Sail across the sea

Chapter 481 You're acting a little strange tonight

Gao Fan didn't respond to that question, but instead asked Xia Shihui:
"Now that you're back, do you need to go again?"

Xia Shihui shook her head: "No need, everything has been taken care of."

Gao Fan had previously revealed that she had gone to Namibia, so he obviously knew what she was doing there, and therefore she had nothing to hide.

"So where are you planning to go? Has your superiors arranged a job for you, or are you going back to school to get a degree?" Gao Fan asked.

Xia Shihui chuckled: "Don't worry about the degree, Mr. Gao. I went out with my supervisor, working and studying at the same time. I came back to the geology department this time to get my graduation certificate and doctoral degree certificate."

"I see," Gao Fan said. "From now on, I'll have to call you Dr. Xia. I'm ashamed to say that I only managed to get a master's degree and didn't continue my studies. The school said that giving a master's degree to an incompetent student like me would be a disgrace to the school."

“I think so too.” Xia Shihui nodded earnestly in agreement.

"Have you decided on your workplace yet?" Gao Fan asked.

Xia Shihui said, "It's settled, the Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources."

"With your contributions, you should at least be given a position as a director once you're in there, right?"

"Deputy director, the kind who just does the work."

"Being your subordinate must be very hard work."

"By the way, how's Minmin? Is she married?"

"You mean my sister?" Gao Fan slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot, she keeps asking about you. You just wait."

As he spoke, he turned to Lin Ruoyi and instructed her, "Ruoyi, call my sister and tell her that Xia Shihui is back, and ask her what her plans are."

"Yes," Lin Ruoyi responded, then got up, went to Gao Fan's desk, picked up the phone, and started dialing.

Xia Shihui smiled and asked, "What, Sister Minmin has come to Beijing too?"

Gao Fan said, "My older sister got married to my senior brother Yang Kai two years ago. Now Xinglong Coatings Company has also set up a branch in Beijing, mainly responsible for sales and scientific research. My sister is mostly in Beijing, and occasionally goes back to Shuainan to visit."

"Ha, they really got together! I knew it back then!" Xia Shihui said with a smile. "You don't know, when the three of us, Yanyan and I, went shopping, your sister bought clothes specifically for Yang Kai. We all laughed at her, but she wouldn't admit it. By the way, do they have a child now?"

"We already have one; it turned one month ago."

"That was fast..."

Xia Shihui sighed, a hint of melancholy creeping onto her face.

On the other end of the line, Lin Ruoyi had finished her call and turned to report to Gao Fantong: "Sister Min said she has company business to attend to and can't leave right now, so she told us to make sure we can keep Sister Xia here. She'll treat Sister Xia to dinner when she gets back, and she also said she'll invite Sister Yuan over. By the way, Sister Min is really happy; she kept laughing on the other end of the phone."

"Okay, then I'll stay. Thank you, Junior Sister Lin." Xia Shihui thanked Lin Ruoyi, then turned to Gao Fan and asked, "By the way, Gao Fan, you and Yuan Xiaoyan should know each other, right? Where does she work now?"

Gao Fan said, "She works at the People's Daily and is now the deputy director of an editorial department. We see each other quite often. Our company, as well as many public relations planning projects at Xinglong Company, ask her for help."

"I missed so many fun things," Xia Shihui muttered, but then laughed and said, "It's okay, I'm back now, and I'm going to make up for all the lost years of my youth!"

That evening, Gao Min hosted a welcome-back dinner for Xia Shihui at a rather upscale restaurant near Peking University. Besides Gao Min and Xia Shihui, the other attendees were Gao Fan, Lin Ruoyi, and Yuan Xiaoyan. Yang Kai was absent; Gao Min said he stayed home to look after his child. The scene of Gao Min, Xia Shihui, and Yuan Xiaoyan meeting was very touching; they hugged each other, calling each other "Sister Minmin," "Huihui," and "Yanyan," their eyes clearly filled with genuine tears.

After sitting down, Gao Min and Yuan Xiaoyan anxiously inquired about Xia Shihui's whereabouts over the past few years. Xia Shihui only claimed that she had gone to participate in a confidential project and was stuck in a remote mountain valley. Everyone understood the importance of secrecy, and considering that Xia Shihui had disappeared for six years without a trace, they could naturally guess the magnitude of the matter involved, so they stopped asking.

The three of them dominated the conversation throughout the entire dinner, while Gao Fan and Lin Ruoyi could only sit on the sidelines and giggle, or help urge the dishes and get drinks.

Yuan Xiaoyan had been interacting frequently with Gao Fan and Gao Min in recent years, so she naturally knew Lin Ruoyi. After exchanging greetings, she didn't ask any further questions. Xia Shihui, preoccupied with Gao Min and Yuan Xiaoyan, also didn't have time to exchange pleasantries with Lin Ruoyi.

After a satisfying meal, everyone said goodbye outside the restaurant. Gao Min invited Xia Shihui and Yuan Xiaoyan to go shopping together over the weekend, and both accepted. Afterwards, Gao Min went home alone, Gao Fan took Lin Ruoyi back to school, and Yuan Xiaoyan and Xia Shihui headed to the nearby bus stop, apparently sharing a part of the journey.

"Huihui, your behavior tonight is a bit unusual."

Walking hand in hand down the street on a summer night, Yuan Xiaoyan suddenly said to Xia Shihui.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Yes, he seemed particularly excited."

"I haven't been back for so many years, and now that I'm back, I'm excited to see you all again."

"No, you weren't like this when you were excited in the past. When you were excited in the past, you would pretend to be serious, but tonight, you laughed a lot, and it seemed very deliberate."

"No, I don't think so..."

Xia Shihui looked somewhat guilty.

Yuan Xiaoyan asked pointedly, "Is it because of Lin Ruoyi?"

Xia Shihui turned her head to look elsewhere, and after a while said, "I just don't want people to think that I'm unhappy."

Yuan Xiaoyan suddenly felt a pang of sadness. She tightened her grip on Xia Shihui's arm, paused for a moment, and asked, "In these six years, you haven't had a boyfriend?"

"Where would I find the time?" Xia Shihui said, then laughed self-deprecatingly and added, "Besides, there aren't any suitable people around me. In our group, the youngest person besides me is at least 30 years old."

Yuan Xiaoyan revealed, "You're 26 too, okay?"

“I mean when I first went there, I was only 19 years old then, and I turned 20 later.”

"What exactly have you been doing? How could you not contact your family for six years?"

"By the way, Yanyan, how are you doing now? Are you married or do you have a boyfriend?"

"I'm still single too."

"You're so pretty, how come no one pursues you?"

"What's so pretty about it? You already have crow's feet."

"No, I didn't..."

(End of this chapter)