Chapter 2 Chapter One

At around four o'clock in the afternoon, Liu Xu dialed He Qile's cell phone, waited for it to beep three times, and pressed it again.She put the mobile phone on the executive desk, staring at it in a daze, waiting for He Qile to call back. Liu Xu does this every time he wants to find He Qile, for fear that it will be inconvenient for him.For this reason, He Qile also told her that she used his mobile phone as an extension machine.Liu Xu always purses her lips and smiles, and lets him say, but never corrects. The relationship between Liu Xu and He Qile is a bit unclear.Many people think that the relationship between the two of them is ambiguous, farther than lovers and closer than friends.On the contrary, He Qile's wife Qiu Yuchen didn't think so.Qiu Yuchen looks like a simple fool who has his own foolishness. As a middle school and college classmate, she knows Liu Xu too well, and knows that she and He Qile will not make any troubles, and even drive the two of them whenever they have the opportunity. joke.As for Liu Xu's husband, Huang Yifei, he often talked about their affairs bitterly.Liu Xu scolded Huang Yifei severely, saying that I don't care about your dirty things, and if you pour dirty water on me, you will have good fruits to eat.Huang Yifei regards himself as a romantic and talented man, and changes his lover every three days. In his heart, he respects and fears Liu Xu. Seeing Liu Xu is really angry, how can he dare to show favor with his tongue?

In fact, the relationship between Liu Xu and He Qile is really simple. Although they value each other very much, emotionally, they are like two cars running on two roads. They are not traveling on the same road, but also like two parallel railroad tracks, interdependent , but never crossed. Generally speaking, He Qile would call back soon after Liu Xu hung up the phone, and if he happened to be in a meeting, he would send her a message back soon. It was the same this time, within half a minute, Liu Xu's cell phone rang, He Qile first laughed on the phone and said, "Don't worry, I'll call you later, okay?"

Liu Xu let out a "hmm", and waited for He Qile to hang up the phone before pressing the phone.Knowing that He Qile could not settle down at this time, he felt a little inexplicably panicked. She has an important dinner today, and it took a long time to meet her. She wants He Qile to sit with her. As the secretary of Lu Haifeng, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Liu Xu knew that He Qile couldn't help herself, and would not bother him with ordinary things.But the guest she is going to invite today is very important. It is He Tong, the executive vice president of the Provincial Higher People's Court. If He Qile can't be there, the meal will not have any special meaning, and if it is not done well, it will cause extra problems.Liu Xu has been working on this matter for almost a week, and he has already sent a letter to He Qilian. At that time, he expressed his position according to his usual practice, saying that I will try my best to fight for it.

Time passed by minute by minute, it was less than five o'clock, and there was no news from He Qile. Liu Xu wanted to send a message to He Qile, urged her, and finally held back, Liu Xu usually seldom sends a message to He Qile, and just talked on the phone if she had something to say, for fear that He Qile would forget to delete the message and be caught by Qiu Yuchen See, there is unnecessary misunderstanding.In fact, Liu Xu's mobile phone is dedicated to He Qimusic, and only he has that number, and it's a dedicated line for her to talk to him.Liu Xu attaches great importance to the relationship with He Qile, even though they seldom contact once or twice a month.

He Qile didn't call, and Liu Xu, who was sitting on the executive chair, could only continue to be in a daze.Being in a daze is a kind of thinking short circuit. What the eyes are looking at is actually turning a blind eye. What seems to be thinking in the mind is actually just a blank. Her eyes fell on a painting of ink fountain hanging on the front wall. It was written by Huang Yifei. The painting was a red lotus that emerged from the mud without staining it. Below are a few cheerful swimming fish. Liu Xu thinks that Huang Yifei's insistence on hanging such a painting in her office has ulterior motives or good intentions.Did he want her to get out of the mud without getting stained?Or do you want her to be a kingfisher fishing?Or become a free-swimming fish?In Liu Xu's view, from acquaintance to marriage with Huang Yifei, it was like a dream, ignorant.I also woke up suddenly from the dream: A few years ago, I couldn’t tell whether it was in the middle of the night or early in the morning. The police station called home, saying that Huang Yifei was arrested for prostitution and asked her to bring money to get someone. At that time, Liu Xu was not yet due. a month.Afterwards, she never thought clearly why she didn't divorce Huang Yifei.

Liu Xu's eyes moved away from the painting as if being stung, and still fell on the mobile phone, which is a Samsung slider that has become more popular in recent years.The last time I saw He Qile, he even played with it.At that time, they were drinking tea in the tea house of Langqiao Station.While fiddling with the phone, he looked at Liu Xu and smiled, but he didn't say anything.If there is anything special about that phone, it is He Qile's 30th birthday gift to Liu Xu.Liu Xu was going to refuse, but just halfway through her sentence, seeing He Qile's face turned dark, she swallowed the rest of the sentence.She didn't want to owe him a favor, so she bought him a Dupont briefcase.She had planned to buy him a tie or a belt, but she was afraid that she would be too presumptuous.Just like that, Liu Xu was still restless, so she simply dragged Qiu Yuchen to the pet market and bought her a three-month-old Samoyed for 6,000 yuan.

