Firefighter

The next day.

After the meeting, speech, and oath-taking, Dong Xuebin had officially become a Probationary Party Member.

As soon as they came out of the Small Conference Room, Li Qing smiled and patted Dong Xuebin on the shoulder, calling him into the New Office. "The old office was burned beyond use, so we switched to this room. Come here if you need me from now on. Little Dong, don't push yourself. If you haven't fully recovered, rest for a couple more days. Still, you look pretty good to me—much better than when you were in the hospital." Zhou Changchun followed them in and smiled as well. "For the next few days, let Little Dong handle document deliveries. Leave the heavy lifting and physical work to someone else."

Dong Xuebin put on a grateful expression. "Thank you, leaders. I'm fine now. Whatever the leaders ask of me in the future, I'll definitely get it done properly."

Li Qing nodded with feeling. "Work hard, but don't overdo it."

Zhou Changchun, whose face looked slightly sickly, patted Dong Xuebin's upper arm approvingly.

"You too, Lao Zhou." Li Qing looked at him. "Get more rest. Your complexion hasn't been very good lately."

"Ah, it's an old problem."

Seeing that Zhou Changchun and Li Qing still had things to discuss, Dong Xuebin took his leave.

It was clear that because of the Save the Documents incident, Li Qing and Zhou Changchun trusted him much more than before.

A good sign.

Dong Xuebin happily pushed open the door and returned to the General Office. Everyone was there. Tan Limei and Zhuangzi were standing by the copier, churning out documents with a creak and clatter while occasionally chatting and giggling in low voices. Chang Juan and Lao Yan had both hidden themselves behind their computer monitors, one reading a women's magazine and the other a newspaper. Guo Shunjie sat with his head lowered, pretending to nap as he slacked off, his head bobbing as if he might fall asleep at any moment. Guo Panwei was rubbing his leg with his left hand while writing a report with his right, looking exhausted.

Lao Yan was the first to spot Dong Xuebin. Moving aside his newspaper, he said, "Hey, Little Dong, you're back at work?"

Everyone looked over. Tan Limei smiled and waved. "Binzi, congratulations on joining the Party, and congratulations on getting discharged."

"Thanks."

Chang Juan narrowed her eyes. "Our great hero is back. How's your health?"

"I've been fine for ages. Thanks for asking." Dong Xuebin moved his shoulders to show that he could move freely.

Jealous as Guo Panwei was, he still followed the crowd and said, "Little Dong, remember not to get your wounds wet before they've fully healed."

Only Guo Shunjie, who had long since fallen out with Dong Xuebin, said nothing. He frowned at him, snorted, and continued dozing with his eyes half-closed.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with his colleagues, Dong Xuebin returned to his desk, turned on his computer, and got to work. Before long, he noticed something strange. It wasn't just Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie— even the tall, fat Zhuangzi looked listless, as though he had done some grueling physical labor. When Zhuangzi went over to Tan Limei's side to print documents, Dong Xuebin took a sheet of paper and joined him. "Zhuangzi, what's going on? What did you do last night?" As he spoke, Dong Xuebin winked at Tan Limei.

Tan Limei blushed and spat lightly at him. "Why are you looking at me?"

Dong Xuebin hesitated. "Nothing, I was just looking." He had always felt that Tanzi and Zhuangzi had something going on. Wait, could they be dating?

Zhuangzi coughed. "Binzi, don't talk nonsense. I've just been worn out by the games these past few days."

"Games?"

"Yeah, the Municipal State Security Bureau football tournament." Zhuangzi explained, "I heard the Branch Bureau holds something like this every year, but in previous years it was usually table tennis or basketball, mostly internal competitions. This year, though, the city bureau organized it all together. Several State Security branch bureaus in the Capital City each sent a team. They started playing before National Day, and yesterday we had a match against the Miyun Branch Bureau. We lost five to zero."

Dong Xuebin gave an understanding "oh." "No wonder you're all so exhausted."

Tan Limei loved to chat, and once they got onto the subject, she immediately began chattering away. "Good thing you weren't at work, Binzi. Let me tell you, our Branch Bureau's football was absolutely unbearable to watch. It stank worse than..." She glanced toward Guo Panwei and Guo Shunjie, then lowered her voice. "Worse than a toilet. Take yesterday's match, for example. If Zhuangzi hadn't fouled one of Miyun Branch Bureau's forwards and taken him down at the end, we would've lost six to zero."

Dong Xuebin laughed. "Everyone's amateurs. Luck probably plays a big part in winning or losing, right?"

"Oh, please." Tan Limei curled her lip. "They played really well. Forwards played forward, defenders played defense. Look at our side—our formation was acceptable at the start, but once the game got going, it all fell apart. The forwards were playing center back. Hmph, the girls from the Finance Department and I practically screamed ourselves hoarse cheering for them. It was so embarrassing."

Thinking Tan Limei was angry with him, Zhuangzi hurriedly said, "I'll definitely play well in the next matches."

Tan Limei rolled her eyes at him. "With those awful feet of yours, what can you do besides crash into people? You can barely even run."

Zhuangzi said awkwardly, "I-I'm dieting, aren't I?"

"Ahem. Comrade Tanzi, Comrade Zhuangzi." Dong Xuebin lowered his voice. "Are you two dating?"

Zhuangzi's face heated up, and he said anxiously, "I-I... we..."

Tan Limei blushed and glared at Dong Xuebin. "Don't tell anyone else."

Damn, they really were? Dong Xuebin said, "You two are something else. If I hadn't asked, you weren't going to tell me? Don't worry, I can keep a secret. So when did you two get together? Have you met each other's parents? How far has it gone?" Dong Xuebin was happy for his friends, but also a little envious. Sigh, who knew when he would get to experience dating for himself?

"Uh..." Zhuangzi couldn't take it anymore. After straightening up the documents, he hurried back to his desk.

Tan Limei took a stack of A4 paper and smacked Dong Xuebin on the arm. "Are you looking to die? So nosy. Hmph, I've got some other gossip for you." Changing the subject, she said, "Did you know? While you were in the hospital, because of that brave performance of yours, the whole Branch Bureau—especially the General Affairs Department—started calling you 'Firefighter.'"

Dong Xuebin blinked. "What? Firefighter?"

"Hehe, nice name, right?" Tan Limei quietly laughed. "The day Director Li Qing and Director Zhou heard the nickname, they even nodded and said it fit perfectly. Not just this time when you saved the documents—when you wrote Deputy Director Yang's speech, everyone else was out of ideas, and in the end you put out the fire. You got the leaders and everyone else out of a tight spot. Tell me, if that doesn't make you a Firefighter, what does? Whenever there's trouble, you can step in and handle it. I'd say even several department heads in the General Affairs Department, and maybe even some deputy directors of the Branch Bureau, know that the General Office has a Firefighter like you."

Firefighter was a fitting name in more ways than one.

Dong Xuebin gave a bitter smile. "Who came up with that nickname? It's not very flattering, is it?"

Tan Limei clicked her tongue. "Still putting on an act with me? You're feeling pretty proud inside, aren't you?"

She was right. Dong Xuebin really was proud. This was recognition from the leaders and his colleagues for his work.

Ha, if I keep this up, a promotion might actually be within reach.

The exciting part is coming soon. Please vote with Recommendation Tickets.

...!!!