Getting a School Uniform Is a KPI Too

The door closed behind them.

Zhou Yu let out a long breath and waved the two sheets of paper in his hand, still warm from the printer.

One was a notice of employment as equipment manager and unofficial cafeteria taster. The other was an admission notice for a new student in the preparatory class.

He held the latter up in front of Dania.

"See that? An admission notice."

Dania looked away from the plate of macarons Zhou Yu had swiped and down at the paper. She stared at it for three seconds, then looked up at him again.

Dania: (•ิ_•ิ)?

"What does it say?"

"It says you've got an official position now." Zhou Yu folded the paper and tucked it into her palm. "Come on, let's get you signed up and collect your gear."

"Signed up?"

"Right. Your new job: student." Zhou Yu led her across the square, walking as fast as if he were rushing to clock in. "Your KPIs are eating on time, sleeping well, and attending a few classes while you're at it."

"Going to class is work too?"

"Of course. And this kind comes with a cafeteria allowance."

The logistics supply warehouse door was half open. A slightly plump woman with tightly curled hair leaned against a supply crate, knitting a sweater. Her needles flew, and she didn't even look up.

"Here for supplies? Let me see your paperwork."

"Hello, ma'am." Zhou Yu put on a workplace smile polished through thousands of uses and respectfully handed her both notices. "We're new here. Sorry for the trouble."

The woman pushed up her reading glasses and glanced over them, pausing for two seconds on Zhou Yu's notice.

"Cafeteria taster?"

She raised her head and looked him up and down.

"You don't look like a cook."

"I'm not a cook. I'm quality control." Zhou Yu edged half a step closer. "Principal Lupa personally approved the position. She's worried that if the frontline staff don't eat well, it'll affect their efficiency. I'll be counting on experienced seniors like you for guidance on the quality of the cafeteria food."

The woman's knitting needles paused for a beat.

"Save the sweet talk."

Despite her words, she had already gotten to her feet and was brushing the bits of yarn off her clothes.

"Follow me."

She moved deftly between the shelves, pulling out one item after another.

"Bedding, toiletries, a meal tray, and a water kettle."

She stacked the items on the counter and clapped her hands.

"That's everything. Sign here."

Zhou Yu didn't rush to sign. He picked up the quilted mattress pad and squeezed it, then glanced at Dania.

"Ma'am, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Have you ever slept with this bedding yourself?"

The woman's expression darkened a shade.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing by it." Zhou Yu put down the bedding, lowered his voice, and stepped aside to reveal Dania. "Look at this child. She's skin and bones. I won't even mention the hardships she suffered out there before. You've been around, ma'am. Looking at her bony frame, could you bear to let her sleep with this?"

The woman looked past his shoulder at Dania.

The child was crouched on the floor, curiously poking the brand-new enamel kettle. Her fingers were so thin that the shapes of her joints showed through.

Without a word, the woman turned, climbed a short ladder, and pulled two thick, soft mattress pads from the top shelf. She tossed them onto the pile with a smack.

"That's the best we've got. Take it or leave it."

"We'll take it!" Zhou Yu's pen practically smoked as he signed. "Ma'am, you're as beautiful as you are kind. Just look at the stitches on that sweater. I can tell you're knitting it for the most accomplished child in your family."

"All right, all right. Quit your prattling."

The woman turned her face away, and her knitting needles completely hid the hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

She walked over to a separate cabinet, opened it, and took out a neatly folded set of clothes.

A white shirt, a blue-gray pleated skirt, and a matching blazer, with the Flamebearers' Academy emblem embroidered in gold thread on the chest.

"Preparatory class uniform. This is the last set. See for yourselves if it fits."

Dania stood where she was, staring at the clothes.

She reached out, touched the shirt collar with her fingertips, then drew her hand back, as if afraid of dirtying the fabric.

"This is... for me?"

"Of course." Zhou Yu picked up the blazer, shook it open, and draped it directly over her shoulders.

It fit perfectly.

He tapped the top of her head with his knuckles.

"This is your work uniform, got it? Wear it every day from now on. Damage it and we'll dock your pay."

Dania didn't answer.

Her gaze had been caught by the dust-covered full-length mirror in the corner of the warehouse.

A girl stood in the mirror, wearing a pink dress with a smart dark blue blazer over her shoulders. The gold-thread emblem on its chest shone brilliantly in the dingy warehouse.

There were still traces of frosting on her face that hadn't been wiped clean.

Dania stared at the mirror and slowly grasped the lapels of the blazer with both hands. Her fingers tightened, loosened, and tightened again.

She lowered her head and rubbed her eyes hard with the back of her hand.

Zhou Yu had his back to her, crouching on the floor and checking the supplies one by one. He counted aloud, his voice just loud enough to cover the sniffle behind him.

"All right, everything's here. Let's..."

The warehouse door burst open.

Sigelica clutched the doorframe and stumbled half a step inside. Half her hair had come loose, and her eyes were vacant. She looked just like a specimen whose insides had been hollowed out.

Three hours.

Three hours of Professor Moning's ideological and moral education class.

"I... survived."

She lifted her head and met Dania's gaze.

The blue-gray uniform blazer, the gold-thread emblem, the neatly folded collar of the white shirt.

Sigelica: (꒪⌓꒪)

She blinked.

Then blinked again.

"Yaya?"

"What are you wearing?"

"A school uniform." Zhou Yu answered for her, waving the employment notice in his hand. "As of today, she's an official student in the Flamebearers' Academy preparatory class. Your direct junior."

Sigelica opened and closed her mouth, unable to make a sound.

Zhou Yu added with a smile.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm Teacher Zhou from the logistics department. Remember to greet me as 'Teacher' when you see me from now on."

"Teacher?"

Sigelica's voice rose a full octave.

"Professor Moning lectured me for three hours! Three hours! She even made me write a six-thousand-character self-criticism! I nearly got a major demerit!"

She pointed at Zhou Yu, her finger trembling.

"And you? You were the one who started it all by getting caught climbing the wall. Not only are you fine, you even got a job?"

"When you're talented, people want you wherever you go." Zhou Yu shrugged.

"Shut up!"

"Xixi." Dania tugged at her sleeve and looked up at her. "I'm your junior now."

Sigelica looked down at her. The frosting-smeared face was full of genuine joy.

She opened her mouth, but all her anger lodged in her throat, unable to come out or go back down.

She covered her face.

"This school... is beyond saving."

"It can be saved. It has to be." Zhou Yu slung an arm around her shoulders and half dragged her outside. "To celebrate both of us starting our jobs today, I'll treat you to a meal."

"Let go of me! Who's celebrating with you two? I'm just an unlucky fool who got disciplined!"

"Where are we going?" Dania hugged the pile of supplies they'd collected and followed in small steps, her eyes lighting up.

Dania: (o´∀`o)

"Cafeteria Three, second floor."

"What are you going to pay with?" Sigelica struggled under his arm. "You don't even have a meal card!"

Zhou Yu stopped.

He let go of Sigelica, leisurely rummaged in his pocket, and pinched a card between his fingers.

It had a gold background and gold-embossed lettering, with the words "faculty and staff" printed prominently on it.

He held the card in front of Sigelica's nose and waved it back and forth twice.

Zhou Yu: (¬ω¬)

"You got disciplined, so they'll cut your monthly cafeteria allowance by thirty percent, right?"

Sigelica's face turned green.

"My gold card works at every counter. No spending limit, no waiting in line."

He put the card back in his pocket and patted Sigelica's stiff shoulder.

"So, starting today, as for who's treating whom to meals..."

He took a step toward the cafeteria without looking back.

"We'll have to rethink that."