The female coworkers were all satisfied and excited, already planning to go home and make one for themselves.
People at this time were quite prone to following trends. There wasn’t much sense of “uniqueness”—if something looked good, they simply wanted the same thing.
Life at work became less boring for Lin Qianyi. After finishing her tasks, she would translate documents; when she got tired, she’d stop and chat with colleagues for a bit.
There was plenty of gossip in the factory, and sometimes Lin Qianyi found it quite entertaining—she was thoroughly enjoying the “melon-eating” (gossip) sessions.
Heh, although the biggest “melon” recently… was actually her own.
All in all, her daily life was quite comfortable.
“Seems like there’s going to be a new colleague today,” Wang Lan leaned over and whispered to Lin Qianyi.
This girl was very well-informed and loved to wander around different offices.
“In our office?” Lin Qianyi was reading documents.
“Yes, our office. I heard she has quite an impressive background,” Wang Lan said mysteriously.
The factory office department wasn’t short of staff, and getting a clerical position wasn’t easy.
They were still whispering when the office director led the new colleague in.
“Everyone quiet down. We have a new colleague today,” the director said, looking around.
“Hello everyone, my name is Lin Liping,” said a young woman.
Lin Qianyi looked up—and recognized her immediately. It was the girl from the street yesterday.
“She must come from a good family. Look at her clothes—those look like styles from Haicheng. We don’t have those here,” Wang Lan whispered again.
“You’ve got sharp eyes,” Lin Qianyi chuckled softly.
“Look at her expression though… kind of arrogant,” Wang Lan added.
The director arranged a desk for the new colleague not far from Lin Qianyi’s, slightly closer to the front.
Lin Liping also froze when she saw Lin Qianyi—she recognized her too.
Lin Qianyi met her gaze and smiled lightly. Lin Liping also smiled back, then sat down at her desk.
“You two know each other?” Wang Lan whispered.
“No. Just saw her on the street yesterday,” Lin Qianyi replied quietly.
“Ohh…” Wang Lan nodded and didn’t ask further.
Lin Qianyi stopped paying attention and focused on her translation work.
Now she had been given more complicated materials by Teacher Xu, but fortunately she could mostly handle them.
Teacher Xu even found her a reference book, which made her translation even smoother.
With a young and beautiful new colleague, the office became livelier.
Many people came to the factory office with small errands—mostly trivial matters—and most of them were young men.
The office staff exchanged knowing smiles; it had been like this when Lin Qianyi first arrived too.
If it weren’t for the incident with Ma Zhenqiang, the office would always have been this busy.
At noon, when it was time to get off work, Lin Qianyi slowly packed up her documents.
“I’ve got to hurry—there’s braised pork today. If I’m late, I won’t get any,” Wang Lan said, grabbing her lunch box and rushing off.
“Thanks for yesterday,” Lin Liping said, walking over.
“No need. Is your little brother okay now?” Lin Qianyi locked her drawer after putting away her documents.
“He’s fine. Are you going to the cafeteria? Let’s go together,” Lin Liping invited.
“No, I’m going home,” Lin Qianyi replied with a smile.
“Alright, I’ll head off then,” Lin Liping said, leaving as someone called her to go to the cafeteria.
Lin Qianyi went downstairs, got on her bicycle, and rode home slowly.
After lunch, some people strolled around, while others returned to the office to rest.
Wang Lan and Lin Liping both lived outside the machinery factory. Since the sun was too strong, they returned to the office at noon.
Lin Liping chatted with Wang Lan and subtly asked about Lin Qianyi.
Wang Lan was a straightforward girl—whatever she was asked, she answered.
When Lin Qianyi arrived in the afternoon, she saw the two of them chatting quite enthusiastically.
“Qianyi, I heard from Liping that you and your boyfriend rescued her younger brother on the street yesterday?” Wang Lan asked immediately.
“Oh, we just happened to run into it,” Lin Qianyi said as she sat down and opened her drawer.
“Your boyfriend came again yesterday?” Wang Lan asked curiously.
“It was his day off,” Lin Qianyi smiled, taking out her documents.
“He really cares about you,” Wang Lan said enviously.
“He’s alright,” Lin Qianyi replied calmly, not embarrassed at all.
“Qianyi, you really have great luck. Your boyfriend—honestly, not just in our county, even in the whole Lincheng area, you probably can’t find anyone better,” Wang Lan sighed.
Lin Liping said nothing, but she was clearly listening closely.
Lin Qianyi didn’t really want to continue the topic and smoothly changed the subject.
Wang Lan, seeing that she was about to work, didn’t disturb her further.
Lin Liping glanced at the documents on Lin Qianyi’s desk, her eyes filled with surprise.
But Lin Qianyi didn’t care what she was thinking—she simply focused on her translation work.
She was becoming more and more skilled, and her speed kept improving.
That evening after work, she went home and decided to reward herself with a good meal.
The staff kitchen’s aquarium had plenty of seafood. Lin Qianyi loved seafood, and since her own kitchen didn’t have an aquarium, she often asked the helper to stock seafood there for her.
She took two crabs and a plate of shrimp, planning to make spicy stir-fried shrimp and crab.
After cleaning them, she chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, and prepared side ingredients.
Soon, the kitchen was filled with a rich spicy aroma.
A big red-and-green plate looked extremely appetizing.
Wearing disposable gloves, she happily ate the spicy shrimp and crab, occasionally sipping an ice-cold drink—pure bliss.
After eating and drinking her fill, she took a relaxing bath in the spiritual spring water.
…
Lincheng Military District, a certain unit.
Zhao Xiangdong was waiting by the training ground for Meng Junchuan to finish training.
“You’re so free you even came to watch me?” Meng Junchuan said when he saw him.
“You seem to be in a pretty good mood,” Zhao Xiangdong replied.
From his relaxed tone and light steps, it was obvious to him—this guy was definitely in a good mood.
“I’m always in a good mood,” Meng Junchuan said, walking toward the cafeteria.
Zhao Xiangdong quickly followed. He was sure of it—on rest days, Meng Junchuan always rushed off early in the morning to the county town to see his girlfriend.
Ever since meeting that girl on the street, Meng Junchuan had completely changed.
The two entered the cafeteria, got their food, and sat down.
“Your family has no objections?” Zhao Xiangdong couldn’t help asking.
“Why would they have any objections?” Meng Junchuan asked in return.