Han Jingnian’s expression darkened instantly.

Assistant Zhang nervously leaned forward and checked the screen. After seeing the message, his hands shook in fright and he almost threw the phone away.

What deep-seated grudge did Mr. Han’s wife have against him to suddenly accept his friend request, especially in front of the boss? Moreover, this was his own idea!

Assistant Zhang felt like he was holding a bomb in his hands, or was it an actual bomb? He could already see himself looking like a fool very soon. No, he was already a fool. He felt like he wouldn’t even see tonight’s moon, let alone tomorrow’s sun.

Assistant Zhang was on the verge of tears internally, but on the surface, he was still struggling for survival. He stammered, “Mr. Han, ma-maybe your wife just happened to check her phone at this moment, and my friend request happened to be on top, so she accepted it first…”

Madam, Mom, Dad… Please, in your mercy, accept your boss’s WeChat request. Saving a person’s life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. You are my benevolent parents…

Assistant Zhang prayed fervently in his heart.

However, after ten seconds, twenty seconds, and thirty seconds passed, Mr. Han’s WeChat remained as quiet as before.

The atmosphere in the office became eerie.

Assistant Zhang had a vague feeling that Africa was enthusiastically beckoning him.

It’s getting cold, completely cold. He had not only failed to flatter the boss but also made a complete fool of himself. He couldn’t help but wonder why he had chosen to meddle in the boss’s affairs when there were plenty of celebrity scandals to focus on. Why had he picked the boss’s watermelon?

With tears in his eyes, Assistant Zhang watched as Mr. Han continued to make excuses for himself. “Mr. Han, Ma-Madam, she may have received an urgent call just now…”

Before Assistant Zhang could finish his sentence, his phone screen lit up again with a new message.

“The Most Beautiful Wan’an sent a cute rabbit bouncing happily, accompanied by three sparkling words: “Hello there!¹”

The excuse Assistant Zhang hadn’t finished was choked back in his throat.

The office was incredibly silent, with Han Jingnian sitting expressionless in his office chair, silently staring at Assistant Zhang.

Assistant Zhang, feeling uncomfortable under Han Jingnian’s gaze, was internally weeping while thinking that if he could have choked on the words that Madam had just spoken, it might have been better. After all, he felt worse than dead now.

Time seemed to drag on for an eternity, second by agonizing second.

In any case, he was already in dire straits, and even an ant would struggle to survive. He couldn’t give up on himself now. Thinking of this, Assistant Zhang spoke up, “Mr. Han, c-can you give me ten minutes? Just ten minutes. I’ll apply for a new WeChat account, transfer all my contacts from this WeChat to the new one, and then give you this WeChat account… No, I’ll give you the entire phone…”

Mr. Han remained silent, his gaze still fixed on Assistant Zhang.

“Mr. Han, this isn’t entirely my fault. Well, actually, it is my fault, but it’s not just me…”

“Mr. Han, you’re being implicated by Miss Qin. Madam must have refused your request because of Miss Qin…”

“Mr. Han, Madam is having dinner at the old mansion tonight. You can go there too…”

“Mr. Han, I was wrong, I really was. I’ll work overtime for free for a month… two months… how about half a year…”

Han Jingnian finally spoke, “Okay.”

Assistant Zhang was dumbfounded. Why didn’t he suggest one month, two months, or even three months? Why did he jump straight to half a year?

Escaping from a near-death situation, Assistant Zhang, with complex emotions, prepared to make his exit. “Mr. Han, if there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to work…”

Han Jingnian, who had been staring at Assistant Zhang as he left, suddenly seemed to remember something and lightly tapped on the desk. “Wait.”

Assistant Zhang paused, cautiously asking, “Mr. Han, do you have any instructions?”

Han Jingnian glanced at the phone in Assistant Zhang’s hand and raised his chin slightly. “Ten minutes.”

Ten minutes? What’s this about ten minutes?

Assistant Zhang didn’t react immediately and blinked in confusion.

Seeing his puzzled expression, Han Jingnian’s gaze turned cold in an instant.

Assistant Zhang shivered in fear, then followed his line of sight down to his own hand and immediately understood. “I got it, Mr. Han. Ten minutes, I promise I’ll bring the phone to you!”

Han Jingnian didn’t say anything more, appearing satisfied with Assistant Zhang’s performance. He nodded slightly, indicating that he could leave.

Assistant Zhang’s heart was filled with tears, but he gratefully exited the office.

As the door closed, Han Jingnian’s gaze slowly fell onto his own phone. He stared at the screen for a while, then instinctively opened WeChat.

There was still no notification that she had accepted his friend request.

Somehow, he felt a bit down all of a sudden.

Because the phone had been left untouched for a long time, it had automatically locked. The dark screen faintly reflected Han Jingnian’s perfectly sculpted profile.

He maintained his posture, staring fixedly at the screen for a long time. Then, he blinked lightly and glanced at his computer.

Seven minutes had passed since Assistant Zhang left the office. During those seven minutes, he had been lost in thought because of her. He had been married for two years, during which he had never paid much attention to her. But recently, he seemed to have changed. He was frequently distracted by her.

Two years ago, his grandmother had chosen several potential matches for him, and she was the one his grandmother had been most satisfied with. He recalled that his grandmother and her parents had arranged for him to meet her, using work as an excuse. That day, she had talked to him, but he couldn’t remember the content of their conversation or if he had replied. All he remembered was that he hadn’t stayed long and had left, claiming he had other matters to attend to. After that, she had visited his company once and told him… she was willing to marry him to make her father happy.

At that time, he had immediately rejected her, for a simple reason: he didn’t like her, and he hadn’t thought about getting married. Later, it was a document that Attorney Chen had handed him in the afternoon that had changed his mind.

A document…

Thinking to this point, Han Jingnian lowered his head to glance at the drawer where he had placed that document.

Just as he was about to reach out and pull the drawer open, the office door was knocked, and Assistant Zhang’s voice sounded disheartened, “Mr. Han…”

T/N ramble:
Serves you right. ¯_(°◞౪◟°)_/¯

1. In the raw, it is three characters. (你好呀！)