Chapter 88
"Ten days? You're going to be gone for ten days?"
Cheng Yuan's brow furrowed when she heard Tong Yufei say she'd be taking ten days off around two months from now. It was Spring Festival, a time of intense domestic and international events, and any single piece of news could garner several times more attention than usual. Anyone working in the news industry knows how desperately needed someone to be split into eight pieces. How could she possibly survive without a capable assistant? Although Tong Yufei had been working tirelessly for the past six months, with virtually no time off, Cheng Yuan still hoped she could help her get through this turbulent time, not to mention she had to take the postgraduate entrance exam in January, which would delay her for a few days.
Cheng Yuan said tentatively: "Just tell me what difficulties you have, and we will find a solution together."
"No way to think about it, he was shot."
For such a big thing, Cheng Yuan could only approve it, and she couldn't even say polite words like "come back early".
Currently, overseas travel is limited to a few countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, and the approval process is strict. Tong Yu had to go to Germany under the guise of visiting relatives, which involved a rather cumbersome process. First, she contacted the newly established overseas office through Chen Huaili and obtained an invitation letter to Germany. Fortunately, her work was not classified, so the company issued a certificate of consent for her travel abroad, which was relatively easy. She also had to prepare financial guarantee documents before applying for a passport. Passport processing takes about 50 days. After receiving the passport, she still had to apply for a visa and buy air tickets. She also went to the bank to fill out the "Application Form for Purchasing Foreign Exchange for Private Travel Abroad" and exchange some foreign currency for backup.
She calculated that by the time all the paperwork was complete, it would be almost Chinese New Year. She smiled bitterly to herself. If Mo Daoyan was seriously injured, he would die before she could get there. If it was only a minor injury, he should be fully recovered in two months. But she had to go this time. She had to prepare for the worst. What if he became disabled? During this period, she called the German hospital where Mo Daoyan was staying twice, but the person who answered the phone said he was unavailable, which made her even more worried.
In order to help Cheng Yuan share the pressure of reporting during the Spring Festival, she had to do some work in advance and had to work overtime almost every day in recent days. Fortunately, Mo Changying often took her brother home, saving her a lot of time. Her aunt had recently become obsessed with carving and was asking her brother for advice all day long. She also said that she wanted to borrow her brother to stay at her home during the winter vacation.
"Your brother is a genius." Mo Changying especially believed in the power of maternal genes. "His mother must have been a wonderful person."
She casually agreed: "My adoptive mother is indeed beautiful and intelligent."
On the eve of the postgraduate entrance examination, she worked overtime until 9:30 to submit the interview manuscript. She returned to her residence with a sense of relief and saw a familiar figure at the door. She rubbed her eyes several times before she was sure that it was not an illusion.
Before she could come to her senses, Mo Daoyan had already walked up to her: "Did you see a ghost?"
She was about to suspect that she had seen a ghost. He was wearing a beige sweater with a blue-gray jacket on the outside. He looked handsome and his face was rosy, with no sign of injury at all. She stared at him for a moment, her hand unconsciously reaching for his chest.
"We're about to get a divorce, this isn't appropriate," he said, raising his hand to block it. "At least let's talk inside. It's quite cold outside."
She ignored his joke: "Are you healed?"
“It wasn’t heavy to begin with.”
"But Dad...your dad said it's very heavy."
"Listen to him, is he a doctor or a military expert? He doesn't even have basic knowledge about gunshot wounds."
"Why did you come back suddenly?" Whether it was his physical condition or work arrangements, it was not a suitable time to return home.
"Mission accomplished, triumph naturally."
He completed his overseas mission ten months ahead of schedule. It sounds unbelievable, but it makes sense for him. He can even compress his master's and doctoral studies into two or three years. What's impossible?
"Aren't you leaving now?"
"That's for the future. I don't have any plans to send you on a government scholarship at the moment." Without waiting for her to respond, he took out his key and opened the door. "As we agreed, my early return is a reward for my hard work. You can't move out early just because of this. That would be a blasphemy to my efforts. As we agreed before, you can leave at the end of next year. I'll sleep in the study and won't disturb you."
After entering the house, he said "good night" and went back to his room to rest, without even taking a shower.
She followed him to the study door: "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Nervous about me?"
"We are not enemies."
This was not entirely an excuse. Mo Daoyan had helped her a lot before. Even if he was not her nominal husband, she could not sit idly by even if he was just an ordinary friend. Just like she wanted to go to Germany to visit him, it was also because she considered that if he did not receive adequate care and his recovery delayed his work, his return to China would be delayed, and the divorce would have to be postponed. Just the issue of changing the name on the house deed was enough to give her a headache.
No matter what, she hopes he is safe.
"That's true, but I can still fly back for more than ten hours if something happens?" He spread his hands. "How about you check it out?" When she really reached out to take off his coat, she immediately stepped back. "Since we're going to get divorced sooner or later, it's better to keep some distance. What do you think?"
She acted as if she really wanted to see him, but it seemed she was worrying too much. He was standing right in front of her, perfectly healthy and eloquent, so how could he possibly be in trouble? And she was even planning to spend 7,000 yuan on a plane ticket to fly abroad to take care of him. She was being too sentimental.
She took her hand back: "Go to sleep."
