When Yingqi saw Zheng Jiujiu again, the school had already started organizing internships. Students like them, majoring in electromechanical engineering, would spend a whole year in the factory.
At that time, he and Han Dong were sweating profusely in the sweltering factory on the second floor, debugging a milling machine."Come look! The chairman's Maybach!"
someone shouted first. When Yingqi looked up, a crowd had already swarmed to the window.
"A Maybach!" Han Dong threw a wrench on the control panel and ran over with the crowd. By the time Yingqi slowly reached the window, the huge car had already stopped in front of the office building across the street. A middle-aged man dressed in a charcoal gray tracksuit, looking anything but formal, was getting out of the car. Following him was a girl about Yingqi's age. At first, Yingqi only felt that the girl's back looked somewhat familiar, but didn't think much of it. Half an hour later, when the chairman and his daughter came to visit the newly assigned employees in the factory, Yingqi suddenly realized that the girl standing obediently beside her chairman father, with her chin slightly raised, was none other than Zheng Jiujiu.
The intense summer sunlight streamed in through the window, leaving no place to hide.
At that moment, two thoughts clashed fiercely in Yingqi's mind, covered in oil stains: either find a crack in the ground to crawl into, or smear himself with more machine oil to completely blacken himself.
He subconsciously hid behind Han Dong, only to hear Han Dong squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth: "Don't hide, I saw you a long time ago."
Yes, Zheng Jiujiu, standing beside her father, had already seen the self-conscious Yingqi.
She was wearing a tennis outfit, which made her figure even more beautiful and superior.
It seemed that the leader was just casually visiting the factory to see the new employees; perhaps, as soon as he left the factory, he would head to some high-end tennis club with his daughter.
Yingqi's gaze drifted down, gradually settling on the ground, fixed on his greasy work shoes. Suddenly, time seemed to slow.
He heard the chairman exchanging pleasantries with the others, heard the team leader's flattering words, and a cold smile crept across his lips.
Then, he actually heard the chairman call his name: "Gu Yingqi, which one is Gu Yingqi?"
He couldn't believe his ears. He thought, Zheng Jiujiu must have spoken ill of him to her father, and the chairman was eager to clean house. Oh well, he didn't want to stay in this place for another second.
"Go quickly, the chairman is calling you."
After being shoved by Han Dong, Yingqi reluctantly took a few steps forward and stood before Zheng Jiujiu and her father. That day, Yingqi had projected a fearless demeanor; that way, at least he could retain some dignity—"to die a worthy death."
But to everyone's surprise, Zheng's father actually patted him on the shoulder with unusual courtesy.
You see, Yingqi's work clothes were covered in machine oil, but he didn't seem bothered at all. His gaze wasn't that of someone looking at a disobedient "troublemaker," but rather full of encouragement.
"Work hard!"
After saying that, Mr. Zheng turned around abruptly and quickly walked out of the factory, which had become deathly silent because of his actions.
Yingqi clearly remembered that Zheng Jiujiu, at the end of the corridor, turned back and glanced in his direction, her gaze full of confusion. Clearly, she also couldn't understand why her father had treated Yingqi that way.
It was probably at that moment that Yingqi decided to leave Mr. Zheng's factory. He was certain that Grandpa Zheng had spoken to his son on his behalf to receive this "thorn in his side" of special treatment. What frustrated him most was that the Zheng family seemed to be everywhere in his life, especially Zheng Jiujiu.
The machines, now fully debugged, roared to life. Standing by the window, Ying Qi watched the taillights of the Maybach disappear outside the factory gates. She gave a wry smile, nudging Han Dong, who was intently focused on the control screen, with her foot. "I'm applying to switch internship factories."
Hearing this, Han Dong stretched, as if he'd expected it, showing no surprise, only a slight nod.
Then, as if remembering something, he advised, "Don't you think President Zheng values you quite a bit? I think it'd be a shame to leave now."
From childhood, besides his grandmother, Han Dong was arguably the person who understood Ying Qi best. But he didn't understand how embarrassed and utterly worthless Ying Qi felt when she stood dirty before Zheng Jiujiu.
Before Yingqi could answer, Han Dong punched him on the shoulder and laughed heartily, "Whatever decision you make, I'll support you. I might as well apply with you; the chairman doesn't think much of me anyway."
In fact, Yingqi and Han Dong's transfer application was quite unusual. In less than two months, these two "clumsy" individuals had broken three machine tools, producing a large batch of substandard products. They expected the workshop director to be furious, report the matter to the chairman, and fire them both. However, the expected "verdict" was delayed; instead, they received a transfer order, transferring the two interns, still not graduated, to the most relaxed yet best-paid department within the group: Human Resources.
Han Dong concluded that he had benefited from Yingqi's influence.
He once confidently told Gu Yingqi, "A guy like Zheng Beicheng, who has connections everywhere, must know about our relationship. To curry favor with you, he'll definitely do me a favor too."
A series of changes left Gu Yingqi, who had been used to being looked down upon since childhood, completely bewildered. If it was just because of Grandpa Zheng's words, then Zheng Beicheng was being far too filial, wasn't he?
Thinking this, he couldn't help but look at himself in the mirror, dressed in a white shirt and tie. He heard Han Dong, who was meticulously tying his tie beside him, half-jokingly say, "Maybe one day Zheng Beichen will take the wrong medicine and give you the position of CEO of the group. At that time, you and Zheng Jiujiu will truly be from the same world."
He added, "Take some time to visit the cemetery and see if there's any smoke rising from your father's grave."
Yingqi glared at Han Dong fiercely, and Han Dong quickly slapped himself a few times, saying, "I forgot, I forgot, I shouldn't have mentioned your father."
Her father's death was a wound that Yingqi could never touch. If it weren't for that heavy rain eighteen years ago, their family would probably still be living happily together, right?
Perhaps this was why Gu Yingqi had always hated rainy days since she was a child.
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