Seventh Year Of Separation chapter 44
Just Finished My Busy Schedule Too
The curtains in Li Zhao’s bedroom were very effective at blocking out light, keeping the room dim and comfortable in temperature.
Groggily, Gu Jiahe opened his eyes, feeling disoriented. He reached out to touch his phone on the bedside table, and when he checked the time, he was shocked awake.
It was already 8:20!
He sat up abruptly in bed. “Why didn’t my alarm go off?!”
Li Zhao, lying beside him, rolled over and wrapped his arm around his waist, opening his eyes. “I just helped you turn it off.”
“Ge, today’s Monday!” Gu Jiahe exclaimed, jumping out of bed. “I’m going to be late!”
Li Zhao remained calm. “It’s okay, I’ll drive you.”
Gu Jiahe hurriedly rushed to the bathroom to freshen up, dragging his sore body. Pushing open the bathroom door, he saw that Li Zhao had prepared a new toothbrush and cup for him, though he didn’t know when.
After quickly washing up and changing clothes, Gu Jiahe walked to the entrance and found Li Zhao already dressed and waiting by the door.
Gu Jiahe couldn’t help but wonder if this man had been in the special forces with how quickly he got ready.
The two of them took the elevator down to the underground parking lot. Li Zhao took the driver’s seat and started the car.
During this time of day, the expressway was congested due to rush hour traffic. After driving for a while and not making much progress, Li Zhao quickly signaled left and exited the expressway at the next junction.
“Where are we going?” Gu Jiahe asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar route.
“Don’t worry, we’ll definitely arrive on time,” Li Zhao said confidently, stepping on the gas pedal.
“Are you sure about that?” Gu Jiahe fastened his seatbelt anxiously.
“I’m confident. It’s a skill I developed from rushing to court in the past.”
At 8:58 AM, Li Zhao’s car came to an abrupt stop outside Gu Jiahe’s company building.
“Phew,” Gu Jiahe patted his chest, looking at Li Zhao. “Thanks a lot, ge.”
“Go to work quickly,” Li Zhao said, checking the time with his hand raised.
Gu Jiahe had just opened the car door to rush out when Li Zhao suddenly called him back.
“What’s up?” Gu Jiahe asked.
“Take this.” Li Zhao handed him a thick cushion from the back seat. “You can use it at work.”
Gu Jiahe’s head buzzed. “Thank you.”
He dashed away, finally squeezing onto the elevator.
When he swiped his card to enter the office, he breathed a sigh of relief seeing that it was exactly 9:00 AM. His tardiness was just within the acceptable range.
Glancing around, he realized that Wu Mou hadn’t arrived yet, and he relaxed completely, strolling leisurely to his workstation.
The office was heated in the middle of winter, and Gu Jiahe took off his coat and hung it on the back of his chair as he sat down.
Coincidentally, the HR manager from the neighboring department had just arrived and passed by his desk. However, she stopped a few steps away and turned back.
“Manager Gu, nice shirt. Is it new?” she asked with a smile.
Gu Jiahe was at a loss and looked down. Oh no!
He had accidentally worn Li Zhao’s shirt.
“Uh, thanks,” Gu Jiahe could only nod.
“But, did you buy the wrong size?” She glanced at him curiously again.
“Oh, this… it’s this style,” Gu Jiahe hastily made up an excuse.
“It’s a new trend, huh? Oversized shirts!” the HR manager teased him.
Gu Jiahe scratched his head and didn’t say anything more.
It wasn’t until the HR manager walked away that he collapsed back into his chair. He had dressed in a hurry, his mind foggy from waking up late, and hadn’t even realized he had put on the wrong shirt.
He thought about it and realized the shirt must have been washed. He vaguely remembered grabbing it from Li Zhao’s bedside. But there seemed to be a hint of the fragrance used in Li Zhao’s room, the same one he had smelled faintly last night as he lay on the pillow.
Just thinking about last night made Gu Jiahe’s skin crawl.
During lunch break, a colleague called him to the cafeteria. Gu Jiahe felt a bit uneasy sitting down, extending his chopsticks cautiously. He was afraid of splashing even a drop of soup on the shirt.
He knew that this shirt was different from his others and would require dry cleaning if it got dirty.
Wu Mou didn’t return to the office until the afternoon. He called Gu Jiahe out of the office as soon as he arrived.
Gu Jiahe followed behind Wu Mou, asking, “Director Wu, is there a new task?”
Wu Mou turned back at the door of the meeting room. “You’ll find out after the meeting.”
Mysteries again, Gu Jiahe thought, but he followed Wu Mou into the room.
However, once he sat down, he regretted it. The chairs in the meeting room were different from those at the workstations, hard and uncomfortable. After sitting for a while, he felt his butt ache.
He thought, If only I had brought Li Zhao’s cushion.
