Chapter 1

"Grab him!"

"Don't let him get away!"

A buzzing sound reached Li Dongling's ears, and his vision gradually cleared from a blur. Looking at the woman before him—with short, damp hair, wearing a gray plaid top and blue trousers, dressed simply yet unable to hide her beautiful figure—Li Dongling felt she looked somewhat familiar yet strange.

"You still dare to look? When the security department people come, I'll make sure they dig out those eyeballs of yours!"

A girl with two braids, wearing a red sweater that was a bit flashier than the short-haired woman's, tugged at Li Dongling's clothes. Seeing that Li Dongling's eyes were still fixed on the short-haired woman, she shouted fiercely at him.

Looking at the short-haired woman, then turning to see the girl in the red sweater tugging at his clothes, and finally looking at the tube-style apartment building in front of him, a segment of memory suddenly appeared in Li Dongling's mind. It was a brief but unforgettable memory, one that made him feel angry and helpless whenever he thought of it.

"This is the Xicheng State-Owned Wireless Factory No. 1?!"

Li Dongling muttered to himself. He remembered working overtime for over half a month at the Provincial Machinery Design Bureau, feeling heart discomfort, and lying on his desk to rest for a moment. He never expected to have returned to this time.

It was 1993. Li Dongling had just graduated from Hanxi Provincial Jiaotong University, but because of a dispute with his girlfriend An Xue, he had chosen not to use her father's connections to stay and work in the provincial capital, Xiyuan. Instead, he insisted on following the work assignment, returning to his hometown of Pingyang City and coming to this Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1.

And on the very day he returned, Li Dongling's encounter was the scene before him: being framed for peeping at a widow bathing. Even though he wasn't dragged away by the security department in the end, it left Li Dongling with no face to stay here. Less than a week later, he called An Xue's father, who was a director at the provincial municipal department, to have him transferred back to the provincial capital, and he slunk away from here.

As for what happened with An Xue after returning to the provincial capital, Li Dongling didn't want to recall it anymore. In any case, the two of them didn't survive the seven-year itch and eventually went their separate ways.

The girl in the red sweater looked at Li Dongling, whose eyes were slightly dazed after saying a word, "Don't pretend you don't remember. I'm telling you, Qin Jie saw you just now. Shameless, peeping at a widow bathing!"

More and more people gathered around; they were all employees of Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1. Qin Fang, whom the girl in the red sweater called Qin Jie, looked at the pointing crowd around her, her face turning red, and she lowered her head.

Li Dongling looked at Qin Fang. He had recalled this scene countless times later. Plus, a few days after he returned to the provincial capital, he received a strange phone call. The person just said "I'm sorry" to him and hung up in a hurry. Although Li Dongling didn't recognize the voice on that call, he later figured out that today was a setup. In a few minutes, the person playing the "good cop" would arrive!

"What are you all doing here?"

"Nothing better to do? If not, go clean the factory floor!"

A dignified voice came over. Many of the onlookers dispersed immediately upon seeing the person, but there were also many employees living in this tube-style building who continued to watch the excitement, especially a few middle-aged women who were not afraid of the newcomer.

"Oh, Manager Liu is here!"

A few middle-aged women smiled at the newcomer. Regarding these middle-aged women, Liu Jiande could only cough and pretend not to see them. Not only were these women experts at gossiping, but while Liu Jiande could criticize and fine the male employees of the Wireless Factory or deduct their bonuses, if he fined these women, they could cause a scene all the way from the factory auditorium to his home—crying, making a scene, threatening suicide, and wailing about their parents. After a few times, he didn't want to deal with them, and he truly couldn't.

"What exactly is going on? Hongying, you're grabbing this comrade—what kind of behavior is this!"

Liu Jiande first criticized the girl in the red sweater, Wei Hongying, with a tone of dissatisfaction, making her let go of Li Dongling's clothes. Only then did he ask the three of them—Li Dongling, Qin Fang, and Wei Hongying—"Tell me what's going on. Making such a scene in the factory—what does this look like!"

"Manager Liu, you don't know. He peeped at Qin Jie bathing. Her husband hasn't been gone long, and she's being bullied like this. You should call the security department and have him dragged away!" Wei Hongying glared fiercely at Li Dongling.

"Qin Fang, is what Hongying said the truth? You must be honest. You cannot wrongly accuse an innocent person. Of course, if you really have been bullied, you are a family member of our Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1, and I will stand up for you!"

