136: Chapter 136 Seafood Free Meal Coupon

Inside the car.

"Arrange things on Zhao Yiming's side."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly, his voice low and certain: "At your command."

"Starting today, have him watch Zhou Wanquan twenty-four hours a day."

Jiang Chen's tone was flat, as if he were explaining a most ordinary trivial matter. "Itineraries, meetings, who he saw, where he went—report any unusual movements directly to me."

"Understood."

Lu Zheng didn't ask further.

Having followed Jiang Chen for some time, he knew this young boss's style of doing things well.

Whenever a task was handed down, it had inevitably already been turned over in his mind several times.

Zhao Yiming was someone he had personally picked from retired reconnaissance soldiers; back then, he had carried out three years of infiltration and reconnaissance missions on the southwest border.

He excelled at tracking, surveillance, and intelligence gathering, capable of uncovering a target's every move without them noticing a thing.

...

After dropping Shen Xi off, the lexus lm merged back into the traffic flow.

Outside the car window, the plane trees on both sides of the street had begun to shed their leaves. Golden-yellow leaves were kicked up by the wheels, swirling and scattering in the autumn sunlight.

Jiang Chen leaned back in his seat, took out his phone to flip through the class schedule in the academic system, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He had been stretched thin lately with several things piling up, so he naturally couldn't look after his university classes.

Including today, he had skipped class for five consecutive days.

He had missed four major classes, two electives, and hadn't even shown up for the counselor's roll call last Friday evening.

Three unread notifications sat glaringly in the academic system, each marked with a piercing red exclamation mark.

He clicked on the top one; it was sent by the counselor, Zhou Mingyuan.

"Student Jiang Chen, you have skipped more than twelve consecutive credit hours. According to the college's student management regulations, accumulating twenty skipped hours will result in a warning. Please contact me as soon as possible to explain the situation."

It was sent yesterday afternoon.

Jiang Chen stared at the screen for two seconds, turned off his phone, and looked up at Lu Zheng. "Go to Jianghai Pavilion first."

"Jianghai Pavilion?" Lu Zheng glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

"Zhao Yiming mentioned last time that seafood restaurant was good. I recall they're promoting member gift vouchers lately."

Jiang Chen leaned back, his tone casual. "Instructor Zhou just got married not long ago. Sending anything else wouldn't be appropriate."

Lu Zheng's lips twitched as he turned the steering wheel. The car turned right at the next intersection and headed toward Jianghai Pavilion.

In the matter of gift-giving, the hardest part wasn't what to give, but to what extent.

Too light and it's embarrassing; too heavy and the other person won't dare accept it.

Zhou Mingyuan was a university counselor, a position within the system. If he were sent luxury goods directly, even if he liked them in his heart, he wouldn't dare accept them on the surface.

That would be burying a landmine for oneself.

But a complimentary voucher for a seafood restaurant was different. It could be explained as 'vouchers from a friend's restaurant opening, I can't use them all alone.'

The recipient wouldn't feel burdened either. Taking his wife for a good meal would be seen as a personal favor, not a matter of principle.

Especially for a newlywed young couple, it was exactly the time they'd want to go out and try new restaurants together.

This gift hit the mark without crossing the line.

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of Jianghai Pavilion.

Jiang Chen went in and came out in less than five minutes, holding a gold-stamped red envelope.

Jianghai Pavilion was an established high-end seafood restaurant in the city. Their member gift vouchers were made exquisitely and decently, with a cover printed with a pair of carp leaping out of the water, symbolizing good fortune.

Inside was a complimentary voucher labeled 'Deluxe Seafood Set for Two.' It didn't specify a monetary amount, avoiding a naked sense of money.

He got in the car and casually placed the envelope on the passenger seat.

"Back to school."

...

3:00 PM, Jiangcheng University Administration Building.

When Jiang Chen knocked on the door of the counselor's office, Zhou Mingyuan was organizing student files.

