Zhan Dongzhen was busy signing documents, and public relations manager Zhao Lingfei personally made him a cup of coffee.
"Mr. Zhan, the coffee you ordered."
Zhan Dongzhen raised his head to look at her and said with a smile, "Why bother you, Ling Fei, to bring it in?"
"Good news for you."
"What's the matter?" Zhan Dongzhen put down his pen. Although he asked obediently, Zhao Lingfei knew that he seemed to have guessed it.
"I sent the fax this morning, but I haven't heard back yet."
"No response or good news?"
"At least they didn't reject it immediately, so I guess there's hope with the Li Group." She remembered that when Zhan Dongzhen made this proposal, there were only a few people on the scene who could have expected this to happen.
In fact, the original plan to sell Lantian Bay was made by Zhan Dongzhen alone, despite the opposition of many people. However, the municipal planning was later exposed, which caused the value of this project to drop immediately and almost destroyed the foundation of the entire Dongzheng.
However, such a low-profit project actually attracted an olive branch from the Li family.
"They just want to do some small business with us to kill time." He smiled faintly. When he smiled, his eyes curved down softly.
"Now that this deal is done, you should consider your own affairs." Zhao Lingfei said as she sorted out the signed documents on his desk.
"What's up?"
"What do you think? Don't play dumb with me."
"Is it to marry you?"
Zhao Lingfei chuckled when she heard this, "Don't come on."
"You're hurting my heart."
"Just tease me, an old woman, in front of others. Don't be so frivolous all the time." She divorced her husband a few years ago. She is several years older than Zhan Dongzhen, and she calls herself "old woman" in private.
"Actually..." His eyelashes drooped, "Sometimes I feel sorry for you."
"Yes, the young master of Dongzheng despised his wife and married an older vixen. This kind of gossip gives me a headache just thinking about it."
Zhan Dongzhen laughed again.
"There are three thousand rivers, so don't just look forward to those few. There are so many young ladies in our B city who are interested in you. If you don't like them, you can look for others in other places."
"Yeah." Zhan Dongzhen smiled faintly in response.
"Miss Shen, you haven't contacted her for a long time, go give her a call." Zhao Lingfei said.
"Let's talk about it after we're done."
Zhao Lingfei looked at him, not knowing what to say. He was naturally gentle, and would not get angry no matter what anyone said. He would just listen quietly. However, sometimes listening is one thing, and whether to do it or not is another.
She left with the documents she wanted, and when she walked into the corridor, she looked back at his office, shook her head and smiled.
Just now, Zhan Dongzhen said to her with a giggle, "Are you going to marry me?" This sentence made her, an older woman who had experienced a lot and was regarded as a shrewd person, a little moved.
I don't know what kind of woman can refuse him.
However, they will not be each other's cup of tea.
It has been drizzling since yesterday, and I don’t know why the air pressure has been affecting it. It feels completely different from previous summers.
After drinking cup after cup of coffee, he still felt a little tired. Maybe, as someone said, he was born to be a spendthrift.
"Boss Zhan." He just lay back on the sofa when his assistant called again. "It's three o'clock. Last week I arranged to go to the Third Secretary Section of the Municipal Party Committee at four o'clock."
"Okay, prepare the car, I'll be there right away." He buttoned his shirt, picked up his suit, looked at his watch, and went out. While waiting for the traffic light in the car, he called Xie Minghao.
"Minghao, it's me."
Xie Minghao heard Zhan Dongzhen's voice, gestured to Xie Qing, and prepared to come out of the ward.
“Minghao…” Xie Qing was shy, so she glanced at the doctor and then grabbed the corner of his clothes.
"Xieqing, be obedient. I'm going to take a call from a friend." Xie Minghao covered the microphone and coaxed her in a low voice.
Seeing Xie Qing nodded timidly, Xie Minghao gently closed the door and walked into the corridor.
"Dongzhen, I was accompanying Xieqing in the hospital for a follow-up visit, so I didn't go to the meeting this afternoon."
