Chapter 1724
Afternoon.
It’s three o’clock.
In the restaurant’s bathroom.
Ring ring ring, ring ring ring. Fang Wenping’s phone number appeared on Dong Xuebing’s phone. He zipped up his pants and answered it.
"h.e.l.lo?" Fang Wenping said.
"Is there something?" Dong Xuebing asked.
Fang Wenping replied coldly, "Are you done with your business?"
"Almost, still have a bit to go. What’s up, Director Fang?" Dong Xuebing replied casually. "Is there a task for us? You should first find Comrade Luo Haiting. I still have some things to handle and probably won’t return to the office this afternoon. The work in the second office can be handed to Director Luo."
Fang Wenping said stiffly, "You’re not taking care of Qianqian anymore?"
Dong Xuebing hesitated, "Almost forgot, sweat, how’s Qianqian?"
At that moment, little Qianqian crying out, "Daddy! Daddy!" came through the phone.
Dong Xuebing hurriedly said, "Oh my sweet baby, miss Daddy? Daddy has a bit of a situation here and can’t go back for now. A friend of Daddy"s wants to enter the entertainment industry but gets bullied by some company. Daddy is handling it. Be good. Listen to Aunt Fang, and Daddy will pick you up before seven or eight tonight. Go with Aunt Fang to her house first, okay?"
Fang Wenping replied, "So you’re abandoning her, right?"
Dong Xuebing awkwardly said, "But I have an urgent matter. Can you take care of Qianqian for me?"
"You think I’m free, right?" Fang Wenping said coldly. "You’re a subordinate, and you’re bossing me around?"
Dong Xuebing coughed, "Just this once, just this once, thank you. I have something urgent. If you don’t want to look after the kid, let Comrade Luo Haiting take Qianqian. I’ll find her to pick up the child tonight. Also, last time when you were drunk, I took care of you, washed your clothes, fetched water, cooked for you. You vomited all over me, and I didn’t say anything, right? Qianqian likes you, can you watch her for me? Let’s call it even."
Fang Wenping was silent momentarily, "When will you come?"
"Definitely before eight o’clock tonight," Dong Xuebing said. "So after work, take Qianqian home first. By the way, don’t feed her too much meat. She’s still young and shouldn’t overeat. Breast milk is the main thing. Also, buy some diapers and stuff. You can use the money first, and I’ll pay you back later."
Fang Wenping replied coldly, "Is it that complicated to deal with an entertainment company? Isn’t Ci Lifen just a news and broadcasting bureau leader?" It turned out that Fang Wenping heard what Dong Xuebing said to his daughter and was aware of the feud between the families of the Xie and Fang.
"I’m handling it, but it"s still not done."
"Alright, I can’t be bothered to talk to you anymore!"
"Anyway, I’m counting on you. Qianqian is in your care."
After hanging up, Dong Xuebing snorted, thinking, "Seeing how much you like Qianqian, you’d rather I never pick her up. You’re so hypocritical. I want to clear that favor you owe me. Forget it. If it’s settled, it’s settled. I won’t bother with you. It’s been a long time since I saw an old cla.s.smate from elementary school. I should reminisce about my youth. I don’t have time to look after the kid, so I’ll leave her with Fang Wenping. Despite her att.i.tude, Dong Xuebing did not dislike or trust her much, but he still felt okay leaving Qianqian with her."
Outside.
At the entrance of the private room.
When Dong Xuebing approached, Mr. Zhou and the company"s people also came out, all waiting for him there. Chen Ying stood aside smilingly.
"Mr. Dong," Mr. Zhou greeted warmly, "There aren"t any high-cla.s.s restaurants nearby, and we didn"t have time to prepare. Please forgive the inadequate hospitality."
Dong Xuebing nodded indifferently without saying anything.
Mr. Zhou continued, "We are sorry about today."
Another senior from the company added, "It was our oversight."
"Mr. Dong, please don"t hold it against us," another senior said.
How could Dong Xuebing be bothered? As far as he was concerned, the matter was resolved, and he had no interest in these formalities. Right now, he just wanted to chat with Chen Ying. Over the years, he met university and high school cla.s.smates but not elementary school cla.s.smates. Back then, Dong Xuebing had some good friends from elementary school and wondered what everyone was up to now. So, why bother with these people?
Mr. Zhou also sensed Dong Xuebing"s lack of interest in conversation and said, "Then we won"t disturb you. It’s been a long time since you and Ying Ying met. You guys catch up."
"Mr. Dong, we"ll take our leave," the company"s people bid Dong Xuebing farewell one by one.
Dong Xuebing waved his hand absentmindedly and watched them leave with a sidelong glance.
At this point, only Dong Xuebing and Chen Ying were left in the hallway. Dong Xuebing smiled, "Chen Ying, shall we find a café to sit down and chat?"
Chen Ying paused, "Let"s go to your place."
