Chapter 518: I'll Be Back!

Gu Ning knew she couldn't win against this man; he always had his reasons.

Zhou Wang Yamei looked at Gu Ning's frustrated little expression and said with a smile, "Is this what they call the sweet troubles of happiness?"

Hearing Zhou Wang Yamei's words, Gu Ning couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Tomorrow, then. I'll go home tomorrow and discuss it with Mom and Dad."

"When you call Dad, remember to send my regards."

Seeing Gu Ning agree, Li Xuewu smiled and reminded her to ask if her father's medicinal wine was running low, as there was more at home if needed.

Gu Ning smiled slightly. Sometimes she felt they were quite alike; at the very least, the way they took things from each other's homes was very similar.

"You two talk, I'm going upstairs to check on Zhidong."

Seeing them both smiling, Zhou Wang Yamei stood up and said, "That child is obsessed with comic books now; he won't sleep until he finishes them."

Li Xuewu tilted his head and looked at Zhou Wang Yamei, saying, "There are storybooks in the study, too. If he likes them, let him choose for himself."

"It's still too early; he mostly looks at the pictures."

Zhou Wang Yamei naturally knew there were books in the study, but she was afraid there might be important documents there that Zhidong might mess up if he didn't know better.

Although Li Xuewu didn't live here, he sometimes brought books over when he visited—some he bought, some he already owned.

There were also files Li Xuewu had written that weren't convenient to keep at the main compound, so he had brought them here together.

Sometimes Zhou Wang Yamei would flip through them; they were mostly about political study, along with many project proposals—some work-related, some about the commercial ventures in the Bai Bai Xiyuan.

Even without reading those, Zhou Wang Yamei knew where Li Xuewu's wealth came from. She had received a proper elite education and understood what the absolute obedience of those people in the Bai Bai Xiyuan signified.

Walking upstairs and passing the door to Gu Ning's room, Zhou Wang Yamei wondered if one day Li Xuewu would also walk out from the other side of that door.

She had no intention of hurting Gu Ning, and Li Xuewu was very respectful to her, so the two remained in a state of keeping things within the bounds of propriety.

Opening her bedroom door, she saw her son reading, and he even looked up to greet her when she entered.

"Mom, has Uncle left?"

"Not yet, but he's talking with your Aunt Ning."

Zhou Wang Yamei walked to her son's side and said, "It's getting a bit late, time to sleep."

"I haven't talked to Uncle yet."

Fu Zhidong hesitated for a moment and asked, "Are the adults still not done with their serious business?"

"Heh, not yet."

Zhou Wang Yamei shook her head with a smile and said, "It's going to be very late."

"Then I can't wait."

Fu Zhidong sighed, and as he burrowed into the quilt, he said, "Being an adult is really tiring."

Zhou Wang Yamei patted her son's back and laughed, "You will grow up to be an adult one day, too."

"I hope so~"

Looking at her son, who acted like a little adult, Zhou Wang Yamei felt a sense of satisfaction.

Satisfaction with the stable environment they had now, satisfaction that her son had school to attend, and satisfaction that they were neither hungry nor cold.

Li Xuewu and Gu Ning didn't chat much longer downstairs, as his mother had requested that he not spend too much time at Gu Ning's place.

"Mom said she wants to come over and take a look soon."

"Come here?"

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu, wondering if she needed to prepare anything if her mother-in-law-to-be were to visit.

"Yeah."

Li Xuewu smiled and explained, "She's been praising you a lot lately and doesn't want you to feel slighted. She asked me how the house was coming along, and when I said I'd finished everything, she didn't believe me and wanted to come see for herself."

Gu Ning pursed her lips and smiled. She knew Li Xuewu was saying this on purpose; in reality, it was probably his mother who was worried about the two of them.

After all, Gu Ning had been the one to organize the house initially, and Li Xuewu hadn't really lifted a finger.

But now, Li Xuewu was deliberately claiming he was the one who had organized the house, just so she wouldn't think his mother was being meddlesome.

This man was always like this—he coaxed his mother the same way he was now starting to coax her.

Yet, this kind of transparent "coaxing" made her feel a bit more at ease.

"Mm, okay."

