Right path to power

Song Wanqing's face flushed red as she scolded, "You...you bullied me."

Seeing that Song Wanqing was really about to burst into tears, Lin Xiao quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I was just joking. Please don't be angry, I..."

Lin Xiao scratched his head, standing there somewhat bewildered.

After a brief silence, Song Wanqing spoke again: "By the way, what's your current position?"

"what?"

Lin Xiao was a little stunned, never expecting Song Wanqing to ask such a question, but after a few seconds he still answered: "I am currently a deputy director of the county government office, and also the county magistrate's liaison, that is, secretary."

"Oh, for your age, that's actually quite fast. But I should be able to make you walk even faster, it just depends on whether you're willing?"

Lin Xiao glanced at Song Wanqing and could indeed see confidence in her eyes. Considering that she came from Beicheng, Lin Xiao couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

But after looking away, he took a deep breath and said, "Forget it, I think we can only move forward steadily by taking one step at a time..."

You don't believe me?

Before Lin Xiao could finish speaking, Song Wanqing interrupted, her eyes flashing with a cold glint.

"That's not what I meant. Of course, I still appreciate your kind intentions. However, you don't need to worry about it at all. I would have saved anyone else too."

Song Wanqing felt a surge of joy. This man seemed quite nice, but she still smiled and nodded, saying, "You don't need to rush to refuse. I think you need to think long-term. Although you're already a deputy section chief, you're only at the lowest level of leadership. In the future, when you reach the division or department level, it will be difficult to climb higher without connections. And I should be able to help you in that regard, as a way of repaying you..."

Song Wanqing continued talking, and her shallow smile with dimples was like the sunlight scattered in spring, falling softly and warmly around her, even making the wind that was blowing by seem to soften.

And so, Lin Xiao became completely absorbed in it.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Song Wanqing could certainly feel the strange gazes, and her face was already flushed. However, her tone carried a girlish, slightly angry tone.

Lin Xiao snapped out of her daze and smiled, "I'm listening, I'm listening. It seems you're no ordinary person, you..."

Just then, Lin Xiao's phone rang. Since he was holding the phone, he subconsciously glanced at Song Wanqing and said, "Excuse me, I need to take this call."

After saying that, Lin Xiao walked to the side to answer the phone.

As soon as the call connected, a voice came from the other end: "Xiao Lin, are you okay? What happened? What happened? Where are you? I'm coming over..."

"Director Xu, I'm fine. It wasn't me who was in a car accident. It was someone from out of town. I'm with her at the hospital for a checkup right now."

"Oh, that scared me to death! A young man surnamed Liang called me earlier, saying you asked him to call me to handle the car accident scene. I hung up without asking any questions before calling you. I'm glad you're alright. I'll arrange for someone to handle the accident."

"Okay, thank you, Director Xu. You've worked hard."

"Well, let's not talk about this between us. Let's leave it at that for now."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Xiao said "sorry" to Song Wanqing again, and then stood there.

"How are you? Do you need my help?"

"From what you're saying, you can guarantee me a promotion to the department head level? That would be great, haha," Lin Xiao said jokingly.

"I knew it. Which official doesn't want to rise higher and higher? Reaching a higher position isn't something that can be achieved with a single word, but having connections and influence will make your path to advancement smoother, and your achievements will naturally not be overlooked. On the other hand, if you're truly hopeless, even a god can't help you. However, given your current situation, I think your chances are quite good."

Lin Xiao was somewhat stunned, not because Song Wanqing had any particularly unique insights, but because he was increasingly curious—how could such a young and beautiful girl be so well-versed in the ways of the system, unless she was indeed a "daughter of an official" or a "friend of an official".

"Thank you for your kindness. No matter what, I will try my best," Lin Xiao said with a smile.

"You really don't need any help?" Song Wanqing asked, her eyes wide.

Lin Xiao shook her head and said, "Didn't you also say that connections and networks are even more necessary at the division or department level? I'm still a bit far from that position, so I'll just have to work hard on my own first."

"Looks like you're really confident!"

