I said, "I have no desire or plan to have another child."
There was a gleam of light in her eyes, and she looked at me slowly, her eyes filled with tenderness.
She said, "Do you like classical music?"
I said, "It's OK. I'm a layman."
She said, "Let me play you 'June Barcarolle'."
She sat down at the piano and played “June Barcarolle” from Tchaikovsky’s “The Four Seasons” cycle with her slender white fingers.
She was completely absorbed in the performance, her body rising and falling, her fingertips gliding quickly across the keys, like a nimble and graceful dancer waltzing among the notes.
The melody from the piano is beautiful and lyrical, with a steady rhythm and a slight sway.
I closed my eyes in a pretentious manner, and my mood gradually relaxed.
She didn't play the whole piece, the music stopped abruptly.
I opened my eyes and saw her leaning sideways and looking at me with a smile.
"I haven't played it for a long time, so I'm a little rusty."
I said, "You play very well, but why don't you finish it?"
She pointed to her watch, meaning that it was getting late and she didn't want to disturb the neighbors.
She said: "Music is an art that needs to be listened to with the ears and felt with the heart. It is a different art for everyone, and everyone can understand it."
I nodded, agreeing with her.
I said goodbye under her tender gaze.
On a midsummer night, the sound of insects singing softly in the grass in the distance is like a heavenly dream.
I'm in a surprisingly good mood.
Two months later, Wang Yanshu asked me how my relationship with Zhu Qingwan was progressing.
I said that we both wanted to accept each other, but we didn't know what was wrong and our relationship was lukewarm.
Wang Yanshu angrily scolded me, saying that I looked smart on the surface but was actually extremely stupid. Did I need a woman to expose this falsehood?
I looked at Wang Yanshu in amazement, and realized that fortunately she was a relatively successful professional woman. If she were put into society, I don't know how much karma she would have created with her hurtful mouth.
She scolded me, "Why are you looking at me? You still don't accept what I'm saying, right? You've all been through it, so don't you have the spirit of continuous warfare to capture the city and stronghold?"
I thought to myself that Zhu Qingwan was a clear-headed intellectual woman, not a charming woman who could seduce people. How could I resist her?
Finally, Wang Yanshu really didn't want to play dumb with me, so he told me something from the bottom of his heart: "Hongjun, this is not just a simple question of you starting a family again, it also concerns your future and destiny. Do you know who Zhu Qingwan's father is?"
I shook my head because Zhu Qingwan had never mentioned her family to me.
Wang Yanshu sighed and said helplessly: "If you were allowed to do intelligence work, the revolution would have to grope forward in the long dark night. I might as well tell you today that her father is Zhu Jiang, a member of the county committee and the head of the organization department."
I laughed dumbly, but pretended to be shocked.
Wang Yanshu looked at my exaggerated expression and asked me, "You really don't know anything?"
Although I wasn't sure, I had already guessed it in my heart.
Anyone who can live in the county government's housing estate is certainly not an unknown person, he must be at least a science official, okay?
In the drawer of my office is a Correspondence Directory of the Main Leaders of Party and Government Agencies and Institutions in the County. Whenever I have free time, I will study this network again and again.
There are only three or four people named Zhu who are in charge of units at or above the section level in the entire county. Using the age elimination method, the only one left is the Organization Minister Zhu Jiang.
Wang Yanshu didn't say it clearly, and Zhu Qingwan was secretive. Did they think that I was incapable of analysis and judgment?
But I was determined to play the role, so I said, "For such a high-ranking official, I think I'd better give up. We are not of the same social status and are not suitable. I am not the kind of person who curries favor with the powerful or flatters the rich and powerful."
Wang Yanshu stared at me and said angrily: "Guan Hongjun, don't talk nonsense to me!"
She pointed at my nose and lectured me: "Your brain is burnt out, don't be so naive. Regardless of the past and present, nepotism is the ladder to power. No matter what steps you use to climb up, as long as you still want to do something good for your family, then you still have a conscience."
I despised her in my heart. She was trying to get closer to the head of the organization by bringing me and Zhu Qingwan together. This was also a way for her to climb up the ladder.
But I couldn't say it clearly. Like a humble student who was eager to learn, I just nodded and nodded in front of her and got away with it.
Two days later, Wang Yanshu called me to her office mysteriously.
She stared at me with a stern look that made me shudder. I didn't know which part of my work had not met her requirements.
Being scolded is always inevitable, but this time it was not because of work.
She asked me, "Guan Hongjun, you are very secretive. I never thought that your private life is so decadent."
Of course I didn't like what she said, so I said, "It's a bit messy, but it's not to the point of being decadent."
She said, "You are still making excuses. Let me ask you what happened to the female boss of the furniture store?"
I said, "Did Zhu Qingwan tell you?"
She said, "What? You've already told Qingwan about it. You're really honest."
I said, "If you've done it, admit it."
She slammed the cup on the desk and said in a sharp voice: "You and Qingwan can't push this matter any further. Her father was right to make it public. Your ex-mother-in-law wrote a letter of denunciation to the Organization Department, revealing your scandal."
I replied confidently: "When I took the civil service exam, the organization reviewed me and I did not violate any law."
She grabbed the teacup and wanted to throw it at me, but she finally controlled her emotions and said angrily: "Guan Hongjun, you are talking nonsense! Is this an organizational review? This is your father-in-law's review. Fortunately, this letter went directly to Minister Zhu, otherwise there would be no room for maneuver."
I said with a joking smile, "Director Wang, I always thought you were a leader who cared for your family, cared about the masses, was approachable, and had a decent style. I didn't expect that you are getting more and more angry and a little unreasonable now."
She couldn't help laughing, pointed at my nose and said, "Guan Hongjun, you are being too arrogant. Do you think I'm easy to bully just because I'm a woman?"
I turned around and glanced at the tightly closed door, and whispered, "Sister, I have never treated you as an outsider. We are now talking to each other behind closed doors. Do you think there is any way to save the situation between Qingwan and me?"
She was too lazy to even look at me, and cast her eyes out the window. She pondered for a long time before saying to me, "It's not that there are no remedies. The key is whether your relationship with Qingwan has reached a point where Minister Zhu cannot save it."
I slammed her desk and made a firm statement: "I am ready to apologize to Minister Zhu. Whether it succeeds or not depends entirely on fate."
She was startled and was about to explode, so I continued, "Sister, you are right. This is not as simple as marriage. This is a matter concerning my future and destiny. I can't just sit there and wait for it to happen, nor can I sit and wait for it to happen."
She shook her head helplessly and said angrily, "Guan Hongjun, you can do whatever you want. I am in a difficult position now. Minister Zhu is quite dissatisfied with me for not strictly checking this matter. No wonder! Once bitten, one will be afraid of the rope for ten years. After all, Qingwan's marriage was caused by him, and he doesn't want his daughter to repeat the same mistake."
I put my legs together, stood at attention, and said word by word: "Please rest assured, even if it means going through fire and water, I will move forward courageously towards my set goal. No matter what difficulties and obstacles I encounter, I will climb over them and reach the other side of victory."
She said coldly: "I'm just waiting to see you throw away your armor. Do you think Minister Zhu is as easy to deal with as me?"