Chapter Thirty
After returning from Macedonian Mountain Villa, Luan Mingfeng did not appear at the company for several days. He went to Chaoma New Energy, where there were still some finishing touches to be done before the power was transferred.
Ever since Zuo Xutong became his assistant and removed him from the blacklist, that persistent number has been popping up from time to time. Every time the screen lights up, her heart skips a beat. That string of numbers is like a death warrant, giving her a conditioned reflex-like fear of her phone.
Now she finally had a few days of peace and quiet, and could focus on the tests without any distractions. Before Luan Mingfeng returned, she heard some good news: the general manager was going to take the company's senior management on a two-week inspection trip to Europe.
However, her joy lasted only two days before the inspection team list was released, and her name was prominently featured, while the others were all at the director level. People in the company started gossiping about her behind her back.
She called Luan Mingfeng and said to him, "This opportunity should be given to someone more suitable."
“You are the most suitable person,” Luan Mingfeng’s voice was hoarse and languid. It was already nine o’clock in the morning, and he seemed to have just woken up. “I need you.”
Zuo Xutong put down her now-cold coffee, looked down at her hands, and suddenly remembered that even in the coldest winter, her hands were often wet when she was in college. That was because she was always washing clothes—jeans, shirts, sweaters, down jackets… all his clothes. She washed them one by one and hung them out to dry on the dormitory balcony, watching them line up densely on the clothesline.
They often went to the library together. There, she would bury herself in her work on both of their assignments, while he sat beside her, engrossed in his tablet or phone, even more focused than she was, with the faint sound of games emanating from his headphones. In their senior year, she wrote his graduation thesis, pulling three all-nighters to finish it.
Everyone else thought she had obtained love through humility, but she didn't care. She naively believed that love should be selfless and devoted.
The most touching thing he ever did for her was on the day her father passed away. He said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of you from now on." He said those words so casually, but they weighed like a thousand pieces of gold to her.
Although she didn't accept his help and sold her house to pay for her tuition herself, she remembered his words until the day they broke up.
Looking back now, during the years they were together, he never really gave anything, yet she willingly gave everything.
So at that moment, he told her: I need you. She knew better than anyone that this was the truth.
He had known for many years that she was the best candidate to be his assistant. Taking her on this trip to Europe, she could be his driver and nanny, his translator and professional consultant, and perhaps even his sexual partner.
Zuo Xutong recalled that day in the teahouse, when he held up the diamond ring in front of her. She suddenly realized that he might not have loved her that much; perhaps she was simply the most suitable marriage partner for him. After leaving her, he probably never met another fool like her again.
The date for her departure abroad arrived quickly. The night before, Luan Mingfeng called her and said, "Shall I have the driver pick you up tomorrow?"
"No need, I'll take a taxi myself." After saying that, to allay his doubts, she asked again, "Will the company reimburse the taxi fare?"
Luan Mingfeng paused for a moment, then said with a hint of amusement, "Of course."
Zuo Xutong could understand the hidden meaning in that smile: a condescending look towards the working class, pity for her, and perhaps... a mockery of poverty. He was probably imagining her nervously trying to get a few dozen yuan reimbursed for her travel expenses.
She recalled that their circumstances were completely different in high school. Back then, she was a top student in the experimental class. Transfer students like Luan Mingfeng, who came from regular classes, no matter how tall, handsome, or rich, couldn't catch her eye. She only had eyes for that skinny, bespectacled guy from the countryside who always ranked first in exams. She desperately wanted to surpass him so her name could stand out. When she first entered high school, she was determined to get into a prestigious university and firmly believed that as long as one worked hard, there was a chance to change one's destiny and earn the respect of others.
At that time, the few transfer students who entered the experimental class through back channels were all from wealthy and influential families. In the second semester of the second year of high school, in order to help the struggling students in the class improve their grades, the homeroom teacher broke the previous practice of assigning seats according to grades, so the two became desk mates.
Their initial interaction began with borrowing notes. At some point, Zuo Xutong stopped paying attention to the bespectacled boy's exam scores and her attention gradually shifted to the boy behind her who "constantly caused her trouble." Early romance caused her ranking to drop from the top three in her grade to outside the top ten, but she still managed to get into a decent 985 university.
She still remembers the day she filled out her college application. He held her hand tightly, his voice choked with emotion, and said, "I don't want to leave you." As he finished speaking, his bright eyes welled up with tears.
That year, Four-Eyes Chicken was admitted to the top university in the country. It is said that after graduating with his bachelor's degree, he went on to pursue a master's and doctoral degree, truly realizing that knowledge can change one's destiny. She should have followed the same path as him, but she stopped halfway and turned onto a side road that she thought led to happiness.
The next day, Luan Mingfeng and his group arrived at the airport early and went through international security, but Zuo Xutong was nowhere to be seen. With only twenty minutes left before boarding, he called her: "We've all gone through security, where are you? Haven't you arrived yet?"
"The car broke down and stopped halfway," Zuo Xutong said.
Luan Mingfeng grew anxious and raised his voice, "Then hurry up and get another one!"
"There are no taxis around here."
"How could that be? Where are you? I'll send someone to pick you up." After Luan Mingfeng finished speaking, there was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before a slow voice came through: "I don't know either."
"Send me your location right away." Luan Mingfeng vaguely felt that something was wrong. It was very quiet around her, and she could not hear any noise from the road.
"Hello...hello, why is there no signal..."
Then the line went dead. Only then did Luan Mingfeng realize that he had been tricked and that she was never coming.
He angrily put down his phone. If he weren't leading a group on the trip, and if he hadn't passed through security, he would have wanted to go back and grab her immediately.
"President Luan, what are you doing here?"
When Luan Mingfeng looked up, his brows were still furrowed, but his expression relaxed a little after he saw the woman's face clearly. He forced a smile and replied, "Going to Germany on a business trip."
"What a coincidence, me too." Geng Yue took out her plane ticket from her bag and compared it with the ticket in Luan Mingfeng's hand. They were actually on the same flight, since they were both first class and their seats were next to each other.
"What a coincidence that we're here!" Luan Mingfeng finally smiled. "You're also going to Berlin for the new energy vehicle show, right?"
"Yes, what about you?" The two walked forward, searching for their boarding gate.
"I led a team to inspect the area and also attended the auto show."
"I went there for tourism and happened to attend the auto show."
Luan Mingfeng stopped in his tracks and asked in surprise, "Are you traveling alone?"
"What can I do? I'd like to find someone to go with me too." Geng Yue spread her hands, and the morning sunlight slanted in from the window, falling on her profile like a soft veil, adding a touch of hazy beauty to her already stunning face.
Luan Mingfeng stared at her blankly for a long time before coughing lightly and saying, "Why don't you come with us?"
"Okay, then I'll have to trouble you to take care of me." As soon as Geng Yue finished speaking, the boarding announcement came over the terminal. The two of them turned around at the same time, shoulder to shoulder, and walked towards the boarding gate.
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