The people nearby immediately focused on the key point—“daily chemical factory worker.” Someone who couldn’t hold it in blurted out:
“What? She got into the daily chemical factory? When did they even recruit workers there? How come we didn’t know?”
Aunt Su clicked her tongue.
“Oh dear, all you’ve been thinking about is whether people are going to the countryside or not, and you didn’t even pay attention to when factories were recruiting. Of course you missed it.”
“Alright, I’ll just make a record here. The employment certificate looks fine. When are you starting work?”
Aunt Su glanced at the official stamp—no issues, all the information matched. It was indeed the He family’s younger daughter.
“Next Monday,” He Suqin only answered Aunt Su’s question. As for the others, who were they? She didn’t know them.
Just as the sisters finished their business and were about to leave, someone called out to stop them.
“Qiutang, I heard you dumped your boyfriend from school and got together with a burly truck driver?”
He Qiutang froze. “What? When did I ever have a boyfriend at school?”
“You didn’t? Then why is the Yu family saying you were dating someone and then got together with another man—and dumped the first one?” Someone else immediately caught onto the gossip and pressed further.
Hearing the words “Yu family,” He Qiutang immediately knew it was Yu Sui Sui spreading it. And the so-called “boyfriend from school” must be Xu Zikai. As for the “burly truck driver”—her Zhao Huai’an had somehow become that description?
How did the story twist into this?
She immediately said angrily:
“This is completely made up! Who is spreading this? I’m going to sue them for defamation—this is ruining my reputation! And that so-called school boyfriend—do you even know who it is? If you do, bring him out. I want to confront him directly. When did I date him? Where? What did we say? These things can’t be fabricated!”
Seeing how the usually gentle and soft-spoken He Qiutang was suddenly this angry and confident, everyone realized the rumor might really be wrong.
“Ah, it was just casual talk, who knew it would spread like this. Don’t be angry, Qiutang,” someone tried to smooth things over, while another quietly slipped out the door.
Meanwhile, He Suqin turned seriously to Aunt Su.
“Aunt Su, you’re in charge of this area. We’d like to know how something like this happened. My sister has never dated anyone from school, but rumors like this are already spreading. It’s harmful to her reputation. And she’s about to become a factory worker—her future is very promising. If this kind of talk ruins her prospects, none of us can afford the consequences.”
As she spoke, she swept a glance over the surrounding crowd. Her words carried pressure, making Aunt Su slightly stunned. As expected of a university student—she spoke in a structured, layered way that was hard to respond to.
Since this wasn’t her mess, Aunt Su felt no burden at all.
He Suqin frowned. This was clearly malicious rumor-spreading. If her sister hadn’t gotten the factory job, and if things hadn’t been handled properly, it could have ruined her life.
“Aunt Su, this is serious. I’m going to call my mother and tell her. Some things must be investigated thoroughly.”
These words made the rumor-spreaders panic. But others didn’t care—they figured it wasn’t them who started it, so whoever did would suffer. As for the Yu family possibly getting into trouble, they didn’t care at all.
After calling Shen Lanxiang, the two sisters found a quiet corner and spoke privately.
He Suqin needed to clarify things with her sister so she could take control of the situation later.
“Sis, I really didn’t date Xu Zikai. We only spoke a few times. But Yu Sui Sui likes him, and after I lost interest, she started clinging to him. Then one day I went out to eat with a friend, and Xu Zikai saw me.”
Hearing the earlier part, He Suqin nodded. But when she heard the last sentence, she nearly exploded.
“When did you go out to eat with a friend? Male or female?”
“Male.” Faced with her sister about to lose her temper, He Qiutang shrank her neck.
“That burly truck driver?”
He Suqin felt like the sky was falling.
“He’s a driver, but not burly at all—he’s actually very good-looking,” He Qiutang quickly corrected.
That last sentence only made things worse. She immediately got a light knock on the head.
“You little brat! You’re going out on dates and you didn’t even tell us!”
A man and a woman going out to eat—what more needed to be said?
“You wait. After this is settled, you’re explaining everything to me and Mom tonight! Come on—your mom isn’t back yet. Let’s go find him now. Lead the way.”
“Ah? Okay, okay!”
He Qiutang quickly followed, then hesitated. “Sis, where are we going? Why do I need to lead the way?”
“Of course we’re going to find Xu Zikai. He’s an important witness. Only if he proves you two never dated can this rumor be cleared up.”
He Suqin’s mind worked quickly—she immediately identified the core of the problem.
“But if Xu Zikai gets dragged into something like this, he might refuse to say anything…”
“Hmph, that’s exactly why we want him to be a coward. He doesn’t need to come in person—he can just write a statement. A written statement is far more useful than words.”
He Suqin also took the opportunity to teach her sister a lesson.
“In the future, remember this: only things written on paper count. Spoken words can disappear, but written proof leaves marks. Even if someone tries to erase it, the evidence remains. Paper is always stronger than talk.”