The regular meeting was like women’s period–when it started, you felt awful, and it wouldn’t finish till a long time. Jiang Youyou was bored so silly that she began to scribble in her notebook, “INSTANT NOODLES, ELASTIC, STRECH, SPRING BACK, TWIST, WRINKLE, CROW’S FEET”
Zhao Huixin… she must go to see her mother after work.
Ah, the handsome General Manager on the stage was already the prey in the control of Xu Nuo, the high-spirited marketing manager sitting below. In other words, he was to be looked at from far away but not to be coveted.
Huang Yu gave Jiang Youyou a glare, silently criticizing this little boy crazy for being absent-minded.
Jiang Youyou was taking the meeting minutes while thinking about what had happened to Zhao Huixin.
Luo Junchang mentioned about the company’s annual party before the Spring Festival and the assignments for each department to complete before the party. Especially for the Marketing Department staff, they had more work to do, yet he hoped they would work harder.
Xu Nuo’s eyes sparkled. Luo Junchang would be very glad if her department fulfilled this year’s objective, for he could continue to stay at his position of GM by then. He would certainly feel glad.
“Our chairman of the board would attend this year’s party. To tell the truth, it’s a rare opportunity, so I hope everyone would work harder for better achievements. Break up!” Luo Junchang waved his hand.
Almost everybody had left the meeting room, except Huang Yu who was reading the Marketing Department’s monthly report. Some of their performance was exaggerated
Xu Nuo was very unhappy. “What was exaggerated? I’m the manager of the department, and I’m responsible for the data.”
Huang Yu cast a glance at her, then at the GM Luo Junchang before retreating from the meeting room.
Xu Nuo and Luo Junchang were sitting face to face.
“How should this gossipmonger poke her nose into others’ business? Why should you have her as GM assistant? How annoying!” Xu Nuo acted girly.
“Didn’t you find that she did a rather good job? Xu Nuo, we’d better not mix business with pleasure. Or you’d better stay at home after we get married, instead of working outside.”
“When are we going to get married?” Xu Nuo took up the thread of the conversation, tilting her head to one side to look at Luo Junchang.
“After this busy period.” Luo Junchang felt a little dizzy. Recently he worked overtime too much, and he had to spare the time to date Xu Nuo, to take care of his mother at home at the same time. It seemed that his one-million-yuan annual payment was not so easy to gain. It might be quite possible that he would be out of employment the next year. The chairman of the board had the final say after all.
As to the chairman, Luo Junchang knew him very little. The only thing Luo knew was that the chairman trusted him very much. Usually they only contacted each other via email on the internet. The chairman seldom came to the company. After all, he owned not only this company.
Jiang Youyou printed the meeting minutes out. Then she went to Huang Yu to ask for a half-day off. Huang Yu said, “You’re all crazy fellows falling in love.”
Zhao Huixin’s mother opened the door. The rooms had been cleaned up, and there was no smell of blood lingering in the room at all.
“I had heard Huixin mention about you. She said you are one of the talented workers she picked out from the employment market.” Zhao Huixin’s mother was silver-haired.
“I’m going to ask you something about her.”
“Don’t ask the questions the police had asked, such as who was the father of the baby. I was even the last one to know Huixin was with child. She fooled me by telling me that the company sent her away on business, so she wasn’t in Shenzhen. I didn’t live with her. How could I know anything about her?” the old mother’s eyes were filled with tears as she talked about her dead daughter.
“So do you know how she got the job in OSY Company?” Jiang Youyou looked around the room casually. Zhao Huixin’s photo was just exhibited in the living room. It was a black and white photo, showing her appearance when she was the most beautiful.
“She couldn’t find a job since she resigned from her former company. Once she suffered from an appendicitis attack, later the wound became infected and she had to stay in the hospital for over a month. Then she told me she met a doctor in the hospital who recommended her to work in OSY.” Zhao Huixin’s mother recalled.
“Do you still remember which hospital she was in?”
“Xinxing Hospital.”
This was a familiar place. Jiang Youyou felt the name of the hospital obtrusive. She had an intense premonition and she decided to make a very important phone call due to this.
While answering the phone call Pu Yuanhui was in the casino playing poker game–the Big Two. He didn’t know why he always lost to the other three even with an obviously good hand. He was fond of playing the Big Two because it was quite enjoyable to have one’s identity alternated constantly between enemy and friend. It’s also interesting to gang up against an opponent. Sometimes you preferred even to lose a few scores in order to help your ally to defeat the weakest player. When the player was driven to the corner and more than eight cards stagnated in his hands, everyone’s scores would double. To play the Big Two needed players lay more stress on team spirit, compared with Dou Di Zhu (fight against the landlord) that totally depended on luck.
When he lost all his money and was going to get some more from the ATM downstairs, his phone rang. The caller ID showed it was from Jiang Youyou. He hurriedly said to the other three card players, “I’m leaving. I have a girl to meet. The dozens of thousand yuan I lost today can be taken as protection fee for you.”
The three poker buddies thought they hadn’t had enough fun and if he left, they couldn’t continue. So they wouldn’t let him go. “Play cards first. You can date with girls on another day.”
“No, I can’t. This girl is a good one, it’s not convenient for her to come to such a place. What’s more, she has asked me out on a date for so many times, I have to go this time. No wonder l lost so much money today. It turned out that I’m going to be lucky in loving affairs.” Pu Yuanhui lit a cigar and happily escaped.
“It seems that I’m still charming enough. Jiang Youyou’s eyes were shining with passion when she looked at me that day. She seemed unable to resist my invincible charm. Her heart full of doubts and hesitation has finally been defeated by her desire for love.” Pu Yuanhui thought triumphantly while he was driving, the car’s CD player was playing the songs of Wu Kequn, a young singer who liked to show off:
Love is a strange thing,
I began to get out of control all over.
Love is a kind of capability,
I even started not to be myself.
I have done so many foolish things for you,
And the first thing was to write poems for you-
Wrote poems for you and came to a standstill for you.
And accomplished mission impossible for you.
For you I learned to play the piano and to write the lyrics.
For you I went out of my mind.
Wrote poems for you and came to a standstill for you.
And accomplished mission impossible for you.
And I played all love melodies for you.
I forgot to say
The sweetest melody is your name.
Love is a strange thing,
Your smile is my only faith.
Love is a kind of capability
To decide what kind of position I play in your heart.
I have done too many foolish things for you,
And the first one was to write poems for you.
Wrote poems for you and came to a standstill for you.
And accomplished mission impossible for you.
For you I learned to play the piano and to write the lyrics.
For you I went out of my mind.
Wrote poems for you and came to a standstill for you.
And accomplished mission impossible for you.
And I played all love melodies for you.
I forgot to say
Your name is the sweetest melody.
How the fuck could this song be so pleasant to the ear. Pu Yuanhui was in a particularly good mood. What was the pleasure in your life? Playing cards, losing a little money, finding a pretty girl to invite her out on a casual date.
Every man thought himself was handsome. Wu Kequn thought in this way. So did Pu Yuanhui.