Chapter 6
The old factory building at No. 36 Binhe Road, like a steel behemoth forgotten by time, crouched silently on the muddy riverbank. The air was thick with the pungent smell of rust, stale motor oil, and damp river mud. The massive steel structure cast a crisscross of shadows in the afternoon sun, and the interior was so empty that the echo of footsteps could be heard.
Xia Wan wore dark gray overalls, a matching hardwearing jacket, and dusty work boots. She stood beneath the massive overhead crane tracks in the center of the factory building, gazing up at the crisscrossing steel beams overhead. Her slightly slanted almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly, her sharp gaze like a probe, scanning each inch of the steel skeleton bearing the weight of time. Her figure appeared exceptionally thin in the empty factory, yet she exuded an undeniable air of professionalism.
The urgent commission from the law firm and the report signed by "Jiang Yu" weighed like a heavy stone on her heart. But at this moment, standing on this challenging site, her instinct as a building appraiser overwhelmed all her chaotic emotions. She opened the heavy tool box, took out the total station, and began to set up the base station.
"Engineer Xia, this way!" Xia Wan's assigned partner was a young technician named Xiao Zhao. He arrived first and waved from a distance, pointing to a joint where a column and a main beam meet. "The other party's report previously said that the stress here exceeds the standard and poses a safety hazard, but look at this weld..."
Xia Wan walked over quickly and squatted. Her movements were quick and decisive, without a trace of hesitation. She donned cut-resistant gloves and brushed away the thick dust and cobwebs that had accumulated at the joints, revealing the thick H-shaped steel beams and the steel plates welded to them. She pulled out a powerful flashlight, carefully scanning the beam over each weld. She then slowly moved the ultrasonic flaw detector's probe over the weld area, the cold instrument ticking rhythmically. Xiao Zhao watched with bated breath.
"The weld surface has slight rust, but internal testing shows it's continuous and flawless." Xia Wan's voice was remarkably clear and calm in the empty factory. "The stress concentration points noted in the original report..." She stood up and looked up at the complex load-bearing structure above the steel beam, her brows furrowed slightly. "We need to re-model and recalculate, combining the actual displacement measurements on site."
At this moment, a steady and clear sound of footsteps approached from afar, breaking the silence in the factory. The footsteps were neither fast nor slow, with a sense of control, and they made a slight muffled sound on the dusty concrete floor.
Xia Wan's back instantly straightened. Her knuckles, gripping the flaw detector, were turning slightly white from the strain. She didn't turn around, but every sense in her body seemed drawn by invisible threads to the source of the sound. Her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably, pounding against her chest with a familiar, suffocating throbbing.
The footsteps stopped a few steps behind her.
A crisp scent, with hints of fir and tobacco, mixed with the rusty smell of the scene, forcefully invaded her nostrils. It was a scent that belonged only to him.
The air seemed to freeze.
Xia Wan turned around slowly and with great difficulty.
Jiang Yu just stood there.
He wore a well-tailored dark gray cashmere coat, a perfectly pressed white shirt beneath, the collar meticulously finished. His figure stood tall and straight, like the silent steel pillars behind him. He had clearly just come in from outside, and the cool air still carried with him. His gaze, deep and calm, like a bottomless pool, pierced the empty space and landed precisely on her face.
There was no surprise in her eyes, no wavering emotion of reunion after a long separation, not even a hint of embarrassment. There was only a cold, scrutinizing sharpness, as if she were just another piece of equipment in this factory that needed to be evaluated.
"Xia Gong." His voice was low and pleasant, but without any warmth, like a cold rock washed by river water. "It's very efficient. Have you started retesting?"
He called her "Xia Gong".
This title, so common in the forensic construction appraisal industry, uttered from his mouth like a sharp knife, precisely slicing through the professional shell Xia Wan tried to maintain, revealing the bloody embarrassment still hidden within. She forced herself to meet his gaze, suppressing the dryness in her throat and the surging emotions. Her jawline tensed as she nodded, her voice deliberately maintaining the steady tone required for work:
"Mr. Jiang. I've been entrusted by the client to review the appraisal conclusion of your company half a year ago. I just arrived at the site." She deliberately emphasized the word "review".
The corners of Jiang Yu's mouth seemed to twitch upward ever so slightly, forming an almost invisible, playful arc. He took long, unhurried steps toward her and Xiao Zhao. His pace was unhurried, each one carrying an invisible pressure.
"I understand." He stood a few steps away from her, his eyes sweeping over the flaw detector in her hand and the node she had just checked, his tone flat, "Professional review is a normal procedure. What are your preliminary findings?" He seemed to be asking an ordinary partner, businesslike.
Xia Wan's fingertips dug into her palm, the pain keeping her composure. "I have no comment until the test results come in. The opposing lawyers have raised clear questions about the model and boundary conditions used in the original report to calculate node stresses, as well as the basis for determining the extent of corrosion in some rebar. We need more detailed on-site measurement data to re-model and recalculate." She spoke quickly and clearly, her gaze fixed firmly on the building, studiously avoiding his eyes that seemed to see through everything.
Jiang Yu looked up in the direction she pointed, his profile hard and cold. He was silent for a few seconds, as if thinking. In the empty factory, the only sound was the faint whimpering coming from the distant ventilation duct.
