It was just an apology. He bought this gift to thank Jiang Zhou. Although it was very expensive and it hurt to pay, thinking of Jiang Zhou’s expression when receiving it, he felt it was worth it.
As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the mall, he saw Secretary Liu sitting in the car waving to his side. Chen Ju was stunned. Realising what Jiang Zhou had said before leaving, he would call Secretary Liu to pick him up.
Are you going to another banquet tonight to put on a show? How is he doing? He already knew that he had just gone to the restroom to check his reflection.
“Mr. Chen, good evening.” Secretary Liu got out of the car and opened the rear door for Chen Ju, saying, “Please get in.”
Chen Ju felt embarrassed and quickly said: “Thank you, I, I can do it myself.”
“This is my duty.” Secretary Liu smiled.
After getting into the car, Chen Ju tightly clutched the bag on his lap, pondering when to give it to Jiang Zhou. If it was given at the entrance of the banquet later, Jiang Zhou would have to hold onto it the whole time, which wouldn’t”t be very convenient.
Or should he leave it in the car and give it to Jiang Zhou after the event? But he couldn’t bring himself to leave such an expensive pair of gloves in the car.
“What would Mr. Chen want to eat at night? Sichuan cuisine or Anhui cuisine?” Secretary Liu suddenly asked. “There are several good restaurants nearby, and their flavours are pretty good.”
Chen Ju smiled awkwardly and said, “I’m fine with anything, just whatever Jiang Zhou likes.”
“Although Mr. Chen wants to have dinner with the boss, I’m afraid to disappoint you. The boss has an important meeting today and won’t probably be back until late,” Secretary Liu explained.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Chen Ju’s face became hot all of a sudden. He wanted to say that he wasn’t hoping to have dinner with Jiang Zhou, but subconsciously thought that Jiang Zhou would have dinner with him.
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Secretary Liu nodded and then asked, “Is there anything Mr. Chen wants to buy?”
“No, no,” Chen Ju smiled sheepishly. “The house I rented is nearby.”
Secretary Liu was stunned for a moment, and glanced at the expression on Chen Ju’s face through the rearview mirror, probably figuring out that Chen Ju had misunderstood.
“It’s probably because I didn’t make it clear to Mr. Chen,” Secretary Liu said. “The boss ordered me to take you out for dinner. It doesn’t matter if you are alone, don’t feel embarrassed. How about we go to the Juwan Pavilion? The boss likes the dishes there very much.”
Chen Ju clenched the bag tightly, made a sound of surprise, and said hastily: “No need to go through all that trouble. I’ll eat casually. Just a bowl of noodles is fine.”
The moment Chen Ju heard ‘Juwan Pavilion’, he knew it was expensive. The meal there would definitely cost more than a couple of hundred yuan, which was more expensive than the gift he gave. He decided to pass on it.
Secretary Liu understood Chen Ju’s reaction, so he didn’t force much, and said, “Alright then, I’ll take Mr. Chen to a noodles shop.”
Chen Ju took Secretary Liu to a roadside noodle shop, ordered a bowl of shredded pork noodles, and then looked at Secretary Liu.
“The noodles here are delicious. You should order a bowl too.” During this time, Chen Ju would pass by this place on his way to and from work. Because a bowl of noodles cost more than ten yuan, he couldn’t afford it. So he would just take in the aroma from outside, pretending that he had eaten it, and silently swallow a lot of saliva.
Secretary Liu was also hungry at the moment, so he ordered a bowl of mixed seafood noodles. When it came time to pay, Chen Ju stood embarrassedly beside him, clutching the hem of the clothes with his fingers.
After having the noodles, Chen Ju felt a rush of warmth all over his body, and his drowsy head also felt much better. He took another look at the bag placed next to him and made sure it was in good condition. The corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up.
“It seems that Mr. Chen likes this item very much,” Secretary Liu said with a smile. “I have seen you look at it several times.”
