Noon.
It was the start of Spring, and the temperature got warmer slightly.
Dong Xuebing knew he was about to get promoted, and he happily went to a shopping mall in the West of the bridge. He picked some branded cosmetics and paid. After leaving for the items, he left the mall. Dong Xuebing had saved Xie Huilan from drowning and helped her stop her engagement with Wei Nan. He does not need to thank her for these gifts. But Dong Xuebing wanted to build a closer relationship with her. Relationships had to be built up slowly.
Dong Xuebing took out his phone and called Xie Huilan. “Hello, Sister Xie?”
“Xiao Dong? Haha, are you looking for me?” Dong Xuebing could hear the sounds of writing in the background.
“Errr....... Are you busy now?”
“Yes. I have a meeting at the Central Publicity Department tomorrow. I am preparing the materials.” Xie Huilan was speaking to Dong Xuebing while writing something. “I had asked the people from the Central Department to help me get the materials and news articles on heating supply a few days ago. But they are too inefficient. A while they come back to me and tell me that they need approvals, and then they tell me that they are understaffed because of the holidays. It’s been 2 to 3 days, and they only got 5 to 6 articles. This efficiency is too...... Hah. Let’s stop talking about this. Why are you calling? You are unhappy with the transfer?”
Dong Xuebing quickly reply: “No...... I am very happy with your arrangement, and I would like to pay you a visit.”
“Stop being so polite. We are now dating, what’s there to pay me a visit?”
Dong Xuebing replied. “Stop joking with me. Errr...... If I am not bothering you, I will drop by your place in a while?”
“Haha, I will be waiting at home. Don’t bring any gifts, ok?”
Dong Xuebing acknowledged and hang up. He flagged a taxi and went to Sister Xie’s unit quarters.
When Dong Xuebing reached Sister Xie’s block, a middle-aged man had just exited the building, and the electric gate was about to close. Dong Xuebing quickly step forward and stop the gate from closing. This way, he does not need to call Sister Xie and ask her to unlock the gate for him. He went upstairs and pressed Sister Xie’s doorbell.
The door opened. Xie Huilan was standing there. “Xiao Dong? How did you enter?”
“Someone just happened to exit from the building, and I entered.” Xie Huilan opened the gates, and Dong Xuebing secretly look at her feet. She was wearing black suit pants with skin-colored stockings. Dong Xuebing swallowed his saliva and entered with his gifts. “Sister Xie, I bought some cosmetics for you. These are not expensive gifts.” Dong Xuebing said as he placed the gifts on the small cabinet beside the door.
Xie Huilan smiled. “Why are you giving me gifts again? Didn’t I tell you not to bring any gifts? You just don’t listen. Our relationship is so close, and there is no need for all these. I do not want to say this, but I still have not used the perfume you gave me last time. There...... you open that cabinet and see for yourself. There are all sorts of cosmetics there. You can find all sorts of brands there. Haha, I have more variety of cosmetics than shopping malls. Just come over without gifts in the future. Save your money. Oh, bring some of those cosmetics back with you. You can give it to your mother. I can’t finish using all those.”
Dong Xuebing thought to himself. I got the wrong gifts!
“Have a seat. What tea do you prefer?”
“Anything will do.” Dong Xuebing looked at Xie Huilan. “Sister Xie, errr....... What sort of gifts do you like?”
Xie Huilan smiled sweetly. “Actually, gifts are just a token. I do not care about what sort of gifts. Hehe...... let me tell you this. The best gifts I want is something that can help me with my work. You can also tell that my family is not very supportive of me working for the government. My grandfather, father, and mother do not support me. At my workplace, they address me as Chief Xie, but in their hearts, they are looking down on me. Everyone thinks that I got my position because of my family background. That’s why I need to show some results to prove myself to my family and colleagues. Tomorrow’s meeting is crucial for me. If someone can provide me with news articles on heating supply issues, it will be the best gift. Haha......”
Dong Xuebing thought for a while. News articles on heating supply issues as gifts?
BACK! BACK!
......
Everything flashed before Dong Xuebing’s eyes.
