Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

"Hanchuan," my voice was shaking, "what are you talking about?"

My appearance seemed to interrupt their conversation. Secretary Zhao was stunned at first, then smiled at me politely: "Comrade Mu, hello." Bai Hanchuan also turned around, and the relaxed expression on his face disappeared instantly, replaced by a subtle stiffness. "Jinli, why are you here?"

I tried hard to control the trembling in my voice: "I... I came to see you. This is..." My eyes fell on Secretary Zhao again, with a hint of inquiry.

"Oh, this is Boss Zhang's secretary, Secretary Zhao." Bai Hanchuan's tone was light, and he seemed unwilling to say more.

"Boss Zhang's secretary?" I repeated, feeling even more confused. Boss Zhang was a competitor at the trade show, and I had heard that he had resorted to many dirty tricks to snatch business. I felt a little uneasy. Why was Secretary Zhao talking to Bai Hanchuan here? What was the relationship between them?

Secretary Zhao seemed to notice my doubts, smiled slightly, and explained: "Comrade Mu, Comrade Bai and I just happened to meet and chatted for a few words about this trade fair." As she spoke, she nodded slightly at me, then turned and left, her high heels tapping on the ground, making a crisp sound, and she quickly disappeared into the crowd.

I looked at her from behind, and my doubts deepened. Her explanation sounded reasonable, but it also made me feel a little weird. Her smile, her tone, her eyes, all made me feel like she was hiding something.

Seeing that I was silent, Bai Hanchuan reached out and held my hand: "Let's go, let's go back." His palm was warm and dry, but it couldn't dispel the chill in my heart.

Back in the room at the guesthouse, I still couldn't let it go. I was confused by Bai Hanchuan's attitude. He was always honest with me in the past, but today he avoided talking about the content of the conversation between me and Secretary Zhao. Could it be that there was something going on between them that I didn't know about?

I sat on the bed, looking at the gradually darkening sky outside the window, with a lot of thoughts in my mind. The competition at the trade fair was fierce, and all kinds of tricks emerged one after another. I heard before that Boss Zhang would do anything to achieve his goals. Could it be... Could it be that Bai Hanchuan was also involved?

As soon as this thought came to my mind, it grew like a weed and took over my entire mind. I didn't dare to believe it, and I didn't want to believe it, but all the signs made me doubt it.

"Hanchuan," I turned my head and looked at Bai Hanchuan who was sorting out the documents, and said in a heavy tone, "You...you and Secretary Zhao, what are you talking about?"

He raised his head, a complex emotion flashed in his eyes, and then he regained his composure. "Nothing, just some business matters." His tone was calm, but it made me even more uneasy.

"Business matters?" I repeated his words, but my heart was filled with doubt and anxiety. "Is it really just business matters?"

He put down the information in his hand, walked over to me, and gently held me in his arms: "Jinli, do you believe me?"

His embrace was warm and familiar, yet it made me feel a little suffocated. I raised my head and looked into his eyes, trying to find the answer. His eyes were deep and calm, yet they made me feel a little strange.

I opened my mouth, wanting to ask something, but I didn't know where to start. The room was silent, with only the whistling sound of the wind outside the window, as if foreshadowing something...

"I..." I didn't ask in the end, but just gently pushed him away, "I'm a little tired and want to rest."

He looked at me, a barely perceptible pain flashed in his eyes, "Okay." He turned and walked to the desk, picked up a document, and slowly opened it... "Tomorrow..." He seemed to want to say something, but swallowed it back, just lowered his head and looked at the document in his hand, and said no more. The atmosphere in the room was so depressing that it made people breathless. I lay on the bed, but I couldn't fall asleep. Bai Hanchuan's every move made me feel strange and uneasy. His abnormality today made me wonder if he was really involved in something bad.

I tossed and turned late into the night, still unable to fall asleep. The howling of the wind outside the window was very much like the waves in my heart at the moment. I quietly got up, walked to the window, looked at the dark night sky, and felt lost.

The next morning, I pulled myself together and pretended nothing had happened. Bai Hanchuan seemed to have regained his usual calm, but I knew that a rift had appeared between us, an invisible and intangible rift that was real.

After breakfast, Bai Hanchuan received a phone call and left the guesthouse in a hurry. I watched him leave, and my doubts grew. His hurried pace and evasive words made me feel uneasy. Could it be that he was really hiding something from me?

