45: Checking on duty

The call had been disconnected for a long time, but Yan Zhuohua remained standing where he was, unmoving. Outside the window was heavy traffic; even though it was Monday, many people were still rushing about for their livelihoods.

Perhaps Sheng Xufeng was right; he shouldn't be so obsessed with that bit of equal love. Cherishing the present was the best choice. It was just that he had seen too many lovers in their social circle part ways, each calculating how much the other owed or how much they had sacrificed. Having seen so much of it, he truly didn't want his own love to contain such things. Reason and years of observation told him that a love where neither side owed the other was the most long-lasting.

Forget it, he couldn't figure anything out for the moment, so he might as well stop making things difficult for himself.

Yan Zhuohua turned back to his desk and continued reading the report Sheng Xufeng had sent over.

It had to be said, Sheng Xufeng really wasn't suited for handling documents. The messy formatting and lack of logical structure—if he were actually an employee somewhere, this report would basically signal the end of the writer's career.

For the hundred and first time, Yan Zhuohua lamented that Sheng Xufeng really had a good older brother. With this level of skill, that clubhouse of his in the suburbs probably only survived because of the initial investment and the fact that he didn't manage any of the operations; otherwise, it would have gone bankrupt long ago.

After flipping through it a few times, Yan Zhuohua finally extracted the information he wanted from this "report."

Over the past week, the two from the Fu Family had basically never gone out or met anyone, aside from attending meetings at Xingfeng Group on time and visiting factories for research. They had even asked the Xingfeng reception staff to buy local specialties for them.

"Clearly, their heart isn't in it!" Yan Zhuohua muttered to himself. "Someone who doesn't even take picking out gifts seriously deserves to be sanctioned!"

Whether they would be sanctioned or not, he didn't know, but based on these movements, there were no issues with the two of them.

Yan Zhuohua put down the document, which could easily be described as mental pollution, leaned back against his chair, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He had actually always suspected that what happened back then was the Fu Family's doing. They had a ready-made motive—to monopolize the entire weapons research business—and other characteristics also matched up.

However, he had met members of the Fu Family a few times and confirmed that they didn't seem like despicable people, so his suspicion remained just that—a suspicion. Moreover, the Fu Family was different from the Zhao Family; while he could retaliate against or test the Zhao Family at will, moving against the Fu Family would be very difficult, and the authorities wouldn't be pleased to see it.

Seeing this data now further proved that they hadn't been in contact with anyone else.

Ning Wei had managed to get a sentence reduction in prison and was about to be released; the events from five years ago were about to cause waves again. At this critical juncture, the Fu Family had an absolutely logical reason to come to A City, but by doing nothing, it could basically be judged that the matter had nothing to do with them.

So, who exactly was it?

Yan Zhuohua looked up at the ceiling, and it took a while before he sat up straight again.

No need to rush; Ning Wei's release was imminent, and the person who acted back then would eventually be anxious to do something. He just needed to wait for the right moment. First, find the group in A City responsible for providing information and cleaning up the aftermath, then peel back the layers and follow the trail; the one who did it wouldn't be able to escape.

Five years ago, various matters were intertwined, and he was focused on leaving, so he didn't have time to investigate and only sent Ning Wei to prison. Now that the situation was stable and he held all the advantages, the day the truth came to light was likely not far off.

Therefore, he would soon be able to share his feelings with Yan Qinghe. Yan Zhuohua calmed his restless heart, which had just been stirred up by Sheng Xufeng's words, and decided to stick to his plan.

However, he could still give him some sweetness. He set an alarm for five o'clock tomorrow morning to check in.

5:00 AM Tuesday in A City, 10:00 PM in Country Y.

Yan Zhuohua had gone to bed early last night just for this early morning phone call.

When the alarm went off, he struggled to crawl out of bed, then washed his face with cold water to wake up. After tidying himself up, he took his phone to the small garden in the courtyard.

The sun hadn't risen yet, and everything around him was pitch black, except for the hazy halos of light from the small decorative lamps.

The video call Yan Zhuohua placed was quickly connected.

First came a burst of noisy sounds, and the screen showed a banquet with many people.

"Sorry, I'm going out for a moment to take a call." Yan Qinghe's voice, speaking in a pure foreign language, followed, and then the screen shook.

When it stopped, the background behind Yan Qinghe had become a quiet corner where he wouldn't be disturbed, with passersby faintly visible in the distance.

"What's wrong, Zhuohua? What made you think of calling me?" Yan Qinghe's familiar voice rang out.

Listening to the voice and looking at the person in the video, Yan Zhuohua suddenly felt as if a lifetime had passed. Had he really been away for that long?

"Can't I call? Or do you have something you can't let me know?" Yan Zhuohua tried hard to suppress his longing and went straight to the point.

Yan Qinghe laughed, his laughter familiar, deep, and magnetic, making Yan Zhuohua unconsciously recall the vibrations from his throat when he was held in his arms as he laughed.

"Of course you can call, anytime. But calling at this hour—are you checking in on me?" Yan Qinghe was very pleased.

"...Is that not allowed?" Yan Zhuohua said righteously. "I just caught you still out fooling around after ten at night! Hurry up and explain where you are, what you're doing, and when you're going back to the hotel!"

Yan Qinghe cooperated and explained, "I'm not fooling around. It's a dinner arranged by a partner, which was hard to refuse. It's in the hotel where I'm staying, and it'll be over in another half hour."

Having failed to catch him in any wrongdoing, Yan Zhuohua continued his "interrogation."

"Then did they arrange any hostesses for you? Did any strange people approach you?"

"Of course not! I'm very well-behaved."

Yan Qinghe thoroughly enjoyed his wife's concern and possessiveness. His expression became more animated as he somewhat excitedly showed off how well-behaved and sensible he was.

"Hmph, I'll take it that you're being obedient." Yan Zhuohua couldn't quite contain his little bit of smugness.

"Of course I'm obedient. I think of you every day, but Zhuohua is always so busy and unwilling to call me. I haven't seen you for three days, and there are still twelve days until I get home, yet you don't even come to show me some concern."

Having the tables turned on him, Yan Zhuohua felt a bit guilty. "I didn't... I was just afraid you'd be busy, and then there's the time difference..."

"Alright, I know my wife thinks of me every day and was even worried about interrupting my work and rest. My wife really loves me!" Yan Qinghe began his familiar routine of teasing his wife.

Yan Zhuohua didn't expect to be tricked into telling the truth and immediately became embarrassed and angry.

"Don't just call me that! Why am I your wife? Who loves you!"

Yan Qinghe's laughter came through once more. "We're married; if you're not my wife, what are you? Besides, if my wife doesn't love me, who else would he love?"

Yan Zhuohua hadn't expected this man's teasing skills to have actually evolved through practice. For a moment, he was so ashamed and indignant that he couldn't say anything. Fortunately, it wasn't light out yet on his end; otherwise, the blush on his face probably couldn't have been hidden.