It was also thanks to Liu Xu that he was able to maintain his awkward relationship with He Qile for more than ten years. Liu Xu is quite well-known in the auction industry, not only because her Yicheng Auction Company is doing well, but also because of her gender and appearance. Yes, Liu Xu is a beauty, and she has always been the object of attention since elementary school. .Born as a beautiful boss, Liu Xu will occasionally provide some conversation material for her colleagues.To sum it up in one sentence, this woman has a lot of experience, and there is nothing she can't do if she wants to do it.Some gossip also spread to Liu Xu's ears from time to time, and she laughed it off every time.It is difficult for a man to do business. If a woman enters the business world by mistake, she will understand the ups and downs of it more deeply than a man in a short time.As long as she is free, Liu Xu will often ask herself, if she could choose again, would she still do it?

Liu Xu couldn't find a standard answer, because the answer was different every time according to different moods.Liu Xu can only think that this is fate. Once a woman turns 30, she undergoes some subtle physical and psychological changes.For Liu Xu, she has become more and more trusting of fate. She and He Qile did not become husband and wife, nor did they become lovers, it may be a kind of fate. Qiu Yuchen and Liu Xu were at the same table in high school, and the relationship between the two was so good that they often slept under the covers at night, chattering so much that they didn't know where there was so much nonsense.One weekend, they rode bicycles together for more than ten kilometers of mountain roads, and asked about their future with a fairy girl who was said to be able to touch each other, hoping to see how hopeful they were for entering college.

It was a blind old lady who looked to be between fifty and ninety years old.To Qiu Yuchen who was pushed to the front by Liu Xu, he only said one sentence: a lifetime of wealth, no worries about food and clothing.When it was Liu Xu's turn, the wrinkled hand with blood vessels protruding like an earthworm not only touched Liu Xu's pretty face two or three times back and forth, but also made her stretch out her two hands and pinch her for a long time.The old lady's complexion was constantly changing, her toothless mouth was sipping and sipping as if she was chewing something, she nodded and shook her head again, which made Liu Xu's heart flutter all of a sudden.Liu Xu hurriedly took out ten yuan from her close pocket and stuffed it into her hand, but she refused to accept it.Liu Xu became anxious, grabbed her hand and slapped the crumpled banknote into her palm, and said, "You old man, tell me, I can bear it." The old lady pursed her mouth again and said: "The person who looks like the picture looks gentle and quiet, with a strong temper. You are a person who would rather suffer than be wronged. In your life, you can't spend all your money. Others use money to pack it, but you use a suitcase. Pretending. But..., success is also a man, defeat is also a man, you can do it yourself."

The phone rang, it wasn't the mobile phone on the executive desk, it was the landline.Liu Xu came back to her senses and looked at the caller ID. It was Du Jun, her deputy general manager. As soon as she picked up the microphone and put it to her right ear, Du Jun's voice came immediately: "I have arrived at the high court, and I called Vice President He just now, and he will come down right away. How about it, shall we go directly?" ?” Liu Xu said, "Okay, I'll start right away, and try to get there before you." Liu Xu couldn't bear to call He Qile again, but after three rings, she still pressed the phone.

