Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The morning three days after the conference.
An office inside the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China. A middle-aged man with glasses sat at his desk reading Everyone Daily.
Suddenly, he heard a knock from behind his door.
The man put the newspaper in his hand down before he said, “Come in.”
The door opened, and Chen Baohua walked in.
“Hey, did you look for me?”
Although He Nian was ranked higher than Chen Boahua, the two were close friends and didn’t call each other by their formal titles.
Although they were both in the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China, they were in separate divisions of the department. Therefore, they spoke casually to each other.
However, there was something unusual about this encounter.
Old He was abnormally warm this morning.
Chen Baohua was confused when He Nian smiled and made a hand gesture.
“Old Chen, I didn’t expect you to come so soon. Please sit down, let’s talk.”
“Oh, are you trying to persuade me about something?” Old Chen sat down on the sofa and said, “Just give it to me straight, I’ll do what I can.”
“What do you mean persuading? Old Chen, you’re funny…” He Nian smiled awkwardly and said, “I just want to ask you about something.”
“What’s up?”
“That day at the airport, the girl that came off the flight with Professor Lu is your daughter?”
Chen Baohua frowned and didn’t look like he wanted to answer the question, but he still gave a short reply.
“Yeah.”
When He Nian heard this answer, he seemed interested.
“Then… What’s their relationship?”
“I don’t know,” Chen Baohua shook his head and said, “I don’t know about her friends.”
“Old Chen, as your old friend, I have to criticize you!” He Nian looked serious as he said, “She’s your daughter, how can you not care about this?”
“She’s my daughter, why do you care?” Chen Baohua looked at him and said, “She’s not young anymore, why do I need to care? Cut the sh*t, what do you have to say? Stop wasting my time.”
When He Nian saw that Chen Baohua didn’t take the bait, he smiled.
“Then… I’ll cut to the chase.”
Chen Baohua said, “Yeah.”
He Nian said, “Your daughter isn’t young anymore, have you thought about… finding a son-in-law?”
Chen Baohua’s eyebrows raised and he furiously stood up from the sofa.
“Your degenerate of a son is already thirty years old, don’t even think about taking my daughter!”
He Nian quickly said, “Old Chen, don’t get angry, I’m not talking about my son. I don’t care what my degenerate of a son does! I’m talking about… Lu Zhou, you know.”
Chen Baohua calmed down a little as he stared at He Nian.
“… I know, why?”
“The higher-ups think that he’s important, and therefore, our department did some research on him.”
Old Chen said, “Yeah, and?”
He Nian paused for a second before he said, “You might know that this Professor Lu… has never dated before.”
Chen Baohua said, “Oh, maybe he’s too busy doing research and doesn’t have the time to date.”
He Nian said, “He still has to marry and have a family eventually!”
Chen Baohua smiled and said, “Ha, what if he likes guys?”
Hearing his friend’s response, He Nian nearly spat the tea out of his mouth. He then slammed his vacuum flask on the table and said, “Then, we’ll have to find a way to straighten him!”
Chen Baohua said, “Forget about it. If he doesn’t want anyone, why are you forcing a wife on him?”
“Ah, I don’t mean it like that,” He Nian smiled and said, “but that’s sort of what I mean!”
He Nian saw that Chen Baohua didn’t say anything, so he continued, “Think about it, he’s a lonely man, and at most, he cares only about his parents. But does that even matter? My degenerate of a son never visits me; he barely even calls me. Do you think this is reliable? It’s not reliable at all!
“Eventually, he won’t be able to withstand the temptation. I’m worried about him having a foreign family in a foreign country. Not only will this be a mistake for our department, but this will also be a mistake for the country!”
The introduction of overseas talent was one of the Organization Department’s duties. This was mainly handled by the division of the Ministry of Talent.
The introduction of high-level talents was often done by higher authorities themselves, which meant their tactics were often more creative.
For example, researching overseas talents’ relatives in China, manipulating emotions, offering research funding, etc. These were some of the basic tactics.
Other than these basic tactics, there was also the “partner matching” technique, which was one of China’s specialties.
It’d be great if they could find Lu Zhou a partner.
However, Chen Baohua didn’t like what he was hearing.
He couldn’t help but fight back.
“Why are you sending my daughter? Why don’t you send your daughter?”
He Nian was helpless, and he said, “I want a daughter, but it’s too late to have one now!”
He didn’t sound like he was joking.
If Lu Zhou fancied his non-existent daughter, he’d immediately vacate his mansion in Beijing so that the newly-wed couple could move in.
After all, it would be a worthy sacrifice.
Chen Baohua snorted and said, “Put your money where your mouth is. I’m telling you, don’t even think about it! I, Chen Baohua, will not sell my daughter.”
“Old Chen, that’s not the way to think about it. What do you mean by selling your daughter…” He Nian quickly stood up from his chair and said, “They are both single and around the same age. Professor Lu is a brilliant human being. Do you really think your daughter is being sold?”
Chen Baohua looked at his old friend and said, “You’re manipulating his life. Have you ever thought about it from his perspective? What if this thing turns south?”
He Nian frowned and thought for a bit. Chen Baohua did make sense.
The times had changed, and it was all about individuality and freedom now.
If Lu Zhou ended up resenting the marriage and chose to never come back to China, then it would be horrible…
Chen Baohua saw that He Nian didn’t speak, so he said, “You can’t force love. If they click, then what happens happens. If they don’t, then nothing will happen no matter how hard we try. I want to let her find her own happiness. I don’t want her to marry someone just for the sake of it.”
He Nian looked at Chen Baohua.
“Old Chen.”
Chen Baohua: “What?”
He Nian asked, “Are you and your wife… unhappy?”
Chen Baohua replied instantly, “F*ck off!”
…
“Achoo!”
The sneeze shook the ground and earth.
“… Is someone talking about me behind my back.”
Lu Zhou rubbed his nose as he walked out of Jinling International Airport.
He had bought the return plane ticket to Jinling long ago.
Lu Zhou spent the day after the state’s dinner resting in the hotel. The next day, he woke up at 5 a.m. to take a plane to Jinling.
This time, he didn’t tell anyone he was coming back. He didn’t even post it on his friends’ news feed.
The main reason was that he didn’t want to trouble other people.
When Lu Zhou arrived at the airport and was about to take a taxi to Jin University, suddenly, he saw someone he recognized.
Lu Zhou was stunned, and he walked over to confirm that he wasn’t mistaken.
Standing outside the airport was none other than Wang Peng.
The car behind him was the same car that Lu Zhou used in Beijing.
Lu Zhou asked, “Why… are you here?”
Wang Peng said, “Beijing to Jinling is only a 12-hour drive. I left yesterday morning and arrived last night.”
Lu Zhou looked at him and was speechless.
“… You must be tired.”
Wang Peng smiled heartily.
“Not tired, I’m happy to serve the people!”
