Chapter 520

Inside one of the practice rooms in the music building, a round of enthusiastic applause echoed through the halls, its sound spilling beyond the open door and drawing in curious onlookers.

Lin Mo had just finished another piano performance, the intricate melody still lingering in the air as praise and admiration poured in. The Recognition Points in his system rose rapidly, making him grin so wide it nearly reached the back of his ears.

Yet he wasn’t the only one beaming with joy.

The voice-beautiful-but-face-challenged female instructor stood nearby, her expression alight with delight as if she’d just discovered a long-lost soulmate. “My surname is Hu. You can call me Hu Zuixiang. And you are?” she asked, her tone noticeably enthusiastic.

Lin Mo froze for a second. The name sounded familiar. A memory surfaced.

Hu Zuixiang… Wasn’t she that infamous perpetual old maid of Qingling University?

According to campus gossip, she was in her mid-thirties, never married, never even dated. It was said that single male faculty members would rather take the long way around than risk an encounter with her in the hallway.

And now, he had walked straight into her web.

What’s worse, after showcasing his masterful piano skills, he clearly caught her attention—something she didn’t bother to hide, especially now that she was asking for his name so directly.

Though he had no desire to engage further, Lin Mo maintained his polite front. “I’m Lin Mo.”

“Teacher Lin, what a pleasure,” Hu Zuixiang said with a wide smile as she reached out her plump hand toward him. Her tiny eyes, now even more invisible due to her grin, made Lin Mo almost avert his gaze out of instinct.

He hesitated, then forced a polite smile and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Her grip lingered far too long, soft yet possessive, like someone unwilling to let go of a long-awaited treasure. Her eyes bore into his face, thick with unmistakable desire.

Around them, the students exchanged knowing glances. Some grinned, some chuckled softly, and one bolder voice even called out, “Teacher Lin, are you single?”

Lin Mo ignored the comment, tugging his hand free from Hu Zuixiang’s as naturally as he could manage. But the atmosphere had shifted. What began as an elegant musical display had somehow devolved into the beginnings of an awkward matchmaking farce.

He wanted to leave.

Right now.

But the wave of points pouring into his system made it impossible to walk away just yet.

“Teacher Lin, your piano performance was so inspiring,” Hu Zuixiang said warmly. “I didn’t get enough earlier. Why not play a few more?”

“Yes, Teacher Lin, another piece!”

“Agreed! We want more!”

“Also, our Teacher Hu is still single, you know?”

A flurry of teasing voices joined in, blurring the line between encouragement and mischief.

Lin Mo’s scalp tingled. Though his looks weren’t show-stopping, he was at least decent, educated, and relatively young. He wasn’t so desperate as to consider someone like Hu Zuixiang, no matter how many times people nudged him in her direction.

Still, these students were clearly Hu Zuixiang’s, and naturally inclined to support her… goals.

He was just about to make a quick exit when a thought struck him.

Hu Zuixiang wasn’t just a lecturer. She also held a powerful position as a deputy dean at Qingling University and came from a prestigious educational family background. In terms of influence, she outranked even some of the full professors.

On the other side, things with Liu Yue remained uncertain. Her promises are vague, her progress slow. If he could win over Hu Zuixiang, perhaps he could finally apply pressure on Wang Haoran through official channels.

After all, even a Rich Second Gen like Wang Haoran couldn’t operate with impunity if the right people stood against him.

Lin Mo clenched his jaw and made his decision.

“For everyone’s encouragement… I suppose I’ll play a few more pieces.”

A new wave of cheers filled the room.

Some of the students thought he just wanted more time to be near Teacher Hu. Even Hu Zuixiang herself flushed with a rare blush, her usually dull and coarse features tinged pink, revealing a moment of raw emotion.

Lin Mo glanced at her and felt his spine go cold. He immediately looked away and focused on the piano.

He flipped to a new sheet—another technically challenging masterpiece—and began to play.

Notes spilled out, crisp and dynamic, wrapping the room in vibrant waves of melody. The music drifted beyond the walls and down the hallway, beckoning more students from the music department.

To the untrained ear, it sounded pleasant. But for those with musical knowledge, it was more than beautiful—it was masterful. His performance revealed a level of control and expression only found among elite pianists.

“This… this isn’t normal,” someone whispered outside the room.

Some assumed the goddess-level professor of the music department had returned to play. That was the only explanation for such skill.

But when they peered into the practice room, it wasn’t her.

Still, the crowd grew.

At that moment, Qiu Qianwei—who had just risen from a short afternoon nap—stepped out of her office for a breath of fresh air. The burst of complex piano music caught her attention almost immediately.

Her reaction, however, was far more subdued than the students’.

First, her own piano skills were even better than what she heard now. And second, she had experienced performances at a level far beyond this before.

Still, curiosity tugged at her. Despite teaching at Qingling University for quite some time, she couldn’t recall a single student or colleague, teacher, or assistant who possessed this kind of skill.

Who could it be?

Driven by intrigue, she followed the sound toward the practice room. By the time she arrived, the final note of the song had faded, and the crowd inside erupted in applause.

She stopped at the door, unable to see past the gathered students. They blocked her view entirely, and she wasn’t about to elbow her way through like some overexcited undergrad.

But she wanted to know who it was.

Just then, a student squeezed through the crowd, about to exit the room.

“Excuse me,” Qiu Qianwei asked gently. “Do you know who’s playing the piano inside?”

The student looked up, his expression changing in a flash of panic. “Big sister-in-law!”

“Hmm?” Qiu Qianwei blinked in confusion. Did she mishear that?

“I mean, Professor Qiu!” the student corrected himself immediately, giving an awkward laugh. “Sorry, force of habit.”

Wang Haoran once warned his close friends that Qiu Qianwei and the other campus goddesses were off-limits. They were all to be regarded as future sisters-in-law. The student, Liu Hua, had only let his mouth run ahead of his brain.

Embarrassed but recovering, he explained quickly, “The one playing piano is Lin Mo. He’s an assistant lecturer in the finance department.”

“Finance?” Qiu Qianwei raised a brow, clearly surprised. “A finance teacher plays at that level?”

“That’s right, Professor Qiu. Well then, I’ll be on my way.”

Liu Hua bowed respectfully, then slipped out of the room in a rush. He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

“Boss, bad news! That Lin Mo guy isn’t showing off at the basketball court anymore. He’s run over to the music department to steal the spotlight now!”