After the annual party, there was one more compensatory day off, and after finishing that final day of work, it would be the three-day New Year's holiday.
An Yao still didn't have much sense of ceremony about New Year's Eve. She had already planned to stay in her small apartment and spend three days catching up on her drafts and graduation project.
It should be enough to make up at least a little bit of progress.
But starting from the morning of the compensatory day off the next day, An Yao began receiving messages from all kinds of people.
There were high school classmates who had heard she was back in Beiyang for her internship, asking if she wanted to get together with them and celebrate New Year's Eve in a lively way.
There were also several college roommates who @'d her in the group chat, asking if she had any plans to return to Nancheng during the short holiday.
Yan Xuexin, on the other hand, directly called her with a voice call, complaining that the old man required her to return to the old residence for the New Year's Day reunion and wasn't allowed to run around anywhere, asking An Yao if she wanted to "share the hardship" with her.
An Yao had never been someone who enjoyed socializing or lively gatherings.
But on the eve of such important holidays, she could always feel, through this kind of interaction, a slight connection between herself and the world.
An Yao still declined all of them, using the excuse of needing to work on her thesis and drafts.
Rather than strengthening her existing connections with the world, she preferred to focus on the future.
Before getting off work, Sister Song, the head of the art department, called her into the office.
"I just saw the detailed regulations for the revised internship rules that the HR director announced at the annual party. Basically, after meeting the condition of completing a full six-month internship period, if both your direct supervisor and the department head approve, and you participate in the group's campus recruitment, you can go straight to the final round of interviews. But each department has very limited spots. Are you interested?"
An Yao hesitated and said, "But my initial plan was to only intern for three months. I still have my thesis and graduation project to submit at school afterward, so I might not be able to arrange my time."
Sister Song said, "I see. Actually, you could first focus on completing your school tasks in one month, then come back for another three months. The leadership in the department has been quite impressed with your attitude and work ability recently. With the current difficulty in finding employment for graduates, it's best to seize this opportunity."
An Yao pressed her lips together and tentatively asked, "I noticed the group has a branch in Nancheng, and they have positions in the publicity department. If I were to go through the campus recruitment at the Nancheng branch, would this rule still apply?"
Sister Song thought for a moment: "I'm actually not sure about that. I'll help you ask when I get the chance. In the meantime, you should take this time to seriously consider your scheduling arrangements."
After leaving Sister Song's office, An Yao became even more conflicted.
After all, the spots were limited. If both leaders were willing to give her this opportunity, it was quite rare.
An Yao had originally planned to work for a few years after graduation, save up some money, and once she was financially independent, consider opening her own studio.
Although her original plan didn't include working at Yan Muzhou's group, looking at it now, it seemed like working anywhere was still working—Yaowei's compensation and benefits were much better than other companies.
Just based on the year-end bonuses that Yara and the others had been privately discussing recently, it was a considerable amount.
She was starting to waver a little.
With the possibility of extending her internship period, An Yao became even more anxious to work on her thesis and graduation project.
The freelance drafts weren't urgent. If she saved a bit, her little savings combined with her salary could still barely support a few months of rent and living expenses.
But things didn't go as planned. When you're busy, unexpected disruptions always seem to pile on.
An Yao had barely opened her thesis outline when her phone rang.
The caller ID showed Elder Yan.
"Yaoyao, you're in Beiyang for New Year's, right? Perfect, come celebrate at home with us—the more people, the livelier it'll be."
An Yao took a deep breath and, summoning her courage, tried to decline repeatedly over the phone, but she couldn't convince the stubborn old man.
Elder Yan: "How much time can these assignments take? Can't you spare even one day? You can't get fat from one day of eating anyway."
"How could I let you spend New Year's alone when you're right here in Beiyang? If I did, I wouldn't be able to explain myself to your grandfather later."
"…"
An Yao pressed her brow. "Really, it's fine, Grandpa Yan. Everything at school is pretty urgent."
Elder Yan's tone grew firmer, almost commanding: "Be good. I know you young folks don't want to spend holidays with us old people—you have your own plans. But at my age, who knows how many more New Year's I'll see. Every meeting might be the last."
Hearing that, An Yao had no more reason to refuse.
This was exactly why she'd never wanted to stay at the Yan family estate back then—Elder Yan had too many rules, and once he'd made up his mind, no one had any room to object.
If persuasion failed, he'd apply pressure. If pressure failed, he'd pile on the guilt.
