CH 20

Chapter 20 : You were quite cute as a child.

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Feng’an Village was Xu Zhun’s hometown. He lost his mother at an early age and his father – Xu Hongwei – worked in the metropolis all year round. Xu Zhun had been living with his grandmother and then he left Feng’an village when he went to high school in the county.

Xu Hongwei did not do his job in the metropolis and ran up a lot of gambling debts. Xu Zhun graduated from high school and went to work in there to help pay off his debts.

Later on, his grandmother and father passed away one after another, and apart from going back to visit their graves every year, Xu Zhun, who was usually very busy with his work, rarely returned to the village.

Suddenly, when he heard He Tianming mention Feng’an Village, Xu Zhun found it to be very dear to him, because after all, it was the place where he grew up.

“Mr. He has been to Feng’an Village?”

Xu Zhun had a bright smile on his face, a smile that was so infectious that it also brought a smile to He Tianming’s face: “I stayed there for two months.”

“Really!” Xu Zhun said with surprise, “Then how come I haven’t seen you before?”

He Tianming said, “I went there in June XX, and according to your age, you would have been out at school.”

Hearing the date He Tianming named, Xu Zhun’s expression staggered.

That was when he had met He Chengyang in the prefecture.

Their first meeting was at school, where He Chengyang had a grand reception from the headmaster himself.

Xu Zhun was a member of the Youth Affairs Committee and the headmaster put him in charge of helping He Chengyang in his search.

He Chengyang’s relative’s child had been trafficked to County G. After years of searching, they said that he was now at a high school in the county.

He Chengyang had been searching in vain but finally found Xu Zhun’s first high school.

During those two months, Xu Zhun followed He Chengyang around the school after class to find that someone. The contact time was long and he developed subtle feelings for He Chengyang.

Later, He Chengyang left G County and returned to the metropolis.

Xu Zhun’s home was not well equipped with a telephone and it was only after he arrived in the capital that he dialed the mobile phone number given to him by He Chengyang.

After that, they saw each other quite frequently.

Later, he became He Chengyang’s lover.

“Xu Zhun-” He Tianming’s call brought Xu Zhun back to his senses.

He had been immersed in his memories for so long that he had made He Tianming think that he had upset him by saying the wrong thing.

“Wasn’t the conversation just now a bit out of line?”

“No!” Xu Zhun scratched his hair and smiled nervously, “I was just reminiscing, I was attending school in the county on the date you mentioned.”

He Tianming’s gleaming gaze watched him and he smiled, “I spent some time in the village. I think I’ve seen a picture of you before, and I felt familiar when I met you just now.”

He Tianming also went to Feng’an village to find that child, a boy about the same age as Xu Zhun.

He and He Chengyang split up, He Tianming checking out the village and He Chengyang checking out the campus.

Xu Zhun probably guessed He Tianming’s reason for going to the village, “So you went to look for someone too!”

“Did someone tell you that? That’s right, it was a big deal in the village back then.” He Tianming didn’t hide anything and said truthfully, “I just mentioned my auntie to you, she was my mother’s best friend. After my mother passed away, she raised me and my brother.”

He Tianming poured a cup of water for Xu Zhun: “Have some water, isn’t the coffee a bit bitter?”

“Thank you, Mr. He!”

Xu Zhun said in gratitude and took the cup in his hand. In his heart, he felt that He Tianming was really gentle and considerate.

He Tianming: “My aunt had a son who was abducted by human traffickers when he was a child. She has been looking for him for many years, and some years ago we heard that he was in G County, and I was helping to find him in Feng’an Village as well.”

Xu Zhun was busy asking, “Did you finally find him?”

He Tianming: “We did find him! Auntie and her baby have been reunited.”

Xu Zhun smiled with relief, “That’s good! How lucky it is to be reunited with his own mother.”

He Tianming was very good at remembering, and by now he had already recalled where he had seen Xu Zhun’s photo: “I went to the village and stayed at your grandmother’s house, I think your grandmother’s name was Li Hanni!”

