Chapter 40
"It really is you..."
The following morning, before officially starting work, they held an emergency meeting to discuss the work plan for the next two days.
According to the plan, they only need to complete the final statistics and review all the data chains in the next two days to end their business trip.
The rest can be added back at the company.
Finish as soon as possible and go home as soon as possible. No one wanted to waste another day, so everyone, including Josh, was working hard to make the most of their time. With a clear goal in mind and everyone eager to get home, they were all in high spirits, and today's work went exceptionally smoothly and efficiently.
By the time they left work this afternoon, they had unknowingly completed more than half of the data integration.
Josh spent most of the day in the factory workshop, surrounded by noise. Even with protective gear, his hearing was still affected after a long time there.
Inside the workshop, the deafening roar of the massive machines was like a slippery earthworm burrowing into her ear canal, making her heart pound. When the surroundings suddenly quieted down, Josh felt as if the entire world had been silenced.
After a while, the intense discomfort subsided somewhat.
After get off work, Josh didn't go out to eat with his colleagues.
To ensure product quality, the workshop temperature is subject to certain requirements, and after running up and down the stairs all day, going back and forth between the outside and inside, Josh had been exposed to a lot of cold air. She had no appetite and went straight back to her accommodation, intending to lie in bed and relax.
She only realized Chen Zhiyu had called her twice when she took her phone out of her pocket. Judging from the time, she was in the workshop, so she probably didn't hear the calls.
As soon as he got home, Josh quickly called back.
"Aren't you going to answer the phone? I was about to contact your company directly. Are you off work?" Chen Zhiyu answered the phone almost immediately after it rang.
"I was in the workshop all day, and it was so noisy I didn't hear anything." Having been away all day, the house was freezing cold. Josh shivered violently as soon as she entered. She immediately turned on the lifesaver air conditioner before daring to take off her heavy down jacket.
"Have you eaten?" Chen Zhiyu asked in a soft voice, showing concern.
"No, I'm planning to rest for a while before eating," Josh complained to him. "It's too cold, I feel like my stomach is getting chilled."
Upon hearing this, Chen Zhiyu frowned instinctively. "Is it serious? Did you take your medicine?" As he spoke, he opened a food delivery app. "I'll order you some stomach medicine now. It'll probably take a while to arrive. Can you manage?"
“Hey, hey,” Josh stopped the other person in time, “I’m fine, I don’t need to take medicine, I’ll just drink some hot water to warm myself up.”
"real?"
Josh assured her, "I'm really fine. I know my own body."
Chen Zhiyu paused for a few seconds before saying, "Okay, then I'll order you some hot soup or something, so you don't have to go out and freeze."
Josh nestled comfortably on the sofa, thought for a moment, and agreed, "Okay."
While ordering food, Chen Zhiyu suddenly asked, "Are you able to finish work tomorrow?"
"Yes, I expect it to be around the time I get off work tomorrow, around that time."
After several busy months, Josh is finally about to finish his business trip. He feels like a high school senior who has been trapped on campus and has finally finished the college entrance examination.
"I've already taken the day off, and I should be able to get to your place around the time I finish get off work."
"Okay, let's go out for hot pot for dinner tomorrow night. I had it the other day, and it was pretty good." Josh's voice trembled with excitement as he thought of this.
"Okay, whatever you say." Chen Zhiyu agreed with a smile, and then began to mention something important, "By the way, I went to see Officer Zhang today."
Josh stopped laughing: "What did he say?"
"Officer Zhang's colleague said he went out on a field mission and won't be back today, but his colleague will pass on the message." Chen Zhiyu frowned. Qiao Xi didn't leave that place for a moment, and he couldn't relax.
Josh told him to relax and that she could go home after work tomorrow.
Chen Zhiyu also left Hengcheng this afternoon and came to another place with Liu Weifeng. "People outside are eyeing us covetously. I have to keep an eye on signing the contract. Once this is over, I can fly over to pick you up directly."
Before Josh could even reply, Liu Weifeng's roar came through the receiver, "Chen Zhiyu, did you fall into the toilet?!" She smiled and quickly urged Chen Zhiyu, "You go ahead and do your work."
Chen Zhiyu reminded him, "Okay, remember to eat it while it's hot when it arrives."
After hanging up the phone, Josh rolled over and continued lying on the sofa. The air conditioner worked, and the room gradually warmed up.
The longest the fresh flowers Chen Zhiyu bought lasted was more than ten days, and the room was filled with their fragrance.
Josh even picked out a few half-open flowers, hung them upside down in the room to dry, made them into dried flowers, put them in a vase, and placed them on the bedside table.
Even now, you can still faintly smell a delicate fragrance.
Smelling the faint fragrance, she lay down on the sofa and picked up her phone to search for nearby leisure and entertainment venues.
The last time Chen Zhiyu came, the two of them spent the whole day cuddling together in the house. This time, they definitely need to find somewhere to go out and explore, even if it's just to see a movie or have a meal.
It's a pity that the area is too remote and there aren't many fun places to visit.
She was still considering whether to take a day off, go to the city center with her, and return the next day later.
*
It was the last day. Because the final task was to take photos and videos of the entire machine on site, Director Zhou gave the factory employees a half-day off in the afternoon and cleared out the workshop staff.
Factory Director Zhou's factory has three large workshops. In order to avoid delays and ensure that the work is carried out simultaneously, the work is carried out in groups as usual, and the results are summarized at the end.
Each group's work was proceeding in an orderly manner.
As usual, Feng Zhao and Qiao Xi were in the same group for this job.
