Chapter 34 Deliberately Sending Me Away

The next day when I went to work, I went to the secretariat and found Lu Xiaoyun.

When she saw me, she was surprised. I thanked her and said, "Secretary Lu, I like the music box you gave me very much. If you have time, I will invite you to my house for dinner. How about that?"

There was surprise in her eyes, "Okay!"

Then she asked me, "Madam, I asked a friend to make that music box by hand. It is very delicate."

"Yeah." I nodded without thinking much about her words.

At this time, my cell phone rang. It was Wei Lai calling again. I hesitated for a moment and answered it.

It’s still about the class reunion.

Wei Lai seemed to really hope that this class reunion could be a success, but if I didn't attend, Shen Yixiao would most likely cancel it, and his purpose of showing off his affection with me would not be achieved, and instead he would be embarrassed.

"Squad leader, I really don't want to participate." I stated again and again.

"Do you still remember Teacher Bai?" Wei Lai suddenly asked.

Teacher Bai? I recalled that she was my homeroom teacher in high school and she valued me very much. However, my rebelliousness later disappointed her and we lost contact after I dropped out of school.

I don't know why Wei mentioned Teacher Bai.

She then said, "She was diagnosed with cancer some time ago, and it's already in the late stages. She will also attend this class reunion. She used to like you so much and value you so much. She wants to see us classmates again. Can you just think of it as coming to see her?"

Wei Lai brought up Teacher Bai to persuade me, and she must have had her own selfish motives, but her reason really convinced me. I once felt that besides my parents and Xu Zhengnan, the person I felt most sorry for was Teacher Bai, because she was really good to me. She once said that Xu Zhengnan and I were her most proud students, and she cared about everything we did.

After Wei Lai's repeated persuasion, I gave in. "Okay, I'll think about it and give you an answer."

Wei Lai breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay."

After hanging up the phone, I felt mixed emotions and took the elevator down without saying a word.

——

When Su Ying sent me the message, I was almost off work.

She transferred some money to me with the note: Happy birthday, Yueyue!

I didn't accept it and didn't answer it, just pretending I didn't see it. Every year she would get the date of my birthday wrong, either early or later. But I foolishly thought that if she did it on purpose, why would she give me gifts and red envelopes?

In fact, they really did it on purpose.

Su Ying: Shen Yixiao was really generous last night. He must have spent hundreds of thousands to book that big screen for the whole night, right? Did he give you any other gifts?

I didn't reply.

Su Ying: Why don’t you reply to me? Wei Lai said that you agreed to attend the class reunion, did Shen Yixiao buy you some gift to coax you again? Let me see it, let me feast my eyes.

Under her bombardment, I simply turned on the Do Not Disturb function, then prepared to go to the bathroom and get ready to leave work.

"Do you think Secretary Lu and his wife look alike?"

Suddenly, I heard someone talking outside.

"Yeah! Damn, I used to think they were like twins, but one is just a little younger."

"Today when I went up to deliver the documents, I saw Secretary Lu was wearing similar clothes to the wife. If one had longer hair and the other had shorter hair, I would have made a mistake."

"Do you think the rumors about the company are true? Secretary Lu and President Shen..."

"Hush, aren't you afraid of being fired?"

I stood in the cubicle, listening to the discussions outside, and my intuition told me that the relationship between Shen Yixiao and Lu Xiaoyun was not so hidden, and some people still found something wrong.

That's right, if a secretary stays in the boss's office for a long time from time to time, there will always be some rumors.

I waited until everyone outside had left before I opened the door and walked out. I washed my hands with an indifferent look on my face and returned to the department. Shen Yixiao sent me a message at the right time: Wife, I have to work overtime for a meeting in the evening, you go back first.

I replied: OK.

After leaving the company, I did not leave immediately, but watched the window of the top-floor conference room from downstairs. I waited for more than half an hour but did not see the light inside turn on. I guess Shen Yixiao was looking for an excuse to let me go back first to leave time and space for him and Lu Xiaoyun.

If I go back now, will they be scared to death?

Just as I was thinking about this, Aunt Yang called me. After I answered the phone, I heard her anxious voice, "Xiaoyue, it's bad, your brother is missing!"

"What?" I was startled and asked in surprise, "What's going on?"

"I heard from your mother that he ran away alone this afternoon. The adults were taking a nap at that time, and he was gone when he woke up. Now they are looking for him everywhere and are preparing to call the police." Aunt Yang sounded very worried. There was actually no point in telling me about this, but she still chose to inform me.

"I understand, Aunt Yang, let my parents call the police first." I replied calmly.

Aunt Yang sighed, "This is the only way. It's really worrying. Your parents are almost going crazy."

I pursed my lips and said nothing, but the same anxiety and worry grew uncontrollably in my heart. I have no affection for that so-called younger brother, but he is my parents' darling and their hope. If something really happened to him, my parents would definitely not be able to bear the blow.

I drove towards my home and a previous scene flashed through my mind. It was the two days when they had just returned to China. I saw Mingming holding a basketball and wanting to go play, but was stopped by my mother. I tried hard to recall the basketball courts near my home, and finally locked on a place and rushed over directly.

When I arrived at the basketball court, I found that it was abandoned. It was dark and gloomy all around and very deserted.

"Mingming!" I tried to call out that name, but it felt a little awkward.

"Mingming!" At the same time, Xu Zhengnan's voice came from another direction. I looked over in surprise. He was standing under the basketball hoop not far away with his back to me. He turned around after hearing my voice.

I ran over quickly, not caring about anything else, "Xu Zhengnan, are you here to look for Mingming too?"

Xu Zhengnan frowned, "Well, your parents have already called the police, and the others are helping to look for him."

My heart was in a knot again. I didn't dare to think about how my parents would feel if Mingming was missing. They have been heartbroken by their daughter and they can't bear to lose another child.

I felt extremely uncomfortable, my eyes were sore and I felt short of breath.

Xu Zhengnan saw my pale face and his eyes changed a little, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"It's okay, let's look for him together." I didn't care whether I was feeling well or not, I just wanted to find Mingming as soon as possible. At this moment, subconsciously, I seemed to want to treat him as my substitute, to accompany my parents in my place in the future and make up for the debt I left to my parents.