The phone's ringtone sounded for only a second before stopping, so briefly that most people didn't notice.
Xue Rui stood up and gave Xia Tianjun a knowing smile. He was all too familiar with that expression—it was the same one he used to have when his mom called to nag him about getting married...
'He doesn't want to take it, but he has to.' Xue Rui guessed the call was from someone close, and Xia Tianjun had no idea how long it would take.
Xue Rui walked up to the podium and said quietly, "Sir, this should be the time for self-introductions. I can be a bit long-winded."
Xia Tianjun smiled, satisfied. This sort of thing was normally handled by the class assistant. However, the assistant for Software Engineering 141 had taken a last-minute leave of absence right before the semester started, adding a lot to his workload. Having someone take over now was a huge relief.
Jiang Yuan was still trying to process what was happening. 'What are Xue Rui and the instructor whispering about?'