Seeing Li Xuewu's inquiring look, Gu Ning thought this was how things should be, and since he was acting pitiful, she had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Li Xuewu saw that Gu Ning understood his intentions and pursed his lips in a smile.

The two of them seemed to have triggered some switch, and they both lowered their heads and chuckled.

With the wedding date set, their relationship seemed to have taken a step closer; a single word or expression from Li Xuewu could make her laugh.

In the past, she had always felt a sense of reserve or shyness when with him, but now, as if there were some foundation, even his hand reaching out didn't feel so intrusive.

"Slap!"

Not intrusive was one thing, but Gu Ning wouldn't let him push his luck.

Just as Li Xuewu's large hand reached toward hers, Gu Ning raised her hand and slapped his hand away.

"Ouch, that hurts~"

Li Xuewu clutched his hand and made an exaggerated expression of pain as he leaned in, but Gu Ning shifted her body to dodge him.

Seeing him acting so shamelessly, Gu Ning couldn't help but glare at him; she hadn't even used any force, so his reaction was way too dramatic.

Li Xuewu didn't care about Gu Ning's glare; his thick skin was immune to such attacks.

Taking advantage of the space Gu Ning had cleared, Li Xuewu shifted from the single armchair onto the three-seater sofa where she was sitting.

Gu Ning raised an eyebrow and said, "It's very late; if you don't go back, Auntie will be worried."

"Mm, you're right."

Li Xuewu sighed and said, "If I go back late, the one your Auntie will be worried about isn't me, but you."

Gu Ning gave him a "you know it" look, while Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes, a wicked smile on his lips, giving her a "just you wait" look.

Gu Ning turned her gaze away, refusing to look at him; he was so improper in private, even more childish than a child.

Li Xuewu glanced at the stairs, and seeing no one, he whispered to Gu Ning, "Then give me a kiss and I'll leave, okay?"

Although Gu Ning had become much closer to Li Xuewu, this was the first time she'd heard him say something so cheesy.

"Ew~"

Gu Ning curled her lips and gave Li Xuewu a disgusted look; no matter how pitiful he acted, she wouldn't fall for it.

Seeing that acting pitiful didn't work, Li Xuewu changed his expression and negotiated, "Then holding hands is fine, right?"

Gu Ning rolled her eyes and gave him a look that said she didn't want to talk to him.

Li Xuewu curled his lips and threatened, "I'm a bad boy, you know. If I don't get a little sweetness, I'm absolutely not leaving~"

Gu Ning couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth; how could this man be like this? Give him an inch and he takes a mile.

She reached out to push away his large face, gesturing toward the telephone beside them, full of counter-threats.

Li Xuewu was like a deflated balloon; he knew Gu Ning meant that if he kept acting up, she would call home.

This "home" wasn't the Gu residence, but the Li residence.

Because Gu Ning knew that calling home would be useless; his mother wouldn't help her, but would only speak up for this bad guy.

Li Xuewu also knew that if Gu Ning told his family, his father would definitely pick up the "whip of love" again, letting him relive the intensity of paternal affection.

He knew his father had been itching to do so for a long time and had been looking at him with displeasure; it was only because he was grown up and had a fiancée that he hadn't hit him.

If he got the support of Liu Yin and his future daughter-in-law, Li Shun would definitely want to vent his frustrations.

Most likely, it would be a mixed-gender beating, as his mother's protection of Gu Ning would be even fiercer than his father's.

Looking at Li Xuewu's rogue expression, Gu Ning smiled and stood up, saying, "Go on, we need to rest."

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, standing up while saying, "I'll be back!"

Gu Ning didn't care about his threat; she looked toward the door, signaling for Li Xuewu to leave now.

Seeing his threat was ineffective, Li Xuewu could only leave the door in frustration, carrying his clothes.

Gu Ning walked behind Li Xuewu, and just as he was about to turn back, she said, "If Mom and Dad don't have any objections tomorrow, I'll submit my application to my unit the day after."

Li Xuewu turned around, wanting to sneak a move, but saw the iron gate getting closer and closer to his face.

"Bang!"

