“Lin Miaomiao, you bitch! It must have been you who reported me! I knew it! Before this, you pretended to faint to seduce Director Lu, and you even had the nerve to apply for a single dormitory. Just because my uncle didn’t approve your application, you secretly reported me!”
She had just been called in by the manager and told to move out of the dormitory by the end of the day.
Wang Xiulan only then learned that her uncle had been removed from his position. He had been reported for accepting bribes and monopolizing the factory’s resources, so he was suspended pending investigation.
And all those who were connected to her uncle, including her, had been evicted from the dormitory.
The dormitory was intended for those who had difficulty commuting to work, those with families to support, or skilled technicians.
Her home was nearby, and she lived lavishly. She only used the dormitory for afternoon naps, something everyone who knew her was aware of and envied.
But now, because her uncle was suspended and under investigation, her own situation had been exposed. Those who once envied her changed their attitudes, pointing fingers at her as if she were some kind of filth.
She immediately thought of Lin Miaomiao, convinced that it must have been her who reported her. Since Miaomiao couldn’t get a dormitory herself, she must have been jealous.
After all, Wang Xiulan had been living in the dormitory for half a year. Many people knew about it, and no one had ever dared to report her before. In their department, only Yu Meijing didn’t get along with her, but Yu Meijing didn’t live in the dormitory, so Wang Xiulan wasn’t in her way.
After thinking it over, the only possible culprit was the scheming and pitifully acting Lin Miaomiao!
Wang Xiulan could no longer hold back and rushed over to confront her.
“Your uncle abused his power for personal gain, greedily accepted bribes, and monopolized resources. And you, shameless as you are, used your connections to force a mother and daughter who were living in a single dormitory out, just so you could take afternoon naps and show off your special privileges to outsiders. That led to them being fired and almost driven to suicide. How dare you come here and yell at me?”
Lin Miaomiao spat, “I spit on you!”
“If you have the guts, go cause trouble for the factory director. What’s the point of coming after me? Picking on the weak and fearing the strong?”
“Do you think I’m as easy to bully as others?”
Lin Miaomiao grabbed Wang Xiulan’s already sparse hair.
“Let me tell you, Wang Xiulan, if you push me too far, even if I jump off a building, I’ll make sure you go down with me!”
Wang Xiulan was terrified.
She had always thought that Lin Miaomiao was just Yu Meijing’s lackey, a little follower.
She assumed Miaomiao stuck with Yu Meijing just to secure her position in the department and avoid being bullied.
After all, Lin Miaomiao was just an assembly line worker, illiterate and from a poor family. Naturally, she wouldn’t dare offend anyone.
But she never expected that not only did Miaomiao dare, but she also dared to pull her hair.
And even threatened to drag her down if she jumped off a building.
Wang Xiulan was utterly terrified.
Only then did she realize that Lin Miaomiao wasn’t with Yu Meijing to curry favor.
Rather, this woman was the same kind as Yu Meijing.
Both of them… were not to be messed with!
Another handful of hair was pulled out. Feeling her already sparse hair, Wang Xiulan burst into tears.
She was going bald!
“My hair! Just you wait!” Cowardly and scared, fearing that Lin Miaomiao might actually drag her to jump off a building, she threw out a threat from a distance before running away crying.
“Here’s your hair back!”
“And I want my face back too!”
Lin Miaomiao took out a small mirror from her drawer and looked at her pretty face, feeling a pang of heartache.
She had always loved beauty since she was young. Her parents were willing to spend money on her, and since she didn’t do much manual labor, her skin had always been much better than others in the village.
Moreover, her genes were so good that her skin never scarred.
Now, with a scratch from Wang Xiulan’s fingernail, there was a red mark.
Her skin was already fair, so even a small injury was very noticeable.
Such a scratch across her face truly didn’t look good.
Yu Meijing calmly handed her a band-aid and pointed to her own right cheek: “Yours is on the left, mine is on the right—symmetrical.”
She seemed rather proud of it.
“I’ll go wash my hands first.”
Lin Miaomiao took the band-aid, feeling her hands were greasy, and frowned in disgust: “How long has it been since Wang Xiulan washed her hair? It’s so oily.”
She grumbled as she headed to the factory’s public restroom.
The restroom on their floor was quite large and even had a mirror. The beauty-conscious female workers often came here in the morning, admiring their looks from left to right.
No sooner had Lin Miaomiao pushed the door open and walked in than it closed behind her.
She didn’t pay it much mind, assuming it was another female worker. The injury on her face looked far more alarming than it had in the small mirror, and it stung fiercely.
It wasn’t until she sensed something was off that the tall figure of a man pressed in from behind.
She took two steps back, staring in shock at the man who had suddenly closed in on her.
Gone was his usual cold indifference; his deep eyes fixed on the wound on her face, now tinged with a chilling intensity.
“What happened to your face?”
He reached out to touch it, but Lin Miaomiao reacted as if bitten by a snake, slapping his hand away and stepping aside.
Her face was filled with wariness: “None of your business.”
In a way, it was his fault. If he had made it clear who reported her, she wouldn’t have had her face scratched up by Wang Xiulan.
Lin Miaomiao thought to herself.
The next moment.
Lin Miaomiao was lifted by him and pressed against a wooden table used for storing items nearby.
Her eyes snapped up, her hands braced behind her. Lu Yanzhou gripped her waist, startling her into instinctively struggling.
“Don’t move.”
The man pursed his lips, staring at her frightened, soft, pale face, his throat bobbing.
His expression was hidden in the dim light, unreadable.
Only his jawline was cold and rigid as he suddenly leaned closer.
Just as Lin Miaomiao was about to slap him, Lu Yanzhou tore open the band-aid that had somehow ended up in his hand and pressed it onto the wound on her cheek.
His slightly warm fingertips brushed her face.
It felt a bit feverish.
Lin Miaomiao took a deep breath to suppress the heat.
She pushed the man away forcefully: “Director Lu, please show some self-respect! Don’t force me to report you to the police for harassment!”
The concern in Lu Yanzhou’s eyes faded as he took a step back. “Why?”
Lin Miaomiao frowned: “Why what? Do I need a reason to report you for harassment?”
Lu Yanzhou: “I’m asking why you insist on getting a divorce?”
Lin Miaomiao was taken aback for a moment before frowning again: “Wasn’t what I said before clear enough?”
Lu Yanzhou lowered his gaze: “I have money now, and I’m not a bad element anymore.”
Lin Miaomiao found it baffling. What did his having money and not being a bad element have to do with her? Was he deliberately showing off to spite her?
“So?”
Lu Yanzhou looked up: “Where else would you find someone with such good conditions? Why insist on divorce?”
Lin Miaomiao shrugged, her expression indifferent and her tone particularly carefree, “So what if you have money now? I don’t like rich men anymore. Now, I prefer men like my husband—young, obedient, and more energetic than you!”
Lu Yanzhou’s face instantly turned ashen.
His normally precise and calculating mind was overwhelmed by a blank void.
The man pressed his palms against the edge of the sink, his arm muscles tensed to the extreme, veins bulging.
He stared at Lin Miaomiao, his furious gaze like that of a beast on the verge of madness. “Lin Miaomiao, say it again. Who do you like?”
“I like my husband!”
“Ask me a hundred times and I’ll still say I like him!”
“He means more to me than money!”
As she spoke, Lin Miaomiao watched his expression spiral out of control, finally feeling a sliver of vengeful satisfaction.