This chapter is dedicated to Annich_Tsuma for the nice comments that he

/she has been leaving in my stories for the month of June and for being a silent reader who suddenly commented! Thank you so much for the support! I hope to continue reading your comments in the near future! :D

***

"Hurry up! Zhang Ren and I are going to have classes soon!

"

With Shi Lian reminding them of the time and that in ten minutes classes would start, even Pan An who was so engrossed with planning widened his eyes when he realized the time.

"I have to conduct my classes, too. If Zhang Ren and Shi Lian are late, she might suspect something,

" Pan An said, Zhang Ren, chiming in to the conversation.

"Don't worry, Professor Pan An! Shi Lian and I will just tell her that we were flirting—

"

"Flirting?

" Wang Lei interrupted, Cai Li and Ru Shi, giggling.

"You were flirting with my sister even though this is a lie?

"

"'Erm…

"

Zhang Ren almost forgot that Wang Lei is around, making him scratch his head as the others were still connected in the video call.

"Sorry. I'll just tell Shu Xian that we were talking,

" Zhang Ren apologized and said, a soft blush appearing on Shi Lian's face.

"Geez, Zhang Ren…

" she mumbled, still enough for the others to hear.

"Control your shamelessness!

"

With a sigh coming from Pan An, he reminded everyone what to do before ending the call.

"Remember what to do, yes? Mother, Ru Shi, I gave you the address of the house and then the spare key—the spare is with the head house helper.

"

"Yes, yes, don't worry,

" Cai Li said, giving him a thumbs up.

"Your sister and I will prepare the place and will cook!

"

"I'll make sure that after classes, I'll go directly to help, don't worry,

" Shi Lian chimed in, Zhang Ren, stating his task.

"I'll distract Shu Xian while I get the signal that I'll go ahead and wait with you guys at the house.

"

As Pan An now looked at her sister on the screen, she arched a brow at her, making her roll her eyes at him as she heard what her little brother had told her.

"Remember that Shu Xian will be meeting you for the first time. Don't scare her, please.

"

"Geez, is that how you look at your sister?

" Ru Shi scoffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Mother's here! With her doting on her too much, how could I dare act differently?

"

As they let out a chuckle, Pan An then looked at Wang Lei in the video call, reminding him of his task.

"Remember the design I gave you for the jeweler to do. If he has it, please reserve it for me. I'll pay you ASAP—regardless of the price.

"

"Yeah, yeah,

" Wang Lei started, scratching the back of his head.

"With you busy as a professor, why can't you do it in your free time? I'm busy as a CEO, too!

"

Pan An rolled his eyes at him.

"Come on. You agreed to help me on this one—I rarely ask for help. You can leave your work anytime since you're the boss.

"

"Alright!

"

With the school bell suddenly ringing and heard in the faculty room as it indicated that there are five minutes left before the class would start, Pan An widened his eyes, already saying goodbye.

"Let's end the call. You guys already know what to do, alright?

"

"Copy!

"

With that, the call already ended. With Pan An abruptly standing up from his seat, he surprised some of the faculty members beside him, the other arching a brow at the panicking professor.

"What's wrong, Professor Pan An? You seem jittery today. It's like you're a new professor,

" one commented, a small smile appearing on his face as he reasoned out.

"Oh, nothing… it's just that something big is coming up after work—I wouldn't want to mess up.

"

Not bothering to hear a reply, he waved the teachers goodbye as he walked to his class, the professors wondering about what he meant.

***

"Gaaah! Safe!

"

Shi Lian exclaimed, getting the attention of the birthday girl. With Zhang Ren and Shi Lian surprising Shu Xian with how they arrived in class, she widened her eyes at them, blinking her eyes a few times.

"Zhang Ren! Shi Lian! Where were you two? You were almost late for class,

" she commented, Shu Xian scooting over for them to sit beside her.

"Sorry,

" Zhang Ren apologized, a foolish grin appearing on his face as he forgot what Wang Lei had scolded him for earlier.

"Shi Lian and I were flirting and we lost track of time.

"

Shi Lian widened her eyes at Zhang Ren. With a scoff coming from Shu Xian, she playfully rolled her eyes at her friends, commenting on what she heard.

"You two… I thought you're taking things slow and now you're flirting and leaving your other friend alone? Don't tell me I'd be third-wheeling from now on!

"

With Shi Lian elbowing Zhang Ren, the boy couldn't help but chuckle, the second bell already ringing as it indicated the official start of classes this morning.

"By the way, Shu Xian, happy birthday,

" Zhang Ren greeted her, him and Shi Lian smiling at her with excitement etched on their faces.

"Thanks, guys! Will we be having something nice for lunch later?

" she asked, the two nodding as they gestured to their bag.

"We brought extra food for today! Let's eat a lot before duty starts, yes?

"

With excitement also on Shu Xian's face, she was already happy to know that she will spend her birthday with her friends even though it's just lunch.

Even though Pan An rejected Shu Xian's idea earlier this morning, Shu Xian didn't dwell too long about it as she thought that it's enough to be with her friends who did small efforts into making her day special.

Little did Shu Xian know, however…

That they were all preparing something that she requested beforehand—wanting to surprise her since she never celebrated her birthday with a lot of people before.