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Lin Xiao received a text message from Li Hao a month later, announcing that the Shan He Tao on Cui Ping Mountain had yielded a bountiful harvest. This batch of Shan He Tao was grafted from walnuts specifically for Yurou County after Professor Nongda conducted soil testing and formulated a plan. The walnuts had thin skins, abundant flesh, and a sweet taste.
Seeing the message brought a smile to Lin Xiao's face as memories of their days spent with the professor on-site flooded back. Just as she was contemplating whether to reply, another message arrived: "Let’s meet; I have something to discuss with you."
Lin Xiao was open to meeting, eager to clarify things and hoping he wouldn’t send her more messages. They met at the same café as before, in the private room in Toronto, but this time, Li Hao arrived first.
"Li Shuji," Lin Xiao greeted politely.
Li Hao was dressed in a gray tracksuit, looking much more relaxed than usual, his expression less serious. He gestured for Lin Xiao to sit down, ordered an Americano for himself, and remembered to get her a latte since that was what she had last time.
After joining the Provincial Organization Department, Lin Xiao's long hair had grown to shoulder length. She wasn’t wearing the professional attire from her time at Yu Rao but opted for casual work clothes: a grass-green long-sleeve shirt paired with black dress pants.
"Li Shuji, do you have any instructions for me?" Lin Xiao broke the silence, thinking it best to get straight to the point; she didn’t want to spend the weekend discussing personal matters with him.
"You can just call me Li Hao; no need for 'Secretary,'" Li Hao said, taking a sip of his coffee.
Lin Xiao was taken aback by his straightforwardness; she hadn’t expected him to be so blunt. Her eyes widened in surprise as she struggled to control her emotions, quickly lowering her gaze and stirring her coffee.
Noticing her silence, Li Hao thought it strange that she seemed so timid; it wasn’t like her at all.
"Li Shuji," she began hesitantly, "if I have done anything inappropriate that led you to misunderstand me, I sincerely apologize."
Lin Xiao didn’t want to continue playing coy. She quickly organized her thoughts but couldn’t help speaking rapidly, betraying her inner turmoil. At that moment, Li Hao paused; honestly, he hadn’t anticipated Lin Xiao would reject him so decisively without any hesitation.
"You haven’t done anything wrong," he replied. "I just wanted to ask if you would be willing to try dating me."
From the depths of her heart, Lin Xiao responded earnestly, "Li Shuji, you are accomplished—highly educated with a bright future and a good family background. You’re also handsome; I truly feel unworthy of you."
Seeing her nearly on the verge of tears made Li Hao question why she thought so little of herself. During their last coffee outing with Hua Jie, Hua Jie had complained about Miao Shizhang while Li Hao briefly explained how Miao had been obstructing projects but hadn’t mentioned it due to Lin Xiao’s presence.
Lin Xiao realized that Li Hao had intentionally spoken about Miao Shizhang for her benefit—likely not wanting anyone else to misunderstand him. That day, Li Hao had indeed spoken with purpose; he understood that the biggest issue between them stemmed from the Miao Shizhang incident.
During the two years Lin Xiao worked as a secretary, especially in the second year, she found herself less distant from her role. Occasionally, she would even tease herself. However, after the incident involving Miao Shizhang, their relationship began to deteriorate.
Lin Xiao believed that Li Hao was not the type of person like Miao Shizhang. At least during her time as a secretary, Li Hao had never had any ambiguous relationships with other women, nor had he ever been inappropriate with her in his words. What she was uncertain about was whether Li Hao wanted her to be his secret lover or his girlfriend. Even if it were the latter, she wouldn't dare to take that step.
Back when Xu Ran's family was merely at the Deputy Division Level, it had already made her feel out of place; she couldn't imagine what would happen if Li Hao's family got angry. She feared there would be no place for her to hide. The last time Li Hao was promoted from county chief to County Party Secretary, Lin Xiao participated in his evaluation and learned about his family's situation, which shocked her so much that she read through the political review form three times.
At that moment, she felt a mix of emotions, realizing how different their worlds were. Li Hao was low-key and worked tirelessly, which led her to mistakenly believe that he had to struggle hard to secure his position when in fact, he didn’t need to at all. The saying "to carry the weight of virtue" didn’t apply to her; she didn’t possess such virtue and couldn’t enjoy such immense wealth.
"I understand what you mean." Li Hao felt a bit disappointed but wouldn’t say he was truly sad. The coffee was no longer drinkable; Lin Xiao quickly stood up to bid farewell to Li Hao. As she reached the door, she turned back with a brave expression as if summoning all her courage for a noble sacrifice.
At that moment, Li Hao thought that if she were willing now, he wouldn’t want to push her into anything either, making it seem as though he were forcing her. "Secretary Li, I am truly happy to be noticed by such an outstanding man like you, but I know I am not worthy of you. I sincerely wish you well and believe that in the future you will definitely find a woman as exceptional as you are." To express her strong feelings, Lin Xiao added earnestly at the end, "Really."
Li Hao couldn’t help but smile at Lin Xiao’s heartfelt words.
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