Chapter 49

At night, He Songgao went back to another room to sleep.

Roger was still a little uncomfortable, and he tossed and turned on the spacious bed for a long time before falling asleep.

The next day, before dawn, Roger heard the sound of washing up across the street. He got up and sat there for a while before realizing that he was not in the country. He quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth, then walked across the street in his pajamas and knocked on the door. He Songgao was already dressed and was about to go out.

The two had already discussed yesterday that the temperature was low today and there might be a blizzard, so Roger would stay in the hotel and wait until they finished their work in Munich and set off for Cologne before going together.

Roger still wanted to fight for himself. He blocked He Songgao at the door of his room and said, "Can you let me go with you?"

He Songgao touched his forehead with his hand, which was warm. "No, I have to go to the factory in the afternoon and it's cold outside." He refused, "Have you taken medicine?"

"No." Roger looked disappointed, "Then what should I do alone in the hotel?"

"Take care of yourself." He looked really pitiful. He Songgao said in a coaxing tone, "Fever is not a trivial matter. It can easily turn into pneumonia. I heard you coughing last night. Are you feeling better now?"

The sound insulation of this hotel is really poor. I can hear it like this. Roger thought for a while, then said, "Okay, it's just a little dry, just get up and drink a glass of water."

"Yeah. I'll ask them to get you a humidifier." He Songgao said, patting Roger on the head, "Move aside, I'm going out."

Roger obediently moved aside and followed He Songgao to the door: "Have you had breakfast? I'll go down with you."

"No. Let's go."

The two went to the restaurant together. Several colleagues were there, and seeing Luo Jie, they asked with concern: "Secretary Luo, are you feeling better?"

Luo Jie said: "Much better..." Halfway through the sentence, he realized that no, how could he say he was feeling better? That way his colleagues would think that he was using illness as an excuse to avoid work. Or should he say it was more serious? He frowned, covered his mouth and coughed heavily twice, saying, "But I still feel a little weak and dizzy. I'm really sorry that I can't fight with you today... cough cough cough."

Colleagues comforted him one after another: "Alas, illness is not something you can control. We all understand, Secretary Luo, you still have to rest well. The temperature outside is very low today. You should stay in the hotel and rest!"

"That's right, don't force yourself. Take care of your health."

"Yeah, yeah." Luo Jie nodded quickly, deeply moved by his colleagues' thoughtfulness.

After pretending to be sick, he looked up and saw He Songgao looking at him with a half-smile. He felt guilty and forced himself to glare at He Songgao. He thought, "It's you who didn't let me go. If you had let me go, I would have recovered by now!"

The hotel had a rich breakfast. Roger picked some appetizers and sat face to face with He Songgao to have breakfast.

They chatted casually, and Roger said, "Where is your home in Munich? Can I go for a visit?"

He Songgao ordered a pancake and black coffee. He didn't seem to eat much for breakfast, probably to keep in shape. "It's in the northwest, in the suburbs. Maybe next time we have a chance."

"What kind of house is it? An apartment? A villa? Or a flat." Roger pictured what He Songgao's house looked like in his mind, and wondered if all rich people were like this, loving to buy houses. Whether they live in them or not is secondary, the key is to have them. "Do you have a housekeeper? How many nannies? If you don't come to live here, wouldn't it be a waste to leave it empty?"

"It's rented out," said He Songgao.

"Ah." Luo Jie was stunned. "That's good. It's also an investment."

"Can you eat quietly?" He Song frowned, a little dissatisfied with Luo Jie's chattering regardless of time and place. "Eat quickly, and go upstairs to rest after eating."

"I know, I know." Luo Jie thought unconvincedly, isn't it an advantage to be talkative? Not talking yourself and not letting others talk, isn't that a bit too much.

Before leaving, He Songgao told Roger: "You decide what to eat for lunch and dinner. You can put the food on the hotel bill or order takeout. Download Lieferando (takeout app) on your phone and don't go out to eat."

"Is it okay for me to just walk around?"

"No. It's snowing heavily outside. Do you see it?"

They walked to the hotel lobby together and looked through the revolving door of the lobby. It was indeed snowing outside, fast and heavy. Roger gave up the idea of ​​going out in an instant: "Okay, okay, this weather is really not suitable for going out, so I'll stay in the hotel and grow mushrooms." The

bus was waiting outside the hotel. Roger watched He Songgao get on the bus from behind the door, then turned around and went back to the room.

For two days, He Songgao was busy working outside. Luo Jie saw the front-line photos sent back by his colleagues in the work group and sighed that He Songgao was really photogenic. He changed into a navy collar coat and finally wore a scarf. Because he insisted on not wearing warm underwear, he looked indescribably tall among the bloated men, like a straight pine tree, looking down on the ordinary grass and dead trees at his feet. One of the photos that Luo Jie thought was particularly beautiful was taken on the way back to the meeting room after inspecting the factory. Because it was snowing, everyone was in a hurry, walking on the wide road in the factory area in the wind and snow. He Songgao was surrounded by a group of people, his eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, and his expression was serious, as if he was thinking about some difficult problem. The green pines growing proudly in the snow, thought Luo Jie, and then he admired this photo with a special atmosphere for ten minutes. As he looked at it, Luo Jie found for the first time that He Songgao and the chairman were a bit similar. Compared with their faces, their temperaments were closer. They were both intimidating without anger, and had a leadership aura that kept strangers away.

He lay on the bed and smiled foolishly, then sent this photo to He Songgao and said, "You look a lot like your father."

"How are they similar?"

Just when Luo Jie thought that He Songgao should not have time to reply to the message, he replied.

Luo Jie said, "How do you have time to reply to the message? Aren't you in a meeting now?"