That was close; Li Xuewu leaned back to dodge the iron gate panel that was about to hit his face. Hearing the crisp laughter from inside the gate, Li Xuewu was so angry his teeth itched.

But then he chuckled; she was much more vibrant than before, and he didn't have to worry about her not letting him into the house on their wedding day.

Starting the car, he knew Gu Ning was waiting at the gate for him to leave, so Li Xuewu smiled and said, "Remember what I said, I'll be back~"

The answer he got was the "clack" of the gate bolt sliding into place.

"Why are you back so late?"

Liu Yin looked at the time on the wall, complaining to her second son.

Li Xuewu looked at the wall clock in the side room; it was only eight o'clock. When he didn't have a girlfriend, he wouldn't come home all night and she wouldn't say a word.

Liu Yin and Li Shun were chatting with Grandfather in the side room, and seeing Li Xuewu enter, they both stood up, preparing to head home.

Both of them chose to ignore their son's resentful gaze, because they knew their son well—their second boy was the type who couldn't be given an inch.

"Hehehe."

The people sitting on the heated brick bed smoking saw Li Xuewu's expression and laughed, especially Seeing Sha Zhu, who laughed the loudest.

Li Xuewu ground his teeth and narrowed his eyes at Seeing Sha Zhu, laughing, "Just wait until you get married; see if I don't storm your bridal chamber."

"Hey~ don't try to scare anyone!"

Seeing Sha Zhu laughed, "It's not like you aren't getting married too. It's just a matter of a few days apart, who are you trying to scare!"

"Don't mess with your Brother Zhu!"

Liu Yin slapped Li Xuewu and gave him a warning, then followed Li Shun home.

The two of them had come to tell Grandfather and to show concern for Seeing Sha Zhu's upcoming wedding.

Because of Li Xuewu, the Seeing Sha Zhu siblings were now closer to their side; they called them Uncle and Aunt affectionately, and helped out a lot, so Li Shun wanted to help where he could.

Both weddings were close together, and preparing them together would save some effort.

They also came to talk to the people in the side room, as they would need these people to help out at the wedding.

Although their relationship with Li Xuewu was good and they would help regardless, this wedding was being hosted by Li Shun, so the proper etiquette had to be observed.

This included telling Grandfather, Seeing Sha Zhu, Biaozi, and the boys.

It also included the women like Yu Li and Xilin; if you ask people for help, you have to show the proper attitude.

Everyone in the side room understood Li Shun and his wife's intentions and responded politely.

By the time Li Xuewu entered the room, everything had already been discussed, and they were just sitting around chatting.

Hanging his keys on the wall, Li Xuewu sat in his father's former spot and asked Seeing Sha Zhu, "Have you set your date?"

He picked up a cigarette from the bed, lit it, and took the tea Erhai handed him.

Now the boys were all in the east room reading, and only Seeing Sha Zhu and his group were here; even Li Xuewu's younger brother had gone over there to study.

It was rare for these boys to be so diligent; recently, Li Xuewu's brother had been enjoying his role as a teacher.

"Mine is simple."

Seeing Sha Zhu waved his hand dismissively, "Once the house is tidied up, a few days of preparation will be enough; there aren't many guests anyway."

Li Xuewu looked at Biaozi, who was sitting on the bed, and asked, "Did Master Dou give a timeline? Can the East Courtyard be finished on time?"

"No problem."

Biaozi sat cross-legged, put down his teacup, and replied to Li Xuewu, "I know Master Dou; if he can't make the deadline, he'll definitely say so in advance. Since he hasn't said anything, it'll definitely be finished on time."

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and said to Li Xuewu, "When Master Dou came to check the site today, he mentioned that construction had started at the big mansion and asked when you'd have time to go take a look."

"Mm, okay."

Li Xuewu acknowledged this without saying much, then instructed Biaozi, "Keep an eye on Sister Yu; help her tidy up."

"Don't worry, I will."

Biaozi smiled and said, "The furniture here is easy to move, just a matter of a few people lending a hand. Xilin said she'd help with the rest."

The women weren't here right now; they must have gone back to the backyard.

Seeing Sha Zhu continued, "I'll try to schedule my time a few days before yours, so when you prepare the dishes, just include my portion. I've calculated that six tables will be enough."

