Duanmu Ci, a man of considerable experience and who had seen his share of grand occasions, still felt somewhat overwhelmed. We don't write novels; we're just online text copiers. -fqxsw.

When Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty traveled south along the Grand Canal in a dragon boat, intending to visit Yangzhou to see the Qionghua flowers, beautiful women in colorful clothes served as boatmen on both banks of the river, half-naked and pulling the boats. Each of them had been carefully selected, including many ladies from noble families and virtuous women, making the scene no less grand than the imperial concubine selection process.

And the current scene... Duanmu Ci felt it was pretty much the same.

Yun Yun, the head of the dance department, held a thick roster with the names of everyone present. She called out names one by one, and those whose names were called came forward to perform an impromptu dance to show Teacher Duanmu their skills. After their performance, they immediately stepped back, and Duanmu Ci would not announce the results immediately, but would simply say "Not bad."

He held a pen, occasionally making marks on the roster, like a judge declaring life and death. Hundreds of beautiful girls took turns dancing before him, all just to please him. Occasionally, a few bolder girls would sneak glances at Teacher Duanmu during the dance breaks, making Yun Yun's teeth ache. With a cold glare, she drew a big X next to their names!

The poor, pretty young girls, diligently dancing, were completely unaware that their beautiful but despicable minister had already taken revenge on them...

Hundreds of people! Even if each person only dances for a minute, that's still hundreds of minutes, several hours, and that's without any breaks. Although these girls dance very well and wear very little clothing, it's still hard to watch for too long. Anyone would inevitably get a little tired of it. Duanmu Ci subtly shifted to a more comfortable position, preparing to slowly... endure it.

However, Teacher Duanmu was oblivious to his good fortune. When the news spread that "the girls from the dance department are all performing for Teacher Duanmu at Duanmu Hall, and I heard there are several hundred of them," the entire academy was in an uproar. Outside Duanmu Hall, crowds of onlookers, mostly men, had gathered...

"Teacher Duanmu is a true winner in life," a boy suddenly remarked with some emotion. Then, in an extremely envious tone, he added, "Even an emperor probably couldn't be this good!"

"The Analects, in its translation and commentary, says: 'The Son of Heaven has eight rows of dancers, the feudal lords six, the high officials four, and the lower officials two.' The so-called 'Eight rows of dancers for the Son of Heaven' means that the Son of Heaven can watch an eight-row dance; eight times eight equals sixty-four, which is just a mere sixty-four people." A male student from one of the college calmly refuted his companion's ignorance using classical texts, then enthusiastically added, "Teacher Duanmu has gathered hundreds of people at once; he's far more imposing than the Son of Heaven! The emperor is nothing special!"

"This isn't just being surrounded by flowers, it's being in a rose garden!" exclaimed a student from the college.

"Wang Li, you in front, squeeze in! We can't see anything from behind!" As more and more people gathered, it was inevitable that some would be in front and some behind. Those in the back could only hear the music coming from inside, but couldn't see anything. Some impatient students started to raise their heads and shout loudly.

"Those of us in front can't see either, brothers in the back, don't push!"

That's true. Even with a large hall like Duanmu Hall, it's impossible to fit hundreds of dance club members and then some "unidentified" onlookers. While they could accommodate more, how would they make room for dancing? What about order? Besides, as the only man present, even if Teacher Duanmu were as composed as a still well, he still felt a little bit of secret delight…

He doesn't want to share with anyone!

Therefore, Duanmu Ci had already had the main entrance locked from the inside as soon as the onlookers gathered. Those who wanted to leave the Duanmu Pavilion could use the back door, but the main entrance was closed. With all the doors closed, those outside naturally couldn't get in. Although they wanted to knock, that would have been very impolite and would have interrupted the music inside. As students from a prestigious university, they certainly possessed that basic courtesy.

However, they still didn't give up. They remained gathered at the entrance of Duanmu Hall, silently pleading, hoping that Teacher Duanmu could sense their pleas and open the doors so they could have a good look. As the ancients said, "Sharing joy is better than enjoying it alone." I've heard that Teacher Duanmu teaches classical Chinese; surely he understands this principle.

So they remained outside, listening to the music drifting in from inside, their minds wandering...

Inside the Duanmu Pavilion.

After making another checkmark, Duanmu Ci asked, "Have the people outside still not dispersed?"

"No!" Yun Yun said disdainfully. "They're all disgusting guys with wild fantasies. Teacher Duanmu, don't pay them any attention. They're just annoying to look at."

Duanmu Ci smiled and said, "It's natural for young people to admire beauty and experience the first stirrings of love. There's no need to be so averse to it, is there?"

Yun Yun said with a distressed look, "Teacher Duanmu doesn't know! Those boys only have one disgusting purpose in being with you, it's so annoying! Not only are they ugly, but they all act like they're so gentlemanly, it's speechless. If only they were all like Teacher Duanmu!"

Duanmu Ci, caught in the crossfire, chuckled. He had no shortage of such troubles. Leaving aside family matters and historical ones, he certainly had his share of problems at school—there were always some admirers trying to entangle him. Every afternoon after work, he would routinely sort through countless colorful love letters and envelopes, making Chu Xinsu incredibly envious. Chu Xinsu wished she could take Duanmu Ci's place and solve all his problems.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!