Forty minutes.
Wang Xiaoliang stared at the time in the upper-right corner of his phone screen. Five forty.
He went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, turned on the tap, and splashed cold water on his face twice.
No standing practice today. His mind wasn't calm.
The idea had been his. If things fell apart with his sister-in-law, or the school leaders didn't buy it, he wouldn't be helping-he'd be making trouble. Huang Xueli already had enough on his plate. If his lousy idea screwed him over on top of that-
He rubbed his face hard.
Back when Huang Xueli and Zhou Qiang had offered advice to him and Zijin, each had looked calmer than the other. Only now, in their position, did he realize there was no masterful strategizing. It was all nerves.
Had those two been like this back then? Saying, "It's fine," while scared to death inside?
Six twenty.
His phone rang.
Wang Xiaoliang snatched it up. Huang Xueli.
"How did it go?"
"She agreed."
The tension left Wang Xiaoliang's back, and he leaned against the edge of the bed.
Huang Xueli continued, "We also wrote out an agreement by hand, dated a year ago. We're heading out now, going to the school."
"Brother, don't rush to speak when you get there. Let your wife speak first."
"Got it."
The call ended.
Wang Xiaoliang laid his phone facedown on his thigh, stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, then let out a long breath.
The first hurdle was cleared.
Two hours later, another call came.
Wang Xiaoliang answered without speaking and waited.
"The leaders didn't take a position at first. They just listened," Huang Xueli said, sounding much more relaxed than he had that morning. "Then they asked a few questions, mostly about when we'd