The situation was a little bit awkward.
Secretary Lu wasn’t happy, but still, he managed to put a smile on his face, and said, “Director Wu has such strong desire to be a protector of Ms Yao, so how can I disappoint him and not give him the chance.”
And then he grabbed three big glasses and said, “Ms Yao owes me three glasses of wine last time. Why don’t you do her a favor, and drink them for her.”
That was just mean, but Director Wu handled it peacefully. He said, “I wasn’t trying to be a protector. Since Ms Yao was brought here by Xiaodong Su, naturally it should be his responsibility to protect her. I am an outsider and I just find the atmosphere here enjoyable. But how can I say no to Secretary Lu if he wants me to drink them. I’ll do it.”
Then he drank the wine for real.
Secretary Lu was truly shocked by his attitude, and also, Xiaodong was embarrassed. Because he said I was brought here by Xiaodong, and should be protected by Xiaodong. In other words, he was blaming Xiaodong for failing to protect me and let me be bullied by the others.
“Director Wu surly can drink like a fish. Do you want more?” Secretary Lu said, feeling unsatisfied.
“That’s enough for me. I am such an idiot tonight, and I will never make trouble like this ever again. Ms Yao, I am drunk for your sake, and you will not abandon me later, right?” Director Wu said to me.
He was obviously flirting with me, and I was taken aback, having no idea what to say.
I can’t say that I would take care of him, because it sounds like I would start an affair with him, nor can I say no to him because I don’t want to give him a hard time.
“Thank you so much for doing this for me, and if you are truly drunk, I will certainly find someone to take you home.” I said calmly.
“Ms Yao, you are being mean here. Director Wu drank so much alcohol for you and he wants you to take care of him, not anyone else. His intention is so clear and obvious, and you don’t need to pretend that you don’t see.” Secretary Lu said.
The others got excited, and kept making jokes about me and Director Wu.
Director Wu also persisted. He said, “I will be so ashamed if Ms Yao abandons me here in spite of the fact that I’m so drunk. I am already feeling dizzy, so please take me home now as I don’t want to ruin other people’s mood. Don’t worry. I will treat Ms Yao like a gentleman.
This man’s last sentence sent people into fits of laughter.
I don’t get it. This man was once a good gentleman, and why he changed so much all of a sudden.
“Since Director Wu wants you to send him back, you should just do it.” Xiaodong said.
All of a sudden I figured it out. I looked at Director Wu, and even though he was flirting, he didn’t seem to be drunk. So, what he truly wanted was to take me away from this place.
The whole drama of asking me to send him home was nothing but an excuse.
I said fine, If Director Wu insists, I’ll just do it. I walked up to him, reached out my hand and got hold of him. He placed his hand on my shoulder, which again, sent the crowd into a roar.
I suppressed my desire to remove his hand from my shoulder, and took him out of the restaurant.
The moment we reached the door, he removed his hand, and said, “I’m sorry Ms Yao. I really don’t know what else can be done back there.”
Instead of drunk, he seemed to be rather somber.
I smiled, and said, “That’s alright. I knew you were helping me. I appreciate it.”
“Today Second Brother called me and said you were coming with Xiaodong to this dinner, and that’s why I showed up. Now the mission is complete, and I should go home. Ms Yao, take care.” He said, smiling.
“I do appreciate your helping me out tonight. Let me drive you home, as you have drunk quite a lot.”
He waved his hand and said, “That’s not necessary. I’ll get a taxi. Don’t forget to tell Second Brother that you are fine. And besides, don’t come to dinners like this one if possible. It doesn’t suit you at all. People always try to take advantage of girls who show up at occasions like this.”
He is sincere enough, and I said, “Thank you, Director Wu.”
“Me and Second Brother have always maintained a good relationship, and he helped me a lot. His little sister is also my little sister. Go home soon.” He waved at me.
I bent to him and said, “Thanks a lot. We shall dine together some other time with Second Brother.”
“Fine, goodbye.”
I stopped a taxi and departed, and Director Wu just stood by and watched, then he also raised his arm to get a taxi.
…
The next day, Xiaodong again assigned me a huge amount of work. I kept myself busy till lunch time, and not a half was finished.
I felt restless, wondering when will this kind life end if I kept working under Xiaodong.
Xiaodong came in at this particular time, and said, “Nala Yao, a mall owned by our company is about to be opened. I want you to make a list of the people we need to invite for the ceremony, and then you need to prepare the invitations .”
“That I can not do, I’m afraid. Because I am not very familiar with the situation of this company, and I have no idea who should I invite. How should I make the list?”
“What kind of assistant are you? Do you expect me to deal with it myself? When you were helping with Wenbei Su, didn’t you manage everything pretty well? Now I am in charge and you want to hold me back?” Xiaodong said with great anger.
I said fine, I’ll do it if you insist. But don’t you blame me if I mess it up.
“You have to do it well, as this is the first huge thing since I got this position. If you mess it up, you will be held accountable.”
His words reminded me of the fact that this indeed is the first thing he did since he got the position, and if it turned out badly, it will certainly do him a lot of harm. Then why don’t I make some trouble for him.
He had long been abroad, and he was not very familiar with the situation of this company. Second Brother knew the situation best, so he also knew the most effective way to do some damage to the company. But this plan wouldn’t be favored by Second Brother given that he is such a righteous man, so I’ll have to do it myself.
And then Xiaodong came in and said, “oh right, we should invite shareholders as our guests. As for Aunt Jiang, do remember to ask her assistant to make the arrangements beforehand.”
That is to say, important people like Ling Jiang was surly to show up for such an important occasion. And wouldn’t she be offended if she failed to come due to some particular reason? And the offender was Xiaodong, not me.
Then, just like that, I got an idea.