Chapter 3: A Counterattack

No matter how handsome he was, Chen Yun could only make a few comments at most, and after watching, he would naturally continue to return to his dormitory.

He turned and took two steps, his right hand unconsciously touching his deflated handbag. On a whim, he turned back.

"What would you like to buy, comrade?"

Upon seeing someone enter the store, the middle-aged woman with short hair immediately greeted them with a broad smile, clearly in a very cheerful mood.

"I want to buy..." Chen Yun pretended to be shy and turned her face slightly to the side, whispering a few words to her older sister.

The older sister nodded and led Chen Yun to a counter on the side with a smile.

Behind them, Gao Ming's gaze seemingly unintentionally followed Chen Yun to the counter, finally landing on the cloth shoes with a hole in them.

"Captain Gao, what are your thoughts on what I mentioned last time?"

A hoarse voice brought Gao Ming back to reality, and he shook his head apologetically: "I'm busy with work and don't want to be in a relationship right now."

"That's precisely why I should get married early, since I'm so busy with work. Wouldn't it be great to have a wife who cares about my health? Besides, my niece is so beautiful..."

Sister Chen seemed oblivious to the refusal in Gao Ming's words, and continued to promote her niece, prompting the others in the know to roll their eyes.

Sister Chen's niece is quite pretty, but everyone in the factory knows that she's notoriously cunning, lazy, greedy, and sly. Getting involved with her would be a huge misfortune.

"Don't introduce your niece to Captain Gao, that would be a disaster!" the righteous woman with pigtails said sarcastically.

When Sister Chen saw that the person speaking was Cai Fang, the wife of the head of the security department, she didn't want to argue with her, so she said a few words and left the store with her things.

The transport team just returned from the city tonight; they all asked Gao Ming to bring things back.

Cai Fang was straightforward and had long disliked Sister Chen. She couldn't resist taking the opportunity to make sarcastic remarks.

Seeing that the person had left in embarrassment, he changed his sharp tone and spoke with a smile: "I know you have a lot of ideas, if you have any girls you like, tell your brother Zheng, and I'll put in a good word for you."

"I'll definitely have to trouble you, sister-in-law, then."

"Looks like you've got someone you like!"

"No, really. If I did, I would have troubled you, sister-in-law, right away." Gao Ming scratched the back of his head and smiled憨厚ly.

"There are many people in our factory, so you should be careful about your words and actions, and don't let people gossip."

Gao Ming nodded earnestly at Cai Fang's advice.

Although factories are much more relaxed than cities, there's always the possibility of people who take things too seriously and are secretly watching you, so you really have to be careful.

What are you saying?

The short-haired woman who had been selling things returned to the group. Chen Yun was nowhere to be seen in the store. Gao Ming subconsciously looked towards the door.

"What is that woman buying so late at night? And why is she being so secretive?" Cai Fang asked.

"These are things we women use," the short-haired woman laughed.

Cai Fang immediately understood, and then said with some doubt, "Eh?": "Is that woman Dr. Chen from our health center?"

Cai Fang had a deep impression of Chen Yun, which was why she didn't recognize him at first glance.

In my memory, that girl was so timid that even a slight breeze could scare her half to death. She's completely different from today, walking in so confidently to buy toilet paper.

"Dr. Chen, it doesn't look like it to me!"

Cai Fang wasn't the only one who felt the same way; even the short-haired woman who had greeted Chen Yun earlier was surprised.

However, it was only mentioned briefly, since there wasn't much gossip about this girl who didn't have much of a presence.

"Look at the quality of this piece of fabric that Captain Gao brought back."

"It's really nice. Next time I'll save up my cloth coupons and buy a piece to make a dress."

Amidst the lively chatter, Gao Ming's gaze drifted almost imperceptibly toward the doorway.

Chen Yun...

I silently memorized the name.

Chen Yun, who was downstairs in the dormitory, had no time to think about the handsome guy she had just seen. She was surrounded by a group of people as soon as she got downstairs.

"Hello Comrade Chen Yun, we are comrades from the Party branch. Tonight we received a report that there are books spreading reactionary content in your dormitory."

"Please cooperate with our investigation."

"How dare they engage in capitalist lifestyle in the factory! Today we must uproot this poisonous weed."

A middle-aged man wearing glasses and a red armband on his right arm rushed up and gave Chen Yun a lecture.

Before Chen Yun could speak, he waved his armband, and two women with long braids rushed up, grabbed Chen Yun, and headed upstairs.

"To prevent you from being framed, no one has entered the dormitory since you left. We still need to be based on evidence when we do things."

The talkative middle-aged man called himself a Party branch member, but in reality, he was just a supervisor sent by the Revolutionary Committee above.

Fortunately, this person was reasonable, so he didn't immediately label Chen Yun; otherwise, he would have taken her to his office for interrogation by now.

"Director Zhang," Chen Yun said, her voice trembling with tears, "I haven't spread any reactionary ideas, much less promoted capitalist lifestyles. Please, you must uphold justice for me!"

