When An Junlie spoke, he was immediately met with glares of contempt from Ziye, Shuangzi, and the twins. The Angel CEO was playing a guessing game?

So disillusioning! Siyue's small earlobes flushed crimson with shyness, her bright eyes fixed on him, "Could you be a doctoral candidate?" An Junlie innocently touched his cheek, "Do I look that old?" Ziye shot him a side-eye: "Maliciously cute is shameful." Everyone burst out laughing.

Aix knew An Junlie didn't want to reveal his identity, so he intentionally changed the subject, picking up the red wine to refill everyone's glasses, "Come on, first hotpot of the semester! Cheers!" Everyone busied themselves scooping food and clinking glasses; the atmosphere was roaring, and the guessing game topic naturally died down.

Siyue was a little disappointed but didn't press the issue, letting it go. These people, usually so impeccably dressed, cast aside all pretense of reserve and decorum once they relaxed; the scene was utterly jovial.

Ziye felt only one slight imperfection: every time she raised her glass, An Junlie would watch her, making it impossible for her to drink. The reason, needless to say, was that her fever hadn't completely cleared, and she shouldn't have alcohol.

Ziye settled for ladling soup instead. Suddenly, Little Sprout zipped to her head and spoke directly into her consciousness, "Ziye Ziye, your SuperComm is ringing." Ziye habitually glanced at her wrist, then remembered she’d taken it off to wash her hands and forgotten to put it back on.

Too lazy to move, she asked, "Who is it?" Little Sprout grinned mischievously, "Not telling you." Trying to tease her, huh. Ziye refused to play along, nonchalantly replying, "All my school acquaintances are right here; anyone else would send a standard message.

It doesn't matter, just let it ring." Little Sprout, irritated by her non-cooperation, flew up and deliberately bumped into her. Ziye sidestepped.

Little Sprout couldn't brake in time and nearly plunged into the soup, but An Junlie was quick enough to catch its sprout-stem, stabilizing it just 2cm above the hotpot broth. Little Sprout broke out in a cold sweat, scrambled down An Junlie's arm, and hopped onto his shoulder, glaring at Ziye with a mix of grievance and fury.

The others were also startled by the spectacle. Everyone knew the soup was scalding; if it had fallen in, the soup would have been ruined, and so would Little Sprout.

Lingyin looked curiously at Little Sprout, held up two fingers, and the small figure immediately cooperated: "Two!" "It really is a smart doll!" Lingyin turned to Ziye, "Your creations are amazing; your robots are all handsome men, and even a doll is more agile than most people." Ziye beamed with pride, "Of course. If you want one, I can make it, just charging cost price." "That's great!" Shaxinni pointed at the motionless W009 robot butler standing nearby, "I want one that high-end and magnificent." Ziye nodded, "No problem.

But let's eat first; there's no rush." She scooped some seafood onto her plate and was about to eat when Little Sprout spoke in her mind again, "The SuperComm is ringing again." Ziye frowned and replied mentally, "Who is it now?" Little Sprout stubbornly refused to say, only replying with an expression of intense satisfaction, "I suggest you better answer it." If it wasn't urgent, it wouldn't call this many times in a row. Ziye hurried back to the living room to retrieve her SuperComm.

Looking at the screen, she was momentarily stunned. It was Bran calling, showing two missed calls—one from Tang Wen and one from Bran.

Little Sprout's suggestion was correct. She absolutely had to answer the teacher's SuperComm!

Connecting the call, Ziye immediately apologized politely, "Sorry, I was just eating." Bran smiled gently, "Mmm, I guessed. Your mouth gave you away." Ziye subconsciously wiped her lips and found sauce residue, instantly feeling mortified.

She tried to console herself with wishful thinking: luckily it was Bran answering, not Tang Wen, or she'd be utterly humiliated. She completely forgot that Bran usually magnified the SuperComm interface for Tang Wen to see.

This scene had already been witnessed by Tang Wen! Bran continued, "We're actually visiting the campus today and wanted to have dinner with you.

Since..." Before he finished, Tang Wen appeared on the screen, cutting in, "Then we'll just join your meal." Ziye felt a flock of crows fly over her head. Tang Wen was going to crash her dinner?

All the guests here were students; could she really mess around with her teachers present? With the formidable presence of An Junlie, the atmosphere was already precarious.

The twins had just managed to warm things up; wouldn't their arrival ruin it? Ziye glanced at his attire.

His clothes were always perfectly suited—never overly flashy, yet uniquely pleasing. In any other setting, it would unquestionably be excellent dress.

But for a hotpot dinner... Putting the cool and aloof Tang Wen at the same table with a group of people letting loose—what kind of scene would that be?

The more Ziye considered it, the worse it felt. She tried to refuse gently, "I'm with several classmates, Teacher.

Is that convenient for you?" Tang Wen looked entirely composed, "No problem, we don't mind. Where are you?" Ziye glanced back at the lively group eating, a wail rising in her heart.

