Chapter 29: Song Hecheng’s Return

Song Hecheng walked steadily to the front of Tao Yu.

The person returning from a business trip was still as magnificent as ever.

Song Hecheng had a light jacket draped over his arm. He walked to Tao Yu’s desk and stood still.

His gentle smile remained unchanged, his voice clear and bright.

“Sorry to disturb you, Comrade Tao. I just came up to collect a document.”

Only then did Tao Yu look up at Song Hecheng and, with graceful ease, stood up.

Today, she wore a white cotton-linen blouse with lace edges, paired with black, form-fitting, high-waisted trousers.

It was a perfect match, just like Song Hecheng’s black and white attire.

From a distance, Tao Yu stood in front of him, her posture making her appear even smaller and more delicate.

The scene was striking.

She, tilting her head up at the desk, and he, looking down from beside her desk, made an unexpectedly harmonious pair.

Tao Yu acted as if she hadn’t recognized the person behind her earlier.

With a slight lazy smile in her eyes, she calmly spoke.

“No, I’m just leaving. Director Song, please go ahead.”

After finishing her sentence, Tao Yu gave Song Hecheng a faint smile.

She then picked up the small black bag that Li Juan had bought for her and turned to leave.

No questions asked.

No concern shown.

She wasn’t even curious about when Song Hecheng had returned. Not a single unnecessary word escaped her.

It was as though she was just an ordinary employee, staying late to work, and had casually run into a superior. After a polite exchange, she was on her way.

Tao Yu walked at a leisurely pace on the wooden floor of the office building.

“Tap”

“Tap”

“Tap”

After just three steps, a clear voice came from behind.

“Comrade Tao, if you don’t mind, could you wait for a minute and walk with me?”

Tao Yu stopped, just stepping into a beam of the slanting sunset light.

With her hands holding the small bag, she paused, standing gracefully.

Her waist was slim, her legs long, and her back seemed to sway softly in the light.

Tao Yu turned and looked back at Song Hecheng.

He stood straight, his posture confident and impeccable by her desk.

With a raised brow and a smile, he looked at her, clearly waiting for her reply.

The last rays of the sun bathed Tao Yu’s long eyelashes in golden hues, every delicate tremor of her lashes clearly visible.

Even her soft, fair profile seemed bathed in a warm, ambiguous yellow light, slightly blurring her expression.

In that instant, the fingers beneath his jacket moved ever so slightly.

It was undeniable.

The scene illuminated by the sunlight was indeed beautiful.

As for Song Hecheng’s suggestion, the person in the light responded softly.

“Alright.”

Outside the car, there was no sign of Xiao Zhang.

Song Hecheng, ever the gentleman, opened the car door. Tao Yu thanked him and sat into the passenger seat.

Once Song Hecheng got in and placed his hands on the steering wheel, he didn’t start the car right away.

Tao Yu turned her head, puzzled, looking toward the driver’s seat.

In the narrow car interior, Song Hecheng, with an easy, graceful demeanor, invited her.

“Comrade Tao, if you have time, would you like to have a meal together?”

“Director Song, you’re too kind.”

Tao Yu, still confused, asked,

“Why do you want to have a meal with me?”

Song Hecheng smiled, his eyes warm.

“Before coming to the office, I ran into Director Li on the road. He spoke very highly of your work attitude.”

“If Comrade Tao has time, we can treat it as a simple work gathering. I hope you don’t feel burdened.”

In other words, it seemed Song Hecheng, the boss, was just politely treating Tao Yu, the diligent employee?

Was that really the case?

Tao Yu wasn’t sure.

Since she wasn’t sure, she decided to accept Song Hecheng’s invitation.

After all,

Getting closer to your opponent helps you find their weaknesses, doesn’t it?

Tao Yu nodded, a playful smile still lingering at the corner of her lips.

“I’m hungry. Can we go somewhere closer?”

Song Hecheng chuckled and nodded.

“Of course.”

Considering that Tao Yu was already hungry, Song Hecheng chose a nearby place to eat.

In less than ten minutes, the black car stopped in the old street of Santun.

Song Hecheng led Tao Yu into a restaurant named “Xiao Er.”

As soon as they entered, Tao Yu’s eyes scanned the scene.

The floor of the restaurant was covered in popular triangular water-grinding bricks.

Posters and red couplets adorned the walls.

There were about twenty round red-painted tables for ten people each, with matching red wooden chairs.

Unexpectedly, the interior of the restaurant, which looked ordinary from the outside, had a large and spacious dining hall.

At this moment, the hall was full of customers, with waiters weaving between tables, the place bustling and lively, clearly doing good business.

As soon as Song Hecheng and Tao Yu stepped inside, a bald middle-aged man spotted them.

He quickly excused himself from the current guests and approached Song Hecheng with great excitement, shaking his hand respectfully.

“A rare guest! A rare guest! Boss Song!”

Song Hecheng smiled and nodded, shaking the man’s hand.

“Long time no see, Boss Qi.”

Qi Datong let out a hearty laugh.

Suppressing his excitement, he immediately wanted to propose a toast with Song Hecheng.

But then, seeing the quiet woman standing behind him, Qi Datong suddenly realized.

He quickly reined in his excitement, and with great enthusiasm, he invited them to sit, not wasting any time.

“Boss Song, is this your companion? Got it, I’ll arrange the best private room on the second floor, nice and quiet!”

Without waiting for them to respond, he shouted excitedly toward the inside of the restaurant.

“Quickly, prepare the best private room for Boss Song!”

He then turned and gestured for the two to head upstairs, clearly worried about being slow in his service.

Song Hecheng looked helpless but didn’t have the chance to explain, so he just said, “Excuse me,” and went upstairs with Tao Yu.

The private room on the second floor was indeed much more luxurious than the one downstairs. In addition to a large round table covered with red cloth and a rotating turntable, the walls were covered with tiles featuring a large landscape painting that seemed to be a mosaic.

Tao Yu had never been to a restaurant from the 1980s, nor had she ever seen such tiles before. She reached out to touch them, and behind her, Qi Datong, who was helping Song Hecheng with ordering, proudly began explaining.

“Comrade, this landscape painting was specially commissioned to be painted. It took nearly a month to finish. What do you think? Is it good?”

Tao Yu turned around, smiling as she responded, “It’s quite nice.”

Encouraged by her praise, Qi Datong couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Boss Song, your companion has great taste!”

As soon as Qi Datong finished speaking, Tao Yu glanced at Song Hecheng, almost as if she were watching a show.

Song Hecheng paused for a moment as he flipped through the menu, helplessly explaining to Qi Datong, “Mr. Qi, there’s a misunderstanding. Comrade Tao is my colleague.”

After Song Hecheng’s explanation, Qi Datong froze, then quickly slapped his bald head in apology. “My mistake, I didn’t recognize her. I’m sorry, miss. Well then, I’ll leave you to order. I’ll have someone start preparing.”

Song Hecheng nodded, and Qi Datong left.

Tao Yu, her interest waning, turned her gaze away.

She found Song Hecheng’s response rather boring…