Chapter 2244 - 721: Gone with the Wind Northward_5

Secretary Jin’s voice continued, "The reason I’m calling this time is to ask your opinion. Oxford or Cambridge? If it’s Harvard Business School, the traces will be more obvious, so I don’t really recommend that. My personal suggestion is Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford."

"Our ’Tang Jin’ education foundation just donated a building to their Asian Studies Center last year."

"We’ll use the banner of China–Europe business culture exchange to arrange a visiting scholar title for you, perfectly legitimate, and the paperwork will be done very quickly."

"This... o-okay, thank you, Chairman Jin..."

"No need to be so polite, and also..." Secretary Jin seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "The dean in charge of this program is an old friend of my father’s. I’ll have him assign you a PhD student team specifically responsible for ’academic support.’ That way, during your visit, we can make sure you personally publish at least two substantial bylined articles in Harvard Business Review or The Economist."

Wen Ruan was already so overwhelmed by this series of "super gift packs" that her heart was racing and her brain had completely crashed.

She couldn’t even think about the deeper meaning behind it; she could only numbly reply, "Thank you, Chairman Jin."

She hung up.

Wen Ruan’s breathing turned rapid, her full, plump chest rising and falling violently.

Under the pure white tight T-shirt, her curves looked even more exaggerated.

She slowly sank back onto the sofa, picked up the massage gun beside her, and placed it on her thigh.

"Bzz bzz bzz—"

The high-frequency, powerful vibrations traveled along her muscles, reaching her nerve endings.

She pressed her legs tightly together, savoring that tingling numbness, and her face gradually flushed.

The intense physical stimulation finally forced her brain, which had crashed from the overload of information, to start running again.

Well damn, did the palace intrigue just get upgraded?

There’s definitely something going on that she doesn’t know about!

Wen Ruan’s lips stretched into a wide grin, revealing neat, snow-white teeth.

Still, come to think of it, my Zhuangzhuang has taken the blame so many times—he’s finally earned us a big wave of benefits!

(^▽^)

Right at that moment.

"Ring ring ring—" Her phone rang for the third time.

Wen Ruan jumped in fright, thinking it was yet another big shot calling. She fixed her eyes on the screen.

[Zhang Yan].

She let out a breath of relief, turned off the massage gun, and picked up.

Her voice instantly slipped back into that lazy, sensual tone unique to a confidante big sister.

"Hello? Yanyan, what’s up? Missing your big sis already?"

On the other end, Zhang Yan’s voice came through, shy and a little nervous. "W-Wen Ruan... Sister... um... I-I wanted to ask, for our trip to Yan City this time, is the company arranging accommodation, or... or do I book the hotel myself?"

"Hmm? Your place to stay?" Wen Ruan blinked her peach blossom eyes, full of charm, and couldn’t resist teasing, "Aren’t you going back to Yan City to see Tang Song? You want the company to reimburse that too?"

"No no no, that’s not what I meant!" Zhang Yan explained in a panic, "I-I’m just asking, if I book the hotel myself, I won’t need the company to reimburse it!"

"Alright, alright, don’t be so nervous, big sis is just joking." Wen Ruan laughed. "What do you need a hotel for? Waste of money. Just call Tang Song, he’ll definitely sort it out for you. If he doesn’t, big sis will."

There was a moment of silence on the other end, and Zhang Yan’s voice dropped even lower. "I-I understand. Thank you, Sister Wen Ruan."

Wen Ruan said with a playful smile, "Saying thank you makes it sound too formal. Just remember to help me out if big sis ever runs into trouble."

Zhang Yan immediately replied solemnly, "If there’s anything I can help with, Sister Wen Ruan, just say the word."

"Hehe, great, it’s a deal." Wen Ruan’s tone softened. "You’ve got a flight tomorrow morning, so remember to sleep early tonight and rest up. When we head from Yan City to the Imperial City, I’ll personally go with you."

"Mm."

...

Yang City, Liquan District, Lanxin Garden District.

Outside the window, the setting sun had dyed the sky a warm orange-red.

Zhang Yan put down the phone, feeling both nervous and excited.

Sister Wen Ruan’s teasing voice still seemed to echo in her ears, making her delicate cheeks as red as a ripe Apple, and she didn’t even know where to put her hands.

Tomorrow morning, she would be setting off for Yan City.

She had spent the entire day busily preparing.

She had opened and closed her suitcase over and over, again and again.

The Tang-style ruqun she loved most was carefully folded and placed right on top.

Next to it were a few sets of winter outfits suitable for the workplace.

At the very bottom, she had secretly tucked away a set of pure cotton pajamas with a little lace trim that she’d bought online.

Besides clothes, she’d prepared a lot of gifts.

For Tang Song: two beautifully bound poetry books she had picked out with great care, with her favorite short poems copied onto the flyleaf.

For Sister Wen Ruan: a box of the most authentic Cantonese tea pastries, which she’d queued for ages at an old-brand shop to get.

She had even prepared imported cat treats for that cat she’d never met, the one called "Snowball."

"Meow—"

Orange seemed to smell the canned food and kept rubbing against her legs, voicing his indignation.

From the kitchen came the sound of "gudu gudu" bubbling and a rich aroma of sauce.

Her mother, Zhou Hui, was standing at the stove, watching over a clay pot filled with Cantonese roast meats marinated in her secret sauce, glistening with oil.

"Mom, let me do it, there’s too much smoke."

Zhang Yan walked over, wanting to take the spatula from her mother’s hand.

"No, no, it’s almost done." Zhou Hui laughed and pushed her away. "Go take out those food containers over there; we’ll pack everything in a minute."

Zhang Yan lowered her head and took out food containers of various sizes from the cupboard.