Chapter 738

He woke up a bit late the next day. Perhaps Su Qing felt he was too tired from galloping on her twice the night before, so she didn't wake him when she went to work in the morning. When Zhao De woke up and grabbed his phone, it was already 7:30. There was only half an hour left until work, and the drive would take at least twenty minutes. He scrambled out of bed, got dressed in a flash, and without even washing his face, he ran to the study to turn on the computer. He washed his face while the computer was booting up, then returned to log into QQ and open his email. In a panic, he sent the notice he had drafted and saved in his email the previous day to Division Chief Lan, and without even waiting to shut down the computer, he grabbed his bag and ran out.

Fortunately, he managed to hail a taxi as soon as he left the residential complex. He checked his watch—7:35. If there was no traffic, he should be able to reach the unit before 8:00, but time was very tight.

Who would have thought that when it rains, it pours? Time was already tight, and about ten minutes into the drive, Zhao De received a call from Zheng Ru, notifying him to go to the conference room for a meeting as soon as he arrived at work.

Zhao De said "Oh" and, as he hung up, hurriedly asked her, "What meeting is it?"

"A symposium for the new colleagues who just joined the Construction Committee this year. Several leaders will be attending," Zheng Ru said.

Upon receiving notice of this meeting, Zhao De became even more anxious. He looked at his watch and then out the window, wishing the taxi could grow wings and fly there. Time ticked by, second by second, and the start of work drew closer. But the twenty-minute drive now felt like it had become infinitely long; why couldn't they just arrive?

Burning with anxiety, he sat in the car like an ant on a hot pan, looking around restlessly. Fortunately, there was no traffic on the road. After what felt like a very long twenty-plus minutes, the taxi pulled up to the gate of the Construction Committee just one minute before work started.

In a rush to get to the meeting, Zhao De pulled a fifty-yuan note from his wallet and threw it to the taxi driver, saying, "Keep the change." He jumped out of the car and sprinted into the Construction Committee.

He rushed into the office in a panic, only to find that Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian and Little Zhao were the only ones left. "Brother Xia, did Zheng Ru go to the meeting?" he asked, panting as he put his bag on the table.

"Yeah, there's a symposium for you guys who just started working this year this morning. Why are you only just arriving? Hurry up and go." Xia Xia Xia Xia Jian was busy working hard on his QQ Farm. Seeing him run in in such a panic, he feigned concern, but as he watched Zhao De's back as he sprinted away in a rush, a cold, gloating sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. Seeing Zhao De make a mistake at work was what he wanted to see most. He thought triumphantly, "This guy is actually late on the very day all the leaders of the Construction Committee are holding a meeting for them. The timing is perfect; the leaders will definitely have an opinion."

Zhao De ran to the third floor as fast as he could, without even stopping to catch his breath, but he was still two minutes late. When he walked into the conference room, feeling uneasy and embarrassed, more than a dozen pairs of eyes were fixed on him. Even someone as thick-skinned as him felt a bit awkward. He didn't dare look at anyone and hurriedly found an empty seat at the conference table and sat down.

"Alright, everyone is here, so let's start the symposium." The voice of Zheng the Bald Donkey broke the silence in the conference room. He intentionally glanced at the sweating Zhao De. Although he usually valued him highly for some unknown reasons, Zhao De being late at such an important time inevitably made Zheng the Bald Donkey feel a bit disappointed.

Seeing that no one was making a big deal out of his lateness, Zhao De gathered his courage and slowly raised his head. He secretly glanced at Zheng the Bald Donkey, who was giving the opening speech for the symposium to the new comrades from various departments. Since the old guy didn't make an issue of it, Zhao De finally relaxed, let out a long breath, and straightened his posture.