Chapter 36 Eating You is worse than Eating Meals

Secretary You couldn't help but twitch his lips when he saw Zhao Jianjun lying with his eyes open.

In that bright office, the young female comrade sitting at the last row of desks was clearly Lin Xiang, a new employee recruited into the factory this year. However, Zhao Jianjun seemed to be blind and could even say directly that she was not there.

After being a secretary for a long time, You Wei also became a slick person. He immediately said with a smile: "Director Zhao, you are joking. Several leaders are really waiting for Comrade Lin Xiang. This is an important meeting called by the factory leaders. We really need to go quickly."

Seeing Zhao Jianjun's unhappy expression, You Wei added without authorization: "Director Zhao, please take Comrade Lin Xiang with you. The factory director is very concerned about the soda orders for our second factory."

Anyway, no one would care whether there is one more Zhao Jianjun or one less Zhao Jianjun. You Wei is used to understanding the leader's mind, so it is estimated that adding one more person without permission at this time will not cause any trouble.

Sure enough, Zhao Jianjun felt relieved and his expression softened when he heard that he was also going to go. After all, it was the director of the shrimp sauce workshop who kept him out that day.

But he was still worried. Before leaving, he looked at Secretary You and said, "Will Factory One come here to steal our people? Xiao Lin is from Factory Two!"

Youwei: "..."

No wonder everyone looks down on Factory 2. Look how low-class their words are. I don't know where Factory 2 gets its confidence and courage from. Why would Factory 1 go to Factory 2 to steal people?

Lin Xiang went from Factory 2 to Factory 1 together with Director Zhao and Secretary You. During the trip, Lin Xiang understood why he was notified to attend the leadership meeting. It was simply because the soda from Factory 2 had changed its packaging and suddenly became famous, so the leaders finally sent their regards to Factory 2.

But I don’t know if this trip will be the Hongmen Banquet.

The leadership team of the first factory is similar to that of other state-owned factories. The factory director Huang Qiushan and the secretary Tang Qiankun are both retired soldiers and are very powerful. However, Secretary Tang was on a business trip recently and did not appear at this meeting. Under Director Huang, Deputy Director Yang Denghuai and the heads of various departments were all present.

"Director, Director Zhao and Comrade Lin Xiang from the Second Factory have arrived."

After Secretary You knocked on the door, he brought in the boss of the second factory, Zhao Jianjun, and a young female comrade. The eight leaders at the conference table then all turned their eyes to Lin Xiang.

Zhao Jianjun was a seasoned man. Directors from other departments of the factory would inevitably be a little nervous when attending such a meeting, but he was not nervous at all. Instead, he glanced at Qin Yangbo, the director of the shrimp sauce workshop, on his left and said cheerfully, "Director Qin, I haven't seen you for a few days."

Director Qin rolled his eyes at him and raised his eyelids, not wanting to bother with those useless people from Factory 2 who were just eating and waiting to die.

The canned shrimp sauce production workshop he led has always been the backbone of the 119 Food Factory. It has supported the entire factory. Even the other workshops in Factory 1 have never caught his eye, not to mention those in Factory 2.

Last time, an emergency meeting was held to deal with the overwhelming demand for Shiwei brand canned shrimp sauce. He was already full of anger, and when he ran into those guys from Factory 2 at the door of the conference room, he found a place to vent his anger. He gave Zhao Jianjun a good beating and prevented him from entering the conference room.

At this moment, Zhao Jianjun came in openly and took the lead in showing off to him. Qin Yangbo became even more angry, and his square face seemed to turn from black to red.

"Come on, Xiaolin, sit down quickly." Zhao Jianjun was not restrained. After showing off to Qin Yangbo, he happily invited Lin Xiang to sit down, as if he was back home.

Lin Xiang was worried that the atmosphere in the factory's meeting room was too serious. All the leaders had stern faces, as if everyone owed them a million or eight hundred thousand. Fortunately, Director Zhao was there!

She sat at the end of the conference table, opposite Director Zhao. Looking at Director Zhao's head, which had lost a lot of hair, she felt friendly.

