Jiang Lin was very cold, "I'm sorry, we have nothing to say."
She had just taken two steps when Bian Haitao caught up with her, "Linlin, it's obvious that you still hate me."
Linlin?
Jiang Lin's scalp tingled, and she scolded in a low voice: "Bian Haitao, be careful with your address. Don't flatter yourself. Times have changed, and that incident is no longer a big deal."
"Really?" Bian Haitao took a wrong step and blocked her way, staring at her, "Did you really forget or did you say that on purpose to provoke me? Or..." He smiled, his expression a little feminine, "In fact, you still can't forget it..."
Jiang Lin didn't even think twice and slapped him on the face with a smug expression. Her action was so fast that Bian Haitao didn't have time to react.
There was a crisp sound, followed by a burning pain. Bian Haitao looked at her in disbelief.
He touched his cheek, but did not turn his face away. He just stared at her with complicated eyes.
Jiang Lin gritted her teeth and said, "In order to prevent you from saying that I hit you because I missed you, I have to tell you clearly that I hit you because of your self-righteous and wretched look! You are harassing me!"
She paused, staring at him with a firm and cold gaze, without the slightest flicker or guilt. During her college years, she became more and more confident, and now she has been working for a few years, so she is not nervous or timid even when facing a big boss, let alone a man like Bian Haitao.
Bian Haitao was about to say something when Jiang Lin interrupted him, "Bian Haitao, who hasn't been young and ignorant at some point? At that time, I was young and didn't understand human nature and true feelings, so I just thought of it as paying tuition by stepping on cow dung. But I learned a lesson from it, and I also know what is true love. No one will hold a grudge for a lifetime for breaking up that year. For me, I learned a lesson from stepping on cow dung, and then washed my feet clean, and the past is over. So, since I went to the countryside in the fall of 1970, you and I have nothing to do with each other. Now I officially inform you that unless it is a work relationship, you don't need to greet me, and everyone will just treat me as a stranger when they see each other."
"Strangers?" Bian Haitao raised his eyebrows, his eyes turned a little colder, but his expression was a little painful and unwilling, "If you really forgot and didn't care, you wouldn't say such heartless words. Only hatred can make a person say things like never see each other again and never contact each other again. Don't you realize it yourself? If you really don't care, you should meet as strangers and greet each other politely but distantly, instead of slapping me in the face and saying no need to greet each other."
He became a little angry and embarrassed when he talked about it later, because Jiang Lin loved him deeply and was willing to live and die for him. He couldn't accept that she would really let him go and fall in love with another man.
Moreover, since breaking up with her, he found that he had no way to believe in love anymore.
He can neither fall in love with others nor believe that others truly love him.
Once he thinks a woman is good and can develop a relationship with her, he will measure it with benefits. Once a woman treats him well, he will also measure it with Jiang Lin's past feelings for him and conclude that they do not love him as purely and wholeheartedly as she does.
He would never meet anyone like her again.
Especially since she and Cheng Rushan were so loving, she was admitted to university and became more and more outstanding. When she stood in front of people, she was so dazzling that people dared not look at her directly.
Such a woman is the perfect wife, with flawless beauty, wisdom, knowledge and status.
If she is your wife, she will be perfect because they have loved each other and can be very complete from the past to the future.
To him, neither Kuang Guomei, Meng Yiyi, or Jiang Ling are suitable.
Now, even with Meng Yiyi's help, it is very difficult to get promoted through normal channels, because even if you know that something big is going to happen, it is not so easy to participate and make contributions.
It also requires a good wife to help. Unfortunately, the best was missed.
Jiang Lin was so angry that she laughed, "Alright. Director Bian, when we meet again, I hope you can address me by my title, or just ignore me. Don't call me by my name again. We are not that close. Otherwise, I will find your director and sue you for harassment."
She turned and left.
Bian Haitao didn't even think about it and subconsciously grabbed her arm, "Linlin..."
Before he could touch her, Jiang Lin had already trotted away.
What a joke! She kept a distance from him and didn't stand very close to him, but he wanted to grab her arm?
