383: It’s you!

“I probably won’t have time to call you tonight. I’ve arranged to have dinner with Minister Cui, and I don’t know what time it will end.” Liu Xiaolin deliberately concealed the fact that Xiao Hongmei was also joining them.

He was worried that Hong Tongtong would get uneasy if she heard there was a beautiful woman at the dinner. A well-intentioned concealment is still well-intentioned, Liu Xiaolin rationalized in his mind to make his lie seem more plausible.

“Ah? Dinner again tonight? Who is Minister Cui? Why do you have to eat with him? Aren’t you looking for an expert? Haven’t you met the expert yet?” Hong Tongtong asked curiously.

She originally thought finding an expert would be simple, something that could be done in two or three days. She didn’t expect Liu Xiaolin to say it was uncertain, and that he was constantly entertaining guests outside. What exactly was going on?

“Minister Cui is in the same department as Dr. Hai. I’m contacting Dr. Hai through Minister Cui, which is more convenient and might be quicker,” Liu Xiaolin told another well-intentioned lie.

“Oh, I see. It seems this expert is really hard to get, making you go to such great lengths to pull strings. It must be a headache, right?” Hong Tongtong said sympathetically.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. I think this speed is already very fast.” This was truly from his heart; he hadn’t expected so many things to be uncovered so smoothly.

“Alright, I understand. I won’t call or text you tonight. You have a good time eating and drinking with Minister Cui, try to win him over, then invite the expert tomorrow, and come home the day after tomorrow!” Hong Tongtong said generously.

“Alright, thank you, my darling. I’ll take your good wishes,” Liu Xiaolin whispered, “Then you continue studying. I won’t delay your revision.”

“Mmm, I’m hanging up. Bye-bye, my dear,” Hong Tongtong said sweetly.

“Mmm, bye-bye, I love you,” Liu Xiaolin hung up the phone reluctantly.

After hanging up, Liu Xiaolin lay on the bed, beginning to think about what questions he could ask tonight, and how he needed to make it seem accidental, otherwise, if he scared Xiao Accountant, she would keep her mouth shut.

As he was thinking, he actually fell asleep. These past few days, he had been in a state of extreme fatigue, both physically and mentally. Now that he had relaxed, he naturally felt sleepy.

Around five o’clock, Liu Xiaolin woke up. After waking up, he actually slammed his own head hard: “What is wrong with you? Why do you dream of a long-haired girl by the sea even when you’re sleeping? Are you crazy? If you’re going to dream, it should be of Hong Tongtong. What’s wrong with you?”

Liu Xiaolin grumbled to himself while feeling a bit at a loss.

He couldn’t believe that such a short interaction, just over ten minutes, had made him unable to forget that girl.

“Stop thinking about it. She’s just a passerby, and you’ll never see her again. Why think so much?” Liu Xiaolin hit his head again, telling himself not to think about such nonsense anymore.

“Alright, I’ll get ready to go to Yindu Seafood Restaurant. The parking space yesterday was because of Han Xiaoguo and their private parking. If I go late today and can’t find a place to park, it’ll be awkward,” Liu Xiaolin calculated as he got up and started busy.

He went to the bathroom to wash his face, combed his hair, and changed into a white shirt. Looking at the tall and handsome young man in the mirror, he was very proud: “No wonder Hong Tongtong likes me; I really am handsome! Haha!”

By the time he finished getting ready and left, it was just five-thirty. www.x33xs.com

Driving the little blue car, he quickly arrived at Yindu Seafood Restaurant. Since there weren’t many diners at the moment, he quickly parked his car.

“Welcome, how many people?” the waiter at the door shouted loudly.

“Mr. Cui reserved a private room, Friendship Hall,” Liu Xiaolin said.

“Friendship Hall? Please follow me, one gentleman has already arrived,” the waiter said while leading the way.

Liu Xiaolin didn’t expect Cui Zhenzhong to be even more eager than himself. It seemed he also really wanted to help Hai Zhezhe.

Entering Friendship Hall, it was a small room with an eight-person table inside.

“You arrived quite early too,” Cui Zhenzhong said, getting up as he saw Liu Xiaolin enter.

“Don’t we all have something on our minds, feeling more at ease if we arrive early?” Liu Xiaolin said.

These words struck a chord with Cui Zhenzhong. He had been restless all afternoon, his mind filled with Hai Zhezhe’s false accusation, wishing he could find evidence to clear his name immediately.

“Our appointed time is six o’clock, and Xiao Accountant probably won’t arrive early,” Liu Xiaolin said. “Let’s not stand around. Let’s sit down, drink some tea, and wait for her.”

“So, should we order first?” Cui Zhenzhong asked.

“No, let’s wait for Xiao Accountant to arrive and let her order whatever she likes to eat. We’ll both go along with her, alright?” Liu Xiaolin wasn’t very knowledgeable about ordering food and didn’t want to bother his brain with it, so he simply left the opportunity to Xiao Accountant.

“Okay, you’re right. Let her order whatever she likes. If she’s happy eating, she might give us more information,” Cui Zhenzhong said.

The two of them drank tea and chatted while waiting for Xiao Accountant.

“I walked around the beach at noon today, and there was a long-haired girl also named Hongmei. I don’t know her last name,” Liu Xiaolin involuntarily brought up the events of noon.

“Haha, you saw her at the beach? Was she fair-skinned and had a hearty laugh?” Cui Zhenzhong asked with a grin.

“Yes, yes, how did you know?” Liu Xiaolin asked in surprise.

“Most of the girls in our Yuhai City are like that, haha,” Cui Zhenzhong said with a laugh. “Yuhai City produces beauties, not just one or two, but every single one!”

Liu Xiaolin thought to himself that he had seen many beauties, but only one like that long-haired girl. However, he didn’t want to argue with Cui Zhenzhong and just nodded, saying, “Minister Cui is right, Yuhai City indeed has many beauties.”

As they were chatting, someone knocked on the door and said, “Hello, a guest has arrived.”

Then someone pushed open the door and said, “No need to greet them, just come straight in.”

Liu Xiaolin looked up, and he froze there like a block of wood!

“It’s actually you!”

After their eyes met, the two of them spoke in unison.

The person who came in was precisely the long-haired girl Liu Xiaolin had seen at noon.

“You two know each other?” Cui Zhenzhong asked in surprise.

“The girl I just told you about, the one from the beach, is her!” Liu Xiaolin whispered to Cui Zhenzhong.

“What a coincidence? It seems you two are truly fated!” Cui Zhenzhong replied in a surprised whisper.

“Why are you whispering so softly? I can still hear you, haha,” Xiao Hongmei’s hearty laughter didn’t stop from the moment she entered.

With one more person in Friendship Hall, it immediately became lively.

You provided God Wu Ji’s Heavy Industry Rising: Building the Light of Domestic Goods