Chapter 721: I can't be bothered to tell her

Zheng Ru shook her head, feeling sullen: "I can't be bothered to tell her."

"She's calling." Zhao Desan said to Zheng Ru while picking up his phone in a panic, answering it with a very enthusiastic, "Hello, Section Chief Lan."

"Zhao Desan, come over here for a moment." Lan Mei's voice on the other end was neither cold nor warm, and she didn't seem particularly angry. Although he didn't know why Section Chief Lan was calling him at this hour, judging by her tone, Zhao Desan felt she probably wouldn't lose her temper at him. First, Zheng Ru hadn't told her that the material was his, and second, he had at least gone to her place on Saturday to help her fix the electrical wiring. Besides, he hadn't done anything else to displease her. So, he gave an "oh" and, feeling no concern, got up and went to Lan Mei's office.

"Section Chief Lan, you were looking for me?" Zhao Desan asked with a smile after entering.

Lan Mei was looking at something on her computer. Seeing him enter, she leaned back in her chair and said calmly, "Sit."

He had been to her office a few times, but this was the first time she had let him sit down, which made Zhao Desan feel somewhat flattered. He thought to himself that it seemed this woman had finally shed her prejudices against him. As he sat down, he wondered why she had called him over.

After he sat down in front of her desk, Lan Mei said, "Zhao Desan, you've been on the job for a week now. Are you familiar with the work processes?"

"I'm familiar with them," Zhao Desan said with a chuckle.

"Besides familiarizing yourself with the Planning Section's work processes, what else have you been doing lately?" Lan Mei asked in a calm tone.

"Nothing... nothing much." Hearing her ask this, Zhao Desan couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, as if he felt she knew something.

"Do you know about the work I recently assigned to Xiao Zheng? Didn't I tell you to help her with it? Do you know what her recent work is?" Lan Mei was fishing for information bit by bit, staring at him without blinking. That bewitching gaze made Zhao Desan unable to fathom what she was really getting at, wondering why she was beating around the bush. "I know some of it; it's about drafting the planning and management measures for the New District."

A sly smile crossed the corners of Lan Mei's mouth. She blinked her eyelids gently and stared straight at him with a strange look in her eyes, saying, "Today, I asked Xiao Zheng to send me the draft she wrote. It was actually quite comprehensive and well-organized; you can tell a lot of effort went into it. However, I don't quite understand why the email she sent me was a forward of the one you sent her?"

Hearing Section Chief Lan say this, Zhao Desan realized everything in an instant. So Section Chief Lan had discovered that the work wasn't done by Zheng Ru. It turned out she had actually... actually forwarded the email he sent her directly to Section Chief Lan. Damn! Zheng Ru was too stupid; how could she make such a low-level mistake? He had intended to help her through this difficult situation, but who knew he would end up doing more harm than good. Zhao Desan realized he had accidentally set himself on fire. The smile on his face froze, and his expression became extremely uneasy. Facing Section Chief Lan's stern face and her bewitching, venomous gaze, he was speechless for a moment, lowering his head and stammering, unable to say a single word.

Seeing his reaction, which was like a different person, Lan Mei knew her guess was correct. She couldn't help but feel a bit of admiration for this guy; she hadn't expected him to have real talent. Therefore, she wasn't angry. A foxy smile appeared on her face, and she softened her tone, saying, "Zhao Desan, I already know you wrote this. It seems you have quite a lot of enthusiasm for your work. That's good. Since Xiao Zheng can't complete this task, I'll assign it to you. Go back and refine what you've written. If there's anything you don't understand, come find me."

Section Chief Lan unexpectedly didn't criticize him, which calmed Zhao Desan's uneasy heart. He hadn't expected to turn a misfortune into a blessing. He immediately looked up at Lan Mei, pleasantly surprised, and nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay."

Lan Mei waved her hand and said, "Alright, go back to your work."

He walked out of Section Chief Lan's office, pleasantly surprised. Before entering the Planning Section office, he warned himself not to be too happy too soon. Because of this incident, he had done Zheng Ru a disservice, leading to her being criticized by Section Chief Lan. If he were to get cocky now, Zheng Ru would surely develop a sense of disgust toward him. Furthermore, there was that guy Xia Jian, who was always watching his every move from the shadows. Thus, he restrained the joy on his face and walked into the office, pretending to be calm.

As soon as he entered, Xia Jian asked him what Section Chief Lan had called him for. Zhao Desan said it was nothing, just asking how he was getting along with the work.

Because Zheng Ru had fallen out with Section Chief Lan face-to-face, she had been sitting there with a long face, feeling sullen ever since she entered the office.