Li Xuewu nodded and asked, "Aren't you inviting the Factory Director and the others?"

"Nah, forget it."

Seeing Sha Zhu waved his hand with a smile, "Why bother with that pomp? Whether they come or not is one thing, but if they do come and I don't host them well, that's another."

That was Seeing Sha Zhu's business, so Li Xuewu just nodded with a smile.

Weddings are a matter of personal preference; to each their own.

"Did you write to Uncle He?"

"No."

Hearing Li Xuewu ask this, Seeing Sha Zhu's expression tightened for a moment, then he smiled again.

After all, it had been over ten years; no matter how complicated his feelings were, they weren't as severe as before.

"It's not convenient for him to come and go, and I can't find him now anyway."

Seeing everyone's concerned expressions, Seeing Sha Zhu took a sip of tea and continued, "The last time he wrote to me was ten years ago. I tore it up without reading it, and he hasn't written since. He only writes to Yushui, but I've lost contact with him."

Looking at Seeing Sha Zhu's smile, no one said anything.

Li Xuewu had no intention of persuading Seeing Sha Zhu to accept his father again, and neither did Grandfather or the others.

Do not judge others' suffering if you haven't walked in their shoes.

It's hard for even an honest official to settle family disputes; every family has its own difficult scriptures to chant, and who knows what's really going on in someone else's home.

"Don't worry about the dishes; I'll prepare a double portion of everything."

Seeing Sha Zhu was a good man, and Li Xuewu was willing to spend the money on him. He put down his teacup and said, "You don't have many guests, so I'll ask Master Qian to come over. When I get married, you and Master Qian can help me out."

"Uncle Li already said so, you don't need to tell me."

Seeing Sha Zhu nodded. Although he said that, how could he not hope his father would attend his wedding? After all, it was a major life milestone.

However, despite the regrets, he was lucky to have made a group of little brothers.

Not to mention Li Xuewu's help, just looking at Biaozi and the others, their mutual support in daily life was no less than that of real brothers.

If he had brothers like the Liu Haizhong family in the backyard, that would be a completely different story.

"But you'd better be careful."

Seeing Sha Zhu warned Li Xuewu, "I don't need as much as you, so don't overbuy."

"Heh, do you want new clothes?"

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I'm planning to find a tailor; I happened to meet a master craftsman."

"Yes."

Seeing Sha Zhu said readily, "Just make one set for me, and make a few more for Diliya."

"Hahahaha~"

Everyone in the room laughed.

Love is like a clear blue sky that suddenly turns into a storm; it's unavoidable and always catches you off guard.

Recently, the factory had been very quiet. Following the dust settling from last week's meeting, everything seemed to have returned to calm, with only trivial matters circulating in the offices.

It was like the approaching summer—dull and boring.

The only thing worth mentioning was that last night, there was another earthquake, just a little past eleven o'clock.

It was a "rumble" that came from deep underground.

Those who were awake and energetic really felt it; those who were in the middle of "late-night exercise" might have mistakenly thought they were so vigorous they'd collapsed the bed, and when they paused to ask if it was an earthquake, they got slapped by their wives—or someone else's wife—telling them to keep going.

Everyone was truly tired of the earthquake news; they were too lazy to even talk about it, just using it as fodder for gossip when they had nothing else to do.

However, one piece of news injected a stimulant into this boring period, finally giving the gossiping women in the office something to be interested in.

"I told you to sell it off quickly, sell it off quickly! You just wouldn't listen! Look at you now!"

Sister Mao was a veteran of the Finance Department, having worked there for nearly ten years, and her mouth had been worn down over those ten years until it was sharper than anything.

But none of that hindered Sister Mao's status in the Finance Section.

It wasn't an administrative status, but a gossip status.

She knew everything about the department, and as for the factory, she could find out everything after just a short trip outside.

Having just returned from the Personnel Department, she slammed her folder onto the table and took a massive gulp from her large tea mug.

Before she even put the mug down, she began lecturing the girls in the office.

It wasn't busy, so everyone—the girls, the older sisters, and even the men in the "women's army"—turned their attention to Sister Mao.

They all knew Sister Mao wasn't a bad person; she just loved to talk.

