Lu Pingzhang had a meeting the next day, but Qiao Jin couldn’t stay any longer and flew back to Beijing a day earlier.
Lu Pingzhang couldn’t go to the airport to see him off, but as soon as Qiao Jin landed, his phone rang.
“Does your throat still hurt?” Lu Pingzhang asked.
Last night, Qiao Jin had cried in the cold winter outdoors, which had worsened his cold.
“Go home and rest,” Lu Pingzhang said, “I’ll have the doctor come to your house to wait for you and give you an IV drip so you can recover faster.”
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Jin didn’t go back to the hotel immediately, but went to the company office to get some medicine and eye drops. As soon as he entered the company, the people in the department surrounded him. They had all heard the news of his resignation and didn’t want him to leave.
Qiao Jin finally managed to break free and wanted to go to the office to catch his breath.
When he opened the door, there were people inside. Zheng Rongguang was standing at his desk talking to someone, while Yu Feng was by the door packing up his belongings that he had left there.
He pushed the door open, and everyone turned to look at him. Qiao Jin recognized the person sitting behind the desk as the one who had come for the interview that day.
He smiled politely under the gaze of everyone present and asked, “Excuse me, may I come in?”
Qiao Jin nodded at him.
The new manager stood up and stepped aside from the desk.
Zheng Rongguang seemed to find the situation awkward and explained, “Xiao Cheng is here, so we were discussing setting up another private office and wanted to take a look at your layout for inspiration.”
Qiao Jin let out a soft “ah” and walked to the desk, opening the drawer to take out the medicine boxes inside: “You guys continue. I’ll just grab something and leave.”
Yu Feng stopped packing and looked at him.
Zheng Rongguang also looked at him: “When is Lu Ge coming back?”
Qiao Jin packed the medicine and put the eye drops in his pocket: “I’m not sure.”
He looked at the items in the office, hesitating whether to pack them up and take them with him today. Zheng Rongguang said, “There’s no need to pack them up. No one is occupying this office, so you can just leave them here. You can come back anytime.”
Zheng Rongguang saw that he wasn’t insisting on packing everything up and felt relieved, thinking he had done a good deed for Lu Pingzhang. Xiao Yu has resigned.”
Qiao Jin furrowed his brows and looked at Yu Feng again.
Yu Feng stood there like a young man, still not fully shedding the naivety of campus life, and smiled awkwardly: “This job isn’t really suitable for me. I…”
“Come with me for a moment.” Qiao Jin interrupted him and walked out first.
Zheng Rongguang thought to himself, others moving on is normal, but Qiao Jin moving on is not normal.
He sighed, looked around the office layout, and still felt a bit reluctant to let Qiao Jin go.
Although he was sharp-tongued, he never neglected his duties, and he was honest and reliable, never doing anything underhanded behind people’s backs.
The new manager also looked around the office: “This place is still the best. It has everything, it’s sunny, and the windows are so big.”
Zheng Rongguang thought to himself that of course this place was the best. Before Qiao Jin came, it had always been the office of the acting president, the best location in the entire company.
Until Qiao Jin started working at the company, this place belonged to him, and the acting president didn’t even dare to show a displeased expression.
“That bed isn’t for just anyone to sleep on,” Zheng Rongguang said. “Forget about this office. Lu Ge wouldn’t let anyone else use it.”
“It can’t be forgotten, it can’t be forgotten,” Zheng Rongguang quickly glanced back, as if afraid Qiao Jin would make a sudden return, “Their relationship is special. According to Lu Ge’s instructions, we must all comfort and care for Qiao Jin.”
The new manager looked at him.
Zheng Rongguang gave him a suggestive wink.
The new manager seemed to understand, yet also didn’t: “A connection? It doesn’t seem like it. He appears capable and cunning.”
Zheng Rongguang held up two fingers and brought them together: “Closer than a connection.”
Qiao Jin left the company and stood outside the door, asking Yu Feng about his resignation.
Yu Feng said, “I… am more introverted and not suited for a large company like this.”
Qiao Jin looked at him and roughly analyzed the truthfulness of his words.
After all, he was a newcomer just starting out, unaware of how much this job could enhance his resume if he persisted.
Yu Feng looked at him: “Are you changing jobs? Qiao Ge, can you take me with you?”
Qiao Jin was moved. He could indeed take him to Sui Ran’s company.
“A lower salary is fine,” Yu Feng said, “and being tired is fine too. I just want to follow you.”
Qiao Jin considered the feasibility, but Yu Feng hurriedly said, “It’s okay if you can’t take me. Can I hug you?”
“What?” Qiao Jin’s train of thought was interrupted.
Yu Feng felt a little embarrassed and lowered his head: “Can I still contact you in the future? I don’t have any acquaintances or friends in Beijing. You’re my first friend, Qiao Ge.”
He called him “Ge” too affectionately.
Qiao Jin thought of Lu Boyang.