I sat in the room, trying to calm myself down, but I couldn't concentrate. At this time, someone knocked on the door. I opened the door and it was Secretary Zhao. She was holding a file bag in her hand and had a professional smile on her face: "Comrade Mu, Comrade Bai asked me to give you this file."

I took the file bag, and my doubts grew. Why was Secretary Zhao here? How did she know I was in this room? Could it be that she had been in contact with Bai Hanchuan?

"Thank you." I tried hard to control the trembling in my voice and tried not to let Secretary Zhao notice that something was wrong with me.

"You're welcome." Secretary Zhao smiled slightly and turned to leave.

I closed the door, my hands holding the document bag trembling slightly. I had a strong premonition that the contents of this document bag must be related to Bai Hanchuan's secret.

I took a deep breath and opened the file bag. There was only a piece of paper inside with one line of words written on it: 302 o'clock in the evening, room of Red Star Hotel.

My heart sank. Red Star Hotel, isn't that the hotel where Boss Zhang stayed? What was Bai Hanchuan doing there? Could it be... could it be that he really had some secret deal with Boss Zhang?

I dare not think any further, a chill ran from the soles of my feet to the top of my head. I must find out the truth, even if it will make me feel miserable.

I changed into inconspicuous clothes and quietly left the guesthouse. At 7:50 pm, I arrived at the Red Star Hotel. My heart was pounding and my palms were sweating.

I went to the third floor and found room 302. The light was on in the room, and I pressed against the door, holding my breath, trying to hear what was going on inside.

At this time, footsteps were heard in the corridor. I quickly hid in a corner and saw Bai Hanchuan hurriedly walked into room 302 through the crack in the door.

My heart sank to the bottom. My guess turned out to be true.

I pressed close to the door, trying to hear the conversation inside, but I could only hear some unclear sounds.

"……cooperate……"

"……condition……"

"……cannot……"

My heart was getting heavier and colder. I felt like I had fallen into an ice hole and was frozen solid.

Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried footsteps in the room, and then the door opened... I saw...

I saw Bai Hanchuan walking out of the room with an anxious look on his face. His forehead was covered with sweat and his shirt was a little messy, as if he had just been through a fierce argument. And behind him, it turned out to be Secretary Zhao! She looked calm, holding a file bag in her hand, and she had the same professional smile as when she gave me the file during the day.

At that moment, I felt my blood freeze. All my guesses and suspicions were confirmed at this moment. They really had a secret, and they really did something shameful behind my back!

Bai Hanchuan was obviously stunned when he saw me. The anxiety on his face instantly turned into shock, and then a hint of barely perceptible panic. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

"You..." I pointed at Secretary Zhao and then at Bai Hanchuan in a trembling voice, "You guys..."

I felt like my throat was blocked by something, and I couldn't utter a complete sentence. My chest was filled with huge disappointment, anger, and grievance, which almost swallowed me up.

When Secretary Zhao saw me, her professional smile froze for a moment. She quickly regained her composure, nodded slightly to Bai Hanchuan, and turned away. Her back, in the dim light, looked particularly cold and mysterious.

"Jinli, listen to my explanation..." Bai Hanchuan took a step forward and wanted to hold my hand.

I shook his hand off and took a step back as if I was avoiding the plague. "Explain? What else is there to explain? I saw it all!" My voice trembled slightly with excitement, and tears flowed down my cheeks.

He looked at me, his eyes full of pain and helplessness. "You only see the surface, things are not what you think..."

"Not what I thought? What is that? You are having a tryst with Secretary Zhao here in the middle of the night, is it for work?" I sneered, my tone full of sarcasm.

He was silent, his eyes flickering, as if hesitating about something.

"What? Can't you tell me?" My heart grew colder and colder, and the last bit of hope I had for him was completely shattered. "Bai Hanchuan, I really misjudged you!"

I could no longer control my emotions and turned and ran. The lights in the corridor were dim and long, and I felt like I was running in a tunnel with no end, and I couldn't see a single light.

"Jinli!" Bai Hanchuan's anxious voice came from behind, and his footsteps were getting closer and closer, and more and more rapid.

I didn't stop, but ran faster. I didn't want to listen to his explanation, nor did I want to see him again. At this moment, I just wanted to escape from here, escape from this suffocating place.

