Rongcheng University, Girls' Dormitory 302.
At half past ten in the evening, the dormitory building was much quieter than usual during the summer, with only occasional sounds of washing and hushed laughter from the hallway.
Chu Yao had just finished showering. Dressed in a slightly faded pure cotton nightgown, she sat at her desk, drying her wet hair with a towel.
The desk lamp cast a warm yellow light, illuminating the open English textbook and a notebook full of notes in front of her.
Even with her tiring part-time job, she never neglected her studies.
Her phone screen suddenly lit up, and the WeChat notification sound was particularly clear in the quiet dormitory.
Chu Yao picked up her phone and, upon seeing the familiar black avatar and period-dot nickname, her heart instinctively skipped a beat.
Mr. Ming?
Ever since that desperate afternoon encounter in the cafeteria half a month ago, this man was like a ray of light, shining into her gloomy life.
Not only did he bring news that her brother was still alive and offer her financial support, but he also repeatedly helped her resolve crises in simple yet effective ways when she was targeted by Qin Xiao, criticized by the entire school, and overwhelmed by work.
Although they pretended not to know each other in real life, and she still didn't know Mr. Ming's full name or specific identity, that unconditional trust had taken deep root in her heart.
She clicked on the message.
[.]: "When you go to work tomorrow, ask your manager for leave. We're going to Yanjing."
Chu Yao was stunned.
Yanjing?
She had never even left the city in her life, let alone traveled to the capital city, Yanjing, a thousand miles away. Why suddenly Yanjing?
Countless questions flashed through her mind, but her fingers were already typing a reply on the keyboard.
[Chu Yao]: "Okay, Mr. Ming. Do I need to prepare anything? How long will we be gone, approximately?"
Her reply was direct, without questioning, only execution and inquiries about details.
This unconditional obedience surprised even herself, but thinking of the person her brother entrusted her to, and recalling everything that had happened in the past half month, she couldn't harbor any doubts.
[.]: "For the leave reason, say you're not feeling well and need to go to a big hospital for a check-up. The exact duration is uncertain, so ask for a week first. Also, ask the restaurant manager for an advance of half a month's salary, saying it's for urgent use."
[.]: "Additionally, casually reveal the news of your trip to Yanjing to your two roommates. No need to explain why, just say you have an urgent matter you must attend to."
Seeing this instruction, Chu Yao stopped drying her hair.
She frowned slightly. Reveal it to her roommates?
Those two... they had been quite enthusiastic towards her lately, always initiating conversations, asking about her part-time job, and even inadvertently mentioning how handsome, wealthy, and charming Young Master Qin Xiao was.
Chu Yao wasn't stupid; on the contrary, she was very sensitive. Even without Fang Ming's reminder, she knew that these two roommates were no longer just simple roommates.
Now Mr. Ming was asking her to deliberately reveal her travel plans... Chu Yao bit her lip, seemingly understanding something.
[Chu Yao]: "I understand, Mr. Ming. I will do as you say."
[.]: "Keep in touch."
[Chu Yao]: "Mm!"
Putting down her phone, Chu Yao sat on the chair, looking at the deep night outside the window, and took a deep breath.
Although she didn't know why Mr. Ming wanted her to go to Yanjing, nor why she had to reveal the news to those two obviously problematic roommates.
But she believed that Mr. Ming must have his reasons.
And she only needed to cooperate.
Thinking this, she looked at her two roommates: "Yueyue, Weiwei, I want to go to Yanjing."
"Yanjing?" Li Wei poked her head out from her bed, her eyes instantly lighting up: "Going to play? Why suddenly Yanjing?"
"Not to play..." Chu Yao lowered her head, pretending to tidy her bed, her voice muffled: "Something urgent came up, I have to go."
Zhang Yue and Li Wei exchanged glances, both seeing excitement in each other's eyes.
Something's happening!
The two probed with a few more questions, but Chu Yao remained tight-lipped, only saying it was a private, urgent matter... Early the next morning, Fang Ming again reminded Chu Yao of some details. Chu Yao followed Fang Ming's instructions: go to work, ask for leave, get an advance on her salary.
At the restaurant, the manager had already been spoken to by Qin Xiao, so he naturally wouldn't make things difficult for her.
Meanwhile, at Qin Group, Fang Ming was already standing before Qin Xiao, reporting on the situation.
"Young Master Qin, there's been some movement with Chu Yao."
"Speak." Qin Xiao leaned back in his chair, twirling a fountain pen in his hand.
"She suddenly asked the restaurant manager for a week's leave today and also took an advance on half a month's salary, saying she had an urgent matter and needed to go to Yanjing."
"Yanjing?" The fountain pen in Qin Xiao's hand stopped, and he narrowed his eyes slightly: "Isn't her hometown Rong City? She has no relatives or friends in Yanjing, why would she go there?"
"That's what puzzles me too." Fang Ming adjusted his glasses: "So I had Zhang Yue and Li Wei suggest accompanying her, on the grounds that they 'weren't comfortable with her traveling alone.' And for safety's sake, I took the liberty of going with them as Li Wei's boyfriend."
"Li Wei's boyfriend?? Hmm, that reason works."
Qin Xiao nodded thoughtfully. He had been busy lately trying to bring down Mu Qingxue's company and didn't have time to go to Yanjing himself.
Fang Ming's arrangement was perfectly fine.
However, something suddenly came to mind, and he looked at Fang Ming: "Does Chu Yao know that Li Wei's boyfriend is you?"
"Not yet." Fang Ming answered straightforwardly: "I just had Li Wei tell her that she'd be bringing her boyfriend along, but I didn't tell her who this boyfriend was!"
"Is that so..."
Qin Xiao stroked his chin, thinking for two seconds: "Have Chen Qian go with you. As a couple, you can say she's Zhang Yue's good friend who heard they were going to Yanjing and wanted to join for fun. As for Li Wei's boyfriend? You'll need to arrange someone else."
"This..."
Fang Ming looked troubled upon hearing this, not pretending, but genuinely feeling a bit awkward.
"Young Master Qin, I don't have any problem with it, but Miss Chen... she doesn't seem to care much for me."
He didn't directly say the woman looked down on him, but he believed Qin Xiao understood his meaning.
Qin Xiao understood and waved his hand dismissively: "It's fine, I'll talk to her."
After saying this, he looked at the unmoving Fang Ming and frowned slightly.
"What? Is there something else?"
Fang Ming's expression showed a hint of embarrassment: "That... activity funds..."
Qin Xiao was somewhat speechless: "Go to finance and get fifty thousand. If it's not enough, come back and report it to finance!"
"Understood, Young Master Qin!" Fang Ming remained composed.
Excluding Chu Yao, a total of five people flying to Yanjing, and only fifty thousand for activity funds? For a normal boss, this wouldn't be an issue, but for the top young master in Rong City, it seemed a bit stingy.
Of course, Fang Ming couldn't say such a thing. Anyway, his objective had been achieved, and everything else was irrelevant.
As for the additional Chen Qian? Fang Ming could only figure out a new solution.