"The degree of steel bar corrosion..." He retracted his gaze and looked at Xia Wan again, his dark brown eyes without any emotion. "The on-site environment is humid, and it is an objective fact that local corrosion is accelerated. Our report is based on multi-point sampling and standard evaluation procedures, and the conclusion is reliable." His tone carried an unquestionable certainty, which was the confidence of a top expert in the industry.
"Whether it's reliable or not requires verification of data support." Xia Wan did not give in. Her voice remained steady, but with a sharp confrontation. "Especially the corrosion depth and cross-sectional loss rate of the key load-bearing beams. The other party questioned the representativeness of the original sampling points. We need to expand the sampling scope and conduct destructive sampling verification." She proposed a more stringent and time-consuming verification plan.
Xiao Zhao was so shocked by what he heard that he dared not breathe. He only felt that the air flowing between the two "big guys" was filled with crackling sparks.
Jiang Yu's gaze fell on Xia Wan's face again, this time lingering for a few seconds longer. His gaze was deep and scrutinizing, as if he was reassessing this thin woman with an unusually stubborn gaze. He saw the pale blue shadows under her eyes and the stubbornness that shone through her tightly pursed lips.
"Destructive sampling requires the property owner's consent, and the process is cumbersome, time-consuming, and labor-intensive." He spoke slowly, his tone still calm, as if stating a fact. "Mr. Xia, are you sure this is the necessary and most efficient method? Or..." He paused, his gaze deepening with a subtle inquiry. "Is there something particularly...distrustful about my professional judgment?"
He spoke the last few words very lightly, but they hit Xia Wan's heart like a sledgehammer.
Particularly...distrust?
Xia Wan's heart skipped a beat. What was he implying? Was he suggesting that she was professionally prejudiced against him because of that night's turmoil? Or even that he was taking personal revenge?
A surge of humiliation washed over her, burning her cheeks. She jerked her eyes upward, catching his gaze. Those slightly raised, almond-shaped eyes now burned with icy anger and a sharp, offended glint.
"Mr. Jiang," her voice suddenly rose several notches, carrying a distinct chill that resonated throughout the empty factory. "My work is based solely on on-site evidence and industry standards. 'Trust' is a subjective emotion, unrelated to professional judgment. My responsibility is to ensure the objectivity and accuracy of the review results, free from any 'special' factors! If Mr. Jiang has any objections to the review process, please communicate directly with my client's attorney!"
Her words came out quickly and rapidly, like a barrage of bullets, with a resolute determination to go all out. Her thin body trembled slightly with excitement, like a fully drawn bow.
As the words fell, a deathly silence descended. Only the distant hum of machinery and the whirring of ventilation ducts made the silence even more deafening.
Xiao Zhao was completely petrified and wished he could disappear right there.
Jiang Yu's expression finally shifted. The playful curve disappeared, replaced by a deep, calm, like the sea before a storm. His gaze fixed on Xia Wan's face, his deep eyes swirling with a complex mix of emotions—anger at being contradicted, scrutiny, and perhaps even a fleeting, elusive emotion.
He looked at her cheeks that were slightly flushed with anger and excitement, at her stubborn head held high, refusing to back down, and at her phoenix eyes that were burning with cold flames.
Time seemed to be stretched out.
Finally, Jiang Yu's Adam's apple rolled ever so slightly. He looked away from her, instead looking at the huge load-bearing steel column. His tone returned to its previous calmness, even with a hint of deliberate distance:
"Very good. Then let's proceed according to Engineer Xia's professional judgment." He called her "Engineer Xia" again, making it seem more businesslike. "If you need to coordinate on-site or obtain original data, please contact my assistant." He gave a name and phone number.
He didn't pause, not even glancing at Xia Wan. He turned and, with the same steady pace he'd walked on, headed towards the factory entrance. The hem of his dark grey coat drew a cold, hard arc as he moved. The sound of his footsteps faded away in the empty space, eventually disappearing in the glaring light outside.
Only when the footsteps completely faded did Xia Wan's tense body feel as if all its strength had been drained away. She swayed violently and subconsciously grasped the cold steel pillar beside her. The cold touch transmitted through her gloves made her shiver.
"Mr. Xia...are you okay?" Xiao Zhao then dared to come over and asked cautiously.
Xia Wan squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, the intense emotion had been forcibly suppressed, leaving only fatigue and a cold desolation. She shook her head, her voice barely audible, "It's okay. Keep working. Notify the property owner and apply for permission for destructive sampling."
She picked up her tools again and walked to the next key point that needed to be reviewed, her back straight, as if the brief but intense confrontation had never happened.
However, only she knew that the fingertips of her hand, resting on the steel pillar, were still cold and trembling slightly. Jiang Yu's final words, "particularly... distrustful," and the icy figure as he turned away, were like poisoned ice spikes, piercing deep into her heart, bringing a sharp and lasting chill.
He trivialized that night she couldn't bear to recall and turned it into a questioning of her professional ethics. This, more than any indifference, made her feel a deep sense of humiliation and... chilling.
From the outset, this professional clash was destined to be anything but pure. The chaos of that rainy night became an invisible yet searing scar across the cold steel structure.
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