Chen Ju paused, the tips of his ears turning red. He lowered his head and spoke softly, “Yes, it’s for Jiang Zhou. I want to thank him for helping me so much.”
“Oh,” Secretary Liu frowned slightly, giving a knowing smile. “The boss will definitely like it.”
“Really?” Chen Ju asked immediately. He had been worried about whether Jiang Zhou would truly like it. Now with Secretary Liu here, who had been with Jiang Zhou for so long, he and he definitely knew what he liked.
Secretary Liu nodded and said, “Of course, don’t worry.”
“Then, could I trouble you, Secretary Liu, to help me see if Jiang Zhou will like this gift?” Chen Ju carefully took out the expensive pair of gloves from the bag, holding them in both hands with a nervous expression, and looked at Secretary Liu expectantly.
Secretary Liu stared at the pair of festive red Christmas gloves. One of which had a friendly smiley Santa Claus embroidered on it, and the other had a green Christmas tree. Several fingers were decorated with small Christmas trees and bells. The calm smile on his face froze, and he forgot to speak for a moment.
“I think they’re quite… quite good-looking, so I bought them.” Chen Ju pursed his lips and smiled awkwardly. He looked at Secretary Liu anxiously and asked. “Secretary Liu, do you think Jiang Zhou will, will he like them?”
Secretary Liu glanced at the festive gloves, then back at Chen Ju’s expression of anticipation, and his mood was very complicated.
Having gone through the celestial battle, Secretary Liu chose to tell the truth, even though it was somewhat cruel. But if he lied, with the boss’s temper, Mr. Chen might feel even worse.
“Cough,” Secretary Liu clenched his fist and coughed, looking away from Chen Ju’s expectant eyes, so as to make his conscience feel better. “The gloves are cute, but I think the boss wouldn’t really like anything too fancy.”
Chen Ju was stunned. The anticipation in his eyes was filled with disappointment. He carefully pulled back his gloves, and his voice was barely audible: “Oh, I see… I, I thought he would like them.”
Secretary Liu quickly comforted: “It’s okay, Mr. Chen. You can choose a simpler style.”
These gloves had already spent all of Chen Ju’s recent food expenses. Buying another pair, he was afraid he couldn’t afford it. Could the gloves be returned if they haven’t been used? If he couldn’t get a refund, he would have to wait for next month’s paycheck to buy a gift for Jiang Zhou.
“Well,” Chen Ju pursed his lips, showing a forced smile, “Thank you, Secretary Liu, for reminding me.”
Leaving the noodles shop, Chen Ju remained silent, drooping his head like a punctured balloon. Secretary Liu looked through the rearview mirror several times, but didn’t know how to comfort him.
Soon the car arrived at the place. Chen Ju and Secretary Liu said goodbye. He opened the car door and stepped out. It took only two steps to realize that this was not the apartment he rented, but the one Jiang Zhou had sent him away in the morning.
“By the way, Mr. Chen,” Secretary Liu chased after him, placing a card in Chen Ju’s hand. “This is the password for the door lock. Then, I’m leaving. Goodbye.”
Before Chen Ju could respond, Secretary Liu had already turned back and the car quickly disappeared from sight.
I’m sure Jiang Zhou would like anything from Chen Ju though.. 😔
+1 my heart is aching 😭 I can imagine Jiang Zhou staring fondly at the gloves in his own room all alone
Well, maybe not now though. In the future, I guess? Since he’s going to chase his wife…
Noooo… He will be so sad if they are returned.
BUT they don’t seem a thoughtful gift… Unless he has an understanding of his taste from prior history
Sitting here tapping my foot to wait for Jiang Zhou’s reaction. It’s probably not anything good..
Thank you for the chapter!
Waiting for Jiang Zhou’s reaction…
+1 eagerly waiting
Aghhh I wanna get spoiled on when the wife chasing arc beginsss
Secretary Liu my beloved 🫴💕💕💕💕