Director Huang was already used to Zhao Jianjun's behavior. To be more precise, everyone was used to the way Factory 2 behaved. He didn't care at the moment and just stared at the young female comrade who came in and said, "Comrade Lin Xiang, were you recruited this year?"

Lin Xiang answered the factory manager calmly, nodded gently, and said, "Yes, factory manager, I was recruited in August this year."

Director Huang nodded, looking at the report in front of him about the purchase orders from major department stores and several provincial and municipal government units last month, and said in a deep voice: "You are still a new employee. I heard that it was you who advocated changing the packaging of 119 soda this time. Just adding one sentence actually greatly increased sales, and even brought in a lot of orders this month. You are young, but your mind is very active. Tell me what you think about it."

The factory director spoke, and Lin Xiang did not hold back. After all, this was a simple strategy of leveraging the power of others: "Factory director, the reason for changing the packaging this time is because we have all heard that the Shiwei shrimp sauce canned food is very popular and has occupied a place in major department stores and government agencies. Our second factory is also worried. After all, the first and second factories are closely related and are the common entity of the 119 Food Factory. It's just that our factory can't do anything about the shrimp sauce canned food. The production line in our hands is soda. I thought of using the Shiwei shrimp sauce canned food to boost the sales of our soda. No matter how well they sell, it will help our soda to get a good reputation for free."

Factory Director Huang's eyes lit up slightly, and he was curious: "Why did you want to add that sentence?"

Lin Xiang said: "A while ago, I bought a can of Shiwei shrimp sauce to try, thinking that I should know myself and my enemy. But after a few more bites, I felt dry in the mouth. The taste is indeed good, but the salty taste is too strong. If you eat too much, you will want to drink water. This is when our soda comes in handy. It's a simple sentence, but anyone who sees the can of shrimp sauce will think of our soda, so the connection is made."

Factory Director Huang laughed twice, with admiration in his eyes: "This young comrade has a good brain. Look at us, we have been racking our brains all day long to figure out how to compete with the shrimp sauce cans from Shiwei, but he took a different approach and actually won a great comeback!"

After hearing the factory director's final decision on the matter, the other leaders in the conference room nodded in agreement. Only the shrimp sauce workshop manager still had a gloomy face.

Director Zhao spoke up at the right time, not forgetting to flatter Lin Xiang: "Director, Xiao Lin did a good job this time. He increased the orders for the second factory's soda. You should at least give him a generous bonus."

"Of course. The factory has always been clear about merits and demerits." Especially since the factory had been suffering a series of setbacks from the Shiwei Food Factory recently, and now it has finally turned the tables on the opponent, Director Huang was somewhat relieved.

He looked at the young comrade and felt that sending him to Factory 2 was a waste of talent. He recalled the basic information about Lin Xiang that he had asked his secretary to report earlier, and asked in confusion, "Comrade Xiao Lin only has a high school diploma, how come he was assigned to Factory 2?"

This is true. Most of the people recruited in the factory are military dependents, and most of them come from rural areas. Many of them have never been to school and can barely read. It is also common for some of them to have only attended school for one or two years and can barely recognize words. A high school graduate from the city like Lin Xiang is definitely highly educated. Logically, with such education, he should be able to join a factory.

This question really hit the nail on the head. Lin Xiang immediately thought of the series of events that happened after He Fen changed her registration form. However, the matter was over and she had no intention of bringing it up again. However, Zhao Jianjun immediately became alert.

What do you mean? The factory director really wants to snatch people away, right?

He snorted angrily: "Director, wasn't it your factory office that altered Comrade Lin Xiang's recruitment application form? The whole factory was notified of this and criticized it."

The factory director was a forgetful person and had long forgotten anything related to an ordinary employee. But after Zhao Jianjun's reminder, he finally remembered it.

He slammed his palm on the desk and said angrily, "Who in the factory office altered the registration form? It's really outrageous!"

Secretary You comforted the factory director, saying, "Director, there will be follow-up to the outcome of the incident. Comrade Lin Xiang will return to Factory 1 to take over in October after another factory office official is transferred and leaves."

