Chapter 52

What he just heard made Zhou Mu firmly believe that Ye Manzhi was lying to him.

How could her partner be Wu Zhengrong?

Wu Zhengrong is the army's full-power representative at Factory 656. From major matters such as the formulation and modification of technical data and the acceptance of finished products to minor matters such as the factory's cleanliness and financial costs, almost all are under the supervision of the military representative office.

Although he is young, Wu Zhengrong is the factory leader!

And what about the branches full of leaves?

He was a high school student half a year ago, and now he is just a small street cadre.

These two people are from completely different worlds and have no intersection in life or work!

"You should be more careful when you get angry with me. Uncle Wu is the military representative stationed at the factory. You can't play this kind of joke on him!"

Ye Manzhi was speechless: "We broke off our engagement eight hundred years ago. We have nothing to do with each other now. Who would be angry with you?"

If she hadn't been inconvenienced by wearing ice skates, she would have really wanted to stay away from this guy.

Lin Qingmei testified on her behalf, "Laiya's current partner is truly Captain Wu. Zhou Mu, I find you incredibly boring right now! You said you wanted to reconcile with Laiya, but you disappeared for months without a word. You said you'd let Laiya go, and suddenly you pop up again to get tangled up."

She subconsciously glanced at the figure skates on Ye Manzhi's feet. Captain Wu had already made great strides and was about to achieve success.

You are still being fickle!

If you really can't let go, why didn't you do it earlier?

Zhou Mu frowned and looked at Ye Manzhi. "I went to my sister's place a while ago, but I wrote to you every month. How can you say there's been no news from you?"

The cancellation of his qualification to study in the Soviet Union was a huge blow to him.

He felt that his future was uncertain and he was ashamed. Living in a military industrial compound, it seemed like there were always people talking about him and laughing at him behind his back.

He wanted to leave this environment temporarily, so he went to his elder sister's place to relax and set the goal of taking the college entrance examination next year.

As for Ye Manzhi, he really didn't think that much about it.

Ye's parents are not in a hurry to let her get married. She is still so young. How could she talk about marriage with someone else right after breaking off the engagement with him?

Seeing his dumbfounded expression, Ye Manzhi felt quite happy.

She had never received a letter from Zhou Mu, and even if she had, it would not change anything.

She is a vengeful person. She will remember for the rest of her life that Zhou Mu helped outsiders to forge her medical examination report. There is no way they can get back together.

Ye Manzhi felt that it was pointless to argue with him about this. She wanted to seize the time to learn how to skate and then dominate the ice rink!

She waved her hand casually and said, "There's no need for me to lie to you about this. You can go back to the factory and ask around and find out. Believe it or not."

Then he thought he was being cool, but in fact he was staggering as he slid away with Qingmei.

Ye Manzhi and Lin Qingmei were in the same group. They had often teamed up to play tricks on him. Zhou Mu was skeptical about what they said, so he ran home to ask his parents about the situation.

Zhou Zhenye didn't intend to hide this from his son. He nodded and said, "Wu Zhengrong is indeed dating that girl from the Ye family."

Zhou Mu was mentally prepared, but after hearing the affirmative answer, his mind was still buzzing.

He raised his voice and asked, "How could Ye Manzhi be dating Wu Zhengrong? They can't possibly know each other."

"How is it impossible? Wu Zhengrong had reached marriageable age, and the Party organization wanted to introduce him to a partner, and the matchmaker just happened to have chosen Ye Manzhi. They met through the organization's introduction!"

Zhou Mu said in disbelief, "With so many women in the factory, why did the Party organization introduce Ye Manzhi to Wu Zhengrong?"

"She comes from a working-class family. Her father and brother both worked in the factory. She has a clear historical background, a high school education, and is good-looking. It was normal for the Party organization to introduce her to Wu Zhengrong."

"Since she's qualified enough to go on a blind date with Wu Zhengrong," Zhou Mu glared angrily, "why did you and my mom pick on her in the first place and ruin our childhood engagement?"

