He was a disabled military officer who doted on his research work in the Northwest.

Shen Tang paused for a moment.

She looked up at Mu Qinghan—he was looking down at the exam paper, his expression normal, and she couldn't tell anything from him.

"Yes, she's still in the ward," Shen Tang said. "Teacher Liu hasn't been discharged from the hospital yet."

"Have people in the compound been saying anything lately?" Mu Qinghan asked without looking up.

Shen Tang paused, her pen still. She thought for a moment—someone had indeed joked with her recently, saying things like, "Teacher Lu is a nice guy, a perfect match for you." But she hadn't taken it seriously and just laughed it off.

"It's nothing," she replied casually, "It's just that my sisters-in-law like to joke around."

Mu Qinghan hummed in response and then remained silent.

She thought the topic was over.

A few seconds later, he spoke again: "Are you kidding me?"

Shen Tang found the question strange, so she looked up at him and saw that he was grading papers with his head down and his expression was normal.

"They're just making things up, saying Teacher Lu... is a nice person and stuff. You know how women like to play matchmaker when they have nothing better to do."

Mu Qinghan stopped correcting the papers and put down her red pen.

He raised his head and looked directly at Shen Tang.

Those dark eyes held an emotion that Shen Tang couldn't quite understand—it didn't seem like anger, but rather a strange seriousness.

"Is Teacher Lu a good teacher?" he asked.

"...He's great. He explains things in great depth and connects textbook knowledge with real-world problems—"

"Better than me?"

Shen Tang was taken aback. Huh?

Mu Qinghan stared at her expressionlessly, waiting for her answer. His gaze was like that of someone awaiting a verdict.

She noticed that Mu Qinghan's fingers tightened a little as he gripped the pen. "...But it's still not as good as what you said, Brother Qinghan," Shen Tang blinked and added.

Mu Qinghan paused for a moment, then continued grading.

"Hmm." His voice sounded a little softer.

Shen Tang lowered her head and continued working on her problems, a barely perceptible curve appearing at the corner of her mouth—Mu Qinghan was arguing.

But what's the point of arguing? A regimental commander from a military region arguing with a substitute teacher about who teaches better—isn't that childish?

She just found it funny; this damn competitive spirit.

That evening, after the counseling session, Mu Qinghan did an extra round of rehabilitation training. Holding onto the handrail in the corridor, she walked step by step, ten steps, twenty steps, thirty steps, forty steps.

Xiao Li followed behind, yawning from exhaustion.

"Sir...it's already eleven o'clock...there's a follow-up examination tomorrow—"

"Take ten more steps."

Mu Qinghan's voice was muffled, carrying a competitive spirit that no one could understand.

He actually asked that question. A ridiculously pointless question about who's the best teacher.

Her answer offered him some comfort.

But he was not satisfied; he was not satisfied with himself.

Because Shen Tang didn't understand what he meant at all. The reason she didn't understand was that she had placed him in a genderless position.

So it's hard to understand why he doesn't care about who gives the best lectures.

What he clearly cares about is—

He suppressed his feelings and continued walking.

He needs to get better.

He stands straighter and walks more steadily than Lu Yanzhi.

It has to be quick.

He had to let her, and everyone else, know that he, Mu Qinghan, was not a useless person.

……

Rumors come and go quickly.

After Sun Xiulan's morning self-study session, no one in Class Two dared to gossip about Shen Tang anymore. Although Gu Bei's words in the classroom that day were rough, they were reasonable enough—the people in Class One stirred up trouble, and you all joined in, being used as pawns and still thinking you're clever?

People enjoy gossiping, but nobody wants to be taken for a fool.

Furthermore, Shen Tang herself maintained a consistent attitude—no explanation, no defense, no flattery—going to school as usual and even going to discuss things with Teacher Lu after class. Those classmates who had previously followed suit in gossiping about her gradually felt guilty.

That's just how people are. Those with a guilty conscience are filled with resentment, while those with an open and honest heart are calm and upright.

Three days after the rumors subsided, a large crowd gathered in front of the bulletin board in the teaching building.

Shen Tang glanced at it as she passed by—it was a school notice written in black and red on red paper:

"To assess the teaching outcomes of this semester, the school will hold a school-wide diagnostic test on November 15th (Wednesday). The test will cover all content covered this semester. The results will serve as a reference for selection in the city-wide mock college entrance examination."

Below is a line of smaller print: "The average score of each class will be included in the year-end evaluation of the homeroom teacher."

The area in front of the notice board immediately erupted in chaos.

"Another exam? How many times this semester has it been?!"

"A diagnostic test! A reference for city-wide mock exams!"

"Oh no, I still don't understand functions..."

After reading the notice, Shen Tang turned around and went back to the classroom.

The atmosphere in Class Two also became tense. The students huddled together in twos and threes, flipping through their textbooks and giving each other questions. Some were biting their nails with furrowed brows, while others were slumped over their desks, wailing, "Math is killing me."

Gu Bei burst in from the corridor, plopped down next to Shen Tang, and slammed his math textbook on the table: "I'm doomed. I didn't understand a thing about the trigonometric functions chapter."

Shen Tang was flipping through her notebook.

Those were her notes from class—not those scribbles of scientific shorthand, but proper review notes organized by key points. The key formulas, typical examples, and common mistakes for each chapter were clearly listed, with neat handwriting, and mind maps and derivations were drawn next to them.

This was just a superficial effort she made to cover up her "learning too fast"—but as she did it, it actually turned into a fairly comprehensive set of review materials.

Gu Bei's eyes immediately glued to the notebook.

"Holy crap—" He leaned closer, eyes wide, "Your notes are so clear! You even drew flowcharts for the derivations of trigonometric function formulas? This is clearer than the textbook!"

He had a naturally loud voice. His shout made half the classroom turn around to look.

"What notebook?"

"Shen Tang's notes? Let me see them!"

Several boys with average grades immediately gathered around. After glancing at him, their expressions mirrored Gu Bei's—first shock, then a genuine "Are you even human?"

"This...this isn't a notebook, it's a supplementary textbook, isn't it? Did you make this up yourself?"

"My goodness, she drew a comparison table next to several chemical equations that I'd always gotten confused about—it made everything clear at a glance!"

"What about the chapter on physical force analysis? Is it there? Let me see—"

The notebook was passed around among the group. Shen Tang leaned back in her chair, watching them scramble for it and laughed. "Look if you want, I'll lend it to you."

Two girls stood motionless on the periphery of the crowd; they were the same two who had spread rumors in the classroom earlier.

As more and more people gathered around Shen Tang's table, their expressions became complicated—they wanted to join in, but were too embarrassed; they wanted to speak, but were afraid of being accused of bringing up past grievances.

After all, they had been gossiping about Shen Tang behind her back before. Although they were rebuked by Gu Bei and reprimanded by Teacher Sun afterward, it was still in front of Shen Tang herself—

It's still awkward.

The two looked at each other, and one of them mustered up his courage and carefully moved over.

"Um... Shen Tang." Her voice was soft, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, "Could I borrow your physics notebook too? I really don't understand the chapter on force analysis..."

She lowered her head as she said this, not daring to look Shen Tang in the eye.

Shen Tang glanced at her.