Met the love during a blind date

Chapter 3 You just need to take care of yourself.

Near the end of the year, every department in the unit was preparing for the annual assessment, and everyone was extremely busy.

Jiang Xuerong was busy checking the accounts when Yan Panpan entered the door with her boyfriend. Each of them was holding a bright red, gold-embossed wedding invitation in one hand and a bag of candies in the other, cheerfully inviting her to attend their wedding the day after tomorrow.

After sincerely congratulating the handsome and talented couple-to-be, they moved on to other offices.

Jiang Xuerong opened WeChat and yelled in the group, “Sign up for the banquet the day after tomorrow. Let's sit at the same table.” Soon, she received responses from Lu Xiaoqian and others. After making the arrangements, she put down her phone and threw herself back into the reports. On the day of Yan Panpan's wedding, they took a taxi directly to the hotel after work.

Since Yan Panpan's boyfriend used to be Director Liu's personal driver, quite a few colleagues from the unit showed up, filling five or six tables. Half of the six deputy directors were also present, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Jiang Xuerong's close sisters were not the showy type, so they spontaneously found a table and sat down.

After the ceremony, taking advantage of the occasion, colleagues quickly started toasting each other, strengthening their relationships and deepening their impressions.

The wine table culture in City A was strong, and Jiang Xuerong had gradually grasped some of the tricks. She could drink a little, but usually didn't take the initiative. Most of the time, she only had some drinks when outside.

Colleagues kept coming to her table one after another, flowing in and out like a stream, but almost as if they had made an agreement, they all asked her, “Xiao Jiang and Xiao Yan came in the same batch. Xiao Yan is getting married. When is Xiao Jiang going to treat us to a drink?”

Jiang Xuerong's smile was a bit stiff. At the right moment, a sister at the same table, Zhang Mei, smiled and said, “If you want to drink, it's easy. Come on, let's hit the late-night snack stall.” With her words, the colleagues changed direction and moved closer to Zhang Mei with their wine glasses, and Jiang Xuerong could finally breathe a sigh of relief. She couldn't help but wonder if she should also set up a “celibacy” persona like Shang Ling. With this kind of urging, even the donkey on the production team would get annoyed. A few days after Yan Panpan's wedding, a deputy county-level veteran leader in the unit retired.

Since he was usually easygoing and basically had no airs of a leader, Su Te, the deputy chief of the Personnel Department, privately organized some colleagues who were relatively close to send him back to his hometown.

Lu Xiaoqian worked in the Personnel Department, so she definitely had to go. She then called on Jiang Xuerong, Zhang Mei, and Huang Wen.

The reason was simple. Sending the veteran leader back to his hometown would inevitably involve drinking, and the few of them were considered “single” in the city and could hold their liquor. They had long formed a fixed drinking group. Whether it was to hold up the scene or for safety reasons, they would get together whenever there was an unavoidable drinking party in the unit.

After work that day, ten people, divided into two cars, rushed to the hometown of the veteran leader in a hurry. It was about an 80-kilometer journey and would take about 1 hour and 10 minutes by car.

Not long after they set off, Xie Mingyu sent a WeChat message saying that he could get off work on time today and wanted to invite her to dinner.

Since they added each other on WeChat, he would send her a few messages at irregular times every night. Either he told her what he was doing, or he took a picture of the orchid that had just bloomed on his balcony and showed it to her, or he shared his other hobbies.

Even though they hadn't met, his tone was so natural, as if he were sharing his life with a friend, familiar yet not pretentious.

In response, Jiang Xuerong only replied casually once or twice. After all, she had a persecution complex and couldn't bear overly sudden enthusiasm. Seeing that he sent another mischievous emoji, Jiang Xuerong replied, “I'm not free today. I'm going to C County with colleagues to visit a retired veteran leader.” Xie Mingyu immediately replied with a “crying” emoji. Jiang Xuerong was a bit speechless. He was five years older than her, but he liked using these childish emojis more than she did. Could this be the reason for his divorce?

Seeing that she didn't reply, he sent another message, “Then you go. I'll come to C County to pick you up tonight.” After a pause of a few seconds, he added, “Okay?” Jiang Xuerong silently recited “Thank you” in her heart and quickly typed a line and sent it back, “No need. Just take care of yourself.” The world became quiet again, and there were no more messages from him. Jiang Xuerron put away her phone and naturally joined in the conversation with her colleagues. Lu Xiaoqian gave her a meaningful look and approached her with a mischievous smile, “The divorced guy introduced by Sister Yang? He's chasing you hard.” Jiang Xuerong glanced at her and said indifferently, “Just a strutting peacock.”