The time is short. In just over a month, Lin Xiang will return to Factory 1.

Zhao Jianjun said excitedly: "Director, it is not appropriate to steal people. Comrade Lin Xiang is from our second factory. Anyway, don't think about stealing her in the next two or three months."

Factory Director Huang was about to say that it would be a waste of talent for such a young and promising comrade to continue staying in Factory 2, and that he should be transferred back to Factory 1 immediately, but he was shut up by Zhao Jianjun's shameless words.

Before he could speak, Zhao Jianjun said, "By the way, Director, Xiaolin bought the canned food for research in the factory. The factory should reimburse him for the money."

After all, Director Zhao even winked at Lin Xiang, as if to show that the boss was looking for benefits for her, which made Lin Xiang unable to hold back her laughter, and she tried hard to suppress the curve of her lip corners.

Factory Director & Leaders: "..."

You are amazing. You are still thinking about this money.

——

Outside the conference room of Factory 1, the factory office in the same office building was also bustling.

There are no secrets these days. The news that Lin Xiang and Director Zhao were invited by Secretary You to attend an important meeting that only the leadership team of Factory 1 could attend spread throughout the factory in no time.

Several people in the factory office were discussing: "Did you hear? Our shrimp paste and other canned seafood products in Factory 1 are not selling well, but the soda in Factory 2 is selling like hot cakes!"

"I know. My sister-in-law is in the sales department. I heard that it was Lin Xiang from the second factory who changed the packaging of the soda. Don't you think it's weird? She just added a sentence on it and didn't change anything else. Suddenly, the product became a hot seller."

"Could it be that the wages at our factory one have been reduced this month, while those at factory two have been increased? In the past, the wages at our factory one have always been much higher than those at factory two."

"What do you think Lin Xiang was called to do? She is so capable, did the factory director ask her to come back to the first factory?"

Many people discussed the gossip. After all, this matter was related to the factory's performance and was linked to everyone's salary and bonus. Especially since Lin Xiangben was already famous in the factory, although she was in Factory 2, her legend was everywhere in Factory 1.

When mentioning Lin Xiang, everyone can't help but take a look at He Fen.

Bai Juying smiled at He Fen and said, "I think Lin Xiang will be back soon. We don't have to wait until October when Sister Sun leaves."

Shen Chunli, who was writing a promotional article, put down her pen and glanced at He Fen: "So, even if someone tries to do something bad, it's useless. Comrade Lin Xiang can see the director of the second factory and even have meetings with him."

There were quite a few people in the factory office who were there to watch the excitement, but now that they knew Lin Xiang was quite capable, they naturally stood against He Fen and slandered her.

He Fen shuddered, feeling uneasy. Why was Lin Xiang still able to see the factory manager? Would she not complain? But it had been a while since her incident, so there shouldn't be any...

Just as everyone in the factory office was enjoying the feast, there was a sudden noise outside. The factory director's secretary You Wei strode into the factory office, found the factory director Tian Guiju, and called He Fen into the office.

Not long after, big news came out of the factory office - He Fen was demoted!

The workers on the night shift were having dinner in the cafeteria, and all they talked about was Lin Xiang, the new employee at Factory 2. Everyone knew that she had added a sentence to the soda packaging at Factory 2, which made the soda there sell like hot cakes. Such a skill was amazing.

As she was originally supposed to be a factory employee, many people became indignant. In addition, the factory was in need of people at that time. The factory director directly imposed additional punishment today and demoted He Fen from the factory office to a female worker in the workshop, which caused a lot of discussion.

Working in a factory office is a popular job. Who doesn't want to work in an office? It's decent and comfortable, with good benefits and high salary.

Now He Fen was suddenly demoted to a female worker in the workshop. It is said that her face turned pale when she heard the news, and she luckily did not collapse.

There have been too many things going on in the factory recently, and there have been constant discussions. When Lin Xiang and Director Zhao came out of the conference room, they attracted a lot of attention from the people in Factory 1. Everyone looked at the two people from Factory 2 curiously, especially Lin Xiang. They wanted to stick their eyes on her.

