Chapter 90: Unable to Hold Back Any Longer
Ming Fei had wanted to wait for Zhu Yiqiao since receiving her message in the afternoon.
But Zhu Yiqiao, as always, quickly sensed her thoughts and sent three voice messages, telling her to go to bed early and not wait for her, because she wasn’t sure if she could really come back.
Finally, she even sent two identical “kitten warning” emojis, making Ming Fei promise to rest well.
Faced with such a “warning,” Ming Fei could only reply—[Yes, sir, Officer Kitten.]
Now, at 12:01 am, after receiving the message, Ming Fei covered the sleeping Ming Zaozao with the blanket and quietly got out of bed. As soon as she left the room, she quickened her pace, went downstairs to the living room, and turned to see Zhu Yiqiao, dressed in her Trial Court uniform.
The crystal chandelier clearly illuminated Zhu Yiqiao’s expression.
The moment their eyes met, Ming Fei saw her own reflection in Zhu Yiqiao’s eyes, and an unconcealed smile. She strode forward, her dimples deepening, and without her usual polite inquiries, she hugged Zhu Yiqiao.
“Jiejie.”
Zhu Yiqiao hugged her back: “Mm, did I wake you?”
Ming Fei thought for a moment and lied earnestly: “I woke up after sleeping for a while and then saw your message.”
Zhu Yiqiao didn’t speak.
After the silent embrace ended, she pinched Ming Fei’s cheek: “Ah Fei, you’re really bad at lying.”
Ming Fei lowered her eyes: “I missed you very much.”
This straightforward confession caught Chief Judge Zhu off guard. Even Officer Kitten couldn’t resist, surrendering willingly. Zhu Yiqiao held her hand, not saying anything, like deliberately moving the bait closer, strategically retreating to lure in the impatient fish.
They sat in the living room for a while.
During this time, Zhu Yiqiao was most concerned about Ming Fei’s gland pain. After confirming that there were no abnormalities, and after chatting about work for a bit, she went upstairs to rest.
Before parting, they said goodnight to each other. Just as Ming Fei turned around after saying goodnight, Zhu Yiqiao’s words stopped her in her tracks.
“Ah Fei, me too.”
—Me too, I missed you very much, every day.
December 26th, New Calendar, was a special day. The annual public opinion poll was held on this day. If a high-ranking public official received a very low satisfaction rating in the poll, the relevant departments would re-examine all their work and make the results public.
If any misconduct was found, they would face disciplinary action.
Therefore, Zhu Yiqiao went to the Trial Court at eight o’clock.
At 8:30 am, Ming Fei had breakfast with Zaozao. Zaozao’s little animal squad was ready. After breakfast, they went to the newly built small amusement park in the villa area in a grand procession. Tuan Tuan, the puppy, barked behind her, Yuan Yuan, the kitten, meowed in her arms, and Little White Dove circled above her head, occasionally cooing as if providing background music.
Ming Fei smiled as she watched them leave.
008 asked, “Teacher Xiao Fei, aren’t you going?”
“Mm,” Ming Fei said, “I have work to do.”
The weather was nice today, and she wanted to work on the terrace. After finishing her nourishing soup, she asked 008 to bring her computer down from upstairs while she made herself a cup of kumquat and plum tea.
Sunlight fell on the plants along the edge of the terrace. Ming Fei took a sip of tea, watered the various plants, and then began to focus on her end-of-year work.
This kind of work was tedious, mainly summarizing the semester’s work, writing reports, and conducting teaching analysis.
Ming Fei habitually put on her black-framed anti-myopia glasses, her fingers tapping away at the keyboard, quickly completing a report.
An hour and a half later, she got up from the wicker chair, stretched, and decided to take a short break.
At the same time, the annual public opinion poll had begun.
Ming Fei logged onto the public network, answered the questions on the survey page, uploaded her answers efficiently and impartially.
In addition to the online survey, all urban areas in the Independent State had on-site survey locations. Because she was busy with work, Ming Fei didn’t participate in the on-site survey this year. After completing the online survey, she exited the survey page and clicked on the hottest trending topic today.
[AAAA Happiness Wholesaler: Many people will be investigated this year, right? After all, there was that international gene theft incident.]
[Little White Bear: Those who don’t fulfill their duties deserve to be investigated. Look at Chief Judge Zhu, her real-time satisfaction rating in the online survey has already reached the top.]
[1999de Wu: Chief Judge Zhu is definitely far ahead. Not to mention her achievements in the Trial Court, just her past as Colonel Zhu of the Victory Column is enough to earn her lifelong honor.]
[Candy Rabbit: Plus one. Rewards are deserved, and so are punishments for certain people. Such a meaningful activity, I suggest the King change it to be held every six months.]
…
The online survey data updated in real-time. After reading some of the comments, Ming Fei clicked on the survey page again and found that Zhu Yiqiao’s satisfaction rating had reached the top, at 99.1%.
Ming Fei smiled and, exiting the survey page, continued working.
At 11:30 am, she finally finished all her end-of-year work. She sent a message to Zhu Yiqiao, then went to find Ming Zaozao.
She received a reply at 12:20 pm.
[Jiejie: Mm, remember to eat on time.]
[Jiejie: Are you free tonight?]