Unfortunately, trouble never comes singly.
Halfway through the meeting, Gu Jiahe finally understood its purpose.
The new factory in Lingang was finishing its first year-end, and they were planning a year-end conference. Representatives from all functional departments of the company headquarters were required to attend. They would leave early the next morning and return only after the Lunar New Year holiday on the twenty-ninth of December.
“Xiao Gu, I have other matters to attend to. Can you handle this for me?” Wu Mou raised his teacup, glancing at Gu Jiahe.
Gu Jiahe could only nod in agreement. He didn’t know what Wu Mou was busy with, but every time he got saddled with these thankless tasks, Wu Mou always had something else to do. The boss’s busy schedule was like Schrödinger’s cat.
But it was almost New Year’s, and it was definitely windy in Lingang this time of year. Gu Jiahe thought he’d better grab a few more clothes when he got home tonight.
By the time he left the meeting room, it was almost time to get off work.
Gu Jiahe had just opened his phone when he saw a message from Li Zhao: “I’m downstairs.”
He quickly ran to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows and looked down. Li Zhao’s gray car was parked right at the entrance.
Gu Jiahe hastily said goodbye to Wu Mou and rushed to the door.
Behind him, Wu Mou muttered, “You’ve been leaving early quite often lately.”
Through the crowded crowd leaving work, Gu Jiahe hurried down to the ground floor.
Li Zhao’s car was still there.
He opened the passenger door and got in. “Why aren’t you busy today?”
“At the end of the year, there’s not much clients,” Li Zhao replied as he restarted the car after Gu Jiahe had settled in. “Want to grab dinner?”
Gu Jiahe took a breath and nodded.
Instead of heading home, Li Zhao drove to a restaurant not far from their place. The ambiance was quite nice.
“Why don’t we eat at home? I can cook,” Gu Jiahe asked.
“It’s getting late. What time would we finish grocery shopping?” Li Zhao gestured to his watch.
Gu Jiahe was about to mention the wastefulness of dining out, but seeing Li Zhao’s expression, he held his tongue.
Li Zhao found a table by the window for two and asked the waiter for a menu.
Gu Jiahe took off his coat and sat across from him. Li Zhao’s gaze lingered on the buttons of his shirt.
Feeling his stare, Gu Jiahe became a bit embarrassed. “Uh, I accidentally wore your clothes.”
As he hesitated whether to explain that it wasn’t intentional, fearing Li Zhao might think he was a pervert, Li Zhao just smiled and seemed unconcerned. “It suits you.”
“Huh? How does it suit me?” Gu Jiahe gently tugged at the fabric on his shoulder. “It’s too big, it feels empty.”
“No worries, wear it at home.”
Gu Jiahe was stunned, momentarily unable to figure out why he would need to wear Li Zhao’s shirt at home. Such an expensive piece of clothing would be wasted at home.
Li Zhao then changed the subject. “Are you staying over tonight?”
Gu Jiahe thought Li Zhao wanted him to return the shirt, so he quickly shook his head. “I’ll return the shirt another day. I can’t come tonight.”
“Why?” Li Zhao’s mouth twitched slightly, seemingly displeased.
“I have to pack my luggage.”
“Packing your luggage? It’s almost New Year’s, where are you going?”
“Oh… I forgot to tell you. The new factory in Lingang is holding a year-end conference, and our department has sent me to attend.”
Li Zhao frowned slightly, but when he looked up and saw Gu Jiahe watching him, he quickly relaxed.
“How long will you be gone?” he asked.
“I’ll be back on the twenty-ninth of December,” Gu Jiahe replied softly, spoon in hand.
After he finished speaking, Li Zhao didn’t respond, nor did he show any expression. He just sat there opposite Gu Jiahe.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Jiahe asked cautiously.
After a few seconds, Li Zhao finally spoke. “Nothing, go ahead.”
The meal was eaten without much conversation. Gu Jiahe talked about work, and Li Zhao responded to each point, but he didn’t say much.
Only when the plates were empty did Li Zhao look up and ask him, “So, what’s your schedule in Lingang?”
Gu Jiahe tilted his head. “Schedule? I’m just going to work, see how the company arranges things.”
Li Zhao coughed twice, his eyes not meeting Gu Jiahe’s, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “If you have time, you can also contact me.”
Gu Jiahe chuckled, “Got it.”
That night, after Gu Jiahe got home and packed his luggage, it was already eleven o’clock. Winter clothes were thick and took up a lot of space. He took out compression bags, compressed each piece, and barely managed to squeeze them into his suitcase.
After finishing, he remembered to take off Li Zhao’s shirt. It had accidentally gotten a few wrinkles from being worn. Gu Jiahe gently smoothed them out with his fingers, afraid to use an iron, and carefully placed it in a dust-proof bag before hanging it in the closet.