The workshops were quite far apart, so after finishing their work, the two of them didn't go far away. Instead, they stayed in the office in the workshop and continued to compile data.
The work is progressing smoothly and is nearing its end. However, we must remain vigilant as we approach the final stage.
As they were checking the last few sets of data, Feng Zhao's phone suddenly rang, its restless ringtone echoing in the quiet office where only the two of them were.
Feng Zhao quickly answered the phone.
Josh didn't pay much attention at first, but when there was still no response from Feng Zhao, he looked up from the computer screen and turned to him, asking with concern, "What's wrong?"
Feng Zhao's expression was not good, and his voice was a little deep, "Xia and the others have some problems."
Josh frowned. "At this time?"
"Yes, this group is a real headache."
It was past closing time, and none of the employees were there this afternoon. "What should I do? Go and see what's going on."
The minister had originally come on this business trip with them, but after the last set of data was completed, he went back to prepare for the follow-up work.
Xia's team members are a bit inexperienced, and now that a problem has arisen, they are leaderless and can only seek help from experienced members.
If things aren't resolved there, it will delay the entire group's progress. They're probably frantic right now, so someone needs to go and calm them down.
Feng Zhao looked at the data scattered on the table with a troubled expression.
Josh didn't mind and took the initiative to do the rest of the work: "Go over there and take a look, maybe something went wrong."
"Anyway, it's almost over, don't you trust me to do it?"
Thinking about it, it made sense. Feng Zhao called them again, telling them not to rush and that he would be there soon. After giving them instructions, he hurriedly started packing his things.
"I'll head over now. Call me if you need anything." Feng Zhao hurriedly slung his work bag over his shoulder, muttering to himself, "These troublemakers, it's the last day, why are they so sloppy?"
Josh looked down at the data in front of him, then looked up at Feng Zhao, who was busy tidying up. He gradually composed himself and fell into deep thought.
Outside was a dark workshop. When the office door opened, a cool winter breeze blew in. "Feng Zhao," Josh suddenly called out to Feng Zhao, who was about to leave.
Upon hearing his name called, Feng Zhao turned around abruptly, his face filled with bewildered fear. Seeing the solemnity in Qiao Xi's eyes, his heart sank.
*
Five minutes later.
Feng Zhao walked out of the office carrying his briefcase.
His steps were steady, yet his pace was hurried.
Watching Feng Zhao's retreating figure disappear into the distance, Josh buried herself in her unfinished work. By the time the footsteps had completely faded away, she had finished another set of data integration and comparison.
The work that used to take two people to do is now being done by one person, which will take a little longer.
Josh typed out the last set of data and sent it to the group chat, then let out a deep breath. The months-long work had finally come to an end at this moment.
Josh checked the time. It hadn't been long since Feng Zhao left. She got up and stretched. She had been sitting here all day and felt like her body wasn't even her own anymore.
My lower back aches, and my limbs feel stiff and numb.
A few minutes later, no one in the group had replied to her yet. Josh guessed that her other colleagues were still busy, so she hurriedly packed her things, intending to go and help out in other workshops.
After tidying up the equipment and organizing the paper documents, Josh turned off the heater and prepared to leave.
Winter nights come early, and it was already completely dark. She had worked late again today, and the factory was deserted and empty except for her.
Factory Director Zhou has three workshops here, each of different sizes. The one that Feng Zhao and Qiao Xi are in charge of is the largest.
This workshop is about four or five thousand square meters. It takes about ten minutes to walk from the corner office area to the main entrance of the workshop, and you have to pass through a long work area in between.
The workshop was dark, with no lights on.
The road in the middle was not narrow, and on both sides were huge, cold metal machines that exuded a chilling aura.
It was very quiet.
Josh turned on his phone's flashlight function, swiped up on the screen to turn the brightness to maximum, and a bright beam of light instantly illuminated the road.
Josh walked forward along the light.
Just then, a scraping sound suddenly rang out in the quiet, empty workshop, the hollow echo sounding like an animal's claws scratching at a thick metal plate.
Josh slowed his pace warily.
The strange echo gradually faded and finally disappeared, as if it were her imagination.
The wind picked up outside at that moment, and the howling wind made Josh's hair stand on end.
Josh's back was tense, and large beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She walked quickly toward the exit, and in the cold environment, the voice was getting closer and closer.
It's becoming clearer.
Around the corner behind her, she heard the sound of metal dragging on the ground.
I'm very close to her.
Josh noticed and turned around alertly, but before she could dodge, a dark shadow suddenly came crashing down on her from behind.
A hard, metal rod struck Josh in the back, catching her completely off guard, and then everything went black.
The sudden, sharp pain caused Josh to lose his balance and stumble forward, falling to the ground.
With a loud bang, the phone that had slipped from her hand crashed to the ground. As if short-circuiting, the light flickered twice before going out completely.
The pain in her back caused her to shed physiological tears, which instantly blurred her vision. Josh struggled to lift her head, and a familiar figure appeared before her.
Then, a face suddenly loomed close, different from the one seen before. It was no longer expressionless, but had transformed into a colder, more ferocious one.
After a brief period of noise, the empty workshop returned to its previous deathly silence.
Josh clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into the flesh of his palms as he rapidly adjusted his breathing.
Her face was ashen, and she stared intently at the dark figure opposite her. "It really is you..." Her trembling voice was icy cold, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth.
[Author's Note]
Update! Update! There's a chapter that's been stuck and I'm still revising it. I'll try harder.
Thank you for reading.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com