Chapter 6

The thought of gender brought back memories of Sun Chengze's face, as well as those of the entire conference room, filled with either mockery or disdain. She lost her appetite and put down her fruit plate.

"Mao'er..." Tang Ruxin leaned back into the soft sofa cushions, looked at the ceiling and said, "Have you heard of Liu Dong? He's from the operations team."

Tang Ruxin's name for Tong Jiayu was not fixed. When she was in a good mood, she called her Mao'er, and when she was in an average mood, she called her Mao'er. When she called out the three words "Tong Jiayu" together with her full name, Tong Jiayu's brain would immediately start working at high speed and start recalling what she had done wrong.

"I have some impression of him. Is he from the third operation and maintenance team? He came to our plant to repair the electric control valve, and I issued him a maintenance ticket." Tong Jiayu didn't look up.

Donghe Refining and Chemical has established a unified operation and maintenance team, which also operates in a four-shift, two-day work mode, responsible for repairing three major types of equipment and facilities: motorized equipment, electrical appliances, and instruments for all devices in the entire plant area.

Tang Ruxin hadn't expected Tong Jiayu to have heard of this name. Firstly, she might not be on the same shift as Liu Dong. Even if she did, the operation and maintenance team would only be notified if there was something on the device that needed repair. Even if the operation and maintenance team was notified, the person who came might not be Liu Dong.

The probability that Tong Jiayu knew Liu Dong was actually very small, after all, she had only been in the class for two years. Tang Ruxin suddenly perked up when she realized that she knew Liu Dong.

"Don't wash it. Come, I want to ask you something."

Tong Jiayu responded, turned off the faucet, wiped the water off her hands, took off her apron, turned off the kitchen light, and then sat down next to Tang Ruxin.

"What's your impression of Liu Dong?" Tang Ruxin asked. Seeing Tong Jiayu's puzzled expression, she added, "Do you think he's mentally abnormal, or speaks strangely?"

Tong Jiayu was even more confused, and her curiosity suddenly arose. "Why, is he mentally ill?"

"Don't interrupt." Tang Ruxin was in no mood to satisfy her curiosity.

"I've only met him once. During my internship, I went on-site and saw him repair a centrifugal pump that wasn't receiving power. After becoming a regular employee, I've only issued him a few maintenance tickets. The repair tickets were given directly to the external operators, who then went on-site to assist with the repairs. We in-house operators rarely met with the operations and maintenance staff."

So this is the procedure and division of labor. Tang Ruxin is not very familiar with the details of this work.

"What class were you in yesterday?" Tang Ruxin suddenly asked.

Tong Jiayu was quiet for a moment, and a look of grievance gradually appeared on her face.

"You can't even remember what shift I'm on. Where's your conscience? It's all because of you that I have to live this life of reversed day and night, and now you've even forgotten the days I worked the night shift. That motherly love you always talk about has gone to waste!"

Tang Ruxin was shocked, not because she was suddenly acting like a drama queen, but because Tong Jiayu was actually at work when Liu Dong died. She must have known about Liu Dong's death before her, but she hadn't mentioned a word until now. She even thought she hadn't heard about it.

"You know Liu Dong died on your device, right?" Tang Ruxin asked uncertainly, a strange feeling flashing through her mind. It disappeared too quickly for her to grasp.

"How could I not know this? I almost couldn't get off work. I was interrogated by the company, the emergency department, and the police all morning, and only got home in the afternoon." Tong Jiayu looked tired. It was too painful not to be able to go home and sleep after the night shift. "After this happened, you will definitely come back as soon as possible. I cleaned the house, changed the sheets, and bought groceries and prepared meals this afternoon. I just finished before you came in, and I haven't slept yet."

Tang Ruxin understood that when Tong Jiayu had the chance to contact her, she had already known about this matter, so she didn't mention it to her, but just hurriedly made preparations for her to go home on her business trip.

Her heart suddenly warmed. Tang Ruxin pinched Tong Jiayu's round face and said, "No wonder you have such dark circles under your eyes. You haven't slept for almost two days. Okay, take a rest first. We'll talk tomorrow."

Before dawn the next day, Tang Ruxin was awakened by the vibration of her cell phone.

The screen displayed an unknown caller ID. After she hung up, she checked the time: 6:23. Tang Ruxin sat up, dropped her phone, and went to the bathroom. When she came out, she found her phone vibrating relentlessly.

Still an unknown caller.

"Who is this?" Tang Ruxin answered the phone.

"Go downstairs."

When those two words fell into her ears, Tang Ruxin was completely awake. She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but before she could think of the words, the phone was hung up.

The curtains were not drawn tightly, and faint sunlight shone through the gaps. A slanted gray-white ray reflected into Tang Ruxin's complex eyes, brightening her pupils, which were as dark as an ancient well, with a subtle brightness.

A black Mercedes was parked outside the courtyard gate, with the back window open and wisps of smoke drifting out from time to time.

Tang Ruxin opened the car door and got into the back seat. Almost the moment the door closed, the car started and drove towards the exit of the community.

In the bedroom on the second floor, Tong Jiayu, wearing white pajamas, stood in front of the window, her cold gaze following the car until it could no longer be seen.

She closed the curtains and sat down on the bed.

In the darkness, she opened the bedside table and took out a bottle of medicine. She poured out two pills and put them in her mouth. Without drinking any water, she slowly chewed and swallowed them.

At the same time, Tang Ruxin was eating eggs and drinking soy milk.

"Eat slowly and wipe your mouth."

The man was nearly seventy years old. There were a few age spots on the hand that handed Tang Ruxin the tissue, but it was still obvious that it was a well-maintained hand, without rough barbs or cracked skin.