Although Dong Xuebing said BACK twice in his heart, he had used up all his BACK yesterday during the chess game. He only has 1 BACK left!
Dong Xuebing was standing outside of Xie Huilan’s gate, and his hand was about to press the doorbell. He quickly stopped his hand and walk downstairs silently. Dong Xuebing left the quarters. During the phone call, Sister Xie had mentioned something about news articles on heating supply issues. He thought nothing about it. She should be preparing a presentation and report on this issue. These few days, most of the government agencies were on holiday break. That’s why the relevant departments were not able to provide Sister Xie with the materials she wanted.
What’s the best gift?
Alright! I will give her this!
Dong Xuebing knew he must hurry before she got the materials herself.
Dong Xuebing took out his phone and called his unit’s Sixth Bureau’s Deputy Chief. “Hello, Chief Zheng? Are you at work?”
“Oh, Chief Dong? Haha, I am working overtime today. I am in the office now. Why?”
“Oh, I remember the last time I went over to your department, I saw someone checking through this year’s newspapers, and all the articles were scanned into the PC.”
“That’s right. This is a task given by the higher-ups before Lunar New Year. Why are you asking?”
“I am looking for some articles on heating supply issues. Errr....... This is my personal matter. Can you give me a copy of your records?”
“Oh, I am not sure if they keep a copy of those records. Chief Dong, let me check for you, and I will call you back.” 5 minutes later, Sixth Bureau’s Deputy Chief called Dong Xuebing. “Chief Dong, we still have the records. I will get them to extract the articles you want. Heating supply issues, right? Ok. You can drop by later to collect them.”
Dong Xuebing said: “Thank you. You can just pass me all the records.”
“No. You had helped me during the wrongful arrest of Chief Jiang’s nephew. I am only returning you a favor.”
“Thank you very much.” Chief Zheng had owed Dong Xuebing a favor, and this was why Dong Xuebing called him. After all, this was Dong Xuebing’s personal matter. Although the materials were from public sources, it is against the State Security regulations to bring materials out of the branch. Dong Xuebing had to get someone close to help him.
An hour later, Dong Xuebing got this year’s news articles on heating supply issues. It was a stack of printouts, weighing several KG. Dong Xuebing could get the materials so fast was because Deputy Chief Zheng got all his men to sort and extract the articles. Dong Xuebing returned home with the cosmetics and printed out all the materials, before going back to Sister Xie’s home.
Xie Huilan’s home.
Xie Huilan frowning on her phone in the living room. “Where are the articles I wanted? You can’t even get January’s articles? How come you all do not have a backup copy of all the newspapers? What? The people from the resource center are on holiday, and there is no way to get it? Is this how your department works?! Get your leaders to the phone....... The leaders are not around?” Xie Huilan slammed down the phone. The Central Publicity Department had informed her about this meeting too late, coupled with Xie Huilan’s family problems over the past two days, caused this delay in getting the required materials. She had to make a presentation tomorrow and does not have enough resources.
Di,di,di....... It was the electric gate’s phone.
Xie Huilan knew it was Dong Xuebing, and she unlocked the gate.
“Sister Xie, I’m sorry. There are some delays.” Dong Xuebing was panting as he stood outside Xie Huilan’s home.
Xie Huilan opened the gates and laughed: “Come in. Eh? Didn’t I tell you not to buy anything? Why are you bringing gifts over again?”
Dong Xuebing smiled and entered the living room.
Xie Huilan poured a cup of tea for Dong Xuebing and smiled: “Xiao Dong, have some fruits yourself first. I still need to make some calls. If I even cannot get the articles on heating supply issues by tonight, I will not be able to do up my presentation for tomorrow’s meeting.
Dong Xuebing stopped her. “Sister Xie, wait a while.”
Xie Huilan turned and looked at him: “What’s wrong?”
Dong Xuebing opened his bag and took out a thick stack of A4 papers and placed it on the coffee table. Seeing the confused look on Sister Xie’s face, Dong Xuebing said: “You mentioned you need news articles on heating supply issues over the phone. So, I got these articles for you. See if these can help you. Err...... but these materials might not be enough. These are all January and February’s newspaper articles.”
