Han Chen’s Colleague

“I want to come back too... but our home is too far from the university. It’s inconvenient for me to go to school, and I’ve already paid six months’ rent. The landlord won’t refund it,” Zhou Mo said, feeling frustrated about the money.

Liu Xiangru wanted to say something, but Zhou Mo interrupted, “Mom, please don’t worry about me. I’m an adult now. If Yu Yizhou harasses me, I’ll call the police and have him arrested to be satisfied.”

“You silly girl, what nonsense are you talking?” Liu Xiangru lightly tapped her.

Zhou Mo smiled mischievously and hugged Liu Xiangru, saying, “Mom, I came back for a visit. Can you make something delicious for me? How about Braised Pork Ribs?”

Liu Xiangru glared at her and said, “It’s greasy. Your father’s blood lipids are high. Can he eat them?”

Shaking off Zhou Mo’s arm, Liu Xiangru carried the basket of groceries into the kitchen.

Zhou Mo pouted and turned her attention to her father, Zhou Zheng. She half-playfully said, “Dad, I want to eat ribs.”

“Okay, I’ll buy them for you later,” Zhou Zheng whispered.

“No need, I’ll go myself. But... I want to eat the ones Mom makes.”

Zhou Zheng furrowed his brows. “You’re making it difficult for me.”

Hearing this, Liu Xiangru walked out of the kitchen with a knife in hand and glared at Zhou Zheng. “It’s all your fault.”

“What did I do? It’s clearly your fault,” Zhou Zheng felt wronged.

Both of them knew that it was actually a result of spoiling Zhou Mo since she was young.

Having only one daughter, they couldn’t help but dote on her.

...

Zhou Mo went to the stall at the usual market where she often bought groceries and got two pounds of pork ribs. She chatted with the boss for a while, and he gave her two extra pieces. She didn’t know how to whistle, or else she would have definitely whistled with a bag of ribs in her hand.

Just as she entered the entrance of her residential compound, she nearly bumped into two people. Zhou Mo looked up and heard a surprised voice from the other side, “Zhou Mo?”

Zhou Mo was momentarily stunned, but she managed to recognize the person—it was Han Chen’s mother, Liang Xinyun.

It’s no wonder Zhou Mo didn’t recognize Liang Xinyun. It had been more than ten years, and Liang Xinyun had changed a lot. Her complexion was pale and sickly, and her thin face accentuated her prominent cheekbones. She no longer had the neat shoulder-length hair but had loosely pinned it up at the back with a shark-shaped hairpin.

Accompanying her was a young woman wearing a light yellow pearl-trimmed Chanel-style dress. She had short milk coffee-colored hair, which was the popular Korean style this year.

Zhou Mo politely greeted them, “Aunt Liang.”

Liang Xinyun smiled and said, “It’s amazing that you can still recognize me.”

She pulled the person next to her and introduced, “This is Zhou Mo, our next-door neighbor and Han Chen’s high school classmate.”

The young woman nodded and gave Zhou Mo a polite and sweet smile as she extended her hand. She said, “Hello, I’m Xu Qingli, Han Chen’s colleague.”

Zhou Mo was about to shake her hand, but her hand stopped halfway and then she suddenly retracted it. She awkwardly said, “Sorry, my hands are dirty from buying meat.”

“It’s okay,” Xu Qingli gracefully withdrew her hand and linked arms with Liang Xinyun. “Auntie, should we go back to the convalescent home or go to Han Chen’s place?”

“Let’s go back to the convalescent home. Han Chen is busy with work, so we won’t bother him,” Liang Xinyun said, then her gaze met Zhou Mo’s. “Mo Mo, we’re leaving. When my house here is renovated, I’ll invite you and your parents over for a meal to catch up.”

“Sure, I’ll let my parents know. If you need anything, you can also find them. They’re always at home,” Zhou Mo replied.

Liang Xinyun looked at Zhou Mo with a sigh. “A close neighbor is better than a distant relative.”

Zhou Mo smiled apologetically.

After seeing them off, Zhou Mo quickly walked upstairs. As she walked, she thought about Xu Qingli, Han Chen’s colleague. If she was a doctor in the orthopedics department, it was quite rare to see a female orthopedic doctor.

Han Chen had such an eligible beauty by his side, so why did he still go to her to get married?

Zhou Mo couldn’t understand.

Shaking her head, Zhou Mo took out her keys and opened the door.

In the evening, Liu Xiangru stewed pork ribs. Zhou Zheng couldn’t resist his cravings and ate a piece, earning a scolding from both mother and daughter.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Zhou Zheng voluntarily handed over the TV remote control and accompanied Liu Xiangru to watch a family emotional program.

Zhou Mo was in her room running code.

Her supervisor, Shen Qingyi, had a project that needed to be concluded. Shen Qingyi was accustomed to a laid-back attitude, so the project hadn’t progressed as planned. Faced with the deadline, she had to rush to catch up.

Zhou Mo was Shen Qingyi’s only Ph.D. student, as the other students were all master students who could only handle smaller tasks. When it came to building databases and running code, Zhou Mo had to bear the brunt.

This was also one of the reasons why Shen Qingyi actively helped Zhou Mo handle her daily chores. She was afraid that the issue with Yu Yizhou would delay the progress of her project.

At eleven o’clock, Zhou Mo messaged Shen Qingyi: “The database is set up. The code will produce complete data results tomorrow. Let the other students quickly fill in the results in the paper and publish it as soon as possible.”

Shen Qingyi responded with a “crying” emoji: “I know you can make it.”

Zhou Mo broke into a cold sweat.

Other students pursuing their master’s or Ph.D. degrees would usually be pushed forward by their supervisors, but in her case, it was the opposite. She pushed her supervisor.

Zhou Mo often self-mockingly said that at this rate, she would eventually push her supervisor into becoming a renowned scholar or an academician.

Shen Qingyi sent another message: “I found the lawyer you asked me to find. It’s LT’s Liang Dongyan. I’ll give you the contact information for his assistant later.”

Zhou Mo replied, “Thank you, Professor.”

Shen Qingyi replied, “You’ve done me a great favor. No need to be polite.”

Zhou Mo let out a long sigh. Whenever she thought about Yu Yizhou’s matter, she couldn’t feel happy. There was always a stifling feeling in her chest that she couldn’t vent.

Hopefully, the lawyer recommended by the unreliable Shen Qingyi would be somewhat reliable.

Zhou Mo wasn’t at ease, so she casually searched for “Liang Dongyan” on her phone.

To her surprise, he was one of the founders of one of the most famous law firms in Dongjiang. He seemed quite reliable.

Without further ado, Zhou Mo quickly added the WeChat contact card sent by Shen Qingyi.

They connected promptly.

Before Zhou Mo could identify herself, the other person said, “Hello, Miss Zhou. I’m Liang’s assistant, Fang Shuo. Liang would like to meet with you this Saturday afternoon. Is that okay?”

Zhou Mo was overjoyed. “Of course, that’s fine.”

Finally, it was on the weekend, as she had hoped. She had other things to attend to during weekdays.

Fang Shuo responded, “Okay. I’ll send you the location.”

Zhou Mo opened the message and saw the name of a restaurant called “Conquer the Central Plains.”

Just hearing the name made Zhou Mo’s heart tremble. How much would that cost?