The sky seemed to have a gaping hole in it, with bean-sized raindrops pouring down. Lightning could occasionally be seen flashing through the gloomy clouds, followed by distant rumbling thunder.

As soon as the medical vehicle stopped, the doctor opened the car door and unfurled his umbrella, turning back to shield Tang Yuan as he jumped down from the car, leading him quickly into the building.

Once inside the lobby, the doctor closed his umbrella, covered it with a plastic bag, and hung it on his wrist. He checked whether Tang Yuan had gotten wet and, finding no major issues, instructed him to sit obediently in the guesthouse lobby while he went back to arrange staff accommodations.

They had been invited to Mingde University to conduct student health examinations. Their hospital accepted many such projects each year, especially during enrollment season. Mingde University had its own medical facilities so no equipment needed to be transported, but because it was located in the suburbs, the hospital needed to send a team to stay overnight. Many people were reluctant to take on this assignment.

The doctor had been assigned this task and, based on seniority, was responsible for leading the team. Unable to find an excuse to decline, and after confirming that children could be brought if absolutely necessary, he had brought Tang Yuan along.

Since this brat had once gone missing at night before, the doctor absolutely didn’t dare leave the little rascal home alone. Last time they were fortunate to encounter such kind-hearted people like the curator—what if something else happened?

But… when exactly had he met the museum curator?

The doctor holding the roster couldn’t help but zone out, unable to remember no matter how hard he tried. But hearing the curator’s familiar tone as if they’d known each other for ages, the doctor hadn’t dared ask this question at the time, afraid of being hit by the other’s walking stick.

“Senior? Senior?” A gentle voice called beside him.

The doctor came back to his senses and smiled apologetically: “Sorry, here’s your room card, Xiao Ye.” Ye Qianqian was his junior colleague and could be considered the hospital’s belle. As her name suggested, she was clean and pretty, like delicate leaves that were pleasing to the eye. This time Chun Ge hadn’t been assigned here, staying at the hospital on duty, which left him resentful for quite a while.

“We each get our own room this time, and I heard they’re individual courtyard-style antique rooms. So lucky!” Ye Qianqian flicked the room card with her fingernail, smiling brilliantly.

The doctor couldn’t help but smile back, though not because of the beautiful woman beside him, but because he was thinking about getting a good night’s sleep without sharing a room with colleagues. Tang Yuan was still young after all—naturally he didn’t have bad habits like teeth grinding, snoring, or talking in his sleep.

It was also because of the good conditions that he could bring Tang Yuan along without worrying about disturbing others.

“But this Mingde University really is wealthy,” the doctor complained while distributing room cards. This campus guesthouse was built no different from a five-star hotel, with antique furnishings and decorations. The blue brick floors were so polished they reflected light—you had to worry about accidentally slipping while walking. Ever since their car entered the campus, his eyes seemed insufficient. All the academic buildings and structures were imitation ancient architecture, and even some students they occasionally encountered wore traditional clothing, making one feel like they’d traveled through time.

“Actually… I think I graduated from this university too…” Ye Qianqian coughed lightly, saying somewhat awkwardly.

The doctor was completely unsettled upon hearing this.

Mingde University was a legendary institution whose founding date was untraceable, reportedly having its origins in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The name “Mingde” came from “The Great Learning”: “The way of great learning lies in manifesting bright virtue.” Over thousands of years, countless celebrities had emerged from Mingde University, yet this university remained unknown to the world until the advent of the internet information age.

In the information society, virtually no secrets existed, and the moment Mingde University was exposed, it became something countless students flocked to.

Current Mingde University had only a two-year program, admitting only 20 students per class. Some students were outstanding high school graduates recommended by major universities, selected through layers of written and oral examinations. Those qualified to take the entrance exam were already extremely rare, let alone the final admitted candidates. Of course, Mingde University also had some students with special talents, descendants of alumni, those jointly recommended by board members, or relatives of donors.

A former Mingde University president once said without reservation that both talent and wealth were needed by Mingde University—why avoid this reality and speak only of talent without mentioning wealth?

Mingde University’s two-year curriculum focused on Chinese classical studies, including calligraphy, traditional painting, guqin, tea ceremony, incense ceremony, flower arrangement, and so on. Other courses included various philosophical schools, military treatises, divination, medicine, poetry, and more. Through this knowledge, students analyzed modern sociology, business management, historical causes of success and failure, using the past as a mirror to learn various aspects of Chinese civilization. All courses followed a credit system, and campus activities followed ancient rituals, such as coming-of-age ceremonies for women and men, Mid-Autumn moon worship ceremonies, etc.

To be precise, Mingde University was actually a university preparatory program, cultivating students in classical Chinese studies and enhancing their temperament. Mingde University graduates would transfer to renowned domestic and international universities to continue their studies, becoming leaders in various fields. Being a member of the Mingde University alumni association was essentially a diamond card for high society. So besides truly gifted recommended students, other wealthy heirs with connections fought tooth and nail for those limited spots. Unfortunately, reportedly even donating enough money wasn’t sufficient—sponsored students also needed interviews. Though Mingde University didn’t refuse wealthy students, it retained the right to choose.

