His words only said half, but Zheng Wei understood his implied meaning. At that time, Chen Xiao had already finished his training and returned to work for a period of time. The promotion assessment team from the superior department had assessed him, and it was clear to everyone that he would become the deputy manager. Zheng Wei said to Zhou Qu: "Don't worry, leader, I can still distinguish between public and private matters."

  Now, Zheng Wei and Chen Xiao Zheng are more strangers than acquaintances. Except for necessary official conversations, they won't have any extra words. After Chen Xiao Zheng returned from Beijing after completing his training, he became even colder and more taciturn. Project managers like He Yi, who had been scolded by him before, complained about him behind his back. However, although Chen Xiao Zheng is difficult to talk to, he is indeed meticulous and precise in terms of technical requirements. The problems he points out are all accurate and to the point. While being strict with others, he is even stricter with himself. Therefore, including He Yi, many people who are not satisfied with him also have to admit that he has a systematic approach to doing things. Moreover, except for speculation about his relationship with Ouyang's daughter, there is nothing to criticize about him either publicly or privately.

  Currently, some projects are competing for national excellence. Chen Xiao is in charge of technology and quality, and many document-related tasks are assigned to Zheng Wei to assist him. Zheng Wei dares not slack off and works diligently, but his strictness and pickiness make her repeat the same task over and over until he has nothing to say. Overtime is inevitable, she is busy in the office till late at night, and the lights in his office are always on till deep into the night. However, the two rarely communicate, even when Chen Xiao has tasks to assign, even if they are just separated by a wall, he communicates with her through internal phone calls.

  At that time, Lin Jing was also busy and sometimes had too many social engagements. Afraid of disturbing her, he would stay on his own side. Calculating it, the two of them hadn't had a good meal together for over a week. So on Thursday, he called her at noon to ask her out to eat together. Zheng Wei thought that there was still one more day until Friday to finish up the things in her hands, so she happily agreed.

  He parked the car in a large yard near Zhongjian, and they went to a nearby Korean restaurant for dinner. After finishing their meal, the two of them walked together to the supermarket next door, bought some daily necessities and cat food for Mouse, and strolled back to her residence.

  As they walked into the courtyard, the sky had already darkened. Lin Jing smiled all the way as he listened to Zheng Wei's chatter. It had been a while since they'd enjoyed each other's company like this, and he couldn't help but feel that Zheng Wei seemed more clingy than usual, which brought him some joy. As they walked, Lin Jing leaned in close to Zheng Wei's ear and whispered a few words, causing Zheng Wei to space out for a moment before blushing bright red and pretending to kick him, scolding: "Scram, you rascal!"

  Lin Jing smiled and dodged lightly, but the hand that wasn't holding a shopping bag caught hers. Zheng Wei didn't struggle free like she usually did, instead turning her face slightly to the side, looking at him with a mixture of a smile and annoyance, her eyes shining with limitless charm. She liked the way Lin Jing was looking at her now, and in these past few days when he wasn't around, she had actually missed him too.

  Lin Jing didn't say anything else, and pulled her to walk faster and faster, eventually becoming a small run for the two of them. Zheng Wei giggled and let him pull herself forward, she knew why he was in such a hurry.

  As she passed by the office building, Zheng Wei's smile suddenly disappeared when she met someone walking in the opposite direction on the pedestrian path.

  It's not a coincidence that Chen Xiao Zheng has been back for several months, during which time Zheng Wei Lu met He Yi three times and Li Ayi five times. Zhong Jian Da Yuan is neither big nor small, but she had never run into him after work before, yet this time, she was holding hands with another man, running into each other on a narrow road.

  His coat was slung over his wrist, and he still held a thick file bag in his hand, obviously just coming down from the office, walking towards the direction of his residence. They realized each other when they were already too close, without even half a point of emotional buffer left. Chen Xiao's eyes fell on Zheng Wei's face, then slowly dropped to her and Lin Jing's clasped hands, with an eye gaze so direct that there was no time for concealment.

  Just like a slow-motion shot in a black-and-white silent film, Zheng Wei felt that this moment was cut into countless pale fragments. She saw Chen Xiao take a deep breath, his gaze shattered, and her own hand unconsciously broke free from Lin Jing's palm, clenched tightly into a fist, and hid behind her back.

  Lin Jing turned her face to look at her, she forced a smile and nodded, but her neck was stiff. Her posture should have been impeccable, but Chen Xiao Zheng didn't even give her a courtesy smile, as if they were strangers, he brushed past her with an arrogant and cold demeanor.

  Everything is just sparks flying everywhere, she shouldn't see it too clearly.

  She walked a few steps forward in a daze, and Lin Jing's fingers intertwined with hers again. The strength between his fingers made her wake up from her dream, "Lin Jing..." She grasped him back firmly, and he smiled faintly. This was still the familiar Lin Jing, but it seemed like a different person from the one who had laughed and held her hand while running just now.