We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

The office fell silent.

Professor Zhou looked up.

"What's wrong?"

The portable hard drive was already close to the port, but Ye Chen's hand did not loosen.

"I've checked the course design for you, and it's fine."

He still had a smile on his face, but his tone became more serious.

"Demo programs can be left for testing, but before the complete project is copied out, the ownership of intellectual property rights, the scope of use, and who will maintain it in the future should be clearly stated first."

The program is currently stuck in a temporary project and has not yet exported the complete project package.

Professor Zhou looked at him for a few seconds.

Are you afraid the academy will take credit for your work?

"It's not fear."

Ye Chen smiled.

"It's better to make it clear in advance so that everyone can avoid trouble later."

Professor Zhou's hand froze in mid-air.

After a few seconds, he put the external hard drive back on the desktop and picked up the disciplinary registration form again.

Ye Chen glanced at him, thinking he was going to continue lecturing.

As a result, Professor Zhou opened the drawer and stuffed the watch directly inside.

The punishment is temporarily suspended.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

Professor Zhou immediately put on a stern face.

Don't get too excited yet.

"A temporary reprieve does not mean you can continue to skip classes in the future, nor does it mean that having someone else answer for you will make this matter go away."

"Bring the complete version over tomorrow; you don't need to submit the source code yet. I'll find someone from the lab center to test it together."

He picked up his teacup and added another sentence.

"If you dare to skip class without a reason again, this form will still come out of your drawer."

Ye Chen stood up.

"And what about my usual grades?"

Professor Zhou paused in his tea-drinking motion.

"You still have the mind to worry about your usual grades?"

"It's reasonable for students to care about their grades, isn't it?"

"Go back to class."

"Okay."

Ye Chen picked up his backpack, turned around, and left the office.

After the door closed, Professor Zhou glanced at the program on the computer, then at the external hard drive on the table, and couldn't help but shake his head.

This kid readily admitted his mistakes and was equally unambiguous when it came to discussing benefits.

It's as slippery as a mudfish.

It was nearly noon when Ye Chen walked out of the teachers' office building.

As soon as I stepped down the steps of the teaching building, a figure came out from under the shade of a tree to greet me.

Xu Jiao had obviously waited for a while.

She wore a light-colored knitted top with a neatly gathered neckline, and slim-fitting trousers that accentuated her slender waistline, revealing her long, straight, and shapely legs.

He was also holding a paper cup of coffee in his hand.

"Ye Chen, you've finally come out."

Ye Chen paused in his steps.

"wait for me?"

What do you think?

Xu Jiao raised her chin.

"I've been standing here for twenty minutes, and my legs are almost numb."

She handed the coffee to Ye Chen.

"It's warm, just right to drink."

Ye Chen took the coffee, his fingertips touching the cup; the temperature was just right.

He lowered his head, sniffed it, and chuckled:

"Those who offer unsolicited favors are either treacherous or thieves."

Xu Jiao glared at him.

"Then why did you answer?"

"It's already been delivered to our hands, it would be disrespectful to push it back."

"You're so shameless."

"Thank you for the compliment."

Xu Jiao originally wanted to retort.

As she got closer, she could see that Ye Chen's eyes were dark and bloodshot. Although he stood ramrod straight, his brows betrayed an undeniable weariness.

The smile on her face faded a little.

Have you run into any trouble these past few days?

"no."

"Your eyes are so red, and you still say you don't have any?"

"I went out to take care of some small business and stayed up for a few nights."

Ye Chen swirled his coffee cup, speaking casually.

It wasn't as if I hadn't been staring at the futures market with 100x leverage for several days in a row, but rather stayed up late reading a few extra pages of a book.

Xu Jiao stared at him.

"Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

"Then you should know that when adults say they're fine, it usually means they don't want to talk about it."

"So you admit something's wrong?"

"I admit I don't want to say."

Xu Jiao was speechless.

She clearly had a lot of questions.

Where did you go? Why haven't you replied to messages for days? Why can't you even be seen at school?

But when the words were about to come out, she swallowed them back.

After a moment, she whispered:

"Don't take your youth for granted and ruin your health."

"Money can be earned slowly, and things can be done slowly. If your health really collapses, you won't be able to handle anything afterward."

