Xu Qingyan hadnât lied; he really had to return to the site soon, as there was work left to hand over.
The luggage in the dorm hadnât been packed yet, but fortunately, he didnât have much. However, by the time he finished everything, it would probably be around four or five in the morning.
Xu Qingyan could only sleep for a maximum of two hours tonight, as he still had to take Pei Muchan to the airport in the morning. After all that, he would have to come back to pick up Lin Wanzhou and head back to Qinghe together.
Because of this, he simply had no time to linger in the hotel. Any ideas about sweating it out in a bath to foster intimacy or anything of that sort were out of the question.
This desperate time management meant that even if he had any other thoughts right now, his body couldnât handle it.
Lin Wanzhouâs mood wasnât high at first, but hearing that he would pick her up tomorrow noon, her spirits lifted immediately. She hadnât been back to Qinghe for a long time and was somewhat looking forward to it.
Maybe she could take a walk by the reservoir or stroll in the streets at dusk.
âOh, okay.â
âAlright then, get some rest,â Xu Qingyan couldnât resist stretching out his hand to pat her head, given how Linâs classmate was meek and easy to bully, âIâm heading back to the site now.â
At midnight on New Yearâs Eve, the main venue and the branch venues would wish the people of the entire country a Happy New Year simultaneously.
There was still some time before midnight, and calculating quickly, he might just make it on time. It was an opportunity to show his face; being on time was good, but it was also fine if he couldnât make it.
Outside the hotel room door, the corridor was brightly lit. Xu Qingyan stood outside, his feet on the grey carpet that stretched onward, covering the entire corridor.
Lin Wanzhou looked up and met his gaze, then suddenly averted her eyes, her ears turning red. She barely managed to utter one word.
âHmm.â
Bang.
The door closed, and Lin Wanzhou leaned against it, daydreaming.
The work schedule Wen Yun had set for her was to finish everything by six oâclock in the afternoon on New Yearâs Eve, but to save time, she had pulled an all-nighter and was still feeling a bit muddled.
She had watched the performance tonight, and then⦠he was too busy, constantly on the phone.
Lin Wanzhou sat on the bed and casually turned on the live TV broadcast. Thinking about going back to Qinghe tomorrow brightened her mood again, filled with anticipation as she headed toward the bathroom.
When she came out of the bath, it was just midnight. The main venue and four branch venues appeared on the same screen, a group of people crowded into the frame, cheerfully wishing the people of the nation a Happy New Year.
In the Changâan branch venueâs shot, a familiar figure stood in the second row of the crowd.
Lin Wanzhou suddenly found it somewhat novel and took a photo of the scene with her phone, sending it to Xu Qingyan. While doing this, she stared intently at the screen.
The words of blessing were actually quite brief, totaling only about a dozen seconds. The image was a bit blurry, but luckily the hotelâs high-definition TV was clear enough.
Because it was a live broadcast, she got a little excited when she saw Xu Qingyanâs gaze shift downwards.
The screen switched, and after about half a minute, Xu Qingyan replied to her message.
âDid you see it?â
âYeah.â
On-site.
Xu Qingyan replied to the message and received a call from his mom.
He usually talked to his mother twice a week with voice calls, and they texted on WeChat the rest of the time. The signal at the branch venue wasnât good, so Zhang Hongmei had chosen to call directly.
âNo, Mom, you havenât gone to bed yet?â
The voice on the other end was noisy; it seemed like Zhang Hongmei wasnât alone. He could hear at least three or four older relativesâ voices mixing with the sound of the TV.
âWeâre at your second auntâs house watching TV. We just saw you!â Zhang Hongmeiâs voice was loud, âYou rascal, you even kept it secret from your mom.â
Xu Qingyan was embarrassed; he hadnât kept anything from the Empress Dowager Zhang. His own mom was blatantly spouting nonsenseâit really ran in the family.
All he had said was not to let it out until the New Year.
As expected, his second aunt started speaking in a loud voice.
âBig nephew, how could you not tell us about such good news? Itâs a big deal for the Xu family, like a stroke of great luck from the ancestors!â@@novelbin@@
âYeah, your mom told us you were some kind of designer or something!â This was the voice of the villageâs top intelligence leader, Aunt Sun, who was always stationed at the village entrance.
Village intelligence networks were as effective as the imperial secret police. Not going home for the New Year was akin to being captured.
In the simple value system of the people, being part of the Spring Festival Gala meant you were someone of significance. Participating in the Gala plus being seen by the whole country equated to making a name for oneself in their eyes.
âHa, just ordinary contributions to the country,â Xu Qingyan understood his relativesâ mentality all too well, and went along with them, âIâve been pulling all-nighters these past few months, and the salary is just over ten thousand.â
As soon as he said that, the praises became even louder.
âI knew Qingyan would be successful. Not long after graduation and youâre already on the Spring Festival Gala!â
âMoney isnât important, making a contribution to the country is what counts! It should be Qingyan earning money; no one else in ten miles can match such an outstanding person!â
âYes, didnât the village next door have someone who got into Tsinghua? Even now heâs still just working, I think Qingyan is much more capable!â
Xu Qingyan just grinned; he knew the Tsinghua graduate they were talking about. They went to the same high school, which was always on the honor roll for college entrance exams, and the guy worked at the yamen in Pingsha.
Although he was only a deputy, he was young, and it was likely only a matter of years before he would join the prefectureâs administration. However, as he wasnât acquainted with him, there was no need to say more.
Damn, the folks are really freaking enthusiasticâno filter whatsoever!
After experiencing a wave of hometown enthusiasm, Xu Qingyan explained that he was just one part of the whole process. As it turned out, the more he explained, the more praise he received.
He guessed that his motherâs vanity must have inflated to the limit already, and after urging him to take care of himself, he hung up the phone.
On New Yearâs Eve, the older folks were typically more spirited. He sighed faintly, wishing he could sleep, but unfortunately, with greater power came greater responsibility.
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