Evolution - Chapter 144
Chapter 144
Zhi Hang Planet, where the Academy of Sciences was headquartered, was not particularly close to Muyun Planet, the exclusive domain of the Peace and Development Special Investigation Department’s special forces. However, due to the extraordinary status of these two planets within the Alliance, warp points had been built at enormous expense to facilitate travel between them.
With two warps, the entire journey took less than six hours.
Such were the benefits of convenient transportation.
Yu Zhiyao had arranged her work schedule for the upcoming New Year long in advance.
She couldn’t take a whole month off, of course, but she had either advanced or postponed any work that required her to travel or leave Zhi Hang Planet. As for her experiments, she had pushed the team hard beforehand, even working overtime to accelerate their progress. Now, in the days leading up to the New Year, things could relax a bit, at least enough to guarantee she could leave work on time.
The project team members, who had been worked to the point of exhaustion, all had dark circles under their eyes. But the thought of a proper New Year’s holiday, combined with the huge sense of accomplishment from their smooth progress, kept them going. So, while they might complain a little, they remained incredibly dedicated to their work.
He Yi held a certain disdain for these colleagues who said one thing and meant another.
She knew them all too well. When President Yu pushed them, the only part of them that wasn’t busy was their mouths, so a few complaints were inevitable. Their words might have been more convincing if they weren’t accompanied by such obvious smiles.
But if President Yu were to leave them to their own devices, they would surely be indignant!
The pace had slowed noticeably in the last few days, so He Yi had time to occasionally drop by Yu Zhiyao’s office to cultivate their relationship and learn a thing or two.
Today, however, when she wandered over, she only saw Yu Zhiyao, dressed in different clothes, preparing to leave. She blinked, finding it a little hard to believe. “Zhiyao, are you…?”
She remembered that Yu Zhiyao had no off-site appointments today. Besides, she took a discerning glance at her—Yu Zhiyao’s makeup was perfect, she looked radiant, and her mood was visibly cheerful. Who would believe she was heading out on official business?
“Oh, I have to go out for something. Just compile today’s data and work logs and email them to me,” Yu Zhiyao said, showing no guilt whatsoever at being caught skipping work as she calmly assigned tasks to He Yi.
He Yi swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue. After nodding in agreement, she silently watched Yu Zhiyao walk away with a light spring in her step.
A faint melancholy settled in her heart. She suspected Yu Zhiyao had found someone new!
Ever since meeting Yu Zhiyao in the game instance and witnessing her interactions with Ji Changqing, she had been secretly shipping the two of them. But so much had happened since then. First, Ji Changqing was imprisoned, then news of her death spread, followed by Yu Zhiyao taking the prison authorities to court…
It was enough to make one want to belt out a song titled “If This Isn’t Love.”
After graduation, she had successfully entered the Academy of Sciences and was selected for Academician Sith’s project team. Many had sourly remarked on her good luck, and she, too, had believed it was just that—until she saw Yu Zhiyao on her first day and everything clicked into place.
Two years ago, Yu Zhiyao had suddenly extended her one-month vacation to three. When she returned, she was glowing and full of life. A chance encounter during her travels leading to a whirlwind romance—it was a perfectly normal development.
It was just a bit upsetting that her favorite couple had been broken up. And not long after, Ji Changqing was exonerated and reinstated in the military.
It was a perfect illustration of how fickle fate could be, a connection missed by a razor’s edge.
Yu Zhiyao had no idea He Yi’s thoughts had strayed so far. By the time she drove to the spaceport, there were still over forty minutes until Ji Changqing’s arrival.
She wasn’t in a hurry. Instead of joining the crowd of people anxiously waiting at the arrivals gate, she found a less crowded spot outside, took off her sunglasses, and leaned leisurely against a railing. This way, Ji Changqing would be able to spot her quickly when she came out.
“Yu Zhiyao?” someone called out hesitantly.
Yu Zhiyao, who had been looking down at her emails, glanced up in confusion toward the source of the voice.
Not far away, a tall, slender man with refined and handsome features was looking at her with uncertainty.
The moment she looked up, his uncertainty vanished, replaced by confirmation and surprise. He didn’t rush over immediately. Instead, he turned slightly to say something to his two companions. They both flashed knowing, suggestive smiles and, like they were anticipating a good show, walked a little further ahead.
Only then did he stride over. “It really is you. For a second, I thought I had the wrong person!”
