Yu Jia quickly transferred money to He Yan's card, enough for her to buy the latest model of a smartphone. However, He Yan still bought a phone identical to her original one, installed the SIM card, and waited for Fu Shenxing's reaction. She had secretly consulted with professionals, and they had informed her that if Fu Shenxing wanted to control her phone again, he would have to reinstall the monitoring software. With the phone in her hands, he could only achieve this through limited means, such as email or online links.
Regardless of the method, she could track any trace as long as she was careful. With a trace, she could find out what monitoring software it was and have someone destroy it or even counter-control it without alerting Fu Shenxing, so that he would only receive the information she wanted him to know.
She was patient and meticulous, not daring to be careless at all.
After buying the phone, she went to the hotel to report for duty, but happened to run into the department head during the inspection. Seeing her entering from outside at this time, he immediately frowned and criticized in an official tone, "Ms. He, you have always been diligent at work, and I believe you must have a good reason for being late this time. However, I do not wish to see it happen again! The economic forum is about to officially convene tomorrow, and foreign guests have arrived one after another. Your students are all here waiting, do you have any reason to go back home?"
According to the rules, she was indeed supposed to stay in the hotel with her students. He Yan didn't want to explain or find an excuse, just lowered her head and honestly admitted her mistake, "I'm sorry, sir, I will pay attention in the future."
Seeing her admitting her mistake with a good attitude, the department head let it go and gave her a stern look, then led the team to move elsewhere. The students were still standing in place, carefully watching her. He Yan smiled, shrugged lightly, and said, "Well, being scolded is nothing new, right? Scolded by your parents at home, scolded by teachers while studying, and scolded by your boss at work. It's just a common occurrence, isn't it?"
With a few words, she livened up the atmosphere, and the lively students couldn't help but laugh.
He Yan then pretended to scold them, pointing her finger at the group of young people, "You all behave yourselves, don't cause trouble. I've been through it all for you. If you still make mistakes, can you face me?"
"Sorry!" everyone chuckled in response.
"Good, as long as you understand!" She couldn't help but laugh herself, clapped her hands loudly, and said, "Dismissed!"
Everyone went back to their positions to work, and everything went relatively smoothly for the rest of the time. He Yan also didn't encounter any trouble. Most of the time, she was hiding in a corner of the lobby, lost in thought. She was wondering if Fu Suizhi would be deceived by her deceit, and if he would come looking for her, and if so, when.
Perhaps because she was looking forward to Fu Suizhi's arrival too much, when she heard someone not far away calling out "Mr. Fu" in the afternoon, she suddenly shivered and subconsciously turned to look, only to see Fu Shenxing's figure. He was exceptionally well-dressed, with a tall and handsome appearance. As he walked into the lobby with a few people, he immediately attracted everyone's attention. One female student even exaggeratedly whispered, "Wow! He's so handsome!"
However, He Yan felt a chill run through her body, as if she was nailed to the spot, unable to move. Led by the forum's organizing committee staff, he walked past her, his faint gaze turning to her face and a barely perceptible smirk appearing at the corner of his lips. He didn't slow down at all and walked straight to the elevator.
Only after he entered the elevator did she seem to suddenly wake up and hastily went to the service desk to check the information provided by the event team. Sure enough, just as she turned to the third page, in the section of guest speakers, she saw the line "Mr. Fu Shenxing, CEO of Fu Corporation". He Yan was somewhat dazed, but also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It was unfortunate to run into him here, but he hadn't come specifically for her, which was fortunate.
Moreover, she needed to worry not about the foreseeable harassment from Fu Shenxing, but about ensuring he didn't bump into her and Fu Suizhi.
In one moment, she had been hoping for Fu Suizhi to come find her, but in the next, she was just afraid of him coming.
The shadow cast by Fu Shenxing was too overwhelming, leaving her somewhat absent-minded. She didn't want to deal with any issues and had just started to relax, when a staff member hurriedly approached her during dinner, saying, "Ms. He, can you go to the western restaurant to check? A foreign guest had a problem with their order, and we need a volunteer who knows Spanish."
Huo Yan's second foreign language is Spanish, which is recorded on the volunteer form. She had no choice but to go to the Western restaurant. It was not a big deal, but there was a Spanish guest who could hardly speak English. There were students among the volunteers who had studied Spanish, but whether it was due to nervousness or lack of proficiency, they were unable to communicate smoothly with the guest.
When Huo Yan rushed over, the guest was still speaking and gesturing. The restaurant manager and two volunteers were standing next to him, all wearing embarrassed expressions. When they saw her, it seemed as if they had seen a savior. She politely smiled, went up to the guest, greeted him, and spoke two sentences in a different tone, which immediately elicited a surprised and delighted look from the guest, who then began speaking rapidly to her.
