Chapter 24: Office
On Saturday morning, a little after seven, Gu Qinghuan got up. Wang Jia’an was cleaning the stove and looked surprised to see her.
“Why not sleep in a little longer?”
Gu Qinghuan opened the fridge to see what was available. There was still mung bean soup, but drinking something cold first thing in the morning would give her diarrhea.
She closed the fridge. “I’m planning to finish the rest of my homework. I have to be at school by ten — there’s something going on with the student council.”
After a moment, she added, “Senior Bai is treating me to lunch, so I won’t be home to eat.”
Wang Jia’an immediately became more alert. He’d heard her mention before that “Senior Bai” referred to Bai Hanshan, and he also knew Bai Hanshan had a sister, Bai Qingyin, who was a singer.
The father was troubled. Sure, his daughter had been popular back in junior high, but high school was a different environment — every classmate she knew seemed to be more impressive than the last. He worried about whether Gu Qinghuan might be influenced.
Gu Qinghuan, unaware of his anxiety, said, “I’ll grab an egg crepe on the way.”
There was a breakfast stall at the entrance of their housing complex. They sold soft-shelled egg crepes and crispy jianbing guozi. Gu Qinghuan preferred the former.
Breakfast handled, Gu Qinghuan rested for a bit, then took advantage of her morning mental sharpness to finish the homework she’d left over from last night. When she was done, it was just the right time to leave. She reached the school gate twenty minutes before ten.
On weekdays, Mingde High’s gate had four security guards, but on weekends there were only two. One stepped forward to greet her. “What are you here for?”
“I’m from Class 3, Grade 1. The student council has something for me,” Gu Qinghuan answered.
“Student council?” One guard went into the security room to check the computer, then stuck his hand out the window to wave at the other guard, who was still with Gu Qinghuan. “There’s a visitor application on record. Check her student ID — should be Gu Qinghuan.”
She immediately produced her student ID. Once the guard confirmed it, they let her in.
When she arrived at the president’s office, Bai Hanshan was, once again, seated behind his desk, busy with paperwork.
Gu Qinghuan didn’t know if he was always like this or just putting on a show, but if it were her, she’d find it exhausting.
“Good morning, Senior Bai!” Gu Qinghuan called brightly.
“Hello,” Bai Hanshan nodded. “I’ll take you to choose your office first.”
The student council occupied an entire building, though not every office was up for grabs. Still, there were plenty available.
Even with an elevator, Gu Qinghuan refused any room above the third floor. From Bai Hanshan’s description, the core members of the council were mostly on the fourth and top floors. As a newcomer who’d only gotten in by holding onto powerful “thighs,” she didn’t want to intrude on someone else’s territory.
She browsed from the third floor down to the second, and finally to the first, where she took a liking to a sunlit room facing south.
For a single-person office, it was quite spacious — around thirty square meters. To the left of the door, an entire wall was lined with wooden cabinets. On the right, there were two sets of adjustable cabinets on each side. The wall in the middle displayed the student code of conduct. Two ceiling fans hung above, and by the window opposite the door were two sets of desks and chairs.
The open floor space, however, was cluttered with miscellaneous junk, and there was dust everywhere.
Bai Hanshan held a hand in front of his face — the smell of dust after opening the door was overwhelming. “You’re sure you want this one?”
“Yes!” Gu Qinghuan gestured enthusiastically. “Clear out the junk, replace the fans with a standing cabinet air conditioner, swap the wooden cabinets for glass display cases, change those adjustable cabinets into a wooden bookshelf, and maybe add a plant stand with some hanging spider plants and pothos…”
She rambled happily, then realized she might be overdoing it. Scratching the back of her head awkwardly, she admitted, “Uh, I really like playing interior design games…”
Bai Hanshan nodded. “Anything else? Like a coffee machine?”
“Forget that. I don’t even like coffee.” She lowered her hands. “But about those chairs and sofas you mentioned earlier — can I get a few human pet beds?”
She’d been wanting to buy them for a while, but hadn’t been in the mood because of Xie Xiangxue’s business. Now that was temporarily resolved, and with this opportunity, she wanted to take advantage of the student council’s budget.
“What’s a human pet bed?” This phrase didn’t exist anywhere in Bai Hanshan’s vocabulary.
Gu Qinghuan pulled out her phone, scrolled to the product page, and showed him. “It’s this.”
After looking, Bai Hanshan understood — it was essentially a foldable bed placed on the floor, except it was made fluffy and soft.
Although the weather was still hot, the office had air conditioning. Just imagining lying in that fluff while the cool air was blowing felt relaxing.
Bai Hanshan even considered buying one for himself, but first, he dealt with Gu Qinghuan’s request. “How about this — the air conditioner, display cabinets, and basic room renovations you mentioned earlier will all be handled by the student council. As for the bookshelf, plant stand, human pet bed, and so on, I’ll give you a budget of ten thousand. You make the purchases yourself, then give me the receipts for reimbursement.”
Gu Qinghuan nodded repeatedly. “Okay, okay, okay — thank you, Senior Bai.”
Since it was settled, Bai Hanshan went to contact the cleaning and renovation companies.
Gu Qinghuan returned to the president’s office, pen and scratch paper in hand, making a list. She even created a small three-person group chat, pulling in Jiang Chuchu and Yu Xin.
[Jiang Chuchu]: Stop! You haven’t bought your human pet bed yet, right?
[Gu Qinghuan]: Not yet, I was just going to ask what style you two want.
[Yu Xin]: You don’t need to buy one for me…
[Jiang Chuchu]: Perfect, the one I bought will be delivered next week. Once your office renovations are done, I’ll bring it over.
[Jiang Chuchu]: I also bought one for Xin Bao. Don’t you dare say I have bad taste.
[Yu Xin]: Then I’ll buy something too.
[Yu Xin]: My family gave me money last time, so I can afford it. Qinghuan, what else do you need?
[Gu Qinghuan]: How about you get three small blankets?
[Jiang Chuchu]: Blankets! I totally forgot! Fine, Xin Bao, you’re in charge of that.
[Gu Qinghuan]: Wait, no! I was asking what you wanted to buy!
[Yu Xin]: Why don’t you start with a desk and chair for yourself?
Gu Qinghuan thought that was reasonable — the student council was also going to provide her with a computer, so she should get a set of suitable desk and chair.
Browsing through endless options made her eyes tired, but her mood only got better. Being able to get a bunch of things she liked without spending her own money — even if they could only be used in the office — was still a delight.
When Bai Hanshan finished making arrangements and came back, he saw there was still time. He sat down in front of her and asked, “Where’s that question you mentioned last night?”
Gu Qinghuan immediately put down her phone, pushed the shopping list aside, and took a workbook from her canvas bag, presenting it respectfully to Bai Hanshan. “Thank you, Senior Bai.”
Just as she’d heard, Bai Hanshan was indeed a top student. The problems that had made her head ache last night were explained effortlessly by him. He even instantly spotted one she had gotten wrong.
When he corrected her mistake, Gu Qinghuan wanted nothing more than to bury her head under the desk.
Still, her pen never stopped moving — so what if she embarrassed herself in front of a top student? Having a top student personally tutor her was definitely a win!
When they finished, Bai Hanshan checked the time and stood up. “Let’s go. I’ll treat you to lunch, and I’ll also explain how things work inside the student council.”
