Seeing Yue Yao like that, Li Yan could understand her concerns, nodded, and did not continue with the topic.

"Regardless of whether I retire or not, 'they' need someone reliable. This opportunity can be used to have them undergo some training."

Upon hearing Li Yan discuss serious matters, Yue Yao also became serious immediately.

However, 'their' organization is also structured like a hierarchy, with fewer stronger individuals. With the falls of Peng Duandao and Liu Yunqing, only Shi Jian'en and Feng Wuqing remain at Fist Level. They both lack confidence to challenge Li Yan, and the other two at Fist Level, Yan Ping and Qi Zhongtao, are instructors whose purpose is research and training, not missions. During an over-level challenge, two Blade Level assassins successfully challenged the Fist Level, but upgrading a level still requires passing an A-Class mission, and so far, only Liu Xi has successfully completed it.

In other words, aside from King, within 'them', the frontline assassins are limited to Shi Jian'en, Feng Wuqing, and the newly promoted Liu Xi, apart from the two instructors. And for these three, there is still much room for improvement.

Yue Yao thought for a while and suggested, "Shi Jian'en, Feng Wuqing, and Liu Xi, these three can be gathered together. If they cooperate, taking down one agent in a mission shouldn't be hard to accomplish. Even though Qi Zhongtao and Yan Ping haven't participated in missions for a long time, their data analysis and theoretical support can still help greatly. How about..."

Li Yan immediately shook his head, "No! If it happens like that, 'their' core. Old Yan and Old Qi are our backup forces; their presence can improve the overall level of others and cultivate more successors. While bringing them over would benefit them and even me, for safety's sake, it's best they don't come."

"Alright."

"Let's take the task first! Gather the details like time, location, target, etc. We still need time for strategic planning, weapon preparation, and we have competitors... We need more time!"

"Understood!" Yue Yao nodded calmly and then left with her computer.

Li Yan pondered with his eyes closed for a while.

Before leaving the room, he took the special phone given by Guan Ziyi. He plans on keeping it with him these days so he can stay informed and communicate as soon as issues arise.

...

Yu Xiaodi did not return home today; she had some concerns in her heart.

When they talked about going for a check-up together that day, Li Yan agreed cheerfully, but due to time constraints, they only had time over the weekend. However, yesterday night, she waited a long time without hearing from Li Yan regarding the matter.

This morning she originally wanted to call to inquire, but she was worried Li Yan might be with Zhang Yurong, making a call awkward for everyone. But since Zhang Yurong contacted her, she understood Zhang Yurong was equally concerned about Li Yan's health, so she believed Zhang Yurong would probably make Li Yan go today.

However, Xiaodi still lacked confidence in convincing Li Yan for a comprehensive check-up. Because in her interactions with Li Yan, he always took the lead. If Li Yan accommodated her, that'd naturally be good; if he made excuses at the hospital not to check-up, she'd be helpless.

This worried her; Zhang Yurong didn't want him to know, relying on her, but she couldn't force him either. So, whose words might carry weight with him?

Qiao Huanxuan?

That seems to be the woman Li Yan secretly admired in his youth. Regardless of the real situation back then or how they are now, Li Yan probably wouldn't refuse her words, right?

But this approach isn't good; whether it's first love or a crush, keeping them in closer contact might lead to unforeseen consequences. She couldn't let a wolf into the house. Besides, many years have passed since they last interacted; suddenly asking Qiao Huanxuan for help could make Li Yan suspicious, possibly skipping the check-up without options.

Thinking more thoroughly, she considered Wen Qianyi!

Through her observation, Li Yan must have some interest in Wen Qianyi, who was once his superior; her words wouldn't be ignored by him. Yet their relationship wasn't as close as hers with Li Yan's, so compared to a wife and first love, with an inherent disadvantage, Wen Qianyi is a reassuring choice for Xiaodi.

Having decided, she called Wen Qianyi, asking if she had any plans for the day; if not, she would go and hang out with her.

Wen Qianyi certainly saw through the young girl's mind. Yu Xiaodi's aimless invitation immediately made her think it likely related to Li Yan. But she couldn't fathom the specifics. Was it about the beauty colleague suddenly appearing at the airport?

Given her relationship with Li Yan, differing from Yu Xiaodi's and Zhang Yurong's, Li Yan didn't need to explain in detail. She was unaware of the aftermath with the girl colleague claimed to be his crush, hence wanted to use it as an opportunity to understand from Yu Xiaodi, agreeing for Xiaodi to come over.

...