The sales volume of the second factory's soda has increased dramatically, and the orders have skyrocketed. How can we seek justice for this?

Director Zhao didn't care about the gossip outside, he just boasted: "Xiao Lin, Big Brother is thinking about you, you can go to the factory office finance department later to collect the reimbursement money for buying the food flavor canned food."

Lin Xiang herself had never thought that this could be reimbursed. She had not expected Director Zhao to be so bold as to ask for reimbursement directly in front of several leaders.

Of course, it's a good thing to get a few more cents back. She smiled and said, "Okay, thank you Director Zhao, I'll go get it now."

Director Zhao nodded contentedly: "Well, this time our Second Factory is proud of this. I'll give you credit for this achievement!"

Not only that, Lin Xiang had just rejected the factory director's suggestion to let him participate in the shrimp sauce workshop. When the factory director mentioned this, Director Zhao felt a pang of anxiety no matter how reluctant he was.

After all, everyone thinks that Factory 1 is better than Factory 2. Who would refuse to go back to Factory 1 or to the Wangpai shrimp sauce workshop?

But Lin Xiang refused.

Great, what a good employee of Factory 2!

Director Zhao left first, while Lin Xiang went to the factory's finance department to collect reimbursement. After all, the factory director had promised to do so, so it would be a waste not to take the money.

At that time, she asked someone to buy three bottles of canned seafood from the Shiwei Food Factory, which cost her 60 cents in total. At that time, she thought it was a study of the opponent, and it was a big investment. She didn't expect to get it back now.

Director Zhao is still awesome!

Putting a few bills in his pocket, Lin Xiang walked out of the Finance Department's office but ran into people from the factory office next door who came outside to watch the excitement. The most eye-catching among them was He Fen, who was packing her things to move out of the office.

She was demoted to an ordinary first-class female worker. This blow made her look dazed, her face pale, and her eyes dull. Only when she met Lin Xiang at this moment, her eyes suddenly brightened up.

Lin Xiang didn't want to have anything to do with this person, so she nodded to everyone and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, someone shouted in surprise from behind: "Lin Xiang!"

He Fen was demoted. It was an order issued by the factory director himself, and there was no room for change. But she was full of resentment and stared at Lin Xiang, the person she believed to be the culprit, with resentment, and rushed over quickly.

"How far did you want to go to harm me? It's been so long since the incident happened, and I've accepted the punishment. Now you're taking the opportunity to complain to the factory manager! You've caused me to be demoted, and now I have nothing left. Are you trying to kill me?"

He Fen screamed at the top of her lungs, shocking her colleagues who were either watching the show or trying to comfort her.

The group usually gossiped to kill time, but they didn't expect her to be so impulsive. They immediately stepped forward to stop her: "He Fen, what are you doing? There are so many people coming and going at this time, please don't make trouble."

He Fen pushed away her colleague and pointed at Lin Xiang, angrily scolding, "What did I do wrong? It's obvious that she won't let me go and wants to kill me!"

Because He Fen was shouting loudly, many employees gathered around to watch. Lin Xiang looked at this man who had done something wrong and refused to repent, and for a moment she wanted to laugh.

As she thought about this, she actually chuckled, which made He Fen even more furious. She complained, "Lin Xiang, what are you laughing at? It's a joke. I'm now an ordinary first-class female worker, right?"

Lin Xiang chuckled again, with a calm attitude: "Comrade He Fen, I am laughing at you. I am laughing at your ability. It is obvious that you did something wrong. You deliberately tampered with my application form and assigned me from Factory 1 to Factory 2. You even think that I want to harm you. I am laughing at you for wanting to set a trap to harm me after you have been punished and criticized by the factory. I am also laughing at you for being punished by the factory director now. But you only dare to pick on me. If you are not satisfied with this result, why don't you pick on the factory manager? If you had used the energy you had in entangled me elsewhere, perhaps it wouldn't have ended like this. From the beginning to the end, you have been targeting me. You can't afford to offend others, and you just think I'm easy to bully. Even now, you only dare to point at me and scold me. Comrade He Fen, isn't this ridiculous?"

