Song Guanchao took a step back to keep some distance from her.

Qu Xiangru lightly blinked her narrow eyes, seeming a bit surprised by his action.

"I overlooked that."

Qu Xiangru smiled softly and walked toward the door, intending to lock it.

Song Guanchao stopped her, a bit angry: "Don't think of me as some kind of animal."

He was very angry.

As if all he could think about was that stuff in his pants all day long.

Although admittedly, sometimes he did find it hard to control his impulses.

"Aren't you?" Qu Xiangru tilted her head, and her rhetorical question made Song Guanchao even more uncomfortable.

"I'm not that desperate."

He didn't explain much, turning around to leave the office.

He walked into the corridor and called Qin Yuejin, inviting him out for dinner in the evening.

After hanging up, he stood in the corridor, smoking and thinking about Qu Xiangru's actions. All of a sudden, he realized she might have done it on purpose.

To make him think she was easy?

To reduce their relationship to something purely physical?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that must be the case.

After figuring that out, he wasn't angry anymore; he even felt a bit sorry for her.

Ever since he learned about Qu Xiangru's background, Song Guanchao understood why she had become the person she was today.

It's unfortunate; she never had anyone to rely on, from childhood to adulthood.

She should have been closest to her family, yet their relationship was so clearly defined by interests and nothing more.

Trust, such a word probably doesn't even exist in her mind.

Even though they had long been intimate, the time they had known each other was still too short to make her fully trust him, which wasn't an easy thing to achieve.

Tap, tap.

Footsteps sounded below in the corridor.

Song Guanchao looked down, and the other person looked up at him.

It was Wu Yun.

As their eyes met, Song Guanchao read a bit of grievance and some resentment in her eyes.

Song Guanchao thought to himself: this couldn't be worse.

Suddenly, he realized he had forgotten to invite her to the dinner tonight.

"Comrade Xiao Wu."

Song Guanchao walked over with a cheeky smile, but before he could get close, Wu Yun turned and walked away.

"Wait."

Song Guanchao quickly caught up and grabbed her wrist.

"Don't touch me."

Wu Yun shook her hand but couldn't shake him off.

Song Guanchao grabbed her other hand as well: "Who made Comrade Xiao Wu angry?"

Wu Yun's lips were pursed thinly, her big watery eyes now really misted over.

It was as if she were about to cry the next second.

But she stubbornly held her head up, refusing to let the tears fall.

It seemed she didn't want to appear so weak in front of Song Guanchao.

Song Guanchao felt guilty; he hadn't reached out for such a long time, and when she messaged him, he didn't respond right away.

Often, Wu Yun would send a message, and he wouldn't see it until the next day.

Even the most enthusiastic girl would get discouraged by such circumstances.

Thinking of this, Song Guanchao let go of her hand, patted her on the head, and said: "I'm now the district mayor of Tongchi District, and once the new building is complete, I'll be working there. You won't see me then; out of sight, out of mind. Maybe that's a good thing. I was never a good person anyway, always ambiguous with you, and holding you back."

He forced a smile and said, "If anyone bullies you in the future, let me know. If I don't reply to messages, just call me. Sometimes I am really busy."

"By the way, if you're free tonight, come to Drunken Pavilion after work; I've booked a room and am treating some of the City Committee colleagues to dinner."

Having said that, Song Guanchao turned and walked upstairs.

"You're a jerk!"

As soon as Wu Yun spoke, tears burst forth. With a sobbing voice, she cursed before squatting to the ground, burying her face in her knees, and started crying.

Song Guanchao checked his pockets; he wasn't in the habit of carrying tissues, so he squatted down to comfort her: "Don't cry."

It would have been better if he hadn't spoken; as soon as he did, Wu Yun cried even harder.

Luckily, hardly anyone came through the hallway, or seeing this scene, they might think he had done something to Wu Yun.

He kept comforting her, but she cried even more loudly, leaving Song Guanchao at a loss.

Seeing she was becoming short of breath from crying, Song Guanchao gently patted her back to help her catch her breath.

Who would have thought that as soon as he reached out, Wu Yun would lean into his arms, her tears quickly soaking his shirt?

Song Guanchao held her, patting her head, and stopped trying to comfort her.

He was never good at comforting people, so he let her cry it out.

After a while, she finally calmed down but was reluctant to leave his embrace.

After leaning on him a bit more, she finally pulled away, her eyes red and swollen: "You're a jerk!"

"Yes, I'm a jerk."

"Do you just want to get rid of me?"

"I... Mmm..."

Before he had a chance to speak, Wu Yun kissed him.

Song Guanchao was squatting on the ground, and she suddenly threw herself at him, knocking him back to sit on the ground and lie flat on his back.

Wu Yun didn't care about this; she straddled him, kissing him while trying to undo his buttons.

Song Guanchao quickly grabbed her hands and got up from the ground.

How ridiculous, this was the City Committee.

Even though it was the corridor, hardly anyone came by.

But if someone saw, rumors would spread throughout the bureaucracy within half a day.

"You're disgusted by me!"

Tears brimmed in Wu Yun's eyes again.

"How could I possibly be disgusted by you? I'm afraid you'll get too deeply involved, and it will be hard to pull out later. While we're still not at that point, let's stop our losses in time."

"I don't care!"

"You wouldn't be this angry if you didn't care today."

Song Guanchao said earnestly: "You send me messages, call me, but I might not be able to see them right away, and you know I have a girlfriend."

This statement made Wu Yun's eyes dim a little, but she quickly became resolute again: "I told you, I don't care!"

Given her determination, Song Guanchao knew it was useless to persuade her.

During this time, he hadn't been in touch much on purpose.

Feelings need to be nurtured; they take time.

If you don't see each other or contact each other for a long time, even the best feelings will fade.

He thought his cold treatment would make her give up voluntarily.

Who knew she would be so steadfast?

"Get up."

He didn't say anything more and helped her up from the ground: "Let's have dinner together tonight, and we'll talk about the future later."

He reached out to help her tidy her clothes and hair, and as she watched his careful manner, Wu Yun suddenly asked: "Did you and Qianqian sleep together?"

Song Guanchao paused: "What are you talking about?"

"Hmph, don't try to fool me! I already know!"

Wu Yun said: "Qianqian already told me!"

Song Guanchao's pupils contracted; he caught the hint of probing in Wu Yun's eyes and immediately understood; she was trying to trick him.

He tapped her forehead: "Stop talking nonsense."

"Still pretending." Wu Yun indeed was probing, but Song Guanchao's reaction confirmed her suspicions.

She bit her lip, somewhat angrily: "You two are too much, getting together behind my back!"

"I don't care, I want it too!"

"..."

Song Guanchao's face twitched; what on earth was there to fight over!

Wu Yun pulled out her phone, quickly typing on the screen.

"What are you doing?" Song Guanchao felt a bit panicked, wondering if she was messaging Zhou Qian.

"I'm just telling my mom that I won't be home tonight."

Putting down her phone, she said with an undeniable tone: "Wherever you go after dinner, I'll go too! I'm sticking with you!"

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