Chapter 58: Do You Think I Believe That?

"There's really no need for that. It's too late, and I'm with Brother Wang and Brother Li," Li Xiuyuan said into his phone. He wasn't alone, and having Wu Yiyi come over felt somewhat inappropriate. After all, the relationship between the two of them was, how should he put it, a bit closer than that of ordinary colleagues.

Wu Yiyi clearly had a soft spot for him, but if Wang Zhi涛 and Li Boyang found out, things would get complicated.

"It's fine. Just tell me the address."

Wu Yiyi insisted, leaving Li Xiuyuan with no other choice but to give her the restaurant's address.

After hanging up, Li Xiuyuan noticed Wang Zhitao and Li Boyang looking at him with complex expressions.

"This... I and..." Li Xiuyuan was trying to think of how to explain when Wang Zhitao chimed in from the side, "So, I didn't see wrong that afternoon after work—you really got into Wu Yiyi's car?"

Li Xiuyuan felt a headache coming on. He couldn't explain his way out of this. This Brother Tao of his was unobservant when he needed to be smart, but his brain turned faster than anything when he shouldn't be thinking too much.

Li Xiuyuan nodded; at this point, denial was meaningless. However, he quickly added, "Actually, that day we just casually had a meal, nothing special. Sister Wu just saw that I was young, new to the job, and offered me some guidance..."

"Do you expect me to believe that? Why doesn't she offer me any guidance?" Wang Zhitao said with a complicated expression, his tone tinged with a hint of jealousy. Wu Yiyi's family background was quite good. If Li Xiuyuan ended up with Wu Yiyi...

Well, in this small county, while it might be an exaggeration to say he'd save thirty years of striving, it was certainly no problem to bypass at least ten years of hard work.

"What? Nothing to say? This morning, when I suggested you go ask Wu Yiyi for a way out, you said you weren't that close. Are you close now? She came over all by herself to help you out," Wang Zhitao said with a trace of grievance.

Li Xiuyuan knew he had to clear this up today. He put down his wine glass and said, "Brother Wang, what I said is true. We really aren't that close. Just think about it, how long have I been working here? How busy is Sister Wu?

Do I spend more time interacting with you guys, or with Sister Wu? Besides, some things aren't up for her to decide anyway. She just became County Magistrate Gu's secretary herself; even if she wanted to help me, do you think she's in a position to? County Magistrate Gu hasn't been here very long either—would County Magistrate Gu go bother Director Pang over her personal affairs?

As for her family connections, why would they lift a finger? Just because we've known each other for a month? Or purely because of my thick skin?"

Hearing Li Xiuyuan put it this way, Wang Zhitao fell silent. Li Xiuyuan's analysis made sense. As deep as Wu Yiyi's background might seem, she could really only manage her own affairs and couldn't easily help outsiders.

In reality, this was the current predicament for many people; connections weren't nearly as all-powerful as people imagined.

And even if those connections existed, people wouldn't necessarily be willing to pull strings for you.

"Alright, regardless of anything else, Xiuyuan, Wu Yiyi coming over is an opportunity for you," Li Boyang said from the side. "Setting work aside, if you could actually end up with Wu Yiyi, it would be a major opportunity for you. Don't be too thin-skinned, and don't be shy..."

Hearing this, Li Xiuyuan sighed inwardly. To be honest, he did have a bit of a favorable impression of Wu Yiyi—she was undeniably very pretty. But the problem was that Li Xiuyuan had ambitions for his own official career.

Especially with his current plans to angle for the position of secretary to the new county magistrate, the probability of him getting involved with Wu Yiyi became even slimmer.

"Alright, Xiuyuan, we've had about enough to drink tonight, so we'll get going," Li Boyang said as he stood up, pulling along Wang Zhitao, who was still seated. Since Wu Yiyi was on her way, they naturally needed to leave the two of them some privacy.

Initially, Wang Zhitao was a bit reluctant to leave; he wanted to stay and observe the dynamic between Wu Yiyi and Li Xiuyuan to see if Wu Yiyi had a way to help Li Xiuyuan out of his predicament.

In the end, he was dragged to his feet by Li Boyang. After Li Xiuyuan paid the bill, he walked Wang Zhitao and Li Boyang out to hail a taxi for them.

However, before they could even flag down a car, while the three of them were still standing by the roadside smoking and chatting, a striking red flash pulled up right beside them, and Wu Yiyi pushed open the door and stepped out.

"Brother Li, Zhitao," Wu Yiyi greeted Li Boyang and Wang Zhitao first.

Just from this single gesture, Li Boyang understood in his heart that Li Xiuyuan and Wu Yiyi genuinely had a shot. There were three people standing there, and strictly speaking in terms of tenure, Wu Yiyi had started working the same year as Wang Zhitao, and had been colleagues with him (Li Boyang) for over a year. By all accounts, her relationship with them should have been closer than with Li Xiuyuan, who was a newcomer.

Yet, after getting out of the car, Wu Yiyi subconsciously only greeted him and Wang Zhitao.

Not greeting Li Xiuyuan didn't mean she was ignoring him; on the contrary, it meant that among the three, her relationship with Li Xiuyuan was the closest—so close that formal pleasantries were unnecessary.

Li Boyang nodded and shifted his gaze to Li Xiuyuan. Honestly, this kid was undeniably quite handsome, not someone he or Wang Zhitao could compare to.

"Yiyi, you're done with your work? Xiuyuan was just too impulsive today—" Wang Zhitao, considering himself on good terms with Wu Yiyi, wanted to chime in, but Li Boyang directly grabbed him and said, "The cab is here. Xiao Wu, you and Xiuyuan go ahead and talk."

Zhitao, you stupid kid, is this a matter for you to stick your nose into?

"This... I..."

Wang Zhitao still didn't want to leave and wanted to say a few more words, but he was firmly pulled into the taxi by Li Boyang.

"Let's walk for a bit," Wu Yiyi said, watching the taxi drive away before turning her gaze to Li Xiuyuan.

Li Xiuyuan nodded, and the two of them began walking side by side under the dim, yellowish streetlights. Wu Yiyi spoke slowly, "What are you thinking? Do you want to leave the government office? Do you need my help?"

Before coming over, Wu Yiyi had actually thought through a lot of scenarios. But once she saw Li Xiuyuan face-to-face, those words just wouldn't come out. Primarily because their current relationship hadn't reached the point where she could meddle deeply; in fact, upon careful calculation, her relationship with Li Xiuyuan might not even be as close as the one he shared with Wang Zhitao and Li Boyang.

After all, after the incident broke out today, Li Xiuyuan hadn't even given her a heads-up.

"Not for now," Li Xiuyuan shook his head, turning to look at Wu Yiyi. "How did you find out about this?"

Logically speaking, news shouldn't have spread this fast. After all, Wu Yiyi spent the entire day accompanying Vice County Magistrate Gu, so the news shouldn't have reached Magistrate Gu's ears so quickly.

Wu Yiyi smiled, the night breeze lifting her long hair, as she turned her head to look at Li Xiuyuan and countered, "You don't think I spent over a year in the general affairs section for nothing, do you? Of course I have my own sources of information."

"This... Sister Yiyi, that's not what I meant."

"Alright, I'll tell you straight: Huang Wei is the one who told me. He probably feels like he's about to be promoted to deputy head of the general affairs section, so his mind is starting to wander." There was undisguised contempt in Wu Yiyi's voice. With Huang Wei's looks and character, let alone being the deputy head of general affairs, even if he were the section chief, Wu Yiyi wouldn't give him the time of day.