Knock, knock, knock, knock——The knock on the door was like the last straw.
Chen Yan desperately pushed away Director Xie's hand that was on her chest. "Stop it! Someone's here!"
Director Xie was a bit drunk today and smelled of alcohol. "Ignore it!"
Hearing no response from inside, Gu Qiu knocked on the door a few more times, harder this time.
Director Xie got angry and roared, "Who is it?" Damn it! How dare anyone ruin my good deed?
Chen Yan took the opportunity to push him away. "It should be Xiao Gu. I asked him to work on the third anniversary planning proposal for the Investment Promotion Office. Stop it. If this is seen by others and gets to your wife's ears, there'll be big trouble."
Director Xie, looking like a lecherous man, reluctantly let her go and asked, "Which Xiao Gu?"
"The top student from Jingnan University who just joined us!" Chen Yan replied as she straightened her clothes.
Director Xie was a bit annoyed and shouted towards the door, "Come in!"
When Gu Qiu came in, Director Xie had a flushed face, was smoking a cigarette and leaning back on the wide leather chair. Chen Yan made a cup of tea for him. "Director Xie, please have some tea."
Director Xie's eyes were fixed on Chen Yan, clearly reluctant. He was just about to succeed but was interrupted by this kid. It was really irritating to think about it.
"Are you Gu Qiu?" Director Xie asked arrogantly.
Gu Qiu nodded. "Director, the third anniversary planning proposal has been revised according to your requirements."
Director Xie looked unhappy and tapped on the table, signaling Gu Qiu to put it down and leave immediately.
After entering the room, Gu Qiu didn't look directly at Chen Yan to avoid embarrassing her.
As a result, he didn't notice the grateful look in Chen Yan's eyes.
Of course, Chen Yan knew very well that Gu Qiu could have chosen not to come in just now. But he did come in and saved her. If it were someone else, they might have backed away as soon as they reached the door, and she would inevitably have fallen into Director Xie's clutches.
Gu Qiu put down the proposal and turned to leave.
Chen Yan took the opportunity to say, "Director Xie, I'll go back now."
How could Director Xie let her go? His eyes fell on Chen Yan's ample bosom. "Stay and discuss it with me. We'll have dinner together tonight."
Dinner? It would be like walking into a trap!
Gu Qiu knew in his heart that if Director Xie was determined to have his way with her, Chen Yan would eventually fall into his hands.
As long as Chen Yan stayed in the Investment Promotion Office, it was only a matter of time before she became his plaything.
Chen Yan, of course, was also aware of this. When she heard Director Xie asking her to stay, she was hesitating. Just then, a rough voice came from the stairway, "Xie Bisheng, why haven't you left work yet?"
The person who came was a woman in her early forties, a bit plump, with a loud voice and average-looking features. There was no sign of elegance about her, but one could sense the coldness in her bones.
This woman was Director Xie's wife. Gu Qiu had heard about it not long ago that Director Xie was henpecked, and it seemed to be true.
Xie Bisheng, who had been putting on his bossy airs just a moment ago, immediately stood up when he heard his wife's voice and put on a fawning smile. "Tang Mei, why are you here?"
Mrs. Xie's eyes showed displeasure, and when her gaze swept over Chen Yan, the feeling was quite obvious. Perhaps because there was a third person present, she didn't lose her temper.
Mrs. Xie stretched out her wrist. "Look at what time it is and you still won't leave work. I came here today just to see which vixen has bewitched you and made you not want to go home."
Chen Yan's face turned pale. Gu Qiu immediately understood what was going on and deliberately raised his voice. "Director Xie, I'll leave the report here with you. Let's go!"
Director Xie waved his hand. "Okay, okay! We'll talk about this matter next Monday."
Chen Yan finally let out a sigh of relief. Phew!
When the two of them were going downstairs, they faintly heard Mrs. Xie scolding, "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Xie Bisheng, I'm telling you, if I catch you one day, you'll be in big trouble!"
How dare Director Xie argue with his wife? He just smiled apologetically. "You saw it. We were just discussing work. Wasn't Xiao Gu also here? Could it be that I would ask Xiao Gu to stand by and watch?"
Mrs. Xie snorted. "Let's go. We'll invite Big Brother and go to his house for dinner tonight."
When Gu Qiu returned to the office, he still saw Chen Yan nervously patting her heaving chest.
Fortunately, Mrs. Xie had shown up just then. Otherwise, relying solely on himself, Gu Qiu probably wouldn't have been able to resist Director Xie's rude advances.
Having witnessed all this, Gu Qiu couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Chen Yan.
Working in the government office wasn't easy, especially for women.
After all that commotion, it was already past the off-duty time.
Gu Qiu quickly tidied up a bit and said to Chen Yan, who was sitting there in a daze, "Director Chen, it's time to leave work, right?"
Chen Yan came to her senses. "Wait for me. Let's go together."
That scene just now still made her heart pound with fear.
Although she had been mentally prepared and knew that Xie Bisheng had always had designs on her, that kind of situation just now still made Chen Yan a bit unable to adapt.
When they parted at the entrance of the Investment Promotion Office, Chen Yan didn't show any abnormality.
Gu Qiu returned to the rented house he lived in. As soon as he entered, he lay down on the sofa.
It was still early, and he didn't feel like eating.
He didn't turn on the TV and just sat on the sofa, lost in thought.
In the two months since he joined the Investment Promotion Office, he had increasingly felt a sense of sadness. Having just graduated from school, he seemed a bit out of place compared to others. No wonder his father had said that with his personality, he had to experience and be tempered in such an environment, and slowly, he would understand a lot.
In a situation like today's, most people would probably have quietly left and pretended that nothing had happened.
As for Chen Yan, fortunately it was her. If it were someone else, they might have thrown themselves into Director Xie's arms long ago. Gu Qiu sighed in his heart. The Investment Promotion Office was really in a mess.
How could the investment promotion work be carried out like this?
Gu Qiu sighed. He just blamed himself for not being the head of the unit. Otherwise, he would surely straighten out this kind of atmosphere.
Seeing that it was still early and he wasn't hungry, he went to take a shower first.
Gu Qiu didn't have any friends in Anping County, and all relationships had to be established by himself. Perhaps this was what his father meant, to see how he grew up in a strange environment.
The Investment Promotion Office originally had dormitories, but Gu Qiu wasn't used to living in a communal environment, so he moved out by himself.
He rented a two-bedroom, one-living-room small apartment on the third floor. The owners of the house were an old couple who were said to have gone abroad, and the house was managed by a relative.
Gu Qiu paid the rent for a whole year in one go, planning to make this place his long-term base in Anping County. In June, after taking a shower, he finally felt hungry.
Gu Qiu changed into a short-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of casual pants and went out.