Chapter 1841

He Liping was, after all, a woman of wide experience. She immediately saw through Zhao Desan's state of mind. Fearing that Zhao Desan might lose his composure and continue to stir up trouble relentlessly, she quickly followed up on Zheng Jie's words: "Exactly, we're all our own people. Why make such a scene that it becomes impossible to clean up? How are we supposed to face each other in the future?"

He Liping's words carried both weight and tact, serving as a reminder to both Zhao Desan and Hu Tao. After all, they would still have to interact in the future for the sake of Zheng Tulu.

With the two main protagonists, Hu Tao and Zhao Desan, having extinguished their anger, the situation became manageable. He Liping then used her silver-bell-like laughter to break the awkward atmosphere at the scene, adding, "Alright, I'll treat everyone to a late-night snack tonight to reward the brothers who stood up for us."

At this moment, Wuzi, who had been standing to the side without a word, said with a cheeky grin: "Count me in, too. I'll move the stools for the big brothers and sisters."

"Go to hell, what do you think you are!" Hu Tao spoke up again.

"Old brother, it's fine. I'm calling the shots today, count him in!" Zhao Desan didn't wait for Wuzi to speak, taking the lead to decide for him instead. Hu Tao and Zhao Desan were secretly competing against each other once more.

Hu Tao's expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to speak, he was stopped by Big Bear, who said, "Big Brother, just listen to your little brother for once. Since this lady is the one treating, let's just listen to her, alright?"

Hu Tao turned his gaze toward He Liping. Zhao Desan's eyes were also fixed firmly on her, and Wuzi was looking at her with a pitiful expression. After all, she was a deputy department-level cadre. She pursed her lips and smiled, saying wittily, "I'm treating, but Boss Hu has to pay the bill!" She intentionally gave an answer that didn't match the question, and it was a perfectly timed opportunity for Hu Tao to save face.

Sure enough, Hu Tao acted as if he had been injected with hormones; he immediately puffed out his chest, slapped it heavily twice, and said, "Fine, not a single person can be missing today, put it all on my tab." This was his bad habit—he loved showing off in front of beautiful women.

A farce that was both thrilling and fraught with danger was thus quelled. Of course, the resentment in Zhao Desan's heart did not subside because of this. While eating the late-night snack, Zhao Desan spoke very little, just burying his head and drinking. Wuzi, on the other hand, was in high spirits, asking one question after another, especially interested in the "divine skills" of Big Bear and his men. But no matter how he asked, Big Bear simply wouldn't say what they did for a living.

Hu Tao, however, in order to show off his own capabilities, quietly leaned into He Liping's ear and told her the truth. It turned out that Big Bear was a squadron leader in the city's Armed Police Corps and also one of Hu Tao's sworn brothers.

After hearing this, He Liping nodded in surprise. She hadn't expected that Hu Tao, a man who worked in construction, would have such great connections, being able to get a squadron leader of the Armed Police Corps to stand up and fight for him. This was no ordinary friendship!

Zhao Desan drank his bitter wine while occasionally asking He Liping about the migrant workers' wage-seeking incident from earlier that day. The reason he was walking with He Liping today was that Zheng Tulu had asked her to cooperate with him in looking into these matters. After questioning He Liping, Zhao Desan roughly understood the situation: a pedestrian bridge project invested in and constructed by the Provincial Construction Committee had just been completed and finalized not long ago. The Construction Committee had settled the project funds with the contractor according to the contract, but after receiving the money, the boss had not paid the migrant workers as agreed in the contract and had instead run away. Now that the person was nowhere to be found, these migrant workers had come to the party unit, the Provincial Construction Committee, to cause a scene and demand their wages.

Since they weren't a group of people who could eat at the same table, they quickly finished this perfunctory late-night snack. Zhao Desan, with a hint of drunkenness and supported by the two beauties, got into He Liping's car. Under Zheng Jie's guidance, the car drove directly to the residential complex where they lived. This was the kind of mind game women played with each other; Zheng Jie wasn't blind to the fact that He Liping had an undeniable relationship with Zhao Desan. She did this on purpose, with the goal of letting He Liping know that Zhao Desan was already her man.

He Liping was quite generous and didn't show anything at all. When they reached the entrance of the complex, Zhao Desan seemed to have sobered up a bit. He shouted for He Liping to stop the car, then opened the door and got out alone, saying drunkenly, "I have other things to take care of tonight, you two go ahead!" It turned out he had remembered his date with Lan Mei.