The next day she went to take an exam. He offered to take her there, but she flatly refused. The last time he acted so arrogantly in front of his colleagues was still fresh in her mind. After the divorce, all this would become a joke. She imitated his tone from last night: "You're about to get divorced, so you should keep your distance. We just haven't got a marriage certificate yet, but in reality, we're no longer husband and wife."
"Just consider it a thank you for the pumpkin pie," he said after taking the last bite. "I'm on vacation this week."
"Then take a good vacation."
She declined his kindness and rushed to the Communication University examination hall alone.
The first Ideological and Political Theory exam lasted from 8:30 AM to 11:30 PM. The biggest challenge wasn't the exam questions, but the biting cold. It was the lowest temperature of the winter, with ice already frozen in the morning. The old, drafty classroom, which served as the exam venue, was like an icy cellar. Unfortunately, she was assigned a window seat, and the wind cracked the windowpane next to her during the exam. The invigilator considerately covered the gap with newspaper, but the biting wind still seeped in. After three hours, her fingers were so cold she could barely hold a pen, and by the time she handed in her paper, her legs were numb. As she left the exam room, she had no time to reflect on her answers. The strength she had forged during the exam had faded, and now she felt the chill seep into her bones.
She rubbed her numb legs and feet mechanically, and the white breath she exhaled formed a layer of fine frost on her eyelashes.
The English exam in the afternoon was imminent. The cafeteria of Communication University was only for teachers and students of the school. Outsiders were not allowed to dine there directly. Candidates usually had lunch nearby, but Communication University was located in the western suburbs and the nearest restaurant was three kilometers away. She had checked the time earlier and brought bread and a thermos to save time. She hid in the pavilion on campus with a dozen other candidates and had a quick meal.
The dry and cold bread barely filled her stomach, but it couldn't dispel the chill all over her body. Worried that her speed in answering questions in the afternoon would be affected, she kept rubbing her hands and blowing out air, but her frozen fingers were like icicles under the eaves, not even a trace of warmth could be felt.
"So you were hiding here." Mo Daoyan had stood behind her without her noticing. He patted her shoulder with his warm palm and stuffed a hot water bottle into her red, frozen hand. "Let's go to the car." Seeing her hesitation, he dragged her out without saying anything. "If you let the cold affect your performance, God won't give you an admission place."
The black car stopped quietly at the school gate. The moment she got into the back seat with him, the cold wind was isolated from her and warmth instantly enveloped her whole body. The heat from the hot water bottle gradually melted the stiffness in her fingertips. She moved her fingers that were gradually regaining consciousness and took out her vocabulary notebook to memorize them.
In fact, as Mo Daoyan often said, cramming before an exam will have little effect, but psychological comfort is also invaluable.
She had just turned two pages when he suddenly grabbed her ankle. Before she could react, her wet and cold shoes and socks were taken off in a few seconds.
He lifted her ankle and gently placed her calf on his knee: "It's all frozen. Let me warm you up."
She subconsciously retracted her feet: "It's not cold, don't..."
"Still stubborn? I've been tutoring you for so long. If you fail the exam for this reason, where will my reputation be?" He lifted up her sweater without hesitation and pressed her cold soles against his abdomen. The contact of their warm skin made her tremble all over, and her toes curled up unconsciously. He held her foot firmly with one hand and reached into her trouser leg with the other, kneading her calf muscles with moderate force. "Is it heavy?"
She shook her head, and a warm current flowed continuously from his tight abdomen. His massage technique was precise and experienced, and she didn't know when he learned it. Her feet quickly regained consciousness, but seemed to be out of control, and she unconsciously wanted to drill into the warmer part of his waist and abdomen.
Her heart warmed, and she hurriedly pulled back: "It's warm already."
"Wait a moment." He held her ankle tightly. "When you're fully recovered, I'll take you for a bowl of hot noodle soup. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome if you have a stomachache during the exam. The exam room is like a battlefield, and every detail must be considered." Then he leaned over and took out a thick cotton coat and a pair of warm boots from the passenger seat. "Add them for the afternoon session to keep warm."
She put down the vocabulary book and said softly, "You don't have to be so nice to me. I have nothing to repay you."
This sounded familiar, but it wasn't the response he wanted to hear.
"If you still think I have other intentions, then you really don't need to give anything in return. This is your seventh year of marriage. Compared to what you've given, what I've done is nothing. Even if we put aside our marital relationship, we still have another year. We'll still be roommates and need to take care of each other from time to time." He looked at her calmly and said, "Let's just treat it as getting to know each other again and spend this year well, okay?"
"I can't be your roommate anymore." She lowered her eyes and stroked the mottled notes in her vocabulary notebook. "If nothing unexpected happens, I will move out in May."
"Tong Yufei, why did you change so quickly? You agreed last night." He tightened his grip uncontrollably, and only released it slowly when he saw her frown. "Do you really have to leave early? Am I really that unbearable for you?"
"I've got a spot. I wanted to tell you last night, but you didn't give me a chance." She pulled her foot back, placing it barefoot on the car mat. She turned her gaze outside, following a bird she couldn't name. The bird shook off leaves from its wings, spread its wings, and flew to a branch, tilting its head to peck at the remaining fruit. "I want a home that's completely my own."
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