Could you be my teacher?

After Bai Chen came in, the students studied him closely, and he briefly introduced himself.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Bai Chen, and I'm a first-year Plant Studies student."

"Hi! Hello!" Everyone greeted him cheerfully.

Who wouldn't love a handsome junior?

Xia Wangqiu stood up as well.

He eagerly waved Bai Chen over to sit beside him.

He had just been discussing switching seats with the student next to him.

As luck would have it, Bai Chen arrived just as they finished.

Bai Chen nodded at him in thanks.

"President, setting your sights on someone again?" a girl suddenly teased with a laugh.

Xia Wangqiu hurried to explain, "Not at all. I'm just looking after a junior. Besides, I broke up with the last one ages ago, so don't go making things up."

Everyone knew their club president liked guys. He could go through several boyfriends in a semester, and every one of them was good-looking.

Xia Wangqiu was always the one to suggest breaking up, but they always parted on good terms. After a while, he would find someone new.

Some desperately tried to win him back, coming to the pottery studio every day to see him and hoping to reconcile, but Xia Wangqiu never went back to an ex.

This time, everyone knew he was bound to set his sights on the junior who had come today.

There had never been anyone he couldn't win over. He moved fast when pursuing them and just as fast when dumping them, so everyone was used to it.

Afraid Bai Chen might get the wrong idea, Xia Wangqiu gave a helpless smile. "Bai Chen, I always end my relationships on good terms. If we're not compatible, we break up. Please don't misunderstand."

"Mm," Bai Chen replied noncommittally.

"Can I start making pottery now?" Bai Chen asked. After all, he could only come a few times a week, and he wanted to make every second count.

"Of course. I've seen your pottery. It's excellent," Xia Wangqiu said.

Bai Chen was baffled. "???"

He looked at Xia Wangqiu in confusion and asked, "Where did you see my pottery?"

He had never told any of his fellow students that he had studied pottery. He hadn't even told Gu Yun.

How did he know? Bai Chen grew a little wary.

Xia Wangqiu smiled, his expression open and easygoing. "Don't get the wrong idea. I didn't deliberately ask around about you. Last time, I went with my grandfather to have tea at a place down an alley called the Morning Breeze Teahouse. The complimentary gift happened to be something you'd made.

"It was the first time I'd seen pottery shaped so beautifully, so I got curious and went upstairs to ask the pottery instructor who had made it. They told me your name."

"Then, when I got back to campus that day, I happened to see your name on the freshman dorm list," Xia Wangqiu explained.

Bai Chen nodded at that.

"Oh, right. Your family owns the Morning Breeze Teahouse, so you must come from a pretty well-off family. Why did you let Gu Cheng and the others bully you last night?" Xia Wangqiu didn't understand. Someone with that kind of background shouldn't have been bullied.

Bai Chen began setting out his equipment and said as he worked, "Using my family background to pressure people might cause trouble."

Of course he knew the original owner's family was fairly well-off, but he didn't want to use that background to offend anyone.

One wrong move could make him a target for Gu Cheng and the others.

He didn't dare take that risk, nor could he afford to.

"You really think things through," Xia Wangqiu said approvingly.

The most important things in pottery were patience and steadiness.

It was impossible to make a good ceramic piece after just a month or two. It took at least a year.

The clay used for pottery was ceramic clay, which generally had strong cohesion, good plasticity, and good sintering properties. It could be fired into a white body at 1,360°C.

One absolutely couldn't just use black mud from beneath a tree outside, as it wouldn't hold its shape well.

Making pottery involved three steps: throwing, firing, and coloring.

Throwing was the most important step.

Bai Chen first wet his hands, then gently placed them on the clay, found its center, and let it turn with the pottery wheel.

After a few rotations, he pressed a thumb into the middle of the clay. Soon, a small hole appeared. He gradually widened it with his hands, forming the walls of the vessel.

The basic shape had emerged by then, but Bai Chen didn't dare let his guard down.

There were still many details for him to consider, such as using tools to etch patterns into the piece and carve openwork designs.

Xia Wangqiu, beside him, took in his thoughtful expression before turning back to continue his own piece, a smile gradually forming on his lips.

Before long, Bai Chen finished the first step.

Next, he only needed to let it dry for three to five days before sending it to the kiln for firing, which would complete the second step.

Coloring could only begin once the piece had been fully fired. In the meantime, he could make another one.

The students were astonished by both Bai Chen's practiced movements and the finished piece.

It would take at least three to five years to develop that level of skill.

A very cute senior girl approached Bai Chen, crouched down, and examined the clay pot on his wheel up close.

Thrilled, she praised him. "Bai Chen, you're amazing! This pot is so beautiful. How many years have you been practicing?"

The girl was terribly envious. She had already been studying pottery for five years, yet she still couldn't make anything like this. She had been learning longer than anyone else in the club.

Bai Chen felt embarrassed under the gaze of her big, sparkling eyes.

"Quite a while," Bai Chen replied without giving a specific answer.

He couldn't exactly say he had studied it for four years while attending university.

"I'm so jealous. Could you be my teacher?" the girl pleaded.

She had spent so many years learning and figuring things out, yet she still couldn't make anything like this. Even the many teachers she'd hired hadn't been able to produce something like it.

She really hoped Bai Chen could teach her.

But afraid he would refuse, she added quietly, "I can pay you. I definitely won't make you work for free."

Bai Chen turned her down without hesitation, sounding a little apologetic. "Thank you for the compliment, but my coursework keeps me pretty busy, so I can't come to the pottery studio every day. I'm afraid I can't accept your offer."

"Oh... are you sure you won't reconsider?" The girl felt disappointed, but she couldn't force him.

Seeing her disappointed expression, Bai Chen thought for a moment, then said, "But we could learn from each other. I think your pottery techniques are very delicate, and I'd like to learn from you too."

At that, the girl's mood immediately brightened. How could she possibly refuse?

"Yes, absolutely! I'd love to."

"Do you have time right now?" she asked.

She was eager to learn Bai Chen's techniques and hoped he could point out her mistakes.

Although she knew pottery took time, she had already been practicing for five years, yet she could never get that one step right.

Bai Chen agreed with a smile. "I do."

"That's wonderful! Could you come over to my seat and see exactly what's wrong with my piece?" the girl asked.

With that, Bai Chen followed her to her seat.

He examined it carefully, then pointed out her problems one by one.