If Lu Boyang were still alive, he would probably have the same innocence and simplicity that comes with this age.
Young people always take a small separation too seriously. Qiao Jin smiled calmly, stepped forward, and gave him a heartfelt hug, patting his back comfortingly: “Don’t be discouraged. We’ll talk about work later.”
The embrace was as pure as that of an older brother, and Yu Feng couldn’t sense any other thoughts or meanings behind it.
He looked down at the scene and nearly laughed out loud. If this were sent to the media, what face would Lu Pingzhang have left to climb out of the same pit he’d fallen into twice?
He watched Lu Pingzhang sitting in the front row discussing matters with Bei Kaiyuan, and even imagined the green headlines for tomorrow’s newspapers.
After the bidding round ended, Lu Pingzhang went to the smoking room.
Hou Wude put away the photo he had been admiring for a long time and followed him in slowly.
Lu Pingzhang stood by the window and lit a cigarette. Hou Wude also lit a cigarette and stood beside him, smoking with him.
He didn’t speak, and Lu Pingzhang pretended not to see him.
As the cigarette neared its end, Hou Wude couldn’t hold back any longer and said, “Lu Ge, I need to discuss something with you.”
“Is it about the construction of the eastern base?” Lu Pingzhang cut him off.
Hou Wude opened his mouth, but because of the photo on his phone, he didn’t get angry and patiently said, “It’s about the bidding.”
“That’s not something we can discuss.” Lu Pingzhang extinguished his cigarette butt without much reaction. “I’m not bidding this time.”
“But you helped Bei Kaiyuan bid,” Hou Wude watched his departing figure and followed him for a few steps. “You introduced him to people, which is going against me.”
Lu Pingzhang snorted derisively.
Hou Wude believed he was giving him an opportunity: “If you insist on going against me, then I’ll have to find something for you to do. A friendly reminder from your younger brother—what do you say, Lu Ge?”
Lu Pingzhang didn’t stop for a moment, opening the smoking room door and walking out.
The assistant hesitated on the other end: “Sir, I contacted several media outlets, but they all said they were warned last time not to publish any reports related to Lu Pingzhang’s private life.”
“Throw money at it, are you stupid?” Hou Wude said. “How did we manage it last time?”
“It’s not possible,” the assistant said. “We quoted the price, but they all said they couldn’t publish it. They dare not provoke Lu Pingzhang.”
“Increase the budget,” Hou Wude said angrily, “If the major media won’t publish it, find smaller media outlets. Foreign media is also acceptable. I need to see the news by tomorrow at the latest.”
He gritted his teeth and said, “I’ll see if Lu Pingzhang has the nerve to return to Beijing after this.”
That evening, Lu Pingzhang received multiple calls from various studios, saying that someone was willing to pay a hefty sum to publish exposés about him.
Lu Pingzhang looked at the photos sent by Secretary Yin, a total of three.
The first one showed Qiao Jin and Lu Pingzhang standing inside the banquet hall eating, with the angle chosen well, their cufflinks clearly visible, making it easy to infer their relationship.
The second photo showed Qiao Jin and Yu Feng standing in the background of the company, with Qiao Jin leaning in to hug him.
The third photo was a close-up of Yu Feng blushing shyly.
Especially the third photo confirmed Yu Feng’s feelings for Qiao Jin. That kind of focused, unrequited love is something everyone has experienced, and it’s easy to see at a glance.
The title is also particularly intriguing: Lu Pingzhang Caught in a Love Triangle Again, This Winter Has a Touch of Green.
Lu Pingzhang looked at the photo of Qiao Jin hugging Yu Feng, drinking water several times to suppress the rage boiling inside him.
Secretary Yin used the pre-heated draft to contact a few restless small studios, hinting at the consequences. Since the small studios were only in it for the money, they immediately withdrew the news once they realized there was no benefit to be gained.
“Annoying as flies,” Lu Pingzhang glared at Qiao Jin’s profile in the photo, his voice laced with ice. “I told you I wanted to kill him, but you kept trying to talk me out of it.”
Secretary Yin was momentarily confused about who to kill.
Lu Pingzhang glared at his phone with a menacing expression: “Tonight, no matter what it takes, make Hou Wude shut his mouth.”
The next day, Hou Wude woke up in high spirits, expecting to see Lu Pingzhang’s furious face.
Instead, he found himself in a rage, with headlines from major news outlets popping up one after another, each more sensational than the last:
Popular actress exposes ‘godfather’ for rape!
The actress has contacted the judicial authorities—can the law bring her justice?
Xisheng CEO Hou Wude may face imprisonment?
‘Xisheng’ may experience its biggest stock plunge!
…
Hou Wude trembled as he poured half a bottle of emergency heart medicine into his mouth and clicked on the video below the headline:
Bai Yuan, who had recently slept with him, appeared in the video without makeup, tears streaming down her face, painfully recounting the entire process of being forced by Hou Wude. She broke down in tears at one point and later released a depression diagnosis from the hospital.
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