The Municipal Bureau's reception room.
Ruan Chen got out of the car yawning and sat down at the conference table, still looking sleepy.
She wandered to the end of the long table in a daze, like a ghost, and sat down quietly under the gaze of a group of people.
Xu Xiaolan grabbed Ruan Chen by the collar and lifted her up, gritting her teeth and smiling dignifiedly, "This is Deputy Director Lü's position, where are you going?"
Ruan Chen was simply used to sitting in the main seat on the deserted island, and her physical memory made her subconsciously head towards the seat at the very end of the table.
Chen San and Chen Si were enthusiastically exchanging experiences with members of the Municipal Bureau when they saw Ruan Chen arrive. They got up to see him off, saying, "Let's talk another day."
Everyone had left, leaving only Ruan Chen, Chen San, Chen Si, and Xu Xiaolan in the room.
Chen San and Chen Si, with their ever-present professional smiles, asked Ruan Chen, "Is it because your studies are too heavy or you haven't rested well? Why are you so sleepy?"
Ruan Chen forced back a yawn, wiped away her tears, and said, "Let's get down to business. I don't have much homework tonight, so it's rare for me to be able to go to bed early."
Deputy Director Lü arrived soon after, looked at Ruan Chen with a kind expression, and sat down with some difficulty in his slightly overweight body. "You guys talk, don't mind me, I'm just here to listen."
He's just sitting here supporting Ruan Chen.
After saying that, Deputy Director Lü half-closed his eyes and began to taste the glass of water in his cup.
Chen San and Chen Si's request was simple. They had been cooperating with Su Ze before, and they turned a blind eye to some of Su Ze's underground businesses. In return, Su Ze wanted to help them find the people that Chen San and Chen Si's organization wanted in the designated area—drug dealers, arms dealers, and money laundering organizations.
The collaboration in previous years has always been very pleasant.
It wasn't until recently, when Chen San and Chen Si's target disappeared from Su Ze's territory and they sent a signal requesting Su Ze's help, but Su Ze didn't respond for a long time, that they learned about the changes on Liuli Island.
But they did not alert Su Tan.
“Originally, we were going to talk to Miss Su directly,” Chen Si explained, “but one time we overheard Miss Su instructing her subordinates, ‘This matter still needs to be discussed with the second-in-command,’ and that’s how we learned that Su Ze had designated a successor.”
Chen San and she were in sync, and Chen Si continued, "We've been guests on the Boss's territory before, so we came uninvited to the Boss's room this time. Of course, our real intention was to help you find out where Su Ze is."
"Let's get down to business," Ruan Chen said listlessly, propping her forehead up with her hand, and quickly steered the conversation back on track. "Please, I really want to go to bed early."
Chen San smiled apologetically, "In short, the island hid your tracks very well. We only found your...winter vacation homework in Su Ze's room."
Ruan Chen covered her face.
Whose powerful second-in-command, the Blood Skull, still has to do his winter break homework?
Oh, it's me.
Chen Si continued, "So that's why we came."
Ruan Chen reached out and took the folder. There were only a few pages of paper on it. "Is that all?"
"Indeed, please take a look."
Ruan Chen read through the three sheets of paper once, Xu Xiaolan read through them once, and Deputy Director Lü read through them once before finally signing them.
These two were genuinely worried that Ruan Chen would suffer a loss.
Ruan Chen signed the agreement readily; she couldn't be happier with such a win-win situation.
Finally, Chen San and Chen Si left their contact information with Ruan Chen, saying, "Please don't hesitate to ask if you need any help."
The matter passed uneventfully, but the next morning, Fu Jianzhi called.
Ruan Chen was brushing his teeth when he spat out a mouthful of white foam and asked indistinctly, "What's wrong, young master? You're up so early too?"
Fu Jianzhi's voice sounded tense on the other end, "Sister, I heard that Interpol agents from F country have arrived, and they're here for you?"
