Even a bad cold landed her in the hospital for several days, which was something that the astute Fu Shenxing could see through. He Yan had already anticipated this and didn't intend to deceive him; she admitted calmly, "You're reckless and unruly, but I still have to live under other people's scrutiny. The other morning when I went back, I bumped into a student. If it happens again, I'll lose my reputation for good. It's just as well that I'm sick; it's a legitimate reason not to go to the hotel."
She finished speaking and didn't give him a chance to respond, asking carefully, "Why did you call me again? What do you want me to do?"
It seemed that her nervous voice brought a hint of delight to him. He chuckled softly and replied, "I want you to fly halfway around the world to accompany me to a party."
She was a little stunned and asked, "Are you going abroad?"
"Yes. In Spain," he answered, paused, and then complained, "Their language sounds really harsh, so noisy."
He paused for a moment, then couldn't help but retort, "Spanish sounds very pleasant. Don't you think it gives a very dynamic feeling?"
"Does it?" he lazily responded. "I don't think so."
At least not as pleasant and dynamic as she described, he lightly leaned on the carved stone railing and looked back. The magnificent banquet hall was luxurious and chaotic, bustling with stylish celebrities and elegant gentlemen and ladies. However, each was draped in the skin of "identity," perfectly portraying their roles.
For some reason, Fu Shenxing suddenly missed the woman on the phone, missed her toughness, her stubbornness, her calmness at the card table, her confident and cheerful manner in front of students, and her intoxicated and unclear calls of his name, Shen Zhi Jie, in the bathroom.
Shen Zhi Jie, the name that had disappeared, and no one would call him by that name anymore.
The call suddenly fell into silence, while He Yan was puzzled about Fu Shenxing's purpose for calling, Liang Yuanze gently pushed the door open and asked her with his lips, "Is everything okay?"
She shook her head lightly and gestured for him to leave quickly. After Liang Yuanze left, she found that Fu Shenxing had already hung up the phone at some point. She was somewhat dazed. He had surprisingly not made things difficult for her, only making this inexplicable call, which was truly suspicious.
She sat alone for a while, pondering without getting any clues. Afterward, she got up and left the bedroom. Liang Yuanze was watching TV on the sofa. He looked at her and asked, "How was it? Did the leader say anything?"
He Yan shrugged indifferently and replied, "What else could be said? Under the guise of condolences, they asked if I could return to work as soon as possible."
Though she lied, it reflected the actual situation. As the end of the year approached, the department had to evaluate various excellence and various scholarships, and there was also the upcoming New Year's Eve party, the leader's least favorite thing was people taking leave.
The next day, He Yan went to work and first went to the head of the department to cancel her leave. The economic forum had lasted for three days and had already ended, and the school had recalled all the people who had attended. Seeing that there were no major mistakes, the head of the department was quite kind to her and said, "Teacher He Yan, you are the backbone of our department and must choose heavier responsibilities. Young people shouldn't seek fame and fortune first, but seize every opportunity to develop themselves!"
He Yan expressed her determination tactfully, "Thank you for the trust of the department. Director, rest assured, I will put extra effort into the New Year's Eve party."
The head of the department nodded with satisfaction and then let her leave.
When He Yan returned to her office, she saw the list of advanced personnel on the notice board in the corridor. As expected, her name was not on it. No wonder the head of the department advised her not to seek fame and fortune. He Yan smiled indifferently and then left. In the face of threats to life and trampling on dignity, these things were insignificant to her.
The mobile phone she had hidden in the office had not been turned on for several days. After turning it on, she saw a message from an old classmate.
The message said that the foundation of the Fu family's enterprise was not as clean as it seemed. It was said that in the early stages, several of the Fu family's companies were either involved in profitable industries or were set up as empty shells for money laundering. It wasn't until Fu Shenxing's father's generation that the Fu family gradually abandoned their previous practices and started investing in industries. After Fu Shenxing took control of the Fu family, they began to venture into the financial and high-tech fields, and in just six or seven years, they had grown into a large group company.
He Yan noticed the words "money laundering." Her old classmate wasn't online, so she could only leave a message, asking about the source of the money and how the Fu family had become wealthy. She also asked if they could check if there were any people with the surname Shen among the Fu family's relatives.
Just as she sent the message, she heard someone calling her "Teacher He" at the door. She turned to see Xu Chengbo. Inconspicuously, she pressed the phone under a book and greeted him to come in, asking, "What's the matter? Is there something you need?"
Xu Chengbo was somewhat awkward and scratched his head, "It's nothing, I just came to see Teacher He. Are you okay now?"
There was another teacher in the office, and upon hearing this, they laughed and joked, "It's great being young and pretty. Even the students like you. I also put my heart and soul into teaching our class, but they won't come to me unless they get into trouble. I could be in the hospital for two weeks, and nobody would care."
The joke was a bit too much, and Xu Chengbo's face turned red. He Yan glanced at him as if nothing had happened and then said to him, "We're good. Go back and tell the students not to worry about me anymore. Thank them for me."
She appeared confident and deliberately interpreted Xu Chengbo's greetings as directed towards the whole class, which made Xu Chengbo naturally come down gracefully, nodding in response, "Alright."
He Yan continued, "Tonight is the final rehearsal for the New Year's Eve party. Try to come if you can. This is a collective activity and needs everyone's cooperation." Seemingly looking for her younger sister.
Xu Chengbo is good at singing, so he agreed to sing a solo song at the party as requested by He Yan. However, due to his many part-time jobs, he rarely attended the previous rehearsals, and many people had complained to He Yan about this. Now, she specifically brought up the issue again, and Xu Chengbo quickly responded, "Okay, I'll come over tonight!"
During the evening rehearsal, he indeed arrived early. He Yan was busy with the sound equipment backstage. When she returned to the front, there was some commotion, and she heard Xu Chengbo's cold voice from the crowd, "If you keep mouthing off, I'll hit you!"
A girl's sharp voice responded, "You're the one who's mouthing off. I'm just speaking the truth. She came out of the elevator early in the morning dressed in men's clothing, and it wasn't just me who saw it! It's only because you're blind that you would reject good girls who like you and insist on treating a flirt as a goddess!"
There was a sharp sound followed by the girl's screams and other girls' angry accusations: "Xu Chengbo! How can you hit a woman!"
...