Zhou Zhenye coldly warned, "Ye Manzhi broke off her engagement with you. It wasn't us who ruined it. It was you who said the wrong thing and exposed your true intentions. Besides, she's suitable for Wu Zhengrong, but not necessarily for you."

He didn't specifically inquire about Wu Zhengrong's family background. He only heard that his father also worked in the army and his grandfather was the president of the Provincial University of Technology.

A family like the Wu family is just right for finding a daughter-in-law like Ye Manzhi, who comes from a humble background but has a good background and some culture.

The Zhou family started to prosper from his generation. He was able to be promoted to the position of deputy director of Factory 656 thanks to his own hard work.

He has no parents to look after him, no brothers or children to support him, and he has been fighting alone until now. Only he knows the hardships he has gone through.

When it came to Zhou Mu's turn, his situation was similar to what he had been in before. Not to mention his brothers, even his cousins ​​were not able to help him.

Zhou Zhenye had suffered losses in this regard, so naturally he didn't want his son to make the same mistake again.

If he had the support of the capable Yue family and the help of his biological father, Zhou Mu's future achievements would not be worse than his.

But the Ye family, an ordinary working-class family, not only cannot help their son, but also hinders him from time to time.

Ye Manzhi is no longer suitable for their family.

Zhou Zhenye did not regret asking his son to break off the engagement with the Ye family, but his method at the time was indeed a bit rough, which created an unnecessary rift between him and Wu Zhengrong.

Being in his position, he knows that more friends mean more paths, while more enemies mean more walls.

In order to take Ye Manzhi's feelings into consideration, Wu Zhengrong could no longer have a close relationship with him, let alone cooperate with him.

Zhou Zhenye had a far-reaching plan for his son, but Zhou Mu did not appreciate it. He just felt a lump in his heart, so suffocating that he was about to explode.

"Did you guys already know that Ye Manzhi and Wu Zhengrong were together, so you tricked me into going to Anshan?"

Liu Yun scolded, "How can you be so ignorant, child? Your father and I are doing this for your own good! Just settle down and get into a good university, get a good job, and then you can marry any good girl you want. Ye Manzhi is marrying a military representative, and you can marry someone of higher status. Isn't that better than the two of you getting together?"

Zhou Mu's eyes turned red with anger, and he blurted out, "Then why don't you two get divorced? You marry the mayor, and let my dad marry the daughter of a provincial leader. That's better than you two staying together!"

"I think you've read so much that you've lost yourself!" Zhou Zhenye slapped his son in the face. "You were the one who agreed to break off the engagement. What's the point of blaming your parents now? If you have the ability, snatch her back from Wu Zhengrong. I'll give you a chance and won't stop you! If you don't have that ability, just shut up and listen! Your parents won't harm you!"

My son has had a smooth life since he was a child and has not experienced any setbacks.

You are about to enter society, but you are still like a child who has not grown up, often acting silly!

Zhou Mu covered his face and looked at his father in disbelief.

He was already shocked and angry about Ye Manzhi finding a partner, and his father's slap made him even more sad and upset.

He ran back to the room angrily and slammed the door shut.

"Old Zhou, why are you hitting the child?" Although Liu Yun was angry, she also felt sorry for her son.

"I think he deserves a beating! If he wants to go crazy, go out and do it. What's the point of being a bully at home?"

Zhou Mu listened to his parents' words. He lay in bed and thought about what happened between him and Ye Manzhi all night long.

They grew up together as childhood sweethearts, so how did they end up like this?

When he first broke off the engagement, he didn't feel anything real. They were always arguing, and breaking up and getting back together was like a daily occurrence.

It was not until today when he heard that Ye Manzhi had found another partner, and that partner was Wu Zhengrong, that he suddenly realized that Ye Manzhi seemed to no longer belong to him.

She would not marry him, nor would she have children with him.

Zhou Mu felt sad and his eyes became sore. He buried his face in the pillow for a long time.

He felt that those two people were not suitable at all!