Ming Fei only had an afternoon meeting today, so she immediately replied that she was free.
Ming Zaozao was having a lot of fun in the small amusement park Zhu Yiqiao had built for her. She suddenly thought of Yima, who had taken her to the amusement park not long ago, and snuggled into Ming Fei’s arms, acting coquettishly.
“Mommy~”
“Mm, what’s wrong?”
“Baby wants to go play at Yima’s house.” Ming Zaozao blinked. “And Auntie Xue Xun, she has so many beautiful flowers.”
Ming Fei coaxed her: “Okay, Mommy will take you there after the meeting this afternoon.”
Ming Zaozao kissed Ming Fei on the cheek: “Mm-hmm!”
At three o’clock in the afternoon, dark clouds covered the sun.
But in a flash, the honey-colored sunlight streamed through the clouds again, dyeing them golden.
At 3:05 pm, Ming Fei was in an online meeting in the study, mainly about the internal title evaluation process of the academy.
At first, she listened attentively to the leaders’ speeches. Even though she had heard similar opening remarks countless times, she still listened seriously. Gradually, as the same old clichés continued, she started reading other books out of boredom.
Half an hour later, the leader’s speech still hadn’t ended.
Ming Fei opened the survey page and found that Zhu Yiqiao’s satisfaction rating had risen from 99.1% to 99.5%. Although she didn’t know the on-site survey results, they definitely wouldn’t be low.
She felt even happier, and even the boring clichés became interesting.
When the venerable Dean Liang announced the list of promotions, she closed the page and listened attentively, unexpectedly hearing her own name.
Dean Liang smiled kindly, “The military is very satisfied with the newly developed WE137, which broke records in all pilot tests. They gave it a very high evaluation. We, as the evaluation team, considering your work performance, competition awards, research indicators, etc., unanimously agreed to make an exception and give you a spot.”
Ming Fei was both surprised and delighted.
Because her length of service was short, excluding the one-year maternity leave for Ming Zaozao’s birth, her actual working experience was only two years, one year short of the requirement for senior title evaluation, so she hadn’t applied.
Since she had already met the research assessment criteria, she wasn’t in a hurry to be promoted. However, this unexpected good news still made her very happy.
The joy didn’t make her complacent. She had always been modest and low-key. Out of concern, she asked the dean,
“Dean Liang, was this spot originally on the list?”
Dean Liang had already guessed her question: “Don’t worry, it wasn’t. The original spots remain unchanged. This spot was specifically applied for by our evaluation team. We’ve seen your performance over the years, and without you, there wouldn’t be a WE137.”
The department head spoke up: “Yes, congratulations, Xiao Fei.”
Professor Qin, who had hinted at it earlier: “Congratulations, Xiao Fei. When we meet again after the new year, you’ll be Associate Professor Xiao Fei.”
Teacher Wen, who was also up for promotion: “Now our academy has the youngest associate professor in the whole school.”
Ming Fei, shy by nature, smiled in response to the friendly and sincere congratulations from her colleagues. Her smile remained bright until the end of the meeting.
Turning off the camera, Ming Fei prepared to share this good news with Zhu Yiqiao, but paused while typing. She hesitated, unsure whether to tell her in person tonight or share it online. After some thought, she decided to tell her online, letting Zhu Yiqiao be the first person to share her joy.
[[Kitten peeking.jpg]]
[Jiejie, I’m getting promoted!]
Attached was a screenshot of the list.
So, the second person to share this good news became Ming Zaozao. On the way to Xu Zhou’s villa, Zaozao the Great turned into Praise the Great, showering Ming Fei with compliments.
“Mommy is the best!”
“Baby loves Mommy so much, Mommy is so amazing.”
…
Ming Fei was overjoyed by her daughter’s praise, her dimple constantly appearing.
Arriving at the villa, when Ming Fei shared this good news with Xu Zhou and Xue Xun, Praise the Great Ming Zaozao launched another round of compliments, even the peach-colored parrot was mimicking her, praising Ming Fei for being amazing.
Xu Zhou’s lips curved slightly: “Mm, that’s great.”
Xue Xun, who had just arrived, applauded: “Teacher Xiao Fei is truly young and promising.”
Zaozao the Great, thirsty from all the praising, nestled in Xue Xun’s arms and drank water.
The next moment—
Ming Fei’s phone in her pocket vibrated.
She looked down.
[Jiejie: Congratulations.]
[Jiejie: What reward does Ah Fei want?]
Ming Fei’s eyes crinkled with a smile as she replied.
[Thank you, Jiejie.]
[Are you off work, Jiejie? I’ll pick you up at the Trial Court.]
It was already six o’clock in the afternoon, past the Trial Court’s closing time, but Ming Fei still hadn’t received a reply from Zhu Yiqiao.
The setting sun had long since set, and as the last rays of sunlight faded, Ming Fei finally received Zhu Yiqiao’s reply.
[No need to come to the Trial Court, come directly here.]
Attached was the address of “One Raccoon Hill,” which she had been to before.
Ming Fei stared at it for three seconds, a strong premonition suddenly rising in her heart, as if after she went there, their current situation might change drastically.
Her heart racing, she replied with firm resolve,
[Mm.]
[I’ll be right there.]
