Finally, I took advantage of the question just now, and looked at Jian Wei legitimately, waiting for her to give me an answer. It was really surprising that she took the initiative to contact me this time.
Jian Wei and I looked at each other, and I finally saw her face clearly. Her appearance remained unchanged. I had an impulse to hold her, regardless of who she was with now, or who she was dating.
But in the end, reason suppressed impulse, and I just stared at her blankly.
After a while, Jian Wei said to me, “I’m not planning to go back to the United States this time.”
I nodded, but remained silent. Whether she went to the United States or not had nothing to do with me. At most, I could only look at this matter from the perspective of an ordinary friend.
“How about you, how have you been these two years?” Jian Wei asked me with a smile.
“Very good! I live freely every day.” I responded with a smile to Jian Wei, but I only told half of the truth. I did live freely, free to think about her, free to suffer, free to bury myself in the past love and stay still, and no one could stop me from doing so. Isn’t that free enough?
“That’s good.” Jian Wei looked at me and nodded.
“How about you, how have you been?”
This question made Jian Wei think for a while before she said, “Although I’m not as free as you, I’m doing pretty well.”
I responded stiffly, “Hehe, that’s pretty good too.”
The two of us fell into silence again. This silence seemed to mock our past when we used to talk about everything. I felt a bit uncomfortable, but I didn’t know what to say.
Jian Wei seemed to share my feelings. She finally stood up and said to me, “It’s quite cold with the wind. I’m going back first.”
“Oh… okay!” I responded, but didn’t stand up.
Jian Wei looked at me, turned around and left the lawn, heading towards the car parked by the river bank. I lit another cigarette and sat in the same place, still not understanding why Jian Wei wanted to see me tonight. We went through a lot of trouble to meet, but we only exchanged a few words, which made the night seem somewhat thin and meaningless.
To be precise, this meeting with Jian Wei was not meaningless. When I returned to the old house, Mi Cai locked me out. No matter how much I knocked on the door, she wouldn’t open it. I wondered if she and Jian Wei had planned this together, one asking me out and the other locking me out. But that’s not important. What’s important is that I had nowhere to go.
I sat at the entrance of the building for a long time, and finally decided to spend the night at Robben’s place. He should be back from the bar by now. I hope Lily wasn’t with him tonight.
…
When I returned to Robben’s attic on the rooftop, I listened at the door to make sure it was quiet inside before knocking. After a while, Robben opened the door for me.
Robben, wearing his pajamas and smoking a cigarette, looked at me in surprise and said, “You’re back!”
“I’ve had a hell of a day, don’t even mention it!” I sighed. Today was a terrible day for me. First, I was locked up by Mi Cai for a day, then I had a stomachache from overeating and drinking, and then I was inexplicably asked out by Jian Wei. Each event was a torment, both physically and mentally.
“You’re always having a hard time.” Robben sighed, then lay back on the bed, took a puff of his cigarette, and a sip of his beer.
At Robben’s teasing, I just smiled helplessly, didn’t say anything, washed up simply, and then lay on the bed, lit a cigarette, and the two of us filled the already small room with smoke.
Robben suddenly asked me, “You haven’t been back these two nights, have you been staying with your new girlfriend?”
“No, even Le Yao can tell she’s not my girlfriend, can’t you?”
Robben asked in surprise, “What’s going on?”
“It’s all an act, she’s not my girlfriend at all.”
Robben nodded and said, “You two don’t seem to be from the same world.”
“Yeah, she’s not good enough for me.”
“You’re awesome!” Robben gave me a thumbs up.
I didn’t respond, put out the cigarette, pulled up the quilt, and as soon as I lay down, I was overwhelmed with sleepiness and fell asleep quickly.
…
The next day, I got up early, didn’t bother to have breakfast, and unusually took a taxi to the company. I paid more than 30 yuan more than taking the bus, which was obviously a waste of money. If it weren’t for being locked up by that annoying woman Mi Cai yesterday and falling behind a day’s work, I wouldn’t have to rush like this. I probably won’t be able to escape working overtime tonight. Thinking about it, my hatred for Mi Cai increased a bit, so I made up my mind to find time to talk to her soon, not about life, not about ideals, but about why she treated me like this.
When I finally arrived at the company, I thought I was early enough, but Circle was even earlier. Before I had a chance to greet him, he threw a document at me and said, “This is the meeting material from yesterday. Spend half an hour reading it, and then we’ll discuss the promotion plan for Zomei…” He added, “Zhao Yang, time is pressing, get into work mode quickly.””No problem.” I said, sitting down and picking up the meeting materials to read.
From these materials, I could see that yesterday’s meeting did not establish a clear promotional strategy, and there were disagreements between Chen Jingming and Circle in the formulation of the plan.
Chen Jingming tended to be conservative, preferring to stick to previous promotional strategies to ensure the task is completed within the stipulated time. Circle, on the other hand, hoped that this promotion would be a breakthrough from the past, truly reflecting the changes and momentum of our store, Baoli Department Store, after becoming a top-tier department store, even if it meant a slight delay.
After spending 20 minutes reading the meeting materials, Circle and I each made a cup of coffee and started discussing. Naturally, I supported Circle’s idea. Since the company’s next strategic focus is to strengthen the brand image, the promotional activities must definitely be a breakthrough from the past. The competition with Zhuomei is only a part of the business, and it is clear that we should give way to the strategic focus of strengthening the brand image. Of course, if we can achieve a breakthrough in the promotional plan and complete the task within the stipulated time, that would be even better.
After discussing, Circle and I reached an agreement. We would try our best to formulate a promotional plan that is a breakthrough from the past within the time allowed. Of course, the agreement we reached still needed Chen Jingming’s approval, as he was the highest leader of the planning department and had the veto power.
Chen Jingming did not appear in the company all morning and only showed up close to noon. He immediately called Circle and me to his office. He seemed very excited, which puzzled both of us.
Upon arriving at the manager’s office, Chen Jingming asked me to close the door. Before we could even have a cup of tea, he said to Circle and me, “I met with the manager of Zhuomei’s business development department this morning.”
Circle and I looked at each other, full of doubt and shock. Chen Jingming had actually met with the manager of Zhuomei’s business development department during working hours. This was suspicious!
Chen Jingming, unable to contain his excitement, explained to us, “The manager of Zhuomei’s business development department, Li, is an old classmate of mine. This time he brought me news that could change the fate of our Baoli and Zhuomei… Zhuomei is brewing a big storm internally, a power struggle, and the target is their newly appointed CEO.”
I was shocked. The newly appointed CEO of Zhuomei was Mi Cai, wasn’t it? Was she facing an internal power crisis at this time? Although I was guessing in my heart, I still waited calmly for Chen Jingming to continue.
—————-
Flowers