All teaching faculty were renowned professors or scholars, plus the dreamlike campus environment and golden reputation. This university could be said to be the dream destination for youth nationwide and worldwide. And his junior colleague had actually graduated from this university? The doctor’s gaze toward Ye Qianqian immediately changed. Having seen Ye Qianqian’s file, he knew her parents were unknown and she’d grown up in an orphanage. So with no background, she must have been a top student, considering her superb surgical skills and remarkably fast clinical learning abilities…

“Cough, Senior, actually I’m not too clear why I could enter this university either. But this university was like a hobby class—after staying two years, I transferred to the medical school I liked.” Ye Qianqian blushed with embarrassment, knowing she’d be looked at strangely. Actually, if she hadn’t been afraid of familiar teachers letting something slip, she absolutely wouldn’t have confessed.

Calling such an amazing university a “hobby class”… The doctor pressed his slightly aching temples, feeling he truly didn’t understand the world of academic achievers.

However, this did explain why Ye Qianqian’s temperament differed from other women. Perhaps after being influenced in this top-tier university for two years, just standing there, she could make an ordinary white coat look extraordinary. Combined with the curtain of rain falling like a waterfall behind her, she looked like a pleasing portrait of a beauty. Moreover, she faced the world openly with a bare face—nowadays it was rare to see women go out without any makeup. Ye Qianqian looked to be in her twenties, but her skin was as good as a teenage girl’s.

The doctor unconsciously looked at this beautiful junior colleague a few more times, but felt none of the heart-fluttering sensation Chun Ge had described. Instead, he instinctively felt somewhat guarded.

This feeling puzzled the doctor greatly, though he couldn’t explain it clearly. If he had to describe it, seeing Ye Qianqian was like seeing the little white snake Tang Yuan kept—making his back hair stand on end…

Comparing a beauty to a snake—he really must have developed anxiety disorder, the doctor thought self-deprecatingly.

“Senior, isn’t it inconvenient holding an umbrella? Should I help you put it away?” Seeing the doctor’s attitude change drastically because of her graduation school, Ye Qianqian awkwardly changed the subject, reaching out to help with the umbrella.

The doctor reflexively stepped back a large step, showing an expression he himself didn’t understand, then smiled awkwardly in explanation: “No, no need. After distributing room cards, I still need to check equipment and instruments at the school hospital next door. Xiao Ye, you… you go put away your luggage first.”

After stuttering through this explanation, not daring to look at Ye Qianqian’s expression, the doctor hurriedly turned away to quickly finish distributing colleagues’ room cards. He instructed Tang Yuan to wait in the guesthouse lobby for his return, then quickly left with his umbrella.

Ye Qianqian walked out of the guesthouse entrance, standing gracefully under the eaves. Through the water curtain hanging from the roof, she gazed intently at the doctor entering the school hospital next door, her eyes profound.

“Big sister, what are you looking at?”

Ye Qianqian looked down to find the child her senior had brought standing beside her at some point, looking up at her with an innocent expression. Ye Qianqian often dealt with children at the hospital, so she bent down halfway to meet his clear black and white eyes, pointing at the eaves and saying gently: “I’m looking at this guesthouse’s architecture. See how high these roof corners curve up? In ancient times this was called ‘water qiang fa qiang.'”

Actually, Ye Qianqian had suddenly remembered someone explaining this to her during her school days, mentioning it casually. She smiled after speaking, thinking a ten-year-old child definitely wouldn’t understand such things.

Unexpectedly, the child glanced at those wing corners and seriously shook his head: “Big sister, you’re wrong! This wing corner angle isn’t ‘water qiang fa qiang,’ but ‘tender qiang fa qiang’—formed by diagonally inserting a tender qiang at the end of the old qiang, pointing upward.”

(Mute House knowledge: Qiang—both water qiang fa qiang and tender qiang fa qiang are southern methods for handling building wing corners. Tender qiang fa qiang means sub-corner beams lift the roof corners, allowing higher elevation, often used for pointed pavilion roofs. Water qiang fa qiang means sub-corner beams don’t lift, relying only on roof ridges to create elevation, like an elephant’s trunk.)

Ye Qianqian was dumbfounded.

The child seemed to have opened a floodgate, continuing his endless critique: “This architecture is simply bizarre. From afar it appears to be Tang-style architecture with surrounding galleries, the hall body uses the golden frame and bottom slot popular in Tang-Song periods, but the wing corners’ tender qiang fa qiang appeared in the Qing Dynasty, not to mention those Ming-style glazed tiles and glazed bricks… Well, it’s a uniquely eclectic mix.”

(Mute House knowledge: Surrounding galleries refer to outer corridors encircling pagoda or hall bodies. Golden frame bottom slot features interior column rings with bracket sets, dividing hall space into inner and outer layers, with the outer layer enveloping the inner.)

Ye Qianqian was completely speechless, then understood why this child was with her senior on a workday instead of attending school. With this IQ and EQ, what school would accept him!

Should she find time to write him a recommendation letter? Mingde University probably welcomed such genius seedlings.

Oh my, but wasn’t the key point that a certain someone had made an error while showing off knowledge to her?

Well… who was that certain someone again… why couldn’t she remember at all?

As Ye Qianqian straightened up lost in thought, Tang Yuan pressed the little white snake squirming around his neck.

Since this little ancestor had been sleeping before and was suddenly restless now, was it because of this sudden storm? Or because of… the somewhat strange Ye Qianqian beside him?

Tang Yuan’s eyes rolled thoughtfully.