Ye Linhuan pursed his lips, lingering for a moment in silence before he slowly straightened his collar, stood up, and opened the wardrobe to find the jacket Tong Sui had forgotten in his hurry to leave.
A faint smile crept onto his lips as he sent a message to Tong Sui.
Just two minutes remained until class started when Tong Sui rushed back to the classroom, which was already nearly full. He quickly sat back down in his seat.
His light brain beeped.
Opening the message from Ye Linhuan, Tong Sui suddenly realized he had forgotten his jacket.
Ye Linhuan: [Shall I deliver it to you?]
Tong Sui: [No need, you can just give it to me after school.]
At that moment, there was a knock on the door of Ye Linhuan’s office, and he set the jacket aside.
“Come in.”
The director of the mecha department walked in.
They casually sat down and discussed some changes and suggestions for teaching. The director then stood up, saying, “Well, Director Ye, I’ll take my leave.”
“Alright, I’ll come with you.”
Ye Linhuan draped the jacket over his arm. “I’ll take a quick patrol on the way.”
The director glanced at the jacket on his arm, recognizing it as the school’s uniform, and hesitated to ask.
As they walked together, the director struggled to contain his questions.
Finally, he picked a random topic, saying, “I plan to schedule the physiology lecture for next Monday morning.”
“Sounds good.”
“Additionally, we’ve counted the number of students who failed the military training assessment, and they are currently—”
The director paused.
Ye Linhuan had stopped in front of a classroom, standing still as he scanned the room, a faint frown appearing on his forehead.
The director followed his gaze and felt a jolt of apprehension.
In the last row, an alpha with red hair was resting his head against his hand, nodding off, clearly asleep.
Caught in the act!
Looking closer, the director realized this was Tong Sui’s younger brother, whom he had brought on the previous visit.
Although the director wished to protect the second young master of the Tong family, the ultimate authority in the military academy was not him, but this man beside him.
He could only hope that this young master wouldn’t face too harsh a punishment from Ye Linhuan.
Just then, the class bell rang.
The classroom fell into an eerie silence, and no one dared to speak or leave.
Ye Linhuan entered through the back door, and all the students straightened in their seats, afraid to make a sound.
Thankfully, he had a clear target and walked straight towards the last row.
The student, who had managed to keep his head up during class, was now completely sprawled on the desk, leaving only a tuft of messy hair visible.
Ye Linhuan raised a finger and tapped on the desk.
Tong Sui didn’t lift his head, muttering, “I’m not going to the restroom, you can go by yourself.”
Ye Linhuan raised an eyebrow. “Restroom?”
The icy tone instantly jolted Tong Sui awake; he sat up and widened his eyes when he saw Ye Linhuan standing before him.
“When did you arrive?”
Ye Linhuan replied, “I’ve been standing outside for a while.”
Tong Sui recalled what he had been doing earlier and sheepishly averted his gaze.
“Come with me.”
Without waiting for a response, Ye Linhuan turned and left, his expression unreadable and unapproachable.
Tong Sui obediently followed behind him as they exited the classroom.
Only then did the students inside dare to peek, watching as the two of them vanished around the corner.
“Night King is terrifying!”
“When he walked in, I nearly died of fright. Thank goodness he wasn’t here for me; I wonder how he punishes those he catches.”
“Tong Sui is so unlucky; it’s always him who runs into Night King.”
The extremely unlucky Tong Sui trailed right behind Ye Linhuan as they headed to the restroom.
His cheeks still bore the evidence of dozing off in class, with a noticeable red mark etched into his skin.
Ye Linhuan turned on the faucet.
“Wash your face.”
“Okay.”
Tong Sui scrubbed at his face vigorously, and when he lifted his head, water droplets were cascading down, pooling at his chin.
Ye Linhuan pulled him into a stall and locked the door behind them.
Tong Sui nervously swallowed.
Ye Linhuan took out a paper towel and wiped Tong Sui’s face.
“Why can’t you listen in class properly? If you fail your exams, are you planning to stay here forever as a student by my side?”
Tong Sui lifted his chin. “Is that allowed?”
“……” Ye Linhuan tossed the wet paper towel into the trash. “No, failing twice means you get expelled.”
“I prefer you teaching me,” Tong Sui said. “When others teach, I can’t keep up and it’s hard to understand; it makes me sleepy.”
Ye Linhuan responded, “It’s tough for you; once you catch up with the pace, it should get better.”
Tong Sui glanced at the jacket Ye Linhuan was holding. “Did you come specially to find me?”
Ye Linhuan nodded.
He took his jacket and lightly tapped it against Ye Linhuan’s cheek, saying, “Even if you caught me sleeping, I still want to thank you.”
Ye Linhuan brushed his fingers against Tong Sui’s eye corner and took a step forward. “Just trying to wake you up.”
The stall felt intimate.
Outside, faint echoes of laughter and footsteps drifted through the thin door.
Now, Tong Sui felt wide awake, every nerve ending tingling with shyness as the steam from the still-wet water enveloped them.
In the mist, he observed Ye Linhuan, the triangular shadow cast from brow to nose, sharp features accentuated by slender eyes and thick lashes.
As the class bell rang again, Tong Sui ducked his head, ready to return to class.
All eyes in the room turned toward him.
Once he entered, he buried his face in his jacket, resembling a camel burying its head in the sand.