Rebirth Begins with Rejecting my Childhood Friend - Chapter 513

Xu Xiuwen took his phone and walked to a secluded spot before calling Li Haimei.

In this vast capital city, Xu Xiuwen knew no one.

No—actually, he knew plenty of people, but no one knew him.

The only person Xu Xiuwen could think of who might be able to help him was Li Haimei.

There’s an old saying: “Distant water can’t put out a nearby fire.”

Li Haimei was in Jinling, far from the capital.

And this was the capital—
A place where, as the saying goes, officials were everywhere.

However, Li Haimei was the deputy secretary of Jinling, a high-ranking official.
Perhaps she had connections in the capital.

Xu Xiuwen reached out to her with a “let’s see” attitude.

For most people, if they wanted to contact Li Haimei, they would have to go through her secretary, Su Luoyi.

But Xu Xiuwen had Li Haimei’s private number.

He always contacted her directly, bypassing Su Luoyi.

This was a privilege.

In all of Jinling, very few people had this privilege with Li Haimei.

However, Xu Xiuwen was neither foolish nor selfish.

Li Haimei trusted him, which was why she granted him such access.

Xu Xiuwen wouldn’t abuse this privilege recklessly.

For example, right now—

Considering it was Monday, Li Haimei was likely in the middle of work, possibly in a meeting or handling official duties.

So Xu Xiuwen didn’t call her private number directly; instead, he reached out to Su Luoyi first.

After explaining the situation to Su Luoyi and hanging up—

Not long after, Xu Xiuwen received a call from Li Haimei.

Over the phone, Xu Xiuwen repeated the difficulties he was facing.

After he finished speaking, there was silence.

Li Haimei didn’t respond for a while.

Xu Xiuwen thought she might not have connections in the capital and that this was putting her in a difficult position.

He quickly said, “If it’s too much trouble, don’t worry about it. I’ll figure something out.”

But the truth was, saying he’d “figure something out” was just empty words.

Li Haimei knew that too.

Xu Xiuwen, an outsider in this vast capital, unfamiliar with the city and without any connections—what solution could he possibly come up with?

If he had one, he wouldn’t have called her in the first place.

Li Haimei felt conflicted.

She really didn’t want to reach out to her contacts in the capital.

If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t have bothered.

But this was Xu Xiuwen.

That’s why she hesitated.

In the end, she made a decision.

Li Haimei spoke softly, “It’s not too much trouble… I do have a friend there. Wait a moment.”

Xu Xiuwen was overjoyed.

He responded excitedly, “Alright! I’ll wait for your call.”

“Mm.”

After the call ended, Xu Xiuwen walked back to Gu Pandi.

“Aunt Gu, don’t worry. I’ve contacted my friend. She’s working on it, so everything should be fine.”

“Xiao Xu, do you know people in Beijin?”

“It’s not that I know them—my friend does.”

Even though Xu Xiuwen said this, Gu Pandi still saw it as his own network.

Li Haimei was highly efficient.

Before long, she called back, telling him that she had already asked a friend to help.

Xu Xiuwen smiled and thanked her.

Li Haimei didn’t respond to his thanks. Instead, she asked what he had been busy with lately.

Xu Xiuwen was quick to pick up on a hint of resentment in her tone.

After a brief moment of thought, he understood why.

Glancing at Gu Pandi beside him, he quietly stepped away, covered the phone’s microphone, and chuckled, “Wife, do you miss me?”

Hearing the word “wife” caught Li Haimei off guard, making her heart race.

Being seen through by Xu Xiuwen only added to her embarrassment.

Thankfully, she was in her office alone.

Even if her face was flushed, there was no one around to see it.

Since she remained silent, Xu Xiuwen continued, “I’ve been really busy lately, neglecting my dear Haimei. When I get back, I’ll make time just for you.”

Li Haimei couldn’t hold it in anymore.

Even though she was secretly delighted, she still tried to keep her composure and softly reprimanded him, “Xu Xiuwen, can’t you be serious for once?”

Xu Xiuwen chuckled, “Being serious is for outsiders. Between us, all that matters is being sweet and loving. Haimei, I really miss you—your tenderness, your lips, your…”

Before he could finish, Li Haimei quickly cut him off, “I have work to do. I’m hanging up.”

And with that, she ended the call.

Xu Xiuwen looked at his phone and couldn’t help but laugh.

Li Haimei was just too adorable.

As he put his phone away, he suddenly noticed Gu Pandi watching him from a distance.

When he turned to look, she immediately averted her gaze.

Xu Xiuwen smiled again.

He walked back to Gu Pandi at a leisurely pace.

