novellhall Chapter 24 Surprise Inspection
Chapter 24 Surprise Inspection
"Qingqing, I think you might have some misunderstandings about the representative."
"I know a little about Comrade Su Wan. Her husband used to be in the same unit as our factory representative; they were comrades-in-arms. Later, her husband died in the line of duty, leaving her with a three-year-old son. That's why the factory representative is giving her special treatment, but this treatment is absolutely not based on personal feelings!"
"But the factory representative treats you differently. Look, just now you used your chopsticks to pick up some food for him, and he actually ate it without complaining."
Lin Shuyao was a little embarrassed: "You...you noticed..."
Gao Tingting chuckled: "Of course! Let me tell you, I heard the factory representative has severe mysophobia. He even eats with separate utensils from his family at home. But he actually ate the food you picked for him. What does that mean? It means you're very special to him, closer than family. Closer than family, isn't that a lover? Don't you agree?"
Lin Shuyao was amused by her interpretation: "Tingting, you should see an ophthalmologist. He clearly treats me like an enemy, yet he calls himself a lover. There's absolutely no possibility between us."
Gao Tingting: "Hey, don't be so absolute. I think you two are a good match. Why don't you take the initiative and win him over? You know he's always targeting you, right? Think about it, if you dated him, maybe everything would be different?"
It's impossible to take the initiative.
Lin Shuyao shook her head repeatedly: "No, I get scared of his cold face. He's too fierce."
Gao Tingting: "That's just his personality. These kinds of people are the most reserved and secretly passionate. Otherwise, how would he have known you hurt your foot and gone to the trouble of buying you leather shoes?"
Lin Shuyao: "Speaking of which, Tingting, come back to the dorm with me later, and I'll give you the money for the shoes. I went to see the factory representative, intending to return the money, but he said the shoes are yours, and you can do whatever you want with them."
Gao Tingting was extremely anxious: "Don't believe him! He's just a quiet type, he won't admit it, but he actually cares about you a lot. Let me tell you, he asked me to give you these shoes. Think about it, who would give him size 35 shoes as a gift? Even if you wanted to give them to his girlfriend to please him, you should at least find out her size, right? Besides, he doesn't even have a girlfriend. So, he bought these shoes himself!"
Did Cheng Zheng buy her shoes specifically for her?
What kind of fantastical story is this?!
"Tingting, stop talking. I know you're good to me and don't want to take my money," Lin Shuyao said coquettishly, resting her face on Gao Tingting's shoulder.
Gao Tingting was so anxious she was practically swearing to the heavens: "It really was a gift from the factory representative, you have to believe me!"
"Okay, okay, I believe you. Don't rush me," Lin Shuyao pulled back her hand that was about to swear. "In that case, I'll go see him again and return the money to him. I don't want to owe him any favors."
"Okay, then you go ahead, he should be going home soon." Gao Tingting thought that while the two of them were paying back the money, they could spend some time alone, so she didn't stop them.
She really worries herself sick over her brother and sister-in-law.
Lin Shuyao is a woman of action; she immediately went back to her dormitory to get the money and then ran to the administration building.
She didn't plan to meet Cheng Zheng. Since Cheng Zheng was eating in the cafeteria, she thought she would slip the envelope containing the money under the door of his office.
It was the end of the workday, and most of the people in the administration building had left, with only a few offices still lit up.
I thought Cheng Zheng's office would be empty, but when I got there, the door was still open and Su Wan was tidying up inside.
"Comrade Su."
"Comrade Shen!" Su Wan was taking a stack of file folders out of the open filing cabinet and was about to put them on the table when she heard the voice and turned around. "Are you here to see the representative? He's off work. I'm here to help organize the documents so they can be stored in the archives."
"Okay, I'm here to return something." Lin Shuyao placed the envelope in her hand on Cheng Zheng's desk, weighed it down with a paperweight, and left a note.
Several files slipped from Su Wan's arms and fell to the ground. Lin Shuyao stepped forward and said, "Let me pick them up for you."
