Chapter 1442

Seeing Zhao Desan's ravenous way of eating, Su Qing asked, "Are you that hungry?"

"No... no." Zhao Desan only then slowed his pace, saying this a bit foolishly, and immediately after, he suddenly saw Zhang Ailing leading Li Changping as they pushed open the door and walked in.

Seeing Zhao Desan's gaze fixed straight on a certain spot, Su Qing followed his line of sight to look back and spotted Li Changping at a glance. She then called out to him, "Old Li!"

Oh my god! Zhao Desan hurriedly lowered his head, his face becoming miserable. He was currently least willing to meet Zhang Ailing, yet as fate would have it, enemies often cross paths; having accompanied Su Qing shopping a few times, this was already the second time he had run into her on the street. It was simply terrible luck.

Hearing someone call him, Li Changping followed the sound and, seeing it was Su Qing, politely smiled and greeted her, then nudged his wife, Zhang Ailing. When Zhang Ailing turned her head to look, a strange expression flashed across her face, and a sly smile squeezed from the corners of her mouth, because she had already clearly seen that the person lowering his head and pretending to know nothing was Zhao Desan.

After ordering their meal, Li Changping and Zhang Ailing carried their trays to the table on Su Qing's side and sat down. During this process, Zhao Desan's heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably, and by the time Zhang Ailing sat down beside them, his heart felt like it was about to jump out of his mouth.

After sitting down, before anyone else could speak, Zhang Ailing looked at Zhao Desan with a deliberately astonished expression and said, "Yo, isn't this Comrade Xiao Zhao?"

Zhao Desan had originally been keeping his head down, pretending not to see them, but being called out by this old woman, he couldn't keep pretending not to know her. So, he bit the bullet, raised his head, and said with a chuckle, "Director Zhang, it's me." After saying this, he felt he couldn't be at a disadvantage from the start, so he added, "Have things been busy at the Coal Bureau lately?"

"Busy, how could it not be busy? You say you were doing just fine as the Section Chief of the Safety Quality Section at the Coal Bureau, and suddenly you came to work at the provincial level. As your former leader, my work was really not up to par," Zhang Ailing said glibly, while secretly putting Zhao Desan on the spot.

With the cunning Zhang Ailing saying it like that, it suddenly made it seem as if it were Zhao Desan's fault for leaving the Coal Bureau, leaving him awkwardly speechless, not knowing how to respond. However, just when he was at a loss for how to handle it, Li Changping chimed in, echoing his wife: "Look at what you're saying, Comrade Xiao Zhao has a cousin like our Minister Su, how promising that is! He's about to become a deputy division-level cadre, what would he be doing staying in that small place of yours in Yuyang!"

Upon hearing her husband Li Changping's words, Zhang Ailing felt a jolt in her heart, followed by an extremely unbalanced feeling. Her expression underwent a subtle change, and she smiled with feigned surprise: "Is that so? Well, Xiao Zhao, congratulations."

Zhao Desan feigned composure, chuckled, and said, "It's all thanks to Deputy Minister Li's promotion."

Li Changping chuckled at Su Qing and said, "Xiao Zhao really knows how to talk."

Zhang Ailing said, "You've only just realized? I know Xiao Zhao best. When he was at our Coal Bureau, he was famous for his mouth, especially glib. He even won an award for a stand-up comedy routine at the evening party organized by the Yuyang coal system!" The couple sang in harmony, and hearing this, Zhao Desan didn't know if they were praising him or insulting him, which made him feel quite uncomfortable, so he could only respond with a silly laugh.

Su Qing could see that this couple was clearly being sarcastic and belittling Zhao Desan, so she smiled and spoke up: "My cousin being where he is today is thanks to Director Zhang's keen eye for talent in promoting him back at the Coal Bureau; otherwise, who knows what he'd be doing. This time, him being promoted to Deputy Division Chief is also thanks to Deputy Minister Li."

Li Changping heard from Su Qing's words that she was dissatisfied with the current atmosphere, so he immediately said with a laugh, "Not at all, not at all. It's just that Xiao Zhao has strong abilities, can win people over, and with his work experience in government units, he meets the requirements for promotion in every aspect. Promoting him is only reasonable."

"Is Xiao Zhao single now, or?" Zhang Ailing asked, sipping her cola, suddenly bringing up this topic.

This question made both Zhao Desan and Su Qing feel a bit embarrassed. Glancing at Su Qing, Zhao Desan feigned composure, shook his head, and said, "Where would I find the time? Changing work units, I don't understand anything and have to learn it all; I simply don't have that kind of free time."

"Oh, Xiao Zhao really has ambition, right?" Zhang Ailing said, looking at her husband Li Changping.

As she spoke, Zhao Desan felt his foot get kicked by someone. Lowering his eyes to look under the table, he saw Zhang Ailing deliberately kicking him with her toe. Oh my god! Terrified, Zhao Desan hurriedly raised his eyes and pulled his foot back, pretending nothing had happened, focusing only on lowering his head to eat.

Under Su Qing's nose, Zhao Desan never expected that this old woman Zhang Ailing would dare to tease him like this, and he didn't dare to have any reaction, which was extremely stifling. To prevent this awkward atmosphere from continuing, Zhao Desan finished the food on his plate in a flash and wiped his mouth.

Perhaps Su Qing saw that Zhao Desan was a bit embarrassed to face his former female leader Zhang Ailing, so she also wiped her mouth and said, "Old Li, you and your wife eat slowly, my cousin and I will be going now." Saying this, she stood up.

Seeing this, Li Changping smiled and said, "Alright then, Minister Su, you two go ahead."

After coming out of the fast-food restaurant, Zhao Desan let out a long sigh of relief. Seeing this, Su Qing asked him, "Are you embarrassed because you saw your old leader?"

"Of course I'm embarrassed. Escaping from the Coal Bureau like a traitor, how could I not be?" Zhao Desan said jokingly, while thinking to himself: Why did Zhang Ailing kick him with her toe just now? Could it be? Zhao Desan felt it was unlikely. The city's neon lights flickered at night. In this historic city, Zhao Desan felt that his life was not particularly perfect. He didn't know why, but in such a smooth-sailing life, he always felt as if something was missing. Looking at Su Qing, who was driving seriously in the driver's seat, he didn't know why, but it gave him a particularly intimate feeling. Her proper appearance and quiet demeanor made him feel very peaceful inside. Looking closely, this fifty-year-old woman with a great figure and appearance didn't actually look as young as he often praised her for being. From the side, there were fine crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, and although the skin on her face was very fair, a careful observation would reveal signs of some sagging. The traces of time can be slowed, but not eliminated.

As they were almost home, Zhao Desan clearly felt his phone vibrate in his pants pocket. He knew he had received a message. Unsurprisingly, if it wasn't spam from the communication station, it was from another woman, because the only people who could text him, besides the station, were women. Since Su Qing was right beside him, Zhao Desan acted as if nothing had happened. He waited until they reached home and said he needed to go to the bathroom. He ducked into the bathroom, locked the door, and only then took out his phone. Upon unlocking it, he saw the name 'Director Zhang' displayed on the screen. He immediately realized this was a message from Zhang Ailing. Although they had had a falling out and hadn't been in contact since, her phone number was still saved in his phone.

'You brat, you're doing pretty well for yourself now!' The content of the message was very simple, filled with both ambiguity and dissatisfaction, leaving Zhao Desan unsure of what she meant, so he simply deleted the message without replying.