Chapter 54: 053 Liu Dong Really Struck Gold

Fang Qingye rode his small scooter to the internet cafe, played Warcraft for a while, and didn’t head home until ten at night—no one would bother him at this hour.

The next afternoon, after finishing work at five, Fang Qingye returned home, took off his uniform, changed into a T-shirt and long pants, loitered a bit, then went downstairs when the time seemed right.

Riding the scooter in this heat was uncomfortable, and since he planned to drink alcohol in the evening, he didn’t even consider starting his car—he decided to hail a taxi.

Just as he stepped out of the residential compound, he saw a girl standing under the shade of trees across the street, pushing a bicycle.

Bai Ou.

Fang Qingye walked over and only then noticed that Bai Ou had applied light makeup today, wearing a black fitted T-shirt and denim shorts, making her skin look even paler.

“You’re waiting for me?” Fang Qingye said.

“Mm, let’s go together.”

“Why don’t you come up and rest a bit? It’s so hot.” Fang Qingye said.

“I just got here a few minutes ago. Let’s go.”

“Alright, I’ll take you.”

“Great.” The girl’s eyes smiled into crescents again.

Fang Qingye took the bicycle and rode south along Wenhua Road with Bai Ou behind him.

Bai Ou sat on the back seat, in good spirits, softly humming a song.

I write poems for you, I pause for you.

I do the impossible for you.

For you, I learned to play the piano and write lyrics.

At Dingcheng Hotel, Fang Qingye parked the bicycle, and the two went upstairs to the reserved private room—Liu Dong was already there, sitting beside a girl in a floral dress.

Fang Qingye immediately smiled.

It was her—Bi Qiaoqiao, who used to play badminton with Liu Dong.

Bi Qiaoqiao saw Fang Qingye and felt a little shy at first, but quickly regained her composure, standing up to greet him with a smile.

“Qiaoqiao, let me introduce you,” Liu Dong said then: “Fang Qingye—I don’t need to introduce him, you already know him. This is Bai Ou, Ye Zi’s childhood friend, currently a graduate student at East China University of Political Science and Law.”

“She’s my girlfriend, Bi Qiaoqiao, working at the Government Office.”

“Hello, Bi Qiaoqiao.”

“Hello, Bai Ou.”

The two girls exchanged greetings, then each sat beside their respective boy.

With everyone not yet arrived, they chatted casually, but Bai Ou noticed Bi Qiaoqiao kept glancing up and down at her, which puzzled her.

Could there be something wrong with what I’m wearing?

No, that can’t be—I spent a long time picking it out and even asked my best friend’s opinion on QQ.

She had no idea what Bi Qiaoqiao was thinking inside.

So pale.

No wonder my cousin felt inferior…

A few minutes later, the private room door opened again—this time Song Dahai entered, smiling broadly.

“Alone?” Fang Qingye asked.

“Meimei…” Song Dahai called out.

A small girl in a pinafore dress stepped in, looking slightly shy.

Impressive…

Finally got her to come out.

“Chen Meimei, come in and sit,” Fang Qingye also greeted.

Seeing Fang Qingye, someone she knew well, Chen Meimei’s earlier tension seemed to ease.

Another round of introductions followed, then the six sat around the dining table.

The dishes were plentiful; the boys drank Mengzhi Lan, the girls drank Great Wall dry red wine, they ate and chatted, poured drinks for each other, and naturally, Liu Dong drank the most.

Although only three men were drinking, one bottle was finished quickly, and half of the second was gone; everyone was a bit drunk, and Fang Qingye felt dizzy.

“Hey, Liu Dong, how’d you get transferred to the Propaganda Department so fast?” Song Dahai asked then.

“I just got lucky,” Liu Dong said, his face flushed red but his speech still clear:

“I was temporarily assigned to the Propaganda Department; soon after, someone retired, leaving a vacancy. Our Director Wang approached Director Li at the Organization Department and requested to transfer my personnel records. Director Li immediately agreed—I completed the transfer paperwork just two days ago.”

Don’t underestimate transfers—they’re extremely difficult.

