Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 283, Section 282: Picking Mike up from get off work

As the sun sets in the west, it casts golden ripples on the sea.

To demonstrate his competence as a high priest of the temple, Quivervan spent an entire day in his study handling religious affairs.

As the last signature fell gracefully, he put down his pen, stretched his stiff back, and let out a long, satisfied sigh.

Quivervan walked to the window, looked down at the garden, and gave a satisfied smile of accomplishment.

From this day forward, this will be a new starting point in his life.

He could almost foresee that in this coastal city far from Taijing, he would smoothly rise to the position of archbishop, and then become second only to the emperor...

"Ok?"

Quivervan let out a soft, puzzled hum.

He suddenly noticed that the streets outside the church gardens were now lined with all sorts of luxurious carriages, including several gleaming black sedan chairs.

He quickly summoned the deacon who was waiting outside the study and asked, "What's going on? It's almost time to leave office. Do the believers in Sail City usually come to the church to pray at this time?"

The deacon craned his neck to look around and replied, "Your Excellency, those appear to be the vehicles of government officials."

Quivervan was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with understanding. He nodded with satisfaction: "I see. The officials of Sail City are more polite than I expected. They even know to come and greet me after I have finished my teaching duties."

The deacon was also stunned—thinking to himself, how come I've never heard of such a rule?

But he wisely refrained from refuting, and instead echoed, "Your Excellency, would you like me to clean out the reception room?"

Quiver nodded and said, "That's right, I do need a quiet environment to get to know them. I'll leave that to you."

The deacon bowed and withdrew.

……

Zhou Weili was very pleased with himself. He had been careful and deliberately left work early today, having his driver take the car to the entrance of the church in the factory area to wait for Mike to come out, thus securing a good spot closest to the entrance.

But after waiting for a long time, Mike still hadn't appeared.

As more and more carriages appeared at the gate, Zhou Weili could clearly see that they were all officials from various departments who had come to "take advantage of the situation."

Zhou Weili gritted his teeth and spat out, "Despicable!"

Tuk Tuk.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the car window. Zhou Weili looked up and saw that it was Meng Hansheng.

He quickly hid the bouquet of flowers on the seat next to him behind his back before rolling down the window a crack: "Director Meng, when did the patrol area of ​​the police department extend to the entrance of the church?"

Meng Hansheng gave a forced smile: "There are many illegally parked cars here, causing traffic congestion. As the director of the police department, I certainly cannot sit idly by. Director Zhou, as the leader of the Department of Justice, shouldn't you set an example?"

Zhou Weili snorted coldly: "Director Meng is indeed impartial and incorruptible. Since you have this intention, then go and drive away the carriages in front. Once the road is cleared, I will naturally leave."

Meng Hansheng smiled and nodded at him: "Okay, I hope Director Zhou keeps his word."

The car window was rolled up again.

Watching Meng Hansheng walk away, Zhou Weili quickly instructed the driver, "If that guy surnamed Meng comes back, wait for me at the intersection ahead."

After saying that, he grabbed the bouquet and climbed out of the car through the other side door.

Before Meng Hansheng could notice, Zhou Weili quickly ran into the church.

Panting, Zhou Weili ran to the church's main entrance. Under the watchful eyes of two guards, he smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes and straightened his bow tie before saying, "I am Meng Hansheng, the Director of the Department of Law. I have important matters to discuss with Deacon Mike. Please show me the way."

...In a church, bishops and priests have separate offices and living areas, but the deacons, who make up the largest number of people, do not have this privilege.

The area where the deacons frequently operate has a designated name: the Corridor of Humility. One side of the Corridor of Humility is the collective dormitory that provides resting space for the deacons, while the other side is the public office area.

The office area was empty at this time. The deacons had either finished their duties or were on night duty in the outer hall. Only Mike was sitting alone at the wooden table copying the "Holy Canon".

He held a pen in one hand and a slice of raw onion in the other, fanning his eyes with it.

Tears streamed down his face uncontrollably, but he dared not wipe them away, letting them drip onto the paper.

The door behind him was pushed open silently, and Zhou Weili felt a surge of tension as he looked at the figure not far away.

He swallowed hard, hid the bouquet behind his back, and quietly approached.

As they got closer, Zhou Weili suddenly heard the sound of someone sniffling.

He was stunned—Mike was crying?
Listen more closely, and it is indeed the sound of sobbing.

Zhou Weili, in a moment of panic, immediately stepped forward and called out, "Deacon Mike?"

The sudden sound startled Mike, who turned around abruptly.

This sight was quite alarming. When Zhou Weili saw Mike with tears streaming down his face, he felt a tightness in his chest, as if his heart was being gripped by a hand, and his breath caught in his throat for a few seconds.

He didn't even bother to deliver the flowers, casually placing the bouquet on the table beside him, and quickly bent down to wipe Mike's tears with his sleeve: "What's wrong? What are you doing? My darling, who made you so sad?"

Mike hurriedly pushed Zhou Weili away—he had finally managed to shed those tears, and Zhou Weili just wiped them away like that?
Zhou Weili felt even more heartbroken: "Mike, sometimes you don't have to be strong all by yourself..."

Mike handed over the blank sheets of paper on the table: "Could you make a few copies for me?"

Zhou Weili instinctively took it from his hand, then asked, bewildered, "Copy what?"

As Mike explained, he used a tissue to catch his tears and finally said, "You came just in time. If no one had helped me, I probably wouldn't have finished copying tonight."

He didn't think too much about it, and after he finished speaking, he continued copying.

However, he did not notice that Zhou Weili's face was extremely gloomy, and he could not suppress his anger.

boom! !

Zhou Weili slammed his hand on the table, the loud noise startling Mike again.

"That's unreasonable!"

Zhou Weili stood up in anger.

Just then, a sound came from outside the door.

"Is Director Zhou here to show off his official power at the temple?"

The two turned to look, and Meng Hansheng walked in first, followed by Du Shiqin and a group of officials.

They were unaware of the background; they only heard Zhou Weili shouting and making a fuss. Because they were dissatisfied with him "getting there first," they made sarcastic remarks first.

When Mike looked over, the officials greeted him again.

Mike was also very pleased and quickly returned the greeting: "Gentlemen, you've come at the perfect time. Many hands make light work. One copy each should be enough for me."

Only Zhou Weili remained expressionless. Meng Hansheng teased him, "Director Zhou, who are you giving a hard time to?"

Zhou Weili snorted coldly and explained the whole story.

(End of this chapter)