She crouched down to pick it up, and just as she was about to stand up, she suddenly noticed something wrapped in brown paper at the bottom of the open cabinet. The corner of it that was sticking out looked like a pair of red high heels.
The words "Hongxing Steel Plant" were also printed on the kraft paper.
Something flashed through Lin Shuyao's mind, but she didn't grasp it.
"Where should I put this?" She stood up and waved the file folder in her hand at Su Wan.
"Thank you, just give it to me," Su Wan said with a smile, "You can go back and rest, I can handle things here."
"I'll be going now, goodbye." Lin Shuyao was in a hurry to get to the bathhouse and left in a hurry.
On her way back to the dormitory, Lin Shuyao felt as if she had missed some important information.
I felt inexplicably uneasy.
Before going to bed that night, Lin Shuyao took out Shen Qing's diary and read it as usual.
Although she has successfully stayed at the factory and no one there recognizes the former Shen Qing, she is still uneasy. She is always afraid that she might accidentally give herself away, so she takes out Shen Qing's diary every day to make sure that every detail is consistent with Shen Qing's.
But when she turned to a certain page tonight, her face suddenly froze.
I finally understand where my unease came from!
Shen Qing's first love gave her a pair of red high heels, which she loved. When she ran away from home, she forgot to take the shoes with her, and she even wrote about it in her diary for a while.
The page we've turned to right now perfectly captures Shen Qing's feelings back then.
Shen Qing's adoptive father works at a steel factory. It's uncertain whether it's Hongxing Steel Factory, but with the red high heels and the steel factory packaging paper, Lin Shuyao is certain that the shoes in Cheng Zheng's office belong to Shen Qing!
Shen Qing's shoes appeared in Cheng Zheng's office, and Cheng Zheng had someone investigate him again... Oh no!
Lin Shuyao suddenly realized that the lambskin shoes Cheng Zheng gave her were size 35 for her and size 37 for Shen Qing, so the shoe sizes didn't match!
No wonder Cheng Zheng gave her shoes; it was a test!
Could it be that he already suspects she's an imposter?
That's why you're targeting her in every way?
But that doesn't make sense either.
If it is discovered that she is impersonating someone else, shouldn't we report it to the police directly? What's the point of targeting her?
Could it be...?
Suspecting she's a spy?!
Was the impersonation intended to infiltrate the factory and steal confidential information?
It's over.
If that's the case, things are in big trouble!
Lin Shuyao's heart instantly felt as if it had fallen into an icy abyss, turning completely cold in an instant.
Now she only has two paths before her.
First, take the initiative to admit your mistakes.
That way, I won't be suspected of being a spy.
But the charges of impersonation and escaping as an educated youth are enough to get her into serious trouble; she will definitely be sent to a labor camp.
Given the harsh conditions at the labor camp, her small frame probably wouldn't have lasted a year.
No, no!
She absolutely must not admit her mistake!
That leaves only the second option—
Continue to impersonate Shen Qing.
As long as she behaves herself and doesn't do anything that harms the factory's interests, the charge of being a spy won't be pinned on her.
The only problem is that Cheng Zheng is keeping a close eye on her and is suspicious of her identity. What if he doesn't find out that she is a spy but instead exposes her for impersonation?
Therefore, if they want to continue pretending to be Shen Qing, they must get rid of Cheng Zheng, this threat.
But he was the factory representative, the highest-ranking official in the factory. Getting rid of him would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.
What should we do?
Lin Shuyao spent the whole night racking her brains, going through all thirty-six stratagems in her mind. Finally, she suddenly remembered Gao Tingting's words: if she could win Cheng Zheng's heart, date him, and make him fall head over heels for her, he would be too busy to attend court and wouldn't have the time to investigate her.
Yup!
The Thirty-Six Stratagems of the Beauty Trap—wasn't this tailor-made for her?
She'll start flirting with Cheng Zheng tomorrow!
Lin Shuyao lay down on the bed, closed her eyes, and all sorts of indescribable images automatically flashed through her mind. Just thinking about them made her toes curl up.
I wonder if those little tricks will work on Cheng Zheng, and how he will react?