Chapter 692: Not a word

Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian lowered his head in nervous unease, not saying a word. Having been caught red-handed by Division Chief Lan, he really didn't know how to explain himself and could only accept his bad luck.

"Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian, I've said it before, you've been working for several years, but you really aren't suited for the Planning Division. If you truly have no heart for working in this department, then I will report it to the leadership, and you can go find a better job elsewhere! This is a place for work, not a place for you to tell stories! I actually think working in the Planning Division is a waste of your talents! You should be on the 'Hundred Schools of Thought' forum!" Lan Mei's tone was slow and measured, but every word was sharp and pierced the heart, especially the implication that she wanted him out of the Planning Division. This made Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian restless, and he immediately admitted his mistake: "Division Chief Lan, I was wrong. I promise I won't chat during work hours again. Division Chief Lan, please be the bigger person and overlook this. I... I really know I was wrong..."

"Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian, I know you've been in the Planning Division for several years and haven't moved up, and you feel unbalanced. Others who get promoted and climb up do so based on strength and ability, not by using their mouths like you! Now that our Planning Division has plenty of staff, your work ability is truly limited. Whether you work hard or not is your own business. Don't complain later about who the leadership values or who gets promoted; you make your own path. You are a veteran comrade; I hope you'll behave yourself!" Lan Mei had long since lost patience with this guy. Her tone was cold, leaving him no face at all. When it came down to it, Lan Mei was still a woman, and her heart was a little soft. If she had evaluated him based on her standards, Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian should have left the Planning Division long ago. But he was a grown man, married, and needed to support his family and children, so Lan Mei still left him some room to maneuver.

Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian had his true colors exposed so mercilessly by Division Chief Lan in front of the new arrivals, Zhao De and Zheng Ru. His expression was extremely awkward, his face turning green and then white, and he kept nodding and bowing, apologizing and admitting his mistakes with a fawning smile: "Division Chief Lan, you're right. I... I will definitely work hard. I will definitely not let down your good intentions. Division Chief Lan, please... please give me another chance. I will definitely work hard to show you some results."

Lan Mei sneered dismissively: "Whether you work hard or not is for your own sake, not to show me. I hope you'll behave yourself!" After saying this, she shifted her cold, ruthless gaze to Zhao De, who was keeping his head down and pretending to be busy, and said in the same cold tone: "Zhao De, come with me." After saying this, Lan Mei turned and walked straight away.

Zhao De was stunned for a moment. When he turned his head and looked at the door nervously, Division Chief Lan was already gone. Thinking he might have misheard, he whispered to Zheng Ru: "Did Division Chief Lan call me?"

Zheng Ru nodded, looking at him with a worried expression. She knew Division Chief Lan was currently furious, and calling Zhao De over definitely meant nothing good. She whispered jokingly: "Zhao De, my condolences."

Zhao De pretended not to care, gave her a relaxed look, said "Pfft!", and got up to leave. Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian, who had been scolded to the point of losing face, saw Zhao De being called away by Division Chief Lan and squeezed out a sly smirk, feeling gleeful again. *He thought to himself, "You got me drunk last night and watched me make a fool of myself today. Let's see how that Lan woman handles you!"*

Zhao De knew Division Chief Lan was currently in a rage. After walking out of the office, he was extremely nervous. Before he even reached the door of her office, he felt cold sweat breaking out on his back. If she were evaluating his work from yesterday, that would be fine; fortunately, he had a good memory and a sharp mind, and he basically understood the scope of the Planning Division's responsibilities. If she were picking a fight over him not inviting her to dinner yesterday, then that would be a harder hurdle to clear.

He arrived at Division Chief Lan's office door, feeling restless. She was looking down at some documents. Zhao De knocked lightly on the open door, piling a smile on his face to hide his nervousness, and said cheerfully: "Division Chief Lan."

"Come in." Division Chief Lan set aside the documents in her hand. Her tone was actually quite soft, not the kind of person who would vent her anger on everyone as he had imagined. This made Zhao De breathe a sigh of relief. He walked in, stepped forward, and stood before her desk, waiting for his fate.

Lan Mei raised her jade-like arms, clasped her fingers together, crossed her legs, and leaned back in her chair. She tilted her cold, aloof face. Although she didn't look as furious as she had just now, it still made Zhao De a bit afraid. He hid his inner panic and chuckled at her.

Division Chief Lan blinked her long, curled eyelashes, raised her eyelids, and stared straight at him with those cold, frosty eyes. Her lips twitched slightly, and she said in an indifferent tone: "Zhao De, I heard you took some of our Planning Division colleagues out to dinner last night?"

It seemed Division Chief Lan knew. Zhao De couldn't hide it anymore and could only bite the bullet, nod, and say "Mm," then hurriedly added an explanation: "Brother Xia and Zheng Ru insisted on me treating them. I... I treated them. I originally wanted to invite Division Chief Lan as well, but... but I was afraid Division Chief Lan might have other things to do after work, so... so I didn't tell you..."

Division Chief Lan's cold, aloof eyes slanted, and her lips curled into a disdainful smile: "I thought it was because you felt you had the backing of the Provincial Organization Department Minister and didn't take me, your Division Chief, seriously!"

