After hearing that Fang Zhao wouldn't be coming back to celebrate the new year with the two old Fangs, many veterans in the retirement facility guessed that Fang Zhao's absence was the reason why Great-grandfather Fang appeared so listless.
Elsewhere, Fang Zhao didn't have much hope from keeping the truth from the two old Fangs. After all, those two were experienced with this sort of situation. The two old Fangs had pretended to not know, so Fang Zhao had also played along. There were many things that couldn't be spoken explicitly, but the simple understanding was good enough. Going into details would just cause excess worry.
In the one month of quarantine on Whale Island, Fang Zhao wrote his thesis, amended his compositions and made preparations for graduation. He had also read quite a few books recommended by Mo Lang. After completing each book, he had jotted down his afterthoughts.