Yi Jinbai huddled under the covers, finally too afraid to move. Watching Jiang Shuiyun close the door and leave, he gently moved to the spot where Jiang Shuiyun had been. The warm temperature and the faint fragrance emanating from Jiang Shuiyun had a particularly soothing effect, and he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Shuiyun, however, was not sleepy at all. Standing by the window, watching the snow falling outside, she made a phone call to the people in the car outside, preparing for her flight back, and leaving at dawn.
After lying on the soft couch in the room for two hours, Jiang Shuiyun glanced at the time, got up, and realized it was almost five o'clock. She tiptoed downstairs and into the kitchen.
Jiang Shuiyun's cooking skills haven't improved much in the past few years. She learned by looking at her phone, kneading dough, mixing filling, and making some ugly dumplings. Then she cooked some porridge and stir-fried two dishes with her limited cooking skills. She could heat them up and eat them after Yi Jinbai woke up.
After doing all that, Jiang Shuiyun found a piece of red paper, folded it, took out some cash from her wallet, and put it inside. She had heard that this was called lucky money, and everyone would receive it during the New Year to bless the year with peace and good fortune.
After going upstairs, I tiptoed to open the door to Yi Jinbai's room. Yi Jinbai was curled up on the bed, only half of his face showing outside the blanket, sleeping peacefully and obediently.
Following tradition, Jiang Shuiyun placed the New Year's money under Yi Jinbai's pillow, gently patted Yi Jinbai's head, feeling somewhat reluctant, but it was time for her to leave.
Jiang Shuiyun closed the door, went downstairs, glanced at the food in the kitchen, thought for a moment, and then picked up a pen to leave a note on the table.
Wait for me to come back.
After doing all this, Jiang Shuiyun went to the entrance to change her boots, put on her coat, and gently closed the door.
The snow fell quite heavily overnight, leaving a thick layer in the courtyard. Each step left a deep footprint. Jiang Shuiyun glanced down at the footprint, then stepped on it again, looked around, and compacted it a bit more.
When Yi Jinbai woke up, he stretched and looked to his side. Remembering that Jiang Shuiyun had slept in the next room last night, he felt a surge of joy. He pushed back the covers and got out of bed. As he was putting on his shoes, he noticed something red under his pillow.
He took it out and glanced at it. It was a piece of money wrapped in red paper. He was stunned for a moment. He remembered that when the old dean was still alive, he would put a red envelope with New Year's money in it and put it under his pillow.
After being lost in thought for a long time, Yi Jinbai carefully put the New Year's money back, patted his pillow, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
With a light heart, Yi Jinbai opened the door and walked to the next room. He quietly opened the door, glanced inside, and saw that the neatly made bed was empty. He looked around suspiciously before finally confirming that Jiang Shuiyun was indeed not there.
With a slight frown, Yi Jinbai went downstairs, searching left and right but unable to find Jiang Shuiyun. Turning back, he saw the food in the kitchen, quickly went in, and found a note on the table.
Wait for me to come back.
It seemed that Jiang Shuiyun had already left. Yi Jinbai felt a little disappointed, but looking at the breakfast that Jiang Shuiyun had prepared on the table, the disappointment was overshadowed by the sweetness.
There wasn't much food, and Yi Jinbai was quite full. She put away the note, put on her cotton coat, and went for a walk in the yard to digest her food. As soon as she opened the door, a line of deep footprints in the yard caught her attention. She withdrew her outstretched foot and ran upstairs.
Upon reaching his bedroom, the moment Yi Jinbai drew back the curtains, he saw a large heart in the yard, made of footprints in the snow, with a reclining human figure slightly to the left in the center—that must be Jiang Shuiyun.
Yi Jinbai had never felt so happy before. He rushed downstairs and stood on the heart-shaped footprint. He then fell onto the snow to the right of the heart, pressing down to form another human shape. The two human shapes pressed their hands together, as if they were holding hands.