She sighed inwardly and arranged a time with the old man.
After hanging up, An Yao messaged Yan Xuexin to report.
[I'm coming to keep you company—Grandpa Yan just called me.]
Yan Xuexin replied with a voice message almost instantly: "Looks like you didn't escape either. Sigh, he's getting old, and he likes things lively during the holidays. We just have to be understanding."
An Yao: [Yeah, I just told Grandpa Yan I'll come over on the afternoon of the 31st and leave after lunch on the 1st. I'll bring my laptop…]
Yan Xuexin: "Got it. Actually, Grandpa's health hasn't been great lately. The family doctor told him he has to sleep early and get enough rest. On New Year's Eve, he'll probably head to bed by ten at the latest. Then at midnight, I'll grab my brother, and the three of us can ring in the new year together!"
When Yan Xuexin replied, she was having dinner with Yan Muzhou, taking the opportunity to ask him a few questions about business.
They were eating at the same place as before—Yan Muzhou's office.
Because they had to return to the old estate for New Year's, Yan Muzhou was forced to sacrifice nearly two full days, needing to complete several urgent approval tasks for the overseas branches ahead of schedule.
Hearing the voice message she'd just sent, Yan Muzhou asked, "An Yao?"
Yan Xuexin nodded. "She's heading back tomorrow night too."
Yan Muzhou was about to speak when the office intercom rang.
Assistant Fang said on the line that the logistics staff had arrived, bringing the five cases of orange juice he'd won at the annual party raffle.
Yan Muzhou frowned slightly. "They've never delivered before. Why this year?"
Assistant Fang explained that the admin department could probably see the backend of the raffle system—in previous years, Yan Muzhou had never even clicked to claim his prize, but this year he had.
Yan Muzhou fell silent for a moment.
Assistant Fang waited for a response that didn't come, staring worriedly at the five cases of orange juice on the cart outside.
He understood what the staff were thinking. Internal trivialities like admin and logistics were usually handled by the vice president, so they rarely got a chance to show off or curry favor in front of Yan Muzhou. When such an opportunity finally came up, of course they'd send someone over.
After a moment, she heard her boss say over the phone, "Have them deliver it to the publicity department downstairs."
Assistant Fang, being Yan Muzhou's personal assistant, knew exactly which employee in the publicity department had a personal connection with him, and immediately said, "Alright, I'll have them send it along with Miss An's prize."
In the office, Yan Muzhou hung up the phone, and Yan Xuexin immediately asked with curiosity, "What's being delivered? Someone's sending gifts to your office without even saying hello—the group really needs to crack down on this."
Yan Muzhou said indifferently, "It's not a gift. It's a prize from the company's annual party."
Yan Xuexin asked curiously, "What did you win?"
Yan Muzhou stared at the computer screen and said flatly, "Five cases of Breeze Orange Juice."
Yan Xuexin burst out laughing. "Not to be rude, but you're way too stingy as the head of the family. Can't you approve a bigger budget for employee benefits? This is a once-a-year lottery, and even the boss only gets five cases of orange juice? And the cheapest kind at that."
Yan Muzhou glanced at her sideways. "Since it's a lottery, the prizes naturally vary in quality. The orange juice is the worst tier, only 2% probability."
For some inexplicable reason, after the annual party ended yesterday, he had specifically asked Assistant Fang to look into the tier and probability of this prize.
Yan Xuexin laughed. "So you just had bad luck. What did Yaoyao win, do you know?"
Yan Muzhou paused briefly, then said calmly, "Also five cases of orange juice."
Yan Xuexin laughed even harder. "For you two to hit that 2% probability at the same time, the odds must be even smaller—probably…"
Yan Muzhou: "0.04%."
"…"
Yan Xuexin: "Well, anyway, you're both unlucky losers."
Yan Muzhou looked at the computer screen. "What's an unlucky loser?"
Yan Xuexin hesitated. "Uh, it's internet slang. It's normal that you don't know it, though this term has been popular for at least ten years."
Yan Muzhou wasn't interested in the topic. He told her to keep it down and added, "When you head back tomorrow, bring An Yao along. She lives far away too."
Yan Xuexin said with a smile, "Of course, you don't even need to ask. I was planning to pick her up anyway."
The next day, An Yao got into Yan Xuexin's car with her laptop, heading all the way to the Yan family's old residence.
After arriving, she figured she might as well let things be. Except for when they gathered together for meals, she stayed in a corner by herself, burying her head in her thesis.
