Reply to Keats - Chap 42
Chap 42
Is she your friend?
In the new week, the Observatory urgently issued a black rain warning signal.
At the same time, the Transport Department reminded that due to the impact of the typhoon and heavy rain, mudslides in the Eastern District caused landslides in some sections of the road. Many sections of the line from Central to Admiral Street were closed. The Civic Center issued a typhoon false notice, requiring citizens to work from home and not go out unless necessary.
Meteorological warnings are divided into yellow rain, red rain and black rain levels. For red rain, it is generally recommended to stay at home, while the black rain level is an order for businesses and schools to suspend operations.
In the following days, except for government agencies and special departments, Haishi was almost in a state of suspension. The roads that were once bustling with traffic were now empty, and the only sound in the entire city was the overwhelming sound of rain.
Working from home, Chen Wan and Zhao Shengge inevitably had to spend more time online, and the video conferencing location had to be moved from the company to their respective homes.
After taking off his suit and tie, Zhao Shengge has a sense of relaxation, and is much more vivid and real than usual.
“Chen Wan, you didn’t get enough rest last night?” His voice was very calm, without any hint of blame, but it made people feel guilty for some reason.
“I rested.” But not too much. The weather had already increased efficiency costs, so I had to work overtime to make up for it. I did stay up until late last night.
“Really?” It was unclear whether Zhao Shengge believed it or not, but he didn’t say anything more. He just leaned back in his chair and asked casually, “What did you drink?”
“Iron Guanyin”: Chen Wan’s must-have for staying up late
Zhao Shengge nodded and opened the file.
Due to a sudden increase in wind speed in the afternoon, the signal in the area where Chen Wan lived was interrupted and power was not restored until the evening.
Zhao Shengge probably didn’t dry his hair completely after taking a shower, which made his eyebrows and features look even darker.
“Is it safe for you there?”
Chen Wan looked at the ends of his hair, which were still a little wet, and hesitated to speak, but still didn’t say anything, and replied: “Very safe.”
Although the signal was still intermittent and the delayed conversation made this connected channel feel a bit like mutual support in the end times.
Without each other, Zhao Shengge and Chen Wan would have been alone in this stormy and indefinite time.
Zhao Shengge would talk about work with Chen Wan in different places at home. In the morning they would talk about it at the bay window, and in the evening they would talk about it in the study. The wooden-themed decoration immediately made Chen Wan think of a perfume.
Chen Wan actually bought a bottle of orange-flavored one. The marble on the bay window looked very cool, so Chen Wan chose a handmade wool blanket and still put it in the gift cabinet that would never be given away.
Zhao Shengge listened to Chen Wan’s report of yesterday’s data, and suddenly stood up and said, “I’ll go get a charger.”
They went to the room, and a little bit of the bed sheet was revealed in the video. There seemed to be a model at the head of the bed, but it only flashed by. When Chen Wan wanted to see it more clearly, the scene turned back to Zhao Shengge’s face. He was close to the camera, and his superior facial features were magnified, which gave a strong sense of intimidation.
“What’s wrong?” Zhao Shengge tilted his head and asked him.
Chen Wan said calmly, “It’s okay, Mr. Zhao, let’s continue.”
“Okay.” Zhao Shengge put the phone back to its normal place and told Chen Wan that Jennifer was stranded in Haishi due to the typhoon for the past two days and was willing to take time to meet him.
Jennifer is a senior marine geologist who has many years of research on ocean currents and seabed movements. She has profound theoretical experience and field survey data. Fang Jian encountered some problems with the underground foundation structure and had always wanted to visit her for advice, but was unable to do so.
Zhao Shengge used his connections abroad to contact the other party. As the youngest winner of the Youth Scholar Award in this field, Jennifer’s schedule was very full. It was only these few days that her team was transiting in Hai City but was stranded due to the typhoon, so she had time to meet them.
Chen Wan asked: “When?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Zhao Shengge turned on his laptop, “I received a reply half an hour ago.”
Chen Wan glanced out the window and said worriedly, “It’s raining so heavily.”
