Chapter Eleven: Auspicious Opening
At 1:40 p.m., Luo Yan sat upright in the last row of the conference room, trying her best to look like she was contemplating the profound meaning of anti-corruption and integrity.
Zeng Rong is truly remarkable; she even came up with the idea of using photos to deceive people. Her efforts pale in comparison to Zeng Rong's talent.
How did Luo Muyang manage to unearth such a talent from some obscure corner and place her so perfectly in the secretariat? It's unbelievable.
Bringing a photo of her "boyfriend" to her ex's wedding? The image was too hellish; she dared not open her eyes. Thankfully, it was just her hallucination.
Luo Yan shook her head, clearing her mind of these ghostly images, and turned her attention to the upcoming meeting.
Director Zheng was suddenly summoned by the bureau chief to report on his work, and she was pulled in to take the blame.
The meeting's topic was anti-corruption efforts, rated five stars for importance, but incredibly boring. She'd barely finished signing in, her seat barely warm, when her phone started vibrating incessantly in her pocket.
Upon taking it out, two words appeared on the screen: Jiang Sui.
Luo Yan's heart skipped a beat. She crouched low like a thief and slipped out of the meeting room, hiding at the fire escape at the end of the corridor to answer the phone. She lowered her voice, "Hello? Mr. Jiang, I'm in a meeting. Hurry up if you need anything..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a cold and clear male voice on the other end of the phone, his tone undisguisedly accusatory: "Luo Yan, I don't care what you said to President Luo, please clarify our relationship to him now, immediately."
Luo Yan was taken aback, but her guilty conscience was instantly replaced by righteous indignation: "I already clarified it back then, but he didn't believe me!"
"Your clarification is basically telling him that my shirt is with you?" Jiang Sui's voice sounded like she was gritting her teeth. "That's implying that we have a close relationship."
"It was just a slip of the tongue, and I immediately said it was an accident! He's overinterpreting it!" Luo Yan argued. "Besides, President Jiang, compared to that 'agreement' with both of our names on it in black and white, what is my slip of the tongue? If that thing were exposed, who would be more unable to explain themselves? With your reputation and status, you're more likely to lose than me, right?"
Are you threatening me?
"No, no!" Luo Yan said, but her tone was firm. "President Jiang, I'm just reminding you that calling me so often to interrogate me is tantamount to unilaterally breaking the agreement, isn't it? Should I review the breach of contract clauses with you? Instant noodles don't come with a seasoning packet!"
"You're twisting the facts. The agreement is based on the premise that neither party will pursue 'accidental events,' which does not include your intention to spread rumors." Jiang Sui's voice turned somber, and the oppressive atmosphere could be felt even through the phone line.
"How did I spread rumors? I just accidentally let it slip! I didn't mention a single word of core secrets! What can I do if the onlookers make up their own stories? What, you're afraid to tell Lao Luo, so you're coming after me? You're just bullying the weak and fearing the strong!" Luo Yan suddenly became angry upon hearing Jiang Sui's tone. "But you, President Jiang, you signed a written agreement to 'voluntarily, completely, and permanently forget all events, conversations, and actions that occurred from leaving the barbecue stall last night until you regained consciousness today'! Isn't this an attempt to probe and hint at relevant details? You're the one who breached the contract, aren't you? How much are you prepared to pay for emotional distress? There's no upper limit!"
She finished speaking in one breath, feeling as if she had demonstrated the eloquence she displayed during her final essay writing sprint.
There was complete silence on the other end of the phone, only suppressed breathing could be heard.
Luo Yan pressed her advantage: "President Jiang, we need to be reasonable. Right now, Lao Luo has already formed a prejudice. The more you rush to clarify, the more he'll think we're up to something. He might even think you're a heartless scumbag who runs away after having sex with someone. How about this, after I attend the wedding next month and things calm down a bit, I'll definitely make things clear with him and make sure everything is cleared up completely!"
"..."
Jiang Sui seemed to be trying his best to control his anger. After a long while, he said coldly, "Remember what you said. If there are still rumors, I will personally have a good talk with President Luo, including but not limited to the details of that agreement."
"I swear on my honor as a civil servant!" Luo Yan habitually patted her chest, then realized she was on the phone and Jiang Sui wouldn't see it even if she patted her chest until it collapsed. So she cleared her throat and her tone became lighter, "Then you go ahead with your work, I'm going to get some anti-corruption education!"
After hanging up the phone, she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that she had finally won a hard-fought battle to protect public opinion. More importantly, Jiang Sui had compromised! A huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
Back in the meeting room, once I relaxed, I realized how long and boring the meeting had been.
Looking at the time, only half an hour had passed. Two more leaders were scheduled to speak, so I decided to slip away. Anyway, I had signed in, so my task was considered complete.
The next morning, Director Zheng, with a dark face, slammed an internal notice on Luo Yan's desk.