Only when a woman lets a man get close to her will he have a chance. When she doesn't want to, where is the chance?
Bian Haitao looked at her leaving back, with an inexplicable complex emotion running through his chest. Could it be true love? There was also a bit of unwillingness, unwillingness to accept defeat.
Jiang Ling came out and saw him, and quietly pulled his hand, "Brother, you..."
Bian Haitao immediately pushed her away and said, "Be careful of the impact." He turned and left.
Jiang Ling's expression twisted instantly, his eyes filled with resentment and madness.
Jiang Lin returned to the banquet and stayed for a while until it was almost over. After the leaders left, the others were still not satisfied and wanted to go somewhere else to relax.
Director Zhao smiled at Jiang Lin and said, "Xiao Jiang, why don't you go together? We've been in meetings for so many days and everyone is very tired. There's a new blind massage parlor over there with very authentic skills. I heard that all the Hong Kong businessmen go there for massage when they come."
Although Hong Kong has not yet returned to China, business dealings have already been established. They like to go to the mainland for massage because it is cheap and the techniques are sophisticated.
Dean Chen smiled and said, "Why not go play ball?"
Jiang Lin: "I'm sorry, I have work to do. I have to excuse myself. See you at the venue tomorrow."
"Hey, Xiao Jiang, why are you in such a hurry to go home? Are you afraid that your lover will have an opinion? Haha, as a working woman, don't be afraid. We have finally gotten to know each other a little, so we should get in touch with each other more, deepen our understanding, and cooperate more closely. I am very interested in the humanistic city you proposed, let's..."
As he spoke, his chubby hand was about to put on Jiang Lin's shoulder.
Jiang Lin frowned, raised the strap of her purse with her left hand and separated Director Zhao's hand.
His smile widened and he patted her elbow gently.
At this time, someone suggested: "Why don't we go to the gallery? There is a new and talented painter there. His paintings are full of spirit and artistic conception."
Someone disagreed, "I've also seen the beautiful painter you mentioned. What kind of aura and artistic conception is that? She just pieced together the painting skills of famous people. In my opinion, what she lacks most is aura and artistic conception..."
Before he could finish, he saw Jiang Ling, Bian Haitao and a few others coming out of the hotel chatting with each other, and he suddenly felt a little awkward.
Jiang Ling had heard what he said, but she immediately assumed that Jiang Lin was humiliating her.
Jiang Lin said goodbye to them.
"President Jiang, let me take you there. Our company has a car coming over."
Jiang Lin smiled and said, "Thank you, no need to bother, my wife will pick me up."
She came out to attend the dinner today and specifically told Cheng Rushan about it. Cheng Rushan said he would come to pick her up.
He had a good idea of what time dinners like theirs would start and end, and he could basically tell them exactly when.
As he was speaking, a large black jeep drove over, approached in a flash, and stopped steadily next to Jiang Lin.
This is still the second-hand jeep that belonged to our family before, but now it has been painted black to distinguish it from military vehicles and procuratorate vehicles.
Cheng Rushan came out of the office, still wearing his uniform. The material was not very stiff, but because of his tall and strong figure, he looked particularly tall and imposing. The big hat cast a shadow on his angular face, making it difficult to see the emotions in his eyes.
Dean Chen and Director Zhao recognized him immediately and greeted him, "Director Cheng, nice to meet you."
It is more difficult to capture Cheng Rushan than to move the mountain.
Almost everyone with some status who can deal with government agencies knows about it, and Cheng Rushan is as famous for his outstanding appearance as for his bad temper that keeps people away.
Cheng Rushan was reaching for Jiang Lin's purse. When he heard them greet him, he nodded slightly and didn't want to say anything more.
Director Zhao couldn't help but say, "Director Cheng is worried about Director Jiang. Haha, beautiful lady, you really need to take good care of her."
If it was a bitch, there would be no need to be so nervous about keeping her. Jiang Lin had two titles, one director and one dean, so he naturally addressed the one at the same level as himself.
Hearing this, Cheng Rushan frowned slightly and turned to look at him. They were not familiar with each other yet, so what he said was like trying to get close to him, but it also made people feel rude and very uncomfortable.