Lin Xiao ran his hand over himself from head to toe, and said with a smile, "Look, I'm still so young and I'm already a leading cadre. Doesn't that prove something? Haha..."

After saying this, he received a smile from Song Wanqing, and then he explained, "You flatter me, you flatter me. I wasn't trying to show off, I just wanted to liven things up."

Upon hearing this, Song Wanqing felt a sudden pang in her heart and smiled knowingly.

However, after a moment, she pouted and said, "It's just a deputy section chief position, look how pleased you are with yourself."

"That's a biased view," Lin Xiao quickly said seriously. "Don't underestimate science and technology personnel. A large portion of people in the county work their whole lives and never get promoted. Besides, I got promoted based on my own abilities. Can't I be happy about it?"

"Okay, okay, as long as you don't smile crookedly."

After chatting and joking around for a while, the initial awkwardness between the two had largely dissipated.

Immediately afterwards, Xu Jingnan called back, saying that the traffic police had been arranged to handle the matter, but the car was completely totaled, and the compensation could only be processed after the traffic police arrived at the scene and issued a liability determination.

Lin Xiao relayed the situation to Song Wanqing, who said, "The car belongs to my friend, so I'll have to ask her about the insurance. Ugh, my parents are going to yell at me this time."

"This is not your responsibility."

"But the car is definitely burned to the ground."

"But you're alright, that's already a blessing in disguise, and I think your parents would agree."

"Maybe!"

As Song Wanqing spoke, her expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural. She stammered, "Could you please help me buy some more daily necessities, and... and that thing?"

"what?"

Lin Xiao was a little confused, but when he saw Song Wanqing's blushing face, he immediately understood. He didn't say anything more, and walked out of the ward with a blush on his face as well.

There was a small supermarket on the first floor of the inpatient department. Lin Xiao first bought some toiletries, but when he went to the women's products section, he found that there were several women there. He wandered around for a while but didn't dare to go up. However, after watching the time for a while, he still gritted his teeth and went up.

After paying, just as he walked out of the supermarket, he clearly heard a voice coming from the checkout counter: "Hey, my husband has never bought me these things before. This young man must like his girlfriend..."

Lin Xiao's face instantly turned red to his neck, and he quickly carried his things to the ward.

As soon as I pushed the door open, a loud "Ouch!" seemed to come from the direction of the bathroom.

"What's wrong with you?" Lin Xiao rushed to the bathroom door, raised her hand, and then lowered it again.

"I'm fine..." Song Wanqing said through gritted teeth, "Did you...did you buy the things?"

"Yes, how can I give it to you...?"

"Wait a moment."

"oh!"

After a short while, the bathroom door was opened a crack, and Song Wanqing's hand came out from inside. She then said, "Hang the things on my hand, and then turn around."

"oh!"

Lin Xiao hung the entire bag on Song Wanqing's arm, then turned around and took a few steps forward. Behind her, she heard the sound of the door being pushed open again.

"I'm still here. Call me if you need anything. Also, I didn't know what you were wearing... so I just bought some random things. See if they fit. If not, I'll go buy some more."

There was no response from inside, and Lin Xiao was too embarrassed to ask again. She just waited quietly. After a while, the sound of running water came from inside.

"Could you come in and help me up? I touched my wound..." Song Wanqing's voice was still somewhat weak.

"Then I..."

"The door isn't locked, come in."

Lin Xiao cautiously pushed the door open and went in, only to find that Song Wanqing was sitting on the toilet, her hand holding her left foot, and her face showing some pain.

Lin Xiao hurriedly went over, bent down, put his right arm around her waist, lifted her feet with his left hand, and picked her up with a forceful lift.

The princess carry pose was somewhat ambiguous, as their faces were extremely close, and they could clearly feel each other's breath.

Song Wanqing's face flushed crimson, and she could only avert her gaze to the side, but her heart was pounding wildly.

She had never been this close to a boy before, and this boy had even put his hand on her chest and bandaged her thigh wound to save her...

In just a few hours, she had so much intimate contact with the boy in front of her.

This made the little deer in her heart a bit restless...