CHAPTER 777: CHAPTER 678: LIKING YOU, FROM THE FIRST GLANCE 19_2

"Your uncle?" Mi Lu was startled and quickly asked.

Jian Dan shook her head, "No, just my dad’s good friend. He’s a bit younger than my dad, but much older than me."

Lai Wei didn’t know what to say. In their village, such things didn’t seem to be a big deal, because there was a man next door who ended up with a girl he raised, and nobody in the village said anything about it, just mentioning child brides.

The fear was that this uncle of Jian Dan’s didn’t have those feelings for her.

If it was a one-sided performance by Jian Dan alone, the young girl would surely suffer a great deal.

Lai Wei felt it was not right to ask, but from a friend’s perspective, she still asked, "Little Jian Dan, does your uncle like you? Or is it just you who likes him?"

Jian Dan’s face turned deathly pale. Now, there was no need to ask anything further—Jian Dan was in unrequited love.

Lai Wei patted her head, "Young girl, it’s really hard to love someone this much. You’ll get tired. Your uncle doesn’t have romantic feelings for you, right?"

Jian Dan nodded, "No, he treats me very well, but only as an elder treats a young girl, I..."

"I know." Lai Wei felt pity for her and asked a very realistic question, "Little Jian Dan, tell me, if what Hai En said is true and your uncle is getting married, what will you do?

Let me put it another way, do you think your uncle would consider you as a marriage partner?"

"Weiwei." Mi Lu felt that having this conversation with Jian Dan was very cruel, and she feared Jian Dan couldn’t handle it.

But Lai Wei shook her head at her, "Lulu, some things, the earlier you think about them, the sooner you get free. Don’t let her sink deeper and deeper until she can’t come out. The one who gets hurt in the end is still herself."

Mi Lu couldn’t find any comforting words to say.

...

Bo Qin, on the other hand, didn’t expect Hai Ling to come find Bo Shi on her own. It wasn’t unexpected, and he was still in a meeting when Secretary Zhou brought her in. Hai Ling was waiting for Bo Qin in a small meeting room until the meeting was over.

In the meantime, it was Secretary Zhou who was entertaining her.

Secretary Zhou brought her a cup of coffee, along with a serving of cookies.

Hai Ling stared at the snacks and smiled, "Secretary Zhou, does your coffee come with a complimentary dessert here?"

Secretary Zhou was taken aback, then smiled and shook his head, "President Hai, I apologize, I just grabbed it subconsciously."

The number of people Secretary Zhou would personally serve like this was limited. Usually, when Jian Dan came here to wait for Bo Qin to finish work, she would be in Bo Qin’s office.

Secretary Zhou would prepare milk tea and cookies for her. This time, he subconsciously grabbed the cookies without realizing it until Hai Ling mentioned it.

Hai Ling’s smile faded slightly, "Does Secretary Zhou often prepare cookies for others?"

The people who came to talk business with Bo Qin probably wouldn’t like cookies.

The first person that came to her mind was Jian Dan, whom she met in Hai City. She wanted to ask, but she had no standing to do so.

The situation became awkward.

It seemed that Secretary Zhou didn’t care about these details and just smiled vaguely, "No, it’s just that our young miss occasionally comes to accompany President Bo when he works overtime, so we have some snacks prepared here to feed the little miss."

Hai Ling asked, "Jian Dan?"

"Yes."

Hai Ling felt somewhat uncomfortable inside, but her face showed no change, "I didn’t know President Bo was such a tender-hearted person."

Secretary Zhou glanced at Hai Ling, didn’t say anything, and just smiled, "It’s nothing but preferential treatment. I don’t get to experience President Bo’s tenderness."

This statement seemed innocuous, but Hai Ling felt there was an underlying message. However, looking at Secretary Zhou’s face, which remained unchanged, she wasn’t sure if there was any deeper meaning in Secretary Zhou’s words.

She didn’t dare to jump to conclusions.

Finally, when Bo Qin’s meeting ended, Secretary Zhou took Hai Ling to Bo Qin’s office. Bo Qin was signing documents, and only after the finance manager left did he signal for Secretary Zhou to leave and closed the door behind him.

The room became quiet with just the two of them. Bo Qin sat down on the sofa across from Hai Ling, his whole demeanor cool, distant, and detached.

"President Hai, may I know what brings you here?"

This official opening made Hai Ling somewhat uncomfortable. She thought that, at least, Bo Qin would not be so cold towards her, considering they had a good conversation in Hai City.

"President Bo, I’ve come for personal reasons."

Bo Qin was somewhat surprised but not shocked, "Oh? What personal matters do you have that you need to bring to me?"

Hai Ling was a straightforward person. Of course, sometimes she wasn’t so decisive, it all depended on how much she cared.

"President Bo, is your family pressuring you to get married?"

"What do you mean by that, President Hai?"