Chapter 390: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

Manager Chen, upon seeing this situation, felt a slight unease. As an experienced person, he quickly realized that his authority wasn’t sufficient for this task.

Without revealing any emotion, he glanced at Zhou Chao and his companions before saying, “Let me handle this. You can assist them with their documents.”

The staff member hesitated for a moment but soon understood. With a nod, he hurried to help his colleagues.

Once the staff member left, Manager Chen exited his own system and logged in again, following the previous process. When he reached the section about Guo Yan’s father, he hesitated briefly, then opened the previously inaccessible page.

He clicked on Zhou Chao’s name and realized he couldn’t access it either.

However, due to his slightly higher level of authority, he received a message saying “Insufficient Permissions.”

“Please wait a moment,” Manager Chen said, taking Guo Yan’s documents and heading out of the office.

Guo Yan looked puzzled.

“Brother, what’s going on?”

“It’s nothing. Just relax and wait,” Zhou Chao replied mysteriously.

Manager Chen, after leaving the office, made his way to his superior’s office.

“Knock knock!”

“Come in!” his superior called as Manager Chen knocked and entered.

“Manager Chen, what’s the matter?”

“Leader, here’s the situation,” Manager Chen immediately explained the details thoroughly.

After finishing, a hint of gravity appeared on the superior’s face.

“Let me see the documents,” his superior requested. He logged into his internal account and began checking.

However, he too found that his authority wasn’t sufficient for this task, leaving both of them perplexed.

“You can step out for now,” his superior said after a moment of contemplation.

Once Manager Chen left the office, his superior picked up the phone and dialed a number.

“Hello, this is Wu Xuan from the People’s Militia Department. I’ve encountered a situation here, and I’d like to report it to you,” Wu Xuan quickly explained the situation he had just heard from Manager Chen.

After he finished speaking, there was a long silence on the other end before a response finally came, “Wait for me to check.”

The call was then disconnected.

Wu Xuan continued to examine Guo Yan’s documents, noting her outstanding evaluations and excellent college entrance exam scores. If this part went smoothly, her chances of success were practically guaranteed.

Just as he was engrossed in his examination, the office landline rang. Wu Xuan picked it up immediately.

“No need to investigate further; just approve it. And make sure not to mention this to anyone else. Inform your subordinates.”

Wu Xuan was momentarily stunned and nervously licked his lips. He cautiously asked, “Leader, may 1 inquire about this person’s identity?”

There was a moment of silence from the other end, leaving Wu Xuan regretting asking such a crucial question.

But soon, he received a two-word response before the call was abruptly ended: “Top secret!”

Wu Xuan held the phone, utterly dumbfounded. Even the “beep” sound from the disconnected call didn’t snap him out of his stupor.

After a considerable moment, Wu Xuan finally regained his composure, lightly smacking his own face.

“Why did 1 open my mouth like that, asking such a question? What was I thinking?” He sighed and sat down with a dejected expression.

However, he quickly pulled himself together. There was still work to be done, and he couldn’t keep anyone waiting.

“Manager Chen, come in!”

Upon hearing his superior’s call, Manager Chen promptly entered the room.

“Manager Chen, take this document back with you. Approve it directly, and don’t concern yourself with anything else,” his superior instructed, handing the documents to Manager Chen.

Manager Chen reached out to accept the documents but was immediately halted by Wu Xuan.

Don’t ask any questions or say anything. Just process it directly. Inform the person handling it, and ensure confidentiality. You can go ahead and attend to it.”

Without giving Manager Chen a chance to speak, Wu Xuan efficiently arranged the tasks.

Manager Chen paused for a moment, then turned and left the room. He already had a rough idea of the situation.

Soon, he returned to his office, documents in hand.

“May I inquire about the relationship between this Zhou Chao and yourself?” Manager Chen’s tone had softened considerably.

Guo Yan hesitated for a moment and glanced at Zhou Chao before remaining silent.

“I am Zhou Chao, her brother.”

Manager Chen was dumbfounded by Zhou Chao’s words, looking at him with disbelief. He wanted to ask questions, but remembering the warning he received from his superior earlier, he refrained from doing so.

“Is there a problem?” Zhou Chao smiled at Manager Chen.

“No… no problem. The documents are in order. I’ve processed them directly. Little sister, you can now wait for your admission notice from the school.”

Guo Yan was still a bit puzzled. “Is it already done? 1 thought it would take a while.”

“Well, do you have your medical examination report? If not, you’ll need to provide one.”

“I have it, 1 have it!” Guo Yan hurriedly handed over her medical examination report.

“Everything is done,” Manager Chen said with a smile.

“Thank you very much!” Zhou Chao stood up and expressed his gratitude.

“No trouble at all, not at all,” Manager Chen replied quickly.

Zhou Chao nodded and turned to Guo Yan. “Let’s go.”

Subsequently, the three of them left the office. At that moment, the staff member who had initially approached them returned.