"My place?" Dong Xuebing was taken aback, but he didn"t dwell on it. It was expected to chat at home with old cla.s.smates, and it wasn"t their first meeting. "Sure."
Chen Ying said, "My car has a restricted license plate today. How about you?"
"No problem, I have my car. It"s parked at their company"s entrance. Let"s go pick it up," Dong Xuebing replied without hesitation, walking out with her. As they walked, he asked, "How are our former cla.s.smates doing now? Do you still keep in touch with Da kai and Zhang Lei?"
Chen Ying smiled, "I don’t know about Da Kai. I haven"t been in touch. I did meet Zhang Lei a few years ago, though. It was right after I finished filming my first TV drama. He recognized me on TV and somehow got my husband’s phone number. My husband and I even went out to dinner with him."
"What"s he up to?" Dong Xuebing asked.
"He"s in computer work, I think. I didn"t ask for specifics," Chen Ying replied.
Dong Xuebing chuckled, "Zhang Lei had a crush on you in elementary school. Who in the cla.s.s didn’t know? Was that dinner invitation his attempt to woo you?"
Chen Ying chuckled, "I"m not sure, but I went with my husband."
"Ha, that poor Zhang Lei must have been heartbroken," Dong Xuebing found the conversation enjoyable. "Who else have you kept in touch with? I’ve lost contact with everyone. After all, we didn"t have cell phones back then, so I couldn"t even find people to have dinner with."
"Remember Xiao Pang?" Chen Ying asked.
"Xiao Pang? Oh, that nice girl you were close to?" Dong Xuebing recalled.
Chen Ying nodded, "Xiao Pang and I have stayed in touch. She now runs her clothing store."
Dong Xuebing exclaimed, "That"s doing well. Xiao Pang wasn’t particularly noticeable in our cla.s.s. I even forgot her real name."
Chen Ying glanced at him. "But you"ve done well. Among our elementary school cla.s.smates, you"ve achieved the most. In your mid-twenties, you"re already a Division Chief leader with such influence. People envy you. Who among us can compare?"
Dong Xuebing hurriedly replied, "Don"t praise me. It"s just luck. You, being a big star, are more at ease."
Shaking her head, Chen Ying said, "At ease? There"s no such thing. Sigh, every industry is tough to break into."
As they spoke, they arrived at the entrance of Hongye Corporation. Dong Xuebing unlocked his Land Rover under Chen Ying"s curious gaze.
"Is this your car?"
"Yeah, hop in."
"Do you guys get such high salaries there?"
"It"s not salary. I won the lottery, so I"m a bit well-off."
"But this car... It costs several million, doesn"t it?"
"I bought a ticket and hit several times. So..."
Chen Ying was speechless for a moment. After looking around, she bent down and got into the pa.s.senger seat. "You"ve got the position and the money now. It makes people envious."
"Come on, I"m not doing as well as you think. Like you said, every industry has challenges," Dong Xuebing said. "There are plenty of headaches."
"You"re right."
"Heh, let"s go."
"Have you been drinking? Should I drive?"
"No problem, I can handle it. I have a good tolerance."
Dong Xuebing drove towards his residential compound. However, as luck would have it when he turned onto a side road to make a turn, he noticed a police checkpoint ahead. Several officers parked there, stopping every pa.s.sing car to test the drivers for alcohol.
Chen Ying urged, "Quick, let me drive!"
"You"ve been drinking too, haven"t you?" Dong Xuebing replied.
"I"ve had less than you, and you"re with the Discipline Inspection Commission. This kind of thing..." Chen Ying was genuinely concerned for Dong Xuebing.
But Dong Xuebing disagreed. "The police are watching. It"s too late to change now. Don"t worry, even if I"ve had a drink, it"s as good as not having had one. They won"t detect anything."
Chen Ying was still very nervous.
However, when the traffic police saw Dong Xuebing"s car, mainly his license plate and the pa.s.s issued by the Beijing City Committee that Dong Xuebing had just put up on his car, they were slightly stunned. They didn"t even stop their car, simply letting them pa.s.s.
As they pa.s.sed by, one officer even saluted them.
Dong Xuebing lowered the window a bit, nodded at them, "Thanks," closed the window, and drove away.
Behind them, other drivers complained, asking why their cars had to be inspected while Dong Xuebing"s was let through without checks, causing them to wait in line one by one.
The traffic police didn"t reply. They thought that if you could get a Beijing license plate with all sixes and a pa.s.s from a City Committee family member, they wouldn"t stop you either. These traffic police deal with this professionally every day. They can tell at a glance the status of the car, the license plate, and the pa.s.s. Even if they did stop the car and found alcohol in the driver"s blood, they wouldn"t be able to handle it because they could tell the person inside had an extraordinary background. So, they let them go.
The Land Rover continued forward.
Seeing this, Chen Ying looked at Dong Xuebing with even higher regard, knowing that her old cla.s.smate had risen to a new level.