Chapter 999: (Happy New Year! Good Luck in the Year of the Dragon!)

(It's a new year again. Unknowingly, I've been writing web novels for three years. Thank you, brothers, for your constant support.

To express my gratitude, this chapter is free, just like the past two years. This chapter has 4300 words of main text, worth 21 cents (VIP users, please sit down). Consider it a red envelope giveaway, brothers, enjoy yourselves.

Wishing you all good health, high spirits, smooth careers, prosperous wealth, peace of mind, a happy family, and a smooth life in the new year. In short, everything goes well! Good luck in the Year of the Dragon!

)

In the large top-floor private room of Zhezhen Garden, Li Li, panting heavily, sat on Comrade Xiao Wang Yan's lap, her arms wrapped around Comrade Xiao Wang Yan's neck, looking at the smiling Comrade Xiao Wang Yan.

To be honest, Li Li had refused Comrade Xiao Wang Yan's sudden move. But unfortunately, this wasn't a movie, and there was no slow-motion kiss. Before she knew what was happening, Comrade Xiao Wang Yan had already bitten onto her lips.

After the initial panic, she didn't feel the disgust of food residue being exchanged back and forth, and under Comrade Xiao Wang Yan's lead, she completely threw herself into it...

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan supported her back with one hand and stroked her leg with the other, asking with a smile: "How do you feel about this appeasement?"

"It would be better if you had brushed your teeth."

"It's all the same; even after brushing, there's still saliva. How can there be so much cleanliness?"

"It always feels better in the heart."

While speaking, Li Li loosened her arms around his neck, Comrade Xiao Wang Yan naturally let go of her leg, and his other hand lifted her up from behind.

Sitting back in the seat beside him naturally, Li Li picked up her wine glass, signaled to Comrade Xiao Wang Yan, drank it in one go, rinsed her mouth twice, and swallowed it directly. Then she picked up a tissue, wiped her mouth, and ate food with her wine.

Her series of actions looked natural, but it also exposed her unnaturalness; at this moment, her heart must be surging with waves.

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan drank and ate on his own, and for a moment, it became quiet, but the ambiguous atmosphere hadn't dissipated.

In fact, after the intimacy by the river in Baoshan before, there had already been a big change. In the past, when Comrade Xiao Wang Yan came here to eat, Li Li would always sit for a while, say a few words, have a glass of wine, and then leave with an excuse of being busy. But today, Li Li had no intention of leaving and had been chatting with Comrade Xiao Wang Yan one sentence after another.

This itself already explained many problems, not to mention that Comrade Xiao Wang Yan was now acting like a hooligan, having broken through general social distance and started physical contact. This further transformation of the relationship still needed adaptation.

"How is your club?" Li Li started looking for things to talk about. Looking deep, mysterious, and calculating on weekdays, she was ultimately still an emotional woman.

"Not great, the level is still very low, need to practice more, and even more need to discover some talented players. This is a long-term cause. Wanting to achieve it overnight, building a team today and winning the championship tomorrow, that's impossible. At the very least, it will take ten or eight years, and in the long run, maybe twenty years."

"Such a long time, the investment must be huge, and the returns don't match."

"It's not that everything has to look at returns; more of it is about mood. As the saying goes, a thousand gold is hard to buy what one likes; that's the logic." Comrade Xiao Wang Yan said lightly, smiling, "Next time there's a match in Shanghai, I'll take you to see it. Although we always lose, the atmosphere at the scene is still very good."

"Good." Li Li nodded with a smile, her eyes flowing, and her pupils reflecting Comrade Xiao Wang Yan's image.

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan asked with a smile: "Opening a restaurant is to pay back money; what do you want to do most yourself?"

"Never thought about it. I used to be a trader; the trading speed was relatively fast, and hundreds of millions passed through my hands every day. What I thought about in my head were rolling numbers, and I had no thoughts. Later, there were changes, and there was no time to think. Now I have to pay back debts, and every day I think about how to facilitate more business, dealing with all kinds of people every day, lying on the bed and closing my eyes to sleep, without even dreams, so where would I have the heart to think about so much."

"Then you have to think about it carefully."

Li Li was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a smile...

The further relationship, although there were no more kissing or stroking actions after that, Comrade Xiao Wang Yan and Li Li got along more naturally. Of course, this was from Li Li's perspective, after all, Comrade Xiao Wang Yan had always been natural. There was much less politeness in their speech and much more casualness, which was a manifestation of letting down defenses.

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan often took Li Li out for a walk, ate at some small shops with good flavors, and chatted about all kinds of messy things. Undoubtedly, for Li Li, who had been suppressed for a long time, this was precious, because she really had no life.

But then again, people of this era, even the first batch who got rich, hadn't learned to enjoy themselves; working hard to earn money was the mainstream at this time.

Among such people, Comrade Xiao Wang Yan was an outlier...

Many times, many things are not so smooth, and this was also the case for Miss Comrade Xiao Wang. When she learned that Fan Zong intended to distribute on his own and no longer hand it over to A-Bao, even though she no longer had feelings for A-Bao, she still came to Zhezhen Garden out of the principle of friendship, found Fan Zong and lectured him, and then gave Li Li, who was smiling with her arms crossed, a big eye-roll before leaving.

