At 7 PM, the southern part of Chengdu was indeed terribly congested. Whether it was a BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover, or Hummer, all vehicles were treated the same as the cheapest cars, stuck in traffic with perfect equality. On such roads, Audis and Altos were practically in the same boat, only able to incline slowly forward.
Lu Zhe sat in the ride-hailing car, took out his phone, and glanced at the time.
The agreed-upon time of seven o'clock has arrived.
He couldn't help but sigh.
The middle-aged driver patted his round belly and said in a thick Sichuan accent, "Handsome, don't rush. We've passed these two hundred meters, just turn left ahead."
Lu Zhe: "I hope so."
With the car stuck in traffic, the driver naturally had some free time. He turned to look at the young passenger in the front passenger seat next to him and suddenly said, "I think you seem to have something on your mind."
Lu Zhe was taken aback: "What?"
Master: "You won't complain that I talk too much, will you? If you don't mind, let's chat. You have something on your mind, and so do I. We all have our troubles."
Lu Zhe: "What's on your mind?"
The driver rubbed his fingers together: "Making money! Otherwise, why would I be driving a taxi... Handsome, what about you? Are you troubled by money, or by love?"
Lu Zhe thought for a moment and said, "I guess so."
The driver couldn't help but tease, "Wow, I didn't realize you had such a rich life! What's up, is your girlfriend spending your money?"
"No, that's not it..." Lu Zhe subconsciously tried to explain, but no matter how he thought about it, he felt that saying his troubles would be like deliberately showing off.
The driver couldn't help but say, "Oh dear, 99% of the problems are caused by money. If there were enough money, there wouldn't be so many problems. Take me for example. Why did I quit my job and become a driver? It's because my old job paid too little. That bastard boss didn't pay me and still wanted to boss me around. What a jerk! My kids need to go to school, my wife needs to buy bags, and they all complain about my low salary. What can I do? I can only sell my physical labor and work harder."
Lu Zhe: "Me too. I've been quite busy with work lately, going to work and studying to recharge myself. There are so many things piling up, it's a bit tiring, and the pressure is making it hard for me to calm down and think."
He couldn't say these things to his colleagues at the company, nor could he easily talk about them with Xue Xiaodie and Tang Qi. However, he could say a few more words if a stranger brought it up on his own initiative.
Master: "Besides work, what else is on your mind? Relationships?"
Lu Zhe sighed, "Feelings... it's hard to say. Mainly, I haven't thought it through myself."
Master: "Judging from your tone, it seems you're hooking up with more than one person?"
Lu Zhe: "I really didn't flirt with them, they were the ones who approached me first. So it's really strange, I just can't figure it out, it's so weird."
The master whistled and laughed: "So you're quite the ladies' man!"
Lu Zhe smiled wryly, "I'm not a womanizer or a Casanova at all. I have no intention of talking about relationships. I don't even know how I'm going to live in the future. I don't have much savings, no car, and no house. How could I dare to casually fall in love?"
"That's true, it's hard to talk without money."
As the driver spoke, the car in front started moving. So he also started driving his car and slowly moved forward.
As Lu Zhe looked out the car window at the congested traffic, a more crucial reason flashed through his mind: why he had been flirting with the pretty girl for several days without taking the initiative to advance the relationship.
Because emotions are like a ratchet.
A ratchet can only turn in one direction and cannot rotate in the opposite direction.
Relationships can only move forward, not backward. If they must go backward, it often means the ratchet has broken down.
"It's still too much trouble..."
Lu Zhe took out his phone and opened the Minesweeper game. This kind of game, with its clear logic, predictable outcome, and the option to play another round without any guilt after losing, suited his taste better.
————
At 7:20, Lu Zhe arrived at the building where President Xia lived.
At 7:30, he helped Mr. Xia to a hot pot restaurant outside the residential area. Fortunately, it wasn't the weekend, and there was a small table in the restaurant that could seat two people, so there was no need to wait for a table.
After sitting down, Lu Zhe observed for a moment.
Xia Xiaobing tonight was a little different from how she is at the company. Her loose dress and flat sandals seemed unremarkable, but on this woman with long, straight black hair, they exuded a慵懒的美感 (a kind of languid beauty). The skin peeking out from under the cuffs and hem of her dress shone with a soft, supple glow under the bright lights of the hot pot restaurant, appearing incredibly supple.
She didn't seem to be wearing makeup, but Lu Zhe wasn't quite sure. Maybe she was wearing makeup, but the technique was so skillful that it looked very natural? But there was no doubt that even under close-up lighting, it was hard to find any flaws on that beautiful face.
Xia Xiaobing scanned the QR code on the table with her phone to order, and at the same time looked up and asked, "Are you sure you can handle medium spicy?"
Lu Zhe hesitated for a moment.
Xia Xiaobing then said, "I'd like to order some more iced drinks."
Lu Zhe: "No problem, medium spicy it is."
Xia Xiaobing smiled and continued ordering food on her phone. After ordering several dishes in one go, she handed her phone to Lu Zhe across from her.
"Take a look, is there anything we need to add?"
Lu Zhe took the phone and looked at the dishes she had ordered. He then had to admit that a large portion of the dishes he liked to put in the hot pot had already been ordered by President Xia. Was this a coincidence?
He scrolled down and saw the drinks he had already chosen, and then he was taken aback.
"Mr. Xia, you said iced drinks..." Lu Zhe couldn't help but ask, "Oh, you mean iced beer?"
Xia Xiaobing rested her elbows on the edge of the table, propped her chin on her hand, and smiled, "Aren't alcoholic beverages considered drinks? Or are you saying you can't drink alcohol?"
Lu Zhe: "It's not that I can't drink, but..."
Xia Xiaobing: "But what?"
Lu Zhe wanted to say, "But I have to go to work tomorrow," but then he thought again, this was the company boss. Even if he was late for work tomorrow, he couldn't spoil the boss's mood.
Seemingly guessing what he was worried about, Xia Xiaobing said with a smile, "You can drink without worry tonight. If you can't get up tomorrow morning, just ask for leave for me, and you'll still get paid."
Lu Zhe: "Okay, no problem!"
He made up his mind that even if he could go to work as usual tomorrow morning, he wouldn't go.
What is a broad perspective?
The so-called "vision" means that as long as you keep your boss happy, every day can be a paid holiday.
Lu Zhe added two more dishes, handed the phone back to her, and said, "I've ordered for President Xia."
Xia Xiaobing smiled, confirmed the order, and then called out to the waiter:
"Medium spicy, add the duck blood first!"
This was the first time Lu Zhe had heard CEO Xia speak in dialect, which carried the fiery,江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) spirit of Chongqing, giving her the feel of a fierce female bandit.
That one shout made him realize that his previous understanding of this boss might not have been comprehensive enough...
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