Chapter 129: The Chasm of the Swan

  When she saw her parents' facial expressions change, Chen Jun didn't think much of it and just smiled secretly as if watching a show. It was then that her mother said: "Little Liu, you're only 23 this year, have you considered when you plan to get married?"

  Liu Siyuan replied unusually honestly: "Auntie, I think I'm still relatively young now, and I should prioritize my career. Getting married in the next two or three years is unlikely."

  At this time, her mother's face sank and said: "But our family's Xiaojun is already 26 years old, those relatives and sisters are all married, in another two or three years won't she become an old maid?"

  Her father also chimed in, "Our Xiaojun is after all a formal cadre, and not getting married will affect her promotion." The words obviously carried some implication.

  At this time, Chen Jun saw someone being 'surrounded' and had to stand up and say: "Dad, mom, what's the hurry? I'm not even in a hurry myself. Right, Siyuan came all the way here, he must be hungry since he didn't eat lunch properly, let's eat first."

  Her mother sighed and nodded, saying then I'll go cook, you few chat slowly.

  Taking advantage of her father also walking away to the restroom, Liu Siyuan secretly said to Chen Jun: "It seems like your parents are not very satisfied with me."

  Chen Jun smiled and said: "Isn't that just perfect? If they're too satisfied, forcing you to hurry up and marry me, wouldn't you be miserable?"

  Liu Siyuan thought for a moment and also made some sense, then heard Chen Jun ask: "You said, if I really married someone else, would you be jealous?"

  Liu Siyuan felt a bit awkward and didn't know how to answer her question, but fortunately, her father came out of the bathroom at this time and inadvertently helped him out of the predicament.

  Mr. Chen's father sat down on the sofa, lit a cigarette and asked Liu Siyuan if he smoked, to which the latter hastily shook his head and said no. His father hummed in response, muttering softly: "In this officialdom, not smoking is not a good thing... As the saying goes, tobacco and wine are inseparable."

  Liu Siyuan did not argue about this issue either, and humbly said: "Uncle, in any case, smoking is bad for one's health..."

  Her father smiled and said a few words, then thought for half a day before asking: "Little Liu, what are your plans for the future? You won't be working in this town forever, will you?"

  Liu Sitan sincerely said, "Uncle is right, I am indeed considering whether to return to Hanjiang City for work or continue to stay in Ziwai City, but that's a matter for the future. Currently, my work in Beixi Town has just started, and I still hope to continue to hone it. We young people doing work should take one step at a time, every step must be solid before taking the next."

  His father was stunned, and then said: "Little Liu, I'm just talking casually, don't mind. I think what you said is not bad, but it's still necessary to look further ahead. Beixi Town is just a small town after all, under the current system, it's very difficult for township officials to get promoted, and I know the work in the township has a big difference with the county and city. If you can't return to the city or county for a long time, I'm afraid there will be a disconnect phenomenon, so you should be careful."

  Liu Siyuan hastily humbly said: "Uncle, you are right. Township work is indeed complicated and multifaceted. Comrades in the township also have multiple responsibilities, they must be able to write beautiful articles and learn to get along with the masses, otherwise, the work cannot be carried out at all. Last time I went to the village to inspect the work, two villagers had a big fight over a cow, as a result, our party and government office director just a few words to mediate the dispute, this skill is definitely not possible for comrades in the city and county."

  His father was listening quite well, but as soon as he heard the word "investigation", he thought of something and asked: "What is Xiao Liu's specific position in Beixi Town? It can't be the deputy mayor, right?" He hesitated a bit when saying the second half of the sentence, probably because Liu was too young.

  Liu Siyuan waved his hand and said, "Uncle misunderstood, I am not the deputy mayor, my position is in the town party committee."

  Her father asked persistently: "What position did you hold in the Party Committee?"

  Liu Siyuan hesitated for a moment, turned his head to look at Chen Jun, and only spoke after seeing the latter nod: "Take on the role of Secretary Ren."

  His father suddenly shook his hand and said, "Town Party Secretary?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Then you are also a regular cadre like Xiao Jun?" her father asked excitedly.

  Liu Siyuan smiled slightly awkwardly and said, "Uncle, just last year, I was promoted to deputy department level because I took on the role of a standing committee member in the county party committee."

  His father was speechless for a long time and finally came back to his senses, sighing: "Liu is 23 years old and a county committee standing member, it's not easy, it's not easy!"

  Her mother only found out after dinner that Liu Siyuan was already a deputy department-level cadre and also a county committee member, and she was shocked too. She immediately turned around and scolded Chen Jun, saying that she didn't introduce him clearly beforehand. Chen Jun rarely showed a mischievous expression and stuck out her tongue, saying: "You guys didn't ask..."

  By dinner time, her parents' attitude had become much more enthusiastic, constantly serving him dishes and speaking to him with an expectant tone.

  It's just that her mother kept mentioning that our family's Xiao Jun is not young anymore, and also said that Xiao Liu should get married first and then establish a career, two or three years is too long, I think you two can handle things in a year or so, the implication behind her words was actually agreeing to their relationship.

  After dinner, he politely declined her parents' invitation to stay at their home and insisted on returning to the hotel. At first, her parents wanted to insist, but later Chen Jun came forward and said that Si Yuan was now a county committee member, fearing that others would gossip too much, which finally convinced the two elders.

  Chen Jun saw him off at the door, not far from the entrance of the residential area, and smiled: "I'd better go home early and be a good girl, you can find your way back to the hotel by yourself?"

  Liu Siyuan nodded and said it was no problem, Chen Jun pursed her lips and thought for a moment before saying: "But seriously, I really should get married. The question I asked you earlier, you'd better think carefully about it. The time left for the two of us is really not much."

  She saw him fall into deep thought, she didn't say much either, kissed his cheek and then went back home directly.

  That night, Liu Siyuan also felt a bit tired. Thinking of Chen Jun's problem was also difficult to decide. On the one hand, he imagined that if she really married someone else, he would definitely be jealous. However, on the other hand, he didn't want to delay her marriage and affect her future development in officialdom.

  Just as I was hesitating, I received a call from home. My mother said that some unfamiliar people came to our house to pay their respects for the new year, but unexpectedly he had already left early and left behind a large pile of various gifts.

  Liu Siyuan roughly asked the names, only to find out that they were mostly cadres from Beixi Town and individual county bureau cadres. He then told his mother to let them go, simple local specialties can be accepted, but valuable gifts must not be left behind. His mother on the phone kept saying that she understood, and he could rest assured.

  The next morning, Chen Jun came to find him again. He didn't mention the topic from last night at all, but instead said he wanted to take him on a tour around Beiyang City. Liu Siyuan reluctantly replied that he hadn't slept well for several days and suggested going out later, letting him rest in his room for a while.

  Chen Jun said: "Okay, then you rest well. Today I came too early, but don't blame me, I had no choice either. Early in the morning, my parents dragged me and asked when I planned to marry you. I was annoyed to death, so I came here to take refuge."

  Liu Siyuan smiled wryly and took the initiative to bring up the topic, saying: "Then what do you plan to do? You can hide for a while, but you can't hide forever."

  Chen Jun thought for a long time, still with a worried look on his face. After a while, he said: "Why don't we just pretend to get married and deceive our way through?" As soon as he finished speaking, he shook his head again and said that it was really not feasible.

  The two fell silent for a long time, and then suddenly exchanged a very tacit glance. For an instant, Liu Sui felt that there was an invisible gap between them, which could not be crossed.

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