"Yeah, I know. Is she getting better?"
"By the way, Aunt Ren said that night, she suddenly asked about Xie Yi." Xie Minghao said.
"She thought of freehand painting?" Zhan Dongzhen was slightly surprised.
"Not entirely. She just asked casually during dinner, and she was very calm. When we asked her again later, she said she didn't remember saying that."
“Oh…” he responded.
Xie Minghao only went out to say a few words, and Xie Qing started to feel irritated while staying inside. She was extremely uncomfortable with the unfamiliar environment.
"Minghao." She stood up and shouted.
Xie Minghao heard this and said hurriedly, "Xieqing called me, I hung up. Dongzhen, Aunt Ren said she hasn't seen you for a long time, and asked you to come over and sit down."
"Forget it. I'm afraid it won't turn out well if I go."
"You..." Xie Minghao didn't know what to say, "Probably nothing. It's good that Aunt Ren wants you to come and see her."
Zhan Dongzhen hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, if I finish early, I'll go there."
After the meeting, he went to a social event and had dinner with others. Zhao Lingfei accompanied him and naturally blocked a lot of alcohol for him.
He had a low alcohol tolerance and often had to secretly go to the bathroom to vomit. If Zhao Lingfei saw that he looked unhappy, she would naturally help him get away with it.
Making money to this extent is really painful. He especially hates having a meal with a large table of people and having people constantly urging him to drink. After so much urging, both sides' saliva is worn out, time is wasted, and the food is all cold. It can be said that the meal lasts forever.
He once said to Zhao Lingfei: "I think it's best for everyone to report how much they can drink before drinking, and then pour it all at once, drink it by themselves, eat it by themselves, and then have fun."
Zhao Lingfei laughed and said, "What's the fun in drinking?"
"Drinking is not fun at all."
It was already late when they came out of the hotel. Zhao Lingfei went to arrange the next show, and he found an excuse to leave. However, he did not go to Shen's house that night. When the car arrived at the door, he still did not go in.
At night, he called Xieyi.
"Uh..." She stammered on the other end of the phone.
"What's wrong?"
"It's not convenient for me here." Xie Yi said, and then glanced at Li Zeliang who was watching TV next to him. After dinner today, Li Zeliang suddenly decided to move back to his high-rise apartment.
Isn't it annoying to move around like this
Xieyi really wanted to protest.
"I want to chat with you." said Zhan Dongzhen.
Xie Yi looked helpless. Could it be that this person couldn't understand what she was saying? Didn't she say it was inconvenient
This was her second night alone with Li Zeliang, but her first day in this apartment. Li Zeliang was not in the best mood since he came back from the company to the old house of the Li family. He was depressed, changed the channels, and didn't talk much.
It is really hard to make a beautiful woman smile, I think. Otherwise, why would King You of Zhou use beacon fires to make Bao Si happy
"It's really inconvenient for me."
"Xieyi, I miss you." Zhan Dongzhen said while curled up on the bed.
"you're drunk?"
"No..." he said.
"It would be strange if there weren't any." Xieyi said unhappily.
"Come and see me." He said coquettishly.
Xie Yi was silent for a moment, thinking that there was something wrong with what this person said, "You were abandoned by a woman?"
"You are like a dog that can't spit out ivory." Zhan Dongzhen smiled bitterly.
"If you want to find someone to chat with on the phone, the information desk has this kind of telephone service. If you want to find a lover to talk to face to face, you can arrange some girlfriends A, B, and C. If you have psychological problems, I can help you contact a doctor. Mr. Zhan, do you have any other requests?"
Zhan Dongzhen smiled and said, "Unfortunately, I just want Xieyi to accompany me."
"What's wrong with you?" Xieyi couldn't help but stand up and walk to the balcony.
"Will I end up alone and lonely?"
"nonsense."
“I seem to be redundant everywhere.”
"You regret that I let you..."
"No," he interrupted her.
"Did you go to see Xie Qing today?"