He Qile was waiting for Li Mingqi when he received Liu Xu's first call. Li Mingqi was his senior brother when he was a graduate student and is now the director of the News Department of the Provincial Daily. He made an appointment to send photos before five o'clock in the afternoon.This morning, Lu Haifeng, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, went to the Provincial Higher People's Court to inspect his work. Tomorrow's news report needs to be accompanied by photos. This matter cannot be careless or delayed. It happened that Liu Xu invited He Tong tonight, and He Qile knew that if he could attend this dinner, it would have a very different meaning to Liu Xu.The problem is, whether he can spare time depends on Secretary Lu's arrangements.This is why He Qile failed to call Liu Xu back in time. He Qile and Liu Xu have known each other for more than ten years, and to this day, he still remembers the first time he saw her.At that time, he had just graduated from graduate school and was working as a teaching assistant while also serving as a political counselor in the department.The latter is a job that can manage everything, and don't care about anything.During the New Year's Day cultural performance, He Qile went to watch the rehearsal together with the heads of the department, and met Liu Xu that way.Liu Xu's red silk dance was arranged in the middle of the whole party. With the sudden sound of exciting music, the bright red silk satin swayed and danced like a lively snake.Who dances in the sky with a rainbow?As soon as Liu Xufu made his appearance, He Qile was astonished by that figure, that blushing youthful face like clouds blowing against his face, he felt as if he had been hit by a bullet in an instant, his heart felt hot at first, and then almost stopped Jumping, when he came back to his senses, he knew that he was hopelessly in love with that dancing girl, that first-year freshman who had been in school for less than half a year.By accident, their story ended before it could begin.This also made He Qile's feelings for Liu Xu stay in more than ten years ago.He Qile often asks himself secretly, if he really married Liu Xu instead of Qiu Yuchen back then, would that secret throbbing feeling still be maintained till now? Is it that what you want but don't get is the eternal concern? He Qile couldn't find the answer. Li Mingqi brought two photo albums.One was for Secretary Lu, and the other was for He Qile.When they were in college, they didn't have much contact with each other. Later, He Qile became the "first secretary" of the province, and the relationship between the two gradually became stronger.The Provincial Daily is currently engaged in a competition for posts, and Li Mingqi has been secretly eyeing the position of vice president for a long time.He went to He Qile's place very frequently, and for this purpose he asked He Qile several times for advice, saying that he would ask He Qile as an outsider to help him analyze and analyze how hopeful his affairs are.He Qile knew that there was a little bit of yangqiu in Li Mingqi's belly, but he never dared to make a mistake, and whispered his ear in front of Secretary Lu.Therefore, every time I practice Tai Chi with a smile, I say that it is up to people to plan things, and it is up to heaven to achieve them. Li Mingqi was dawdling in He Qile's office, and He Qile knew that he wanted to hand over the photo album to Secretary Lu himself.Normally, He Qile would consider this little extravagance from his senior brother, but not today, he was thinking about Liu Xu, so he wanted to get rid of Li Mingqi earlier.It happened that Liu Xu's cell phone rang for the second time, so he hurried to answer it while smiling at Li Mingqi.The catkins were quickly pressed down again.He Qile picked up the receiver of the landline, deliberately hesitated for a few seconds before calling, and said, "I'll call you back later." Without waiting for Liu Xu to reply, he put the receiver on the phone.Li Mingqi was very knowledgeable, so he quickly got up and said goodbye. I have seen the photos in the album just now, and they are all good.Li Mingqi is an old reporter. What kind of angle to choose to highlight the image of a leader is the minimum basic skill of a professional photojournalist.What's more, Li Mingqi has a lesson on this. The previous governor had freckles on his face. There was a folk story about him, saying that the governor made a report and the masses' opinions.Li Mingqi had just joined the newspaper at that time, and published a close-up photo of the governor without processing it.No one said anything, but the newspaper office soon gave him the opportunity to work in the neighborhood committee for training, and forced him to deal with the mother-in-law and grandma there for two years.After suffering such a dark loss, how could Li Mingqi not learn to be smarter?Before the album was delivered, he must have carefully screened it over and over again. However, when He Qile looked at those photos again, he had his own thoughts.Yes, every photo in the album is well taken, capturing Secretary Lu's signature movements and classic smiles very accurately, but for the people who accompanied Secretary Lu, their distance from Secretary Lu and their expressions and behaviors, It's a little different.He Qile looked it over carefully, took out a few and stuffed them into the drawers of his desk, then adjusted the back ones to the vacant position, and then gently knocked on Secretary Lu's door. Secretary Lu was looking at the documents, He Qile walked sideways to Secretary Lu, and gently placed the photo album on the large desk in front of Secretary Lu.Secretary Lu flipped through it casually, and let him figure it out.He Qile has been with Secretary Lu for two or three years. He knows that Secretary Lu has a lot of things to do every day, so he doesn't worry about these things. I have to leave. He Qile gathered the photo collection, hugged it to his chest like a baby, and then softly reminded Secretary Lu that it was time to get off work.Secretary Lu looked up at the clock on the wall and nodded.He Qile went on to say: "The weather forecast says there may be rain tonight, otherwise, why don't we go bowling tonight?" Secretary Lu got up and did a few chest stretching exercises, turned off the lamp on the desk, and said, "Okay, I'll take a walk home, you can pick me up at 7:40." After He Qile came out, he sighed.If there is no meeting or reception arrangement, Secretary Lu usually does two things in his spare time, one is bowling, and the other is he likes to "take a walk" outside the provincial party committee compound casually.Secretary Lu has high blood lipids, and the health doctor advised him to exercise more. Bowling is a good sport.As for "going for a walk" outside, it's a combination of exercise and work, and it's more or less a private visit to understand people's sentiments.Furthermore, the time is very random, it may be before or after meals.For He Qile, bowling is relatively simple. There is a bowling alley in the Leisure Center of the Provincial Party Committee Compound. Just call them and ask them to reserve a lane.His home is only seven or eight minutes away from Secretary Lu's house. He can go home and have dinner while watching CCTV-1's "News Network". "News Network" is a must-watch program for Secretary Lu, and He Qile must also watch it, so that when the two of them are chatting, they will have a common language.If you want to go outside for a "walk", it will be a little more troublesome. Not only do you have to inform the Provincial Party Committee Office to make some necessary arrangements without telling Secretary Lu, but it is also unavoidable to ask the Public Security Department to send some plainclothes to accompany you.If the time was before dinner, he would never be able to keep Liu Xu's appointment. After sending Secretary Lu out, He Qile came back and cleaned up Secretary Lu's office.He called Qiu Yuchen and said he couldn't go home for dinner.Qiu Yuchen said it was just right, and she also had a social event, but she didn't know when it would be.Qiu Yuchen is also a busy person, and it is rare to have a meal at home.For this reason, the two of them dare not even have children.He Qile took out the photos that had been stuffed in the drawer just now to have a look, picked one, and another from the photo album, and put them in the Dupont briefcase that he always carried with him. Only then did he turn off the lights and leave Office Building No. 1.