Chapter 2289

Seeing Zhao Desan's expression, Jia Wanli walked up attentively, picked up a teacup, and without a word, went to the water dispenser to fill it with tea for Zhao Desan, then walked over and placed it in front of him.

Jia Wanli's actions made Zhao Desan feel very gratified; he looked up, smiled at her, and said, "Thank you."

Jia Wanli snuggled up to him like glue and lacquer, saying tenderly, "Do you still need to say that to me?"

"I want to have a home, one with a warm embrace..." Just at this moment, Zhao Desan's mobile phone rang on the office desk.

He instinctively glanced sideways and, seeing the name 'Sister Lan' displayed on it, hurriedly grabbed the phone and said to Jia Wanli with a slight panic, "Wanli, go ahead and archive the recent documents."

After giving Jia Wanli her instructions, Zhao Desan walked out of the office calmly and headed toward the restroom at the end of the corridor. Once inside, he ducked into a toilet stall, locked the partition door, and then answered the call, saying, "Hello, Sister Lan!"

"Little Zhao, are you busy?" Ma Lan asked from the other end of the line.

Zhao Desan said, "No, I'm not."

Ma Lan said, "Then why did it take you so long to answer the phone?"

Zhao Desan casually told a lie, saying, "Oh, I was just in the restroom and didn't have my phone with me."

Ma Lan then laughed in sudden realization.

Zhao Desan knew that given how busy Ma Lan was now that she had just invested in the real estate business, it was impossible for her to think of calling him without a reason, so he asked suspiciously, "Sister Lan, is there something you need from me?"

Ma Lan laughed and said, hitting the nail on the head, "Do you think I wouldn't call you if I didn't have something to do?"

Zhao Desan smiled noncommittally and said, "Sister Lan, you've been busy lately, haven't you?"

Ma Lan gave a faint smile and said, "I'm out taking care of some business right now, and I'm not very far from your Construction Committee. If it's convenient at noon, why don't you join me for a meal?"

Zhao Desan thought about it carefully; he didn't have any plans for lunch today, so he agreed, saying, "Sure."

"Then shall I come pick you up when you get off work?" Ma Lan knew it wasn't convenient to hail a taxi at noon, so she suggested.

Zhao Desan thought for a moment, raised his wrist to check his watch, and said, "How about this, Sister Lan: arrive at the entrance of our unit around 11:40. I'll come out a little early; otherwise, it won't look good if someone sees me when I get off work."

Ma Lan said without hesitation, "That works. I'm heading over now; I'll call you in a bit."

Zhao Desan said, "Okay, then you'll call me."

There is a saying that 'the eyes are the windows to the soul.' Perhaps due to the instinctive guilty conscience of a thief, after Zhao Desan came out of the restroom and returned to the office, seeing Jia Wanli's suspicious look, he averted his gaze unnaturally. Using work as a pretext to cover up his slightly uneasy expression, he asked, "How is the document archiving coming along?"

Jia Wanli looked at Zhao Desan with a piercing gaze and, answering a question with a question, said, "Does it really take running to the toilet just to answer a phone call?"

Damn it, why are women so suspicious! Zhao Desan was truly impressed by these women, he said to himself in his heart. "I just went to the restroom and happened to answer a call," Zhao Desan said, feigning composure to fool Jia Wanli. He walked to the desk, picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea to calm his nerves, checked his watch, and turned to Jia Wanli, saying, "Wanli, I have a social engagement at noon and need to go out for a bit. If anyone looks for me, help me handle it." Saying this, Zhao Desan stepped forward and gave Jia Wanli a 'peck' on the cheek, and without waiting for her to ask more, he walked out.

"Do you still need me to get you lunch?" Jia Wanli asked, rolling her eyes behind Zhao Desan.

"No need." Zhao Desan turned back, gave her a gentle smile, and turned to walk out of the office.

After sneaking out of the office building, Zhao Desan slipped out of the unit in a flash, hid behind a plane tree at the entrance, lit a cigarette, checked his watch, and waited for Ma Lan to pick him up.

While waiting for Ma Lan, Zhao Desan smoked while admiring the street scene before him. He looked up at the yellowing plane tree leaves and realized it was already late autumn. The leaves on the plane trees on both sides of the street had all been dyed yellow by late autumn. Occasionally, a wisp of autumn wind would blow, and the yellow leaves covering the branches would rustle, and now and then, one or two leaves that weren't firmly rooted would spin and drift down.

The weather was beautiful that day; the sky was as blue as a mirror, or like a piece of flawless jade, looking so clear. If you looked closely, you would find one or two cotton-like clouds hanging high in the azure sky. Looking at such a tranquil sky and clouds, Zhao Desan truly understood the meaning of the phrase 'high sky and light clouds.' The sunlight bathed the human world, which appeared slightly desolate under the touch of autumn, with warmth.

Since it wasn't yet time to get off work at noon, there weren't many pedestrians on the street. In front of the shops across the street, the staff sat at the entrances chatting to pass the time, waiting for customers to arrive.

Always busy with entanglements with various women and throwing himself into his work, Zhao Desan rarely had the opportunity or the refined interest to carefully appreciate the world. Only now did he discover that the world was so beautiful, and his heart hadn't felt that kind of peace for a long time. Infected by this atmosphere, Zhao Desan suddenly wondered: he had always racked his brains trying to make something of himself in his official career, but even if he held great power, so what? It would be better to return to Yuyang, marry Zhao Xue, have children, and live a plain and simple life as a commoner. A family of three, going for a picnic in the suburbs when the weather was nice, and taking some time to travel during the year—how satisfying such a life would be!

But when he turned back to think about it, prices were so high now; if he relied solely on the meager salary from his current position, wanting to live that wonderful life that could only be experienced in literature was simply wishful thinking. In this society, you can lack anything, but you cannot lack money and power. Moreover, things that money can do, power can also do, but things that power can do, money might not necessarily be able to do. This was the real reason he had to forge ahead in his official career; he had a mission to bring glory to his family and an ambition to strike it rich.

"I want to have a home, to have a warm embrace..." Just as Zhao Desan was pondering the profound question of what constitutes a life, his phone rang, interrupting his train of thought.

"Hello! Sister Lan..." Zhao Desan hurriedly took out his phone and answered the call.

"Desan, over here!" Ma Lan's voice rang in his ear, not from the phone, but from not far away.

Zhao Desan immediately looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ma Lan's Audi parked on the side of the road next to him. She was leaning out of the car window, smiling and waving at him.

Zhao Desan then hung up the phone, hurriedly took three steps in two, walked up, opened the car door, and sat in.

"I was just about to call you; why are you standing here?" Ma Lan rolled up the car window, turned her head, and asked Zhao Desan suspiciously.

"Wasn't I waiting for you?" Zhao Desan said with a 'hehe' laugh, "Where did you come from, Sister Lan?"

"I went to the bank; it just happened to be not far from here," Ma Lan explained, "What would you like to eat?" She was still just as fond of leaving the initiative to Zhao Desan.