Soon, Qiao Ze ladled out a cup of sour plum drink for both Su Mucheng and Zhang Zhou under the canopy set up by the logistics department outside the gymnasium.
This was also one of Qiao Ze's favorite beverages, sour and sweet.
In the past, if his appetite wasn't good, Lu Xiuxiu would simmer a pot for him, which he would enjoy once it cooled down.
When they got back to the School of Mathematics' new student orientation spot, it so happened that a group had already been led away by other seniors, leaving Su Mucheng and Zhang Zhou with nothing to do.
"Wow, Qiao, how did you know sour plum drink is my favorite?" Su Mucheng exclaimed joyfully, holding the sour plum drink Qiao Ze specially brought for her, even though it was free.
"I like it too," Qiao Ze said.
"Huh, it seems we have similar tastes, no wonder I find Lu's cooking the tastiest," Su Mucheng happily said.
Zhang Zhou rolled his eyes beside them, beginning to regret why he had so insistently begged Qiao Ze to help with the orientation.
This scene wasn't really suitable for God Qiao to display his talents.
And with the two beside him showing off their affection, it left him, a single man, feeling somewhat jealous.
It resulted in the sour plum drink, even with its hint of sweetness, tasting somewhat bland in his mouth.
What a pity that the girls nowadays only look at appearances, not caring about the virtues hidden beneath his slightly thicker layer of fat. It is said that in ancient Huaxia, aesthetics often favored the plump. He could only lament that he was born in the wrong era; had he lived a few hundred years earlier, he might have been able to claim several wives.
A bit further away, Xu Dajiang was strolling toward the new student orientation spot of the School of Mathematics, chatting with a teacher from academic affairs.
This was his annual ritual.
On the day when the new students registered, he would usually be on campus and stop by the School of Mathematics' orientation spot near lunchtime, to have a look; if he bumped into the new students' advisors, he would chat with them for a while. He wouldn't stay long, but he would always make an appearance and greet the senior students involved in the orientation, thanking them for their hard work.
From this perspective, Xu Dajiang was a qualified dean of a second-tier school.
But this time, before he got close, he noticed Su Mucheng from a distance.
Looking more closely, indeed, it was Qiao Ze sitting quietly next to Su Mucheng.
He was a bit baffled.
Weren't the finance and mathematics students usually the ones who liked to stick around the orientation spots in previous years?
Why had it changed to the basic mathematics class this year?
Regardless, seeing Qiao Ze there made Xu Dajiang reconsider greeting them from afar; he wasn't keen on going over to greet them anymore.
After all, as a dean, he had to maintain his dignity.
It didn't matter how he interacted with Qiao Ze in private, but in front of many students, he had to maintain his status. He certainly didn't want the students to think he was too soft, as that would make it hard to manage the team, right?
Especially after hearing from Liu Chenfeng that Qiao Ze thought he was always free, Xu Dajiang was even less inclined to show up in front of Qiao Ze without reason.
However, just as he was about to turn around and leave, the academic affairs teacher beside him suddenly said, "Dean Xu, our School of Mathematics' orientation spot is right over there, I'm going to circle around to the front first."
The voice was neither loud nor soft but carried a slight echo in the venue.
"Oh, Teacher Xu, go ahead with your tasks," Xu Dajiang casually replied, but his gaze instinctively swept back toward the School of Mathematics' new student orientation spot. He had heard from Li Jiangao that Qiao Ze was not only smart but also had particularly good eyes and ears, sharp-sighted and sharp-eared.
Indeed, it seemed like Qiao Ze glanced in his direction...
That must mean he had been seen, right?
Xu Dajiang didn't dare gamble on it.
Compared to putting on a bit of a show in front of the students, he didn't want Qiao Ze to feel like he was avoiding him.
This was so annoying; he wished he hadn't come.
But now that he had been spotted, Xu Dajiang still put on a warm smile and walked over to the orientation spot.
It was best to hurry up and make a quick appearance while there were not many people around.
"Hey, everyone's working hard, oh, Su Mucheng, and look, Qiao Ze? Are you helping with the orientation too?" Xu Dajiang greeted Qiao Ze with a tone of surprise.
"Hello, Dean Xu, actually, it's not tiring at all," Qiao Ze responded.
"Dean, hello, I'm not tiring," Su Mucheng added.
"Hm," Xu Dajiang acknowledged.
All three people stationed at the orientation spot greeted him at almost the same time.
Xu Dajiang felt pretty good about it. Su Mucheng and Zhang Zhou were very polite, he thought.
As for Qiao Ze, a single response was a big improvement.
He had been told by the newly appointed Director Yu that the first time he greeted Qiao Ze, if it hadn't been for Li Jian providing Discover more novels on NovelHub - your gateway to endless stories.
Zhang Zhou looked at Qiao Ze with a bit of envy. This really was the first time he saw Qiao Ze in the same frame as the dean.
It was indeed God Qiao from their dorm who could maintain his composure even with the dean's enthusiastic greeting, just casually acknowledging him.
It was too bad that Dean Xu didn't remember his name.
But obviously, the dean didn't remember, just gave him a glance before looking away.
"Well, it's about noon, time for lunch. Has someone been arranged to bring food?" Xu Dajiang asked with concern.
"Don't worry, Dean Xu, many have said they will bring us food later. Brother Liu, Brother Tan, as well as Chen Yiwen and Gu Zhengliang. In short, we won't go hungry," Su Mucheng answered for the three of them.
"That's good, that's good, but don't tire yourselves out too much. There are still several groups coming in the afternoon. I will go talk to your advisors later and have them switch people here in the afternoon so you guys can go and get some rest," Xu Dajiang continued cordially, his mind already figuring out how to leave promptly.