The name wasn't bad.

But that temper.

Lu Yan thought of another person who shared the same surname as this class substitute client but whose specific name he didn't know.

...

Are all people with the surname Xiao that arrogant?

The person on the other end was also very embarrassed, apologizing profusely: Look at this brain of mine, I forgot to tell my brother about this. Wait a moment, my apologies.

When Xiao Heng received the friend request, he was in the kitchen mixing baby formula. He was already extremely annoyed by the inconvenience of his movements—he was wearing a front-facing baby carrier, and a bulge stuck out from his chest, looking awkward no matter how he looked at it.

He lowered his head to look at that bulging thing.

And met a pair of large, pure eyes.

Those eyes were excessively large, like two black grapes.

The baby was only about four months old. Probably hungry, it started crying the moment its eyes closed upon smelling the formula but not being able to drink it: "Waaah—"

Once it started, it was like a faucet had been turned on, "waaah-ing" without end.

Xiao Heng's tone wasn't very good: "What are you crying for."

The crying didn't stop.

Xiao Heng: "Stop crying, it's annoying."

The crying still didn't stop.

Xiao Heng resisted the urge to throw the child in his arms out, frowning as he dripped a drop of milk on the back of his hand to test the temperature. Only after testing it did he shove the nipple into the child's mouth.

Just then, the screen that had just gone dark lit up again.

[Qiu Shaofeng]: Brother Heng!

[Qiu Shaofeng]: Don't reject him, he's the class substitute I found for you!

Xiao Heng had absolutely no idea why the words "class substitute" would appear in their chat right at this moment.

He called Qiu Shaofeng back directly: "Substitute for what class?"

"Boss, what have you been busy with lately? And Zhuangzhi too, where did you two ditch me to go have fun," Qiu Shaofeng said, beginning to display his great brotherly love. "But it's okay, even though you guys treat me like this, I'm not the type to hold grudges. To let you have fun without worries, to let you have fun with peace of mind—"

Before Qiu Shaofeng could finish, Xiao Heng said: "Not needed."

Qiu Shaofeng: "..."

Xiao Heng: "Cancel it."

"Don't you think you're being unreasonable!" Qiu Shaofeng got angry. "It's one thing to go out and have fun without me! Is this how you trample on a brother's true feelings?!"

Xiao Heng thought to himself, 'Like hell I'm out having fun'.

He was at home taking care of a child to the point he couldn't even sleep properly.

But the matter of the child was too troublesome to explain. A few days ago, it was already annoying enough that Zhai Zhuangzhi had stumbled upon him buying baby formula by a fluke.

Besides, how would he explain it?

That Xiao Qishan, that old bastard, had fooled around outside and produced a half-brother for him. And this kid was picky, refusing to drink milk from anyone else after being fed by him just once?

Qiu Shaofeng was getting more and more worked up. Xiao Heng interrupted: "Alright, tell him to add me again."

Xiao Heng accepted the friend request. The other person's WeChat profile picture was a black and red, unusually shaped guitar.

Qiu Shaofeng: "I even handpicked him, spent three days choosing someone to match your image, and this is how you treat me?"

Xiao Heng: "My sincerest thanks."

"He's actually really handsome," Qiu Shaofeng's tone shifted. "There's a photo, wanna see?"

"No," Xiao Heng said, holding the baby bottle. "Am I crazy?"

[Don't bother me if it's not important]: I've accepted your friend request. We can start chatting now.

Because this kind of grumpy-old-man-style name was likely to cause discomfort, Lu Yan immediately changed his contact name for him after the request was accepted. Unsure of what to send, he politely sent a "Hello".

But the other side didn't reply.

Lu Yan thought for a moment, then sent a few more lines:

I have many years of part-time experience.

I adhere to the service philosophy of integrity first, customer supreme. I will be responsible for the class substitution and ensure user satisfaction.

Creating first-class results, displaying a first-class demeanor.

This time, the other side replied.

The reply was six dots.

[Xiao Heng]: ......

With the class substitution matter more or less settled, Lu Yan planned to practice his guitar in the afternoon when there were few people in the building, and then go to Brother Wei's drinking appointment in the evening. Ever since he had said "next time," Brother Wei would pester him every time they met, asking exactly when "next time" was.

Usually, when everyone in the building wanted to get together, they would go to the rooftop. After dark, they would set up a small plastic table on the roof.

Lu Yan carried half a case of beer up to the rooftop and found that Zhang Xiaohui was also there.

"What's up with you," Lu Yan put the beer case down and said, "Xiaohui, don't you usually not drink?"

Zhang Xiaohui shook his head: "Don't mention it, brother. I've been so unlucky these past few days."

"I finally got two lines, and they were snatched by another extra..."

Zhang Xiaohui didn't have a steady job.

He had a dream of being an actor. He usually hung around major film studios, starting by playing corpses. After acting as a corpse so much that he could publish a book titled "On the Self-Cultivation of a Corpse," he finally got to play small roles with lines, although to this day, none of his characters had lines exceeding six words.

"Snatching them is one thing, but the crew was also short a handmaiden, so I told the director, I can be a woman," Zhang Xiaohui tilted his head back and chugged a mouthful of beer, "...the director thinks I'm a pervert."

Lu Yan: "Such a hardworking kid. Besides, acting can transcend gender. What's with that director's attitude."

Zhang Xiaohui: "Right?!"

After a few drinks, a tipsy Brother Wei said: "Yanyan, sing a song, huh? It's been a while since I heard you sing. Where's that guitar of yours? Bring it up and play something."

Lu Yan: "Sure, I'll go get it now."

Zhang Xiaohui couldn't stop him in time: "The guitar's not necessary, right? Brother Wei, you've really had too much to drink..."

Lu Yan went downstairs and brought the guitar up. With his fingers pressed on the strings, he remembered Huang Xu's tearful and snotty accusation before he left, "Your guitar playing is seriously terrible."

Lu Yan suddenly thought, their train should have reached Jingzhou by now.

Lu Yan changed the fingering with his left hand, switching songs at the last minute. A stumbling melody flowed from his fingertips.

He closed his eyes, paused for a beat, and then began to sing:

"But you‘ll be alright now sugar

(You'll definitely be alright)

You‘ll feel better tomorrow

(Tomorrow you'll feel better)

Come the morning light now baby

(The sky is about to break)

...

don‘t you cry

(Don't you cry)

Don‘t you even cry

(Don't you ever cry again)"

Amidst the song, the night gently poured down.

Lu Yan hadn't drunk too much. According to the class schedule the other party sent, there was an early class at eight tomorrow morning.

International Finance.

It was about a two-hour journey from the Lower District. In the morning, while chewing on a slice of bread and rummaging through his closet, Lu Yan discovered that most of his clothes were stage costumes. Flashy, of every type imaginable, with fur, with silver chains... As Lu Yan rummaged, he even pulled out a skirt from the bottom—but there were very few pieces he could wear to a university.

T-shirts were relatively simple, but a T-shirt he randomly pulled out had a few English words printed on it: I will fuck you.

The other few pieces hadn't been spared either.

Lu Yan, vagrant of society, encountered the first challenge of his part-time career.

After searching his entire closet, Lu Yan finally found a white shirt. Paired with jeans, plus his recently shortened hair and without any of that messy jewelry, he actually looked the part.

When Lu Yan arrived at the entrance of C University, it was coincientally peak time for students heading to class.