Surveillance

A burst of commotion came from the corridor outside. Hesta turned toward the sound—Teacher Chen was entering through the classroom's front door with six or seven students. She walked slowly, gripping a cane tightly in her hand. Hesta had heard before that Teacher Chen's knees were in bad shape, and things indeed looked far from optimistic.

Hesta was about to rise and greet her when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Sit down," a voice said. "Don't go looking for trouble."

That hand held astonishing strength. Hesta turned around and saw a familiar face—Farn, Mei County's Quicksilver Needles.

For a moment, Hesta felt an urge to roll up both her sleeves.

"It's you." Hesta raised her brows. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a second degree at Industrial University." Farn smiled. "Huh? Why are you looking at me like I did something to you?"

"Let go."

"Don't make things difficult for me. Besides, I'm doing this for your own good." Farn blinked. "Your evaluation dropped a tier this month. If necessary, I have to restrict your movements—you'd better listen to me. Really, I don't mean you any harm. The one originally assigned to this job was an especially troublesome Quicksilver Needles. I went to a lot of trouble to trade myself for him. You could at least appreciate it."

Not far away, Zuo Wentao loudly greeted Teacher Chen. Chen Beiyi slowly walked from the podium to the first row of desks and began chatting amiably with Zuo Wentao. During their conversation, Zuo Wentao gestured frequently and laughed now and then, but he never stood up from beginning to end.

Hesta slowly sat back down. "What happens if I don't listen to you?"

"Did Teacher Yu not tell you?" Farn said softly. "If you make too much trouble,