"Don't even think about it. You're too young to be dabbling in stocks like others. You have no idea how deep the waters are in there."
Her usually cheerful aunt's tone suddenly became stern, and Yao An was a little unaccustomed to it.
Perhaps she had lost money again recently.
"I'm just opening an account. I don't plan to invest money in it yet. Besides, I'm studying at the University of Finance and Economics, and I'll inevitably deal with stocks and securities in the future. It's not a bad thing to get in touch with these things early."
Yao An's usual good-girl image probably worked its magic, so when she said that, Yao Qiuran really believed her.
"Alright, but why don't you apply for an account yourself? Opening an account now isn't as troublesome as it used to be."
"Isn't the commission for online account applications very high?"
"You're young but you're quite shrewd. I'll go help you look into it."
She changed the subject.
"You're sure you won't dabble in stocks, right? If I find out you're not focusing on your studies, I'll definitely tell Yao Yuanping, so he doesn't say I led you astray."
Would telling my dad even help? He would only say: 'My daughter, does it feel good to throw money away? If not, your dad has more.'
"Am I the kind of child who causes trouble?"
Yao An's tone carried a hint of complaint.
Her aunt chuckled.
"Alright, no need to emphasize. Everyone knows you're very well-behaved. Just wait."
With that, she hung up the phone. What a heartless woman.
Yao An checked the time and the crabapple pastries she was carrying, then walked into the teaching building.
She had originally planned to get acquainted with the Youth League Committee after military training, but who knew her roommates wanted to organize a social gathering? With nothing to do, she could only move her plan forward.
The Youth League Committee department holds a lot of real power. If she had to join a department, this place would definitely be more suitable than the Student Union.
It wasn't strictly necessary to join, but establishing good relations with the Youth League Committee teachers in advance was still very important.
At this time, most offices were empty. The teachers were either eating in the cafeteria or had left work early.
The teaching building seemed a bit deserted, and any students passing by were hurrying, not looking left or right.
The Youth League Committee office was on the third floor, and the door was open, making it very noticeable.
Yao An politely knocked on the door but received no response.
The lights were on in the office, but no one was inside.
Her plan to get acquainted failed, but she had already brought the items, so there was no need to take them back.
She pushed the door open and walked in, intending to just put the items down and leave. However, as she approached the desk, she almost slipped on a puddle of water on the floor.
She didn't know who was so careless as to spill water on the floor, and many documents on the desk were also wet.
Adhering to the principle of doing good deeds, Yao An decided to clean it up. After all, her foot had just left a black shoe print on the white tiles, which looked very bad.
Actually, she didn't want anyone to know she almost slipped there... She tried to find paper on the desk but couldn't.
She could only take out the tissues she carried with her and bend down to wipe the floor.
She didn't know if it was Sprite or soda water on the floor, but it was sticky and uncomfortable on her hands.
After a simple wipe, Yao An spread the paper documents on the floor and fanned them with her hands.
Presumably thinking this was inefficient, she then began to hold up the documents and gently blow on them.
"What are you doing? Who told you to touch the documents on the desk?"
A slightly stern question suddenly broke the silence in the office. Yao An's body visibly trembled, clearly startled.
She turned around to see a middle-aged woman holding a mop standing at the door. Just looking at her face, she felt she wasn't easy to get along with.
She had seen this person's photo on the campus website: Secretary Liu, Liu Haiping, Secretary.
Yao An bowed slightly.
"Hello, teacher. My mother brought me some snacks to give to the school teachers. When I passed the office, I saw water on the floor and was afraid someone might accidentally slip, so I simply wiped it."
Liu Haiping, Secretary looked at the clean floor, her expression softening slightly.
Turning back to look at the girl, she couldn't help but be taken aback.
She was very beautiful, but Liu Haiping, Secretary didn't quite like that foxy feeling about her.
"Are you a new student?"
Yao An nodded obediently.
"Is there anything else? If not, you can leave."
"Okay... okay."
Yao An nodded again, not lingering, and quickly started to leave.
"Wait, take the things on the desk."
Yao An paused, went back to retrieve the items, and turned to leave.
After walking out of the office, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
This Secretary Liu was too fierce. Facing her felt like a bad student encountering a strict, old-fashioned middle school homeroom teacher, only able to tremble with fear.
She hadn't expected to find such a teacher in college.
Looking at the crabapple pastries back in her hand, Yao An felt a surge of helplessness.
Only the Dormitory Auntie would benefit now.
Liu Haiping, Secretary wiped the floor again, then picked up the documents from the desk.
She had intended to air-dry them near the air conditioner, but then realized there were no water stains left on the documents, though they were wrinkled.
Recalling the girl's actions just now.
So... she blew on these documents with her mouth to dry them?
Liu Haiping, Secretary unconsciously turned to look at the door.
The girl was indeed very beautiful, but why did she seem so foolish when doing things? There were windows and an air conditioner in the room, why did she insist on blowing with her mouth?
So silly... A little past eight, the dormitory door was pushed open, and before the person even entered, a voice was already echoing in the room.
"It smells so good! An'an, you actually managed to clean the dorm so well all by yourself."
With that very recognizable Sichuan accent, who else could it be but Yang Jiajia?
Seeing that only she and Han Wenjing had returned, Yao An was a little confused.
"Why are only the two of you back?"
"They're going to a bar to drink. Wenjing didn't really want to go, so I came back with her."
Han Wenjing, behind her, looked a bit embarrassed.
"I'm... I'm sorry."
Yang Jiajia waved her hand.
"What's there to be sorry about? I didn't want to go to that kind of place anyway. I feel like the people there aren't very proper."
She really wasn't very good at talking.
This was only because Yao An didn't mind, and Han Wenjing was a bit of a social phobe. If others had heard her say that, they would likely be displeased with her.
"Oh, right, An'an, are you done with your business?"
Yao An sighed.
"Maybe, perhaps, it's done, I just don't know if I messed it up."
Yang Jiajia had only asked casually and didn't dwell on it. She took out a plastic lunchbox from her tote bag.
"Have you eaten? I brought you some barbecue. The cost of living in Shanghai is really high. I feel like I didn't eat much but spent nearly two thousand yuan."
Yao An was a little surprised.
"There's some for me too?"
"Of course! You're the great hero of our dorm. Everyone was afraid you'd go hungry."
"You guys really care about me."
Yao An hadn't really eaten enough. She sat by the table and picked up a piece of barbecue with her fingers, putting it into her mouth.
"It's really delicious."
Her cheeks were puffed out as she praised it sincerely.
"It was grilled by that senior named Yu Huai."
"Actually, the taste is just average."
Yang Jiajia didn't understand why she changed her mind, and Yao An didn't intend to explain.
"By the way, did everyone get anything out of this social gathering?"
When this topic came up, Yang Jiajia was a little indignant.
"Everyone else got something, even Wenjing had three seniors add her as a friend. Only I was ignored. Am I that ugly? If I had known this, I wouldn't have participated in any social gathering."
Han Wenjing, after being mentioned, lowered her head a little shyly.
Uh... could it be a problem with your personality? Maybe the seniors are also afraid of the Shu Mountain Taoist priests.
This was, after all, only Yao An's internal thought. When it reached her lips, it turned into comfort.
"I think you have a great personality and you're pretty. If boys don't like you, it just means they have no taste. Don't underestimate yourself."
"Although I know you're comforting me, I'm still very touched. Actually, my original plan was to grow up to be like you, but unfortunately, reality and ideals always have some discrepancies."
Yao An sucked the barbecue sauce from her long, slender fingers and smiled at her.