In the blink of an eye.
It was past ten.
In the Secretary Office, his wife still had not returned, so Dong Xuebin continued drinking tea, eating fruit, and chatting with Gao Jie from the Propaganda Department.
"You're from the Capital City, right?" Gao Jie asked with a smile.
"Yeah. You could tell?" Dong Xuebin nodded.
"I could. Your accent is stronger than Secretary Xie's. Um, if you don't mind me asking, where do you work?" Having grown more familiar with him—or perhaps seeing that Dong Xuebin was easy to talk to—Gao Jie asked another question. She was probably not the only one curious about the Municipal Party Secretary's husband.
Dong Xuebin smiled. "I work in the Capital City too. I'm also a civil servant."
Gao Jie looked him over. "I could tell you were a leader."
Dong Xuebin waved a hand. "I can't compare to my wife. Besides, you're the first person to say that about me. Heh, I'm not a leader."
Not a leader?
Was his rank not high?
Gao Jie blinked but did not say anything else.
Dong Xuebin held a nominal post and truly had no leadership position. Besides, everyone who knew him understood that he did not have the air of a leader at all, much less that sort of bearing and grace. Even when he occasionally showed a bit of a leader's demeanor, it was probably just Dong Xuebin putting on an act to bluff people. Like now: because of his status, he had to put on a bit of an air so as not to embarrass his wife. Dong Xuebin was not someone who liked to get carried away. Even if he occasionally got a little full of himself after a promotion, he could rein himself back in. That was his attitude toward