"Rat, not bad!" Brian Harper sat on his desk with a look of envy. "I can see that Ms. Morgan thinks highly of you, haha. From now on, I won't hand in my Chinese homework—just help me muddle through it." These words happened to be overheard by Grace Cooper, who frowned in disgust, packed up her books, and left.

The gossip girl Bella Ford chatted excitedly with the boys, mostly asking about the love letter. She was always the most interested in this kind of gossip.

"Everyone, wait a minute!"

Autumn Miller had appeared at the podium at some point, her expression unfriendly as she stared down: "Girls can leave, all the boys stay!" Autumn Miller had done a preliminary investigation. Although Emily Morgan was a first-year Chinese teacher, she had only taught Class One, so the love letter must have been written by a boy from Class One!

Emily Morgan frowned in thought and said quietly, "Ms. Miller, kids are bound to make mistakes. I think we should just let it go."

Autumn Miller lowered her voice in reproach: "Emily, let the discipline office handle this. You stay out of it. Hmph, this time he dared to write you a love letter—if we don't teach him a lesson, who knows what he'll do next time!"

Emily Morgan shook her head ever so slightly and said nothing more. She knew Ms. Miller's stubborn temper—once she made up her mind, no one could change it.

Autumn Miller weighed the pointer in her hand, then pointed at them: "Boys, come to my office one by one. I want to see who wrote the love letter!"

...

English office.

In addition to being the deputy director of the discipline office, Autumn Miller also taught English to half of the first-year classes.

Eric Bennett hesitated for a long time before finally being the last to go in. From the classmates who had already come out, he learned that Autumn Miller's method was to verify handwriting—she would have them write a few sentences and compare them to the writing on the letter to see if they matched.

With his heart pounding, Eric Bennett sat down. The beautiful but stern woman slowly handed him a ballpoint pen. "Write the sentence 'Age is not a problem.'" Autumn Miller tossed over a sheet of paper, looking quite angry.

Maybe because of his own changes, history had already veered off track. Whether it was Emma Carter or Autumn Miller, they were both women Eric Bennett didn't have much impression of.

"What are you spacing out for!" Autumn Miller impatiently tapped the desk with the pointer. "Hurry up and write!"

If I write it, won't I give myself away!

Sweating profusely, Eric Bennett hesitated for a while, then suddenly had an idea. He picked up the pen with his left hand and, very awkwardly, wrote the words "Age is not a problem" in a crooked, ugly script.

Autumn Miller's expression changed as she eyed him warily. "Are you really left-handed?"

Eric Bennett tried to look calm, blinking and nodding. "Yeah, my mom says people who write with their left hand are smart, so she made me use my left hand since I was little."

"You've been writing with your left hand since you were little, and your handwriting is still this bad?" Autumn Miller grew even more suspicious, tapping the blank part of the paper, her brows raised. "Write it again with your right hand—same words!"

Eric Bennett scratched his head as if troubled, then followed Autumn Miller's instructions. When he picked up the pen, he deliberately used an unfamiliar grip, holding the pen between his middle and ring fingers, so the handwriting naturally wasn't any better.

Autumn Miller compared the paper with the love letter for a long time, then shot Eric Bennett a sharp look before reluctantly pursing her lips and muttering, "Doesn't really look like it..."

"Ms. Miller, can I go back now?"

"You're the last one?"

"Yes."

Autumn Miller leaned back in her chair, annoyed. "After you go back, keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. If anything happens, report to me immediately, got it?" After Eric Bennett nodded vigorously to show his attitude, Autumn Miller waved her hand carelessly. "Your hair's a bit long—remember to cut it before school starts. Alright, you can go."

...

Leaning against the wall in the hallway, Eric Bennett wiped away his sweat in relief, sighing, "No wonder the Affiliated High School of Normal University is a key school in the city. The teachers here are scarily dedicated!"

"Isn't dedication a good thing?" A sudden voice startled Eric Bennett again. He turned to look, and to his surprise, Emily Morgan was already standing five meters away.

Eric Bennett immediately straightened up. "Ah, no, I mean dedication is good, haha, dedication is great."

"Come with me to the office."

Just as one crisis ended, another began. Eric Bennett carefully followed behind Emily Morgan into the Chinese office at the corner of the first floor. Emily Morgan pulled out a chair, gestured for Eric Bennett to sit, and then crossed her arms, half leaning against the desk.

Eric Bennett felt a bit guilty under Emily Morgan's intense gaze, his face flushing. "Ms. Morgan, um, what did you need me for?" Feeling awkward sitting, Eric Bennett stood up again.

Picking up the steaming cup of instant Nestlé coffee behind her, Emily Morgan took a small sip. "As the Chinese class representative, there will be a lot of work for you in the future. Hmm, do you think you can handle it?"

"Don't worry, I definitely won't let you down." Because he felt guilty, Eric Bennett's expression became unusually serious.

"That's good." Slowly sipping her coffee, Emily Morgan didn't ask him to leave, nor did she continue the conversation. She just stared quietly at the coffee in her cup.

The atmosphere was very strange.