After lying in the snow for a while, Yi Jinbai stood up again, ran to the bedroom, and couldn't help but smile foolishly at the two people holding hands in the yard. He took out his phone, took a picture, sent it to Jiang Shuiyun, and then carefully saved it.
Jiang Shuiyun had just returned. Although she was able to come out this time, it didn't mean she could contact the outside world, so she hadn't seen the message yet. She was just about to go back to her room to catch up on sleep when someone came to invite her over to discuss the matter.
The matter is almost settled, so what else is there to discuss?
Jiang Shuiyun walked over there while thinking. There were quite a few people. She glanced at her seat and sat down. The conference room quieted down.
At the start of the meeting, someone handed Jiang Shuiyun a meeting outline. Jiang Shuiyun flipped through it casually. There was nothing important at the beginning, but even after flipping to the end, there was nothing relevant to her.
Jiang Shuiyun casually put the things aside, sipped her tea, and kept one ear open to listen.
A moment later, the person in charge of the meeting looked at Jiang Shuiyun and asked, "Professor Jiang, what do you think about whether your identity should be made public?"
"Does it make a difference whether it's public or not? Do I need to disclose my identity?"
Jiang Shuiyun countered that there was really no need to discuss this matter. Everyone knew that she was the heir to the Jianghe Group, and her name was still listed as the legal representative of the Jianghu Group. These two were the owners of the holographic core technology. If she was afraid of retaliation or assassination, her identities were already enough to warrant assassination. Why would she care about adding one more?
"Professor Jiang makes a good point. Then it's settled. Will you be attending the event that day?"
"That day is the Lantern Festival, I'm not going, I have to go home, let's just use holography."
Jiang Shuiyun thought for a moment. She had to go back to spend the Lantern Festival with Yi Jinbai that day, and it would be quite boring to sit there for so long at such a large event. It would be better to show off her results directly, which would kill two birds with one stone.
"Okay, everything will be done as you wish. Also, what do you think about Professor Jiang and Professor Meng?"
The man wrote it down and then asked Jiang Shuiyun's parents what they thought. The main reason was that these two people were rarely seen by others. They would not attend any meetings or anything unrelated to their profession, so they could not be contacted. The only option was to ask Jiang Shuiyun.
"You'll have to ask them; I can't make that decision for them."
Despite the paternity test, Jiang Shuiyun still maintains the same distance from her parents, remaining polite but distant, and addressing them as "Mr" and "Mrs." They seem to have no objections, and things have continued like this.
However, in other people's eyes, they are still a family of three. Since they can't contact Jiang's parents, it's most appropriate to ask Jiang Shuiyun.
"Okay, sure."
After asking about the arrangements one by one, the meeting continued according to the schedule. By the end, Jiang Shuiyun was already feeling a bit drowsy.
After the meeting ended, someone walked up to Jiang Shuiyun and asked, "Professor Jiang, how long do you plan to take this vacation?"
"If nothing unexpected happens, we should be working remotely from now on. It won't make a difference whether we take a vacation or not. Don't worry, all plans will be in place."
Jiang Shuiyun is not only a professor and expert with full authority over the development of holographic technology, but also secretly the manufacturing director of the latest space weapon and the head of the top-secret project, Sky.
However, very few people know her identity. It's only in places like this that she can be mentioned, and not a single word can be said about her outside.
"Professor Jiang, I think you should really reconsider. After all, once you leave here, your safety will be threatened in many ways. If anything happens to you, it will be a devastating blow that we cannot afford."
The person still had some concerns. In fact, when Jiang Shuiyun first decided to take a vacation, many people were worried, but this could not change Jiang Shuiyun's mind. Once she made up her mind, no one could change it.
"My safety is naturally taken care of, and I believe there won't be any problems. Since the matter has already been decided, let's not discuss it any further."
Jiang Shuiyun didn't want to waste any more time on something that was already settled.
"Okay, have a nice vacation."
