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Back on the highway, Lin Ren said, "You really scared me just now. Luckily, I never spoke ill of the leadership in front of you." Xiao Wang held back his words until they were on the highway before he dared to speak.
"Keep it up," Lin Xiao replied with a smile.
Years ago, both of them had served Li Hao. Xiao Wang was retained because he was diligent and knew how to navigate the workplace. Lin Xiao and Xiao Wang chatted about some acquaintances from Yurou County, deliberately avoiding any mention of Li Hao. It was an unspoken rule among them not to discuss their service to the leadership.
Lin Xiao had classes over the weekend and hadn’t sought out Li Hao again since Yu Rao.
District Chief Changlin had mentioned Secretary, and Lin Xiao accompanied Vice Minister Lu and Xiao Tian for an inspection. Returning to familiar ground stirred mixed feelings in Lin Xiao; he feared encountering old acquaintances.
During the evaluation form distribution, Lin Xiao spotted Xu Mother, Wu Juan. She pretended not to recognize him as she handed out the forms. When Wu Juan first saw Lin Xiao, she didn’t recognize him; five years had passed, and Lin Xiao had matured, losing some of his youthful innocence and gaining a more aloof demeanor.
It wasn’t until Wu Juan saw the seating card and then looked back at Lin Xiao that she remembered who he was, thinking to herself that this girl must have gone through quite a bit.
In truth, Wu Juan had learned the truth from her son. Back then, Lin Xiao had been careful in his work; no one expected Ji Quan You to be so arrogant. Ji Quan You was a local with many complex relationships.
Wu Juan couldn’t let Lin Xiao affect her son’s future. As it stood now, when others mentioned Ji Quan You, they merely remarked on his youthful arrogance and praised him.
After the meeting, Deputy Minister Lu and Xiao Tian followed the District Chief to the reception room while Lin Xiao collected the evaluation forms.
Wu Juan approached him. "Lin Ren, it's been a while."
"District Chief Wu," Lin Xiao replied with a smile as he tucked the forms into his briefcase. He had no intention of engaging in lengthy conversation with Wu Juan.
She noticed that Lin Xiao wasn’t keen on chatting either; her greeting was merely a formality.
As she reached the door, Wu Juan turned back and said, "Ji Quan You was placed under investigation last week."
The words caused Lin Xiao’s smile to freeze for a moment before he replied, "The law's net is vast and nothing escapes it." "Goodbye, District Chief Wu," he added.
Wu Juan smiled without saying a word. She had heard that someone above had specifically ordered an investigation into Ji Quan You. Today, seeing Lin Xiao, she felt it was very likely related to her. The reason Wu Juan showed interest in Lin Xiao was that she had just received news that Lin Xiao was now a formal official. Soon, they would be at the same level, and if Lin Xiao still remembered Xu, it should help Xu's future. Moreover, she hadn’t completely severed ties back then.
As the saying goes, there are no coincidences. When Lin Xiao left the Gulou District government building with Deputy Minister Lu and Xiao Tian, Xu happened to be coming from outside. Xu spotted Lin Xiao smiling at her, which was a greeting, and Xu nodded back. Although he didn’t know who the two people accompanying her were, seeing his District Chief with them indicated they were of high rank.
In the evening, after the banquet concluded, when Lin Xiao returned to the hotel with her leaders, she immediately saw Xu sitting on a sofa in the lobby. Upon noticing her entrance, Xu nodded in acknowledgment. After checking in for the leaders, Lin Xiao came down from upstairs.
“I heard you’re with the Provincial Organization Department now,” Xu said as they exchanged pleasantries after not seeing each other for a long time. “It’s been three years; which department are you in now?” When Lin Xiao left back then, she had changed all her contact information.
She had promised Wu Juan not to entangle herself with Xu again; not only did she change her contact details back then, but she also said some harsh words before leaving. Looking back now, it felt somewhat excessive.
Xu was quite talkative and recounted how several of their peers from Gulou District had fared in the Provincial Committee Selection; most of them were now deputy-level officials. Xu himself was at the National Development and Reform Commission in the district as a deputy (also at the deputy level).
“Thank you for everything back then, Xu, and I’m sorry,” Lin Xiao thought about saying these two sentences to him. She had used him to clear her name and had deliberately matched his responses to deal with rumors after things happened, even using his mother to pull strings within Gulou District. All of this made it hard for Lin Xiao to face Xu.
“Lin Xiao, are we still friends?” Xu asked somewhat awkwardly; he could tell that Lin Xiao was merely being polite in her responses.
“I didn’t contact you before because I couldn’t get over it; it has nothing to do with you,” Lin Xiao replied. She rarely opened up to anyone but considered Xu an exception.
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