As long as the old master didn't call for her, she simply pretended she was invisible.
After dinner, the old master called Yan Muzhou's great-uncle into the room to play chess. An Yao found the living room too noisy, so she carried her laptop upstairs and commandeered Yan Muzhou's study.
Back in high school, she had loved studying in this study of his. On one hand, it let her be near him; on the other, the room's layout truly suited her taste.
One entire wall was turned into a bookshelf, filled to the brim with physical books. The window faced the backyard, and in summer, when the wind blew, the shadows of several trees swayed and filtered in through the light.
There was also a fireplace by the wall, only lit in winter. She didn't know what he had the servants add to it, but it gave off a faint scent, something between firewood and cream, warm and comforting to the nose.
Around ten in the evening, the old master indeed went back to his room to sleep.
An Yao went out to say hello, then returned to the study with Yan Muzhou.
In the familiar space, there were only the two of them.
"Where's Yan Xuexin?" she asked.
Yan Muzhou said, "She went back to her room first. Said she wanted to video call a friend, and she'll come find us after."
An Yao let out an "oh" and sat down on the opposite side of the room from him.
It had been the same back in high school—whenever she took over the big desk, Yan Muzhou would work on his laptop from the sofa by the window.
The desk was big enough for both of them, but perhaps he felt that sitting side by side would look too strange and that they'd end up distracting each other.
While writing her thesis, An Yao occasionally looked up when she was thinking.
On one such occasion, her gaze happened to meet Yan Muzhou's.
He was looking at her too.
An Yao smiled. "What's wrong?"
Yan Muzhou paused for a moment. "I keep feeling like you're going to suddenly ask me a math problem."
An Yao: "…Is that trauma really that deep?"
"It kind of is."
Yan Muzhou had also tutored Yan Xuexin before, and to be fair, Yan Xuexin's foundation and learning ability were even worse.
But the difference was that Yan Xuexin would give up on her own if she didn't understand something the first time, whereas An Yao would make him keep explaining until she got it.
Back then, Yan Muzhou couldn't exactly say he was impatient about it, but it did take up a fair amount of his work or reading time.
An Yao pursed her lips. "Well, whatever the size of that trauma, I won't be asking you to explain math problems anymore. I don't even need to study it myself."
There was still over an hour until midnight, and Yan Xuexin hadn't come over yet.
An Yao continued writing her thesis for a while, and her phone vibrated beside her.
She glanced at the caller ID showing An Xingxiu's name, frowned, and pressed the decline button.
The caller rang again right away, and she declined again, then blocked the number.
Unexpectedly, the phone still vibrated—her uncle An Xingxiu had probably switched to another number.
After repeating the decline action three times, Yan Muzhou's gaze swept over.
An Yao: "…Telemarketer."
Just as she finished speaking, the phone rang for the fourth time.
An Yao took a deep breath, her brows furrowing unconsciously. She picked up the phone and thought about stepping outside to take the call, but then remembered she was at the Yan residence—she might as well take it here in front of Yan Muzhou.
"I'll take this."
She turned to tell Yan Muzhou, then turned her back to the desk, facing the wall of books behind him, and pressed the answer button.
"What do you want?"
On the phone, she heard her uncle An Xingxiu's voice: "Yaoyao, your cousin is getting married, and the bride's family has a lot of demands. Your grandfather left you that other apartment, and since you're not living in it anyway, why don't you lend it to your cousin for now? Once he buys his own place, he'll give it back to you."
An Yao let out a cold laugh inwardly.
Her uncle didn't even bother with pleasantries before making demands anymore—he treated her like a pushover, going straight to the point the moment she picked up.
An Yao: "As you said, that apartment was left to me by Grandfather. I'm not living there now only because living on campus is more convenient for university—that doesn't mean I won't live there after I graduate."
An Xingxiu: "You're a girl. Once you graduate and get married, just find a man who owns a place. The two of you won't need two apartments anyway."
An Yao: "Whether I get married or not, whether I find a man with a house or without one—that's none of your business."
An Xingxiu made a "hey" sound, his tone growing more urgent: "Why are you so ungrateful, child? That apartment isn't even really yours—it was left to you by your grandfather, my father. Your parents passed away early, and we all took care of you when you were little. Sure enough, you've become cold-hearted now that you're grown. It's not like I'm asking for gold or silver—I'm just asking to borrow an apartment, and you won't even do that."