Yu Zhiyao blinked, looking at the man who seemed even taller than she remembered. “Yao Huizu?”
The self-satisfied smile on Yao Huizu’s face froze.
His earlier hesitation stemmed from the belief that Yu Zhiyao was unlikely to be here.
More than a decade ago, during the global evolution, he had heard that Yu Zhiyao’s differentiation had failed. So many people had mocked her, openly or behind her back. He had to admit, it gave him a subtle sense of pleasure.
So the high and mighty young lady of the Yu family had a day like this too!
But soon, rumors began to circulate that Yu Zhiyao had left Blue Star for the Alliance.
He had always scoffed at such talk. How was that possible? At the time, not even the top leaders of Blue Star’s nations had been invited to the Alliance. Could she have bypassed everyone and had the Alliance specially arrange an escort for her?
But then Yu Zhiyao was never seen in public again. The patriarch of the Yu family came out of retirement to manage the company, constantly keeping the younger generation by his side in a blatant display of grooming them for succession.
That was what made him start to wonder. He knew Yu Zhiyao. She appeared gentle and elegant, but she was incredibly domineering. She only ever gave up what she didn’t want; no one could easily take anything from her hands.
At the time, however, everyone was busy re-educating themselves, trying to find their footing in the interstellar era and perhaps even climb higher. He suspected that this was why the woman had let go so readily—her sights were set on the vast expanse of the stars.
He had differentiated into an Alpha, and with his own excellent qualifications, he became one of the first to go to the Alliance for an exchange program two years later.
Out of a certain unspoken curiosity, he had paid attention to the list of people traveling from Blue Star to the Alliance every year, but he had never seen Yu Zhiyao’s name on it.
To suddenly run into her here—how could he not be surprised?
After so many years in the business world, his composure was quite polished. “It’s been so many years, but you haven’t changed a bit. Hmm, no, that’s not right. You look younger and younger.”
A differentiation failure, of course, meant there wouldn’t be much change!
Yu Zhiyao looked at him with a faint, unreadable smile, completely unfazed by his passive-aggressive comments. “You, on the other hand, have changed quite a bit.”
“Haha, it’s all thanks to the Alliance. I’m here this time to discuss a partnership with the Academy of Sciences. I never expected to run into you here, what a coincidence.” Yao Huizu’s face was a mask of magnanimity as he asked with concern, “What are you doing here? Just visiting for fun?”
Back then, he had thrown himself into the Alliance, making a point to network even as a student. He had made a few friends, and now, through a winding series of connections, he had managed to get in touch with the Academy of Sciences to negotiate a production license. If he succeeded, the Yao family’s development for the next decade would be secure.
“I work here,” Yu Zhiyao said nonchalantly.
“You work here,” Yao Huizu repeated, giving her a meaningful look. He asked probingly, “Have you remarried? My son has already graduated from a military academy. Don’t tell me you’re still single?”
Yu Zhiyao raised an eyebrow. Did this man really not make any connections when she said she worked here? Though he had devolved into a gossip, more interested in her personal life than anything else, she was in a good mood, so she answered cheerfully, “Of course I’m not alone.”
Yao Huizu’s expression didn’t change. He said warmly, “Then congratulations. I wonder what kind of person it took to capture your heart.”
He looked particularly sentimental.
Yu Zhiyao couldn’t help but smile. “She is wonderful.”
Her eyes were filled with laughter. No matter how one looked at it, it was the look of someone in love.
Yao Huizu had seen it all. That look in her eyes when she mentioned the other person, that radiant glow—it was all too familiar, and all too grating.
This was a Yu Zhiyao he had never seen before.
Seeing her so happy made him unhappy, and he couldn’t resist trying to prick her heart. “Your family’s company isn’t doing so well right now.”
Yu Zhiyao was unmoved. “In business, ups and downs are normal.”
“That’s true,” Yao Huizu said with a sigh. “Before I left, your father even spoke to me, asking me to lend a hand for the sake of our past marriage.”
He politely admired the way the smile in Yu Zhiyao’s eyes slowly faded, feeling quite satisfied. “It got me thinking, maybe we could rekindle our marriage. It’s not impossible, really. I already have a son, and since your differentiation failed, it’s a good thing you can’t have children. Besides…”
He was about to say that people who failed to differentiate had shorter lifespans, which was even better. Yu Zhiyao would die before him, and he wouldn’t have to worry about his assets being divided.
