Chapter 30 I don't want to be apart, nor do I want to force you to stay and develop a relationship with me just because I like you.
After the weekly meeting, the dean replaced Li Wenjing's position as the person in charge with Zhang Zhaochuan.
He had already informed Li Wenjing of this matter in advance, so she wasn't surprised. Instead, Zhang Zhaochuan was beaming, constantly saying, "Thank you, leadership, for your support." After the meeting, he naturally wasn't very friendly with her. He was assigned to help Zhao Haoran organize the materials, essentially doing odd jobs.
Zhao Haoran was new, so he naturally did the odd jobs, plus he also had a part-time job running errands and delivering food. He was the type who tried to do everything, but he wasn't good at anything. Suddenly, Li Wenjing, who had been working for several years, was assigned this position. Anyone with a discerning eye could see what was going on; everyone had witnessed the rift between master and apprentice.
After a small internal meeting, he called Li Wenjing out for a talk.
"Wenjing, this is mainly what the leadership wants. This position connects with every department and is the best training opportunity, especially for being a general manager in the future. If it's too tiring, just let me know and I'll talk to the leadership about a new position for you..."
No matter what he said, Li Wenjing just nodded. She understood very well that the position was not important. The main thing was that after the previous incident, he had to catch someone to establish his authority, and Li Wenjing was the chicken to be "killed to scare the monkeys."
"I followed my boss's instructions. Didn't he tell me when he recruited me, 'Women are used like men, and men are treated like animals?'"
"I'm so tired. Xiao Qiao keeps talking about you to me. Have you guys been in touch recently?"
Li Wenjing shook her head.
"If there's anything between friends, just say it clearly. We need to keep in touch. Oh, and I have a friend coming over today. He's the guy who worked on the Mombasa Railway. You've met him too. Let's have dinner together tonight."
He patted Li Wenjing on the shoulder and returned to the office with a smile. After being scolded by him, he offered a sweet treat to smooth things over. Li Wenjing, standing alone outside, didn't feel uncomfortable, but rather a little bitter.
In the office, what else can we do? Just don't get angry. But the relationship between the two of us can never go back to the way it was before. We can only pretend that nothing happened.
At dinner in the evening, Zhang Zhaochuan brought a fat boy with a face so round that it looked like two apples protruding from it, and a pair of black-framed glasses. Li Wenjing remembered him as a professional geological engineer, but she didn't remember his name. Everyone called him Dr. Chen. Only now did she know his name was Chen Liang.
As soon as Dr. Chen arrived, he asked for Li Wenjing's phone number and added her on WeChat. They sat at a small round table opposite Li Wenjing, with Zhang Zhaochuan sitting in the middle. He couldn't help but look up at Li Wenjing. As soon as they locked eyes, Li Wenjing knew why Zhang Zhaochuan had asked her to come. Zhang Zhaochuan asked Dr. Chen why he didn't have a partner yet. He sighed and said that he used to be busy with studying and doing scientific research, and now he's working and has no time to find a partner. Zhang Zhaochuan praised him as a young talent, saying that if he wanted to find one, it would only take a few minutes to find a partner. He then introduced Li Wenjing to him. Li Wenjing lowered her head to eat and didn't respond. When Zhang Zhaochuan said that she didn't have a partner either, she felt a little guilty, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized that she really couldn't have any relationship with Gu Weiyi, so she had to agree.
After dinner, Dr. Chen sent her home. He was a bit dull and didn't like to talk. When they got to the downstairs of her house, he rummaged through the black cloth bag and took out a small globe that he had made himself as a gift for Wen Jing.
Wen Jing was confused and didn't know what expression to use. She wanted to laugh, but felt a little embarrassed. To be honest, she had no interest in Dr. Chen. She had just glanced at his circle of friends while eating, and it was all about work, the latest of which was a published paper.
"I saw you at the last meeting. It was all guys, and you were the only girl, and you spoke the best. I didn't feel comfortable asking for your WeChat at the time," he said. "I could tell you were a little embarrassed. Actually, like you, I don't like blind dates either. But Brother Zhang was so enthusiastic, so we just treated it as an acquaintance, and we could become friends."