However, it was rare to see Sister Mao this agitated, as if she'd lost a large sum of money.

She pointed her finger at Li Hongna, Feng Juan, and the others, saying with a mix of anger and disappointment, "You all spend your time putting on makeup and looking pretty, but when it comes to the real deal, you're useless!"

Li Hongna wasn't very old, but she had the potential to be Sister Mao's successor. Hearing Sister Mao lecture them, she pouted and complained, "Sister, what did we do now?!"

"What did you do?!!"

Sister Mao raised an eyebrow at her colleagues and asked, "Do you know Deputy Li Kezhang Li of the Security Department?"

"Who doesn't know him!"

Someone chimed in, "He's our factory's Youth Red Flag Bearer, the Tiger of the Security Department; even the newly assigned college students know him."

"Hahahaha~"

This remark drew a burst of light laughter from the office.

It was hard to say if Li Xuewu's reputation was good or bad; it sounded intimidating, but who calls a person a "tiger"?

Sister Mao ignored their laughter and slammed the table, saying, "What did I say back then? What did I say back then?!!!"

Her voice drowned out the laughter, refocusing everyone's attention on her.

"When I first saw him, such a standard tall guy, standing in the cafeteria like that..."

Sister Mao described the scene of Li Xuewu's first meal in the cafeteria after starting work, causing everyone in the room to reminisce.

At that time, Deputy Li Kezhang Li wasn't a section chief yet; he was just a security officer. It had only been a few months—truly magical.

Sister Mao didn't let them reminisce for long, nor did she give them time to reflect, but looked at Li Hongna and the others and asked, "Didn't I tell those of you without boyfriends to hurry up and make your move?"

"Hehehe, you don't 'snatch' a boyfriend; what would that make us?"

A male colleague holding a tea mug laughed and refuted Sister Mao's words.

Sister Mao gave him a look of contempt and retorted, "If you don't snatch a Deputy Li Kezhang, are you going to snatch some old useless waste who only knows how to click an abacus in the finance room and complain about how unfair the world is?"

"You!"

That male colleague was only forty, but Sister Mao's description made him sound truly useless.

Sister Mao's mouth was more accurate and ruthless than a Type 56 rifle; she could kill with words. Now, she turned her fire toward the girls in the section.

"A tall guy over 1.8 meters, with a solid build and culture, a man who is clearly on the rise—you all acted reserved and learned how to be modest."

"Sister Mao! ~"

Li Hongna pouted and said, "You're just speaking with the benefit of hindsight! You were the first one to say his face looked fierce and he wasn't suitable for dating! You even said that if you married him, you'd be scared to death if you woke up to go to the bathroom at night!"

"Pfft, I never said that!"

Sister Mao naturally denied saying such things; it had been so long, who would remember!

Now that Li Xuewu was a Deputy Li Kezhang, everything that came out of her mouth about him had to be good!

Absolutely!

Li Hongna knew Sister Mao wouldn't admit it, and she didn't care, continuing, "Are we really that beneath your notice? Who could have known he'd advance so quickly back then? You didn't calculate that either!"

She complained, "Besides, you know he has a scar on his face and adopted a child; who wants to be a stepmother the moment they walk through the door?!"

Sitting opposite her was Feng Juan, who had once had the chance to interact with Li Xuewu when he didn't have a girlfriend.

At that time, although he was a section chief, she hadn't felt anything special; he just had slightly better conditions.

But once they heard Li Xuewu had a child, everyone who had been fighting to get close to him lost heart.

Although they later found out the child was adopted—which was a sign of kindness and righteousness—that was something others could praise, but no one wanted it to happen to themselves.

After all, being called a "stepmother" sounded terrible, and especially as Li Xuewu advanced further, everyone gave up on the possibility of a blind date with him.

Being a stepmother was bad enough, but if they also got the reputation of "snatching the position of Deputy Li Kezhang's wife," these eighteen or nineteen-year-old girls wouldn't do it.

Sister Mao was just angry that these girls had such thoughts, and she said with pain in her heart, "Can a pretty face be eaten as a meal? Huang Ping had a pretty face, and now he's going to eat a bullet."