Jiang Lin introduced several people to Cheng Rushan. She didn't want to take up too much of his energy, so she just briefly introduced their surnames and direct units.
As a result, Director Zhao felt that Jiang Lin was deliberately weakening him, so he quickly introduced his resume, including when he took the college entrance examination, where he went to work in the countryside, what contributions he had made, and how he was doing now. He wanted to tell him everything.
Cheng Rushan interrupted him just as he was about to speak, "Nice to meet you."
He fixed Director Zhao with a gloomy gaze and said calmly, "Director Zhao seems a little confused about my concern for my wife? Aren't you the same? I love my wife. She is also an important person in charge of the provincial capital expansion. Many projects require her to follow up in person. For both personal and public reasons, I should do my best to care for her."
"What a loving couple!" Dean Chen laughed and shook hands with Cheng Rushan. "Let's have dinner together if we have a chance."
Cheng Rushan turned to Jiang Lin and smiled, "The directors and deans are all elites in the industry. Although I am not a professional, I also yearn to be one of them. Can I be included in the next gathering?"
Jiang Lin glanced at him. If he came to dinner, Director Zhao and his friends who liked to force people to drink at the table would be in trouble. She wanted to persuade him not to mind it.
Director Zhao couldn't wait and said, "We will gather here after the meeting. Director Cheng, please come and visit us."
Although he was enthusiastic, these senior intellectuals actually did not look down on government officials who had not attended college. They always felt that they were superficial and only cared about their own interests.
Cheng Rushan saw through him at a glance and smiled, "Thank you for the invitation. I will definitely arrange time to come and learn from you. It is an honor to be able to understand the future development plan of our provincial capital."
He said goodbye to everyone, opened the car door, helped Jiang Lin get in, fastened her seat belt, and got in and left under the curious gazes of several men.
Jiang Lin chuckled: "I hope they can find out how much you can drink, and then find an excuse not to come."
Cheng Rushan doesn't eat or drink with others easily now. If he wants to drink, it's with Fang Chengguang, Lu Hang, Dai Guohua and others. These people have always been unwilling to accept the defeat and wanted to get him drunk, but they ended up getting themselves drunk first.
Cheng Rushan: "They work with you, so naturally you have to thank them in person."
Jiang Lin pursed her lips and smiled. She saw from the right rearview mirror that Bian Haitao and Jiang Ling were standing there looking in the direction of the vehicle. Both of them had very ugly expressions.
When she remembered something, she said to Cheng Rushan, "Director Cheng, I have something to report to you. Is there any reward?"
Cheng Rushan held her hand with his free right hand, glanced at her tenderly, and said teasingly, "I was afraid you would say no."
He was on a business trip before, and then she was on a business trip. She just came back yesterday, but he had been holding back and didn't want to bother her.
Jiang Lin: “…”
"Director Cheng, we are not young anymore..."
"Linlin, do you think I'm too old? I'm only a few years away from being forty. Besides, I think even at fifty, I can still be..."
"Cough cough cough" Jiang Lin quickly interrupted him. She felt embarrassed and her cheeks began to feel hot.
He held her hand, feeling her body temperature soar in an instant, and curled his lips at her, "I know what you mean, I miss you too."
Jiang Lin threw her head on his arm, "Brother Shan, please stop being so naughty."
He raised his hand and touched her hair. Perming was popular now, but she had always had long straight black hair, with plenty of volume, black and smooth, and it felt especially good to the touch.
"Did anyone force you to drink?" he asked.
Jiang Lin laughed and said, "Who dares? Everyone knows I'm a tigress. Instead of asking me to drink, it's better to compete with me to see who can draw the most standard architectural drawings with bare hands."
After she started working, she encountered a lot of gender discrimination. For this kind of situation, Jiang Lin’s solution was to learn her major well and confront it head-on!
If you're not convinced, let's compete.
She can now draw architectural drawings in a very standard way with just a pencil, without any tools, and with horizontal and vertical lines, just like they were drawn with a ruler. This is due to Cheng Rushan's contribution. The rewards and punishments during the training process are somewhat...