"The first two sentences were in Spanish, but I couldn't quite understand the rest. However, Teacher Huo spoke so fluently, it was amazing!" A few observing students whispered to each other from a distance. Before long, Huo Yan was speaking to the guest in a third language, prompting a student to quietly remark, "It's French! Teacher Huo speaks better than that old guy!"
Everyone looked at Huo Yan with even more admiration. Once she had sorted things out and returned, she was surrounded by several students asking, "Teacher, we could tell the first two sentences were in Spanish, and we know the last part was in French, but what were you speaking in between?"
"Catalan," she replied, noticing the disappointed look on the student who had studied Spanish. She kindly reassured him, saying, "If you listen carefully, you can understand the general idea. There are many similarities; it's just that the pronunciation and grammar are more complex. Don't be too nervous next time."
The student nodded quickly. Her own students, who were more familiar with her, pushed aside the male student and exclaimed excitedly, "Come on, Teacher Huo, are you trying to show off? You're the counselor for our English department, we always thought you were an English major!"
She couldn't help but laugh and explain, "I am indeed an English major. My second foreign language is Spanish, and Catalan is to it what Cantonese and Mandarin are, so the two sentences are not a big deal. As for French, it was purely something I learned due to someone's persuasion."
She spoke both languages fluently, so this explanation was clearly humble. One student exaggeratedly said, "A study goddess and a teacher, you really don't leave any room for others!"
Everyone laughed, but Huo Yan quickly shooed the students away, whispering with a smile, "This is not the place to joke around. Hurry and go do whatever you're supposed to do. Even if you praise me to the heavens, I'm not going to pay for your meals here!"
Everyone dispersed, and Huo Yan glanced at the time, intending to leave as well. But she saw Xu Chengbo still waiting there, as if deliberately waiting for her. She couldn't help but smile and say, "Give it up, I'm not going to treat you. I was just in the spotlight, not out of my mind. The money for this bowl of noodles could get us a fancy meal outside, and besides, the organizing committee has boxed meals, don't eat if you don't want to."
Xu Chengbo just smiled and said, "Teacher, I have something academic to ask you." He spoke as he subtly blocked her view and walked alongside her, asking, "Could I study French too?"
Huo Yan didn't notice his slight movements and asked, "I remember your second foreign language is German, right?"
He nodded, "Yes."
She smiled and said, "I think as long as you're interested in a language, it's relatively easy to learn. But now you have several jobs to handle, so time might be even tighter."
As they spoke, they gradually walked away. Just before leaving, Xu Chengbo turned to look at a certain corner of the restaurant. There, Fu Shenxing stood at ease, his eyes unabashedly fixated on Huo Yan. When he saw Xu Chengbo look back at him, he averted his gaze, then mockingly smirked and smiled.
It was just a brief exchange of glances, but Xu Chengbo felt profoundly defeated. He felt flustered, as if that man's piercing gaze and mocking smile had laid bare every hidden and dirty thought in his mind, leaving him embarrassed and awkward.
In the restaurant, Ajian incidentally looked up and caught a glimpse of the cold smile on his boss's lips. He was briefly surprised and followed his gaze, only to see Huo Yan's figure disappear from the doorway. For some reason, Ajian suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for Huo Yan.
In fact, the two of them had arrived earlier than her. When the Spanish guest got into a fuss, they had just finished ordering their meal. Ajian knew that Fu Shenxing knew some Spanish, but he seemed to have no intention of stepping in, instead keeping his head down and flipping through conference materials. At that moment, Ajian heard Huo Yan's voice. Initially, he hadn't realized it was her, but seeing Fu Shenxing immediately raise his head made him also turn to look.
As he looked, Ajian suddenly understood why Fu Shenxing repeatedly got involved with this woman. She was truly dazzling, beautiful, confident, knowledgeable, and graceful. With so many beautiful women under Sister Hua's command, none of them could match her, not even the so-called top girl Xiao Baiyang.
Not to mention her hidden side, fierce, stubborn, and aloof. A woman like her, no man could resist conquering her.
Ajian wasn't foolish and had long noticed that Fu Shenxing's attitude toward Huo Yan was no longer simply about revenge and certainly didn't involve any direct notion of harming her. He hadn't even referred to her as "that woman" but had changed it to "Miss He." After hesitating for a moment, he tentatively asked, "Mr. Fu, is the evening still arranged?"
"It is," Fu Shenxing replied indifferently.
Ajian fell silent for a moment, then answered, "I understand." He got up and left. After a while, Fu Shenxing called Huo Yan, asking directly, "Where are you?"
At that moment, Huo Yan was at the event service desk in the hotel lobby. Expecting that Fu Shenxing wouldn't easily let go of her today, she remained calm when she received the call and simply replied, "In the lobby."
"Wait for me in the lounge area," he ordered her, without any hint of emotion, then added, "I have something to give you."