"When did you return to China? Why didn't you tell me so I could pick you up?" Tang Ruxin swallowed the bun hard and took the tissue to wipe the corners of her mouth.

"Just arrived. I'm going to die if I ask you to pick me up at the airport?" Tang Jiulin said unhappily, "How many cars of mine have you crashed into? Haven't you counted them?"

Tang Ruxin glanced at the driver's seat and said nothing. It would be rude to dwell on this issue any further. Tang Jiulin clearly didn't want to tell the truth. There were such things as taxis in this world. Why was she so crazy that she had to drive to the airport herself? The airport was so far away.

"Azhe, stop at the coffee shop ahead."

Hearing Tang Jiulin say this, Tang Ruxin immediately put the uneaten buns back into the lunch box, wiped her hands, and followed Tang Jiulin out of the car.

Yu Zhe locked the car door and followed the two into the 24-hour coffee shop.

Tang Ruxin pretended not to see him and sat down away from the window, holding Tang Jiulin's arm. Although not many people had seen Tang Jiulin, it was better to avoid his sight just in case. Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen this time when the chickens were still asleep to come to her.

"I heard that this wasn't an accident?" Tang Jiulin went straight to the point and ordered a small Black Forest cake for himself.

Tang Ruxin looked at the cake and frowned into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

"Dad, are you cured of diabetes?"

"No." Tang Jiulin answered readily, lowered his head and took a big bite, as if he didn't see her condemning look.

Tang Ruxin was no longer polite and grabbed the piece of cake with both hands and put the whole thing into her mouth.

"Go on, I'll eat as much as you order. If you can, stuff me to death." Tang Ruxin spoke with her cheeks puffed out, and her mouth was covered with cream.

Tang Jiulin smiled, his eyes full of helplessness.

"See? She's the only one who dares." He pointed at Tang Ruxin and turned to Zhe.

"Ruxin is filial." Yu Zhe smiled lightly, his tone full of tenderness that he would never see in the company.

Tang Ruxin took out a tissue from the table and wiped her mouth. Using the tissue as a cover, she swallowed the swear words and the cake that were on the tip of her tongue.

This bitch pretends to be a decent person in front of her dad. Yu Zhe is certain that she is not the type to complain, so he is very good at saying one thing in front of her and another behind her back. It would be a waste of talent if she doesn't become an actress.

"It's not up to me to decide whether it was an accident or not. I can only say that there is such a possibility." Tang Ruxin got back to the point.

"Is there any way to turn this possibility into certainty?" Tang Jiulin asked straight to the point.

Tang Ruxin thought of Yu Menshen's face full of firewalls, she hesitated and didn't dare to respond.

"You should know that this is the first fatal accident in the 23 years since Donghe Refining was established. No matter how much you talk about sharing the responsibility, you will not be able to keep your position as Safety Director, and even the door of Donghe Refining may be closed." Tang Jiulin's tone was grim, and his fingers tapped lightly on the table. The kindness and gentleness he had just shown seemed to have disappeared like an illusion.

Tang Ruxin subconsciously glanced at Yu Zhe, knowing that he had repeated to Tang Jiulin word for word what she had said in the conference room.

Yu Zhe's eyes are on his nose and his nose is on his heart, as if the coffee in front of him would grow legs and run away if he didn't keep an eye on it.

"Whether the company can obtain the J oil production qualification depends on the next six months. I can handle the raw materials and I can also open up sales channels, but the qualification review relies on you two. At this critical moment, I don't want you two to be fighting each other."

Tang Jiulin's knife-like gaze shot from Tang Ruxin to Yu Zhe.

This was too insightful, and Yu Zhe could no longer remain deaf and dumb. "Dad, don't worry. I will fully support Ruxin's work."

"Oh, I raised you, too. Why are you pretending to be my grandson?" Tang Jiulin sneered, leaving him no room for perfunctory talk. He spoke frankly, "I don't care how much you oppose Ruxin being the safety director. As long as she's in this position, your interests are aligned. If you don't even have this overall perspective, you don't have any business being the general manager."

Yu Zhe smiled, still looking calm, as if he had anticipated Tang Jiulin's words.

"I understand, Dad. Ruxin and I do have some disagreements on the details of the work, but the general direction is correct. Don't worry."

That was true. Yu Zhe had made many small mistakes, but he had never made any mistakes in the major development of the company. And all of this was probably done with Tang Jiulin's tacit approval, otherwise Yu Zhe would not have had the courage to do it.

Tang Ruxin blinked and said to Tang Jiulin with a smile:

"Dad, Yu Zhe is just worried about my lack of experience, not against your decision. In the past few years, the company has developed rapidly under his leadership, and I have learned a lot. His management ability and decision-making power are obvious to everyone in the company. You can rest assured with him around."

The three words "decision-making ability" almost made Yu Zhe lose his smile, and cracks appeared on his calm expression.

Tang Ruxin hit the snake in the weakest part, and with a few words, he put him on the grill, roasting him until he was sizzling. Tang Jiulin had originally only worried about the two of them not being on the same page, but now he had to worry about something else - Yu Zhe seizing power and usurping the throne.

In the coffee shop at dawn, there was only one person sitting in this inconspicuous corner. Their silence for a moment filled the whole room with silence.

"Alas, I'm old," Tang Jiulin sighed. "I've been away from here for a few years, and you guys are more connected. Run what needs to be done, take care of what needs to be done, and finalize the nature of this matter. Don't let it hinder the company's development."

Who's the one who's doing this? Yu Menshen, Tang Ruxin felt like it was a no-go.

"Okay. Dad, I'll do my best." Yu Zhe readily followed suit and took advantage of Tang Jiulin's softening attitude to express his sincerity.

Tang Jiulin responded tiredly, then turned to look at Tang Ruxin and asked:

"Can you do that, Ruxin?"