Reborn not to be a beast of burden, I set the rules.

"Come on, follow me to the Humanities Building."

Xu Wei grabbed his sleeve and tugged at it.

His tone was filled with the grievances that had been building up for several days, and also carried a hint of stubbornness that left no room for argument.

The afternoon sun slanted through the gaps in the sycamore leaves, falling on her bright face.

With her striking and deep-set features, bright and expressive eyes, and healthy, radiant fair skin, she resembles a small sun radiating its own light.

Fresh and dazzling.

Ye Ming gently withdrew his hand, his tone remaining calm: "Now?"

"Right now!"

Xu Wei glared at him.

"Secretary Li specifically wants to see us, the class monitor and the Youth League secretary. Director Liu has repeatedly instructed us on this matter; how can we delay?"

Without saying a word, she dragged him toward the Humanities Building.

As she walked, she poured out all the grievances she had accumulated over the past few days.

"I've been looking for you for days, I don't know where you've gone, I can't catch a glimpse of you, I've just been listening to you remotely directing things over the phone. This first week of school has almost driven me crazy, textbook distribution, class fee collection, transfer of Youth League membership, new student information statistics... a whole bunch of chores have piled up on me, I've run to the Youth League Committee three times, my arms are so sore and numb that I can't lift them."

She turned her head to look at Ye Ming, her tone full of reproach.

"You're the class monitor, but you just hide away every day, ignoring everything and leaving it all to me."

Ye Ming's steps were steady.

Quietly wait for her to finish expressing all her grievances and complaints.

Have all the textbooks been distributed?

"Have the class funds been collected?"

"Have all the transfer of student association affiliation and the statistics of new student information been completed?"

"Of course! It's all done!"

Xu Wei raised her chin confidently, looking like she was saying, "Don't worry about me."

Ye Ming's expression remained unchanged, and his tone was calm.

"Chen Yu is meticulous, so he's suitable for the role of class monitor; Lin Zhixia is reliable, and her ability to manage class funds and keep accounts is trustworthy; Zhang Jian is outgoing and can create a lively atmosphere when organizing activities."

"The group of people each performed their duties and cooperated smoothly."

It seems I have a good eye for people.

He paused, his gaze falling on Xu Wei, his tone softening slightly.

"You've managed to lead this team so smoothly; that's your skill. Thank you for your hard work."

Xu Wei froze for a moment, and the next complaint she was about to say got stuck in her throat.

She blinked, and the slight grievance in her heart vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of satisfaction from being understood and recognized.

She was both angry and amused, and gently patted Ye Ming's arm.

"Ye Ming, are you praising me, or are you indirectly praising yourself?"

There are.

Ye Ming didn't respond to that question.

Xu Wei persisted, pulling out her phone and waving it in front of him.

"Look what I've changed your contact name to."

Ye Ming glanced at it, and three words were clearly visible on the screen: Ye the Skinflint.

He froze for a moment.

Ye the Skinflint? She certainly knows how to come up with names.

Xu Wei smugly put her phone away, then reached for his pocket, looking like she was saying, "Let's see if you give it to me or not."

"Here, give me your phone."

Ye Ming instinctively pressed his hand to his pocket: "What?"

"Give it to me!" Xu Wei blinked, looking completely innocent. "Let me change the nickname, just to be fair."

Ye Ming hesitated for a second.

What are they up to now?

But I still handed the phone over.

Xu Wei took it, quickly pressed a few buttons with her fingertips, and then handed it back to him.

Ye Ming looked down and saw that Xu Wei's name in his contacts had been changed to: Xu Zhen is a really good person.

He looked up at Xu Wei.

Xu Wei smiled, her eyes crinkling: "You've been using me like a laborer for so many days, you should at least give me a proper title, right?"

Ye Ming didn't speak, lowered his eyes, and put his phone back in his pocket.

Before the "good guy" card was even returned, she took one for herself.

But she sighed softly to herself.

Keep her busy, and make sure she always has someone by her side.

This is still safer than wandering around on the street alone.

He slowed his pace, turned his head, and gave a serious word of advice.

"There are a lot of people and cars on campus lately. Go to the Youth League Committee and the Textbook Section and ask the class committee members to come with you. Be careful."

Xu Wei was taken aback.

A slight flush rose to her cheeks, and the little bit of awkwardness in her heart instantly softened.

But she still deliberately put on a stern face and scolded, "You can't get over this, can you? Do I look like I've been hit by a car? You just praised yourself and now you're nagging me."

Despite her slightly irritable tone, the grievances she had been holding in for days had long since vanished.

The two walked side by side toward the Humanities Building.

The afternoon breeze carried sycamore leaves, adding a touch of faint, indescribable warmth to the atmosphere.

We arrived at the door of Li Guoqiang's office.

Xu Wei tidied her stray hairs and gestured for Ye Ming to knock on the door.

"Come in!" A loud male voice came from inside the door, carrying a hint of the hearty cheerfulness typical of people from Shandong Province.

The two pushed open the door and entered.

Behind the desk sat Li Guoqiang, a man in his forties, wearing black-rimmed glasses and with a kind face.

He looked up and saw the two of them, immediately put down his pen, smiled, stood up, and waved.

"The class monitor and the Youth League secretary of Class 3, Humanities Department, are here? Please sit down, don't stand."

His eyes lit up when his gaze fell on Ye Ming.

He stepped forward and gently patted Ye Ming on the shoulder.

"You must be Ye Ming? Liu Ting has mentioned you to me several times. You're a very reliable and sensible class monitor."

Ye Ming bowed slightly: "Hello, Secretary Li."

"Just call me teacher, don't be so formal." Li Guoqiang waved his hand.

Then, casually, he asked, "From Linchuan?"

Ye Ming nodded: "Yes."

"What a coincidence! I'm also from Linchuan!"

Li Guoqiang burst into laughter instantly, his voice even louder.

"I've been at Southeast University for almost twenty years and have met many people from Shandong Province, but there aren't many like you who were specially recommended by Liu Ting as soon as they enrolled."

The familiar local accent rushed into my ears.

Ye Ming felt a slight tremor in his heart.

That was during his junior year of college. He had just become the class monitor of the sociology class when Li Guoqiang suddenly called him into his office and bluntly asked, "Why didn't you apply for a scholarship?"

He paused for a moment, then explained that his grades weren't outstanding in his class, so he hadn't applied on his own initiative.

"Being class monitor is a service to the class, which is a bonus in itself. Come on, fill out the application form now, and I'll keep an eye on it for you."

Later, he actually received that scholarship.

"If you need anything in the future, feel free to come to me."

Li Guoqiang's voice pulled him back to reality.

He patted him on the shoulder again, his eyes sincere and warm.

"Whether it's for your studies, your life, or anything you want to do in the future, if you need the support of the college, don't hesitate to ask me for help. We Shandong people are all out here, so we have to look out for each other."

Xu Wei smiled to herself, secretly glancing at Ye Ming with envy in her eyes.

Ye Ming snapped out of his reverie and nodded, "Thank you, Teacher Li."

Li Guoqiang then looked at Xu Wei, smiling and nodding in praise.

"You must be Xu Wei, the Youth League branch secretary? Liu Ting also said you're exceptionally capable. The two of you working together—one calm and collected, managing the overall situation, the other lively and focused on implementation—complement each other perfectly."

The two sat for a while longer, listening to Li Guoqiang's instructions on the key points of class work, before getting up to say goodbye and leaving the office.