His attitude was very sincere. Li Wenjing felt embarrassed to refuse, so she accepted his gift. He turned around and waved to her, watching her go upstairs.
Li Wenjing brought the globe into her office. As she sorted through documents and calculated engineering design data, she spun it, her brow furrowed, her finger resting on it. She sent Dr. Chen a message, asking if she could see his latest paper, as it was too recent and the data couldn't be found online. Dr. Chen replied with an "OK" and immediately sent her the paper and related data.
Zhang Zhaochuan walked by and saw Li Wenjing chatting with Dr. Chen. He couldn't help but say "Yo" twice, winked and asked how the relationship was going. Li Wenjing said there was no progress. In front of Zhang Zhaochuan, she opened Dr. Chen's thesis. Zhang Zhaochuan laughed even more and said that PhDs are really different in choosing partners. She just sent the thesis to him directly.
Li Wenjing ignored his joke and spent the whole day verifying the data. When it was almost time to get off work, she sent another message to Dr. Chen.
"Hello, Dr. Chen, thank you for your paper. I have many questions for you. This oilfield project involves weak foundations. I've done projects nearby before, and they used EU standards. It seems this piece is a bit smaller than the EU standard, and the settlement is 20% higher than the calculation. The oilfield also uses EU standards, which I don't think is right. I've used your paper to calculate the actual results, and I've also used the design data to calculate it. Could you help me take a look at the new data?"
The other party replied with a simple "OK" and asked Li Wenjing to send the file over. Not long after sending it, he wanted to see the actual geological conditions. Li Wenjing said that the data could not be sent to him, but he could see it. The two discussed it again, and then naturally made an appointment for dinner.
Just as she was about to get off work, Gu Weiyi sent her a message, asking her if she had finished get off work yet, and that he would pick her up after get off work and have dinner together in the evening. Li Wenjing thought about it and just said that she had a dinner appointment with a friend and rejected him. Just as she sent the good news and walked out of the office building, he suddenly appeared from behind the lion in front of the door.
"I'll pick you up."
Li Wenjing waved her hand at him, signaling him to look at his phone.
"I have an appointment with someone, and I can't let you down if you show up at the last minute."
"I just came back from Congo and wanted to give you a surprise..."
"No surprise, no scare to death." Li Wenjing couldn't help but complain, "You've been away on business for over a month and haven't sent any messages. Now you ask me out at the last minute when you return. Why not ask me out earlier?"
"I was in quarantine some time ago. I thought I still had a lot of work to do, but unexpectedly the work went more smoothly than I expected, and I was able to come back suddenly."
"Could it be you? Congo virus?"
Li Wenjing thought of the recent news about the Congo virus and couldn't help but gasp. Seeing that he did seem thinner, she complained, "Why didn't you tell me? I saw it on the news, and they said it was malaria. You lied to me!"
"This infectious disease hasn't been fully understood yet, but fortunately it's under control. Don't worry."
"Why wouldn't I worry about you?"
"Congo has been facing public health problems in recent years. The Ministry of Health plans to send more personnel there. It's also a French-speaking region, so..."
He spoke hesitantly, observing Li Wenjing's expression. She turned her head away and said, "If you want to go, go. You don't need to ask me. We are not in a serious relationship now. We have been together a few times and we are living our own lives. We can break up if we want."
"I didn't say I'd go right away. I'm still thinking about it. Don't be angry."
"Why should I be angry with you?" Li Wenjing stiffened her neck and refused to look at him. "I'm telling you the truth. I don't want to be apart, and I don't want to force you to stay and develop a relationship just because I like you. Not only are you unhappy, but you should be treating patients and saving people instead of wasting time like this."
"Is that how you see me?"
The two argued for a while, and Zhang Zhaochuan and other colleagues came out from work. He saw Gu Weiyi and greeted her from a distance. Li Wenjing didn't want to continue arguing with him. Zhang Zhaochuan was very happy, asking Gu Weiyi questions and teasing her that Li Wenjing had many suitors and he should hurry up... Li Wenjing interrupted him, but she had an appointment and was going to be late, so she hurriedly fled this embarrassing place.
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