“Manager Chen, what happened just now?”

Don’t ask. Forget everything that happened earlier, understood?”

The staff member was momentarily stunned but quickly regained his composure and nodded. “I understand, Manager Chen.”

As they exited the office, Guo Yan seemed to have lifted a heavy burden from her heart, becoming noticeably more cheerful.

Even Zhou Chao couldn’t help but think to himself, “She really has nerves of steel.”

“Brother, are we heading back now?”

It’s not ‘we.’ You’ll take a taxi back by yourself.”

Upon hearing Zhou Chao’s words, Guo Yan froze and pointed at the scorching sun outside. “You’re really okay with letting your adorable sister walk back under this scorching sun?”

She looked at him with a pitiful expression, and Zhou Chao burst into laughter.

“Haha, I’ve got it all arranged for you!” He pointed towards a nearby gas station.

At that moment, several taxis were waiting in line at the gas station.

“Hmph!” Guo Yan huffed and walked towards the gas station with an air of annoyance.

“Boss, you’re not really sending Xiao Yan back?”

“Well, she’s not a child anymore. We can’t cater to her every need. Besides, she’s about to enter the military academy, and that’ll be even more demanding!” Zhou Chao’s smile faded as he watched Guo Yan walk away.

“I hope she understands your good intentions,” Lin Wu said.

“Don’t talk about good or bad intentions. 1 just want her to learn to face things on her own. Don’t exaggerate my actions!” Zhou Chao gave Lin Wu an annoyed look.

ii

Uh!” Lin Wu suddenly felt a bit confused, as if he had overdone his attempt to curry favor.

“Alright, let’s go back home!”

“Back to Modu?” Lin Wu was momentarily confused about their destination.

“Back to Modu? Back to my home!”

Zhou Chao headed towards the car, and Lin Wu hurriedly followed.

Once they arrived home, they quickly turned on the air conditioning. Since returning to Fog City these past couple of days, Lin Wu had experienced what real heat was like. He felt like he couldn’t survive without air conditioning.

“Boss, why is it so hot in Fog City?” Lin Wu wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked.

“Fog City is situated in a basin within a mountainous area. Compared to Rong City’s openness, Fog City is surrounded by mountains, so it’s essentially located in a mountainous region. That’s why it’s so hot here. Even though the temperature might only be around 37-38 degrees Celsius, the heat index can easily reach over 40 degrees.”

“Alright then, when are we going back to Modu?”

“In a couple of days…” Zhou Chao hadn’t even finished his sentence when the phone on the table rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Zhou Chao got up from the couch.

“Hello, Brother Yang!” The call was from Xiao Yang, whom he hadn’t been in contact with for a long time.

“I heard your sister is planning to apply for the military academy!” Xiao Yang’s robust voice came through the phone.

“How did you find out?”

“Some people are naturally curious!” Zhou Chao immediately understood. During the verification process for Guo Yan, someone had reported it to a higher authority, and the information had spread like wildfire. Even people in Jingdu like Xiao Yang had gotten wind of it.

“Well, I applied for her to the National University of Defense Technology. Her grades are good, so there shouldn’t be any issues.”

“Do you need me to help her?”

“No need, Brother Yang. Let her figure things out on her own. I can’t arrange everything for her. After all, she has her own path to follow.”

“Alright, if you ever need anything, just give me a call. And by the way, we’re out of booze!” X

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chao had a wry smile and sighed. “You know my home in Jingdu. There are still some Maotai-aged liquors in the cellar. If you want to drink, go get them yourself. Just leave me some!”

Just as he finished speaking, he could hear voices on the other end of the phone. “See, I told you he must have some private stash. You’re responsible for tonight’s snacks to go with the alcohol!”

Zhou Chao couldn’t help but roll his eyes upon hearing the conversation from the other end. He finally said, “Brother, could you please hang up the phone before talking about this? It feels like you’re stabbing me in the heart with a knife!”

“Oh, 1 haven’t hung up yet? Sorry about that. Let’s leave it at that. Xiao Chao, I’ll go to your place to get the liquor!”

Then, he hung up the phone, leaving Zhou Chao to hear the beep from the disconnected call. He felt like cursing out loud.

Lin Wu, who had been watching Zhou Chao’s facial expressions like a roller coaster ride, asked quietly, “Boss, are you okay?”

“I’m physically fine, but my heart feels like it’s been stabbed a thousand times!” Zhou Chao replied, holding his chest with an agonized expression.

After a while, Zhou Chao calmed down. He muttered to himself, “When 1 return to Jingdu, 1’11 see how I can complain to Grandpa!”

As he spoke, he let out an evil laugh, and Lin Wu couldn’t help but shrink back.

“What’s wrong? Do 1 look that terrifying?” Zhou Chao asked Lin Wu with a hint of annoyance.

“Well, your laugh did sound a bit scary!”

Zhou Chao gave him an unamused look..