놖 smiled and shook his head: "Now it's mostly about overall coordination, and the specific matters are handled by the people below."
"That's right!" He clapped his hands and laughed, his eyes full of approval. "Only those who are good at commanding generals can be good generals. Doing everything by yourself will only lead to a lack of perspective."
"Every time I come to your place, it's like taking a life lesson." I sighed sincerely.
He took her shoulder and walked inside on the bluestone slabs. The lights in the corridor lit up one after another: "Then come here often! This door is always open for you."
Pushing open the carved wooden door, warmth and the fragrance of agarwood hit you in the face. In the 2-meter-high patio-style living room, in the waterfall of light pouring down from the crystal chandelier, I subconsciously glanced at the empty main seat - the rosewood armchair where Aunt Song usually sat, with a plain brocade handkerchief on it.
"Aunt Song didn't come back with us this time?" 놖 stroked the carved armchair and sat down. The cashmere sofa gently supported her whole body.
Zhang Pingmin poured tea into the purple clay cup and smiled amid the steam, "She was scared by the dry and cold weather in Northeast China. She went to Sanya a while ago and said she would come back in the spring."
In the amber halo of the tea soup, he suddenly leaned closer, his kind eyes showing the understanding of an elder, "Chairman Shen has something urgent to attend to, so he will come later. Let's have a few drinks first?"
놖 clenched the teacup tightly, his knuckles turning white: "How about... not drinking it? 놖 is afraid that if I drink too much, I won't be able to express myself clearly."
"Look how nervous you are!" He laughed heartily, patted her shoulder and led her to the dining table, "He won't be here for a while. So, let's have tea instead of wine!"
The stewed sea cucumber with matsutake mushrooms served by the nanny was emitting white mist, and the Longjing shrimps were shining brightly in the celadon plate.
Amid the clinking of dishes and chopsticks, I felt my throat tighten. The twilight deepened outside the window. The gilded clock on the wall ticked, and every tick sounded like a heavy hammer hitting a drum. This table full of delicacies tasted drier than sawdust on my tongue.
After dinner, Wang and Zhang Pingmin sat on the sofa and chatted. The topic was still about the market operation of Daxun Group. Unconsciously, the hour hand of the wall clock had passed the Roman numeral "IX".
At this moment, a low engine sound suddenly came from the yard, breaking the silence. Zhang Pingmin's driver pressed the electric door remote control swiftly. As the metal door slowly slid open, he and Zhang Pingmin stood up at the same time, their leather shoes making a crisp sound on the marble surface.
The lights under the corridor illuminated the courtyard as bright as day, and a black Audi slowly drove in. The driver took two steps at a time and opened the back door, his hands in white gloves protecting the door frame. Chen Hexu appeared in the halo, his snow-white shirt with a straight collar and his navy blue executive jacket making his figure look even more upright. Another attendant quickly draped a cashmere coat over his shoulders, and the hem of the coat made a slight sound as it fell.
"Are you not drunk?" Zhang Pingmin stepped forward and shook the other's hand familiarly.
Chen Hexu's black hair glowed unnaturally dark under the light, obviously having been carefully dyed. He shook his hand and said with a tired tone, "I have no choice but to be in a social situation. Fortunately, I can still stand firmly."
As he spoke, the corner of his eye glanced at her like cold lightning, and the corner of his mouth curled up into a formal smile.
He walked quickly forward, his palms soaked with sweat. His palms were dry and powerful. He shook them gently and turned to Zhang Pingmin: "Is this the little brother you often mentioned who is your close friend?"
"You are a junior." Before he finished speaking, Chen Hexu suddenly laughed softly: "You are so young, but you are so cold?"
"It's because I saw you were nervous!" Zhang Pingmin joked.
Chen Hexu's smile froze instantly, and his eyes suddenly became sharp: "Nervous? The one who should be nervous is not County Magistrate Xiaoguan." He paused, his tone as cold as frost, "The one who should be nervous is you."
Suddenly a cold wind blew through the courtyard, giving me goose bumps all over my body.
Zhang Pingmin suddenly shook his shoulders exaggeratedly, as if a cold wind had pierced his spine, but he smiled deliberately: "This wind is piercing my bones, let's go inside and talk!" It seemed that he was trying to smooth things over.
Before he finished speaking, Shen Hexu turned around first, and the hem of his woolen coat swept across the door frame, drawing a sharp arc, while his driver and entourage got back into the car.
When the nanny took over Chen Hexu's cashmere coat, her movements were as light as if she was touching a fragile piece of porcelain, and the rustling sound of the fabric rubbing against each other was particularly clear in the silence.
"The study is warm and quiet." Zhang Pingmin's suggestion sounded more like a request.
Chen Hexu did not comment, tapping the marble slab with his boot heels, and walked straight towards the study, each step precisely placed in the center of the marble slab, as if measuring some secret scale.
Zhang Pingmin suddenly grabbed 놖's sleeve, with an unquestionable urging look in his eyes. She pointed to the study and asked, "You don't..." But he shook his head violently, took a half step back, and crossed his arms, as if he was about to push her into the battlefield.
He rushed to the door in two steps and opened it. The brass handle was cool in his palm. The moment the door hinge turned, the mixed scent of sandalwood and cigar hit me in the face.
Chen Hexu sat on the leather swivel chair that Zhang Pingmin usually sat on and turned it twice at will. The squeaking sound of the shaft and the clicking sound of the gears of the Dong wall clock on the wall formed a tense and strange resonance.
He raised his chin slightly, motioning for her to sit in the guest chair opposite him. His eyes were like X-rays, as if he wanted to see through the body of some monster or demon. I sat there with great fear and trepidation, my knees pressed against the table legs, for fear that I would lose my balance and fall. I had no idea where to put my knees.
He slowly said, "What is the reason why you are trying so hard to see me?"
놖's Adam's apple rolled, and he spoke with a stiff face: "Something has caused misunderstanding, and 놖 feels it is necessary to clarify it with you in person."
"Misunderstanding?" His eyes were still sharp. "You say that easily. Well, I want to hear what kind of misunderstanding this is."
놖 took a deep breath and forced herself to look directly into those cold eyes: "놖 and Shen Mengzhao first met when she was interviewing 놖 in the county development zone. Later, she took up a temporary position in the development zone, and 놖 didn't have any improper thoughts. But as they got to know each other more and more frequently, 놖 was single at that time, and 눓늊 had improper thoughts about her. After 놖's soft and hard persuasion, maybe she was soft at the moment, or maybe she was too lonely alone, so... she agreed to date."
Hearing what 누놖 said, his swivel chair suddenly stopped, his tense jawline relaxed, and his eyes lost some of their sharpness.
The light moved between the corners of his eyes, revealing a rare tiredness, as if all the edge had been taken away: "You are still somewhat responsible." He stretched out his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, pressing his knuckles hard on his temples, "You dare to take all the blame on yourself, but I didn't expect it."
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