The man smiled and stopped trying to dissuade him.
Jiang Shuiyun stopped in her tracks, and the man, almost caught off guard, quickly followed suit. "Professor Jiang, what's wrong?"
"I hate it when people bother me when I don't want to be bothered, and I hate wasting time that shouldn't be wasted. That's murder."
After Jiang Shuiyun finished speaking, she walked away. The man stood there, not daring to follow her.
When Jiang Shuiyun returned to her residence, a woman in combat uniform walked towards her. She was tall, about the same height as Jiang Shuiyun, walked with a brisk pace, and had beautiful features that exuded a heroic air. The woman's expression softened the moment she saw Jiang Shuiyun. "Professor Jiang, is the matter settled?"
This is Lei Yu, who was transferred here after Jiang Shuiyun arrived to be specifically responsible for Jiang Shuiyun's safety. She has extremely high combat skills and is meticulous. She can handle any matter concerning Jiang Shuiyun in an orderly manner. Her daily hobby is to spar with Jiang Shuiyun.
These past few days, because Jiang Shuiyun was leaving to prepare for her vacation, Lei Yu has been extremely busy. Yesterday, when Jiang Shuiyun suddenly decided to leave, Lei Yu happened to be away because Jiang Shuiyun had sent her out; otherwise, she would definitely have been the first to go.
"It's all done. I just went to a meeting, but there are still some people who don't want me to leave here."
Jiang Shuiyun trusted Lei Yu just as much as she trusted Shen Yunyi, so she didn't hold back when talking about these things, and the two walked inside and talked.
Lei Yu knew Jiang Shuiyun's thoughts. She was absolutely independent and free. Dedication did not mean that she needed to be controlled here and have her freedom restricted for the rest of her life. "Don't worry, I will handle all of this and won't bother you anymore."
"Thanks to you, I'm so much less worried," Jiang Shuiyun sighed. She hadn't slept all night and was a little tired now, so she pinched her brow.
"You must be tired from your journey and haven't had a good rest. You should rest first. Things should calm down in the next few days. You can deal with anything else later."
Lei Yu originally wanted to tell Jiang Shuiyun about the things she had gone out to handle, but seeing how tired Jiang Shuiyun looked, and thinking that they weren't important, she decided to wait and talk about it later.
"Okay, but Lei Yu, you still need to think this through. If you protect me and come with me like this, the chances of you being transferred back are very small. You need to understand what that means."
Jiang Shuiyun was quite tired, but there were some things that needed to be made clear in advance. For example, the fact that Lei Yu and the entire guard team were following him to protect him was a waste of Lei Yu's abilities, which were obvious to all. Moreover, it wasn't something that would be resolved in a day or two before he was transferred back.
"I've thought it through. You don't need to worry about these things. Go and get some rest. I've already completed all the formalities, so there's no point in trying to persuade me now."
Lei Yu stopped at the door, raised an eyebrow and smiled at Jiang Shuiyun, his expression firm and without any hesitation.
Since that's the case, Jiang Shuiyun didn't say anything more, nodded in agreement, and went back to her bedroom to rest.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. On the day before the Lantern Festival, Jiang Shuiyun was forced to attend a meeting all day. Fortunately, the final result was unchanged, and on the day of the Lantern Festival, Jiang Shuiyun successfully embarked on her journey home.
"Professor Jiang, I didn't realize you were so attached to your family. You insisted on going home for the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival. Professor Jiang and Professor Meng must be very happy, right?"
Back in City A, Lei Yu and Jiang Shuiyun sat together in the back seat, chatting as they watched the scenery rush past.
"It's not like I'm spending time with them; their private world doesn't need my interference."
Although Jiang Shuiyun and Lei Yu trusted each other, they had only known each other for a short time. In addition, Jiang Shuiyun had never lived with her parents, so it was normal for her not to know about Jiang Shuiyun's family situation.
