Hard work after winning the lottery

Upon hearing the words "sour soup noodles," Hua Yun's eyes lit up, and the nausea seemed to subside a little.

"Okay, Grandma, I'll have the sour soup noodles, with extra vinegar."

"Okay, wait a minute, Grandma will make it for you right away."

A short while later, a steaming bowl of clear soup noodles with a tangy and fragrant aroma was served.

A few tender green cilantro leaves and a few drops of sesame oil float on top. There is no meaty smell at all, only the pure aroma of noodles and the sour taste of vinegar.

Hua Yun tentatively took a sip of the soup.

The sour and warm liquid flowed down my esophagus into my stomach, like a pair of gentle hands soothing the churning sensation I had just experienced.

"tasty."

Hua Yun's eyes welled up with tears as she ate heartily.

Seeing that she had finally eaten, smiles returned to the faces of the whole family.

Zhou Yinchuan watched his granddaughter-in-law slurping noodles with gusto, feeling both happy and heartbroken. He secretly made a mental note of his grandson's mistake.

"You brat, making your wife suffer like this! Wait till you get back, I'll make you kneel on the washboard!"

On the other side of the earth.

Zhou Yanjin, who was sitting in a spacious and bright conference room listening to her subordinates report dry data, suddenly sneezed without warning.

"Achoo!"

The sound was crisp and clear, echoing in the quiet conference room.

Secretary-General Ying Zhiyao immediately handed over a tissue and asked in a low voice, "President Zhou, are you catching a cold? Should we turn up the air conditioning?"

Zhou Yanjin rubbed his nose, his brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.

cold?

Not like.

However, that inexplicable feeling in my heart, like being scratched by some kitten's paw, grew stronger and stronger.

He glanced at the Patek Philippe on his wrist; it was dinnertime.

That heartless little woman, she's been back at her parents' house for so long and hasn't even sent a WeChat message.

Are they having too much fun?

Zhou Yanjin picked up her phone, tapped on that familiar profile picture, and hovered her fingertip over the screen for a long time before finally not sending the message.

Forget it.

Just bear with it a little longer.

The top floor of the building houses the president's office of the Zhou Group.

When the clock struck nine o'clock at night, the air on the entire floor seemed to freeze.

The ordinary employees had already gone on holiday, leaving only all the secretaries, assistants, and senior executives in the president's office holding their breath, their eyes fixed on the tightly closed mahogany door.

Normally, people would be internally ranting about capitalist exploitation by this time, but today is different.

Today is the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month.

The day after tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve.

"Click".

A soft click, the sound of the door lock turning, was exceptionally clear in the quiet corridor.

The door slowly opened, and Zhou Yanjin walked out. He was wearing a well-tailored dark gray bespoke suit, his tie perfectly tied, though a hint of fatigue from a week of non-stop work lingered between his brows. But his eyes, at that moment, shone with an astonishing brilliance.

He held the last signed document in his hand and handed it to his chief secretary, Ying Zhiyao, who came to greet him.

That concludes this year's work.

Zhou Yanjin's voice remained cold and unchanging, revealing little emotional fluctuation, but his speech was noticeably faster than usual. "Pass down the notice: all non-essential departments of the Zhou Group will begin their holiday. Year-end bonuses will be doubled and included in this month's salary."

Ying Zhiyao was taken aback, then a genuine smile appeared on his usually stern face: "Yes, President Zhou! Everyone has been waiting for you to say that all night."

"Chen Xu." Zhou Yanjin didn't waste any words and turned to look at her personal assistant on the other side.

Chen Xu immediately stood at attention: "President Zhou, I'm here."

"I need the next available flight to the provincial capital. Any class of service, as long as it's accessible." Zhou Yanjin said as she strode towards the elevator, showing no intention of going back to her office to get her coat. "Also, get the car ready. We're going to the airport."

Chen Xu glanced at his watch, cold sweat breaking out on his brow: "Mr. Zhou, the next flight departs at 10:40, and it's 9:05 now. Even without traffic, it will take at least 40 minutes to get to the airport, and then there's security..."

I only care about the results.

Zhou Yanjin stepped into the elevator, pressed the button for the basement, and tapped rhythmically on the metal wall with her slender fingers. "If you can't get tickets, you'll be spending the New Year with the security guards at the company this year."

The elevator doors slowly closed, shutting out the cheers that erupted outside.

Chen Xu dared not delay, his fingers flying across the phone screen so fast they practically shattered it: "Got it! One last first-class ticket! Got it!"

Zhou Yanjin's taut jawline relaxed slightly.

"Walk."

Come back home.

Back to Baixi Village.

Go see that heartless bastard who hasn't even replied to WeChat messages much these past few days.

9:50.

A black Maybach tore through the night on the road leading to the airport expressway.

The tires screeched as they rolled over the slightly slippery road surface, and finally came to a steady stop at the entrance of the airport departure level with a screech of brakes.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, the back door was pushed open.

"Drive the car back."

Zhou Yanjin threw down those words, grabbed the cashmere coat draped over her arm, and strode straight into the cold wind.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Chen Xu watched his boss's back as he sped away, and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

Having followed President Zhou for five years, even when he was almost late for negotiations on a project worth hundreds of millions, I've never seen him run away in such a disarray.

That usually impeccably poised and confident young gentleman, who never seemed flustered, was now rushing to catch a flight, his suit jacket unbuttoned, letting in the wind and billowing the corners of his coat.

The waiting hall was packed with people, all rushing home for the Chinese New Year.

The announcements kept playing reminders to board.

"Attention passengers on flight CA1899 bound for the provincial capital! Your flight is about to depart. Passengers who have not yet boarded, please hurry..."

Hearing the flight number, Zhou Yanjin took even bigger steps.

Although there were fewer people in the VIP lane, the security check process was still the same.

When he ran breathlessly to the boarding gate, the ground staff were preparing to close the cabin door.

"etc!"

Zhou Yanjin shouted, her voice hoarse from running so hard.

The ground staff member looked up and was momentarily stunned by the man's good looks. Although he looked a bit disheveled, with fine beads of sweat on his forehead and his tie slightly askew, his face was simply too outstanding. Coupled with his disheveled but obviously expensive suit, he was the spitting image of a novel's male protagonist brought to life.

"Sir, you are...?"

"Zhou Yanjin. This is my boarding pass." Zhou Yanjin handed over the phone, her chest still heaving.

"Okay, Mr. Zhou, you're in luck! We were just about to close the cabin door." The ground staff member blushed as she scanned the code. "Go on in quickly, have a safe journey."

Zhou Yanjin nodded, thanked him, and strode into the covered bridge.

It wasn't until I was seated in a spacious first-class seat that the urgency that felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest subsided somewhat.

The flight attendant approached and asked softly, "Mr. Zhou, would you like something to drink? You seemed to be in a hurry."

"No need, just give me a glass of warm water."

Zhou Yanjin waved his hand, adjusted the back of his seat, and let out a long breath.

The plane began to taxi.