77: Final Exam

Yan Zhuohua hung up the phone and buried himself completely under the covers. He was really having terrible luck tonight!

Before long, he couldn't stand the stuffiness under the blanket and came back out, following his instincts. It was really annoying.

Yan Qinghe finally came upstairs with dinner, which was nearly six hours late.

Yan Zhuohua, who was already starving, took the noodles and started eating in large gulps. Beside him, Yan Qinghe gently wiped the corners of his mouth with a tissue.

"Eat slowly, don't choke."

Yan Zhuohua glanced at him. Whose fault was it?

Yan Qinghe rubbed his nose and guiltily shifted his gaze to other corners of the room.

After eating, Yan Zhuohua finally felt like he had some strength.

"How about you don't go to work tomorrow?" Yan Qinghe cleaned up the mess, lay down in bed, and pulled Yan Zhuohua into his arms.

"No," Yan Zhuohua was scrolling through wechat and didn't forget to flatly refuse, "There's a lot to do at the end of the year. Although Uncle agreed to stay and help for a few months while I'm away, I'll still have to do it myself by the end of next year. I need to go over some things with him."

Yan Qinghe compromised: "Alright. Then come up earlier tomorrow at noon, and I'll give you a massage."

Yan Zhuohua opened the class group chat, which he hadn't entered for a long time, and found another string of @all members messages.

"With the end of the term approaching, the school is assessing everyone's internship status and graduation thesis progress. Starting tomorrow for two weeks, including weekends, everyone please prepare the above materials in a timely manner and submit them to the counselor. Everyone must be present in person, and there will be an on-site Q&A session with each person's teacher."

Two weeks? From Monday to Friday, he still had to work, so only two weekends were left. The latter weekend happened to coincide with the day before New Years Day, which was likely when the announcement regarding the Zhao family would be made, so he had to be there. That left only this weekend.

He found the class monitor's chat box and sent a private message.

"How long does it take to get everything in that group message done?"

The class monitor wasn't asleep either and replied immediately: "Not long, half a day is enough."

That would be easy then; go on Saturday and come back on Sunday.

After saying thanks, Yan Zhuohua looked up, "Husband, I have to go to school this weekend to handle some end-of-term matters."

Yan Qinghe, who was twirling the tips of Yan Zhuohua's hair, froze upon hearing this.

"This weekend?"

"Yes, go on Saturday and come back on Sunday."

"Then isn't my Happy Friday gone for two weeks in a row? I even planned to put your punishment on that day!" Yan Qinghe's face was written with reluctance.

"...It's not two weeks in a row; you were very happy today," Yan Zhuohua emphasized what had just happened.

"How does that count? I didn't even enjoy myself fully."

"How does it not count? Two hours, and even in the kitchen. That's not a short time, is it?"

"I know, but what does the length of time have to do with whether I enjoyed myself fully?"

"..."

Yan Zhuohua sighed: "What do you want?"

"I want the training uniform on Wednesday night," Yan Qinghe made a huge demand.

"I have to work," Yan Zhuohua struggled.

"Then Tuesday and Thursday nights. I'll be gentler," Yan Qinghe didn't want to lose out.

"...Fine."

Having secured the promised benefits, the Head of the Yan Family contentedly held his wife and finally fell asleep. This day, woven with various emotions, had finally passed.

A new week began. It had snowed all night, only slowly stopping at dawn. The sun rose again in the sky; the weather was clear, and the color of the sky outside seemed even more vivid, as if washed clean by last night's snow.

Before falling asleep last night, Yan Zhuohua thought about returning to school and remembered Wen Hengtang, whom he hadn't contacted for a long time since their last unpleasant dinner invitation. He thought about it, saw that there were still a few minutes before work started, and made a call.

The other side picked up quickly.

"Hello? Zhuohua?"

"How have you been lately? I haven't heard from you."

They both tacitly ignored what happened last time.

"The Zhao Group has been a mess lately. My department is somewhat important, and they're playing out a succession drama every day. I'm busy beyond belief," Wen Hengtang's voice sounded quite energetic. "I'm really an unlucky guy; one company treats people like animals, and the other makes me act like a eunuch in a palace intrigue novel."

Yan Zhuohua laughed out loud.

"Then what will you do? Change companies again? It's just the end of the term; it won't be a problem to switch after you submit your materials." Thinking that the Zhao family was about to face trouble—though they would still be a second-rate family and a sizable enterprise afterward—Yan Zhuohua still tentatively wanted Wen Hengtang to change companies.

Wen Hengtang was a bit tempted, "How about I come and work for you?"

"That would be fine, but you'd have to go through the normal interview process. If I gave you a back door, my man would probably get jealous." Yan Zhuohua hadn't forgotten Yan Qinghe's reaction when they met Wen Hengtang the previous two times.

"Then forget it. I won't deliver myself to be dealt with as a love rival," Wen Hengtang ended the joke. "Tell me, why are you looking for me? There are only two minutes before work starts. The timing of your call doesn't seem like you're just here to chat."

It was indeed getting late, so Yan Zhuohua got straight to the point.

"I'm going back to school this Saturday to submit materials. I'm asking if you want to go together."

"Aren't you afraid your husband will be jealous?"

"It's only for two days, and we won't be staying together. It's fine."

Wen Hengtang laughed for a long time, "Forget it, I plan to go back on the last two days of the school's deadline. I don't know what's gotten into our new president lately, but he's made this succession drama even more intense. I'm afraid I won't have time this week."

Yan Zhuohua knew about this. Zhao Zixing was worried about Zhao Minghong cooperating with the Yan Family, so he naturally had to increase his efforts to seize the initiative. Zhao Mingting's interrogation had only ended last night, so the police would probably arrange for Zhao Zixing to see him tomorrow or the day after.

"Nod, I'll go back by myself first." Yan Zhuohua checked the time, "It's late, I'll hang up now."

Sure enough, on Tuesday night, while Yan Zhuohua was being threatened into changing into his training uniform in front of Yan Qinghe, Officer Liu's call came at an inopportune time.

"Is something wrong, Officer Liu?" Yan Qinghe snatched the phone, his voice inevitably tinged with the irritation of having his fun interrupted.

Officer Liu looked at the name on the phone, which said Yan Zhuohua, and didn't quite understand why Yan Qinghe was the one answering, sounding rather unhappy.

"Oh, I wanted to tell you about Zhao Mingting meeting Zhao Zixing."

Yan Zhuohua couldn't help but laugh seeing Yan Qinghe holding back his anger.

Yan Qinghe looked at him warningly, and then his gaze became meaningful again. He opened his mouth and silently said two words.

"Continue."

Officer Liu's voice continued, "We plan to have them meet tomorrow morning."

Yan Zhuohua bit his lip and looked at Yan Qinghe with pleading eyes. Unfortunately, it was useless. He could only pitifully pick up the clothes on the side and continue putting them on.

"...That's it." Officer Liu's words ended.

Yan Qinghe originally intended to chat with Officer Liu for a bit longer, but seeing the aggrieved and pleading look Yan Zhuohua threw at him again, he mercifully let him off the hook.

"Good, we have no objection. Just arrange it as you see fit."

Officer Liu couldn't figure out why the person who was a bit emotional just now was happy again, but that wasn't his business. Having finished speaking, Officer Liu took the initiative to hang up.

"These rich people really have something wrong with their heads."

The Head of the Yan Family, who supposedly had something wrong with his head, was extremely happy to finally enjoy his wife in the training uniform he had been longing for after being left undisturbed.