Ye Chen glanced at her.

"That sounds just like something my mom would say!"

"Then I'll take care of you in advance for Auntie."

"She's in charge of me, so I wouldn't dare talk back."

Xu Jiao raised her eyes.

"What do I care?"

Ye Chen thought about it seriously for two seconds.

"I'll have to think about that."

"You actually dare to consider it?"

Xu Jiao reached out to snatch the coffee back.

"Since you won't listen, give it back to me."

Ye Chen stepped back to protect the paper cup.

"What's given away can't be taken back."

"Why do you always try to take advantage of others?"

"You brought the coffee and you initiated the conversation."

Ye Chen was very serious.

"I was just cooperating with the work at most."

Xu Jiao couldn't hold back and the corners of her mouth curled up.

Just then, a familiar voice came from ahead.

"Ye Chen, so you finally decided to come back?"

Li Xue walked over from the other side of the teaching building, carrying a transparent bag.

The bag contained two bottles of iced drinks, their walls covered with fine water droplets.

Today she was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and a light-colored denim skirt. She was tall with a slender waist and her legs were shapely and straight.

He walks with a brisk pace, still displaying the capable and efficient demeanor of a former external relations minister.

But when she saw Xu Jiao standing next to Ye Chen, she visibly paused.

His gaze first fell on Xu Jiao, then swept over the coffee in Ye Chen's hand.

Li Xue smiled again in less than a second.

"Looks like I've arrived at a rather unfortunate time?"

Xu Jiao stopped gripping the hem of her clothes and turned to look at her.

"You're joking, senior."

Li Xue did not respond to that sentence.

She walked straight up to Ye Chen.

"Did you deliberately go missing?"

"Since joining the student union, I haven't participated in a single activity. I don't reply to messages in the external relations department's group chat, and I can't find anyone there."

"In a few days, I'll be ready to put up missing person notices."

Ye Chen held his coffee, his expression unchanged.

"I've been quite busy lately."

"So busy you can't even reply to a single word?"

"My phone is always on silent."

"If I silence my phone, I can't exactly shut my eyes off too, can I?"

Li Xue handed him the bag containing the iced drinks.

"Here, this is for you."

"Don't drink coffee yet. It's uncomfortable to drink it on an empty stomach after staying up all night."

Before Ye Chen could reach out, Xu Jiao glanced down at the two bottles of drinks.

I glanced at the lukewarm coffee in his hand.

"The senior student is very well prepared."

"Of course."

Li Xue smiled naturally.

"Our External Relations Department has always maintained internal unity."

She paused briefly, her gaze falling on Ye Chen's face.

"Especially those key members who disappeared after joining the club need to be taken extra care of."

Xu Jiao repeated it.

"Key personnel?"

"It's one of the student council's spots for admission without examination, so it's definitely a priority."

As Li Xue spoke, she casually patted Ye Chen's arm.

"Don't you think so?"

Ye Chen looked down at the warm coffee in his hand, then at the two bottles of iced drinks in front of him.

I had just finished my course defense in Professor Zhou's office.

He was then thrust into another impromptu defense.

Moreover, it seems there isn't even a standard answer in this round.

As several students who had just finished class passed by at the bottom of the steps, their pace slowed down in unison.

"Isn't that the Minister of External Relations?"

"Isn't that Xu Jiao from the Foreign Languages ​​Department next to you?"

"Ye Chen just got back and he's already made such a big fuss?"

The volume was not high.

Everyone present could hear it clearly.

Xu Jiao didn't respond to Li Xue's words, but just looked at Ye Chen.

Li Xue didn't take the drink back, and continued to wait with a smile.

A cup of warm coffee.

Two bottles of iced drinks.

Ye Chen stood in the middle, and neither of them retreated first.

At the stairwell, Sun Haoyu had just come out of the classroom.

He looked up and saw this scene, and froze on the spot.

The textbook in my hand almost fell to the ground.

He first looked at Xu Jiao, then at Li Xue.

Finally, his gaze fell on the cup of coffee and two bottles of iced drinks in front of Ye Chen.

Sun Haoyu's lips moved slightly.

All the words in the world can be summed up in just two.

"Holy crap..."