Ignoring them, Sister Mao sat in her seat and said with a pout, "The Security Department is a full-section-level unit, and the Deputy Li Kezhang's salary is over 150. Deputy Li Kezhang Li also holds a concurrent position as Deputy Li Kezhang of Public Security in the D-City Branch, which is another 150."

Perhaps because talking so much made her thirsty, Sister Mao took another gulp of water before continuing, "Not counting his status in D-City, just this salary alone—can't he afford to raise a few children? Why are you all hung up on one adopted child?"

Li Hongna glanced sideways, still unconvinced; their family conditions weren't bad, otherwise they wouldn't have been assigned to the Rolling Steel Factory during these years when work was hard to find.

City girls didn't have such complicated or simple ways of looking for a partner.

At this time, there were indeed girls who didn't look at conditions or development, but only at appearance, because everyone loves a handsome face.

A colleague sitting opposite Sister Mao asked, "What kind of wind is blowing today? What made you think of this?"

"Heh heh~"

Sister Mao glanced at the unconvinced Li Hongna and pouted, "Even if they want to make a move now, it's too late."

Seeing that she had captured the attention of everyone in the room, she continued, "I just came back from the Personnel Department; Li Xuewu's secretary is pulling his file, preparing materials to send to the Factory Director and the Secretary for their signatures."

"What's going on?"

The older sister sitting opposite, who was also a gossip, chimed in.

"What else could it be?"

Sister Mao pointed at the office desk and said, "A twenty-year-old Deputy Li Kezhang. What else would he be pulling his file for to get leadership signatures? Resignation? Of course, it's a marriage application!"

"Ah!"

"Really?!"

Everyone's reactions were different—some surprised, some shocked, some frowning.

However, they all showed enough surprise and concern for this news.

"This news is actually true~"

Someone well-informed rubbed their chin and said, "Someone spread it yesterday, but no one believed it. After all, he's a leading cadre, and there wasn't any news at all, so we thought someone was just spreading rumors for fun."

"Heh heh, just wait."

Sister Mao looked at the direction where the girls were sitting, and seeing their expressions of regret, disappointment, and doubt, she couldn't help but sneer.

She wasn't their mother or aunt; she wasn't kindly reminding them to go catch a husband.

She just wanted to feel good by lecturing these arrogant rookies. Seeing their regretful expressions made her feel comfortable. She turned to everyone and said, "Once the leaders sign it, everyone will know."

Actually, there was no need to wait for the leaders to sign; using Xu Sinyuan's description, the Rolling Steel Factory's office was like a sieve.

Any little thing that happened in the factory would spread faster than a fart.

Yu Haitang was just preparing today's broadcast script when she heard people discussing this in the corridor.

People in the office were like this—they didn't dare speak loudly about anything, they just whispered.

At first, she didn't believe the news, because she had just seen Li Xuewu when she went home with Yushui a few days ago, and there hadn't been any sign that he or his family were preparing for a wedding.

Besides, if he were really getting married, there should be some preparation time, and how could such news be kept secret in that big courtyard? She would have known long ago if she'd visited a few times.

However, she walked to the door and listened carefully; the rumors were quite detailed, even reaching the point of submitting a report.

To say Yu Haitang "knew" Li Xuewu was an understatement; she knew him more "comprehensively" than Gu Ning did.

After all, Gu Ning had been with Li Xuewu for so long and hadn't even seen him without clothes.

But she, Yu Haitang, had seen him.

At a distance of less than a meter, he had swayed in front of her, and she had seen it very clearly.

It was winter at the time, so logically he shouldn't have been swaying, but Yu Haitang remembered it very clearly—he had indeed swayed.

This memory fragment had "swayed" in her mind for a long time, and sometimes she really thought all men were like that.

First, she had learned about him from Yu Li, and then she had gone to Li Xuewu's home and the backyard for "on-site investigation." She had a careful assessment of Li Xuewu in her heart.

As a young woman who had been working for a few years, Yu Haitang's requirements for a partner were much clearer than those of girls like Feng Juan.

When Li Xuewu was just an officer, Yu Haitang hadn't set him as her ultimate goal.

It was only when Li Xuewu became a section chief that she decided to take action, but she always missed her chance due to one reason or another.

