Chapter 181 (The Hundred and Eighty) - Late
It was still a bit chilly in the hallway.
Midnight, high in the sky, at sea.
The wind was so strong it made you question the meaning of life.
After saying a few words, Chun Yuqing started coughing violently again, while Yan Shi, standing next to her, shivered and wrapped his coat tighter around himself.
Yan Shi was almost certain that there were at least a dozen people nearby.
With so many people, isn't there anyone who has the good qualities of respecting the elderly and caring for the young, and who would like to repair the windows and walls in the corridor?
Whether it was Yan Shi's prayers that worked or not, anxious footsteps came from the corner of the corridor, stepping over the debris of the building and rushing into the corridor.
"City Lord!"
Chun Yumian practically teleported over, rushing to Chun Yuqing's side. First, she deftly slapped out several array papers to create a warm area that could slightly block out the wind. Then, she took out a bunch of bottles and jars and took out the pills from them one by one to feed to Chun Yuqing.
The corridor might be a bit warmer, but not much so for Yan Shi's position.
Chun Yumian's arrival seemed like a signal; the auction hall, previously quiet only with the sound of wind, came alive again, and more and more people poured into the corridor from all directions. However, only a portion approached Chun Yuqing to provide her with more comprehensive medical care, while the rest stood near the corner.
Yan Shi was still surrounded by empty space.
This is the scene that Lu Jian saw when he arrived at the scene.
The corridor was a mess, clearly divided into two areas. Unlike Chun Yuqing, who was surrounded by a large group of people, their expressions filled with tension and worry, Yan Lan stood alone at the edge of the corridor, the endless night stretching out behind her. The wind ruffled her hair, and the moonlight cast a soft glow upon her. Her face, so similar to Yan Ju's, remained nonchalant.
"Yanlan!" Lu Jian opened his mouth subconsciously, but before he could call out, Yanlan had already turned around, a smile playing on her lips, before leaping down and disappearing into the moonlight.
Chun Yuqing, who was in the center of the crowd, noticed something and looked towards the spot by the window where she had been standing, but it was now empty.
Yanlan didn't say a word.
Lu Jian stopped in her tracks. Her subordinates behind her bowed respectfully, awaiting instructions. One of them asked in a low voice, "Director Lu?"
"It's nothing." Lu Jian was silent for a moment before calmly saying, "No need to go. Let's go back to the council chamber."
Yan Ju watched Chun Yuqing and Yan Lan make their move, and immediately attacked when Yan Lan took the initiative to borrow the spell, but never showed himself.
Including this moment.
Was Yanlan thinking of her sister when she leaped into the night?
The road ahead is unclear.
In fact, she only now slowly realized that Director Yan had never mentioned Yan Lan directly.
---
Thank you to the dedicated delivery driver at Novano Port.
Yan Shi squatted in a corner outside the auction house, holding a steaming bowl of grilled cold noodles, feeling a strong sense of happiness.
The chill that had been building up to a fight in the middle of the night dissipated.
After leaving the corridor, considering that there was still more than an hour before the overtime meeting, Yan Shishi, with a try-it-out mentality, carefully selected and quickly ordered a plate of grilled cold noodles on the food delivery app recommended by Lingbo.
Lingbo's recommendation was truly well-founded. Fifteen minutes after the order was placed, the delivery girl not only accurately located the floating auction house based on the location, but also accurately located the corner where Yanshi was.
Why would she be curious if following Yu Junxun and spending time browsing comic forums by the window wasn't fun?!
Yan Shi ate while deeply reflecting on his actions.
If she hadn't followed Yu Junxun, she wouldn't have met Chun Yuqing, there wouldn't have been the fight between Chun Yuqing and her, she wouldn't have almost crashed her car, wouldn't have been forced to choose between two terrible social options, and the auction hall corridor wouldn't have been vandalized.
Although they won in the end.
If the floating auction house wants to compensate, be sure to look for Chun Yuqing, the city lord of Mingchun Terrace. He sounds very rich.
Don't go after her.
Yan Shi sighed, swallowed the last piece of grilled cold noodles, and contentedly packed up the takeout box.
I feel sleepy after eating a full meal in the middle of the night.
Yan Shi looked lost in thought and glanced at the time. There were still forty minutes before the meeting started, plenty of time.
She found another intact windowsill, made sure no one was around, drew the curtains to cover herself, set an alarm clock, and closed her eyes with peace of mind.
She is so dedicated.
Before falling asleep, Yan Shi thought vaguely.
As it turns out, even if you have something on your mind, once you fall asleep in the middle of the night, an alarm clock can't easily wake you up.
Yan Shi was awakened by the morning light of the sunrise on the horizon while sitting on the windowsill. He checked his phone and saw that it was 4:50 AM, and his notification bar was flooded with messages.
Countless messages and missed emergency calls.
It had been almost two hours since 3 a.m., when the Covenant Court was supposed to begin.
Yan Shi: ...
She sprang from the windowsill, not having time to think, quickly changed into her work uniform, straightened her messy hair from sleeping, and rushed into the corridor.
I hope the meeting isn't over yet, and I can catch the last part!
Being late for work, feeling utterly hopeless.jpg
The Council of the Covenant is easy to find.
Perhaps to prevent dignitaries from major cities from getting lost in the auction, the layout of the first floor has been completely altered.
The nested, intricate corridors disappeared, replaced by spacious and airy areas. Along the way were lounges bearing the names of the main city, and on all four sides were corridors leading to the central Covenant Council Hall, which were covered with luxurious carpets.