"Isn't it because your whole family is staying home for the Lantern Festival that none of you are attending and you're using holographic projections instead?"
Not just thunderstorms, almost everyone thinks so.
"No, we don't live together. You'll find out when we get there. Oh, and stop by the flower shop."
This family matter is not something that can be discussed with outsiders, mainly because there's really no way to explain it, so Jiang Shuiyun simply stopped talking about it.
Passing by a flower shop, Lei Yu accompanied Jiang Shuiyun out of the car. Watching Jiang Shuiyun skillfully select various fresh flowers and matching arrangements, and personally wrap them up, Lei Yu was somewhat surprised, "I didn't know you could do this?"
"Practice makes perfect; you'll get the hang of it after a few tries."
Jiang Shuiyun looked at the finished product in her hand and was fairly satisfied.
As the car slowly drove into the villa, Jiang Shuiyun got out of the car carrying flowers. Yi Jinbai had already come to greet her. Once you've done it before, you're used to it, and he threw himself into Jiang Shuiyun's arms.
"Missing me?"
With one arm around Yi Jinbai's waist, Jiang Shuiyun kissed Yi Jinbai's forehead. She felt that she was completely different now that she had a formal title. All the restraint and distance she used to maintain were no longer necessary.
Jiang Shuiyun's question was so direct that Yi Jinbai blushed slightly, but he still nodded gently, accepted the flowers Jiang Shuiyun handed him, and then looked at the many people getting out of the cars around him, "Who are these people?"
"Let me introduce you to the people protecting us. This is Lei Yu," Jiang Shuiyun said, introducing Yi Jinbai to everyone in turn. After the introductions, almost without any pause, the group immediately began working, checking the house for safety hazards inside and out, and familiarizing themselves with the surrounding area.
Lei Yu understood what Jiang Shuiyun meant by saying she was going home but not with her parents. He glanced at Yi Jinbai, then turned to arrange everything meticulously. Seeing that everyone was already busy, he looked at Jiang Shuiyun and said, "Professor Jiang, Miss Yi, you two can go back and rest first. We'll be done here soon."
"Okay, then I'll leave everything to you." Jiang Shuiyun nodded and walked into the house with Yi Jinbai.
"There are so many people here. Weren't you on vacation?"
Yi Jinbai was a little frightened by the scene and hesitantly asked Jiang Shuiyun.
"Yes, but don't worry, you won't see them often in the future, unless there's danger. By the way, the surrounding area might need to be rearranged, is that okay?"
Jiang Shuiyun reassured Yi Jinbai that the guards were all well-trained and performed their duties diligently in their respective positions, so it might not be easy to see them.
"It's okay, anything is fine."
Yi Jinbai linked arms with Jiang Shuiyun, and the two sat in the tea room, drinking tea and arranging flowers.
Before he could finish his tea, Yi Jinbai's phone rang. He glanced at it and saw it was his manager calling.
Yi Jinbai's unique musical style is quite distinctive nowadays, so his popularity has risen rapidly, and his schedule is always packed.
Jiang Shuiyun waited for Yi Jinbai to finish his call, then chuckled and teased, "What, I'm on vacation, and you're busy again?"
Indeed, Yi Jinbai chuckled dryly as he sat down next to Jiang Shuiyun. "I'm going to record a new song tomorrow, so I seem to be a bit busy."
"It's okay, I can come and keep you company."
Jiang Shuiyun didn't think there was anything wrong with it; she would have her own job, and so would Yi Jinbai.
Yi Jinbai thought about it and agreed. Since the company belonged to Jiang Shuiyun anyway, no one would say anything if she went there. Thinking that Jiang Shuiyun would accompany her to record the song tomorrow, Yi Jinbai smiled and leaned on Jiang Shuiyun's shoulder, "Okay, let's go together tomorrow."
After discussing the matter, Jiang Shuiyun looked at the flowers arranged in the vase and said, "By the way, I still haven't gotten my phone back. I'm almost used to not using my phone."