The afternoon sun fell onto the desk through the blinds, cutting the entire office into alternating stripes of light and shadow.

"Come in."

The door pushed open and Jiang Chen walked in, a perfectly measured smile on his face.

Zhou Mingyuan looked up. The moment he saw it was him, he was first stunned, then he let out a long sigh of relief and leaned back against his chair.

"Jiang Chen."

There was no reproach in his tone, but rather a sense of being relieved of a burden. "You finally showed your face. No news for days, no answer on the phone, no reply to messages—I was about to call your home."

Jiang Chen pulled out a chair and sat across from him, his posture upright and his tone sincere. "Instructor Zhou, I'm truly sorry for making you worry. I had some private matters to handle recently and left in such a hurry I didn't manage to ask for leave. It's my fault."

He spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly, without deliberate flattery or any trace of guilt.

Zhou Mingyuan waved his hand. The expression on his face was less blame and more concern.

"Asking for leave is secondary; as long as you're okay. For a student to suddenly lose contact for so many days, my heart has been hanging in suspense."

He picked up the teacup on his desk and took a sip, his tone softening slightly. "What was so urgent that you didn't even have time to send a message?"

"Some private matters. They've been settled."

Jiang Chen's tone was calm and brief, with no intention of elaborating. He then added, "If this happens again, I'll definitely report to you in advance."

Zhou Mingyuan glanced at him and nodded without pressing further.

Students have their boundaries too. Since he said it was a private matter and had returned safely, it would be pointless for him as a counselor to keep prying.

"Fine, as long as you're okay."

He closed the file folder in his hand and changed the subject. "However, we still have to follow procedure for the skipping of classes. I'll help you process it as a special case in the system and fill out a personal leave application. This matter will be over then."

"But you'll have to go greet the major course instructors yourself, especially Professor Chen Hong for Financial Engineering. He's very strict about attendance, so you should be aware."

"I understand. I'll go find Professor Chen later."

Jiang Chen agreed, then pulled that gold-stamped envelope from his pocket and casually placed it on the corner of the desk, his movement as natural as if he were setting down his own phone.

"Instructor Zhou, I passed by Jianghai Pavilion on my way back. A friend is a manager there and insisted on stuffing a few vouchers into my hand. I can't use them alone, and since you just got married, you can take my sister-in-law to try it out."

He spoke casually, as if it really were just some leftover meal vouchers a friend had given him.

Zhou Mingyuan's gaze fell on that gold-stamped envelope.

He knew of Jianghai Pavilion; it was an established seafood restaurant in the city with a high average cost per person.

He and his wife had passed by it several times while shopping, and each time they just looked at the aquarium by the door and left.

It wasn't that they couldn't afford it, but as a newlywed couple with mortgage and car loan pressures, they always wanted to save wherever they could.

He hesitated for a moment.

Jiang Chen saw this, stood up, and said with a smile, "Instructor Zhou, I'll be going now. I'll fill out the leave application in the system tonight, so please approve it then."

His movement to stand was crisp and neat, giving Zhou Mingyuan no chance to refuse nor any room to decline.

When he reached the door, he turned back.

"By the way, Instructor Zhou, that shop's king crab is their specialty. The voucher includes one, so remember to order it when you go."

The door closed gently.

Zhou Mingyuan sat in his chair, looking at the gold-stamped envelope on the desk and then at the closed door, and couldn't help but chuckle.

This kid.

He picked up the envelope and took a look inside.

Inside was indeed a complimentary voucher for a set meal for two, beautifully printed. No specific amount was marked; the contents of the set were only listed in small print on the back.

King crab was indeed listed.

He put the voucher back in the envelope, tucked it into his drawer, and leaned back against his chair, his gaze somewhat complex.

This Jiang Chen—he had been his counselor for two years and had always thought he was a quiet student who didn't cause much trouble.

But only today did he realize that he seemed to have never truly seen through him.