Liu Jiande said to Qin Fang with a look that seemed stern but carried a hint of encouragement.

Li Dongling calmly watched the scene before him. He didn't refute anything Liu Jiande said to Qin Fang. Qin Fang looked up and met Li Dongling's gaze, unable to help but feel a wave of panic.

"I... yes, I... didn't see the person clearly!" Qin Fang stammered for a moment, still not directly identifying Li Dongling as the one who watched her bathe.

Upon hearing this, a look of dissatisfaction appeared in Liu Jiande's eyes. He just glared vaguely at Qin Fang, and then when he looked at Li Dongling, he wore a smile again.

Looking at Li Dongling's luggage, Liu Jiande smiled and said to him, "This comrade, you look like you must be a new employee of our Wireless Factory No. 1, right!"

"Having such a thing happen on your first day is bad for everyone's impression. How about this, this..."

"Li Dongling!"

Hearing Li Dongling state his name, Liu Jiande acted as if he were hearing it for the first time, "Dongling, I am the manager of our Factory No. 1. I am currently in charge of the Technical Department, Production Department, Raw Materials Supply Department, and several other offices. If you trust me, let me handle this matter. How about that?!"

"Qin Fang is a female comrade after all, and something just happened in her family. Her husband had an accident while transporting factory products out of town last month. If this matter spreads, it won't be good for you or for Qin Fang.

How about this: if you really did something wrong on impulse, I will act as a witness on the spot, and you can apologize to Qin Fang. Everyone will be working in the same factory from now on, seeing each other every day, so let's just let this matter pass. How about that?

Otherwise, if it goes to the security department or even the police station, it will be even more troublesome to handle, and it might even affect your employment at our factory!"

"Manager Liu, how can you smooth things over like this? It's letting him off too easily!"

Wei Hongying shouted with some dissatisfaction upon hearing Liu Jiande's handling method, but she was glared at by Liu Jiande, making her shut up.

It sounded like Liu Jiande's proposal was for the sake of Li Dongling and Qin Fang, not wanting to blow this matter out of proportion, and he spoke as if this matter were just a trivial thing, as if Li Dongling just needed to admit his mistake and it would be over. The Li Dongling of that year listened to his words and truly apologized, but as a result, the matter spread like wildfire that very day.

In recent years, influenced by foreign culture, the concepts regarding men and women had become slightly more open than in the past, but they were still very limited, especially in this inland city, where relationships between men and women remained very conservative.

Back then, Li Dongling was in a hurry to get away. After Liu Jiande's "fair" handling, he chose to apologize and leave. As a result, the matter spread inside and outside the factory. Everywhere he went, people pointed at him, and he was even spat at behind his back. Li Dongling's older brother, Li Dongshan, who was a temporary worker at another fertilizer plant in the city, was also affected. A few days later, unable to bear the condemnation of everyone, Li Dongling transferred away from here.

As for what happened after he left, Li Dongling didn't pay attention anymore, but he heard that his permanent position was replaced by someone specially recruited, and that person's surname was Liu!

Liu Jiande felt that he had reasoned with him and appealed to his emotions, and the Li Dongling before him would definitely choose to apologize. After all, it was just an apology, there was no loss, and he could get away immediately.

But the words Li Dongling spoke made the smile on Liu Jiande's face impossible to maintain.

"I think it's better to investigate clearly. This concerns Qin Jie's reputation for life. No matter how cautious we are, it won't be too much. It's better to let the security department or the comrades from the police station come over and investigate clearly!"

"When I came over just now, there should have been people at the employee activity center over there who saw it. Perhaps we should find someone to come over and ask clearly!"

Li Dongling's words made Qin Fang's face turn pale instantly. Wei Hongying looked at Li Dongling, and for a moment, she was also somewhat suspicious of whether she had really misunderstood Li Dongling.

"Qin Jie, do you want to think about it carefully again? Is it really him..."

Before Wei Hongying finished speaking, Qin Fang said directly, "No need. I was just blinded by water just now, my eyes were playing tricks on me. No need to investigate this matter, it definitely wasn't Li Dongling!"

After saying this, Qin Fang hurried back into the tube-style building. Once Qin Fang left, those middle-aged women who were watching the excitement had no interest in watching anymore and left, muttering to themselves, with something about Qin Fang faintly audible in their mouths.