Unlike Zhang Lei, who deliberately arrived late, Zhang Lei did it on purpose. Anyway, no one paid attention to her. After all, she was a nobody and her words carried no weight. People gave her face, but that was for her father and her family, not for her personally.
While waiting outside, Zhang Lei knew that Zhou Xuan would definitely be late. However, Zhou Xuan was unaware of this and genuinely had no sense of time. He wasn't working and didn't care about money, so he had no concept of time. Although he was late, he didn't remember it at all.
While probing Liu Xingzhou's words, Zhou Xuan pondered what Liu Xingzhou was trying to say to Zhang Lei.
However, Liu Xingzhou's words made Zhou Xuan give up: "Xiao Zhang, we've been colleagues for quite some time, please don't make things difficult for me anymore."
"How could I make things difficult for you?" Zhang Lei was taken aback, not understanding what he meant. She then realized that Zhou Xuan's bank card was still in her bag—a staggering 7.1 billion yuan, not 700, 77 million, or even 7 million or 77 million. The thought of such a large sum of money in her possession made her incredibly anxious.
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Volume 1, Chapter 550: Mistaken Identity?
Liu Xingzhou hesitated somewhat, which surprised Zhang Lei, who had never seen Director Liu so weak before. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Director Liu, you are the director and I am your subordinate. Please don't say these things. Saying them will only frighten me!"
Liu Xingzhou immediately became flustered and quickly waved his hands, saying, "Not at all, not at all..."
Zhang Lei then casually remarked, "Director Liu, I request further punishment. Zhou Xuan and I were both late today, and our colleagues in the office were watching us!"
"Why should we care about them? Let them be late, do whatever they want. This is the Criminal Investigation Department, and work is the priority here!" Liu Xingzhou replied without hesitation, then added, "I'll reprimand them later. I don't care about other places, and I can't control them, but in our department, results speak for themselves. If they want to do this, fine, as long as they can achieve the same results as you, I'll approve even if they don't show up in the department for a day!"
Liu Xingzhou treated her like a sycophant, but Zhang Lei found it meaningless. He was just an opportunist who changed his mind at the slightest provocation. She wondered if he was a section chief or just someone who got things done. If that was his mindset, how could he put his energy into getting things done?
In truth, Liu Xingzhou was forced into this situation. Deputy Director Luo stopped answering his calls, leaving him completely disoriented, like a child without parents. Although he still held the position of section chief, he was actually more lost than an ordinary employee. Ordinary employees had no desire for promotion or fear of demotion; they didn't care what happened. How the higher-ups transferred them was irrelevant to them. Whoever became the director, they would still have to do their jobs and receive the same salary. But it was different for someone like Liu Xingzhou with an official position. Those with positions wanted to rise higher, so they would inevitably try to cultivate relationships and build networks. But when a network of relationships built up over a long period of time suddenly collapsed, he was left feeling lost and helpless!
If Fu Yuanshan takes office and becomes the director of the municipal bureau, people like him will obviously be abandoned. If he is squeezed out from here and transferred to another region, then he will definitely start to decline. He couldn't sleep all night last night and wanted to talk to Deputy Director Luo to see what to do, but Deputy Director Luo wouldn't even answer his calls.
This made Liu Xingzhou realize that Deputy Director Luo had truly abandoned him. Whether things would turn out well or badly was up to him. So, after arriving at work early in the morning, Liu Xingzhou waited for Zhang Lei and Zhou Xuan. However, he was too embarrassed to talk to Zhou Xuan directly, since yesterday's incident had turned into a complete falling out. He wanted Zhang Lei to mediate and help Zhou Xuan. If she could reconcile with Zhou Xuan and then ask Zhou Xuan to plead with Fu Yuanshan, he was willing to work for Fu Yuanshan. At this point, he had to find a way out for himself.
However, Zhang Lei didn't cooperate with him at all, showing him no respect whatsoever. Liu Xingzhou was angry, but he couldn't vent it. Zhang Lei wasn't afraid of him, and now that his position was in jeopardy, she was even less afraid of him. Things were different now. As the saying goes, a fallen phoenix is not even as good as a chicken, and that was exactly how Liu Xingzhou felt at that moment.
Zhang Lei couldn't figure out Liu Xingzhou's true intentions, but she understood one thing: Liu Xingzhou no longer harbored any hostile thoughts towards Zhou Xuan. "It seems my father was right; Zhou Xuan is indeed not simple."
"Director Liu, if there's nothing else, I'm heading back to my office!"
Liu Xingzhou gave another awkward smile. Only then did he realize that Zhang Lei, whom he had always thought was just a pretty face, was actually quite cunning and not as simple as he had imagined. For example, she was completely unresponsive to both soft and hard approaches, giving him the feeling that she was impervious to reason.
He only let out two dry laughs, then nodded and said, "Alright, alright, then... let's go back, let's go back..."
Zhang Lei could tell that Liu Xingzhou was still not satisfied, so she pretended not to understand and turned to leave Liu Xingzhou's office. When she returned to her office, the expressions of her colleagues today were very different from yesterday. The female colleague who had gone to Liu Xingzhou to tattle yesterday greeted Zhou Xuan and Zhang Lei with a smile as soon as they entered, and proactively made two cups of coffee for them. When she placed them on Zhou Xuan's desk, she said softly, "I added extra sugar on purpose!"
You can't hit someone who's smiling at you, right? That's just Zhou Xuan's personality. Although I look down on people like her, most people are like that. Besides, she's not my opponent or enemy. She just wants to build a relationship with me to be nicer. She's vain and gossipy, just like most ordinary women, which is understandable.
Zhou Xuan smiled slightly and said, "Thank you, thank you, I'm sorry!"
