Zhong Ziyan, an infinite-level powerhouse, a mastermind slayer, a world destroyer, an elf-bloodline modified human, someone whose graduation might have been dozens or even hundreds of years ago, making her actual age a mystery... never thought she would face the day, at her venerable age, of having to do homework.
Although it had been many years since she left her student days behind, Zhong Ziyan quickly recalled the fear once instilled by endless, unfinished test papers.
Moreover, she wasn't entirely clear on what kind of exchange condition Wei Hanyun's proposal to "accompany me to work" actually was.
Come to think of it, does Wei Hanyun even really go to work?
"Let's set the duration for two weeks, starting tomorrow," Wei Hanyun said nonchalantly. "After two weeks, if you pass, it ends; if you fail, it gets extended."
Zhong Ziyan cautiously inquired, "What's the standard for passing?"
"Me," Wei Hanyun chuckled lightly. "Making me feel you've passed is the standard."
Zhong Ziyan: "..." Somehow, this reminded her of all the pitfalls and schemes she had navigated under the mastermind's various tricks and deceptions.
"That chest of shipwreck treasure will stay with me for now," Wei Hanyun continued. "Once you pass, I'll have Fang Nan deliver it to you."
"Deal," Zhong Ziyan said. Her thoughts, which had been leaning slightly the other way, immediately swung back firmly towards Wei Hanyun. "But first, let me see a picture."
Wei Hanyun glanced at Fang Nan, who, understanding the cue, took out his phone and flipped through his album, quickly finding a picture of something positively resplendent with gold and jade to show Zhong Ziyan.
That wasn't all. Fang Nan added some embellishment: "Since the entire chest contains artifacts from the 15th to 17th centuries, its exact value requires expert appraisal. However, the value of this entire safe should be several times greater than that armillary sphere of yours."
Zhong Ziyan, resting her chin in her hands, looked at the photo and was quickly captivated. So what if it's homework! I'll do it!
...
Although Wei Hanyun possessed immense wealth and countless enterprises, he had told Zhong Ziyan himself that even if he had an accident and became a vegetable, his assets would continue to appreciate and flourish.
To this day, Zhong Ziyan still had no concept of how Wei Hanyun made money, or how he made so much of it.
When Zhong Ziyan followed Wei Hanyun out the door to go to work, the Ting Shan villa's butler even specially took a photo of the two of them putting on their shoes with a DSLR camera.
The butler declared with conviction, "This is a task entrusted to me by the Old Madam."
Thinking of Old Madam Yu, Wei's Mother, Wei Second Sister-in-law, and Wei Hanyan, and their inexplicably intense interest in photography and photo collection, Zhong Ziyan silently allowed the photo shoot.
Unlike Zhong Ziyan, who favored elongated limousines and sports cars, Wei Hanyun's vehicles of choice always looked very understated.
Having only started learning car logos in recent months, Zhong Ziyan thought this Lincoln looked no different from civilian SUVs costing a few hundred thousand from the outside.
Of course, the interior was a different story.
Beyond the various luxurious genuine leather trims, there was a controllable partition between the front and rear seats. The two oversized seats could recline, and there was even a large pop-up screen for watching TV or connecting other devices to share the screen.
On longer journeys, a passenger could lie back on the large seat, sipping a drink from the walnut bar while watching a movie.
But such enjoyment wasn't put to use this time. Wei Hanyun was looking over documents when, before she knew it, the car came to a stop.
"We're here for today," Wei Hanyun said, handing the tablet in his hand to Zhong Ziyan. "Take a look at this first."
Zhong Ziyan took the tablet and felt a headache coming on after just one glance.
What was all this densely packed information?
There was a reason she had repeatedly rescued her seemingly non-combat-capable vice-captain from crises against all odds back in the day: he just looked like the type for paperwork and brainwork!
With the vice-captain around, Zhong Ziyan's super-brain went on permanent vacation, only kicking into active gear during battles.
"No need to understand it all immediately," Wei Hanyun said magnanimously. "Just familiarizing you with the work content."
Zhong Ziyan scrolled directly to the most recent chart, which was also crammed with numbers and tiny commas. "What if I make a mistake..."
Wei Hanyun smiled. "It would just mean losing some money, that's all."
Zhong Ziyan: "........" Please, no!
Fang Nan coughed lightly beside them. "Then I'll temporarily hand over my work to you, Madam."
Zhong Ziyan said sincerely, "The capable bear more burdens. You're so competent, I think we could even give you a raise."
"How could I possibly accept," Fang Nan said, deeply moved but firmly refusing. "I likely won't have much work these next two weeks, so a raise isn't warranted. You flatter me too much."
He seemed resolute and humble. Zhong Ziyan, left with no recourse, continued looking at the reports with a rather troubled expression.
From outside the group headquarters' main entrance all the way to Wei Hanyun's office, Zhong Ziyan threw herself wholeheartedly into the tablet, her footsteps subconsciously following Wei Hanyun's presence.
Yet a full twenty minutes later, she had only finished one page of a report, barely grasping that it was a human resources expenditure report, about... human resources.
As for whether the data represented good or bad news, Zhong Ziyan felt she might need to read a few more pages.
"There's a lounge inside, or you can sit beside me," Wei Hanyun said.
Zhong Ziyan looked up to find Fang Nan and the bodyguards nowhere in sight. The vast, bright office held only her and Wei Hanyun.
This office could satisfy anyone's fantasies about the workplace of an overbearing CEO and a top-tier billionaire.
The office ceiling was at least five meters high. Three sides were walls, and the remaining side was a large glass window overlooking the thriving group campus.
