She told the truth: "Zhou Jia and I were just strolling around when he came to find me. He came prepared."
"Brother Wang, tell me the truth, did Ji Chuan ask you to take good care of Shen Haiyang...?"
Wang Gang coughed and immediately said seriously, "Comrade Wen Qiao, you can't say things like that carelessly. Under the same discipline, there is no such thing as giving special treatment to anyone."
The care Wen Qiao mentioned was that Shen Jichuan asked Wang Gang to help Shen Haiyang in both work and life.
What Wang Gang refuses to acknowledge as "favor" is that it ensures he will never have a chance to recover in the Northwest.
It just so happens that the two of them misunderstood.
Wang Gang was an upright man his whole life and would never admit to bending the law or engaging in 'house arrest' to control someone at work for the sake of a friend.
Seeing Wen Qiao's sullen face, Wang Gang asked her again if Shen Haiyang had bullied her.
If Shen Haiyang bullies Wen Qiao, Wang Gang said he would go talk to him later.
Wen Qiao didn't say anything. She felt that Shen Jichuan was still protecting Shen Haiyang.
He simply said in a low voice that Shen Haiyang was mentally ill.
Before dark, Wen Qiao, Zhao Qingzhou, and the others returned to the city guesthouse in the car arranged by Wang Gang.
Seeing that Wen Qiao was in a bad mood, Zhou Jia didn't suggest going out shopping with her.
Zhao Qingzhou, on the other hand, had his secretary buy some special products from Northwest China, saying that he, as the leader, was paying for them out of his own pocket. Zhou Jia was naturally happy and thanked him.
When she went to collect her share, she also took Wen Qiao's share back with her.
"Wen Qiao, look, these are all prepared by the director for all of us. This is truly the first time I've had such a good leader who cares so much about us subordinates."
"The director just asked me if I was feeling better."
"Oh, right, the director said that our department should have dinner together tonight, and he'll book the restaurant."
Wen Qiao glanced at Zhou Jia and frowned slightly.
"Director Zhao is buying us local specialties and treating us to a meal; that must have cost him a lot of money."
They have travel expenses, but expenses for private meals are not included.
The meals that Zhao Qingzhou treated them to were private gatherings, so the expenses were naturally not reimbursable.
Zhou Jia said with a smile, "That's why I said, our Director Zhao is such a good person. When I first started working, I thought he would be difficult to get along with because of his serious and aloof appearance. But I didn't expect that during this business trip, I would find that our Director Zhao is a warm-hearted and good leader."
Wen Qiao, however, felt that Zhao Qingzhou's warmth was a little off...
However, he bought some for everyone, including the two women, Zhou Jia and the other two men.
Perhaps Wen Qiao was overthinking it, but Zhao Qingzhou was indeed, as Zhou Jia said, a warm-hearted and good leader.
We went out for dinner again, but no one drank alcohol; we just had tea.
We ate the local specialty, whole roasted lamb, and some stir-fries.
Everyone chatted about work and life, and it was quite lively.
Zhao Qingzhou knew that Wen Qiao was married and that her husband was Shen Jichuan, the military region commander, but his attention to Wen Qiao would not decrease because of this. However, he also knew that he would not do anything to disturb Wen Qiao's life.
Just like tonight, he secretly observed Wen Qiao chatting with everyone countless times throughout the night.
Yet he didn't say a single word of concern as a colleague.
He just quietly watched Wen Qiao.
Wen Qiao is not a plant; in fact, she can sense Zhao Qingzhou's attention to her, but she cannot and will not respond.
First, Zhao Qingzhou knew that she was married, had a child, and knew her husband's identity.
If he were rational enough, he wouldn't have any other thoughts.
Wen Qiao only regarded Zhao Qingzhou as her leader, and nothing more.
There was no smugness or self-satisfaction that comes from being liked by others.
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