Wu Zhengrong is so much older than her, so they definitely don’t even have any common topics. Perhaps they were only brought together by the organization.

Zhou Mu was lost in thought all night.

The next morning, when his parents went out to work, he also dressed neatly and walked out of the house.

The factory leaders' residences are all in the small courtyard of bungalows at the east gate. Although Courtyard No. 16 where Wu Zhengrong lives is not on the same row as the Zhou family, he will pass by the back window of the Zhou family when he goes out to work.

Zhou Mu was waiting at the intersection behind the window, ready to talk to Wu Zhengrong.

He saw the communicator Wu Zhengrong hurried into Yard 16, and soon came out with Wu Zhengrong.

Wu Zhengrong seemed to be in a hurry to go out, with his military coat open. While listening to the signalman's report, he tied a black scarf around his neck.

Due to the difference in status and knowledge, Zhou Mu has always been in awe of Uncle Wu.

Although he was prepared to talk to the other party, he couldn't find a suitable name to call the other party.

Just as he was hesitating, Wu Zhengrong had already walked to the intersection where he was.

Then, as if he didn't even see this living person, he didn't even glance at him and just walked past him!

Zhou Mu: “…”

Was he being ignored by the other party?

Qin Xiang tilted his head slightly to glance behind him and reminded his team leader: "The one just now seemed to be Deputy Director Zhou's son."

Wu Zhengrong casually said "hmm" and then asked, "Are there any female comrades in the working group?"

"I heard that Lieutenant Colonel Zhang Qinglin, the propaganda officer in the Political Department, and Lieutenant Colonel Li Xiaoqin, the engineer in the Vehicle Department, are female. The rest of the team members are male."

"Then make separate arrangements for these two women, and try to get them into better housing."

Qin Xiang nodded to indicate that he had taken note of it.

As the end of the year approaches, the superior leaders will take a working group to the grassroots level to inspect and guide the work, and the military representative office of Factory 656 also welcomed a large working group.

He was just about to report on the working group situation he had learned yesterday when he suddenly heard someone behind him calling "Captain Wu".

The footsteps were approaching quickly, and Zhou Mu soon arrived beside the two of them.

"Captain Wu!"

"Xiao Zhou, don't you have to go to school today?"

Wu Zhengrong stopped and smiled gently, as if he was not the one who deliberately ignored the other person just now.

Zhou Mu used to be concerned about his studies and didn't think much of it. But now that he knew about his relationship with Ye Manzhi, he felt that the other party was deliberately mocking him and reminding him that he was still a student who had not yet entered society.

His eyes flashed with anger, and he asked in a rather unkind tone, "Captain Wu, can I talk to you?"

When Wu Zhengrong heard him call him Captain Wu, he knew that this guy must have come to his senses.

His attitude was still as friendly as before. He smiled and asked, "Xiao Zhou, in what capacity do you intend to talk to me?"

"I'll talk to you as Zhou Mu."

Wu Zhengrong was half a head taller than him, and when he lowered his eyes to look at people, he always gave people the illusion of being superior.

"Xiao Zhou, you only have two identities in my eyes. One is the son of Deputy Director Zhou, and the other is the person Ye Manzhi broke off the engagement with."

Zhou Mu: “…”

Didn't he even deserve his own name?

Wu Zhengrong didn't mind causing psychological harm to the young man. After all, Ye Manzhi was also young and had been hurt by the person in front of him.

"If you're speaking to me as Deputy Director Zhou's son, I don't think we have much to discuss. Regarding work-related issues, I will discuss them with your father in person. If you're standing before me as someone Ye Manzhi wants to break off an engagement with, then that's even more unnecessary. Regarding Ye Manzhi's affairs, I can discuss them with her privately."

What I mean is that no matter what identity you appear in, you are not qualified to talk to me.

Qin Xiang looked at the deputy director's son, whose face flushed red, and his suddenly clenched fists. If this kid got angry and started fighting with his own team leader, would he stand by and watch, or would he stand by and watch?