Before going out, Li Yan went to Yurong's office, pushed the door open, and saw Zhang Yurong busy in front of the computer. He greeted her, "I'm going out for a bit, won't be home for lunch, and not sure when I'll be back tonight."

"Okay." Zhang Yurong didn't look up at him and continued staring at the computer.

Li Yan thought for a moment, since she entrusted Yudrop with this, perhaps telling her might ease her mind a bit, so he added, "Yudrop asked me to accompany her to get a physical exam; I'll get one too while we're at it. But tonight, I'll be with others; some colleagues at the company wanted me to celebrate my promotion last night."

Zhang Yurong stopped looking at the computer, looked up at him, and said blandly, "Li Yan, you can meet whoever you want, you don't need to explain everything to me. I think... it makes me feel unnatural, and you surely feel unnatural too. When two people are together, there might be things to compromise on, but reporting everything makes it all too exhausting."

Li Yan looked at her with slight surprise.

Zhang Yurong suddenly smiled, "Yes, I've figured it out. Last night, I asked you to tell me about Qiao Huanxuan, and this morning I asked about Yudrop. I realized that after hearing, I didn't feel satisfied or comforted but rather felt it's not good. So from now on, I won't ask anymore, and you don't need to specially accommodate me. Alright, you go. I need to work now!"

Li Yan raised an eyebrow. Regardless of whether she's speaking her mind or not, from his perspective, this indeed seemed better. Not like before, where neither would inquire, but also not asking too much.

He agreed and went out. As he watched the office door close, the smile on Zhang Yurong's face disappeared, replaced by a hint of worry. She was concerned about any hidden health issues with Li Yan, hence wanting him to get checked unknowingly to treat any illness early. Now that Yudrop has succeeded, he seems to have agreed to the check-up. But as it draws nearer, she has another worry; worrying about the possibility of discovering an incurable disease...

...

"Yudrop, where are you now? I'm coming to find you; where should we go for the physical exam?" After Li Yan left, he drove toward the city while calling Yudrop.

"Uncle, you remembered! I thought you'd bail on me again..." Yudrop breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his words.

"Haha, why say 'again'? Do I often bail on you?"

"Hmph, someone knows themselves."

"You're at school, right? I'm heading over, talk to you when I arrive!"

"No, no, I'm not at S University now, I'm... I'll tell you an address; come here instead!"

Yudrop then quickly said an address, one that was quite familiar to Li Yan. As soon as he heard, he knew it was where Wen Qianyi lived. Not only Wen Qianyi but Hai Fu also lived there!

Li Yan felt a bit sweaty, she went to see Wen Qianyi?

"Okay, fine, I'll drive over. How..."

"Haha, I'm with Ms. Wen now. She heard we were going for a physical exam and wanted to come along too. She agreed with my suggestion, saying that with all the work pressure, any ailments might go unnoticed and that since there's time, it's better to check together. Hurry up, we're waiting for you!" Yudrop quickly said, trying to create an atmosphere where everyone was going for a check-up.

She hung up after speaking, leaving Li Yan quite moved. He already knew the actual purpose of Yudrop's so-called physical exam and realized she included Wen Qianyi to prevent him from backing out at the last minute.

Yurong could enlist the help of a rival in love, and Yudrop could do the same; both compromising on their preferences just for him! This filled Li Yan's heart with warmth. Perhaps the amount or time they loved him wasn't exactly the same, but the care they had for him was equally heavy!

Beauty's kindness is profound, hard to choose between. Being forced to choose only one would be a quite distressing decision for him.

But regardless of morals, law, customs... uh, customs don't count, at least under current law and moral standards, they only support one man and one woman. One person can love many people, but you can only choose to live with one.

This is the rule.

The rule is for equality, not just talking about gender equality; maybe one person's "love" can be deeply shared among several people, or even universally throughout humanity with universal love, benevolence, and compassion. But one's time is limited, the body is single; this makes equality unattainable!

Future... Li Yan quickly tossed this thought aside! Whatever the future holds, will be said in the future. Now, since they can compromise for him, he should act obliviously and cooperate with them, giving them an outcome that firms their reassurance and happiness.

(Thanks to the brothers who tipped on the 24th: Zhongnan, Reader 100609203829062, Kipagod, Master One Degree, Tormenting Your... Sister, The Boar Flies a Plane (sweat, both IDs are quite powerful), Lonely Soul§, Absolute Envoy, AǐR (青空), Zjun971210, Reader 100323083931122, Reader 100503201921198, Dongmin8061, Reader 100823170756601) (To be continued, to know what happens next, please log onto www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)

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