Chapter 1953: You Understand Me Best

"Aside from being busy, I don't feel anything else," Su Qing said with a sigh. "There are too many things to do every day; I'm simply overwhelmed. Look, it's been a long time since I've been with you like that. It's not that I've lost interest in you, but I'm just too exhausted from being busy at the provincial level every day. When I get back at night, I just want to sleep. How about you?"

"Me? I'm the same as always," Zhao Desan said, sounding very relaxed.

"Are you adapting well to being a deputy division chief?" Su Qing asked with concern.

"There's nothing to adapt to. You know my capabilities, Sister Liu—nothing can stump me," Zhao Desan said, full of confidence.

Su Qing gave a faint smile and said, "As long as you're adapting well, that's good. Don't put too much pressure on yourself; just do your best. I believe you can do a good job."

"Sister Su, you really understand me best," Zhao Desan said, buttering her up.

Su Qing chuckled softly, turned her face, and asked, "Is that Zheng person still giving you a hard time?"

This question from Su Qing left Zhao Desan unable to answer for a moment. If he said he was being harassed, the old guy hadn't seemed to have any open grievances against him since he returned to the Construction Commission. If he said he wasn't, well, Zheng Jie had betrayed him to the old guy, and based on experience, Zhao Desan felt the old man wouldn't let him off so easily. So, he smiled lightly and said, "Not for the moment. I guess he hasn't found any fault yet."

"Then just do your own job well and don't let him catch any dirt on you," Su Qing suggested.

"I'll definitely be careful. You don't need to worry about that, Sister Su," Zhao Desan said with a smile. Looking at Su Qing's caring gaze and comparing it to that heartless bitch Zheng Jie, Zhao Desan felt that the person who treated him best right now was Sister Su. If it weren't for her, he probably wouldn't have been able to escape the Coal Bureau so smoothly, let alone have the Zhao Desan of today.

Thinking of Su Qing's selfless kindness toward him, a warm current surged through Zhao Desan's heart. Her love for him was like that of a parent—a love without any ulterior motives. He thought a lot in that instant, feeling deeply moved, and suddenly lunged forward, pulling Su Qing into his arms...

Su Qing also wrapped her arms around his waist, holding him tightly. The two whispered sweet nothings they had repeated countless times, and it wasn't until very late that they fell asleep in each other's arms...

Because of their exertions twice that night, Zhao Desan felt a bit exhausted when he went to work the next day. Looking listless, he closed the office door as soon as he entered, sat in front of his computer, turned the screen to block himself, and slumped over his desk to sleep soundly.

Perhaps he was truly too tired; as soon as he slumped down, Zhao Desan actually fell asleep. He had a strange dream: he dreamt he was tied to an iron-framed bed, his limbs firmly secured. When he opened his eyes, he saw a blinding, shadowless lamp above him. Everything around him was white—it was exactly like an operating room. It was deathly quiet. He shouted anxiously, and in response to his own voice, he heard footsteps slowly approaching. When he strained his neck to look, he saw Eunuch Zheng wearing a white lab coat, a white cap, and white gloves, clutching a scalpel and walking toward him with a sinister expression.

Zhao Desan realized things were bad; it seemed this guy was going to operate on him. Terrified, he began to struggle, struggling with all his might, but no matter how he fought, he remained firmly fixed to the iron bed, unable to move even an inch. Covered in cold sweat, he begged the approaching Eunuch Zheng, "Director Zheng, please, I beg you, don't kill me, don't kill me."

But Eunuch Zheng seemed unable to hear his pleas, just walking toward him with a cold sneer. The scalpel in his hand emitted a piercing, icy glint under the shadowless lamp, making Zhao Desan shudder. No matter how he struggled or begged, the man remained unmoved, reaching the bedside and raising the scalpel to slice into his body.

He thought to himself, *It's over, I'm finished today! * He closed his eyes in despair.

But just at this critical moment, suddenly, with a 'Bang!' of a door being broken open, Li Fang actually rushed into the operating room...

Zhao Desan woke up with a start. Checking his surroundings, he found he was still in his office, his body completely unharmed. It had just been a nightmare. He let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from his face.

"Knock, knock, knock..." Just as he was congratulating himself that it had been an unrealistic nightmare, someone knocked on his office door.

"Come in," Zhao Desan replied, rubbing his eyes.

The door pushed open, and Li Fang's figure appeared in the doorway. Seeing it was Li Fang and recalling the dream he had just had, Zhao Desan was shocked, thinking, *Damn, this is truly eerie. *

Seeing Zhao Desan staring at her blankly, Li Fang arched her beautiful brows and asked, "What's wrong? Don't you recognize me so soon?"

"Not at all, not at all. Isn't this Sister Li? Come in, come in," Zhao Desan said, regaining his composure and greeting her warmly.

Li Fang rolled her eyes at him, walked into the office, closed the door behind her, and sat down uninvited on the chair opposite Zhao Desan's desk. She said irritably, "Seeing you look at me with that expression, I thought you were the type to pull up your pants and refuse to acknowledge me!"

*Damn it! * She really was a straightforward woman, speaking so boldly! Zhao Desan thought to himself, then forced a smile and said, "Sister Li, what are you saying? Am I, Zhao Desan, that kind of heartless person?"

"I hope you're not!" Li Fang said sharply.

Zhao Desan patted his chest and said, "I, Zhao Desan, am an upright man. I would never pull up my pants and refuse to acknowledge someone. You can rest assured of that, Sister Li!"

Li Fang then glanced at him with an ambiguous look and said, "Fine, no need to pledge your loyalty to me. I don't care what kind of man you are!"

Zhao Desan chuckled and asked straight to the point, "Sister Li, what wind blew you here?" While asking this, Zhao Desan was already 70% sure that, barring any surprises, it had to do with money.

Sure enough, Li Fang looked at him with a strange expression and said, "Deputy Division Chief Liu, you really are a noble who forgets things easily. Have you forgotten how we met?"

Zhao Desan feigned ignorance and said with a smile, "I certainly wouldn't forget that. Isn't it because you came to demand wages for your brothers?"

"As long as you remember, I'm here today to collect the money," Li Fang said bluntly.

"Collect money?" Zhao Desan rubbed his hands, his smile looking a bit unnatural.

"What? Thinking of reneging on the debt?" Li Fang asked, seeing Zhao Desan's hesitant appearance.

Zhao Desan waved his hands quickly and said, "No, no, Sister Li, look at what you're saying. That's not the case, not at all."

Li Fang glared at him, pulled the IOU out of her purse, placed it on Zhao Desan's desk, and said, "This thing was written by you. It's all there in black and white, with your thumbprint. You can't deny it even if you want to."

"I know, I know. How could I deny it?" Zhao Desan said with a forced smile.

"Then pay up quickly. My brothers are waiting for the money!" Li Fang urged.

Zhao Desan chuckled and bit the bullet, saying, "Sister Li, we haven't heard back from our Director yet. Could you wait another two days? I'll urge him again to sign it, and then you can get the money from the Finance Department." Because Li Fang had come so suddenly, Zhao Desan hadn't paid much attention to the matter over the last two days and didn't know if Eunuch Zheng had reviewed the slip.

"Delay, delay, delay! How much longer are you going to drag this out! My brothers have been waiting for this money. We've been wasting time every day waiting for these wages—who's going to compensate for that loss? No, today you must... ===== CHAPTER 1954 =====