Early the next morning, Zhang Qingxue sent the brief report to Zhao Chen's office.
Only two projects were reported.
The two with the biggest profits.
Small profits, no mention.
Deputy Director Li quickly responded with a message: Received, need to hold a meeting to discuss, waiting for a reply.
"Normal process." Zhang Qingxue pushed up his glasses and spoke calmly, but he was already thinking in his mind - how long will this "meeting and discussion" take?
Three days? A week? Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's favors must be managed appropriately. "They have to balance the interests of all parties and cannot make a decision right away."
Zhao Chen nodded:
"Then wait."
He leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. He was not in a hurry. They were the ones who were in a hurry.
As soon as Zhang Qingxue left, Chen Xi knocked on the door and came in.
Her expression was a little complicated.
Zhao Chen looked at her and had a vague premonition in his heart.
"Zhao Zong, there is news about Chen Hao you asked me to check last time..."
Chen Xi sat down opposite him and rubbed her knees unconsciously with her fingers - that was her little move when she was nervous.
She was actually very conflicted.
Chen Hao was her former student. She still had an impression of the high-spirited monitor who stood on the podium when she first entered the freshman year.
Now that I have to find out his whereabouts, I feel an indescribable sadness.
"I found a lot of students."
She spoke, her voice slower than usual,
"The monitor group, the grade group, the few people who were close to him in their dormitory... I asked them all."
She paused and felt a chill in her heart:
"No one knows where he is."
Zhao Chen's brows moved slightly.
"Where are his younger brothers?" he asked, "The ones who used to hang out with him?"
Chen Xi shook his head:
"I asked him too. He said they haven't contacted him for a long time. After that incident last time, they avoided him like the plague."
She recalled the exact words of one of the students -
"Chen Hao? We have stopped interacting with him a long time ago. Anyone who comes into contact with someone like him will be unlucky."
The indifference in his tone made her feel cold.
Zhao Chen was silent for a few seconds.
He remembered that in last year's classroom, Chen Hao was standing at the edge of the podium, followed by Sanxi's younger brother, looking very arrogant.
How long has it been?
"Where's his father's side?" he asked.
Chen Xi Open the notebook:
"Chen Jianye. is currently restricted from leaving the country and his passport has been handed in.
Every day I go to banks, financial institutions, and Court. I meet all the people I can meet and I can say all I can say."
She paused, with a hint of complicated emotions in her tone:
"The only one who accompanied him was his daughter, Chen Wei. Chen Hao never appeared once."
She sighed inwardly.
Chen Wei She has seen photos. She is in her early thirties and looks pretty, but her face in the photos is full of exhaustion.
One person is responsible for the entire family's mess, while his younger brother disappears - who can bear this gap?
Zhao Chen leaned on the back of the chair and looked at the ceiling.
Never appeared once.
The squad leader who once dominated the classroom, the person who blocked him with his younger brother, the person who he used to "praise and kill" to push him up a little bit and then fall down hard -
Now he doesn't even care about his father's life or death.
"Chen Wei alone?" he asked.
Chen Xi nodded:
"Yes. It is said that she drives Chen Jianye everywhere from morning to night every day.
Chen Hao's phone number couldn't be reached, WeChat didn't reply, it was like the person had evaporated."
She paused and lowered her voice:
"Some said he went abroad. Some said he was hiding. Some said... something might have happened to him."
She actually didn't quite believe the statement "something happened".
But with a character like Chen Hao, who is used to being praised by others, and suddenly hits rock bottom, no one can say what he will do.
Zhao Chen said nothing.
He looked out the window.
The sunshine is very good, illuminating the whole city.
But what came to his mind was another picture -
Previous Life.
The one who was sent to prison by Zhao Jianguo and Lin Wanqing.
The self who looked desperately at his father in the courtroom, only to see his indifferent back.
The self who spent more than a thousand days and nights in prison and came out with nothing.
At that moment, a chill ran up my spine.
If he hadn't been reborn, his fate would not have been better than Chen Hao.
Even worse than him.
At least Chen Hao still has his father running outside, and his sister has not given up.
He Previous Life, nothing.
"Zhao Zong?" Chen Xi called him softly.