After sitting for a while, Zhou Xuan noticed that his colleagues were occasionally glancing at him furtively. This wasn't because they thought he was handsome or dashing; it was probably because yesterday's operation was already an open secret within the Municipal Bureau.
Today, Fu Yuanshan was attending a meeting at the Municipal Party Committee. The work situation at the Municipal Bureau was different from usual. Even after the bureau chief was transferred some time ago, there was never a situation like this. After the bureau chief was transferred, the deputy bureau chiefs each stepped forward to take charge of their respective responsibilities, managing what was under their jurisdiction and what wasn't. But today was strange. From the deputy bureau chiefs to the section chiefs, team leaders, and department heads, whenever a report came up, everyone said they had to wait for the bureau chief's decision and report to him before a decision could be made. Fu Yuanshan wasn't there, and no one in the bureau dared to make a decision.
Those who wanted to fight for power stopped fighting, and those who wanted to make decisions stopped doing so. Starting this morning, the municipal bureau has truly entered a power vacuum.
However, the dozen or so middle-level cadres who were ostracized and acted with Fu Yuanshan yesterday were as happy as if it were New Year's Day. They really made the right bet yesterday. They didn't expect it at the time, and they didn't know what happened. They were about to leave, but suddenly their legs went weak and they couldn't walk, which led to today's situation. It seems that they have to thank God!
Of course, they didn't know that if they were to express their gratitude, they should thank Zhou Xuan. If Zhou Xuan hadn't frozen them with his supernatural power, they would have already left that office, and they wouldn't be feeling this way today.
The two people who walked at the very front were now watching their colleagues, who were usually just as down on their luck as they were, stand tall and proud. The feeling they had was indescribable; they were filled with regret!
But the hardest medicine to find in the world is a "regret medicine"!
Zhou Xuan took a small sip of coffee. It was very sweet, so sweet that it almost masked the bitterness of the coffee. He glanced at the table again. The computer was already on, and QQ was automatically logging in. His colleague had also brought up the Four Kingdoms game, just waiting for Zhou Xuan to come into the room and play chess.
Zhou Xuan gave a wry smile. "It would be best if we just stayed out of each other's business, or even just be indifferent." This enthusiasm was too much for him to handle.
The female employee whose phone Zhou Xuan destroyed yesterday, though her expression was somewhat unnatural today, was completely different towards Zhou Xuan and Zhang Lei. She was incredibly enthusiastic, even coming over to say, "Little Zhou, if there's anything you don't know, just tell me. But there's basically nothing to do here, so you can just play games!"
Zhou Xuan nodded, but the more he said that, the less interesting it became for him. He lost interest in playing the game and just browsed some web pages. He decided not to play the game anymore.
Finally, it was noon, lunchtime. Zhou Xuan slipped out, quickening his pace to avoid having to eat with his colleagues at the municipal bureau's canteen. He was afraid his head would explode if he ate with them.
However, Zhang Lei followed him out. Zhou Xuan didn't slow down until they reached the gate of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Zhang Lei, who hadn't slowed down, stayed close by his side the whole time. Seeing Zhou Xuan slow down, she smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Are you annoyed with them too?"
Zhou Xuan smiled and shook his head. It seemed he would have to eat out again today, but he didn't know where to go.
Zhang Lei said, "Judging from your expression, are you worried about not having food?" She then took out the bank card and asked, "There's 7.1 billion yuan in cash in there, and you're worried about not having food? I don't know where you got so much money, and you're just leaving it in my hands without any fear or worry. Aren't you afraid I'll withdraw and use your money?"
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly. He hadn't really taken it to heart, but when Zhang Lei handed him the card, he still took it and put it in his pocket before saying, "You can't withdraw much anyway. The maximum amount for a single transaction is one million. Anything exceeding that requires my signature. Someone else getting my card is basically useless. Can withdrawing a few hundred thousand make you rich? Besides, they'd need my PIN!"
"Let's not talk about it anymore. Where should we eat?" Zhang Lei giggled and said. It's better to find a place to eat than to talk on the street.
"Whatever you want, I'm not familiar with the area. Wherever you say we should go, that's fine!" Zhou Xuan replied casually, letting Zhang Lei do as she pleased, he didn't care where they went.
Zhang Lei smiled and said, "Great! It's really nice to have a rich guy like you as a partner. We can eat delicious food every day without repeating a dish!" As she spoke, Zhang Lei waved and hailed a taxi, and then the two of them got in.
Zhou Xuan didn't mind at all. After getting into the car, he said, "How about we go to the place from yesterday? The food there was pretty good!"
Zhang Lei blushed and spat, "I'd rather die than go there. If you make a fool of me like that, the waiters will probably laugh at me behind my back. I'm not going!"
Zhou Xuan laughed heartily. What happened yesterday was indeed interesting, and it had indeed fooled her.
The restaurant we went to today was much farther away than the place we went to yesterday, in a different direction. It was smaller in scale, but still quite upscale. After going in with the waiter, Zhang Lei didn't go to the main hall. Instead, she booked a private room, which was much quieter than the main hall. She was annoyed by the unseemly behavior of some people, even their lecherous eyes. She didn't have those concerns in the private room.
With Zhou Xuan as her backer, Zhang Lei had no worries at all today. She took the menu and picked out the most expensive dishes, ordering seven or eight dishes in total. She wanted to order more, but seeing the waiter's surprised expression, she decided against it.
The waiter asked in a low voice, "Miss, how many of you are there?"
Zhang Lei scoffed, "Me and him, one plus one, do you even know how to do that?"
The waitress blushed, but still argued, saying, "That's not what I meant. I just saw that you ordered so many dishes, enough for several people. Two people probably can't finish it... But when I think about how this is a restaurant, the more the customers eat, the higher her bonus is. As long as the customers pay, who cares if they order more or less? The more they order, the better!"