Gu Pandi said nothing.

Xu Xiuwen didn’t speak either.

After about ten seconds, Gu Pandi couldn’t hold back anymore.

She looked at Xu Xiuwen and asked, “Xiao Xu, who were you just on the phone with?”

“My friend.”

“…Your friend is a woman, isn’t she?”

“No, a man.”

Gu Pandi clearly didn’t believe him. “Don’t lie to me. You were laughing so happily—there’s no way it was a man.”

“Aunt Gu, were you spying on me just now?”

“That wasn’t spying—it was concern for you.”

“Thank you for your concern, Aunt Gu. But my friend really is a man.”

Hearing this, Gu Pandi let out a sigh of relief.

Then, Xu Xiuwen suddenly asked, “Aunt Gu, why are you so concerned about whether my friend is a man or a woman?”

Gu Pandi had grown quite fond of Xu Xiuwen.

After spending more time with him over the past few days, she had noticed even more of his good qualities.

At this point, in her mind, Xu Xiuwen was the ideal candidate for a son-in-law.

She just wasn’t sure if he liked her daughter.

But that didn’t stop her from being curious about his relationship status.

Hearing Xu Xiuwen’s question, she shook her head and said, “No reason.”

“Alright then.”

Xu Xiuwen didn’t press further.

…

The two of them waited patiently at the police station.

In less than twenty minutes, Xu Xiuwen glanced at a text message from Li Haimei.

She told him that her friend had arrived.

And just as the saying goes—speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

Xu Xiuwen had just put down his phone when a man walked in from outside.

A white dress shirt, suit trousers, and leather shoes.

He looked to be around forty years old, about 1.75 meters tall, with thick hair and a mature, distinguished appearance.

From head to toe, in both attire and demeanor, it was obvious—this man was a government official.

If one needed a reference, he bore a resemblance to Lu Yi in the public’s perception of an official.

As soon as the man entered, his eyes landed on Xu Xiuwen.

For a brief moment, their gazes met in the air.

But the man didn’t walk over immediately. Instead, he pulled out his phone and made a call.

Less than thirty seconds later, Xu Xiuwen’s phone rang.

Hearing the ringtone, the man finally approached him.

Stopping about a meter in front of Xu Xiuwen, he asked, “You’re Xiaomei’s friend?”

This man had an undeniably strong presence.

Xu Xiuwen could tell that his position was definitely not low.

Even though he was here to ask for help, he maintained his composure—he had no intention of acting like some lackey.

He nodded calmly. “I’m Xu Xiuwen. And you’re Li Haimei’s friend?”

The man didn’t answer his question.

Instead, he gave Xu Xiuwen a quick once-over and asked, “Xiaomei asked me to come handle something. What’s the issue?”

Xu Xiuwen explained the situation.

After listening, the man turned and walked straight toward the police officers.

He asked how long it would take to recover the stolen items.

One of the officers looked him up and down before replying flatly, “Didn’t I already tell him? There’s no set time for these things. If we find it, we’ll notify you. If not, there’s nothing I can do.”

The officer’s dismissive attitude displeased the man.

His brows furrowed. “Where’s your station chief? Tell him to come see me.”

“Our chief is very busy right now. He doesn’t have time to see you.”

Hearing this, the man didn’t bother arguing.

He simply pulled out his phone and made another call.

The call was quickly answered.

He spoke briefly into the phone, then turned to the officer. “Take the call.”

The officer scoffed, looking unimpressed. “Who is it?”

“Your bureau chief.”

The young officer chuckled mockingly. “If you know our bureau chief, then I must know the Prime Minister.”

Xu Xiuwen silently observed the entire exchange.

By now, he was certain—Li Haimei’s friend was definitely someone important.

That young officer… was far too naive.

Seeing the officer refuse to take the call, the man put his phone away and spoke a few more words into it before hanging up.

Two minutes later—

The station chief rushed out of his office.

His eyes immediately landed on the three of them—Xu Xiuwen, Gu Pandi, and the man.

Xu Xiuwen and Gu Pandi were ignored in an instant.

The station chief’s gaze locked onto the man.

With an ingratiating yet respectful tone, he asked, “Are you Director Zhao?”

The man gave a cold, indifferent “Mm.”

Hearing this, the station chief immediately started apologizing profusely before turning and furiously berating the young officer.

The young officer was completely dumbfounded from the scolding.

When he finally realized that the man standing before him was none other than Zhao Jinping, the Director of the Government Affairs Office, a cold sweat broke out on his back.

He immediately bowed his head and apologized profusely.

