After falling out with Lu Ling, Bai Xiaotong was both angry and frustrated. Her pretty face remained sullen, and even the next day, she hadn’t recovered. When she went to work and saw Lu Ling on duty outside the guardhouse, she shot him a disdainful glare.
Don’t think I can’t find someone good without you. Just wait and see.
Lu Ling couldn’t help but smile, watching Bai Xiaotong with her nose in the air as he silently curled the corners of his lips.
Beside him, Xu Biao watched with wide eyes for a long moment before clearing his throat and asking, “Brother Lu, when did you and Bai, the factory beauty, start?”
He was genuinely curious!
Who was she?
The factory beauty!
The dream girl of all the young men in the factory. Given the chance, he’d have had ideas too.
But now…
Xu Biao glanced at the tall and handsome Lu Ling, completely extinguishing the tiny flicker of fantasy deep in his heart.
Lu Ling stopped smiling and turned to look at him. “Since when did you become so gossipy?”
Xu Biao chuckled. “It’s not gossip. I’m just wondering if I should call her ‘sister-in-law’ next time I see her.”
Sister-in-law…
Lu Ling said, “Don’t talk nonsense. Let’s get to work.”
During the morning shift, Bai Xiaotong worked absentmindedly.
She was currently a dispatcher in the dyeing workshop. The job wasn’t demanding—mostly handling miscellaneous tasks for the department and recording incoming and outgoing goods. It required no technical skills or mental effort, making it relatively easy.
Just before lunch break, Du Yun, the workshop technician, came over and boldly handed her two pieces of candy.
They were milk candies, a rare treat.
Bai Xiaotong refused. “I don’t really like these. Thanks.”
Having been showered with attention since childhood, Bai Xiaotong wouldn’t casually accept gifts from others.
Du Yun didn’t say much more. He put the candies back into the small tin box he carried with him, smiled, and walked away.
Bai Xiaotong closed her notebook and stared blankly at the old wooden door of the office.
Du Yun was another one of her admirers. Compared to Fang Zhiyong’s shamelessness, this man was much more reserved in front of her. Whenever she refused, he would quietly walk away, knowing his place.
In the half-month she’d been working in the dyeing workshop, the two of them had interacted daily. Overall, she didn’t dislike Du Yun. Though he wasn’t particularly tall, he was decent-looking and seemed like a simple, honest person.
The only question was his character—how deep his feelings for her were and whether he’d be willing to unconditionally tolerate her.
Maybe she should find a chance to test him?
As she was considering this, she saw Du Yun again while lining up for lunch in the cafeteria.
He was near the front of the line. At first, Bai Xiaotong didn’t deliberately approach him, just glanced at him a few times.
Du Yun seemed to sense it and turned around to see her.
Their eyes met, and Du Yun was momentarily stunned. Then he waved to Bai Xiaotong, offering her his spot in line.
With so many people watching, Bai Xiaotong felt too embarrassed. She was about to shake her head and refuse when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lu Ling and Xu Biao enter with their lunchboxes.
Suddenly, Bai Xiaotong didn’t want to hold back anymore. With light, quick steps, like a flower-picking fairy, she shyly walked up to Du Yun and said with a smile, “Thank you. I’ll save you a seat later.”
It was an invitation to eat together.
Du Yun’s eyes instantly lit up, and his entire face flushed as red as a monkey’s bottom.
The few single men nearby watched with a mix of envy and jealousy. If only they had mustered the courage to approach the factory beauty earlier—perhaps they, too, would have had the chance to share a meal with her.
Unfortunately, someone else had beaten them to it.
The men secretly regretted their hesitation, while also feeling puzzled. Usually, the factory beauty was as proud as a princess, ignoring everyone except when she was pestering Chen Xiangjun. What had gotten into her today? Had she changed her ways?
No, it probably wasn’t a change in personality. More likely, after Chen Xiangjun and Hu Xiulan made their relationship public, she had come to her senses, ready to give up on him and start anew.
With this possibility in mind, their spirits immediately lifted. They silently vowed to seize this rare opportunity no matter what.
For a moment, the young men in the cafeteria brightened up, their hearts stirring with anticipation, as if spring had arrived.
Bai Xiaotong was long accustomed to such admiring and appreciative gazes. She held her head high, leisurely enjoying the attention, then casually glanced at Lu Ling in the distance.
Open your eyes wide and see for yourself—this is the charm of the factory beauty.
With just a slight crook of my finger, plenty of people would rush forward.
Rejecting me is your loss, and I guarantee you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!
Bai Xiaotong felt she had regained some ground, finally venting a bit of her pent-up frustration.
She quickly got her meal and went to find a seat.
The factory cafeteria was quite spacious, capable of accommodating over a thousand people at once.
Finding a spot for two wasn’t difficult, and Bai Xiaotong soon spotted a good place. But just as she was about to sit down, two female workers nearby exchanged glances, and one of them suddenly shifted over, occupying the seat she had her eye on.
It was clear they were deliberately taking the spot to keep Bai Xiaotong from sitting there.
Bai Xiaotong didn’t bother arguing with them. She chuckled lightly and moved to another area.
The two women watched her leave out of the corners of their eyes. One muttered disdainfully, “Acting like a peacock, as if she’s something special.”
The other chimed in, “Thinks she’s pretty, but she’s really just a fox spirit…”
Being beautiful could sometimes make you quite a few enemies.
Bai Xiaotong had been at the factory for over half a year since graduating. Aside from the young men who flocked around her trying to win her favor, she hadn’t made a single close friend.
At first, some female coworkers had walked to and from work with her or joined her for meals in the cafeteria.
But later, when those women realized the men they liked were all secretly infatuated with Bai Xiaotong, they not only distanced themselves from her but also started gossiping behind her back. Terms like “peacock” and “fox spirit” had spread from them.
In the past, Bai Xiaotong had cared deeply about such things. As an unmarried young woman, she couldn’t stand these baseless rumors and had even argued with people over them.
But now, it didn’t matter anymore. Let them talk if they wanted—it wasn’t like she’d lose a piece of flesh.
Bai Xiaotong had only been sitting for a short while when Du Yun rushed over, his face flushed.
“Have you been waiting long?” he asked, panting and visibly excited.
Bai Xiaotong replied, “Not at all. I just sat down.”
Du Yun stared at her with a silly, adoring grin, then hurriedly opened his lunchbox and scooped out the braised pork from his bowl.
“I got this especially for you. Have some.”
He was about to transfer it to Bai Xiaotong’s lunchbox when she quickly stopped him.
“You eat it. I’m trying to lose weight.”
It didn’t feel right to accept someone else’s food the first time they ate together.
Du Yun didn’t try to persuade her either, just whispered, “You’re not fat.”
At over 1.6 meters tall, she had curves where they should be and was slender where it mattered—just perfect.
Bai Xiaotong smiled and quietly continued eating.
Du Yun was also eating, but with every bite, he stole a glance at the factory beauty sitting across from him, his heart practically blooming with joy.
Not far away, Lu Ling poked at the food in his lunchbox, completely without appetite.
Beside him, Xu Biao glanced over toward Bai Xiaotong and Du Yun, then asked Lu Ling with some exasperation, “Bro, what’s really going on with you two? How come Factory Beauty Bai is sitting with that goofball?”