Chapter 1363: Zhang Liyuan (Three)

"Yes, that's right," the director nodded. "But it's a shame for you, since you're too young to be considered a full employee, so you won't qualify for the Zhi Liang Xian Jin Mo Fan award. After some discussion, we've decided to give you a bonus this year—two hundred yuan. Consider it an encouragement, and we hope you'll keep up the good work next year, so we can sign a formal contract with you then."

"Ah...?" I could hardly believe my ears.

I had just been doing my job diligently every day... and now I was getting two hundred yuan?

That was half a month's salary for me!

The director took an envelope from the drawer, slid it across the table toward me.

I swallowed hard, reached out to take it, and opened it to see two crisp gray bills inside.

"Th-thank you, Director Fang," I said.

"You're welcome," the director replied, a smile returning to his face. "By the way, there's something else... I notice you're getting quite close to Zhang Mantun..."

"Ah?" I nearly dropped the money in my hand and quickly said, "No... no, I... I need to explain this..."

"Oh, come on!" The director chuckled. "What are you so afraid of? This isn't school; no one's going to police your love life."

"But... but I..."

"I'm just reminding you," the director said. "No matter if things work out between you two or not, you need to prioritize your work here at the factory."

I didn't quite understand what the director meant.

"If it works out, that's great—I'd even give you a wedding gift. But..." The director shook his head. "I've seen so many couples who start dating in the factory, only to break up and turn into enemies, arguing every time they meet, or even both quitting their jobs... I just think you're an excellent worker, and I don't want to see you go down that disappointing path."

...

I left Director Fang's office with the envelope in hand, but I still felt uneasy.

I had always focused on my work and didn't want to let him down.

What else could I do? All this time, I hadn't done anything, but Zhang Mantun kept coming to talk to me.

I knew we weren't enemies, so I just responded with "mm-hmm" or "okay" each time.

Was I supposed to stop responding now?

That would just make things even stranger... especially since nothing had ever happened between Zhang Mantun and me, yet I'd have to act like we were foes and not speak at all.

Zhang Mantun was driving me crazy, but I really didn't know what to do.

The only thing that comforted me was that non-existent "Zhi Liang Xian Jin Mo Fan" award.

It meant that all my efforts were being noticed by the leaders, and once I turned eighteen, I could become a permanent employee and get a raise.

Another month passed like that, and I noticed the atmosphere in the factory wasn't as cheerful as before.

I gradually realized that the other young women were starting to show hostility toward me.

They'd make snide remarks during conversations, and if I seemed upset, they'd claim it was just a joke.

If I pretended not to hear, their words would get even harsher.

It took me a while to figure out that this wasn't because of anything I'd done—it was because of Zhang Mantun.

His enthusiasm and kindness were slowly turning me into an enemy to many of the young women.

But carefree Zhang Mantun never cared about any of that. He just came to my workstation every day to tell me about his recent work troubles.

"Tiantian, why do you never talk to me?" Zhang Mantun asked.

"I... I'm just not very talkative."

"No wonder I love chatting with you," Zhang Mantun said with a laugh. "I'm the opposite—I'm super chatty."

" Mm-hmm."

He chatted on and off about the difficulties of assembling gears, and occasionally mentioned his family. He said his mom wanted to arrange a match for him, but he didn't like any of the young women she suggested.

When he got to that point, he paused and asked me, "Tiantian, do you have a guy you like?"

I paused what I was doing and looked up at him: "... No."

"Oh..." He nodded, as if he wanted to say something more, but swallowed his words.

We fell into an awkward silence. In the end, he made up an excuse and left in a hurry, but the next day, he acted like nothing had happened and came back to talk to me.

That faint hostility from all sides lingered, and my uneasy feeling wouldn't go away.

But I never could have imagined that the disaster that would shatter my life wouldn't come from Zhang Mantun or those young women.

It would come from a complete stranger.

That day, I was at my workstation, head down, assembling a copper bell. I was just about to secure the clapper to the bell when I felt someone yank my shoulder.

Even though I'd grown distant from the other women on the line, they rarely pulled on me while we were working—it could cause mistakes in someone's task, so hardly anyone did it.

The force pulled me so hard that the copper bell fell onto the conveyor belt. I quickly reached out to pick it up before it went to the next stage—otherwise, it would count as a defective product and lower my quality rate.

Once I had the copper bell back, I turned around, a bit angrily, to look at whoever had grabbed me.

It was a woman in her forties, with dyed blonde hair. She was quite overweight, caked in heavy makeup, and wearing a black tight-fitting outfit that made her flesh bulge in layers.

Behind her stood several menacing-looking men.

Before I could even ask what was going on, she gritted her teeth and swung her arm, slapping me hard across the face.

Smack!

The blow left me stunned, and I almost fell onto the assembly line.

The other young women had already noticed this aggressive group. When they saw me get hit, chaos erupted.

Amid the noise, someone shouted, "Tiantian's been hit!"

Several of the young women who usually mocked me jumped up, a few even stepping in front of me. They looked scared but stammered, "Who are you people?! How dare you just hit someone?"

"Get lost!!" the overweight woman roared.

Her yell seemed like a command, as the men behind her rushed forward, shoving the women aside and grabbing hold of me.

The young women sensed that things were getting serious. In the panic, I heard someone say, "Quick, go get Zhang Mantun and the guys!"

I was completely dazed. All I remember is a flurry of slaps raining down on my face, filling my mouth with the taste of blood.

Two men held my arms tight, so I couldn't move. I just closed my eyes and tried to dodge, but no matter where I turned, the slaps kept landing.

In the midst of the chaos, I don't know where I found the strength, but I kicked out and hit the woman in the stomach, nearly knocking her over.

I thought that might stop her assault, but instead, it only enraged her more.

"How dare you fight back?!"

What followed was even more frenzied beating—not just from her, but from the men around her too. I had no idea why this was happening... What on earth had I done to deserve such treatment?

Soon, a large group from the factory's security department arrived, and Zhang Mantun came running with a bunch of guys from the assembly line. They seemed ready for a fight, each carrying iron pipes.

"What the hell is going on?!" Zhang Mantun shouted, waving his pipe to force back the people in front of him and shielding me. "What's all this about?!"

The security team quickly moved in, yelling as they restrained two of the men. The scene turned into total pandemonium, as if the entire factory had shown up.

Everyone stood together, on high alert, facing off against just this overweight woman and her four men.