The afternoon's water-treading training ended amid the Elite Class students' laughter and cheers. Teacher Yu Xiaogang gave them a brief word of encouragement before dismissing school.
After Teacher Yu Xiaogang finished dinner with Snowball in the cafeteria, he ran into the stall owner delivering his goods and Luo Qie'er, who had come to help, on the way back to the dormitory. When Luo Qie'er saw Teacher Yu Xiaogang, he rubbed his hands together and said ingratiatingly, "Teacher Yu Xiaogang, you're back! Someone delivered goods for you at the academy gate just now, so I came to help! Don't worry, I'll help the delivery boss bring all these potted plants to your dormitory!"
Teacher Yu Xiaogang was somewhat unaccustomed to being fawned over, especially by a grown man—it even gave him goosebumps. He could only keep a straight face and say, "Then thank you, Luo Qie'er, and thank you too, boss. I'll lead the way. I'll also settle the remaining payment while we're at it. Luo Qie'er, I won't let you work for nothing either. I'll pay you for your help later."
The moment Luo Qie'er heard that he would be paid for helping with the delivery, he happily and respectfully said, "Teacher Yu Xiaogang, this is my duty. Thank you for being magnanimous and not holding a grudge against me. Otherwise, we gatekeepers would have lost our jobs. I'll deliver it for you right away!"
After saying that, Luo Qie'er began energetically helping the stall owner push the cart. Teacher Yu Xiaogang gave a slight nod and walked ahead to lead the way.
Once they reached the dormitory, Teacher Yu Xiaogang had the two men leave the goods at the door. He paid the stall owner the remaining balance and gave Luo Qie'er a small tip. As the gatekeeper was