"Huh?"
Xiao Xun looked up at Chu Ningxiang, his thoughts slowly returning to the present. Her distraught appearance had startled him.
"Are you alright?"
Facing Chu Ningxiang's concern, Xiao Xun stood up and said, "I'm fine."
The two arrived at the traffic police station entrance. A middle-aged man with a grizzled beard was shaking hands with the chief of the traffic police brigade, "I'm truly sorry for causing you trouble."
The chief said enthusiastically, "It's nothing. The main thing is that the speed was too fast, and it was a motorcycle, which is too dangerous. You must drive slower in the future!"
Chu Ningxiang saw her driver's license and motorcycle keys, then looked back at the middle-aged man, "Then there's nothing else. I'll be going."
With that, she tugged on Xiao Xun's sleeve and walked out. Xiao Xun looked curiously at the middle-aged man. The man didn't chase after them but continued to apologize to the chief.
"Who is that to you?"
Chu Ningxiang didn't answer, unsure if she hadn't heard or was unwilling to.
She looked at her motorcycle, found no issues, and got on. She patted the back seat, "Come on, get on."
Xiao Xun waved his hand, "No, I'll just take a taxi back."
Chu Ningxiang frowned, displeasure evident on her face, "What do you mean? I promise to ride slower, okay?"
Xiao Xun knew she misunderstood and quickly said, "You misunderstood. I didn't mean it that way."
At this moment, the middle-aged man came out from the traffic police station entrance. Chu Ningxiang put on her helmet, started the engine, and revved the throttle, leaving immediately.
The middle-aged man walked up to Xiao Xun, "Young man, what's your relationship with my young lady?"
If he hadn't said this, Xiao Xun would have assumed this was Chu Ningxiang's father. He hadn't expected otherwise.
"We met and played games together."
Upon hearing the words "played games," the middle-aged man immediately thought the person before him was a loafer.
His expression instantly turned unpleasant, "Then please, don't contact her anymore."
Hearing this, Xiao Xun became displeased, "Who are you to her to have the right to interfere with who she contacts?"
The middle-aged man crossed his arms, "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. A 'phoenix from a humble nest,' trying to climb higher, aren't you?"
Xiao Xun directly took out his car keys from his pocket, "What does that prove? A phoenix does not alight on anything but the mulberry tree."
He naturally recognized the value of the car keys in Xiao Xun's hand, but he knew all the reputable people in the city and had never seen anyone like Xiao Xun.
He guessed it might be a lighter or a key model bought online.
"What good person could come from playing games? What if they have money? I dislike people like you who indulge in vice and lose their ambition the most." Saying this, he turned to leave. He didn't want to argue with such a person; winning or losing wouldn't benefit him.
Xiao Xun also didn't want to argue with him but just couldn't stand his overbearing attitude. They were both employees, yet he acted as if he were superior.
He left the traffic police station, hailed a taxi, and returned to the villa district.
After a night of turmoil, it was already dawn when he entered his room.
He took a shower, set an alarm, and then fell into a deep sleep, thinking he could finally rest.
But as he tossed and turned, the image of "Yellow Hair's" sudden change of expression kept replaying in his mind, preventing him from sleeping.
It felt like he had only been lying down for a short while before the alarm rang.
He got up, toasted some bread, fried a few eggs, and boiled two cups of oatmeal with milk, which served as his breakfast for the day.
This time, he didn't go back to his room to wash up but waited for Mu Jiahe to come down for breakfast.
Just as he took out his phone to check the time, Mu Jiahe slowly descended from the second floor.
The first thing she said upon seeing Xiao Xun was, "Did something happen?"
Xiao Xun was very curious how she knew.
Perhaps sensing Xiao Xun's confusion, Mu Jiahe explained, "Look at your 'national treasure' eyes. If you say nothing happened, I don't think anyone would believe it."
Saying this, she sat down opposite Xiao Xun.
She picked up a slice of toasted bread, spread some jam on it with a butter knife, and took a bite, looking at his preoccupied expression.
"If there's anything on your mind, tell me. Perhaps I can help you."
Xiao Xun didn't hide anything and told her everything that had happened yesterday, exactly as it was.
Mu Jiahe thought for a moment, "Alright, you focus on your work. I'll take care of this matter."
He went to the temporary office area of the technical department and sat down at his computer. He saw a red plastic bag on the desk, which startled him, thinking: Could this be another dangerous item!
He picked up a neutral pen and carefully poked the bag open, revealing the word "cigarettes." It turned out to be two cartons of high-end cigarettes and a bottle of white wine.
"That's strange, who put these here for me?"
Just as he was feeling surprised, Guan Jiawen, wearing a temporary work pass around her neck, walked by carrying a stack of documents.
"Guan Jiawen, come here for a moment."
Guan Jiawen heard Xiao Xun's voice, quickly put down the documents, and came to Xiao Xun's side, "Director, you called me?"
Xiao Xun pointed to the red plastic bag, "Do you know who put these things here?"
Guan Jiawen lowered her head, her face blushing, "This, this is a small token of appreciation from my father. He brought it yesterday, but you weren't here, so..."
Xiao Xun tied the plastic bag back up, "Remember, take this back to your father during lunch. If it's still here before work ends, I'll personally deliver it to your father, but in front of all the security guards."
Guan Jiawen buried her face even lower and softly mumbled, "Mm."
Xiao Xun looked at the flustered Guan Jiawen and gently waved his hand, "You can go back to work now!"
A moment later, his phone received a message notifying him of the morning meeting.
When he arrived, all the senior executives were already there. Xiao Xun, with a slightly red face, uncomfortably found an empty seat.
Today's morning meeting was hosted by Wang Sucheng. He first asked his assistant to distribute documents to all the directors. While the documents were being handed out, he said,
"It's been two or three days since you've all seen me, right? I had some family matters to attend to. The company held a celebration banquet yesterday; did everyone present attend!"
Everyone nodded, "Many know what happened yesterday, and some don't. Let me explain. Starting yesterday, our strategic cooperation with Jingji Group has been finalized. The initial contract is for five years. During these five years, we can use Jingji Group's latest technology and patents without restriction, and we can send dedicated personnel to visit and learn. Moreover, they specifically requested our Chief Technical Director to lead a team to visit and learn at their office building. There are only three remaining spots. Discuss among yourselves who should go?"
When the other directors heard about this good opportunity, they all wanted to go. The Finance Director wanted to learn about Jingji's advanced financial management, Director Liu wanted to learn advanced design concepts, and the Logistics Supervisor wanted to learn about their perfect supply chain system. Everyone had their reasons.
They knew that learning from that company, even just by observing, would be a significant boost to their careers and greatly help with future promotions.
The entire morning meeting turned into a debate. Finally, Wang Sucheng coughed, "Everyone, please hold on. We won't discuss this during the meeting. Go back and each send me an email stating the reasons why your department needs to send someone. I will consider it accordingly."