Chapter 825: Lu Qiao Has Already Returned from Jiangcheng

Bai Jinyan was just touched by this blizzard, and seeing Lu Qiao also looking up at the sky melancholically, she hurriedly took Lu Qiao's hand and said: "It's cold outside, hurry home."

And at this time, Lu Qiao's little cuties were all staying comfortably in the space. No matter how cold it was outside, the temperature in the space remained the same. And at this time, the space also automatically adjusted to night. Lu Qiao took time to glance at the little things; they were all resting.

And she also got into the car and drove toward the courtyard.

The north wind was still howling, and snowflakes were falling. The car continued to drive forward. Of course, if the performance was good and the oil was added sufficiently, the car would drive faster, just like this era.

At the same time, a burst of urgent telephone ringing, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, rang abruptly in Lou Zhe's office, which was piled with various precision instruments and chemical reagents.

Lou Zhe was leaning over the experimental bench, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose, his eyes behind the lenses focused on the solution in the beaker that was undergoing a subtle color change.

Hearing the ringing, his brows furrowed imperceptibly, but the movements of his hands didn't stop, and he didn't even lift his head.

At such times, he had always disliked being disturbed.

It was his assistant Wu Dongdong who was sitting at the small office desk in the outer room organizing data, and her ears were very sharp. As soon as the bell rang, she almost sprang up and rushed into the inner room in three steps.

She saw Lou Zhe was busy, so she consciously picked up the receiver and skillfully answered the phone.

"Hello? Hello, may I ask who this is?" Wu Dongdong's voice wasn't loud, worried about disturbing Lou Zhe.

The voice on the other end of the phone was a bit blurry, lowering its voice and saying: "Find Lou Zhe, have some business. Tell him, I am Xiao Liu."

Wu Dongdong frowned, but she didn't dare to delay, put down the receiver and said: "Professor Lou, there is a phone call; it's from Comrade Xiao Liu!"

Lou Zhe was stunned for a moment, then put down the glass rod in his hand in a leisurely manner. He habitually put his hands into the pockets on both sides of his white coat.

His white coat was always worn crisp, even in the laboratory, it exuded a unique temperament that mixed a soldier's capability and a scholar's elegance.

He stepped out, seemingly walking slowly, but his feet seemed to have wind, and he crossed out of the laboratory in a few steps, walking toward his independent office.

Wu Dongdong followed behind him and opened the office door for him.

Lou Zhe walked in and picked up the receiver of that old-fashioned black telephone with a dial.

At the moment he picked up the phone, his gaze turned inadvertently and landed on Wu Dongdong, who was still standing at the door and hadn't left.

That look was very faint, without any temperature, but Wu Dongdong understood its meaning instantly; it was the meaning of letting her go out.

Wu Dongdong was stunned.

This was very unusual. In the past, when Lou Zhe answered the phone, even if it involved some confidential matters, as long as she was present, Lou Zhe would never avoid her.

After all, she was an assistant promoted by Lou Zhe single-handedly, and there was already a kind of tacit understanding and trust between the two.

But what is wrong today?

Wu Dongdong stood at the door, her feet seeming to be nailed to the ground, opened her mouth, just wanting to tentatively ask: "I..."

Lou Zhe had already said "Hello" to the receiver, then turned his head, his gaze fixing on Wu Dongdong's face again. This time, although his tone was still steady, it carried an unquestionable command: "You go out first, and close the door."

This sentence was like a basin of cold water, directly extinguishing the bit of residual warmth in Wu Dongdong's heart.

Since the leader had spoken, if she lingered and didn't leave, that would be not knowing the rules.

Wu Dongdong's young face immediately collapsed, the corners of her mouth pouting high, her heart full of reluctance and grievance. She turned around gloomily, walking out while looking back every three steps, and with a "bang," closed the door heavily.

Standing in the empty corridor outside the door, Wu Dongdong kicked the wall base angrily.

Afterward, she pricked up her ears wanting to get close to the door crack to listen to the movement inside, but the quality of this old-fashioned soundproof door was excellent; besides vaguely hearing a bit of buzzing current sound, she couldn't hear anything.

What's more, not far away, several colleagues wearing blue work clothes were laughing and walking toward this side. If she really made that kind of low-class act of sticking to the door and eavesdropping, then her face would be lost.

"Hmph, must be hiding something from me!" Wu Dongdong could only mutter in her heart, walking toward the laboratory full of suspicion.

Her brain turned rapidly. As a young girl, the first thing she thought of was that this must be about some woman!

But Lou Zhe had always kept himself clean, and besides work, he basically had no private life. Which woman was he hiding from her to inquire about?

At this time, Wu Dongdong's heart felt like a five-flavor bottle had been overturned. Her relationship with Lou Zhe, speaking of it, was just an ordinary superior-subordinate relationship, but in this closed research base, Lou Zhe was the person she respected the most and also the person she wanted to get close to the most. In order to stay by Lou Zhe's side, Wu Dongdong even refused several opportunities to be transferred to better departments.

In her view, Lou Zhe was like an iceberg; although difficult to approach, once close, one would find his reliability.

Now this iceberg suddenly had his own secret, and it was a secret that pushed her away and didn't let her see, which made Wu Dongdong feel an unprecedented sense of loss and exclusion.

And behind that tightly closed office door, Lou Zhe was quietly listening to the news coming from the person named Xiao Liu on the phone.

This line was a specially encrypted dedicated line, which could be dialed or answered directly without going through the switchboard, which was also a request Lou Zhe had specifically applied to his superiors for before.

He didn't want to leak any bit of wind because of the operator's transfer. Of course, for a scientific research base of their level, telephone control was originally very strict, so he wasn't worried about being wiretapped by anyone.

"Lu Qiao has already returned from Jiangcheng." Xiao Liu's voice came through the electric waves, carrying a trace of imperceptible panting: "However, the station is in a state of martial law, and the investigation is very strict. I think she came back with the special train, and the specification is not low. From afar, I took a look, and people from the General Administration of Foreign Trade also went, but later she followed Bai Jinyan, and it is estimated that she is almost at the courtyard now."

Lou Zhe's fingers holding the receiver tightened slightly, his knuckles turning white, but his voice remained steady and waveless: "Did she come back alone? Didn't Qin Hengzhi follow?"

"No, this can be confirmed." Xiao Liu paused on that end, seemingly recalling the scene at that time: "However, she didn't come back alone. There were also two cadres from Jiangcheng on the same train, seemingly coming to the capital to do something... I didn't hear the specifics clearly either."

"Alright, I know." Lou Zhe said concisely, without an extra word of nonsense.

"Beep—" The sound of the phone hanging up was exceptionally clear in the quiet room. ===== CHAPTER 826 =====