"No, I only heard her voice from Minghao's phone call."
"Then... go see her tomorrow."
"Never mind. I don't like it."
After hanging up the phone, Xieyi came back from the balcony and saw Li Zeliang's gloomy face.
"What phone call do you need to go out to answer?"
"Uh... a friend." Xie Yi explained.
He glanced at her, and it made her a little nervous.
Then he added: "It's a woman."
He turned his head and continued to stare at the TV screen, which made Xieyi think that he was satisfied with the answer. Unexpectedly, he suddenly sneered and said sarcastically after a while: "I wonder how Zhan Dongzhen would react if he heard you say he was a woman."
Xie Yi was stunned. It turned out that he was pretending like that, but he was actually secretly listening to her words.
"She's a girl so what? I don't think Zhan Dongzhen will be too upset if he finds out." She was embarrassed to be caught lying, but she refused to admit defeat and kept muttering.
"In your eyes, he is good in every way." He snorted.
Xieyi glanced at his dark face. Why did this man speak with a sour tone like a young wife
"You wouldn't..." Xie Yi rolled his eyes, "Ah, you wouldn't be jealous of this too, would you? How come you, a man, are even more petty than me? You get mad when you see me in the company, but you act as if all the female subordinates are having an affair with you. If I were you, wouldn't I be so angry? Besides, all your past affairs were spread around the company, but I just ignored them and didn't make a fuss about it. Today, I just took a..."
"Shen Xieyi!" Li Zeliang finally got angry and shouted to stop her.
Xieyi's mouth opened and closed silently for a few times, but she finally stopped talking due to his tyranny. Then she stared at him, looking at his face that looked very uncomfortable under her stare, and after a moment she suddenly smiled.
"Sometimes, you're so cute." If she hadn't been afraid of his stern expression, she would have rushed over and given him a bear hug.
"Shen Xieyi, get out of here." He said viciously, turned off the TV, took a book and sat down to read.
"I want to watch TV." Xieyi protested in a low voice.
"Can't you find something nutritious to do?"
"When you want to watch TV, watching TV is a nutritious thing. Now you want to read books, and books become the source of nutrition for mankind, obviously..." She said with a frown in grievance, and finally whispered so quietly that only she could hear it.
"Hmm?" The ending of his voice was elongated and raised, and it was obvious that he was a little unhappy with Xie Yi's challenge.
"Uh... Actually what I want to say is that books are obviously friends of mankind." She was forced to read a book and walked to the bookshelf behind the sofa, dumbfounded.
Rows and rows of sociology, economics, marketing, and management books.
It is indeed very nutritious.
At a glance, the books on the bookshelf were all clean, without any creases or stains, as if few people had read them. She took out a book at random and found that these books were not just for display. Many pages had his handwriting on them, some places were finely outlined with pencils, and there were notes. She was not a person who liked to write on books, always feeling that it was a waste of things. But when she saw the handwriting he left on the pages of printed paper, she couldn't help but start to like these books and this habit. Every word was sharp and elegant, which really made people happy.
It was a pity that Li Zeliang was the only one reading in a book club tonight, and Xieyi was left to read the words of the book owner. She flipped through the books one by one, not to gain knowledge, but to find the fascinating handwriting that occasionally flashed on each book. Li Zeliang looked up at Xieyi who was reading with great interest, and was surprised that she didn't fall asleep while reading such a book, but his eyes suddenly locked onto the book Xieyi was holding in her hand, which was Mankiw's "Principles of Economics".
His eyes flashed, his pupils sank slightly, and he said, "Give me that one."
Upon hearing this, Xieyi looked back at him and said, "I am reading it with great interest." The correct answer should be, I am in awe of your calligraphy, and I have finally found the book with the most words on it.
"Give it to me, and read another one yourself." He gave the order.
Xieyi was speechless for a while.
All right, all right. Xie Yi took a deep breath. She was a generous girl and didn't argue with him. So she handed it to him and went back to the bookshelf, determined to find a book with more words. Humph!