Xie Huilan was stunned for a while and quickly flip through the pages. “You extracted out the individual articles for me?”
Dong Xuebing replied. “I am also not sure if this will help.”
Xie Huilan did not expect Dong Xuebing would take note of her grumble over the phone. He even sorted out all the materials she needed. She was touched. “Of course. These materials are what I needed. I was still troubled over it. Xiao Dong, you are really......”
Dong Xuebing laughed. “Good to know that I can help.” Dong Xuebing saw that she was distracted by articles and secretly peeped at her feet. After that stockings incident, Dong Xuebing will keep looking at her stockings. The more he looks at it, the faster his heart beats. Luckily Sister Xie does not know what the stuff on her stockings was. If not, the transfer would not happen, and she will never allow him to step into her house.
Xie Huilan carried all the papers and smiled. “Xiao Dong, I find you more and more interesting. When my wallet was stolen, you appear out of nowhere and caught the thief. When I fell into the river, you also appeared and save me. When I was being forced to get married, you made my grandfather change his mind. Now, I need these materials urgently, and you brought them to me. Haha, I really don’t know how to describe you.”
Dong Xuebing felt great in his heart. “Sister Xie, you......”
“You... you... you... again.” Xie Huilan laughed and looked at him. “We are now dating. Can you don’t treat me like a stranger?”
Dong Xuebing laughed. “Stop joking.”
Xie Huilan put down the stack of paper on the coffee table and looked at Dong Xuebing in his eyes. “Joke? When am I say it is a joke?”
Dong Xuebing was stunned. “Ah? We...... we are not pretending?”
“Pretending?” Xie Huilan laughed. “Xiao Dong, what did I say to you at Xishan Villa?”
Dong Xuebing replied in a daze. “You asked me if I want to date you.”
Xie Huilan smiled: “What was your reply?”
“Errr... I think I nodded.”
“Haha, you don’t need to think. You nodded. So, we are in a relationship now, right?”
Dong Xuebing was stunned. “Sister Xie, you are not saying that to stop your engagement with Wei Nan? It was Wei Nan that misunderstood us yesterday, and that’s why you said that.”
Xie Huilan smiled. “Did I say we are pretending to date? I did not say that!”
Dong Xuebing was dumbfounded and stood up. “Ah! Sister Xie, how can I date you? I am not good enough for you. I...... I cannot really date you. My looks and status are not good enough for you!” That circumstances yesterday were different. Dong Xuebing had never thought about dating Xie Huilan. The gap between them was too far apart. Furthermore, he still has Qu Yunxuan. How can he date someone else? Dong Xuebing was satisfied to just admire Xie Huilan secretly. He dares not to wish for more!
Xie Huilan played with her teacup. “You are saying that you want to stop dating me?”
Dong Xuebing did not know how to answer her. “Ah... I... I know where I stand. You are so pretty, how is it possible that you will like me?”
Xie Huilan laughed. “I admire you a lot. I have never admired anyone like this before.”
“Admire...... It is different from dating.”
“Xiao Dong, you have a girlfriend?” Xie Huilan took a sip of tea and asked.
Dong Xuebing wiped his sweat off his forehead. “Errr...... you can say so... Errr...... I can be considered single now.” Aunt Xuan still has not agreed to be his girlfriend.
Xie Huilan looked at him for a while. “You have no feelings for me?”
Damn! How should I answer this question?!
Of course, I have feelings for you. But if I admit it, I will not be able to speak to her like this. No! It will be too awkward!
Dong Xuebing gritted his teeth and replied: “I only have respect for you. My most heartfelt respect and nothing else......”
Xie Huilan nodded and put down her teacup. “Fine. Since you say so, then let’s make things clear. On the day you save me at your house......” Xie Huilan looked at Dong Xuebing. “What did you do with my stockings? Give me an explanation.”
F**K!
At that very moment, Dong Xuebing felt the world was collapsing around him!
Sister Xie knows!!!
Translator’s notes: She knows....... Who wouldn’t? Xie Huilan is not a kid. Only an idiot like Dong Xuebing will think that she does not know.