Lin Xiang's voice was clear and crisp, and she remained calm even when arguing with others, neither arrogant nor impatient. The onlookers agreed with her. He Fen's face turned blue and white, as if she had been slapped several times by Lin Xiang's words.

She was dissatisfied in her heart. The punishment at that time had already ended, so why was she demoted now?

But does she dare to question the factory director?

He Fen knew the answer in her heart.

Lin Xiang ignored this stubborn person and left with the reimbursement money she received. It was ridiculous that He Fen still resented her until today.

Today, Lin Xiang wasted a lot of time at the meeting in Factory 1. When she returned to Factory 2, the workers in the factory had not left for the first time. They surrounded Director Zhao and were concerned about two things: one was that with more orders, would the salary and bonus increase? This was a good thing; the other was that with more orders and higher workload, would they not be able to leave work early? This was so frustrating.

Look how honest the employees at Factory 2 are. It is clear on their faces that they want to slack off and get high wages.

After hearing these few words, Lin Xiang couldn't help but marvel at them. They were really not pretending at all. Isn't this the dream of every working person?

Director Zhao was speechless for a moment. He waved his hand to encourage everyone: "Now that our soda is selling well, everyone's salary and bonus will definitely increase! As for leaving work, I have to think of a way to leave work earlier."

Everyone discussed the issue at once, but in the end no one blamed themselves. They thought it was the equipment that was faulty. Why couldn't the equipment produce itself so that no one would have to worry about it?

Lin Xiang: High, it’s really too high!

The spiritual world of the employees in Factory 2 is truly ahead of this era. They are determined not to look for their own problems, and everything is the outside world's problem.

After a short delay, everyone left at the normal working time, leaving today's work behind and waiting until tomorrow to deal with everything.

Lin Xiang also quickly packed up her cloth bag, locked the office door, and left for the day after get off work.

The soda order tasks have increased sharply, and they should be assigned in the next few days. Then everyone will be busy. In fact, if we want to improve efficiency, we should really start with the equipment. The current soda equipment in the second factory is really too backward.

After returning to Zhou's house and having dinner, Lin Xiang, whose reputation had spread far and wide, also received a lot of attention in the family compound. The military families didn't understand what packaging or publicity was, but they knew that Xiao Lin was quite capable. She gathered people around her and praised her vigorously. If they didn't know that she already had a partner, especially that the partner was the famous Captain He, every family would want to make Lin Xiang their own.

"What a pity! When I first met Xiaolin, I felt like we got along really well. I even wanted to introduce my brother to Xiaolin at that time."

"Of course not. I also want to be a matchmaker for Xiaolin. It would be a great match for us to be close relatives!"

"It's only because Captain He acted quickly, otherwise Xiao Lin is so pretty and smart, we would have to snatch her away..." A military wife was shouting loudly, and suddenly she felt a gust of cold wind behind her neck. She turned sideways and saw, who else could it be but Captain He!

"Captain He and Xiao Lin are a perfect match. They look like a perfect couple!" The military wife immediately changed her tone and forced a smile at the tall and straight Captain He. "Captain He, come and see the match!"

Lin Xiang looked in the direction of the voice and saw that He Hongyuan, who had gone out to sea on a mission, had really returned!

Last time, the two of them almost had a shrimp sauce-flavored first kiss, but fortunately Lin Xiang was clear-headed and stopped it in time. She was still wondering when she would have a sweet kiss, but the man was sent out to sea to carry out a mission, and he was gone for ten days.

During these ten days, Lin Xiang was busy monitoring the sales of the soda after the packaging was changed, and she did not have much time to think about He Hongyuan. Now seeing his tall and straight figure, her heart was overwhelmed with longing for him.

The military wives left one after another, waving their palm-leaf fans. Lin Xiang ran towards He Hongyuan with a smile on her face. When she was one meter away from him, she stopped and looked at him with her little face slightly raised: "Why did you come back so late? I missed you~"

The evening breeze blew, ruffling Lin Xiang's beautiful hair and touching her charming eyes. After completing his mission, He Hongyuan returned to the regiment to make a work report, and then strode to the family compound.