The sky has been dark since the afternoon. The Observatory has issued three warnings in succession, and torrential rain will come in the next sixteen hours. A pedestrian bridge in Admiralty was washed away. The Transport Department and the Police Station once again jointly issued a notice asking the general public not to travel unless necessary.
Zhao Shengge said: “They can only leave tomorrow empty, and fly to the UK as soon as the typhoon leaves.”
Chen Wan thought for a moment and said, “Mr. Zhao, can I go with you?”
Zhao Shengge was looking down at the document sent by Fang Jian. Without even raising his head, he replied, “No.”
“…” Chen Wan sighed inwardly and had to say, “You must pay attention to safety.”
Zhao Shengge looked at the deep worry between his brows, lowered his head and curled the corners of his mouth.
The next day it continued to rain heavily, the wind and rain destroyed everything, and with their destructive force the whole city was plunged into a doomsday-like gloom and silence.
There was no news from Zhao Shengge the whole day, and Chen Wan spent a very uneasy day.
I didn’t eat much either, especially with the latest weather news updating the death toll as it continued to rise.
Chen Wan worked with great concern and probably looked at her phone no less than a hundred times.
It was not until the evening that Zhao Shengge told Chen Wan that it was over.
It was still a video call. Zhao Shengge seemed to dislike all inefficient ways of communication, such as sending messages.
Chen Wan has gotten used to it.
“Chen Wan.”
“Mr. Zhao, is everything going well?”
It was late at night, and Chen Wan was not wearing home clothes, but a shirt that was not too formal. This meant that he must have been waiting for Zhao Shengge to contact him all day.
Zhao Shengge took off his coat. In the dim light of the entrance, the person in the video looked like an oil painting. The person in the painting asked Chen Wan, “What do you mean?”
Did Zhao Shengge’s trip go smoothly, or did his meeting with Jennifer go smoothly.
“…” Chen Wan said in a general way, “How was your day with Fang Bo today?”
Chen Wan didn’t give Zhao Shengge the answer he wanted to hear, and Zhao Shengge didn’t give him the answer he wanted to hear either. He gently suggested, “Then you might want to ask Fang Jian. He and Jennifer are basically the ones discussing professional matters.”
“…” Chen Wan had a headache. Zhao Shengge was really…hard to fool.
Zhao Shengge walked to the brightly lit island stage. Chen Wan could clearly see his wet shirt, which covered his chest muscles and abdomen. His lines were superior and restrained, powerful but not exaggerated.
Zhao Shengge sneezed and poured a glass of cold water.
“…” Chen Wan couldn’t help but suggest, “Mr. Zhao, after getting caught in the rain, it’s better to drink hot water. If you have ginger, it’s best to make ginger soup to drive away the cold.”
In fact, Chen Wan was out of concern. Zhao Shengge didn’t get wet in the rain at all, and she didn’t know how he got soaked by the rain.
The cars were driven directly into the underground garage. Other underground garages were indeed flooded in the past few days, but the flood-proof facilities of the prince’s villa, which cost hundreds of millions, would stand the test of time even if a tsunami came, let alone a typhoon.
Zhao Shengge said there was no ginger, and he tried to stir it around in a very serious manner, then asked if hot red wine would be okay.
Chen Wan: “…That’s fine.”
Zhao Shengge took a bottle from the wine rack and poured half a glass. Chen Wan asked, “What did you drink, Mr. Zhao?” He had just been exposed to the cold wind and caught in the rain, so drinking something too strong would give him a headache.
Zhao Shengge took a sip, his lips became rosy and soft, and he squinted at him: “The bottle you took to Felipe’s party.”
Chen Wan paused.
He said this…it can be interpreted in many ways.
The bottle he brought to Felipe’s party.
Which bottle?
The mobile phone video seemed to be stuck for a few seconds, and Chen Wan quickly calmed down.
There was no way Zhao Shengge knew that the bottle of Mulan Duo was his.
That’s another bottle.
Chen Wan smiled and said, “Chardonnay is good for sleeping.”