As he lay in bed after washing up, he found two unread WeChat messages on his phone.
Opening them, they were from Li Zhao an hour ago.
“Tomorrow morning at eight, I’ll pick you up downstairs.”
Gu Jiahe replied with an “OK” at first, but feeling a bit distant, he sent another message with a dog nodding emoji.
The next morning, Gu Jiahe carried his suitcase downstairs. As soon as he stepped out of the building, he saw Li Zhao’s car already parked there.
Gu Jiahe’s high-speed train was at nine-thirty, so there was no rush. Li Zhao drove slowly along the way.
There were only two people from the company headquarters going, so they didn’t send a company car. Instead, they took the high-speed train themselves.
Before nine o’clock, Li Zhao dropped him off at the entrance of the high-speed rail station.
The HR manager arrived even earlier, and she was already waiting at the entrance for him to arrive. She greeted Gu Jiahe as she approached, but then she noticed Li Zhao in the car.
“Hey, isn’t this Li Zhao from Tianhe? Are you giving Manager Gu a ride?” she asked.
Gu Jiahe was startled and quickly waved her off, stepping in front of Li Zhao. “We happened to meet on the way, just a coincidence.”
“Wow, what a coincidence,” the HR manager said, feeling a bit incredulous.
“Yes, let’s go,” Gu Jiahe hurriedly ushered her inside, then turned back to Li Zhao and waved. “Thanks.”
Li Zhao watched him walk away, shaking his head with a smile.
Li Zhao didn’t need to clock in at the law firm, and there wasn’t much to do in the morning, so he drove leisurely back along the intercity expressway.
Feeling bored, he turned on the radio in the car.
“Time flies, and today is New Year’s Eve. I wonder if our listeners are reuniting with their families or loved ones?” the radio host’s voice came through.
Only then did Li Zhao notice that the streets outside were already adorned with red lanterns.
Soon, noisy New Year’s songs filled the airwaves. Li Zhao listened for a moment before reaching out to change the channel. But the next channel was a marriage mediation program, with a couple arguing loudly on the radio.
Feeling even more annoyed, Li Zhao simply turned off the radio.
The car fell into silence. There was a red light ahead, and Li Zhao pressed the brake and waited.
With three seconds left on the red light before it turned green, he couldn’t help but glance at the empty passenger seat.
As the end of the year approached, the atmosphere at the law firm had become more relaxed. When he arrived at the office, He Xiao was arranging the flowers on her desk. In the transparent glass vase, there were several bright red roses.
“Li Lawyer is here?” He Xiao looked up and greeted him as he entered.
“Yeah. Morning,” Li Zhao nodded to her.
Soon, Wen Qi arrived too. He came over to greet Li Zhao and then sat down next to He Xiao.
“Anything interesting going on?” Wen Qi leaned over to ask He Xiao.
He Xiao smirked mysteriously, “Spring has come for Sister too.”
Li Zhao listened with one ear, feeling inexplicably uneasy. He took out his phone from his pocket and checked WeChat.
Other than work groups, there were no new messages.
He thought for a moment, then placed his phone on the vertical stand on the table, staring at the dark screen expressionlessly.
After a while, He Xiao’s voice came, “Hey, Lawyer Li.”
Li Zhao snapped out of his thoughts and looked up, “What’s up?”
“Par said there will be a short meeting later,” He Xiao gestured to her computer screen, indicating he should check the email.
“Oh, okay,” Li Zhao sighed and opened his laptop.
The meeting with Qin Yi was indeed brief, lasting only half an hour before it adjourned. The main purpose was to brief them on the new clients they would be targeting next year, allowing them to start preparing before the New Year.
After returning to his seat, Li Zhao’s phone remained quietly on the stand. He lit up the screen, but there were still no new messages.
Until the afternoon, as the sun gradually set, casting orange-red light through the glass curtain wall onto Li Zhao’s desk.
Ding—
Li Zhao’s phone finally popped up with a new message notification.
He quickly picked up his phone, unlocked it, and checked—it was from Tencent News.
He took a deep breath, clicked on the news account, selected “Stop Following,” and then closed the window.
When he got home in the evening, Li Zhao couldn’t remember how many times he had looked at his phone screen. He finished a whole bottle of soda water and secretly decided not to look at his phone for the rest of the night .
Just then, his phone suddenly lit up. The screen showed a new message notification on WeChat.
“Just one last time, just one last time,” Li Zhao convinced himself.
He gently swiped the screen and opened the message.
It was from Gu Jiahe: “Man, I’m exhausted. Forgot to charge my phone this morning, and it died as soon as I got here. I’ve been busy with my colleagues from the new factory at the venue all afternoon, my back is about to break. What are you up to, Zhao Ge?”
Li Zhao lightly pressed his lips with his finger, pondered for a moment, and replied: “Oh, I just finished being busy too.”