But Lin Xiang's eyes were straightforward, and her words were even more straightforward. He Hongyuan's throat rolled, and he looked Lin Xiang up and down: "You haven't been bullied, have you?"

Lin Xiang smiled: "Why are you looking at me like that? Who would bully me?"

"I heard about your incident today on the way back. You are now famous in the factory." He Hongyuan was relieved after confirming that Lin Xiang was fine. "Did the director of the food factory ask you to attend a meeting? Also, did He Fen cause trouble for you?"

Lin Xiang was happy that Hongyuan had just finished his mission and had already found out everything. She smiled nonchalantly and said, "Yes, I met the leader of the factory. You have to be very careful when meeting with the leader. It's like living with a tiger."

The sun was setting in the west, leaping over the sea, and the sky was dark. In the dim family courtyard, Lin Xiang and He Hongyuan were strolling casually. Facing her partner, she said whatever she wanted, and He Hongyuan whispered to her, "That's outrageous. Be careful if your leaders hear you say that."

Lin Xiang snorted and said playfully, "If our leader hears it, it must be you who told the secret. Then I will hold you responsible!"

When had He Hongyuan ever heard someone talk to him like this? His thin lips curved slightly and he chuckled helplessly, "You are quite capable."

Speaking of He Fen, He Hongyuan, who rarely interfered with the affairs of female comrades, immediately said: "I will talk to Li Jun. If he can't even manage his own wife, how can he be the head of the regiment?"

When Lin Xiang heard this, she thought about something else: "What do you mean, do you want to control me too?"

Men of this era are generally patriarchal, and Lin Xiang is mentally prepared.

He Hongyuan raised his eyebrows slightly: "I am your man, of course I have to take care of you."

Even though Lin Xiang was prepared, she still got angry: "Listen to what you are saying? We are talking about the object. Are you managing the object or the soldiers under your command? I don't want you to manage it."

He Hongyuan actually had a vague sense that Lin Xiang was different. She was lively and active, and always had different words and ideas, just like now.

"I am your man and I have to take care of you. You are my partner, so of course you have to take care of me too." He Hongyuan said solemnly, his eyes firm as if he was taking an oath in the army. "Who else do you want to be in charge of? Or who else do you want to be in charge of?"

The more Lin Xiang listened, the more she felt something was wrong. She couldn't tell whether this man was making chauvinistic remarks or saying sweet words, which always made her feel itchy.

After walking for a while, He Hongyuan heard Lin Xiang talking about the meeting. When he heard that the factory manager asked Lin Xiang to finish the work at Factory 2 early and go back to Factory 1 directly, he asked curiously, "You don't want to go back to Factory 1 earlier? Did you just reject the factory manager?"

Lin Xiang nodded lightly: "I can't interfere with the shrimp sauce workshop. The factory manager asked me to go to the shrimp sauce workshop to help find a solution. You don't know that the shrimp sauce workshop manager is very angry. He is arrogant and looks down on newcomers like me. If I really go there, I will be asking for trouble. Besides, I have seen clearly that the scale of a factory is huge and complicated. In fact, There are many factions in the department, and it's a headache to deal with all these things. I'll stay in Factory 2 for now, it's quieter, and I've told the factory manager that if Factory 1 needs me, I can help with planning. And the sales of our soda in Factory 2 have also increased, and we've received a lot more orders. Just wait, my salary and bonus will definitely increase this month, and I'll treat you to a delicious meal then!"

As the night deepened, Lin Xiang's almond-shaped eyes sparkled like the brightest star. He Hongyuan curled his lips and whispered, "Okay."

Lin Xiang was curious: "Don't you think I'm stupid? I wouldn't go to any factory if I had the chance."

Many people thought so and thought Lin Xiang was confused. This was the factory director who ordered her to go to the factory, but she refused.

He Hongyuan said calmly: "Since you don't want to go now, then don't go. Do whatever makes you happy."

Lin Xiang felt relieved to hear these words, and her beautiful almond-shaped eyes became even brighter, as if all the stars in the sky were dotted in them.