Xu Zhun nodded, “Yes, that’s my grandmother!”

He Tianming: “I’ve seen a lot of pictures of you as a child.”

Xu Zhun looked at him in surprise, his cheeks slightly flushed, and he was a little embarrassed: “Those pictures are all very old-fashioned.”

He Tianming laughed, “That’s not true, you were quite cute when you were little.”

Xu Zhun was even more embarrassed, hanging his head, his hands and feet so stiff that he didn’t know where to put them.

He Tianming saw his blush and changed the subject at the right time.

The two of them talked a lot about the village, and He Tianming comforted him for a long time when he learnt that Xu Zhun’s father and grandmother had both passed away.

Walking out of Shengxin, Xu Zhun was in a good mood.

Seeing Xu Zhun return to the company unharmed, Zhou Fuming’s eyes went round.

How was this possible?

Could it be that Xu Zhun had subdued Manager Qi as well?

What about the contract? Had Xu Zhun taken it too?

Wouldn’t this be both a loss of money and a loss of troops!

Zhou Fuming’s heart was racing as he took out his mobile phone and prepared to call Manager Qi to ask for details.

No sooner had he pulled out his phone then dialed the number when a contract slammed down hard on Zhou Fuming’s desk.

He looked up and met Xu Zhun’s sharp eyes.

The man in front of him looked extremely strange, not at all like the submissive Xu Zhun he remembered.

“What are you doing?” Zhou Fuming puffed out his chest and raised his head, he was an senior member of the company, did Xu Zhun still dare to call him out?

“Brother Zhou, thanks to you, I’ve signed the contract for Shengxin Company.”

Xu Zhun provocatively raised his chin, “Thank you so much! Without your ‘help’ I wouldn’t have been able to sign this contract.”

The word “help” was deliberately used with a heavier tone by Xu Zhun.

Zhou Fuming’s heart thumped, cursing Manager Qi for not being able to fight, how could he have fallen under the spell of Xu Zhun, a male vixen?

“Xu Zhun, how can you rob me of my contract? I’ve worked so hard to follow up for a month, how can you pick up a ready-made contract?”

Zhou Fuming completely exploded.

His performance this month all depended on Shengxin’s contract, and now that the contract had been snatched away by Xu Zhun, he was likely to face being terminated from the company.

“You didn’t even get Manager Qi to sign the contract in a month’s time, Brother Zhou, you’re not good at this business!”

Just because Xu Zhun was usually a modest person did not mean he could let people just directly slander him.

Zhou Fuming usually played a little cheekily in front of him, and he let it pass while turning a blind eye to it.

But today it was a matter of reputation, and he had to make Zhou Fuming know that he, Xu Zhun, was not such a pushover.

“You’re saying I’m not good at business? You were not even alive when I joined the business.”

Zhou Fuming couldn’t take the aggravation of the snatching of that contract, he tugged on Xu Zhun’s arm, “I have to get the manager to comment on this.”

Xu Zhun sneered, “Are you sure?”

“Before I go to the manager, give back the contract to me, otherwise-“

Before all of Zhou Fuming’s words could fall, he was interrupted by Xu Zhun in a cold voice: “There is no need to find the manager, let’s make things clear today in front of all the colleagues in the department.”

“I was kind enough to help you deliver the contract, and you slandered me in front of Manager Qi. Brother Zhou, acting against good conscience, you really are not afraid of heaven’s retribution. Usually, you are late and leave early and ask me to find a manager for you to ask for leave, I did all that. Whenever you can’t finish a statistical report, I do it for you. The first few months you signed several large orders, and it was I who helped to make sure your reviews went through the approval process. I thought that since we are colleagues, it’s normal to help each other. But I won’t stand for you stabbing me in the back!”

Xu Zhun’s clear voice carried throughout the hall, and all his colleagues heard it.

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Wow, I was really wondering if HTM is really related to HCY by blood because of how decent he is compared to him lol.