"Jinli, wait a minute!" He caught up with me and grabbed my arm.

I shook his hand off and turned to stare at him, tears blurring my vision. "Don't touch me!"

His hands froze in mid-air, his eyes filled with hurt and disbelief. "You really... don't believe me?"

I looked at him, my heart ached, but I still stubbornly refused to bow my head. "The facts are right in front of us, what else is there to believe?"

I turned around again and ran towards the elevator.

"Jinli..." He was still chasing after her, his voice filled with despair, "Listen to me..."

I pressed the elevator button and the elevator door slowly opened. I walked in without looking back, and the elevator door slowly closed, cutting off Bai Hanchuan's voice and the last trace of contact between us.

The elevator slowly descended, and my heart sank bit by bit.

Suddenly, the elevator stopped.

The door slowly opened, and a familiar figure stood outside the door... Boss Zhang. He looked at me with a meaningful smile on his face, and slowly said, "Comrade Mu, we meet again..."

The air in the elevator seemed to freeze. Boss Zhang's smile was like a poisonous snake, which made me shudder. I subconsciously took a step back, my back pressed tightly against the elevator wall, my heart beating like a drum. How could he be here? Could it be... that he arranged all this? This thought flashed through my mind like lightning, making me more certain that there was something wrong between Bai Hanchuan and Secretary Zhao.

"Boss Zhang..." I tried to keep myself calm, but my voice couldn't stop shaking, "It's so late, you haven't rested yet?"

He chuckled, his tone teasing, "It seems that Comrade Mu is surprised to see me. Why? You don't welcome me?"

I forced a smile and said, "How could that be? Boss Zhang must be joking."

He stepped into the elevator, and the space suddenly became small and cramped, and I felt that I could hardly breathe. "Comrade Mu seems to be in a bad mood?" His sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through my thoughts.

I avoided his gaze and remained silent.

The elevator door slowly closed and began to descend. In the enclosed space, there were only him and I, and this feeling made me extremely uneasy.

"In fact, for some things, seeing is not necessarily the truth." He suddenly spoke with a meaningful tone.

I looked up at him suddenly, my heart full of doubt and vigilance. What did he mean by this? Did he know something?

But he didn't continue talking, but there was a mysterious smile on his face, which made people unpredictable.

The elevator finally reached the first floor, and the moment the door opened, I rushed out almost as if I was escaping. I didn't want to stay in the same space with him for a moment, and his appearance made the doubts and uneasiness in my heart even stronger.

Behind him, his deep voice came: "Comrade Mu, we will see each other again soon..."

I quickened my pace, just wanting to leave this suffocating place as soon as possible. I want to go back and ask Bai Hanchuan what exactly is going on!

As soon as I walked out of the hotel door, I saw Bai Hanchuan looking around anxiously. When he saw me coming out, he immediately rushed over and grabbed my arm: "Jinli, where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

I shook his hand off and glared at him: "How dare you ask me? I haven't settled the score with you about your relationship with Secretary Zhao yet!"

He was stunned for a moment, with a trace of hurt in his eyes: "Jinli, listen to me, things are not what you think..."

"Not what I thought? What was it like?" I sneered, my tone full of disappointment and anger, "In the middle of the night, you and her were in a hotel room..."

"We are talking about work!" He interrupted me, speaking hastily, "Boss Zhang proposed a new cooperation plan, I..."

"That's enough!" I didn't want to listen to his explanation anymore, so I turned and left. "I don't want to see you now!"

He followed me closely, explaining: "Jinli, believe me, there is really nothing between her and me! Just listen to my explanation..."

I quickened my pace, almost jogging forward. I didn't want to listen, and I didn't want to believe. All the explanations seemed like pale and powerless cover-ups to me.

“Jinli!” He was still chasing after her, his voice carrying a hint of despair, “Wait a minute…”

I didn't stop, and walked straight towards the booth. I needed to calm down, I needed to think about what was going on...

When I got back to the booth, I immediately started packing my things. I didn't want to stay here any longer and just wanted to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

"Jinli, what are you doing?" Bai Hanchuan chased after me and grabbed my hand, "Calm down..."

I shook his hand away, "Don't touch me!" My voice was trembling with excitement. He looked at me with complicated eyes.