DEFYING FATE

Chapter 99: Meeting the beautiful woman again

On the way home.

There were still a few more stops to North Heping Street.Dong Xuebing was waiting for his bus at a bus stop outside of a shopping centernear to West bridge. He had been waiting for the bus for a long time, but thatdid not dampen his mood. He was humming a tune as he took out the packet ofHongtashan Cigarettes from his pocket. He took out a cigarette and light it.This was the packet Dong Xuebing bought after Director Li Qing gave him acigarette. He had opened up the pack a long time ago, and the taste of thecigarette changed. Dong Xuebing choked on the smoke and was almost in tears.

The taste was awful!

Dong Xuebing threw the cigarette on the floor and stepped onit to extinguish it. He also threw away that packet of Hongtashan into a bin.

The bus had still not arrived. It was more than 20 minutes.

Just when Dong Xuebing was considering if he should take ataxi back, he saw a familiar figure walking towards his direction from thecorner of his eyes. That person was about 6 to 7 meters away. Her hair was tiedup into a bun, and her facial features were beautiful. She had a slim figureand long legs. This woman was that elegant woman which Dong Xuebing had helpedher to get her wallet back. She was wearing a black colored ladies suit and apair of black heels. She was stunning. Her beauty was totally different fromthe gentle Qu Yunxuan. She was more of the elegant type!

Dong Xuebing could not take his eyes off her. How couldsomeone be as pretty as her?

Oh, the last time we met was also not far from here. Doesshe stay around here? This place is quite close to my place.

"Chief Xie!" A middle-aged man appeared from anotherdirection and walked towards that woman.

That woman turned to look at him and smiled. "Old Li, youhave just come back?"

That man nodded and smiled. "I went to the parents-teachersmeeting at my kid's school. Are you going out?"

"Yes. I have some on."

That man looked at her. "Chief Xie, can I delay your timefor a while? I had asked someone to redo the thing I showed you the last time.We changed the core components to mechanical productions, and there are someother modifications..."

The woman smiled and waved her hand. "Can we not talk aboutwork on our off days?"

The middle-aged man paused for a while: "This is still notapproved by Minister Zhao's side. This..."

The woman was still smiling, but her eyes narrowed. "Bringthe proposal to my office tomorrow when we are at work. Can we not talk aboutwork now?"

Dong Xuebing was curious. That man was in his forties.Although he was not smiling, he was standing straight unlike that woman, whowas standing there casually. From their conversation, that man had addressedher politely and had used honorifics. This woman should not be more than 30years old and should be holding a much higher position than that man. ChiefXie? Chief? Could she be some divisional chief from a private company? If shewas working at a state-owned enterprise or government agency, she should beholding a similar position as Dong Xuebing in the General Affairs Office, basedon her age. Although the title was "Chief" but the actual rank was stillSection Chief.

Dong Xuebing saw the woman walking nearer towards him, andhe hesitated and wonder if she should speak to her.

This woman had said she will treat Dong Xuebing for dinnerwhen she has the time. But almost one month had passed, and she still has notcontacted Dong Xuebing. She must have forgotten about this. She might evenforget how Dong Xuebing looks like.

Dong Xuebing's mind was wandering when the woman suddenlystopped and looked at him.

"Huh? It's you?"

She still remembers me? Dong Xuebing replied. "Hi. We meetagain. You are living nearby?"

"Yes. My workplace quarters is nearby." The woman smiled. "Iwanted to thank you for that day and had said I will treat you to dinner. But Ihave been swamped. I don't even have time on weekends. I am on my way to meetclients over dinner. I'm afraid that I cant treat you today."

Dong Xuebing looked at her pretty face and replied. "It'sfine. You don't have to treat me."

"Haha, I must give you a treat. My wallet contains lots ofimportant cards. Identification card can be replaced if it is lost. But thename cards in my wallet cannot be replaced." The woman twirled her long hairwith one finger. "Oh, I still do not know your name. My name is Xie Huilan."

"Dong Xuebing."

"Hmm... nice name."

"Huh? It's a common name. Your name sounds nicer."

"Are you above 25 years old this year?"

"I am almost 24."

"Hehe, I am older than you. I will call you Xiao Dong ok?"

"Sure."

The other passengers, waiting at the bus stop, were staringat Xie Huilan. It was rare to see a woman as pretty as her.

Xie Huilan laughed and chatted with Dong Xuebing for awhile. After one minute of chatting, she looked at her watch and took out apiece of paper from her handbag. She wrote a string of numbers and passed it toDong Xuebing. "I got to go. This is my number. I owe you a favor. If you needany help, call me. Hmmm.... I am working at the Research division of the NewsBureau under the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, Ok?"

Dong Xuebing took the paper from her and looked at thenumbers. Her handwriting was beautiful.

Eh? Wait! Where was she working at?

Damn! Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China?News Bureau? Research division?

This Publicity Department of the Communist Party of Chinawas different from other government departments. The research division underthe Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China was not a Sectionlevel department. It was a real Divisional level agency!!!

Dong Xuebing was stunned. "Sis Xie, I heard that man calledyou Chief Xie earlier. You... You are the Chief of the News Bureau's ResearchDivision?"

Xie Huilan laughed. "I'm only a Deputy."

Even if she was a Deputy, she was also a Deputy DivisionalChief!

She was promoted every two years, or did she enter thegovernment service earlier?

It might still be possible for Xie Huilan to reach hercurrent rank if she is in the Communist Youth League. But she is working for adepartment under the Central Government. She is a Deputy Divisional Chief underthe Publicity Department. She is a leader from the Central Government! Althoughher rank might be the same as Deputy Branch Bureau Chief Xu Yan, theirpositions are totally different. In terms of authority and career prospects,Deputy Divisional Chief of the News Bureau, Research Department is much bettercompared to State Security, Deputy Branch Bureau Chief! Her position is not aposition where anyone can reach with just capabilities alone!

Dong Xuebing was stunned and looked at Xie Huilan's departingback view.

A Deputy Divisional Chief under the age of 30? Whatbackground does she have?!

Xie Huilan was pretty, elegant, have a strong backing,capable, have good career...

Damn!

The woman was too perfect!

Dong Xuebing was shocked by Xie Huilan. He thought tohimself if he should also try harder? At least, he should get the rank of aDeputy Section Chief first.