At night, in an era before rampant industrial pollution, the sky was filled with countless brilliant stars, seemingly within reach.
The two lay on the bamboo mat, both drenched in sweat. Wen Jiaojiao was exhausted and sore all over. She turned her head and looked dejectedly at the sky outside the glass window.
Wen Zhaoye tilted his head and looked at her with a hint of fascination. After a long while, he spoke:
"Jiaomei, is something on your mind? You've been looking down these past few days, spacing out while eating and even while working."
Even after doing something like that, you looked completely flustered.
"What could be on my mind? Don't overthink it." Wen Jiaojiao smiled slightly, grabbed a nightgown from the side, and put it on.
"But, brother, we've seen the stars and slept, let's go back to our room. There's no air conditioning here, it's too hot."
Seeing that her movements were stiff and slow, Wen Zhaoye put on his clothes, stood up, and picked her up in his arms, saying:
"Honey, are you tired? Let me carry you down."
Wen Jiaojiao leaned against him and said in a muffled voice:
"You know I'm tired, can't you exercise less? You're really scaring me."
“I can’t stand it at all.” Wen Zhaoye said bluntly, “Why don’t you just quit your job and stay home and rest every day?”
Wen Jiaojiao was speechless as she listened to him practically saying that he waited for her to sleep at home every day.
"And then the day shift became the night shift, right?"
Wen Zhaoye: "Then even if you work during the day, you can't escape it at night."
Wen Jiaojiao: "..."
I guess we have an incompatible sex life?
Three days later, Jiang Peitian received a call from Li Zhu the previous night, confirming their father-son relationship.
He was so excited he couldn't sleep all night, and early the next morning he went to find Wen Xiaojian again and said:
"How's it going with the matter I'm entrusting you with? Today is the last day."
Wen Xiaojian was no longer the embarrassed and timid man he had seen a few days ago, and said confidently:
"Zhaoye won't go with you, don't waste your time. He and Jiaojiao have already consummated their marriage and he's really into it. Even if he leaves Jiaojiao for a few days, he probably won't want to leave her, let alone marry her."
Jiang Peitian's tone rose slightly at the end, his voice carrying a sinister undertone:
"So, it's because you didn't handle things well."
Wen Xiaojian sat on the edge of the bed, showing no fear as he said:
"I know you must be doing well out there, but no matter what you say now, there's nothing you can do about it."
I raised Zhaoye from childhood, but he doesn't care about that. For Jiaojiao's sake, if you do anything to me, Zhaoye will definitely not go back with you.
Jiang Peitian narrowed his eyes, a cold, venomous glint flashing in them. After a moment's thought, he stood up and said:
"Ah Long, let's go. We'll also ask Li Zhu where he is and when the report will be sent over."
Ah Long made a phone call, and after clarifying the situation, replied, "They should arrive at our hotel around noon."
On the other side, a long line had formed outside Wen Zhaoye's office, with people waiting to collect their wages.
Wen Zhaoye led Wen Jiaojiao inside, and amidst the greetings, he nodded indifferently, opened the office door, and said:
"Later, whoever is called can come in."
Wen Jiaojiao sat down at her desk, took the form with great interest, and said:
"You go about your business, I'll pay your salary."
Wen Zhaoye was happy to have some peace and quiet. He moved to the side to make it easier for her to pull out the drawer and take out the money.
"The first few orders are all transferred from the men's clothing factory, so they are all full-month wages. The last few are for new employees of the women's clothing factory, all of whom were newly recruited last month."
Wen Jiaojiao took out her house keys from her pocket; one of them was a drawer key.
This was specially provided to her by Wen Zhaoye so that she could easily access money while at the factory.
She opened the drawer and called out to the first person on the list, "Wang Minmin, 38 yuan and 6 mao."
Wang Minmin happily took the money and went out. Wen Zhaoye sat next to her, turning his head to look at Wen Jiaojiao.
As Wen Jiaojiao watched her salary increase, she became even more eager for her income.
After she finished reciting ten names in a row, she suddenly saw her own name, and a smile appeared on her beautiful face as she said:
"Wen Jiaojiao..."
She was halfway through her sentence when she saw the 1.8 yuan note at the end, and her face froze.
Seeing that she was only halfway through her sentence and her expression was gradually turning ugly, Wen Zhaoye glanced at the form and chuckled softly.
I told you this income is too embarrassing to talk about, but you didn't believe me.
Many people around were eager to collect their wages and go back to work, making quite a few urging noises.
Wen Jiaojiao gritted her teeth and said:
"Wen Jiaojiao, one hundred and eighty yuan."
Everyone was speechless for a moment. Wen Zhaoye thought he was seeing things, so he looked at the bill again and saw that it did indeed say one dollar and eighty cents.
Wen Jiaojiao stood up, took out one hundred and eighty yuan, and said:
"Alright, bro, I've finished receiving my salary, I'm going home now." If I'd known it was only 1.8 yuan, I wouldn't have lingered these last two days.
A slight smile played in Wen Zhaoye's eyes as he looked at her. Just as she turned to leave, he spoke:
"Wait."
Wen Jiaojiao paused, thinking he was going to take the money back, and stiffly handed over the money in her hand:
"Okay, okay, here you go."
Wen Zhaoye didn't take it. He copied the form, glanced at it, then looked into her bright, beautiful eyes with his deep, handsome gaze, and said with a slight upturn of his eyebrows:
"Wen Jiaojiao, 1,888, my wife is so lucky!"
Suddenly, the expressions on the faces of the people looking over varied.
Wen Jiaojiao stared at him with a stunned expression. Wen Zhaoye didn't even count the bills; he grabbed a wad of cash from the drawer and stuffed it into her hand, saying:
"Honey, buy some extra food on your way home, so you won't get bored at home."
His voice was casual, yet full of thoughtful advice. Wen Jiaojiao nodded absentmindedly and turned to leave.
Wen Zhaoye had left her home alone for the past few days without incident, so he didn't think much of it this time either.
He looked down at the list and called out the next name: "Wang Fangfang, 5 yuan."
Wen Jiaojiao walked home in a daze. She had originally planned to collect the seven thousand yuan that was rightfully hers.
He had a salary of 1,880 yuan, but only took 5,112 yuan.
She sat in front of the vanity, a sheet of white paper and a pen in front of her, and hesitated for a moment.
Ultimately, she was afraid to stay here. If Yuan Wenjiao or Xu Dajun returned in the future, they might face retaliation from those she had offended and from Xu Cuifen.
She also felt that one shouldn't easily get married just because a man is nice, without liking him.
After she picked up her pen and explained everything, she packed up all her belongings and stepped outside.
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