She noticed that Zhao Chen's eyes were out of focus for a moment. It was an expression she had never seen before -
It's like seeing a very far away place, and also like seeing a very deep place.
Zhao Chen came to his senses.
He shook his head as if to get rid of something.
"Nothing." He said.
He stood up and walked to the window.
Outside the window is a group of skyscrapers Lujiazui, with glass curtain walls shining in the sun.
He remembered that sentence - if he hadn't been reborn, his end would not be better than Chen Hao.
There is a voice in my heart reminding myself:
In this life, your destiny is in your own hands. You can't be careless. You can't make the same mistakes again.
"Zhao Zong." Chen Xi's voice came from behind, "Do you want to..."
She didn't finish.
But Zhao Chen knows what she wants to say.
Do you want to find Chen Hao?
Do you want to laugh at him?
Do you want to prove that you have won?
Chen Xi himself doesn't know why he asks this.
Maybe he wanted to see what this man would look like after he won.
Zhao Chen shook his head.
"No need," he said.
He looked out the window:
"No need."
Chen Xi was stunned for a moment.
Zhao Chen turned around and looked at her:
"If I humiliate him, what will change? Will it make me more successful? Will it make Henglong better?"
He smiled, the smile was very light:
"Can't."
He knew in his heart that humiliating a person who had already fallen would serve no purpose other than to satisfy that pitiful person.
And he doesn't need that.
He walked back to his desk and sat down:
"Besides, I don't have that interest either."
Chen Xi looked at him, with something complicated in his eyes.
Is it surprise? Is it understanding? Or... admiration?
She suddenly felt that the man in front of her was different from everyone she knew.
He does not have the arrogance of a winner, nor does he have the retribution of a winner.
He just calmly turned the page and moved on.
"Zhao Zong," she said softly, "You are really... quite different."
Zhao Chen did not answer the call.
He just said:
"Keep watching. If you have any news, please tell me at any time."
Chen Xi nodded, turned and left.
The door is closed.
The office became quiet.
Zhao Chen leaned on the back of the chair and looked at the ceiling.
Previous Life's story went through my mind like a movie.
Despair in court.
The cold in prison.
Then, comes the day of rebirth.
He took a deep breath and pushed back these images.
Stop watching.
It's all over.
In this life, he will never let anyone control his destiny.
As for Chen Hao--
He didn't bother to take a look anymore.
In the afternoon, his cell phone vibrated.
Zhao Chen glanced at the caller ID--Shen Jue.
He picked up:
"Director Shen."
Shen Jue's voice came from the other end of the phone, straight to the point:
"Zhao Chen, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has news over there."
Zhao Chen leans on the back of the chair:
"Say."
Shen Jue said:
"My friend called me, and what he meant was - Henglong It's not enough to just eat fat."
She paused:
"It's a good combination of meat and vegetables."
Zhao Chen's brow moved slightly:
"So they want me to take on those two low-profit projects?"
Shen Jue said:
"Yes. But it's not just those two. There may be one... not so good-looking one."
Zhao Chen was silent for a second:
"You will definitely lose money?"
Shen Jue said:
"It's possible."
Zhao Chen said nothing.
He ran through the list of seven items in his mind.
Two had good profits, two had small profits, and three had the shadow of Lin Wanqing and were abandoned by him.
If they wanted him to take a loss, it would be one of those three.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Shen Jue said:
"I don't agree to take on loss-making projects."
Her tone was very direct:
"We are here to make money, not to alleviate poverty. Projects with small profits can be discussed, but projects with losses are not."
Zhao Chen nodded:
"Agreed."
Shen Jue said:
"But it's not good to refuse in the first place. You'll have to deal with them in the future."
Zhao Chen asked:
"Do you have any idea?"
Shen Jue laughed:
"I'll invite them out to have a meal together in the evening. Chatting at the dinner table is easier than doing business."
Zhao Chen thought for a while:
"Okay. You make the arrangements."
Shen Jue said:
"Okay. I will arrange a time and place to send you."
The phone hangs up.
Zhao Chen put down the phone and looked out the window.
Meat and vegetable combination.
This is truly an artistic statement.
He picked up the documents on the table and continued to read.
Waiting for dinner in the evening.