Zhao Ge, who was driving, had sharp ears and suddenly asked, “Where's the peacock? I don't see it.” Lu Xiaoqian laughed so hard that her branches trembled. Under Jiang Xuerong's warning gaze, she suppressed her laughter and said, “No, we were just watching a video on the phone.” The veteran leader was very happy to see them come and generously prepared a table of seafood. He even specially invited local friends to accompany them for dinner. In such an occasion, no matter how delicious the food was, it was only a foil, and wine was the highlight.

During the toasting, Jiang Xuerong had already drunk a few sips, and a faint peach-pink color appeared on her fair face, looking delicate and charming under the magnificent crystal chandelier.

Keeping a bit of sobriety, she told Lu Xiaoqian and quietly left the table to get some air outside the hall. Half an hour later, estimating that the time was about right, she returned to the private room.

The pungent smell of white wine filled the entire private room. The table was in a mess. Some people had already fallen asleep on the table, and some were still gathering together, raising their wine glasses and shouting that they wouldn't stop until they were drunk.

Huang Wen and Zhang Mei, who had the best liquor tolerance, were still mingling at the table. Seeing that they didn't seem drunk, Jiang Xuerong turned around and found Lu Xiaoqian on the sofa outside the private room. This sister was more senior and naturally wouldn't let herself get drunk. She was hiding here, chatting on the phone with her boyfriend. Looking around ** ly, she took out her phone and started contacting colleagues who weren't present to see if anyone needed help after drinking too much. By the time she finished making the calls, the people in the private room were staggering out, supporting each other. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran over to help Zhang Mei. The veteran leader was also in a good mood and arranged for the next activity to go singing.

Jiang Xuerong just wanted to go home early at that moment, but Su Te, who was leading the team, didn't want to disappoint the veteran leader. So, they moved on to the KTV.

The lights were bright and the music was deafening.

Zhang Mei was a star in this aspect in the unit. She was beautiful, could hold her liquor, and had a beautiful singing voice. Soon, she was swaying gracefully on the dance floor like a fluttering butterfly.

Due to her slow-to-warm-up nature, Jiang Xuerong never let herself go too much in an unfamiliar circle. So, she just huddled on the sofa in the corner, slowly eating a fruit plate.

Suddenly, a man came up to add her on WeChat, saying that he ran a mine and had business dealings with their Natural Resources Bureau and that it would be convenient to contact each other in the future. While she was thinking about how to refuse, Lu Xiaoqian rushed over and unhesitatingly grabbed her slender arm, “Xuerong, hurry up. It's our song.” Jiang Xuerong obediently stood up with her.

After the song ended, the two naturally held hands and walked to the bathroom.

“Don't forget how I met Old Dong,” Lu Xiaoqian said to her seriously as soon as they left the private room.

“Of course I haven't forgotten. I can recite your love story backwards.”

Lu Xiaoqian gave her a sideways glance. “When you're out, you, a young and innocent little white rabbit, should be more careful. Don't let those sanctimonious and malicious people deceive you.”

“Don't worry, sister. I wouldn't touch that greasy dish even if I was starving. If it weren't for seeing his pot-bellied figure, just looking at his thinning hair, I'd think he was going to become a monk.”

Her sharp tongue made Lu Xiaoqian burst out laughing and nod in agreement. “Sister knows you have good taste. I'm just afraid you might be tricked accidentally. These slick guys usually spend lavishly and are good at coaxing young girls with sweet talk. It's better not to get involved.”

“Okay, I can't afford to mess with them, so I'll just avoid them,” Jiang Xuerong obediently agreed.

She didn't know about the others, but these sisters really treated her well.

This was also the reason why, although she didn't like socializing, she would still gladly attend when they invited her. Whenever there was a need, she would always keep a bit of sobriety to send them home. This was her way of protecting them as a sister. Because they had to work the next day, after sitting in the private room for a while, everyone dispersed and drove back to City A. By the time she sent the sisters home, it was already past 12 o'clock. Jiang Xuerong returned to her place, washed up briefly, and then went to bed. Because she had drunk wine, she slept very soundly that night.