Chapter 155: Farewell

With a single word from Father Zhao, the Zhao family scattered in a flurry.

Zhao Fan offered an apology to the security guards, and Mother Zhao immediately pulled out several packs of cigarettes to hand over.

"Sorry to bother you all today. We left in a rush and didn't bring anything else. Take these few packs as a token of good fortune, and thank you very much."

The guards had been somewhat agitated, but with Mother Zhao smiling and handing out cigarettes, their anger quickly dissipated.

"You're too kind, just doing our job."

"Right, right, just our job."

Back home, Father Zhao immediately asked, "Did you get it back?"

"Got it back."

Zhao Fan unwrapped the crumpled paper, set the money aside, and smoothed the paper flat.

Father and Mother Zhao exchanged glances, and upon receiving this confirmation, they both breathed sighs of relief.

Mother Zhao said with annoyance, "This is all your fault for bringing a bunch of strangers into the house. It's lucky they didn't know the value of things or it wouldn't have been left around. If someone who knew their stuff had walked in, our family would have been ruined. By the way, was that item from your sister's place? Hmph, your sister is useless, and the child she raised is just as bad."

Father Zhao, still feeling in the wrong, let her rant without daring to utter a single loud breath.

"Alright, Mom, it's getting late. You should get some sleep."

Mother Zhao glared at him. "I'd like to sleep, but look at this mess all over the floor. Can I possibly sleep?"

Zhao Fan gave a dry cough. "It's no big deal. I'll have someone come clean it up tomorrow."

"Why hire someone? I can clean it myself."

"Mom, it's not like we're short on money. Spending a little to have people help clean is so much easier, saving you from running up and down and wearing yourself out. Dad, hurry up and take Mom to bed. You've both been on your feet all day."

Father Zhao mumbled an assent, grabbed Mother Zhao, and practically bolted.

Given their age, they were moving almost as briskly as youths.

Zhao Fan lowered his gaze and tore the paper into shreds. This was a hard lesson; he definitely needed to buy a safe.

The next day, Zhao Fan hired a cleaning crew at a higher rate. They cleaned for a full day and cleared out numerous unusable items.

At dinner, Mother Zhao said unhappily, "You treat people like family, but they certainly don't treat you as family. Let's see if you still think about dragging people into business ventures after this!"

Father Zhao shook his head hastily, gesturing to the heavens as he swore, "Just this once! Absolutely never again will I have such thoughts."

"I hope you keep your word and don't end up slapping your own face."

"Right, I know."

Watching from the side, a hint of amusement crept into the corners of Zhao Fan's eyes. His parents bickered constantly, but their affection was equally real.

"Dad, Mom, come on, have some food." Zhao Fan placed a piece of beef on each of their plates. "We're family, let's not dwell on mood-spoiling topics."

"I'm not the one trying to spoil the mood."

Father Zhao quickly chimed in, "It's me, it's me! The mood-spoilers are me. Hui'er, I truly know I was wrong. Please forgive me just this once."

"..."

Street lamps cast long shadows across the ground through the windows, and as a gust of wind swept by, dark clouds drifted across the sky.

Over the next few days, rain and snow alternated, forcing everyone to stay indoors while temperatures plummeted.

The cold snap lasted right until the end of the holiday. Shortly after company employees returned to work, the schools also reopened.

Zhao Fan stepped away from corporate affairs to report to the university.

Just as he entered the school gates, a figure suddenly appeared ahead of him.

Before Zhao Fan could take a closer look, the person was already right in front of him.

"Zhao Fan, long time no see."

Taking a closer look, he realized with mild surprise that it was Yang Yuqing, whom he hadn't seen in nearly half a year.

"When did you get back?"

Yang Yuqing was dressed in a long white down coat, wrapped up like a bundle, yet the unzipped front kept her from looking bulky at all.

Yang Yuqing replied, "I've been back for a while. Oh, by the way, I ran into Du Xinyan a few days ago. She said she's working at your company and that you hired her. Is that true?"

"Half true."

Just mentioning Du Xinyan gave Zhao Fan a headache; he had never seen that woman behave sensibly for long.

Before the New Year, she had stirred up the whole business with Bai Yongyuan trying to partner with the beverage processing plant; after the New Year, she popped up claiming she wanted to broker a business deal between him and Haiyuan Supermarket.

Putting aside whether that was true or false, even if Du Xinyan could bridge a connection between him and Haiyuan Supermarket, who had ever heard of a supermarket engaging in manufacturing partnerships?

Du Xinyan was truly unreliable to the extreme.

Noticing Zhao Fan's troubled expression, Yang Yuqing arched an eyebrow. "What? Did she give you a headache?"

"A massive headache. That Du Xinyan is completely unreasonable."

Unreasonable.

Yang Yuqing couldn't help laughing, her curved brows and eyes exceptionally captivating against the chilly weather.

Noticing that quite a few people around them were casting sideways glances at Yang Yuqing, Zhao Fan narrowed his eyes slightly as a realization hit him.

"Why are you at Yangcheng University?"

"I transferred back."

"Transferred back? What do you mean?"

Yang Yuqing glanced ahead into the campus. "Let's walk and talk. I haven't registered yet."

"Alright."

As they walked side by side, Zhao Fan learned that Yang Yuqing had returned via an exchange student transfer program.

Her overseas institution had a few slots allowing students to return home for exchange terms, and Yang Yuqing had chosen Yangcheng University.

"I figured rather than going somewhere unfamiliar, I might as well come back to Yangcheng. At least here, I know my way around."

Zhao Fan agreed, "You're spot on about that."

Amidst their conversation, the two arrived at the registration desk and completed their paperwork in turn.
Yang Yuqing asked, "Do you have any plans for later?"

"Nothing at the moment."

"Wanna grab a bite together?"

Zhao Fan's first instinct was to pull out his phone, but a few seconds later, an apologetic look crossed his face.

"I'm sorry, I have a few things to attend to, I might not—"

"Yuqing."

An affectionate voice suddenly cut through the air. Zhao Fan and Yang Yuqing turned their heads simultaneously, and both fell silent immediately.

"Bai Yu, when did you get back?"

Indeed, the person calling out to Yang Yuqing was none other than Bai Yu, the third young master of the Bai family who had previously been shipped abroad.

While Yang Yuqing looked bewildered, Zhao Fan found it rather bizarre that the Bai family would allow Bai Yu to return at a time like this. Were they looking to pick a fight with him again?

At that exact moment, Du Xinyan stepped out from behind Bai Yu.

"Oh my, I haven't seen you in months, Yuqing! You're getting prettier by the day."

Zhao Fan: "..."

Yang Yuqing: "..."

Why was it Du Xinyan again?

Acting as if nothing was amiss, Du Xinyan walked up to Yang Yuqing with a beaming smile.

"Yuqing, it's been quite a while since I last saw you."

Yang Yuqing maintained a blank expression. "Oh."

"Are you still mad at me? Yuqing, I already told you I didn't mean it, and I apologized to you. Why must you still be like this?"

"Whether you meant it or not is none of my concern, and I am not accepting your apology."

With that, Yang Yuqing stepped around Du Xinyan intending to leave, only to have the latter grab her wrist and yank her back a few paces.

"Du Xinyan, what are you doing?"

Du Xinyan piped up, "I'm not doing anything, I just want to apologize to you properly. I know I was wrong, won't you please forgive me?"

Yang Yuqing snapped harshly, "Let go!"

"I won't."