Chapter 1587
In the suite,
The atmosphere was tense.
Hou"s father continued criticizing his wife, saying, "With your stubborn temper, you brought this upon yourself this time. I could tell from earlier how you disdain Xiao Wen"s cla.s.smates. Just look at your tone and your expression. I feel like slapping you. In the system, appearances can be deceiving. How many times have I told you this? Each time, you don"t listen. Now look, have you learned your lesson? Do you think I don"t have enough trouble? Offending colleagues is one thing. Offending leaders is another. But offending someone from the Disciplinary Commission? They could take action against you with just a single doc.u.ment."
Hou"s mother, feeling remorseful, dared not argue with her husband anymore. She finally understood why her husband scolded her in front of many people. She felt a sense of guilt inside. "Old Hou, I didn"t know."
Hou"s father pointed at her. "Ignorance."
Hou"s mother whispered, "So what do we do now?"
Perhaps seeing his wife"s regretful expression, Hou"s father softened and sighed, "Alright, it"s not all your fault. You didn"t know him, you"ve never met him, and fortunately, Xiao Wen and Xuebing are cla.s.smates, even dorm mates, and have a good relations.h.i.+p. It shouldn"t be a big deal."
Hou"s mother looked at her son. "Xiao Wen, is your relations.h.i.+p with your cla.s.smate okay?"
Hou Wen hadn"t fully processed the situation yet and instinctively replied, "Of course it"s fine. And don"t worry, Xuebing is not that kind of person."
Hou"s father nodded and said to his wife, "Just now, I saw him insisting on carrying your bag for you. He"s generous and considers Xiao Wen"s face. Because of Xiao Wen"s relations.h.i.+p with him, this incident won"t become a disaster for us."
Hou"s mother breathed a sigh of relief. "That"s good. I"m sorry, Old Hou."
Hou"s father looked at her. "It"s over now. Just be more careful next time."
Hou"s mother felt guilty. She turned and poured him a gla.s.s of tea. "Have some water."
Gulping down a few mouthfuls, Hou"s father looked at his son. "Look at your cla.s.smate. He"s the same age, but look at him now. Learn something from him."
Hou Wen smiled bitterly. "But Xuebing doesn"t have any background. I"m happy for him, but I"m also puzzled. We"ve been in university for so many years. I"ve been to his home more than once. I know about Xuebing"s family situation. How could he become a Division Chief official in just three years? It"s like he"s riding a rocket."
Hou"s father said, "Heroes don"t ask for their origins. Who told you that you need a background to survive in the system? He must have skills that you don"t know about."
Hou Wen sighed. "The thing is, I don"t know what they are. In university, our whole dormitory felt that Xuebing was relatively low-key and didn"t talk much. His grades were average. But now, he"s thriving. He married such a beautiful wife, and he"s a Division Chief official in a powerful department like the Disciplinary Commission. I don"t even know what to say anymore."
Hou"s mother was also skeptical. "Old Hou, is he a Division Chief? Is it a genuine Division Chief position or just a deputy Division chief?"
Hou"s father affirmed, "He"s a genuine Division Chief cadre. When he was in Xiaxing City, I heard that he showed his work permit, clearly stating his rank. Otherwise, why do you think Deputy Provincial Governor Jia didn"t come this time? Why do you think there"s been tension in the province recently?"
They fell silent for a while.
Hou Wen slammed the table and exclaimed, "You got promoted and didn"t tell me? You married such a beautiful wife and didn"t even inform me! That"s so unreasonable. I must ask about this in the afternoon. Ah, I have so many questions! It"s unbearable to keep them inside. Xuebing, you"re shameless."
Hou"s father frowned. "Don"t say such things."
Hou"s mother quickly added, "He"s a leader now and can even manage your father. Be more careful when talking to your cla.s.smates in the future; don"t be so impulsive."
Hou Wen smirked dismissively. "It"s fine. Xuebing and I have been buddies for many years. We"ve never held anything back in our conversations."
Hou"s mother said, "You still need to be careful."
Hou"s father pondered for a moment. "Xiao Wen knows what he"s doing. Let him handle it himself."
"No need at all," Hou Wen replied. "What"s the point of friends.h.i.+p if we have to be cautious? If Xuebing were the kind of person who looks down on others after getting promoted, we wouldn"t have had such a good chat at the airport. He never mentioned his rank or workplace. There was no hint of showing off. Don"t measure us with your standards. Rank is one thing. Friends.h.i.+p is another. If you don"t complicate things, they won"t conflict."
Hou"s mother glanced at her son. "You"ll have dinner together tonight. Help me explain things then."
But Hou"s father shook his head. "He didn"t take it seriously. Let"s leave it at that. There"s no need to keep mentioning it. It"s not very graceful."
Hou"s mother pondered for a moment. "But I still need to speak well of you. I heard that Xie Huilan has quite a background. Using Xiao Wen"s relations.h.i.+p to get closer to her is good. In case of any trouble in the future, she could help. Besides, Xiao Wen"s cla.s.smate works in the Disciplinary Commission, which holds a lot of power. He could help you. To be blunt, even if someone from the commission wants to investigate you, Xiao Wen"s cla.s.smate could give us a heads-up, right?"
Hou"s father waved his hand. "Enough already. Let"s go with the flow."
Hou Wen felt extremely helpless listening to their conversation. "You guys have too many thoughts. Just to be clear, I won"t get involved. Alright, I"m going to hang out with Xuebing now."
"Go ahead, don"t keep him waiting." This might be the first time Hou"s mother has supported her son"s outing like this. Knowing about Dong Xuebing"s ident.i.ty, her att.i.tude naturally changed, and she said actively, "Xiao Wen, take some money with you. If it"s not enough, I"ll give you my bank card. You can pay when you go out to eat. And oh, this child, always leaving without saying anything."
Hou Wen opened the door silently and left.
In the corridor, Hou Wen took out his phone and called Dong Xuebing.
"Hey, Hou Wen," Dong Xuebing answered.
Hou Wen vented, "Hurry up and come downstairs to meet me."
Dong Xuebing chuckled, "What"s wrong? You sound like you"re going to eat me."
Hou Wen was annoyed. "I wish I could eat you! You"ve been hiding too much. You"ve just turned this age and are already a Division Chief official!"
"Hehe, you heard from Uncle Hou."
"How could I not have heard? And what"s with your beautiful wife? Come out now, come out now! You have to explain it to me today. It"s infuriating!"
"Haha, you"re jealous."
"You can boast now, but tonight, when we"re drinking, I"ll make sure you regret it."
"You don"t stand a chance. Even if there were ten of you, you couldn"t outdrink me. Haha."