An Yao said coldly, "Grandfather left it to me. By that logic, the house you're all living in now—also Grandfather's—was left to me as well. Letting you stay there is already the most I can do out of the goodness of my heart."
Back when An Mingshan was on his deathbed, he had drawn up a will that gave each of the direct younger family members roughly equal inheritances.
But perhaps he had indeed favored her a bit—she received two houses and a handful of his works.
As for her uncle and cousin's family, An Yao remembered they got high-value art collections and some cash assets.
A few million yuan's worth, in an ordinary household, would basically ensure a lifetime of comfort.
But her uncle's family had always been spendthrift, and none of them worked, just waiting to eat through their inheritance. On top of that, they loved gambling with friends, so the money was squandered within a few years. They even sold their original house and moved into An Mingshan's old residence.
On the phone, An Xingxiu grew frantic at her words. "What kind of talk is that? The house may be in your name, but hasn't the whole family lived there? How can you have no sense of responsibility? If the old man were still alive, he wouldn't hesitate to help your cousin get married. Now that the house is yours, the responsibility falls on you."
An Yao was furious too, her temples throbbing. She said icily, "Grandfather was too kind to you, and that's why you're like bloodsucking parasites with no gratitude. If you and my aunt hadn't gone around gambling and losing money all these years, you wouldn't be reduced to asking me to lend you a house for your son's wedding."
Before An Xingxiu could speak again, she continued, "I owe you nothing. As a relative, I've done all I can. If you call again, don't expect to keep living in Grandfather's house."
Having made her final stance clear, An Yao hung up quickly.
She turned off her phone too, not wanting to see An Xingxiu call back from different numbers.
An Yao took a deep breath and turned around.
Yan Muzhou was still sitting on the sofa looking at his computer, just as he had been before she took the call.
The screen likely showed a document, its cold white light casting across his face. From her angle, the shadows fell in layers, making his features appear even more sharply defined.
But perhaps because she'd just endured a call from someone truly insufferable, she found Yan Muzhou's aura less forbidding than usual—softer, somehow.
After who knew how long of silence, Yan Muzhou lifted his eyes slightly and asked in a calm tone, "Family matters that troublesome?"
Yan Muzhou knew about the situation with An Yao's relatives.
Back when they'd sold off the inheritance shortly after An Mingshan's death, she'd asked him in high school to help her consult a lawyer about whether she could swap her inherited houses for those artworks.
But with the will in black and white, any change required the consent of the other heirs.
The two houses she'd received back then weren't as valuable as they were now, while those artworks had commanded high market prices at the time—so the other relatives naturally refused to trade.
It was also because Yan Muzhou had known all along that An Yao didn't bother hiding this call from him.
An Yao forced a faint smile and said, "Same as always—no permanent fix. But it's not a big deal. They just pull this stunt whenever they're short on money."
Yan Muzhou looked at her quietly, his gaze revealing nothing.
Perhaps because her emotions had been running high just moments ago, An Yao calmed down, her eyelids twitching twice. Recalling what she had just said, she lightly pressed her lips together and asked with a somewhat bitter smile, "Do I sound… a bit too cold-blooded?"
In her eyes, Yan Muzhou had always been a very mature and trustworthy person.
Even though An Yao already had her stance on how to handle the issue with her relatives, she still wanted to ask him.
The air fell silent for another moment before Yan Muzhou said calmly, "No, you did the right thing."
Hearing him say that, An Yao felt as if she had taken a soothing pill.
She asked in a low voice again, "If it were you, how would you handle it?"
Yan Muzhou: "The same way you did. Show consideration once, then stop giving ground."
An Yao's mood had been complicated just now, shifting rapidly from anger to bewilderment.
At this moment, she felt considerably lighter, pulling out a smile that was a bit more genuine than before: "Maybe I learned it from you over the years, without even realizing it."
The moment she finished speaking, the study door was pushed open.
"I finally finished my video call. It looks like it's snowing outside."
Yan Xuexin hurried in, and seeing them, she asked with a smile, "Were you two just chatting? About what?"
An Yao paused.
She hadn't told many people about her family situation, after all, it wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
Counting carefully, among those she was somewhat close to, it seemed only Yan Muzhou knew.
Yan Muzhou's gaze returned to the screen, and in a seemingly casual tone, he spoke before she could: "Nothing much, just work matters."
An Yao looked at him, blinking slowly, a subtle feeling rising in her heart.
It seemed that without realizing it, over all these years, they had come to share many of each other's secrets.