Zhong Ziyan instinctively checked the glass and found it was high-density bulletproof glass.
Makes sense, given this office looked like a prime target for snipers.
But Zhong Ziyan, who was faster than a sniper's bullet, wasn't fazed in the least. The tablet in her hands was the real source of anxiety.
Walking halfway around the impressive office, Zhong Ziyan dragged a chair out from the lounge, which was about as luxurious as a hotel suite, and plopped it right next to Wei Hanyun's desk. "Can I ask you if I don't understand something?"
"Of course," Wei Hanyun nodded, his tone very gentle. "What don't you understand?"
This question made Zhong Ziyan as nervous as a slacker on the eve of the college entrance exam who couldn't even solve a quadratic function.
—What don't you understand?
—Why, everything from start to finish, of course.
"I'll finish reading first and ask all my questions together," Zhong Ziyan said quietly, pulling the tablet back and scrolling down half a page.
Her guilty, evasive glance was too quick, missing the barely suppressed smile at the corner of Wei Hanyun's mouth.
The forty-five-page report took Zhong Ziyan a full two hours to flip through, cramming it in haphazardly. If this were exam reading material, she'd probably score a zero.
Just two hours into the workday, Zhong Ziyan was already starting to feel that "accompanying Wei Hanyun to work" was a conspiracy.
But then she thought of that breathtakingly beautiful sight she saw on Fang Nan's phone yesterday, and Zhong Ziyan's heart and mind were utterly captivated.
Mansions and luxury cars were all well and good, but in terms of sheer impact, they somehow seemed to lack an indescribable quality compared to chests upon chests of gold, silver, and jewels.
It was precisely that kind of "sudden wealth" flavor that only those who have been poor for a long time can truly appreciate.
As she finished turning the last page of the summary report, Zhong Ziyan discreetly glanced over at Wei Hanyun.
Wei Hanyun was completely absorbed in his own material, his browsing speed something that ten Zhong Ziyans combined probably couldn't match. The lengthy PDF file practically swam vertically across his screen.
Zhong Ziyan regarded him with deep respect: So formidable.
She felt it wasn't good to disturb Wei Hanyun's work. After a moment's thought, she silently flipped the report back to the first page.
Something miraculous happened.
Zhong Ziyan felt as if she had never seen the first page before!
Unconsciously, she picked up the cup beside her and took a sip to steady her nerves. The bitter taste that hit her tongue made it tremble, and she only then realized it was Wei Hanyun's coffee. She was instantly caught in a dilemma, unsure whether to hold onto it or put it down.
But Zhong Ziyan quickly found a way to slack off. She stood up with the coffee cup and declared righteously, "I accidentally drank some. I'll go get you a fresh cup."
"No need," Wei Hanyun reached out his hand towards her. "Give it to me."
Zhong Ziyan: "..." She silently handed the coffee cup back to Wei Hanyun and sat back down in her seat with a heavy heart, feeling as anxious as a student about to face a pop quiz.
"Finished reading?" Wei Hanyun took a sip of the coffee and asked with a smile, "Ready for some questions?"
Zhong Ziyan, who felt she had finished reading but also somehow hadn't: "..."
After a long silence, she resolutely chose a temporary reprieve: "No, I'm not done yet. Please wait a little longer."
...
Wei Hanyun's sudden appearance at the campus, given his usual rarity, caused quite a stir.
When Fang Nan showed up alone at the campus's supporting coffee shop, the stir grew even more intense.
"Did Mr. Wei kick you out?" someone who knew him asked Fang Nan half-jokingly.
"I think it's more like the newlyweds found Fang Nan in the way and shooed him out," another person chimed in.
Fang Nan took a sip of his hazelnut latte, thinking this wasn't entirely wrong, and nodded gravely.
"Is Mrs. Wei really as beautiful as she looked in that leaked video?" someone couldn't resist gossiping with Fang Nan.
Fang Nan snapped out of his thoughts and nodded again.
Hmm, she certainly has the capital to topple cities and ruin states, though it's not really about her face, but rather...
Fang Nan pondered seriously and chose the word "capability."
The truly wealthy can acquire almost any beauty they desire. Some even take pleasure in bringing home every cover model from Playboy magazine for revelry, like collecting stamps.
Wei Hanyun certainly could do the same. It's just that he had never shown interest in male or female charms. Even when beauties with fiery red lips pressed close, he invariably chose to smile and walk away.
There were once rumors in certain circles that Wei Hanyun was asexual. So when news of his marriage leaked, everyone who knew who he was was utterly flabbergasted.
Wei Hanyun and the concept of marriage being linked together was truly something you live to see.
And today, Wei Hanyun even brought his wife to the campus to show off their affection!
"Did Mr. Wei bring his wife today to show her the empire he built?" a female employee said enviously. "Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor, he probably gestured grandly: Look, all this will belong to our children someday!"
Fang Nan: "..." That's not it, but you all go ahead and keep spreading the story.
After all, Fang Nan felt he already knew too much.
For instance, he actually knew that the reports Wei Hanyun gave Zhong Ziyan to read were all ones that had long been reviewed, confirmed as accurate, and filed away. Fang Nan had even personally reviewed them—how could he not recognize them?
But watching the usually unrestrained Zhong Ziyan being stumped by a mere report was not only amusing to Wei Hanyun; Fang Nan also enjoyed the spectacle.
—So even you, Zhong Ziyan, have a day like this!
Although Fang Nan privately thought this could be considered a form of playful flirtation between a married couple.
The only catch was probably that these two didn't really seem to be an actual married couple.
At the very least, Zhong Ziyan didn't think so.