After talking about work, Lin Xiang asked about He Hongyuan's trip to the sea. When she asked about He Hongyuan's whereabouts after he came back today, she was surprised to find that he had not eaten dinner yet.

I looked at my watch and it was already eight o'clock in the evening.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Lin Xiang glared at him angrily.

He Hongyuan didn't care at all. Besides, he really didn't feel hungry. After reporting on his work, he heard someone mention what happened in the food factory today. It was about Lin Xiang. He just wanted to see her as soon as possible and had no time to eat.

"I'm not hungry. Besides, the conditions were much more difficult before, so it's normal to have a full meal and a hungry meal."

Lin Xiang couldn't stand this man, so she took him by the hand and went to Zhou's house, and went straight to the kitchen to make him food: "Man is made of iron, and rice is made of steel. If you don't eat a meal, you will be very hungry. Don't you understand? Even if you are made of iron, you can't ruin your body like this."

At this time, the Zhou family had already gone back to their rooms to rest. Some of them also knew that He Hongyuan had returned. The two young men were wandering outside, and no one wanted to disturb them.

The second floor was quiet and dark, with only the dim light bulb in the kitchen on.

The red flames licked the iron pot, white steam was billowing on the stove, and Lin Xiang was cooking noodles for He Hongyuan.

The Zhou family's kitchen was fairly spacious, but after He Hongyuan came in, Lin Xiang felt it was a lot more crowded. Perhaps it was because this man had too much presence, or perhaps his eyes were too scorching. It was quite disturbing to see such a tall man leaning against the stove, just looking at her.

"You go out and wait." Lin Xiang was stirring the noodles that had just come out of the pot with bamboo chopsticks.

"I'll wait here." He Hongyuan said in a hoarse voice.

The dim light fell from the light bulb, shrouding Lin Xiang's body, dancing on the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, and gently brushing the corners of her sleeves and clothes.

He Hongyuan just watched her silently, busying himself with boiling water, cooking noodles and vegetables, and preparing seasonings... His two shiny black braids swayed slightly and playfully with her movements.

Lin Xiang's shadow was projected onto the wall under the light. He Hongyuan turned sideways and saw that it was intersecting with his own shadow on the wall, as if they had merged into one.

His bony fingers gently pulled at the light cord by the door and he whispered, "I didn't eat anything tonight."

Lin Xiang was staring at the noodles in the pot, ready to wait two minutes before adding some noodles to He Hongyuan's plate. Upon hearing this, she said without even turning her head: "I know, so I cooked a lot of noodles for you. I'll make sure you're full!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the thin light cord was pulled with a clicking sound, and the light bulb went out, and the kitchen was plunged into darkness.

In the darkness, Lin Xiang turned around abruptly and muttered, "Is the light bulb broken? I haven't even picked up my noodles yet."

The answer to her was the sound of a man's steady and powerful footsteps.

He Hongyuan walked to the stove, his dim eyes fixed on Lin Xiang's figure in the darkness, and he raised his hand to touch her cheek.

As if half coaxing, he said in a hoarse voice: "I said I didn't eat anything tonight."

Lin Xiang did not understand the meaning of He Hongyuan's words until she felt a warm touch on her lips, and the soft thin lips pressed tightly against hers, gently sucking on her cherry lips...

She suddenly remembered what she said when she pushed He Hongyuan away more than ten days ago!

In the darkness, one cannot see, but the sense of touch and hearing are infinitely magnified. Lin Xiang feels the heat and eagerness on the man's lips, and his dense kisses make her heart tingle. She hears the subtle entanglement of their lips and the gurgling sound of hot water bubbling in the iron pot behind her. The sound complements each other and is strangely harmonious.

Heat crept up her cheeks, and Lin Xiang's groggy mind finally came to her senses. She gently pushed the man with both hands: "Mian...you haven't eaten yet...um...yet."

He Hongyuan picked up a few scattered words and broke them into pieces.

The man's voice was dark, as if it had been rubbed by gravel, and he spoke with passion: "I don't want to eat that anymore."