"Can't you reply to the message when you are in a meeting?"

"Oh, I forgot, you are the president, and no one should care about you."

"

Hehe ." Luo Jie said, "Are you angry?"

"I seem to be a stingy, low-minded man in your mind."

"How could that be? You are my most respected president, how could I miss you so much?" Luo Jie said flatteringly.

"Have you eaten?"

It was 5:30 pm now. The snow outside had stopped, but it started to snow. Luo Jie ordered Chinese takeout, but it showed that the traffic conditions were not good and the delivery might be delayed. He took a screenshot of his dinner order and sent it to He Songgao, saying, "I ordered it, but it hasn't arrived yet."

"You really miss home."

Roger knew what he meant was that he was still thinking about eating the food of his hometown when he was abroad: "I'm sick. German food is really a bit greasy. I can't seem to get used to it. When I think of the big pork elbow last night, I feel like vomiting. It's better to eat something light. You too, don't eat too much oil, or you might get diarrhea."

"Yeah."

After chatting for a while, Roger's meal arrived, and he left He Songgao to eat by himself.

For two consecutive days, Roger stayed in the hotel pretending to be a salted fish. Every day, the two of them had the opportunity to talk before going to bed at night and before He Songgao left in the morning. He Songgao seemed to have a cold, but it was not serious. Roger thought that maybe he was frozen outside these two days. He strongly asked He Songgao to take some cold medicine so as not to affect the signing ceremony two days later.

He Songgao took two cold medicines as he was told, and said to Roger, "Why do you care so much about my work?"

"That's nonsense." Roger rolled his eyes at him, "I'm your secretary. If I don't wish you the best, do I mean to curse you? Besides, this is a project you've been talking about for a long time. You don't want to fail at the last hurdle, do you?" As the president's close assistant, Roger knew best how hard he worked for the WH Group's order. Before this, WH had only cooperated with local companies, and this was the first time they chose a foreign supplier. Both sides were very cautious. He Songgao flew to Germany frequently for a while, for as little as three to five days and as much as ten days to half a month, all the time he was working on this project.

"Yes." He Songgao's eyes were filled with a smile, "Thank you, Secretary Luo."

"..." Luo Jie blushed for no reason. What was going on? Why was he suddenly so cheesy? "Don't be like that. I'm not used to it."

He Songgao laughed and couldn't help but raised his hand to pinch his cheek. After being sick for a few days, this man who used to be full of energy looked particularly haggard, but he still looked good. If Luo Jie had a thousand reasons to be annoying, then his harmless, animal-like face was the only reason that made people like him. It might not be accurate to say so, but it seems to be true at the moment. He Songgao tightened his fingers, and only let go when he saw Roger's painful expression, "Okay, I'm going out. Go back and rest, and sleep for a while."

Roger covered his pinched cheek and felt very angry: "When did you develop this bad habit? It hurts, just wait, I will pinch it back next time!"

"You're welcome anytime." He Songgao didn't say it until they walked out of the room and closed the door, and his voice disappeared in the winding corridor. Two

days later, the group set off for Cologne.

The snow stopped, but it started to rain again. Munich seemed indescribably desolate on a rainy day, and the quaint and complex atmosphere of the streets came over him. Roger admired the Gothic retro buildings passing by outside through the car window, and felt a little sad in his heart, wondering when he would come back here again. He hoped that the same accident would not happen again next time. He wanted to have a good stroll in Munich.

Several female colleagues whispered in the back that the trip was too rushed and they didn't have time to buy some souvenirs. Roger felt the same way. He couldn't help but poke He Songgao beside him and whispered, "You are so annoying. Why don't you arrange more time so that everyone can go shopping and buy some things to bring back to relatives and friends in China?"

He Songgao said, "I didn't set the itinerary."

Roger thought about it and realized that it was true. He Songgao had already canceled the trip to Stuttgart one day and asked several leaders of the branch to visit a certain automobile museum. To be honest, it was not his fault. After all, he was also a considerate leader, but sometimes he couldn't help himself. Luo Jie whispered, "I don't mean to blame you. I just complained. Is it okay to complain?"

"Okay." He Songgao said, but he couldn't tell if he was angry or not.

In the evening, they arrived at Cologne Airport on a special plane. It was raining in Cologne and it was getting dark. Looking out through the window, it was all foggy and gray.

After getting off the plane, He Songgao and Luo Jie walked at the back. Seeing that Luo Jie looked a little listless, He Songgao asked, "How are you? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"No." Luo Jie shook his head, "I'm just sleepy." It was all because he slept too long in the past two days, which made his body accustomed to sleep. Whenever he had nothing to do, he wanted to sleep, as if he had become some kind of hibernating animal.

"Zip up your clothes." He Songgao turned his head and saw that he was wearing his down jacket open, revealing the thin sweater inside.

"Oh." Roger zipped up his zipper obediently.

"Where's your scarf?"

"I'm not wearing it."

"Why not?"

Roger looked at him strangely: "You seem to have really become my mother. What's wrong with not wearing it for a day? I'm not cold now, and I'm going to take a bus soon, right?"

As he was talking, Roger found that the colleague in front of him seemed to look back at them. For some reason, Roger felt a little awkward, as if he and the president were found to have some kind of affair. He moved sideways like a crab, a little further away from He Songgao. This strange action caused He Songgao to frown frequently: "What are you doing?"

Roger found a lame excuse: "I've been sitting for a long time, my legs are a little numb, I'm stretching - don't look at me, walk quickly!"

"..." What's wrong with him again, He Songgao had no choice but to take a step forward with his legs spread open, "Stretch slowly, be careful not to twist your hips."