While she turned around and faced the sofa, Li Zeliang opened the last few pages of the book. He had written a person's name on it many times in a row. He seemed to be getting more and more annoyed as he wrote, so much so that the last dot of the "heart" at the end of the footer had already pierced through the paper and moved to the next page.
His fingertips gently stroked the paper. The word "意" felt a little uneven because the paper was scratched.
He had a short temper since childhood, so his father hired someone to teach him calligraphy. Later, whenever he encountered something annoying, he would use this method to calm himself down. Unfortunately, at some point, it didn't work at all. To this day, he still remembers the feeling of throwing the pen away in anger after writing this name.
Perhaps there is no other person in this world who can make him like this.
Xieyi searched for a long time and finally found a copy of Machiavelli's The Prince with satisfaction. Just as he was about to sit down, Li Zeliang glanced at the cover and said, "I want that one too."
You want this book, but you can't have that one. Is it really such a coincidence, or is this man deliberately making things difficult for her? Xieyi pondered.
"Okay, I'll give it back to you." She was generous and modest again, and then she prepared to go look for it. She didn't believe that he could read four or five books at the same time.
Suddenly, he said, "Forget it, watch TV."
Xieyi quietly rolled his eyes at him and thought, Boss, why didn't you tell me earlier
When watching TV, the focus is of course on entertainment and gossip.
She suddenly felt that the TV was too quiet and she couldn't hear clearly, so she secretly turned up the volume. She looked at Li Zeliang, and seeing that he didn't respond, she secretly turned up the volume by one more notch. Seeing that he still had no objection, she turned up the volume by one more notch...
After struggling for a long time, she finally turned up the volume to a level that satisfied her.
When Li Zeliang's eyes were tired and he looked up at her, he found that she had fallen asleep in the corner of the sofa. He put down his book, turned off the TV, propped his hand on the armrest of the sofa, looked at her for a long time with one hand supporting his chin, and then stood up and picked her up. She muttered in a daze and burrowed into his arms like a kitten.
This subtle movement made his heart seem to be filled with something, but unfortunately, his heart was slightly painful. Her body temperature, her breath, and even her sleeping face were what he missed for many years. At one point, he thought he would never have her again. Even if these were all illusory dreams, it would be better to let himself indulge in them forever. Maybe... I really shouldn't be so cruel to her.
He sighed and gently laid her on the bed in the bedroom.
“Freehand.”
"Yeah." She responded dazedly.
"Get up and brush your teeth. You just ate candy."
"I don't want to brush." She murmured with her eyes closed.
"Otherwise I'll have a toothache."
"No, I'm sleepy and want to sleep." She pouted and frowned, acting a little coquettishly, "Just this once, okay?"
When he heard this, his heart softened unusually. Without saying anything else, he tucked in the quilt for her and went to wash up.
The next day, Zhan Dongzhen finally did not listen to Xie Yi and went to Shen's house.
He was busy all day, and when he drove home from work, he passed by the riverside highway. The river breeze blew on his face from the skylight, which was particularly comfortable. He didn't even know how long it had been since he stopped to look at the scenery of this city. So he parked the car on the side of the road and walked slowly along the embankment of the river. There were many families walking along the road to enjoy the cool air. As the night gradually darkened, he could see the bright lights of the new district in the opposite city from afar. Among those lights, none of them was lit to wait for his return.
Zhan Dongzhen walked for a while alone, and when he saw that he was too far from the car, he turned back. However, in the night, he saw Xie Minghao coming towards him. Xie Minghao also worked under Dongzheng, and they might meet at the company at any time, but at this time, Shen Xieqing was standing next to Xie Minghao. She was holding hands with Xie Minghao and walking slowly. The two did not speak, but their attitude was intimate. Zhan Dongzhen could not retreat at this moment, and it was difficult for him to advance. Xie Minghao was also stunned when he saw him, and then he held Xieqing's hand tightly. He didn't know what to do, but he didn't take the initiative to greet Zhan Dongzhen.