We ordinary people also need to fall in love.

Li Mubai's mind went blank for a moment. Eight to ten o'clock in the evening? Going to the library to do routine maintenance work?

"How can this be? Wouldn't this affect your studies!" Zhong Jianjun refused without even thinking, his tone heavy and urgent.

"Teacher Zhong," Xu Ting suddenly laughed, "This isn't something I'm discussing with you, it's just an announcement. This is the result of my discussions with your school's leaders."

! !

Li Mubai felt as if he were reading a novel he had written, except that the protagonist was Xie Shu's mother.

Zhong Jianjun's face was as dark as the sky before a storm, his lips were taut and he didn't utter a single word of dissent for a long time.

"Okay." Wu Changguo nodded first.

"Okay..." Zhong Jianjun finally relented.

Xie Shu walked to his desk, picked up a blank sheet of paper, and bent down to write a pledge. The pledge was different from the initial one; they could still be together on campus, but they could not engage in overly intimate behavior.

She first signed her name at the end, and then handed it to Li Mubai.

Li Mubai glanced down at Xie Shu's delicate handwriting, then picked up the pen and signed his name next to hers.

Xu Ting took the letter of commitment, glanced at it, nodded, and then passed it on to the two teachers.

Wu Changguo looked at it carefully twice, while Zhong Jianjun only glanced at it briefly before putting it down.

"The problem is solved, I'll head back now." Xu Ting put away the letter of commitment, turned to Xie Shu, and said, "Xiao Shu, take me to see your school."

Li Mubai looked at Xie Shu, puzzled. Everything had been unexpected since Xu Ting started talking, and many questions were lingering in his mind.

Why did Xie Shu's mother arrange a routine maintenance job for him and Xie Shu in the library? Why didn't Xie Shu's mother object to her daughter dating early?

"Okay," Xie Shu's voice rang out.

Seeing that Xu Ting and Xie Shu were about to leave, Li Mubai quickly bowed slightly to Xu Ting:

"Thank you, Auntie."

This thank you was heartfelt. If it weren't for Xu Ting, he and Xie Shu would probably have had a hard time escaping unscathed today.

"Hmm," Xu Ting responded faintly, without stopping.

Li Mubai recalled that when he ran into Xie Zhiqiang last Friday, Xie's tone was also so indifferent.

Xu Ting and Xie Shu had already left, and Li Mubai was also preparing to pull his father away from the office where the atmosphere was tense.

"Li Mubai, once you sign a commitment letter, you must abide by it," Wu Changguo said from behind him.

"Okay, Teacher Wu." Li Mubai paused for a moment, "Then I'll take my dad home first."

"Okay, go ahead." Wu Changguo nodded, his tone softening slightly.

As I walked out of the Ideological and Political Education Office, it was completely dark. The streetlights on campus were on, and the shouts of the freshmen's military training came from the distant playground—one, two, three, four—it sounded like the voices of another world.

Xie Shu and Xu Ting seemed to be heading towards the school parking lot, while he led Li's father towards the school's back gate.

After walking for a while, Li's father suddenly said seriously:

"Li Mubai, tell me, what exactly do Xie Shu's parents do?"

"I'm in business," Li Mubai replied vaguely.

"What kind of business do you do?"

"I...I'm not quite sure either."

That's the truth. He only knew that Xie Shu's family was well-off, but she had never explained in detail what industry they were in, and Li Mubai had never paid attention to it.

Mr. Li remained silent for a while, then let out a long sigh:

"Li Mubai, our family is just an ordinary family. You should focus on finishing your college entrance exam. We can talk about the future later."

"I've always been quite honest..."

"Didn't I remind you last time to behave yourself at school?" Mr. Li's tone became stern.

Li Mubai was speechless for a moment, unable to find a rebuttal. He was caught red-handed and truly had no way to defend himself.

"Regarding your relationship with Xie Shu, I originally thought you two would just focus on your studies at school and no one would interfere outside of school, but now..."

Mr. Li paused, his tone tinged with an indescribable helplessness:

"You two decide what to do, but don't go too far. Be careful in everything you do, and if you break up in the future, tell your mother in time."

Li Mubai paused for a moment: "We won't break up."

Mr. Li did not refute, seemingly unwilling to shatter his son's beautiful illusions. He then asked another question:

"What exactly does working at your library involve? Will it interfere with my study time?"

"I don't know exactly what it is."

"You asked me to do it without knowing?"

To be precise, he didn't even know about this, and Xie Shu hadn't mentioned it to him.

"Think carefully about Xie Shu's family, while there's still time," Li's father said after a moment's thought.

Li Mubai remained silent, not responding. He knew that no matter what he said, his father wouldn't fully believe him, because he was just an ordinary senior high school student with nothing to prove himself.

"We've reached the back gate." Mr. Li stopped. "Go back and study. I've come to your school far enough this year."

Li Mubai nodded. He stood at the back door, watching his father's figure gradually disappear under the streetlights, and his mood slowly sank.

He let out a long breath and turned to walk towards the teaching building.

He roughly understood what Li's father meant: to live and study honestly. Li's father was such an honest person, so he wanted Li Mubai to be like that.

This is understandable, after all, his family can't withstand much hardship...

This matter is considered closed. The signed commitment letter did not require him to completely sever ties with Xie Shu, nor did it prohibit them from spending time together at school. Overall, the outcome is good.

"One more song! One more song! Oh—!"

As he passed by the playground, he saw through the fence that the freshmen were having an activity. They were sitting cross-legged in a circle, with a girl standing in the middle of the circle holding something in her hand, and the people around her were making a fuss.

Li Mubai suddenly remembered that during his first year of high school military training, there was a similar talent show segment. Xie Shu was called up by the instructor to sing a song, while he sat in the crowd clapping. At that time, they didn't know each other.

He looked away and quickened his pace toward the teaching building.

The bell for evening self-study had been ringing for a long time, and the teaching building had quieted down. When he walked into Class 18, most of the students were already seated. Teacher Chen gestured for him to return to his seat to study.

Li Mubai opened the book, but his gaze lingered on it for a moment without actually reading it.

It's quite remarkable that the school didn't receive any complaints from nearby residents when the bell rang at 10:30 p.m., suggesting that some kind of undisclosed agreement had been reached.

He packed his books as usual, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out of the classroom.

The lights in the corridor were still on, shining brightly and illuminating the motivational slogans on the walls clearly: "No pain, no gain; no struggle, no success."

A figure stood quietly by the railing, waiting for him.