokingly thanked Professor Zhu. 

When it was time to give Lu Nan hers, Professor Zhu paused: “Lu Nan, whenever I send off each graduating class, I always say one thing to them. Do you remember what I told you at the teacher-student farewell dinner?” 

Lu Nan nodded: “I remember, Professor Zhu. You said the difference between campus and society, and I’ve always kept that in my heart.” 

Professor Zhu nodded in satisfaction: “Good, as long as you remember. You’re smart and hardworking, no matter which industry you shine in, I’ll be proud of you. By the way, the other day, I had a meal with the boss from In the Water’s Edge, and he praised our school’s graduates for being creative and innovative.” 

You Xiafei didn’t expect Professor Zhu to remember the company she worked for and felt touched, nodding repeatedly. 

After bidding farewell to Professor Zhu, Pan Sasha asked, “Is Professor Zhu your previous homeroom teacher?” 

Lu Nan shook her head: “He’s the deputy dean of the college. He taught us two courses.” 

“And he still remembers you? You guys must’ve been excellent back then.” Sasha clapped for both Lu Nan and You Xiafei. 

Lu Nan smiled: “Professor Zhu teaches marketing. His emotional intelligence and how he handles people are unmatched. We can never catch up.” 

“So, what did he say to you at the teacher-student farewell dinner?” 

Lu Nan glanced at You Xiafei and then told Pan Sasha: “Professor Zhu told us, during the banquet, when we toasted him with that drink, he would drink it—but we should only take a sip. Because he was still our teacher and had to protect his students. But if we meet in society later, at a drinking table, we must maintain a cautious attitude toward him.”