Grandfather Gu has always been strict and decisive, rarely changing his decisions once made. While Chao Ning was busy with exams at school, Shen Xi had already gone through the procedure of becoming an adopted son under the arrangement of Grandfather Gu. Some people within the circle who had a good relationship with the Gu family had also been informed of this news, except, of course, Chao's family.

Although Shenshi can't be listed on the Gu family's household registration, once Shenshi becomes the legitimate adopted son of the Gu family, this matter will spread within the circle. Regardless of whether those people recognize Shenshi's identity or not, they will have to give Shenshi some face. And even if Shenshi is not truly willing to dedicate himself to the Gu family in the end, he still has to consider some face between himself and the Gu family.

"Face, or rather 'mianzi' in Chinese, proves to be extremely useful in times like these."

As an experienced translator of Chinese web novels, I would be happy to help you with the translation. However, as you have not provided any specific Chinese novel paragraph, I am unable to proceed with the translation at this time. If you can provide the paragraph you would like translated, I will be more than happy to assist.

Without the disturbance of Gu's and Chao's families, and Shenxi's tracking, Chaoning had a very comfortable time these past two days. Although he could only stay in the small resting room, he also enjoyed peace and freedom. After finishing the last exam, Chaoning was invited to have a meal with Gaoyan and others outside.

After finishing their meal, they each carried a bottle of warm wine and headed to the seaside to feel the breeze.

The Tianbo Star is abundant, so those who can live on Tianbo Star are extremely fortunate, at least compared to people from other planets. Even though they have previously experienced the invasion of the insect race, Tianbo Star remains beautiful: the grassy fields are still lush green, the seawater is still blue, and the night sky is still adorned with thin clouds and sparkling stars.

There weren't many people by the seaside at this time, after all, not many would come out to enjoy the sea breeze like the four of them in the cold winter. Either they were full and bloated or had a little mental illness.

Chao Ning, Chris, and Henry were shivering with fear, but only Gao Yan was extremely happy. She was being treated like a valuable treasure, protected and guarded by the three of them in the middle, shielding her from the cold wind outside.

Chao Ning's teeth trembled as he stammered, "Why... why don't we go back and enjoy the fresh air there instead of coming here?"

Gao Yan took a leisurely sip of warm wine and said, "Aren't you the one I've been waiting for?"

"Why are you following me, even though I'm not thinking straight?" Zhao Ning shook his hand and took a sip of his drink. Then, he looked at Chris and Henry, saying, "Both of you are the same. Don't you understand that you should hold back a little with me?"

Henry's entire being was engaged in a battle against the cold wind, unable to spare any attention to return to Chaoning's words.

As for Chris, his mind was entirely focused on how to take advantage of the cold weather to get some benefits from Chaoning. He had no interest in arguing with Chaoning's words at all.

It was Gao Yan who spoke up, "Alright, Chris does whatever you say. Even if you ask him to break the ice and swim in the sea, he won't refuse. Do you believe it or not? As for Henry? He simply lacks decision-making abilities."

Chris glanced at Gao Yan, then he discreetly squeezed closer to Chao Ning. His little hand even slipped into Chao Ning's down jacket and gently rested on Chao Ning's waist.

Chao Ning patted Chris's hand, but when Chris didn't withdraw his hand, she ignored him and said, "Let's not talk about that. Let's discuss what I should do during this winter break."

If nothing unexpected happens, he will have to go back home tomorrow. After the final exams are over, there's no need to wait for the results. They can immediately consider it as a holiday. On the actual day of vacation, they can hold a class meeting online to formally end the semester. They can just report back on the first day of school. Incredibly free.

Of course, the holidays algorithm for Zhao Ning and the other four, as well as the tasks in the laboratory, are different from those of the general public.

But at least there weren't any major tasks that required them to stay in the laboratory these past few days.

"...... How about we go back and see what the situation is? We have to face it sooner or later," Gao Yan took another sip of warm wine. "The Baiyue Guang affair must be known by the Gu family now. After all, it's impossible to hide the fact that there is suddenly an Alpha in the family. Let's see how the Gu family handles it. Oh, by the way, I heard a rumour recently that the Gu family seems to have held some kind of family banquet, inviting quite a few people with whom they have good relationships. But it seems like your cheap brothers and sisters didn't know about this event. I guess they didn't invite you alphas."

"...," Zhao Ning found it hard to put into words how he felt at the moment. "Fine then, I can't control it anyway. I'm just a discarded pawn, you know? Do you have any useful information left?"

"Gao Yan shrugged. "No clue. By the way, when will your older brother officially take office? I think it's about time to get started on his project."

As soon as Henry heard about this, he couldn't help but speak up, "I agree, I agree!"

Chris was completely leaning on Chaoning. Just like what Gao Yan said, whatever Chaoning said it would be the truth.

Chao Ning sighed, "I'll ask tomorrow. It would be great if my eldest brother's project could get started, as we can then begin dissecting the batch of insects he brought back earlier. By then, he would be so busy that I wouldn't need to deal with those people at home anymore! Huh, it would be even better if I didn't have to get married at all."

Chris said, "I will go and fight for the bride!"

Zhao Ning: "......"

Gao Yan rolled her eyes.

The sea breeze tonight can be considered a lonely one. They had originally hoped to have a brief and productive meeting, but in the end, they didn't accomplish anything. After finishing their warm wine, they immediately returned.

After returning to the long-lost little cottage, Chao Ning happily took a bath and relaxed his whole body. Then, he began reading the latest issue of "Insect Clan Speculation" with great enthusiasm.

On the first night after the end of the final exams, Chaoning had an incredibly comfortable conclusion.

However, the next day marked the beginning of a tough battle.

Chao Ning had not yet woken up from his slumber when his brain emitted a piercing sound. This noise was extremely penetrating, and if one didn't know better, one would think it was some audio equipment about to go defunct.

Morning Ning was startled awake and immediately grabbed the nearest object, throwing it against the wall. With astonishing speed, they swiftly crawled under the bed and assumed a prone position.

The sound stopped, and the light brain did not explode.

He crawled out from under the bed and hesitated for a moment before picking up his phone. As a result, he saw that there were seven or eight unread messages on it. Five were sent by Shen Xi, two were from Gu Xiangnan, and there was one message from a virus. That sharp sound just now was probably caused by that message playing tricks.

New information about Gu Xiangnan came in.

"[New Debtor Mr. Gu: Come down, the car is downstairs.]"

"......" As Chao Ning glanced out the window, she indeed spotted an unmistakably recognizable private shuttle.

He felt that it was completely unnecessary for Gu Xiangnan to personally come and pick him up. Considering the number of people in the Gu family, couldn't they simply send a driver instead?

"Wait a moment, could it be that the virus information just now was also sent by Gu Xiangnan?"

'[New Creditor Gu Shao: You only have five minutes.]'

"Damn it! It sure is!"

As Chao Ning grumbled to himself, he hurriedly dressed up and went to freshen up. He boarded the shuttle in the fifth minute after arrival.

"It's been a few days since we last met, and young master Gu's skills have improved. Tell me, what other surprises do you have up your sleeve that I don't know about?" Although Chaoning may seem timid, when he's slightly emotional, he is anything but timid. Moreover, the man in front of him has already fallen into the category of being "about to be liberated" by him.

"This time, I suppose it's to discuss the cancellation of the engagement with him? Well, that's perfect. We won't have anything to do with each other anymore, and he won't have to pretend anymore."