Returning to Number 27, her good days were over.

Because she was about to be promoted to section chief, Mei Ping was still angry and reported Miss Comrade Xiao Wang...

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan parked the car at the entrance of Night Tokyo and walked in with a smile: "Why were you in such a hurry to find me?"

"Something happened, Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban." Lingzi hurried up to meet him and said, "Miss Comrade Xiao Wang seems to have been investigated. Someone came this afternoon to ask Ling Hong how much those pearl earrings cost. I called President Bao, and President Bao said to let Ling Hong take out the purchase order to prove the value. He also told me to call you and tell you about this; Miss Comrade Xiao Wang must be in trouble."

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan raised an eyebrow and asked Ling Hong, who was standing there: "How much did you say the earrings cost?"

"Twenty-six... twenty-six thousand."

"What was the actual price?"

"Actual, actual..."

"Oh, it was two thousand six." Lingzi took over the conversation and asked, "Does it matter?"

Teacher Ge said: "Oh, a state cadre and a private enterprise boss, twenty-six thousand yuan—no matter how you hear it, it's impossible for it not to matter."

Tao Tao nodded repeatedly: "Exactly, exactly. Ling Hong, you've harmed Miss Comrade Xiao Wang miserably this time."

"How was I supposed to know so much? When people came to ask, I had to save face for Miss Comrade Xiao Wang. Besides, Lingzi already said twenty-six thousand; she must have already asked for the money from President Bao, so I couldn't tear down Lingzi's stage."

"What? You're talking about me? You..." Lingzi glared at Ling Hong irritably.

"Alright, alright, why are you fighting internally at a time like this? We don't know the situation yet, but Ling Hong, you'd better find that purchase order. You have to think about why they only asked about those pearl earrings; whether they exist or not makes a huge difference. I'll go to Number 27 first to see what's going on."

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan waved his hand, leaving Lingzi and the others looking at each other, turned around, and left.

He had thought about it briefly just now and decided to follow the development of the plot. After all, here, it was just a matter of his words. Now that he acted as if he hadn't seen it, the conflict in the original story would still erupt...

Driving all the way to Number 27, Comrade Xiao Wang Yan went straight upstairs, wanting to find Jin Hua to understand the situation.

"Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban is here, what a rare guest." Mei Ping, who happened to be coming out, greeted him enthusiastically, "Here to find Miss Comrade Xiao Wang? She had some trouble, and the section chief told her to go back early."

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "I heard, just came to understand the situation."

Without talking to Mei Ping anymore, Comrade Xiao Wang Yan went straight to Jin Hua's office, knocked on the door, and walked in.

"Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban is truly a rare guest; haven't seen you in two years, please sit." Seeing Comrade Xiao Wang Yan walk in, she stood up with a smile to pour a glass of water and put it in front of Comrade Xiao Wang Yan, then returned to her desk and sat down, "Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban doesn't visit without a reason; I think you came for Comrade Comrade Xiao Comrade Xiao Wang's business, right?"

"Just understanding the situation."

"Because she's about to be promoted to section chief."

Jin Hua pushed her glasses and said, "Actually, she could have been promoted to section chief long ago, but because the nature of our unit is different, we still need to be mature and prudent in using people. Now it's because I'm being transferred to another unit, and this position opened up, so it was her turn.

You've seen the situation in our unit; one radish for one hole, and the higher the position, the fewer the holes. It's not surprising she encountered this. She has been walking too smoothly until now, with President Bao in front and you, Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban, escorting her behind; others don't have such help."

"That's also because she's a good person, beautiful, and has a good personality. But she's used to being careless, has no vigilance, and isn't cautious; I told her before that trouble would happen." Comrade Xiao Wang Yan nodded with a smile and asked, "Section Chief Jin, is it because of my relationship with President Bao? I don't know if I need to cooperate with Number 27's investigation?"

"It's currently an internal investigation, and I don't think it's necessary to trouble you and President Bao. I know Comrade Comrade Xiao Comrade Xiao Wang; at most, she has some negligence, but there's no problem with discipline. It's just that after this, she won't be able to sit in this section chief position. Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban, let me tell you the truth. Don't help Comrade Comrade Xiao Comrade Xiao Wang operate anymore; that will only harm her and affect you. I think you know this logic."

"Understood." Comrade Xiao Wang Yan nodded with a smile and asked, "Section Chief Jin, can you reveal who did it?"

Jin Hua didn't speak, just sat there smiling at Comrade Xiao Wang Yan.

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan laughed: "I wouldn't go so far as to make things difficult for a clerk at Number 27, it's just that Miss Comrade Xiao Wang introduced her friend to me before, and I even saw her when I came just now; her name is Mei Ping. At the time, out of respect for Miss Comrade Xiao Wang, Hongyun's paperwork in South Africa was handled by Mei Ping.

At that time, I thought this Mei Ping wasn't a good enough friend and had too many thoughts, so I even told Miss Comrade Xiao Wang to be careful, but she didn't pay attention. Just now I met Mei Ping, and I was wondering if I guessed right."

"Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban is very accurate in judging people."

As a leader, Jin Hua certainly couldn't tell Comrade Xiao Wang Yan about those messy things directly, even if Comrade Xiao Wang Yan understood the whole story from Miss Comrade Xiao Wang later, it couldn't come from her.

But now that Comrade Xiao Wang Yan mentioned Mei Ping directly, Jin Hua didn't need to keep silent, but what she said was still quite careful.

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan nodded with a smile, stood up, and said: "I'll trouble Section Chief Jin to take care of Hongyun's business in the future. I won't disturb you anymore, see you again."

"Take care, Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban."

"No need to see me out, Section Chief Jin."

Saying no need to see him out, Jin Hua still saw Comrade Xiao Wang Yan out of the clothing section...

Coming all the way downstairs, he saw Mei Ping waiting by the car.

"Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban."

"Something up?"

"Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban, Miss Comrade Xiao Wang's situation might not be ideal. I'm also from Number 27, and I can handle Hongyun's business well."

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan nodded: "I already told Section Chief Jin just now; it might be her handling it directly, or she might recommend someone else. I don't care about these things. The specific arrangements are being made by Hongyun's manager; I generally don't participate in these matters. I'm going to see Miss Comrade Xiao Wang, see you again."

While speaking, he had already taken the key to open the car door and was about to get in.

"Wait."

Mei Ping hurriedly called out to Comrade Xiao Wang Yan. Facing Comrade Xiao Wang Yan's puzzled gaze, she hesitated for a moment and said, "Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban, actually Miss Comrade Xiao Wang's matter is also my fault. I heard from Section Chief Jin that Miss Comrade Xiao Wang was going to be promoted to section chief, so I blurted out that someone was discussing Miss Comrade Xiao Wang receiving things and being too close to you and President Bao. I didn't expect Section Chief Jin to take it so seriously and start the investigation procedure directly, which led to the current situation. I'm sorry to Miss Comrade Xiao Wang."

"So that's how it is. I asked Section Chief Jin the reason just now, and she wouldn't tell me."

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan nodded in sudden realization and said, "Are you afraid that I'll target you after hearing about it from Miss Comrade Xiao Wang later? I can understand what you mean. I can tell you clearly that this kind of thing isn't worth me finding trouble with you; set your mind at ease. It's going to rain, go back, see you again."

After speaking, under Mei Ping's gaze, Comrade Xiao Wang Yan got in the car and left.

Just as he said, there was really no need for him to say hello or get Mei Ping kicked out of Number 27 for such a small matter. For a player like him to target a small clerk like Mei Ping, it would really be meaningless and lose his status.

And people like Mei Ping won't go far. She reported Miss Comrade Xiao Wang, so her master, Jin Hua, who is still the section chief, won't treat her well. Other colleagues will also maintain a superficial good relationship with her. Among the leaders who come to handle business, her reputation won't be good either.

Perhaps later in the original story, she leaves Number 27 to do business on her own and can make money by relying on the factors of the era, but wanting to have any major development is also unlikely...

Miss Comrade Xiao Wang was lying on the table of the pork chop rice cake shop, looking at the rain that had suddenly started outside. The rain was like her terrible mood, a gushing sadness.

The shop owner was sitting there bored, reading a novel with great interest.

At this moment, the door curtain was lifted, and the owner looked up subconsciously, followed by enthusiasm: "Comrade Xiao Wang Laoban is here, long time no see. You should go check on Miss Comrade Xiao Wang; she's been sitting there for several hours."

Hearing the movement, Miss Comrade Xiao Wang turned around and met Comrade Xiao Wang Yan's smiling eyes, immediately let out a hum, and lay back on the table.

Women are just so unreasonable. Comrade Xiao Wang Yan understood why Miss Comrade Xiao Wang hummed; it was because he had guessed it right, she was embarrassed and refused to admit defeat, so she acted like this with him.

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan smiled, said the usual to the owner, took two bottles of refreshing herbal tea and straws, and went to sit beside Miss Comrade Xiao Wang.

"Not drinking, you're just here to see me make a fool of myself." Miss Comrade Xiao Wang pushed away the herbal tea that Comrade Xiao Wang Yan had opened and thoughtfully inserted a straw into, and turned her head to the other side.

Comrade Xiao Wang Yan directly reached out and pried her head back: "I'm here to comfort you, come, drink some herbal tea to cool off."

"There's no fire to cool off, now it's dead silence." Miss Comrade Xiao Wang muttered, but then became angry again, slapped the table, and sat up straight, "This Mei Ping, I trusted her so much before, and even said she was my best friend at Number 27, but she reported me just to prevent me from becoming section chief. She really has a snake-and-scorpion heart, vicious!

Let me tell you, that pearl earring President Bao gave me before, she wanted me to keep it at the time, and even told me to wear it for a few more days and hand it over after I'd worn it enough. But she used this matter to report me, and even said I had an improper relationship with you and President Bao..." ===== CHAPTER 1000 =====