The two of them joked for a while before Jiang Lin got down to business.
She talked about the dinner party with Jiang Ling, Bian Haitao and others. "I always feel that there is something fishy here. I have seen Jiang Ling's paintings. I am not belittling her. Xiaojie and professionals also say that her works can only be regarded as the works of a painter, not a great painter. But she has become famous in such a short time, the guests are full, and the paintings are also selling well. There is always something abnormal."
Cheng Rushan slammed the brakes all the way down and stopped the jeep under a Sophora japonica tree on the side of the road.
Jiang Lin looked at him in surprise, "What's the matter?"
Even if there is something fishy about this matter, he doesn't have to act like this. He can just say it when he gets home.
Cheng Rushan put his left elbow on the steering wheel, stared at her sideways, and said slowly: "I have asked someone to investigate Bian Haitao."
Jiang Lin laughed, "Yes, we have to check him out. I think he is not a clean person."
Seeing her relaxed expression, Cheng Rushan put his big hand on the back of her neck, leaned over and kissed her gently, "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you before."
Jiang Lin quickly looked outside and luckily there was no one there.
She pouted slightly and pretended to be angry, "Director Cheng, what you said is wrong."
Cheng Rushan's heart tightened, and he was about to say something, but he heard her say: "If you don't tell me that it's a work requirement, will I be angry? Or do you think I will be angry with you because of Bian Haitao, an irrelevant person?"
Cheng Rushan laughed, "It's my fault. I just thought you were a sentimental person."
Jiang Lin stretched out her hand and pinched his cheek. "I want to punish you. I value feelings for people who are worthy, not for irrelevant people. You said you are so busy all day, and you still have the energy to think about this."
For so many years, she and Bian Haitao had no connection anymore, and she thought he no longer minded it like she did.
Cheng Rushan hooked his right arm around her and kissed her. He naturally didn't doubt her, but when outsiders said that he deliberately targeted Bian Haitao, he didn't want her to be affected, not even a little bit.
Jiang Lin asked curiously, "Is there any breakthrough? You can check with him and Jiang Ling. Jiang Ling seems to have already found this backer."
Based on her understanding of Bian Haitao's human nature, Jiang Lin felt that such a greedy, heartless, and profit-driven man, now in a high position, would not serve the people honestly.
He must not be able to help it.
Cheng Rushan: "Yes." He started the car and told her briefly about Jiang Ling using the gallery to accept bribes for Bian Haitao. He knew the limits of confidentiality at work and only told her what he could.
Jiang Lin was surprised and asked, "Is he crazy?"
So stupid?
Cheng Rushan shook his head slightly, "He is not stupid. On the contrary, he did it very cleanly and left no evidence."
Someone wants to ask someone for help, so he visits the gallery, gets the price, and then buys a painting to get the job done, all without anyone noticing, and there is no trace of any direct transaction in between.
Cheng Rushan asked the staff of the procuratorate to investigate secretly, but they had no clue. Even if they suspected or concluded that they were up to something, they could not get any evidence. In the end, Cheng Rushan had to take action personally, using some connections and his own skills to investigate some of the inside story.
Although Bian Haitao and his men's methods seemed clever, they could only fool the existing level of public security and supervisory officers and could not escape his keen insight.
Jiang Lin: "So when do you plan to catch him?" Looking at his smug look, he deserves a beating.
Cheng Rushan: "The time has not come yet."
This means that effective evidence is not enough to convict a person and may instead alert the criminal.
Moreover, he knew that Bian Haitao was creating public opinion about their discord and was deliberately targeting him, but unfortunately it did not cause any waves.
What he didn't tell Jiang Lin was that Bian Haitao had wanted to find Commander Fang as a backer before, but failed. Later, he transferred to the Public Security Bureau and had always wanted to find someone to back him up, but he couldn't make a breakthrough by himself, so he used Jiang Ling. Jiang Ling acted as a cover to collect bribes for him to accumulate wealth, and at the same time helped him to gain more political capital.
This is the most serious point. Cheng Rushan decided to play the long game and catch the big fish. He wanted to see which ones could not resist the temptation of women's money.
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