Zhao Shengge leaned against the island counter, one leg bent, which looked very long. He looked at Chen Wan and asked, “Did you bring Chardonnay?”
Chen Wan’s heart was lifted up again, and she carefully did not answer immediately. After a moment, she said without lying, “I did bring Chardonnay.”
But Zhao Shengge was a very difficult person to fool and would not allow others to get away with it by being vague in front of him.
“Oh,” he swirled the wine, observing its color, “it has a hint of Chardonnay—”
“What else?”
Each guest had to bring two bottles, and the Chardonnay was the one on the wine rack.
“…” Chen Wan smiled, “I don’t quite remember.”
Zhao Shengge looked at him for a while and said, “I lied to you.”
He raised his glass to his phone: “Actually, I’m drinking Queen of Parma.”
“…”
Zhao Shengge was deceiving Chen Wan.
But Chen Wan didn’t want to talk much about the cocktail party, so she said, “Queen Parma is also suitable for warding off the cold.”
Zhao Shengge didn’t want to discuss with him which wine was suitable for driving away the cold and which was suitable for sleeping. He stared straight into Chen Wan’s eyes and said, “Guess who we met in the scientist’s living room today.”
“who.”
Zhao Shengge walked out of the stage and turned off the lights. The screen suddenly went dark and Chen Wan could no longer see Zhao Shengge’s face.
In the darkness, Zhao Shengge chuckled with an ambiguous tone: “Ms. Xu Enyi.”
Chen Wan took a moment to think of this beautiful lady whom he had met once before. Without thinking too much, he objectively analyzed: “The Xu family’s marine energy patent has been approved. They probably want to put it into operation as soon as possible. Extreme weather occurred frequently in the first half of the year, so they should be anxious.”
There was a rustling sound from the phone, and a not-so-bright light was turned on. Zhao Shengge should have walked into the study. Although Chen Wan had never been to Zhao Shengge’s home and didn’t know the address, through the video conferences over the past few days, he had a general understanding of Zhao Shengge’s living environment.
Zhao Shengge looked at Chen Wan: “You know it very well.”
“…” Chen Wan said, “Know yourself and know your enemy.” Although their projects did not overlap, there was some cross-competition in interests.
Zhao Shengge asked: “When will they start the project?”
Chen Wan: “The thirteenth of next month.”
“Xu Enyi told you?” Zhao Shengge put down his wine glass and reminded him, “The project launch time has not been announced yet.” The lack of announcement proves that this is still an internal secret.
“?” Chen Wan didn’t know why the other party asked this. He had found out this in his own way, but he was afraid that Zhao Shengge would think that he was taking shortcuts and was dishonest, so he cleverly concealed the latter question, trying to turn the tables and get away with it. “No, how did Mr. Zhao know that Miss Xu and I knew each other?”
Good question.
Zhao Shengge was calm and composed: “Didn’t you guys go to the wine tasting together?”
“…”The cocktail party that Chen Wan had finally managed to get through was back on track again.
For various reasons, whether it was guilt or regret, Chen Wan didn’t want to mention the cocktail party.
Zhao Shengge asked: “Is she your friend?”
“Not really.”
“Is that a blind date?”
“…” Chen Wan almost coughed and said, “Ms. Xu’s talent, appearance and family background are not worthy of me.”
Zhao Shengge was too lazy to pay attention to his high-sounding diplomatic rhetoric and pointed out the truth: “If you don’t like Xu Enyi, what kind of person do you like?”
“…” Zhao Shengge was a little aggressive tonight, and Chen Wan answered in confusion, “I don’t have any favorites.”
Zhao Shengge looked at him for a while as if he didn’t quite believe it, and said gently: “It’s okay, just chatting. If there is any, I can ask Tan Youming to help you keep an eye out.”
Chen Wan looked at him for a moment, shook his head, and said with a clear and frank look, “Really not.”
Zhao Shengge’s profile was hidden in the shadow of the light, and his expression could not be seen clearly. After a while, he smiled at Chen Wan and said, “Okay.”
