Before the trip to the university had been settled, an acquaintance of Ding Ding's arrived at White Gardenia Textiles.
Whether it was bad timing or deliberate, Manager Liu had not caught so much as a glimpse of Jeff in the days since he arrived.
Since he was already here, and not just for Jeff, he needed to rebuild his relationship with Ding Ding too. So early that morning, Manager Liu picked out some gifts and paid him a visit, bringing along the rayon jersey he had mentioned at the trade show.
Ding Ding's smile did not reach his eyes, but he still had to observe the formalities.
"You even brought gifts? You're too kind!"
"They're not worth much. Please, Mr. Ding, there's no need to stand on ceremony with me."
Zixin certainly had money to burn. A cake of Lao Banzhang Pu'er was "not worth much" in Manager Liu's words.
Ding Ding took him to the office and told Little Bai that this guest did not drink coffee, so some tea would do.
Bai Congming nodded, grabbed a handful of loose tea leaves, and tossed them into a clear hot-water pitcher, then carried it in on a tray to serve them.
With steam rising from it, Bai Congming was not about to touch it. He held the tray out in front of Ding Ding, waited for him to take the pitcher, then carried the tray back out.
Manager Liu wanted to ease the tension between them, so he was not going to sit idle at a time like this.
"You two are still as close as ever." Manager Liu took the pitcher and poured tea for them both. "It really is enviable."
"Of course!" Ding Ding showed no modesty at all. "You have no idea how capable my Little Bai