Chapter 147 Lu Qingqing x Meng Yaozhu: President Meng, I want to resign
Time flies, and it's early autumn again.
Lu gently wrapped her coat around herself as she went downstairs to buy breakfast, feeling the coolness of autumn.
I bought Ms. Jiang a bowl of stomach-soothing porridge, and two steamed buns for myself, before returning to my ward.
More than a month has passed, and Ms. Jiang has still not been able to be discharged from the hospital. Her health is deteriorating, and the hospital is still conducting further examinations. Her attending physician told her to be mentally prepared.
Ms. Jiang's illness may not be a minor one.
Lu gently helped Ms. Jiang up and said in a relaxed tone, "Mom, this is your favorite eight-treasure porridge, without sugar. I queued for a long time to buy it, it smells so good. Give your daughter some face, have a taste."
Ms. Jiang worked in education and became a university professor after retirement. She was an elegant, intellectual, and respectable person. Even when she was hospitalized, her hair was styled in a bun, and she was very meticulous about it.
Upon hearing this, she gently scooped up some porridge.
Noticing that her appetite had improved significantly recently, Lu breathed a sigh of relief.
Ms. Jiang looked at her daughter who was by her side. She had been staying by her daughter's bedside without sleep lately, and her eyes were dark circles.
"Just find me a caregiver, you can go back and rest. You're not alone now, do you really think you're an eighteen-year-old girl?"
Although her tone was reproachful, it was full of concern. Lu Qingqing felt a warmth in her heart; Ms. Jiang hadn't given her a kind look lately.
"Okay, Mom." Lu gently hugged her. "Ah, Mom is the best."
Ms. Jiang pushed her away with disdain: "How old are you? So mushy."
"Mom, I have to go out for a bit. Call me if you need anything."
After having breakfast with Ms. Jiang, I watched her get an IV drip.
Lu drove gently to the company.
Her colleagues were all surprised to see her suddenly appear at the company.
She has been taking leave ever since her mother was hospitalized.
After exchanging pleasantries with her colleagues, she went to Meng Yaozhu's office.
Standing at the door, having prepared my words, I knocked.
"Enter."
A man's concise voice came from inside.
Lu gently pushed open the door: "President Meng."
Meng Yaozhu paused as he signed the document, a drop of ink falling onto the white paper and spreading into a black stain.
He composed himself and looked up: "Why are you here? Is your mother feeling better?"
"I'm much better, thank you for your concern, Mr. Meng."
Meng Yaozhu nodded, and for a moment the two remained silent.
Unable to bear the eerie silence, Lu Qingqing spoke first: "President Meng, actually, I'm here today to resign."
Meng Yaozhu's eyelids suddenly lifted.
Lu Qingqing didn't look at him, and said to herself, "Thank you for your continued care, Mr. Meng. I have learned a lot from you and benefited greatly."
She rambled on and on about a lot of polite formalities.
"Why?" Meng Yaozhu interrupted.
Lu looked up blankly, paused for a moment, and then said, "Oh, my mother isn't well, and I'd like to take good care of her recently."
This is, of course, only one reason; another is that her belly is starting to show.
She certainly couldn't continue to linger under his nose.
Meng Yaozhu stared at her intently: "Didn't the company approve your leave?"
"The company approved a month for me, but my mother's follow-up treatment will take more time, I..."
"How long? Is three months enough? Tell me a timeframe, and I'll approve it."
Lu gently shook her head again: "Never mind, President Meng."
Meng Yaozhu suddenly changed the subject: "I promised you before that you would work as my assistant for three months, and then I would let you switch to being a local reporter. I will approve your application when you come back to work."
Lu Qingqing sensed something was wrong. When did he become so easy to talk to?
A slight pang of sadness welled up inside her; it would be a lie to say she wasn't heartbroken. She had worked so hard for so long, all for the chance to become a war correspondent. Now that the opportunity she had been dreaming of was before her, she had no choice but to give it up.
"Thank you, Mr. Meng, but... never mind."
Meng Yaozhu gripped the pen tightly with his knuckles: "Have you thought it through?"
"yes."
Lu Qingqing was still waiting for him to sign.
Meng Yaozhu's Adam's apple bobbed twice. He lowered his eyes and signed his name, each stroke heavy and forceful, almost tearing the paper.
"Well then... goodbye, Mr. Meng!"
Lu Qingqing looked relaxed and waved to him with a smile.
As Meng Yaozhu watched her retreating figure, which didn't turn back, a sense of emptiness welled up inside him.
Just as Lu Qingqing stepped out of the office, she bumped into a gentle woman coming towards her.
She was the woman she had met before, Meng Yaozhu's fiancée.
The woman was carrying a lunchbox, indicating that she had come to deliver food to the person inside.
But... that has nothing to do with her.
Lu nodded slightly to her, and the woman returned a faint smile.
After leaving the company and standing downstairs, Lu waved gently.
Goodbye, company!
Goodbye, Meng Yaozhu!
...
The moment Qiao Qingshu entered the office, she sensed that the atmosphere was strange.
Meng Yaozhu kept his head down, radiating an aura that kept strangers at bay.
"go out!"
Hearing the footsteps getting closer, he impatiently looked up: "Didn't I tell you to go out?"
"Yaozhu, are you alright?"
Seeing that it was her, Meng Yaozhu's expression softened: "Why are you here?"
"I heard from your aunt that you've been very busy with work lately, so I made you a soup with dried fish and black chicken to help you recover."
"Your health isn't good either, you don't need to do these things yourself."
Qiao Qingshu smiled as she ladled out the chicken soup, its rich aroma filling the entire office: "I did this for you willingly."
"Thank you." Meng Yaozhu lowered his head and took a few sips.
"How does it taste?"
The man did not react.
Qiao Qingshu asked again and found that he was absent-minded and clearly lost in thought.
"Yaozhu, is something on your mind?"
This sound brought Meng Yaozhu back to her senses: "No, it tastes pretty good."
Qiao Qingshu glanced at it casually, her gaze falling on a resignation letter beside him, and she saw the name on the letter—Lu Qingqing.
She seemed lost in thought, recalling the moment she bumped into Meng Yaozhu at the restaurant that day and his flustered expression.
She and he had been childhood sweethearts, and she knew that he was mostly calm, composed, mature, and steady. But recently, he had lost his composure more than once.
It all seems to be related to that woman...
...
"Aunt Jiang, this is some donkey-hide gelatin that my mother asked a friend to bring back from abroad. She asked me to bring it to you specially."
"Xiao Xu, you're too kind. You don't need to bring anything next time you come."
"Aunt Jiang, I heard you were hospitalized. My mom would have come over herself if she hadn't been busy..."
From a distance, Lu Qingqing could hear the cheerful laughter coming from the ward.
After she entered the ward, Xu Xiao stood up and said, "Miss Lu, you're back."
Ms. Jiang said, "Don't call her Miss Lu, just call her Qingqing."
Then, she gently said to Lu, who was standing at the door, "What are you standing there for? Little Xu came to see me and brought me a lot of things. Why don't you come over and entertain him? You young people have something to say, don't neglect Little Xu."
Lu Qingqing: "Mr. Xu, you're very kind. Thank you."
Xu Xiao scratched his head shyly: "You're welcome, just a little gentle."
Ms. Jiang said with a smile, "Look how polite Xiao Xu is. He's so young, yet so handsome and successful. Qingqing, you should learn from Xiao Xu."
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