Fang Qingye had heard from his uncle that any transfer of county-level cadres above the deputy section-chief rank required discussion and approval by the county Party Standing Committee, followed by an official document from the Organization Department.

Although ordinary cadres didn’t face such complexity—the Personnel Bureau handled their transfers—in reality, even the Personnel Bureau director had no authority to transfer any cadre without approval from several key county-level leaders.

The Organization Department director, who served on the county Party Standing Committee, was one such leader.

Although the Propaganda Department director had no personnel transfer authority, he too was a Standing Committee member—equal in rank—and since the Propaganda Department currently had a vacancy, the matter was easily resolved.

So when Liu Dong said he was lucky, everyone deeply agreed.

Then Song Dahai laughed again: “Liu Dong, your badminton game is amazing—you not only got your transfer, but also landed a girlfriend… You guys, shouldn’t we toast him again?!”

“Absolutely!”

Liu Dong was already flushed red, only chuckling silently.

At that moment, Bi Qiaoqiao suddenly smiled and said, “Dahai, I think Liu Dong was transferred to the Propaganda Department mainly because he’s capable and hardworking—he braved the scorching sun working in the countryside during the day, stayed up late writing reports at night, and sometimes didn’t even get weekends off.”

“I took his reports home to show my dad—he praised them too… I think if Liu Dong didn’t have this ability, no matter how good his badminton was, Director Wang would never have transferred him, right?”

“Oh come on… Bi Qiaoqiao, you’re so protective of your Liu Dong! But you’re right! I was wrong just now—I’ll drink one myself!” Saying this, Song Dahai raised his glass.

“No, no… don’t say self-punishment—you’re all good friends, how can you punish each other? Dahai, Liu Dong can’t drink anymore—I’ll drink with you.”

Saying this, Bi Qiaoqiao took an empty glass, poured herself a shot of baijiu, and clinked it with Song Dahai’s before downing it in one gulp.

Liu Dong really struck gold.

Watching Bi Qiaoqiao’s behavior, Fang Qingye sighed inwardly.

After drinking with Song Dahai, Bi Qiaoqiao turned to look at Fang Qingye.

“Speaking of badminton, I’d like to toast Ye Zi—you taught Liu Dong how to play, and both Liu Dong and I are grateful to you.”

“This toast is necessary—if Ye Zi hadn’t taught Liu Dong to play, he probably wouldn’t have met you so quickly,” Song Dahai added.

This time Bi Qiaoqiao didn’t object; instead, a shy expression appeared on her face.

Another drink…

But this one seemed unavoidable—Fang Qingye stood up with his glass, and beside him, Bai Ou whispered: “Can you drink? If you can’t, I’ll drink for you.”

“You? You can drink baijiu?”

In Fang Qingye’s memory, he’d never seen Bai Ou drink baijiu.

Bai Ou said nothing more, took another empty glass, poured herself a shot, and said to Bi Qiaoqiao: “You’ve seen—Ye Zi’s already had too much. I’ll drink this one for him.”

“Sure.”

So the two girls clinked glasses and drank.

Beside them, Song Dahai, seeing this, immediately turned to Chen Meimei, who had barely spoken all evening.

“Don’t look at me—I can’t drink baijiu.”

Chen Meimei replied softly, leaving Song Dahai slightly disappointed, though he couldn’t show it—he was about to comfort her.

Then he heard Chen Meimei say: “How about I pour red wine around for everyone instead?”

“Great!” Song Dahai immediately brightened and shouted: “Now Meimei will pour for everyone—she can’t drink baijiu, only red wine, but you all must drink baijiu!”

After dinner, they went to sing karaoke and didn’t part ways until nearly eleven.

Fang Qingye saw Bai Ou home.

“Bai Ou, are you okay?” Fang Qingye pushed the bicycle, walking and asking.

He was worried.

Today, Bai Ou drank a lot of baijiu at the table, then beer at karaoke—her face was now flushed like blooming peach blossoms.

“I’m fine, don’t worry… Didn’t you forget? My dad can drink, and I inherited a bit of that.” The girl laughed.