"Not holding you up, huh? Heh heh…" Zhang Hongyang nodded, a mocking tone in his voice as he patted Liu Zhizhong on the shoulder, then continued, "We're about to graduate, brother-in-law, don't you feel like you're about to be liberated?"

"Liberated? Heh heh, Brother Hongyang, what makes you say that?" Liu Zhizhong said with a faint smile, playing dumb.

Zhang Hongyang was slightly taken aback, not quite sure how to respond, but he still managed a cool smile, "Isn't it liberation? After six months of Party School training, don't you feel tired and pressured?"

"Who's giving this tiredness and pressure?"

"Err…"

Liu Zhizhong chuckled, patting Zhang Hongyang's shoulder in return, "Squad Leader Zhang, it was all you, wasn't it? I should thank you for toughening me up so much. After all, we're brothers-in-law; we should look out for each other, right?"

"Ah… you… this…"

"No matter if you were trying to screw me over or discipline me, I've endured it all. A word of thanks doesn't seem out of place! Once today's and tomorrow's graduation exams are over, I'm thinking of treating you to a meal!"

"You…" Zhang Hongyang was dumbstruck by Liu Zhizhong's poised and sincere demeanor, but he still forced a faint smile, "You've got a really big heart!"

"As cadres of the people, we should be magnanimous, right? What's the point of always being petty, right?"

"Err…"

Zhang Hongyang was at a loss for words again, not knowing how to respond.

Immediately after, Liu Zhizhong lowered his voice and said, "I'm off to prepare for the exam now, huh. This half-year has almost killed me and your sister; she's been missing me to death in her messages. I need to get back and tend to her soon! With spring here, both of us are nearly burnt to death by our sprouting passions, heh heh…"

With that, Liu Zhizhong flashed a mischievous smile and turned to leave.

In the spring breeze, Zhang Hongyang trembled with rage; he wanted to curse out loud but didn't dare. After all, he was someone who had his reputation to consider!

His sister was his eternal heartache!

Every time he thought of Liu Zhizhong farming on Zhang Qixiang, Zhang Hongyang felt like his heart was bleeding, he was so angry he could burst. He wanted to kill Liu Zhizhong.

But now, his sister was actually siding with him. Ugh… it was infuriating, downright infuriating… All he could do was endure, keep it all bottled up. It was so painful…

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

The first day's graduation exam was a written test, and the results would be out two days later, after all the grading and such.

The next afternoon was dedicated to thesis defense, with the whole day spent on it.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zhizhong was scheduled to be the last one for the defense.

In the thesis defenses that took place before him, for both the middle-aged and youth classes, all the trainees passed, or rather, made the grade.

Like Zhang Hongyang, who was rated 'Excellent' on the spot for his defense. That was really something.

In reality, his thesis was trash!

Unfortunately, given the Zhang Family's good relationship with Luo Tianlin, Young Master Zhang's trashy thesis had to get an 'Excellent' rating, too.

By the time it was Liu Zhizhong's turn to step onto the defense stage, his well-thought-out thesis ran into major trouble.

The panel judging his defense included naturally Luo Tianlin, as well as key instructors from the Party School and several provincial committee members. This panel was very intimidating.

But Liu Zhizhong, as always, performed exceptionally. Facing these bigwigs, he held steady and responded fluidly. The six months at the Party School really honed his resilience, fearing nothing, calm and steady. Sometimes, he cursed inwardly: Damn it, thank you, Zhang Hongyang, you bastard!

However, the outcome after the thesis defense was announced on the spot – fail!

Such a result left Liu Zhizhong completely dumbfounded on stage, not believing his ears, and he couldn't help saying, "Principal Luo, why?"