She forced a dry laugh, "Teacher, this..." The more she refused, the more Tang Wen wanted to see for himself, "If you don't tell us, we can find out anyway. Hmm, Bran, check the address; we should be able to get there in five minutes." With that, the SuperComm disconnected.

Ziye stared blankly at the screen for a few seconds, then looked up to find An Junlie watching her, his gaze thoughtful. This only gave her a worse headache.

Gritting her teeth, she walked to the balcony, "The teacher just called; he said he's coming over." The words caused instant silence across the entire gathering. A teacher coming to a student's apartment?

What kind of situation was this? Among the girls, Lingyin remained the calmest: "Which teacher?" Ziye deflated, "Tang Wen." "Aaaaaah!" The balcony erupted into chaos.

Aina quickly stood up and hurried toward the washroom, "I need to reapply my makeup right now." Siyue started trembling again, "Ziye Ziye, Teacher Tang Wen is coming, what should I do? What should I do?" Shaxinni managed to keep a calm expression, but her voice betrayed her nervousness, "Why is he suddenly coming?

I'm not prepared!" ... The scene descended into disarray.

Seeing their extreme reactions, Ziye hurried to intervene, "Maybe, maybe I should tell him not to come." But no one heeded her. An Junlie seemed slightly perplexed.

Even if they feared the teacher, they shouldn't be rushing to touch up makeup; they should be eating quickly and leaving. Had he spent too little time with students and fallen behind their trends?

Aix Bent took advantage of the chaos to sneak back to An Junlie's side and whispered, "Tang Wen is trying to steal Ziye's man, Commander! You must defeat him!" An Junlie nodded thoughtfully, "Is he very popular?" Aix Bent answered in unison, "He is the god in the hearts of every girl in Kaga, and the goal of every boy!" An Junlie's eyes deepened slightly—Tang Wen was a formidable rival!

By this time, Ziye couldn't worry about anything else. She instructed W009 and F431 to clean up the used items and quickly prepare several more dishes, setting them out to look as if they had just begun eating.

She rushed to An Junlie, "The teacher suddenly said he was coming; I couldn't refuse him. Alien, I'm sorry." An Junlie affectionately ruffled her hair, "No need to apologize, you did nothing wrong, and I don't mind." Ziye sighed in relief and hugged his arm, "An Junlie, you're the best." After five minutes of frantic activity, the girls had tidied their appearances and lined up in two rows by the door in their best presentation.

Even An Junlie stood behind Ziye, watching the spectacle with amusement. Aix Bent's impression of Tang Wen worsened considerably.

With one sudden announcement, he had interrupted their dinner and forced them all to stand up and receive him. This act alone had demoted An Junlie's status—he really wanted to beat him up!

Ziye stood at the door, her heart pounding. A single meal causing so many upsets was certainly bizarre enough.

Although she had visited Tang Wen’s residence before, in her eyes, Tang Wen remained a figure existing on the clouds. If someone from the clouds suddenly decided to descend to earth, her little heart couldn't handle it!

Just then, the doorbell rang. The electronic display on the inner screen showed not Tang Wen, but W0889, the robot butler she had gifted to Tang Wen.

"Huh? Why isn't it Teacher Tang Wen?" Shaxinni asked, confused.

Had they accidentally stood out of the electronic sensor's range? Ziye also didn't know what was happening.

She took a deep breath and signaled the robot to open the door. The apartment door slid open slowly.

Standing outside was only W0889, holding a large box. Ziye looked left down the corridor, then right down the hallway, but Tang Wen was nowhere in sight.

What was this situation? Ziye stared at W0889, her face dark with confusion.

W0889 stepped forward, handed the large box to its counterpart, W009, and bowed slightly to Ziye, "Respected Mother Ziye, Master said he has an urgent matter and cannot come. He asked me to apologize on his behalf.

He hopes to visit another time. The box contains eight dishes carefully selected by Master for you; please accept them." He was stood up by Tang Wen?!

Ziye was so angry her face turned completely black. "Tang Wen, I'm going to kill you!" If W0889 hadn't been built by her own hands, Ziye would have wanted to strangle it too!

W0889 fearlessly replied, "Yes, I will relay that message to the Master." Ziye glared sideways at the robot, seriously contemplating smashing it back into the melting furnace! She took three deep breaths to suppress her rage, then asked coldly, "What else did he say?" W0889 replied with perfect deference, "Replying to Mother Ziye—" Ziye snapped, "Stop calling me Mother Ziye!" W0889 immediately corrected itself, "Yes, Ms.

Ziye. Master said he would trouble you to keep me for now and will collect me when I attend class on Friday." Ziye pointed a finger at it, too angry to utter a word, and simply turned her back, "Go to the workshop and stay there.

Do not come out unless I give the order." W0889 sounded delighted, "Yes, thank you, Ms. Ziye." Everyone exchanged glances, utterly speechless.

Tang Wen was definitively bizarre, no explanation needed. Returning to the balcony, Ziye had lost all appetite for eating.

But seeing that everyone else looked equally disappointed, she didn't want to worsen their mood, forcing a smile instead, "There are new dishes; let's see what they are." -RS