Chapter 1414: Office Romance
The Next Day.
Monday morning.
The sky brightened, but there was no sun in the half-clouded sky. Sunlight filtered through the clouds and gently embraced the land of Zhen Shui County. A new day had begun.
At home.
In a small bedroom.
The alarm clock buzzed incessantly.
Dong Xuebing turned over and tapped his phone twice to silence the alarm. He opened his eyes, still drowsy, and glanced at the clock and saw it was eight o'clock. He slapped his forehead with his hand to wake himself up, reluctant to sleep any longer. He sat on the bed, sighed, and his eyes fell on the computer on the bedside table. The computer was still on, but he covered the monitor. Thinking about the scene from last night, Dong Xuebing felt extremely embarra.s.sed. He had secretly taken out Mayor Jiang's underwear, stockings, and autumn clothes, spread them on the bed, and, ultimately, the person involved had discovered it. Dong Xuebing felt more embarra.s.sed than if he had jumped off the building. He wondered how Mayor Jiang perceived him now.
Anger?
Outburst?
Upset?
Everything was possible.
Dong Xuebing rubbed his eyes, got out of bed, and headed for the bathroom.
If he had more time to spare, he would have used the back b.u.t.ton to return to the moment before the video call and put away Sister Jiang's clothes. However, when the video call started, Sister Jiang must have seen the things on his bed, but she didn't mention it. Finally, after Dong Xuebing read a story for about ten minutes, she said it was too late. Dong Xuebing only had a few minutes left, and he had used up some of that time at Jiang's mother's house.
What will be, will be.
He was also at fault. How could he forget about that?
Dong Xuebing picked up the clothes in the bedroom, put them on, and looked at the several pieces of Sister Jiang's clothing still hanging on the bed. The clothes were still on the bed but placed near or at the foot of the bed. After Sister Jiang asked about them last night, he pushed the clothes out of the range of the camera. He didn't have time to tidy them up. After calming Sister Jiang to sleep, Dong Xuebing's mood was uneasy. He didn't care about this anymore. He bent down, reached out to the bed, picked up the stockings and underwear, and slowly put them in Sister Jiang's box. He originally wanted to put them back in their original positions, but it was meaningless since they had been discovered. He threw them away.
It's time to go to work.
Oh, what to do?
Dong Xuebing had been in Zhen Shui County for a long time, and he felt a sense of resistance to going to work for the first time. Helpless, he felt a little hesitant.
9 am.
County Party Committee Compound.
Dong Xuebing drove to the office, and as soon as he entered the compound, he looked around through the car window, afraid of seeing Jiang Fangfang's figure. He hadn't figured out how to explain it yet.
It was already working hours.
There weren't many people in the compound. Those who were supposed to be there had already entered the office building.
Dong Xuebing got out of the car and looked around, feeling relieved. Then he went upstairs to his office.
The office phone didn't ring today, and the mobile phone was much quieter. No one called him for work consultations or reports. Dong Xuebing had been busy for a whole week. Now that Sister Jiang was back, and his temporary task of acting as the county government was considered a success, he enjoyed the leisure. Yao Cui might be late and hadn't come to work yet, so Dong Xuebing took a thermos and went downstairs to the water room to get water. He could have asked someone from the county government office to do these things since it was the department he managed. However, Dong Xuebing didn't want to bother others.
The water room was messy.
Water was splashed all over the floor, deep in some places and shallow in others.
It was Dong Xuebing's first time getting water, and he sighed. He also missed the days of having a water dispenser. However, without saying anything, he still went in.
After placing the thermos, he turned the switch.
Gurgle, gurgle, boiling water filled the thermos.
The equipment here was not great; it was quite old, and there was a lot of water stain on the switch. The fine water flow took a long time to fill up.
Suddenly, a female voice came from behind, "Mayor Dong."
"Yeah," Dong Xuebing turned around and looked, "Secretary Li."
Jiang Mayor's secretary, Li Xiaona, also held a thermos. "Why are you fetching water?"
Dong Xuebing smiled, "Just moving around. Haven't exercised for a long time, and my body is getting stiff." He paused, "You're fetching water for Mayor Jiang. Is Mayor Jiang here?"
Li Xiaona nodded, "The Mayor arrived at eight."
Dong Xuebing lowered his voice, "How's Mayor Jiang's mood?"
Li Xiaona lowered her voice, "It's fine, nothing special, just like before."
The perfume he gave paid off. This was the advantage of having a good relations.h.i.+p with the leader's secretary; you could know everything beforehand. Of course, Secretary Li probably thought Dong Xuebing cared about the death of Mayor Jiang's father. However, Dong Xuebing was more concerned about the video incident.
"That's good."
"By the way, Mayor Dong."
"Yeah."
"Mayor Jiang mentioned a lot of work doc.u.ments from last week. She said she was waiting for you to come to the office and find her. Bring the doc.u.ments."
"Cough, okay."
"Your thermos is full."
"Okay, I'm going back."
Half an hour later.