Meanwhile, the station chief was still berating him, but his peripheral vision remained locked on Zhao Jinping, gauging his reaction.

Seeing this, Zhao Jinping spoke up, “Enough. I’m not here to watch a performance. I want to know—how long will it take to recover the stolen items?”

“Uh… that… maybe…” The station chief was about to evade the question.

But the moment Zhao Jinping’s expression darkened, the station chief’s legs nearly gave out.

He immediately straightened up and declared, “One hour!”

“You’re sure? You can recover everything in an hour?”

“I’m sure.” The station chief pounded his chest in assurance.

“Good. Then I’ll wait here for one hour.”

The station chief swallowed hard and hurriedly ordered the officers to take action—including the young officer who had just been scolded.

People often say that bureaucracy is slow.

That’s only if you don’t find the right approach.

Once you do, efficiency is never an issue.

After issuing his orders, the station chief invited Zhao Jinping and Xu Xiuwen into his office, hoping to curry favor.

Unfortunately for him, Zhao Jinping wasn’t interested in small talk.

He immediately told the station chief to leave.

The station chief dared not disobey and stepped out, closing the door behind him.

Once he was gone, Zhao Jinping finally turned to Xu Xiuwen and said, “I’m Zhao Jinping, Xiaomei’s friend.”

“Nice to meet you, Director Zhao.”

“You’re Xiaomei’s friend. You can call me Brother Zhao.”

Xu Xiuwen hesitated for only a moment before deciding to go along with it.

He quickly corrected himself, “Brother Zhao, I’m Xu Xiuwen.”

Zhao Jinping nodded. “I know your name. Xiaomei told me about you. But she didn’t say how you two met or became friends. Care to share?”

The way Zhao Jinping casually referred to Li Haimei as “Xiaomei” made it clear—his relationship with her was definitely not ordinary.

Xu Xiuwen recalled how hesitant Li Haimei had been earlier.

He couldn’t help but wonder—was Zhao Jinping her ex-boyfriend? Or even her ex-husband?

It seemed possible.

After all, they were about the same age and both held government positions.

At that moment, Zhao Jinping was studying him closely.

His face was neutral, but his eyes carried a certain seriousness.

Xu Xiuwen hesitated briefly but decided to answer.

The truth was, he met Li Haimei that night at a restaurant in Jinling, where he saved her from being drugged.

Afterward, he took her home, and, well… things happened.

But given that Zhao Jinping might be her ex, Xu Xiuwen naturally left out that last part.

He only mentioned the part where he saved her from two scumbags.

The moment Zhao Jinping heard that Li Haimei had been drugged, his eyes flashed with a terrifying sharpness.

The sheer intensity of his presence was suffocating.

But when he heard that Xu Xiuwen had saved her, his aura immediately softened.

His gaze toward Xu Xiuwen became noticeably gentler.

Zhao Jinping said, “On behalf of Xiaomei, thank you for saving her.”

“It was nothing. Just doing the right thing.”

Zhao Jinping then asked many more questions about Li Haimei.

From their conversation, Xu Xiuwen got the impression that Zhao Jinping hadn’t been in touch with her for quite some time.

Before they knew it, forty minutes had passed.

The two of them had unknowingly chatted for forty minutes.

At that moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.

“Director Zhao, sorry to interrupt, but we’ve recovered the stolen items.”

Hearing this, Xu Xiuwen’s eyes lit up.

See? The officers could be efficient when they needed to be.

Zhao Jinping turned to him. “Xiao Xu, I have a favor to ask.”

“Brother Zhao, just say the word.”

“Xiaomei refuses to come back to Jinling. I’m in Beijing most of the time, so I can’t look after her. If she ever runs into trouble, please let me know immediately. The number I just called you from is my personal number—if you ever need anything in Beijing, don’t hesitate to call me.”

“Got it, Brother Zhao.”

“Good. Let’s head out.”

As they stepped out of the station chief’s office and returned to Gu Pandi, Xu Xiuwen saw that all of her belongings had indeed been recovered—wallet, phone, suitcase, and even the cash inside the wallet was untouched.

Gu Pandi repeatedly thanked the officers, deeply grateful.

But Xu Xiuwen knew the real person to thank was the man standing beside him—Zhao Jinping.

That thought left a strange feeling in his heart.

There was no doubt that Zhao Jinping had helped him out.

But knowing that this man might be Li Haimei’s ex…

As her current partner, Xu Xiuwen couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable.

Of course, whether he felt comfortable or not, he wouldn’t show it in front of Zhao Jinping.

He wasn’t foolish enough to offend someone who had just done him a favor.