In fact, under normal circumstances, given Zhao Desan's personality, he would have considered many things and would have been mindful of the two beauties' feelings, trying his best to handle the situation tactfully. But today, because he had drunk a few too many, he couldn't care about that much.

He Liping had known from the start that Zhao Desan had something to do tonight, so she felt quite calm. But Zheng Jie was different. On one hand, she had run into Zhao Desan unexpectedly at the dance hall today and really wanted to go home and explain everything to him. On the other hand, this was her only opportunity to show herself off in front of He Liping, yet Zhao Desan hadn't even given her that chance...

The two beauties watched helplessly as Zhao Desan swayed and disappeared into the night. After exchanging a glance, He Liping was the first to speak: "Xiao Zheng, I think Hu Tao is a man you can rely on."

Zheng Jie froze for a moment. How could she not hear the subtext in He Liping's words? But after all, she couldn't yet afford to lose He Liping's support and protection, nor could she return kindness with enmity. After all, He Liping had helped her a great deal before. She couldn't set conditions for or turn against such a benefactor.

An awkward smile lingered on Zheng Jie's face for a moment before she nodded at He Liping and said, "I'm home, thank you, Deputy Director He!" After saying this, she quickly opened the car door, got out, and walked briskly toward the gate of the complex.

He Liping watched Zheng Jie's retreating figure, a victor's smile appearing on her face...

After Zhao Desan disappeared alone into the night, he hailed a taxi and headed straight for Lan Mei's residence. When he reached Lan Mei's door, Zhao Desan was just about to knock when the door opened on its own. Zhao Desan was startled to see that it was Lan Mei who had opened the door. It turned out she had been waiting for him all along.

As soon as he entered the room, Zhao Desan felt that the atmosphere wasn't quite right. First of all, Lan Mei had clearly been crying in her home. By this time, Zhao Desan's drunkenness had faded by more than half, and he asked urgently, "Division Chief Lan, what happened?"

"You should take a hot shower first. Look at you, covered in sweat and reeking of alcohol." Lan Mei said this while handing a pair of men's slippers to Zhao Desan's feet.

Zhao Desan looked at the men's slippers at his feet, pondering many possibilities in his heart. But upon closer inspection, he saw they were brand new slippers with the tags still on them, and a warmth couldn't help but rise in his heart. It seemed she really had put a lot of thought into this!

After enjoying a hot shower, Zhao Desan sat comfortably on the living room sofa. Lan Mei had already brewed him a cup of fragrant jasmine tea. Zhao Desan was truly parched; he picked up the tea on the coffee table and took a large gulp, but he hadn't expected the water to be freshly boiled and not yet cooled. This scalded him badly. He wanted to spit it out, but Lan Mei was sitting right across from him. With no other choice, he could only swallow the mouthful of hot water while stretching his neck and widening his eyes.

Just as he swallowed the hot water, he heard Lan Mei say anxiously, "The tea was just brewed, it's hot!"

Zhao Desan was truly caught between laughter and tears, secretly scolding himself: "Hot! Why didn't you say so earlier!"

Seeing Zhao Desan's strange expression from being scalded, Lan Mei was anxious at first, but seeing that he was fine, she covered her mouth and giggled.

Seeing that Lan Mei finally had a smile on her face, Zhao Desan said happily, "Division Chief Lan, you look even better when you smile."

"Go away, as if anyone looks worse smiling than crying!" Lan Mei knew Zhao Desan was trying to make her happy on purpose. While speaking, a warm smile still hung on her face, which was also a way to repay Zhao Desan's kindness.

Zhao Desan looked at the forced smile on Lan Mei's face and understood that she must have something major to discuss with him today. Although Zhao Desan wasn't exceptionally brilliant, he certainly wasn't a fool. Lan Mei inviting him to her home when such a big incident had occurred at the Construction Committee, and with the matter directly involving him, forced Zhao Desan to think one step further: could Lan Mei be trying to use a "honey trap" tonight, taking him down first and then asking him to be lenient regarding the delayed review of his promotion? But after seeing the scene between Lan Mei and Zheng Tulu in the conference room today, Zhao Desan, who had been away for three months, suddenly felt a sense that he could no longer trust these women he loved so deeply. He never expected that in the three months he was gone, so many things had happened, and two women he loved deeply had betrayed him at the same time. Lan Mei was somewhat understandable—perhaps she was forced by Zheng Tulu's lecherous power and had no choice—but Zheng Jie's actions truly saddened him! It seemed he really needed to be extra careful. After all, the migrant worker wage-seeking incident now involved many women with whom he had intimate relationships; he must not let everyone get implicated because of his momentary impulse.

1007. Chapter 994: Strong Reminder