Pei Ye fell silent.
"Second is criticism of current affairs. As the passage says, 'Serve your sovereign according to the Way; if you cannot, withdraw. As for You and Qiu, they can be called mere placeholders among the ministers.' With political currents surging today, Master Xu wants to see the students' judgment of who those 'placeholders' are."
"Third is expressing your own aspirations. These two lines are Confucius's discussion of the way of serving as a minister. Starting from them, students can speak freely about whatever path they wish to follow. This is actually where the essays can distinguish themselves." The young girl's voice was clear and gentle. "In short, the topic is very simple and clear. The difference lies only in how well you write it-classmate, weren't you going to hand in your assignment?"
Pei Ye silently lowered his head and took out the sheet of white paper he had filled less than halfway, covering the opening words, "One should serve one's sovereign according to the Way," with his hand.
For the first time, the young girl stared at the paper in some bewilderment. She glanced at the boy's face as though to confirm something before accepting it with some hesitation.
"...Um," she said after a moment of silence, "if you're handing it to Master Xu, you need to put your name on it."
"Oh, right."
As Pei Ye's face and ears burned, he heard an indignant voice from two rows behind, so quiet that no one else would hear it, yet perfectly audible to a Sixth Growth cultivator: "Fuck, even playing dumb gets you talking to girls!"
"Hall Master, when you set another topic from The Analects, could you explain it to me before making me write?" Once the morning's classes ended, Pei Ye followed Xu Chuo toward