Zhang Zongyi bent his index finger and pushed up his glasses: "Of course our Revolutionary Committee will not slander any good comrade. As long as you haven't done anything wrong, what are you afraid of!"

Chen Yun felt relieved, but muttered under her breath, "Even if you don't tell me, I know who reported me. They're just jealous because I have a higher salary..."

Zhang Zongyi took every word of these seemingly muttered monologues to heart.

Two female comrades, both wearing armbands, stood in front of the dormitory. After Zhang Zongyi nodded, they pushed open the door.

On either side of the door, Zhou Xinfang and Cao Qin stared in horror until Zhang Zongyi waved for them to go in as well. Only then did they stagger inside as if waking from a dream.

On the other side of the door, Yang Haiping's barely suppressed smile froze the moment she saw Chen Yun.

Chen Yun smiled languidly, but her eyes were cold and devoid of any warmth.

His gaze swept casually across Yang Haiping's face, then suddenly changed again, and she was pushed into the room, looking utterly aggrieved.

"Comrade Yang, where are the reactionary books you reported?"

Zhang Zongyi turned around and pointed out the person who made the report in front of everyone, which caused Yang Haiping's face to instantly lose all color and turn deathly pale.

You have to understand that there are countless eyes watching now. Yang Haiping's act of secretly reporting others makes most people hate and fear her. Even if she had successfully reported someone, probably no one in this dormitory building would dare to associate with her anymore.

Didn't you see that Zhou Xinfang's face also turned ugly after hearing Zhang Zongyi's words, and he glared fiercely at the right after entering the room?

Yang Haiping knew that there was no way out now; her only option was to apply for a single dormitory room after successfully reporting the issue.

Once she made up her mind, she gritted her teeth and took the initiative to climb into Chen Yun's bed.

"Those book covers are fake; inside are romance novels, or novels that promote capitalist life."

With the red-covered book in her hands, Yang Haiping finally felt relieved and happily handed it to Zhang Zongyi without even looking at it.

Zhang Zongyi turned the pages with a grim face, his expression growing even more somber as he turned from one page to another.

"This is what you call reactionary books! It's utter nonsense!"

It's full of quotes from great figures. If this were considered a reactionary book, then the entire nation would be subjected to criticism and struggle sessions.

Zhang Zongyi was filled with anger but dared not smash the book in his hand. Instead, he gently placed the book on the desk and opened the remaining books.

"Yang Haiping".

Zhang Zongyi laughed in anger. If looks could kill, Yang Haiping would have been dead countless times by now.

The purpose of making such a big fuss to make an example of someone is to send a wake-up call to other young employees, showing them that some sneaky behaviors will have serious consequences if caught.

Now... isn't it just making everyone hate the Revolutionary Committee even more?

"How could that be? It's clearly a romance novel; I've read quite a few..."

Eager to prove her claims true, Yang Haiping not only personally opened those books, but also inadvertently mentioned that she had read them herself.

What else could a book with annotations made in pen under the cover be but a collection of poems?

Yang Haiping was so shocked that her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. It seemed that only now did she remember Chen Yun's smile. She covered her mouth and backed away repeatedly, saying, "You...you...you knew all along."

"I didn't want to say anything because we were roommates, but Yang Haiping actually tried to kill me, so why should I show any consideration..."

Tears streamed down Chen Yun's face without her noticing. Her voice was hoarse, and she looked trembling with fear.

"I want to report... report Yang Haiping for speculation and profiteering. She has many industrial bonds in her drawer."

"..."

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart!" Yang Haiping screamed and lunged at Chen Yun, grabbing his arm.

The more agitated she became, the more believable Chen Yun's words seemed.

Zhang Zongyi coughed lightly twice.

Someone immediately rushed to Yang Haiping's side, pulled her away, and in the process, found a bunch of keys on her waistband.

Yang Haiping screamed hoarsely, twisting her body desperately to prevent the key from being taken away.

Because once the drawer is opened, she knows very well that not only will she be in trouble, but her boyfriend will also be punished.

Chen Yun calmly straightened her collar, and as for her hair, which Yang Haiping had messed up, she seemed to be tidying it up, but in reality, she only made it more messy.

Yang Haiping's boyfriend, Zhang Neng, works in a transportation team. Because he frequently travels to the city, he often uses his position to collect industrial coupons from the city and resell them to factory workers.

All the collected coupons are kept with Yang Haiping. If anyone wants them, Zhang Neng can come to Yang Haiping to get them.

If you were to ask Chen Yun how she knew such a secret, it's because she was so low-key that she didn't even notice while the two were chatting.

Swish—

The drawer was pulled open with such force that it slipped from his hand, and a pile of industrial tickets flew out and scattered all over the floor.

It's safe!

Chen Yun thought to herself.

It wasn't just a sure thing; Zhang Zongyi's face immediately turned into a kaleidoscope of colors.

The industrial tickets here are of all kinds, and their combined value is more than enough to convict someone of speculation and profiteering, not to mention there are other things in the drawer.

Chen Yun never expected that Yang Haiping would be so bold.

The drawer not only contained industrial coupons, but also two stacks of... stamps.