Chapter 510

Just as I arrived at the school gate, I saw a car winding its way toward me. It pulled up close and stopped, the window rolled down, and to my surprise, it was Duanmu's head.

Duanmu had come to pick me up in person, and I couldn't help but feel flattered. At the same time, I was muttering to myself: he was a Division Chief, yet he was being ordered around by the unofficial Xu Mengda. This only proved one thing: in Xu Mengda's eyes, Duanmu's position as a Division Chief didn't count for much at all. Another possibility was that Duanmu wasn't here to pick me up at all; perhaps he had other business and we just happened to run into each other.

I was still hesitating, but Duanmu waved at me. I had no choice but to walk over and ask suspiciously, "Division Chief Duanmu, it's so late, are you still coming to school?"

Duanmu smiled and said, "Get in the car quickly. Mengda is still waiting for us."

The doubt in my heart vanished; Duanmu was indeed here to pick me up.

I pulled open the car door and sat in the passenger seat. Duanmu started the car with full concentration, saying nonchalantly, "Mengda had something to do, so he had to ask me to come pick you up."

I hurriedly said, "Sorry for the trouble, Division Chief Duanmu. Actually, I could have just taken a taxi."

Duanmu smiled and said, "Chen Feng, can you find a taxi at the Party School gate?"

I laughed along and scratched my scalp, saying, "That's true, the Party School is indeed a bit remote. Once it gets dark, it's just like Suxi Town where I came from. So quiet!"

At midnight, there weren't many cars on the road. Duanmu drove very fast, as if the car were gliding on the surface of the water, easy and natural.

It's so late, and Xu Mengda still wants to see me? What for? I kept muttering to myself.

I didn't have much interaction with Xu Mengda; he was someone I met through my cousin He Jiaxiao, and then he took over the relocation celebration for my Suxi Town. That was all.

Although I had heard that Xue Bing's transfer to the Provincial Song and Dance Troupe was the result of his keen eye for talent, that was just hearsay, and there was no evidence that he had anything to do with it. Besides, Xue Bing had only sung a few songs at his event; they weren't even as close as I was with him, so why would he do her that favor?

The most critical point was that Xu Mengda was an unofficial person; even though his father was our Provincial Propaganda Department Minister, it didn't necessarily mean he would step out to pull strings for such a trivial matter.

I went upstairs, filled with doubts. Xu Mengda was still in his usual leisurely manner, quietly drinking tea. Seeing me enter, he leaned forward slightly and pointed to the chair in front of him, saying, "You're here!"

I was all smiles and asked, "Brother Xu, you called for me, what are your orders?"

Xu Mengda said softly, "Don't say that. We're brothers just chatting, nothing special."

Hearing him say this, I was extremely unhappy. Xu Mengda was a person with no concept of day or night. We were busy working during the day, and he would be lying in bed sleeping. At night when we were exhausted, he would be full of energy, living his life.

"Alright! Chatting is good." I deliberately put on a cheerful appearance, though I was extremely unwilling inside. In a few hours, the training class would begin. Provincial Governor Chen would personally attend the opening, and if I didn't look full of energy, wouldn't that make the Provincial Governor uncomfortable?

Xu Mengda seemed to see through my thoughts; he tossed me a pack of cigarettes and said, "I won't delay your rest, just a few words!"

I accompanied him with a smile and said, "It's fine. Brother Xu, don't overthink it. Not to mention Brother Xu asking me to keep you company, even if you asked me to go through fire and water, I would be duty-bound."

Xu Mengda looked at me with interest, asking with a half-smile, "Chen Feng, you're telling lies, aren't you! I, Xu Mengda, have no grievances or favors with you; why would you go through fire and water for me?"

I was momentarily speechless, but my ability to react was truly extraordinary. I said with a smile, "Brother Xu, you're my big brother. Do we need to talk about grievances or favors when it comes to going through fire and water for a big brother? Wouldn't that make us seem like ordinary people!"

Xu Mengda smiled with satisfaction and instructed Duanmu, "Jiu Ming, go change to a pot of good tea."

Duanmu immediately got up and went into the inner room. Before long, he came out holding an exquisite wooden box. As he walked, he examined the characters on the box and exclaimed, "Good tea, good tea."

I didn't know what kind of tea he was holding, and besides, I had no research on tea leaves. Usually, when I drink tea, as long as the water has a taste, I consider it tea. As for the tea ceremony that people talk about, I know absolutely nothing about it.

"Chen Feng, you're in for a treat." Duanmu looked incredibly envious and said, "Mengda is stingy. I've been with him for so many years, and I've never had a chance to drink this tea of his. Today, I'm basking in your glory, and I'll get to taste what tea that costs hundreds of thousands per jin tastes like."

