Nan Yue left the tenement building with a smile.
This mission was turning out to be quite worthwhile.
Jiang Siyan, who had been chatting with others, had been observing Nan Yue since she came downstairs.
He saw her turn toward the back, and thirty minutes later, she returned.
She had a smile on her face.
Jiang Siyan was so shocked that he didn't even hear what the person next to him was saying.
"Tang Yu."
Sun Zhi's gaze followed his. "Comrade Li went to feed the cat again, didn't she?"
Jiang Siyan snapped back to reality. "A cat?"
"Yeah, that orange cat. She's fed it until it's nice and round."
Sun Zhi clicked his tongue in admiration. "I have to say, Comrade Li has a good heart. She's the most enthusiastic and gentle person in the factory. She's even gentle toward cats."
"She really puts her heart into that cat."
So it was a cat.
Jiang Siyan looked thoughtful.
"Can't we raise them in the factory?"
Tang Yu was a college student who had just arrived and was unfamiliar with everything.
The factory director had assigned Sun Zhi to be his roommate for that very reason—to explain things and look after him.
"We can."
Sun Zhi scratched his head. "I don't know why she hasn't taken it home if she likes it so much."
Jiang Siyan was silent for a moment. "Does Xiang Guang not like it?"
Sun Zhi reached back to scratch his back. "I doubt it. Everyone in the factory knows Xiang Guang dotes on his wife the most. He treats Comrade Li incredibly well."
"Aside from the factory director, their household was the first to have a television. Also, Xiang Guang was the one who applied to the factory director to change Comrade Li's job."
Jiang Siyan asked, "Where did Comrade Li work before?"
Sun Zhi pointed at himself with a grin. "The factory office."
"You might not know this, but even though Comrade Li didn't go to college, she's very hardworking. She's always studying, she writes well, and her handwriting is beautiful."
A leaf drifted down from a branch and landed on Jiang Siyan's shoulder.
He pinched it between his fingertips, his voice somewhat faint.
"Working in the factory office is quite relaxed too."
Sun Zhi thought about it and nodded.
"True. But the warehouse is even more relaxed. It's just two female comrades, isn't it?"
Jiang Siyan's hand paused while playing with the leaf.
Warehouse, female comrades, relaxed...
A clue flashed through his mind.
"You seem to know Comrade Li Hui very well," Jiang Siyan said nonchalantly.
Sun Zhi didn't think much of it.
"Everyone in the factory likes Comrade Li Hui. She's gentle, friendly, and helpful. She never even says a harsh word to someone as competitive as Zhao Mingming."
"But then again, Comrade Li is already married."
Sun Zhi hung his head, looking like someone who had truly once liked Li Hui.
"Xiang Guang is practically a top figure in our factory. Don't look down on him just because he's in the transportation crew; he's a real hot commodity."
At this time, very few people knew how to drive.
It was considered a technical trade, far more high-class than the jobs in compounding or mixing.
Jiang Siyan's eyes shifted as he recalled what Nan Yue had said yesterday.
"By the way, that Zhao Dayong... why doesn't he live in our dormitory?"
Sun Zhi chuckled. "Him? Xiang Guang is looking after him."
Seeing Jiang Siyan's interest, Sun Zhi leaned in and lowered his voice.
"He's an old worker, but he's been so solitary after all these years in the factory that no one is close to him."
"He keeps to himself in the compounding group too. The factory was concerned about him, so they asked Xiang Guang to interact with him more."
"Xiang Guang filed a report to have him move in next door. Firstly, it's convenient to lend a hand if anything happens. Secondly, it lets him experience the atmosphere of family life so he might consider his personal affairs sooner."
"A man in his thirties living all alone... it just isn't right."
Jiang Siyan let go of the leaf, letting it fall to the ground.
Xiang Guang had done Zhao Dayong a favor.
He was the one who let Zhao Dayong live next to his house.
Was there a problem?
No.
But the lack of a problem was precisely what was strange.
Xiang Guang's reputation in the factory was too good.
Whether it was the factory director or the ordinary workers, everyone spoke of him with nothing but praise.
He dotes on his wife, has technical skills, works hard, and treats his comrades as warmly as springtime.
Does such a perfect person really exist?
Jiang Siyan smiled.
"I'm going to find Comrade Li Hui for a moment. The equipment arriving tomorrow might need to be stored in their warehouse first."
Sun Zhi knew about this.
He took off his cap and slapped it against his pants. "Sure."
Jiang Siyan sat down beside Nan Yue.
They remained an arm's length apart, safe and distant.
"Comrade Li..."
There weren't many people around.
Although Li Hui was married, she was a factory employee after all.
Interactions between comrades were perfectly normal; no one spared them a second glance.
Besides, she was married to Xiang Guang. What more could she want?
Nothing.
Jiang Siyan quickly told Nan Yue the clues he had obtained.
Nan Yue's gaze shifted slightly.
"Zhao Dayong has been staring at me."
Jiang Siyan had noticed it the moment he sat down beside Nan Yue.
That gaze couldn't have escaped him.
But it was a strange gaze.
It wasn't the lecherous look of someone coveting her beauty, nor was it a look filled with hatred.
If he had to describe it, it was observation.
Not curiosity, not prying—just observation.
Nan Yue knew Jiang Siyan could feel it too.
Neither of them looked in Zhao Dayong's direction, appearing like two people just chatting.
"Did you feel it?"
Jiang Siyan nodded slightly. "Could he be following Xiang Guang's arrangements?"
Xiang Guang had essentially done Zhao Dayong a favor.
Living in the family residential area was much more comfortable than two men squeezing into a dormitory.
Moreover, given Xiang Guang's status, being looked after by him would make working and living in the factory much easier.
If Xiang Guang had arranged for him to pay more attention to Li Hui while he was away on business, it would make sense.
After all, Xiang Guang had said he had a bit of a selfish motive for letting Zhao Dayong live next door.
The transportation crew went on business trips frequently, and he was afraid Li Hui might need a man's help while she was home alone.
Nan Yue smiled. "If you were Xiang Guang, would you feel comfortable letting a single man look after your wife while she's home alone?"
"I wouldn't."
Jiang Siyan answered almost instantly.
If it were him, he would never let another man get close to the woman he liked.
Wait, would that be a form of indirect imprisonment?
Jiang Siyan got stuck on this emotional and moral question.
Nan Yue didn't notice that Jiang Siyan frequently short-circuited during this mission.
She continued, "Zhao Dayong and Li Hui have no interaction. Although Xiang Guang says that, both of them maintain clear boundaries."
"Even with someone like Yang Hua living next door, no gossip has started, which suggests they probably don't even speak to each other."
"So, what exactly is Xiang Guang's so-called 'lending a hand'..."
The fight in Jiang Siyan's mind hadn't finished, but he could answer this question.
"Monitoring Li Hui."
The two exchanged a look.
This was the most likely answer.
Zhao Dayong was an old worker in the factory and had known Li Hui for a long time, yet they had no interaction.
Analytically speaking, he was different from the other young lads in the factory who liked Li Hui.
Furthermore, since he lived there because Xiang Guang was looking after him, if he had even the slightest improper thought, the gossip alone would drown him.
So he didn't dare.
A Zhao Dayong whom no one understood and no one trusted, whose benefactor everyone knew was Xiang Guang—such a person was a very easy target to control.
Rate on N.U.