Upstairs, Mayor's Office.
Mayor Jiang had already spoken, and Dong Xuebing couldn't avoid coming. Originally, he thought about avoiding the situation, letting Yao Cui, who had just started working, deliver the doc.u.ments. However, after contemplating for thirty minutes, he decided to come alone. Looking at the door, Dong Xuebing gritted his teeth and knocked bravely.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
"Secretary Li, where is Mayor Jiang?"
"She's inside. Please come in."
"Alright."
Looking at the door to the inner room, Dong Xuebing knocked again and then pushed the door open. At first glance, he saw Jiang Fangfang behind the desk. Sister Jiang's attire today was not as casual as at home. She wore a suit with trousers and black high heels, looking serious.
Closing the door, Dong Xuebing said, "Mayor Jiang."
"Here." Jiang Fangfang glanced at him.
Dong Xuebing felt a bit flushed on his face and walked up, saying, "The things you wanted."
Jiang Fangfang nodded, put down the pen in her hand, and looked up, "You slept late last night. I don't even know what time I went to sleep."
Dong Xuebing hurriedly said, "Around 1.30 am."
"That's still quite early. Thanks to your stories, otherwise, I might have stayed awake all night." Jiang Fangfang stood up. "Let's talk on the sofa. Tell me about the work from last week."
Face-to-face wasn't convenient, so the two went to sit on the guest sofa.
Jiang Fangfang glanced at the doc.u.ments he handed over, pointing at them and asking a question.
Dong Xuebing answered immediately, and his restrained expression gradually relaxed.
So calm.
Is she not angry?
She didn't mention the underwear incident.
This situation was, of course, what Dong Xuebing was happy to see. If Sister Jiang didn't bring it up, he naturally wouldn't take the initiative to mention it. Look at her tolerance; he had secretly touched her body without permission, even stuck his tongue in her mouth, and last night, he even displayed her underwear. Sister Jiang still remained indifferent, and Dong Xuebing increasingly admired Sister Jiang's composure.
Jiang Fangfang asked, "Did you allocate funds to them?"
"No, the finance doesn't have any money either."
Jiang Fangfang nodded, "Okay, I'll think about it later."
"Also, I rejected this application too." Dong Xuebing took out another doc.u.ment from below and showed it to her, pointing to it. "The Civil Affairs Bureau proposed it. I think it's unnecessary, and I'm a bit indecisive. It's not urgent, so I let them wait. We can decide when you come back."
"Okay, I'll take a look."
"There are several other funding applications behind, and some seem urgent, but our finance only has a small amount of money available. We can't afford it. Well, to put it bluntly, we're out of money."
"Is there a plan for the investment promotion you asked me to make?"
"I didn't have time to work on it yesterday. Today, I'll make it detailed and show it to you before the end of the day."
"Good, do it as soon as possible. If this continues, I'm afraid there will be a financial gap again. We've only a few million left, and it's not even half a year yet. How will we get through the second half of the year?"
"Yeah, I'll make a plan as soon as possible."
"Okay, I'll leave the investment promotion to you."
"Got it. I'll do my best."
"Mayor Dong, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Our county's investment promotion department has been mostly idle. We haven't attracted substantial investments in half a year, mostly individual business operators. It can't form a scale. The main reason is that our county's investment environment is too poor, lacking resources, mediocre climate conditions, remote location, and various objective factors constraining the investment environment. Do you know how much money our county attracted in the past year?"
Dong Xuebing said, "I've looked into it. It's less than ten million."
What is the concept of attracting several million in investment?
Dong Xuebing could easily spend several million to buy a Land Rover.
So, the investment environment in Zhen Shui County is not just bad; it's extremely poor.
Jiang Fangfang said, "So don't put too much pressure on yourself. It would be best if we could attract more investment. If it's not possible, it's not all your responsibility."
"Okay, I'll give it a try."
"If you have any requirements, let me know."
"If we're going to organize an investment promotion event, it will cost money. Well, I'll come up with a plan first."
As Dong Xuebing spoke, his eyes fell on Sister Jiang's thighs, which were wrapped in trousers, drifting around beside him, within arm's reach.
The legs are truly beautiful.
I wonder if she'll let me touch again.
Yesterday, Jiang Fangfangs mother was present, but it might not be allowed today.
Dong Xuebing could see something from Jiang Fangfang's seemingly indifferent demeanor today. Sister Jiang's lack of response increased Dong Xuebing's audacity.
Try touching again.
But what if Sister Jiang gets angry?
As they discussed work, Dong Xuebing hesitated.
Forget it.
Try again.
A few minutes later, Dong Xuebing made a decision. He wanted to see where Sister Jiang's bottom line was. So, he subtly reached out his hand, and the next second, it rested on Jiang Fangfang's thigh. Yesterday, he touched her through winter pants. Today, the suit pants were thinner than the winter pants. The feeling of her thighs underneath was even more real.
Very elastic.
Also, it's very s.e.xy.
Dong Xuebing boldly stroked twice, feeling anxious in his heart.