"Luo Yan, explain yourself! 'Luo Yan, a representative from the Industrial Development Division, left the meeting early without permission and was absent from the sign-out process. She will be given a departmental reprimand!' I sent you to the meeting, not to tarnish the division's reputation! You've completely disgraced me!"
Luo Yan stared at the name written in black and white on the report, and her vision went black.
Oh no... I've messed up again.
She's only been working here for a short time, how could she have imagined that such a routine process would require not only signing in but also signing out!
"I'm...I'm sorry, Director Zheng, I won't do it again!"
"There will be a next time?!"
"What I mean is that I've realized my mistake, and I promise... I won't let it happen again!"
"Submit a written self-criticism, entirely handwritten, 5000 words!"
"Yes, Director Zheng, I will definitely reflect on my actions!"
Luo Yan hung her head, her expression very sincere.
After Director Zheng left, Liu Su came over and said, "It's alright, it's alright. I forgot to sign out when I attended a meeting before. I had to take an exam back then, and I just copied whatever I found. I've written a self-criticism before, you can just take it and revise it."
"Is this alright? Director Zheng was so angry just now..."
"He was the one who received the heaviest punishment in the overall reprimand, so of course he was angry. But he only made you write a self-criticism and that was it. He was actually helping you so that if the higher-ups investigated, he would have a reason to let you off the hook!"
"..."
Luo Yan's feelings were immediately mixed, a mixture of guilt and gratitude.
Luck is a mysterious thing. She thought she had hit rock bottom, but when she looked up, she found that there were good people around her, the really good kind.
She immediately swore that she would make amends on the "smart tourism" project and earn back more face than she had lost for Director Zheng!
Over the next few days, Luo Yan transformed into a workaholic, frantically researching information, verifying data, and running around on-site. She wished she could split herself into eight pieces to use. However, whenever she needed to coordinate with Feiyang Technology, especially when she might run into Jiang Sui, she wished she could just disappear on the spot.
Despite his stubbornness, he was genuinely guilty. Sigh, he still has too high a moral compass; he's a saintly civil servant.
Just as Luo Yan was burying herself in her work, trying to numb herself with her job, her mother, Xu Jingfei, who was always at the forefront of fashion, suddenly got a business mentality from somewhere and opened a beauty salon with her boyfriend, He Jun. By the time Luo Yan found out about this, Xu Jingfei had already chosen an auspicious day and opened the salon with great fanfare.
The opening day happened to be a weekend, and while the scene wasn't exactly bustling with activity, it was certainly packed with people.
Friends, ex-boyfriends, and "plastic besties" came in droves. Xu Jingfei stood at the door with an official smile to greet them, while He Jun was responsible for showing off his muscles and sunny smile, acting as a living advertisement.
Everyone's attention was instantly drawn to it; they had never seen such an extravagant flower basket before, and a flurry of discussion immediately ensued.
Then, two market supervision officers in uniform walked in with frowns: "Hello, we are from the street's comprehensive management office. Your flower basket is blocking the fire lane. Please remove it immediately!"
Xu Jingfei's face flushed red and then turned pale. She suppressed her anger and directed people to quickly move the flower baskets away. However, on the first day of business, she was rewarded with a fine.
"Luo! Mu! Yang!"
Xu Jingfei practically spat out those three words through gritted teeth, grabbed her phone, and was about to call and yell at someone.
Just then, a lazy female voice suddenly rang out from the crowd: "Oh my, my dear sister, this opening is quite a grand affair! Even the fire department came to add to the festivities? After all these years, Mr. Luo still has such deep feelings for you."
Luo Yan looked up and saw that it was her aunt Xu Jinglan, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. She immediately felt uneasy.
Xu Jinglan was dressed in a sharp suit skirt today, with exquisite makeup, completely different from Xu Jingfei's charming style. She was also carrying a small flower basket, but she was obviously there to watch the fun.
Xu Jingfei was already furious, and seeing her younger sister, whom she had never gotten along with since childhood, only fueled her anger: "Xu Jinglan, either don't show up at all, or when you do, speak like a human being! If you can't speak properly, then shut up!"
"Did I say something wrong?" Xu Jinglan casually put the flower basket aside, crossed her arms, and looked around the brightly decorated pink beauty salon. She scoffed, "Sister, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're almost fifty, and you're still trying to run this lovey-dovey business like a young girl?" Her gaze swept over He Jun, who was trying to show off his biceps, and she smiled meaningfully. "I sincerely hope that your beauty salon doesn't end up like all your ex-boyfriends, peaking at opening and then collapsing at lightning speed."
"Are you done talking? If you are, then get out." Xu Jingfei was angry, but she still maintained her boss-like demeanor.
Xu Jinglan covered her mouth and laughed like a fox, "I came here specifically to congratulate you on your opening. Are you trying to turn away customers right after opening?"
The two sisters were on the verge of a full-blown fight.
Luo Yan silently stuffed the last bite of the fruit tart into her mouth, then quietly shrank back a little.
This show is even more exciting than an 8 PM soap opera.
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