Especially later, when those lace news stories about Li Xuewu were flying everywhere, even a girl with a clear goal like her chose to avoid him.

After all, Li Xuewu seemed to be walking on the edge of a cliff at the time—the leaders didn't like him, he was at odds with his immediate superior, and he had no foundation or good family background. Who believed Li Xuewu would make a comeback?

In any case, Yu Haitang didn't believe it at the time, so she chose to hide and didn't act rashly.

By the time the situation became clear, she couldn't catch a glimpse of Li Xuewu anymore; he was running back and forth to the Northeast, then to Jinmen, then to the frontier.

Finally, when the frontier trip ended, she heard Yushui say Li Xuewu had a girlfriend.

Where did this girlfriend come from?

He was so busy, where did he find the time to date?

It couldn't be a welfare benefit issued by the factory!

If they were going to issue one, they should have issued her, the factory flower, to Li Xuewu.

Regret pills weren't for sale, and she had originally planned to create a few "accidental encounters" to make Li Xuewu remember her, and then launch a heavy attack.

Spring had arrived, and it was the season for wearing skirts. Yu Haitang felt the power of her pomegranate skirt wasn't weak; at least among the young men in the factory, there wasn't one who didn't admire her.

That day when she went to find Yushui, she had deliberately worn a skirt that exposed her arms and her lower legs below the knees.

She had clearly felt Li Xuewu's gaze, but she hadn't expected him to just walk past her like that.

Was it not exposed enough?

There was no time left for her to summarize her experience; if Li Xuewu's marriage report was really approved, she would have to snatch him.

The current situation wasn't very good; a "last-ditch effort" wasn't enough to describe the current urgency.

Yu Haitang hurriedly went back to her desk to organize her work, and took out a small mirror to tidy up her clothes and face.

She pulled her collar down with her hand and pulled her skirt up, trying to reveal more snow-white skin, then took a notebook and went out.

Besides conducting a direct reconnaissance of her target, she also had to try to get off work early to go find her cousin Yu Li for a side reconnaissance.

Although her cousin had rejected her request last time, she thought that she wouldn't ask directly, just confirm the news and the target.

Besides, even if she couldn't get support from her cousin, there was still Yushui.

She and Yushui were quite good friends, and they had gotten along well since they were children. With someone in Li Xuewu's courtyard supporting her, her success rate would rise sharply.

She was a ruthless character who wouldn't let go once she'd set her sights on something; as long as it was someone she'd picked, there really wasn't a hard bone she couldn't gnaw through.

Figure, cultural cultivation, temperament—she felt she didn't lose to anyone. Among the ten thousand people in the factory, "factory flower" wasn't a title given lightly.

She went out, walked to the duty room next door, pushed open the door, and said to the young man sitting inside reading the newspaper, "Yuan Hua, cover for me for a while, I'm going to do an interview."

"What kind of interview, that our broadcast station's number one beauty has to go out in person? ~"

This guy named Yuan Hua was truly slick; seeing Yu Haitang take the initiative to talk to him, he leaned in and asked with a grin, "Why don't I do it for you? It's so tiring."

Yu Haitang rolled her eyes at this lecher who was trying to smell her scent; this bastard had been flirting with her for a long time, and she found him very annoying.

However, she needed a favor, and since he was the only one on duty, she had to be patient and say, "The Factory Office gave the order; I have to go find Sister Zhou. You want to go?"

This guy had once had a loose mouth and had been slapped across the face by Sister Zhou, and he hadn't dared to go near her since.

Yuan Hua looked suspiciously at Yu Haitang and asked, "Are you lying to me?"

"Believe it or not."

She glanced at him, and Yu Haitang raised her chin slightly, like a proud swan, revealing her snow-white neck.

With a turn, her skirt swirled, and she walked toward the stairwell.

Yuan Hua couldn't guess whether Yu Haitang was really going to find Sister Zhou, but the duty room was like this—as long as one person had something to do, the other had to cover.

He glared fiercely at her swaying back, muttering to himself as he headed toward the broadcast room.

Yu Haitang naturally wasn't going to the Propaganda Section, but went downstairs and headed straight for the Security Department building, not afraid at all of the gaze from the second floor of the broadcast station behind her.