"No, no, no, Division Chief Lan, you've misunderstood. Please don't misunderstand. I absolutely didn't think that way. I was truly afraid you had other things to busy yourself with after work, which is why I didn't tell you." Zhao De thought Division Chief Lan was truly taking this to heart, so he hurriedly gestured to explain, feeling anxious.

Division Chief Lan blinked her eyelashes, looked at him with a provocative, insincere smile, and said: "Alright, you don't need to explain anything. I won't take such a small matter to heart. It was your first day of work yesterday; treating colleagues to dinner is human nature. Deciding who to invite is your own decision; how could I have the right to interfere or ask? My temper is just like this: I separate public and private matters. As long as it doesn't affect work, I won't ask about what you do. But if it affects work, that's unacceptable. Take Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian being late today, for example—it was because you got him drunk when you treated them last night, which is why he was late today. This affected today's work. Seeing as you're a first-time offender, I won't pursue it. I hope you'll be careful next time; let this be the only time!"

Division Chief Lan's attitude toward him today seemed quite easygoing. Although she still looked aloof and arrogant, her tone had clearly softened a lot. As long as Division Chief Lan had cleared the air, she wouldn't take it to heart, Zhao De thought. On the way to work today, he had been afraid that the Lan woman would hold this against him and play dirty later. Now he breathed a sigh of relief, no longer as nervous as before. He chuckled from the heart and nodded, saying: "Division Chief Lan, you are so understanding. I will definitely be careful next time."

"Alright, don't give me that glib talk! I hate that kind of person the most!" Lan Mei rolled her eyes at him, her attitude shifting slightly again. Zhao De immediately nodded repeatedly and said respectfully: "Division Chief Lan, I understand."

With Lan Mei leaning back in her soft chair like that, the two "meat buns" on her chest were truly exceptionally firm, stretching the milky-white short-sleeved shirt to the point of bursting. With two buttons naturally undone, a patch of icy-white skin was exposed. Paired with her cold, aloof appearance, she radiated a fascinating charm, yet was so cold that one couldn't get close. Never before had a woman made Zhao De feel this strange sensation of "half sea, half fire," so he was gradually becoming a bit infatuated with her.

Lan Mei was considering whether she should test this guy's learning ability right now. It was only under pressure from Director Zheng, who said this guy was the "cousin" of the Provincial Organization Department Minister, that she had kept him in the Planning Division. But she still knew nothing about his learning or work ability. As his direct supervisor, one day of familiarization was enough to see what a subordinate's learning ability was like. After thinking for a moment, Lan Mei raised her eyelids and was just about to ask him a question when she noticed this guy staring straight at her chest without blinking. She arched her willow-leaf brows slightly, narrowed those cold, arrogant apricot eyes, and simply leaned back in her chair, chin raised, staring straight at him. She wanted to see if this guy had the guts of a leopard, daring to look at her chest with such a lecherous gaze and even daring to have designs on her.

Zhao De was staring at Division Chief Lan's firm "meat buns," drooling and lost in wild fantasies, momentarily forgetting himself. It wasn't until he suddenly heard someone passing in the corridor that his reverie was interrupted. He hurriedly pretended to be nonchalant and shifted his gaze up from her meat buns, only to find Division Chief Lan staring "like a tiger" straight at him. Zhao De immediately became nervous. Division Chief Lan's expression told him that his previous look of loss of composure must have been noticed by her. While feeling extremely nervous, he was also incredibly awkward, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He waited restlessly for a moment, but seeing Division Chief Lan didn't punish him, he pretended to be calm and chuckled: "Division Chief Lan, if... if there's nothing else, I'll head back to the office." As he said this, he turned to leave this situation that made him feel so out of place.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave!" Division Chief Lan suddenly called him back. Her tone sounded clearly a bit cold. Zhao De muttered to himself that it was a disaster; she must have discovered he had designs on her. Trembling, he bit the bullet and turned back, pretending to be nonchalant, and chuckled with a fawning smile: "Division Chief Lan, do... do you have any other instructions?" Because he was a bit nervous, his tongue tied itself in knots as he spoke.

*You guy, weren't you just staring lecherously at my chest? How come you're as wilted as a frost-bitten eggplant now! * Lan Mei thought to herself. She tilted her head, her expression cold and aloof, her stern eyes fixed on him without wavering, and said in a cold tone: "Zhao De, I saw you staring blankly just now, as if you were thinking about some problem. That reminded me that I haven't asked you yet—you've been studying for a whole day yesterday, how well do you understand the Planning Division's workflow?"

From these meaningful words, Zhao De clearly heard that the reason she had called him back to test his learning situation was related to his previous loss of composure. She wanted to use this method to make things difficult for him. *Division Chief Lan, oh Division Chief Lan, you have truly underestimated me, Zhao De. * Zhao De thought to himself. Fortunately, he had spent the whole day yesterday reading materials. He couldn't say he had mastered the Planning Division's responsibilities and scope 100%, but at least he had mastered 80%. This played right into his hands. Not only did he not look the least bit troubled, but he felt he could show off his learning ability in front of Division Chief Lan, making her take back her prejudices and remove those colored glasses. So, Zhao De, full of confidence, began to show off his learning ability in a measured tone, systematically reciting the Planning Division's scope of responsibilities, the professional knowledge and qualities staff should possess, and the relevant rules, regulations, and organizational discipline.