Lin Zhaojiang's breathing became slightly rapid, and a fierce heat surged through his body.
In the past, he wouldn't have been so careful around her, much less bottling up his feelings like this, but now...
A bitter smile appeared on his lips.
What goes around comes around!
Song Wan picked up a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth, smiling as she looked at him, "You're not allowed to think about anything else while you're eating!"
"But..." he said, pulling her hand in a pleading manner, "I really want to stay!"
"Not now."
"Sigh..." he sighed.
Although it was an answer he had expected, the woman's resolute statement still left him feeling deeply disappointed.
"Okay." Lin Zhaojiang straightened up and started eating his rice properly. "By the way, I'll take you out to have some fun next weekend. Don't stay cooped up in the house studying all the time. You need to clear your head."
Song Wan smiled happily, "Where to?"
"Go to my private club and soak in the hot springs."
"You..." Upon hearing this, and seeing the faint wicked smile on his face, Song Wan immediately guessed what the man was thinking.
Her face flushed, she nudged him with her elbow, and turned her head away, ignoring him.
"I didn't mean anything by it." Lin Zhaojiang put his arm around her shoulder and chuckled softly, "It's just a simple hot spring soak. Don't think of me as some kind of pervert, okay?"
Song Wan pounded his chest and couldn't help but laugh.
"But seriously, when are you going to take pity on this old man?"
"What are you saying!" Song Wan looked into his eyes. "You're not old at all."
“But I am indeed much older than you,” Lin Zhaojiang said, a hint of sadness creeping into his eyes. “Age is an undeniable fact.”
Playing the victim was indeed quite effective. Song Wan's heart softened, and she placed her small hand on the back of his hand, leaning against his shoulder like a little bird.
"Don't keep me waiting too long, okay?"
The young woman nodded firmly.
Lin Zhaojiang smiled and gently kissed her forehead.
Just then, Song Wan's phone vibrated. She looked at it and saw that her phone had received an email notification.
She intended to swipe away immediately, but then the sender's name caught her eye: "Liu Yunkang?"
"Huh?" Lin Zhaojiang was taken aback. "Why did he email you?"
Song Wan opened the email and saw that Liu Yunkang's email was very brief, but it contained two large files that needed to be downloaded to her computer.
"Ms. Song, hello! Attached are two sets of practice questions related to the upcoming journalist qualification exam. If you complete these two sets before the exam, you'll be almost guaranteed to pass! Best wishes."
"Heh, this Liu Yunkang!" Lin Zhaojiang smiled slightly. He thought that perhaps the last Hongmen Banquet had left this famous reporter with lingering fears, which was why he had compiled all his knowledge into two sets of mock exams to curry favor with Song Wan.
“Strange…” Song Wan murmured, “Editor-in-Chief Liu never contacts me on his own initiative.”
"It's alright." Lin Zhaojiang looked at her. "Since he's passing on his experience to you, you should just do these two sets of practice questions. They won't hurt your exam."
"Um!"
Song Wan smiled lightly at him.
With only a few weeks left until the exam, she, who is not formally trained in the field, has to put in more effort than others.
*
Winter has passed and spring has arrived; the exams are fast approaching.
Yun City is further north than Yangcheng, and spring arrives later there. The fluctuating temperatures, sometimes warm and sometimes cold, make it easy to catch a cold or fever. Therefore, Lin Zhaojiang has been extra careful these past few days, practically taking care of Song Wan's daily needs, afraid that even the slightest discomfort might affect her exam performance.
After the exam, Song Wan saw Lin Zhaojiang as soon as she walked out of the examination hall. He had parked his car far away and was standing in the crowd.
He knew that Song Wan disliked being ostentatious, and that parking a luxury car in front of the exam hall would offend her.
He was dressed very simply, in ordinary casual wear, but his calm and composed demeanor made him stand out in the crowd at a glance.
He waved to Song Wan. It was a cold and gloomy day for the exam, so he had specially prepared a cashmere shawl for her and wrapped it around her as soon as she came out.
He held her small hand in his palm and breathed warm air into it.
Are you cold?
"It's alright." Song Wan smiled at him. The smile was forced; the questions on the test paper still lingered in her mind like wisps of fog.
She felt as if a huge stone was pressing on her heart, making it hard to breathe.
Lin Zhaojiang asked her softly, "What would you like to eat for lunch?"
However, the young woman's mind was clearly not on what to eat.
"You decide," she said absentmindedly.
"I know a really good Thai restaurant, want to try it?"
"Um……"
"Or, shall we have Western food?"
"Anything is fine."
"Wanwan," he put his arm around her shoulder, his eyes slightly narrowed, and chuckled, "Why do you seem like a completely different person after your exams?"
"You..." Song Wan stopped in her tracks, "Aren't you even going to ask me how my exam went?"
Seeing her preoccupied look, Lin Zhaojiang knew she hadn't done well on the exam.
He placed his hands on her shoulders, then stroked her face, his gaze full of affection. "Don't think about it now that the exam is over. Besides, it doesn't matter how you did. This isn't the only exam you'll take. If you don't do well this time, try again next time. You'll always achieve your dreams!"
"No!" Song Wan was a little anxious, but didn't know where to begin.
"What's wrong?"
“On the contrary!” She hesitated for a moment. “Zhaojiang, I can do all those questions! I even prepared for the interview questions…”
"Isn't this wonderful?" Lin Zhaojiang laughed heartily. "Then why are we having Western food? I'll have the club prepare something for you tonight to celebrate!"
“Zhaojiang…”
Song Wan grabbed his hand, looking troubled.
Lin Zhaojiang frowned slightly, realizing that something unusual might be happening.
"Don't rush, tell me slowly, what happened?"
"I've actually seen those questions before!"
*
Inside the car, Lin Zhaojiang's expression was somber as he listened to Song Wan recount the entire incident to him.
"I initially thought those two sets of questions were just practice questions. But I never expected... when I got to the exam hall, I discovered that those questions were exactly the same as the actual exam questions! The interview questions were also taken from those two sets of papers!"
"Are you sure?" Lin Zhaojiang looked at her. "Could it just be that the question type and the solution approach are the same?"
"I'm sure it's the exact same question!" Song Wan emphasized, "Even the numbers in the calculation problems haven't been changed!"
Lin Zhaojiang's eyes darkened.
He immediately had someone check who had set the questions, and soon his assistant sent over a list, which included Liu Yunkang.
But this is not Liu Yunkang's style!
Although Liu Yunkang feared him, he would never break his principles by using exam questions to please his woman!
"Zhaojiang, what's going on?" Song Wan frowned. "Did Editor-in-Chief Liu deliberately leak the questions? If so, he'll be held legally responsible, right?"
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