"Hmph! A toad wanting to eat swan meat."

She pouted and muttered disdainfully, her gaze turning toward the end of the third floor of the Security building. Although she hadn't been there, she knew that in that office sat the most promising Deputy Li Kezhang-level cadre in the factory.

She heard Li Xuewu was currently studying at a university, and in a few years, he'd be a college graduate, so rising to a full section chief would be a matter of course.

She loved handsome looks, but she knew even better that looks couldn't be eaten as a meal, while a Deputy Li Kezhang was a real meal ticket.

He would be responsible for advancing his career and earning money to support her, while she would only be responsible for being beautiful and spending the money.

And she had already thought of the entry point to deal with Li Xuewu: a person studying at a university, how could he not be a youth who loved literature?

As long as she started from his hobbies, there was no wall corner she couldn't pry loose; she had tried this trick many times and it always worked.

As long as the other person was her target, their hobbies would become her hobbies.

"This is nonsense! Playing the piano to a cow!"

Li Xuewu slapped the table and vented his anger at Sha Qizhi, who was standing across from his desk, "I wrote a documentary report expressing the hard work and dedication of our grassroots comrades on the front line of safety management, and summarizing the technical aspects needed for actual production. Why the hell did you publish it in the literature column?"

Sha Qizhi curled his lips, his face full of embarrassment.

Seeing that Li Xuewu had stopped venting, he pushed the teacup on the table toward Li Xuewu.

Watching Li Xuewu pick up the teacup to drink, he couldn't stop himself from continuing, "Editor Hu said your article was written so well that its literary quality overshadowed the news documentary itself."

Seeing Li Xuewu glare at him, Sha Qizhi couldn't stop, so he had to continue, "He said your article was concise, every word a gem, and he really hoped that the vast number of literary youths could learn from your writing style..."

"Enough, enough, enough! Tell him to get lost!"

Li Xuewu impatiently put down the teacup in his hand, which made a "thud" sound as it hit the table.

The teacup lid jumped three times, and Sha Qizhi's eyelids jumped three times as well.

It was no wonder the Li Kezhang was angry; recently, the Li Kezhang had been exerting force in a certain area, clearly having a special plan.

First, he had arranged for Yu Decai to give tasks to the pen-pushers in the General Office, focusing on the current earthquake environment and publicizing the Rolling Steel Factory's experience and achievements in dual emergency response and safety management.

Then, he had called Gu Weijie, the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee in charge of propaganda, requesting her support for the Security Department's work.

Finally, feeling the impact wasn't strong enough, the Li Kezhang had personally written an article and submitted it to the Steel Daily, where his articles were often published.

Never in his wildest dreams did he expect Editor Hu of the Steel Daily to put his documentary report in the literature column.

Was it wrong for the article to be well-written?

Actually, it wasn't wrong; Editor Hu had good intentions, he just used it in the wrong place.

This kind of literature column wasn't something just anyone could get into; at the very least, you had to be a professor from an academy or the top pen-pusher from each factory to get in.

What kind of newspaper was this?

This was the Steel Daily, the largest newspaper in the entire system! Was this a joke?

Li Xuewu had wanted it in the professional section so that administrative leaders could see it. Putting it in the literature section was useless for the secretaries to see!

Smashing the cup didn't make him feel any better. Li Xuewu glanced at the door, then pushed the newspaper on the table far away, his face full of disgust, saying, "What kind of literary youth..."

At this moment, Yu Haitang was standing at the door, wanting to knock gracefully, full of hope to conduct an exclusive interview with the literary youth Li Xuewu she had in mind...

"Click~"

Li Xuewu thought about putting it in a professional section, so that the administrative leaders of the government office could see it, but this was put in the literary section, what's the use of showing it to the secretaries!

He didn't feel relieved even after smashing the cup, Li Xuewu glanced at the door, then pushed the newspaper in front of him far away, full of disgust, and said, "What kind of literary youth."

At this time, Yu Haitang was standing at the door wanting to knock gracefully, full of hope to do an exclusive interview with Li Xuewu, the literary youth in her heart...

"Crack~"