Paper Lover At Old Town Bookstore Chapter 48

unexpected person

The day after the negotiation was successful, when I was sorting out the background information of the partner, I accidentally discovered a complaint document marked “voided” – the partner had secretly teamed up with another company to terminate the contract and claim liquidated damages on the grounds that the technology was not up to standard. The processing records of this document showed that the complaint was anonymously reported to the industry regulatory department before it was submitted, and the other party had to restrain itself.

My fingertips were cold, and I almost immediately thought of Song Zhili.Except for him, no one has such connections and ability to calmly resolve the crisis in such a short period of time.When Lin Zhiqing walked into the office, he saw my serious expression. He followed my gaze and looked at the documents. After a moment of silence, he said, “Actually, after the negotiation ended yesterday, I heard from friends in the industry that the other party had prepared a backup plan, but suddenly withdrew for some unknown reason.”

I didn’t say anything, took out my phone, turned to the number that I had marked as “do not disturb”, took a deep breath and pressed the call button.The moment the call was connected, a familiar voice with a hint of hoarseness came from the other side, as if she had been waiting by the phone for a long time: “Qiu Sheng.”

“Song Zhili,” I tried to keep my tone calm, but I still couldn’t hide a tremor, “Were you the one who did the cooperation?”

There was silence for a few seconds. There was no denying or defending, just a soft “hmm”.

The emotions accumulated in my heart exploded instantly. I tightened my grip on the phone and my voice suddenly rose: “Is it necessary? Song Zhili, who do you have to pretend to be so affectionate for?” The air in the office seemed to have solidified. Lin Zhiqing glanced at me worriedly and quietly left.

“I just don’t want you to be wronged.” His voice was very soft, with a hint of imperceptible bitterness.

“You don’t have to worry about my business!” I gritted my teeth and said word by word, “You are about to get married to Miss Xing. Prepare for your wedding well and don’t interfere with my life again.” After a pause, I forced myself to slow down my tone, but with an unquestionable determination, “I will go to your wedding, and treat it as a last trip to see you off. From now on, we will go back to each other, and have nothing to do with each other.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, and only slight breathing could be heard.After a long time, he whispered: “Okay.” The word was as light as a feather, but it fell heavily on my heart.

I hung up the phone and leaned back in my chair, my eyes instantly turning red.It was obviously me who initiated the break, and it was obviously me who wanted to get rid of the past, but why did my heart hurt so much?The sunshine outside the window was just right, shining on the desk through the glass, but it couldn’t warm my cold fingertips.When the neon lights and the hustle and bustle of the KTV entered the door, I was leaning on the sofa and listening to the boss of the partner talking about the project prospects. Lin Zhiqing sat beside me and calmly helped me block the third glass of liquor that was handed to me.The door of the private room was gently pushed open, and the waiter came in pushing the wine trolley. His white uniform was crisply pressed. When he bent down to put the wine bottles, the profile of his face exposed made my fingertips shudder.

What peace.

Xing Qingru’s personal assistant, whom I have met several times at banquets in the old house, always wears suits and leather shoes, behaves well, and follows Xing Qingru like a precise ruler.But at this moment, the broken hair on his forehead was wet with sweat, his collar was slightly open, his sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, and there were still some wine stains on his exposed wrists. He was pouring wine for us carefully, with a somewhat jerky and ingratiating movement.

“Mr. Song, your lemonade.” He handed me a glass of non-alcoholic drink, his voice was very low, his eyes deliberately avoided my sight, but his ears were red.

Partner Zhang smiled with his eyes narrowed: “Xiao He’s service is very attentive. He doesn’t look like someone who has been doing this all year round, but more like a white-collar worker.”

He Ping’an’s hand shook almost imperceptibly. Just when he was about to speak, I took over the conversation first, tapped the rim of the glass with my fingertips, and said in a calm tone but with an unquestionable aura: “It really doesn’t look like it.”

He suddenly looked up at me, his eyes full of panic, as if he was afraid that I would reveal his identity.I didn’t say anything more, turned around and clinked glasses with Mr. Zhang, and the topic returned to project cooperation.But out of the corner of my eye, I could always catch a glimpse of He Pingan standing in the corner, peeking at me from time to time, with a complicated look on his face, as if he had something to say.

I got up to go to the bathroom. As soon as I reached the corner of the corridor, He Pingan quickly caught up with me and blocked my way. His voice was breathless: “Mr. Song, please don’t tell Miss Xing that I am here…”

I raised my eyebrows and looked at him. The person in front of me was no longer as glamorous as an assistant. There was fatigue and embarrassment in his eyes: “The Xing family won’t let you be reduced to being a waiter, right?”

He gritted his teeth, his Adam’s apple rolled a few times, and he whispered as if he had been struggling for a long time: “I owe a gambling debt. When Miss Xing finds out, she will kick me out of the Xing family, and she will also hold me accountable for the things I did for her in the past… I can only run to the neighboring city to hide and work a few jobs to pay off the debt.”

Just as he was talking, Lin Zhiqing’s voice came from the direction of the box. He probably came out to look for me when he saw that I hadn’t been back for a long time.He Ping’an’s expression changed and he immediately took two steps back: “Mr. Song, please keep it a secret. I will never appear in front of you again.” After saying that, he turned around and ran towards the employee passage, his back hurried as if he was running away from something.

I stood there, looking at the direction in which he disappeared, filled with doubts.Xing Qingru always had a good reputation. He Ping’an had been following her for many years. Even if he made a mistake, with the strength of the Xing family, they would either resolve it privately or simply kick him out. How could he end up in such a situation?What’s more, what are the “those things he did for Miss Xing” that he mentioned?

Lin Zhiqing walked up to me and followed my gaze: “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” I retracted my thoughts, turned around and walked to the box, “I just feel that some people’s situations are much more complicated than what we see.”

The neon lights cast swaying light and shadow on the corridor walls, much like this confusing chess game.Xing Qingru’s assistant, gambling debts, secret affairs…these pieces suddenly came together, which made me vaguely feel that Song Zhili’s marriage might be more complicated than I imagined.