Ruan Chen was not surprised that Fu Jianzhi knew about this news. After all, he was the young master of the Fu family. If such things did not reach his ears, then Fu Jianzhi would have wasted the past few years in the Fu family.
“I didn’t cause any trouble,” Ruan Chen said, brushing her teeth halfway through, and quickly smoothed Fu Jianzhi’s hair. “I went to Liuli Island for a few days during winter break, and I happened to be a witness to a case they were investigating. They came to me to find out more about the situation.”
Fu Jianzhi remained silent.
Ruan Chen quickly added, "They've already left."
"Okay, sis, goodbye."
Ruan Chen hung up the phone and belatedly realized that the child seemed to have a slightly aggrieved tone.
But she really didn't have the energy to worry about the thoughts of teenagers.
At the Fu family home, Fu Jianzhi hung up the phone. Fu Lin was eating breakfast while glancing at his son's expression. "If Ruan Chen doesn't want to talk about it, there's no need to ask. She hasn't asked about you either, has she?"
Fu Jianzhi knew he shouldn't pry into what Ruan Chen was doing—in fact, that's what he did most of the time, maintaining a comfortable and appropriate distance from Ruan Chen with restraint.
But he found that as he got older, he seemed to be increasingly unable to maintain that calm and respectful yet intimate feeling in front of her.
He felt as if he had been torn in two alive.
One half of him restrained himself and watched her silently, seeing her radiant and soaring higher and higher; while the other half was screaming wildly in his heart, unable to bear the distance between them, and in his spare time he couldn't help but wonder what Ruan Chen was doing, as if he had gone mad.
"I've finished eating, I'm going to the research institute now."
After the start of the semester, there were midterms, weekly tests, and diagnostic tests, all sorts of miscellaneous exams and studies. Although Ruan Chen managed to cope with them without much difficulty, there were other things to worry about, so her days were not leisurely.
For example, the company that acquired her and Lin Fengzi's patents is currently on the rise and needs to improve its technology and relocate its factory.
There's also the matter with her art teacher, Yu Lei. Her work has reached the final stage of the Venice International Painting Competition. In Yu Lei's words, Ruan Chen is almost certain to win the first prize.
Yu Lei's original plan was to display her prized student Ruan Chen's work in the center of her solo art exhibition, but now Yu Lei has changed her mind and wants to hold a solo art exhibition for Ruan Chen.
In April, during Jingzhou's annual charity auction, we'll also put up a few of Ruan Chen's works.
Ruan Chen had no objections to any of Yu Lei's arrangements, as long as Yu Lei didn't expose her identity, she was fine with doing whatever she wanted.
Anyway, all her works are signed "yan", and as long as Yu Lei doesn't say anything, no one will think of her as Ruan Chen.
As time progressed steadily until the end of March, there was still no news from Su Ze. Su Tan simply resigned and settled down on the deserted island. As for Ruan Chen, she also ushered in her first major competition since starting high school.
It is the National High School Physics Competition. First prize winners are guaranteed admission to the First Military Academy, second prize winners receive 50 points on the college entrance examination, and third prize winners receive 30 points on the college entrance examination.
Ruan Chen gave a perfunctory test, but Bo Nian, Yu Xiaoya, and the other classmates all hated this competition and were secretly competing with each other.
On the day the rankings were released, Ruan Chen was delayed for half a day due to some matters. As soon as she entered the classroom, she noticed that the atmosphere was strange, noisy, and chaotic.
"What's wrong?" she asked Yu Xiaoya.
"After the rankings were announced in the first class, Bo Nian disappeared!"
"Him? Didn't he estimate his score before? Except for the third to last question where the steps were a bit controversial, he should have gotten all the others right."
"Weren't the rankings supposed to be released today? Physics has always been Bo Nian's strong subject, but for some reason his score was canceled this time!" Yu Xiaoya's eyes were full of worry. "Bo Nian didn't say a word at the time, and he didn't come to the second class. It's almost noon now, and everyone is looking for him!"
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