Yan Shi walked quickly, his footsteps making no sound on the soft carpet.
She pushed open the door at the end of the corridor.
The door hinges slid open silently, revealing a blinding light that made Yan Shi squint.
Once she got used to it and saw clearly, she silently clenched the hem of her clothes.
The Covenant Council Hall was brightly lit.
At the center stood a large round table, made of an unrecognizable, rare material, reflecting the light from above. Around the table sat, in order, the city's powerful figures, some familiar to Yan Shi, others unfamiliar, their expressions varied—some engrossed in documents, others conversing quietly nearby. Each seat bore a nameplate engraved with the emblem of their power.
The council chamber was very spacious, with a central round table surrounded by concentric circles of seats, all of which were now full. Yan Shi saw several of his subordinates inside. Gui Ge Mu, Lu Jian, and Bian Zheng were all dressed in unusual formal attire, unlike their usual uniforms. They wore four-piece suits with a similar but different style of dignified thick cloak over them.
Further on, there were even more cameras set up. Countless lenses were pointed at the central round table, surrounded by reporters wearing name tags, forming a huge, chaotic scene.
At this moment, a seat was vacant in the most conspicuous spot around the round table. Although everyone was talking in hushed tones and flipping through documents, their eyes kept glancing towards that spot every now and then.
Good news, although Yanshi is late, the meeting seems to have been postponed and has not yet started for unknown reasons.
Bad news. Yan Shi looked despairingly at the empty seat next to the round table. Her excellent eyesight allowed her to clearly see the contents of the nameplate beside the seat:
[Hiko, Director-General of the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs]
No, no one told her before she came to the meeting that it was similar to the international conferences she used to see on the news.
Is this a scenario a normal recent college graduate could handle?!
As the door opened, nearby reporters noticed who had entered and turned to look. They quickly bowed their heads in shock and made way for him: "Director Yan."
The soft, hushed conversations that had been taking place in the conference room vanished in an instant.
In the silence, all eyes turned to the doorway, landing on the figure descending the steps.
Yan Shi nodded reluctantly, his eyes fixed straight ahead as he walked down the central aisle, his steps steady as he stepped over the more elaborately woven carpet, his clothes fluttering slightly, until he reached his seat.
Her subordinates were seated behind her, and they had all stood up before she arrived. At this moment, she bowed with her right hand, fingers together and close to her chest, her movements swift and solemn.
"Yan Ju."
The deep voices overlapped, standing out especially clearly in the silence, carrying a sense of respect.
Yan Shi pulled out his chair and sat down, his expression unchanged: "Hmm."
She looked down at the stack of documents on the table.
The paper is smooth and flat, with the emblem of the Foreign Affairs Bureau printed in the upper left corner of the cover. The colors are delicate, and the following is printed slightly below the center:
[Director's Secretariat]
To Yan Shi's left, Archduke Lorenz leaned back in his chair, holding a cup of tea. To his right, the chair had been moved aside, and Chun Yuqing sat in his wheelchair. Although his face was still pale, he seemed to have recovered from his constant coughing and spitting blood. He was looking down at the documents on the table, his expression inscrutable, lost in thought.
After Yan Shi took his seat, Chun Yuqing looked up and exchanged a glance with Archduke Lorenz, who was sitting on Yan Shi's other side. After a brief silence, Chun Yuqing shook his head slightly. Archduke Lorenz withdrew his gaze and said gently, "Director Yan, do you think you should personally chair this meeting?"
Yan Shi: "You come here."
It's too much to chair the meeting; who knows what should be said at this meeting?
Archduke Lorenz: "It is my honor to preside over this meeting."
After confirmation, the light cup in the center of the hall was adjusted, making the center brighter while dimming the light around the round table.
"Welcome to this meeting, everyone." Because of the close proximity, Yan Shi saw Grand Duke Lorenz pause calmly, subtly taking a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolding it, flattening it, glancing at it briefly before continuing, "On behalf of the territory of Kese, I welcome you all..."
Although the Holy Covenant Court was more grand and formal than Yan Shi had anticipated, it quickly descended into the tedious and drawn-out main text typical of all meetings.
The central area was very brightly lit, drawing all the cameras and attention there, making the rest of the room much brighter.
Lu Jian sat in the center of the first row behind Yan Ju, his expression serious.
The documents and summaries she handed to Director Yan contained the same content. The newly established Director's Secretariat had outstanding members selected through multiple rounds of screening; they were extremely efficient, organized documents clearly, and prioritized tasks effectively.
However, the document in Lu Jian's hand had a square "hole" smoothly cut out in the center, and Lu Jian's phone was embedded in it perfectly.
With the screen brightness turned down to the lowest setting, messages kept popping up in the chat group. Lu Jian adjusted his posture, quickly glancing at the content on the screen while replying under the cover of the documents.
[When will the Bureau of Extraordinary Management cancel the time off in lieu of leave? Thank Goddess, Director Yan is finally here!]
When will the Bureau of Extraordinary Management cancel the time-off system? God knows how sleepy I am, I feel like I'm going to faint.
【ZZZZ Don't look for me: You weren't the only one who didn't sleep all night :)】
[ZZZZ Don't look for me: You were slacking off while setting up the venue, eating takeout and then taking a nap, while I was the one who didn't close my eyes at all]
[When will the Bureau of Administrative Disciplinary Inspection abolish compensatory time off? I did it so I could work better!]
[ZZZZ Don't Look for Me: It's still quite strange. Director Yan should have been at the venue the whole time. Why did he leave so many big shots waiting until now to arrive?]
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