The Electives Department had itâs own mess hall wherein the teachers and students ate in separate areas. The food was rather good â well, according to your average teacher at any rate.
Lan Jue carried his tray to a nearby corner and sat, having only picked a plate of steamed vegetables and a bowl of rice.
âYou eat so little, Mr. Lan!â Jin Yanâ fair voice reached him as she placed her tray across from him and sat.
Lan Jue smiled. âIâm not very hungry.â
âBut youâre so tall and strong,â she replied with a smile of her own. âSurely that isnât enough nutrition there.â
So accustomed to fine cuisine, Lan Jue had lost his taste for the more conventional fare, but still he finished everything on his plate. Not a grain of rice went to waste. If the food wasnât to your liking you could eat less, but you absolutely must not waste.
Lan Jue made no effort to press the conversation further, so Jin Yan ate in silence.
After heâd finished Lan Jue made no motion to leave, instead sitting quietly until Jin Yan had cleaned her plate. But he was sure not to stare â after all, staring at young women was not polite.
Even still, Jin Yanâs pretty face still grew slightly flushed. It had been somewhat abrupt, she felt, to sit beside him in the mess hall. But for reasons she didnât quite understand Lan Jueâs every word and deed made her feel at ease, and not the slightest bit awkward.
âAll done.â Finishing off her last bite she glanced at Lan Jueâs cleaned plate. She smiled in appreciation. âNo wasting, thatâs a good habit.â
His only response was to smile. He waited until Jin Yan had risen, and followed taking his own tray to the drop-off counter.
âSo this afternoon is your first class, Mr. Lan. Would you mind if I sat in?â Sheâd known him for only a very short while, but Jin Yanâs interest in Lan Jue had grown considerably. This young gentleman with his noble demeanor and sharp clothing seemed almost perfect to her. It was the first time she had felt this way.
âOf course! It would be my pleasure,â he said with an amicable nod.
Jin Tao ran a hand through his peach-colored hair, making them gather together in the center of his head all the more. A cigarette hung from the corner of his mouth, the smoke curling around him as he sauntered towards the alumniâs section. He hadnât any friends lately, but it hardly bothered him. He entertained himself.
âThe following is an announcement,â a melodious female voice called.
Jin Tao in turn paused, listening. It appeared to be a school-wide broadcast, so he was curious what it had to say.
âAnnouncing a new Elective Course: Etiquette and Lifestyle Training. The first class will commence at two oâclock this afternoon. Instructor Lan Jue leading. Any students with time and interest are invited to attend.â
The broadcast repeated three times, echoing throughout every nook and cranny of the campus.
Jin Taoâs lips curled in contempt. âThe hell is that? Etiquette? Pfft.â As he spoke he stuck in middle finger up to the sky in defiance.
Just at that moment he spotted a couple figures in the distance making their way towards him. His eyes lit up⊠and he darted out of sight.
Two women in school uniform were walking his way. The first woman was wearing the formal dress of a university lady. White shirt, a black skirt stopping at the knee, white stockings and a black suit constituted her outfit. Her black hair hung loose, free to flow down her back, and her glimmering blue eyes seemed like they could look right through you in to your soul. Her beauty was breathtaking.
The second young lady stood at her side and was wearing a tight-fitting mecha-pilot flight suit. These flight suits were excellent at protecting the body, but it also served to perfectly outline the figure of this long-legged beauty. She had a hair full of blond hair and deep, penetrating green eyes that shone like quartz. The uncommon length of her legs might have been somewhat off-putting, but her posture and well-built figure exuded a tameless, alluring beauty.
The normally fearless Dumb-mutt Jin had a reason for hiding away. Upon seeing the black-haired vixen he had been immediately smitten. However, that blond Amazon filled him with an odd sense of fear.
She was a name among the Mecha department. The NEU had but a few Special Grade pilots, and this was one â Special Grade second rank. But rumor said, she was just a hairâs breadth away from Special first rank. And whatâs more, a Sophomore National Scholar like the black haired beauty she accompanied.
Jin Tao had managed to earn a Third Rank in piloting with no small amount of effort, still the lowest rank to be found in the school. In front of this beautiful maverick he wouldnât dare act arrogant.
Whatâs more, both were top of the charts for the most beautiful girls on campus. At at the very top? Black Beauty. Some students might not even know who the Dean was but the Blue-Eyed Goddess Zhou Qianlin, not a soul was unfamiliar.
âSo what do you think, Qianlin. Why do you want to check out this Etiquette class? Could it be you have some lifestyle defect? I really donât know what the university was thinking, suddenly opening this class,â Tang Mi said querulously.
Zhou Qianlin walked beside her textbook clutched to her chest, and said in resignation, âIâm not forcing you to go with me. Itâs you who really wants to tag along.â
Tang Mi snorted. âHmph, you still really donât understand public sentiment do you! Who do you think are the people with nothing better to do than attend electives? Problem students. You rush over there and they start to harass you, what then? I get the worst of it, thatâs what!â
âWhat are you talking about,â Qianlin muttered quizzically.
Tang Mi giggled in response. âDonât you remember? You said if I were a man, youâd have married me. Youâre my woman!â
Zhou Qianlin stuck her tongue out at her friend. âBig breasts and no brains.â
âNonsense,â Tang Mi blurted out, âMine clearly arenât as big as yours!â Her voice had risen markedly. Hidden behind a nearby tree, the racy visions surging through Dumb-mutt Jinâs head threatened to send him spiraling in to a coma.
âFine. Long legs and no brains, howâs that,â Qianlin grumbled.
After the two beauties passed, Jin Tao remained hidden, dizzy from what he assumed must have been a sudden lack of blood. The two campus belles were going to join the Etiquette class eh? Awesome, a chance to see these gorgeous ladies up close and personal!
This was a secret he definitely wasnât going to share!
Off he went with that thought still ringing in his head, directly to his dorm room to change clothes. If he wanted to make a good impression on those girls he needed to look his best!
At the same moment Lan Jue had already arrived in the first classroom heâd use as a teacher.
The classroom theyâd assigned him wasnât large. It looked capable of holding only maybe fifty students. There was no fancy teaching equipment. Just a blackboard, a podium, and the chairs which would hold his charges.