“Zhiyao!” The moment Ji Changqing came out, she saw Yu Zhiyao standing in the distance. She shouted happily, only then noticing a man standing beside her, seemingly in conversation.
Yu Zhiyao waved her over, then turned back to Yao Huizu and said without a trace of heat, “Since you and my father are so compatible, I suppose it’s not out of the question for you to become my little mom. But you don’t need to tell me about it. After all, I have no interest in the stepmom trope.”
Yao Huizu’s face turned green with anger, thoroughly disgusted by her words.
Ji Changqing had already trotted over. Since someone else was present, she restrained herself, merely wrapping an arm around Yu Zhiyao’s waist for a solid hug. “I’m back!”
After letting go, she looked at Yao Huizu curiously and asked politely, “Is this your friend?”
“No.”
“I’m her ex-husband.”
Yu Zhiyao’s and Yao Huizu’s answers came at the same time.
Ji Changqing said, “Oh,” without giving Yao Huizu another glance. She looked at Yu Zhiyao with great concern. “Is he harassing you?”
Yao Huizu was about to explode with rage. “Harass her? A differentiation failure?!”
Ji Changqing’s head snapped up. Her eyes turned fierce, filled with a surging killing intent, as if she would lunge forward and snap his neck if he dared to say another word.
Yao Huizu instinctively took a step back and clamped his mouth shut, not daring to utter another provocative word.
Yu Zhiyao grabbed the tense Ji Changqing, as if putting a bridle on a fierce beast. “Not really,” she evaluated objectively. “He was just telling me how compatible he and my father are.”
Ji Changqing was stunned. She looked blankly at Yu Zhiyao, who appeared completely serious, not joking in the slightest. Then she turned her head to look at Yao Huizu with an indescribable expression and muttered, “You have such… heavy tastes?”
Yao Huizu watched as this pair of damn women frantically spun a tale of improper romance about him, and he was about to go insane with fury.
But he could only bottle it up.
He wasn’t a fool. His son had attended a military academy and joined the military after graduation, so he knew a thing or two. The woman before him was wearing the uniform of a major.
He could feel a sense of superiority when facing the differentiation failure Yu Zhiyao, but he cowered before this major. Still, he couldn’t let it go.
He could finally see it now—these two definitely had something going on. He dredged up old rumors from their social circle, whispers that the young lady of the Yu family was wild and had a female lover.
He hadn’t paid it any mind back then. A woman, he thought, would naturally revolve around her husband and children after marriage. Who didn’t have a romance or two in their youth? Playing around with women was better than playing around with men.
Later, Yu Zhiyao had slapped him in the face so hard it swelled!
First, she had schemed for years, getting leverage to force him to sign the divorce papers and divide their assets, taking control of all their joint projects. Then, she had kicked her father into retirement, purged the company of all his loyalists, and seized complete control of the entire Yu Corporation.
Everyone who had been involved in scheming that marriage had been dealt with cleanly by her.
From then on, she had reigned supreme.
And now, looking at these two, he thought with malice, perhaps the old rumors about Yu Zhiyao leaving Blue Star for the Alliance early were true. The differentiation failure Miss Yu, afraid of being held accountable, would naturally have to find a backer. It made sense that she would latch onto this person at such a time and use the opportunity to leave Blue Star.
But after all these years, they still weren’t married. It seemed she was just a plaything, unable to secure an official title.
After concocting a complete mental drama of a “patron keeping a young lover,” Yao Huizu’s gaze toward Yu Zhiyao grew even more contemptuous. “Yu Zhiyao, does this person know you’ve been married? Does she know you had a deeply devoted female lover before you were married? That you even schemed for years to be with that little lover, getting leverage to force me to sign the divorce papers and seizing power in the company to force your own father into retirement?”
After saying his piece, he beat a hasty retreat. As he fled, he even managed to glance back. The major had her hands on her hips in an interrogating posture, while Yu Zhiyao had a helpless look on her face, as if she were trying to explain.
He thought smugly to himself, I’ve planted a thorn between you two damn women. Let’s see how long you, the almighty Miss Yu, can remain so arrogant. Let’s see what becomes of you when your patron gets tired of you.
He had no idea that his attempt at sowing discord had been for nothing.
His only accomplishment, perhaps, was forcefully confessing on Yu Zhiyao’s behalf.
And Ji Changqing was absolutely delighted.
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