I was shocked and said, "So expensive, isn't that just drinking money!"

Xu Mengda and Duanmu both laughed. Duanmu said, "Actually, tea is something that cannot be measured by money. Just like a woman, you shouldn't look at her future based on her background."

I didn't understand why he used this analogy; it was almost completely irrelevant.

Duanmu seemed to see my confusion and explained, "Look, Chen Feng, your Chunshan County produced a skylark, a pearl, but unfortunately, it was buried in the mud, covering its brilliance. It was only because of Mengda that he could see the pearl in the rough."

My heart skipped a beat, and I suddenly realized that the previous rumors were not groundless. Xue Bing's transfer to the Provincial Capital was indeed the result of Xu Mengda's behind-the-scenes maneuvering.

But why would Xu Mengda want to help her?

"Come, come, let me introduce this tea to you." Duanmu held the wooden box in front of my eyes and pointed to the gilded characters on it, saying, "Just this box alone is worth thirty or fifty thousand."

I looked at the box in confusion. There was nothing special about this wooden box; it looked very ordinary. Only the few characters on the box seemed to be made of gold. Even so, these few characters couldn't possibly be worth thirty or fifty thousand.

Duanmu encouraged me, "Don't just look, smell it, smell the scent."

I suspiciously brought the box to my nose and took a deep sniff. A faint, lingering fragrance, like silk and thread, continuous and endless, passed through my nose and instantly spread to my brain. I felt a sudden jolt of spirit, feeling incomparably comfortable and pleasant.

"Do you know what it is?" Duanmu asked, sounding mysterious.

I shook my head. I really didn't know what it was; I only felt it was a kind of wood, a wood that emitted a special fragrance that could make one feel refreshed.

"Agarwood!" Duanmu sighed, "Nowadays, this kind of wood is much more expensive than gold. I'm afraid there isn't even ten jin of pure agarwood left in the whole world."

Xu Mengda laughed, "Jiu Ming, don't talk nonsense. Isn't it just a piece of wood? After a fire, it's just a piece of charcoal all the same."

Duanmu said nervously, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. Mengda, you are a person who has seen the world, so naturally, you don't take these things to heart. I'm afraid there's nothing in this world that can catch your eye."

Xu Mengda turned his gaze to me and said with a smile, "Not necessarily. People are the priceless treasures. No matter how precious an object is, in front of a person, it's not worth a single cent."

I didn't grasp the intent of his words, so it was hard to respond. Duanmu took over the conversation and said, "Of course, Mengda, in your eyes now, besides Xue Bing, who else can catch your eye?"

Xu Mengda didn't argue, just smiled reservedly.

The more he smiled, the more uneasy I felt. It was obvious that Xu Mengda and Duanmu were singing in harmony. He called me here at midnight, could it be just to talk about Xue Bing?

What the hell does Xue Bing have to do with me? Although we once loved each other, in this society overflowing with material desires, our love couldn't withstand any wind or rain. For example, Xue Bing used my love to exchange for an opportunity to enter Hengyue City. Of course, I didn't know what agreement Xue Bing had with Huang Weiwei; I only knew that after she came to Hengyue City, she never spoke of love to me again.

Besides, the story between Xue Bing and me had long since settled into history with the passage of time. Who would still remember that in the distant Suxi Township, there was a pair of young people who once made vows, once spent time under the flowers and moon, and once wove a beautiful future together?

Everything had changed; even I seemed to have forgotten that love that once left me deeply scarred.

I didn't dare to pick up their topic, because they were talking about Xue Bing as if they were taking a knife and slicing my heart, leaving me bleeding and in agony.

"Brew the tea, brew the tea!" Xu Mengda greeted Duanmu, "This Liu'an Guapian cannot be brewed with ordinary mineral water. You go to my room and bring a bucket of water over. This bucket of water was drawn from the spring eye behind the Party School; brewing this Guapian with it is the best in the world."

Once Duanmu left, Xu Mengda leaned toward me and whispered, "Little brother, I'm feeling depressed now."

I laughed, "Is there anything that Brother Xu can't solve?"

Xu Mengda sighed and said, "I thought my spring had passed, but who knew a spring breeze would come, and I want to bloom again."

I held back my laughter and said seriously, "Brother, if you want to bloom, isn't that easy? If you want to bloom, then bloom."

Xu Mengda sighed again and said, "If this flower doesn't bloom, I will die!"

I asked in surprise, "What on earth is going on?"

Xu Mengda stared into my eyes and said word by word, "I've fallen in love with your Chunshan's Xue Bing!"