Chapter 34: Director Song, Be Careful, This Fish Might Be Deceptive

After last night,

Tao Hongping indeed stayed, sleeping in the living room.

Li Juan couldn’t stand it anymore and gave her a mattress, arranging some chairs to make a makeshift bed.

That was all she could offer, after all, it was the middle of summer, so it wasn’t like she’d freeze to death!

In the morning,

Tao Hongping was no longer acting arrogant or looking down on people like she did yesterday.

She was quite observant, helping Li Juan with the work.

Li Juan didn’t particularly like her, but since she didn’t feel like talking to Tao Hongping at the moment, she let her be.

Tao Yu finished washing up and sat in a chair, leisurely scooping red date porridge from her bowl, the steam rising gently.

Meanwhile, as soon as Li Juan sat down, Tao Hongping shamelessly sat down next to her.

Tao Yu didn’t say anything, and Li Juan didn’t either.

Just as Tao Hongping was swallowing and about to stuff a large white steamed bun into her mouth, Tao Yu spoke coldly.

“If you want to stay, you’ll need to work. Starting today, whatever my mom tells you to do, you’ll do.”

Tao Yu sounded a bit off, her tone light.

“If you dare slack off or get any ideas… I’ll send you back to the Cha Yazi Commune.”

But upon hearing this, Tao Hongping quickly shut her mouth, nodded obediently, and said,

“I know, I know. I’ll definitely help Aunt do the housework properly!”

As long as she could stay, working wasn’t an issue—after all, she had done plenty of work in the commune too.

After breakfast, Tao Yu didn’t bother with Tao Hongping anymore.

Li Juan, carrying the prepared lunch box and a bundle of food, followed Tao Yu out of the house.

At the front door, Tao Yu silently took the items from Li Juan’s hands.

Li Juan looked at her daughter, hesitating, as if wanting to say something but ultimately holding back.

Tao Yu seemed oblivious to Li Juan’s awkwardness. She didn’t ask anything.

She just told Li Juan to keep an eye on Tao Hongping, then left for work.

Tao Yu didn’t know what Li Juan wanted to say.

All Tao Yu knew was that, no matter what Li Juan thought next,

She would never let Tao Lijun off…

Tao Yu held a brand new lunch box in one hand. This lunch box was the one she had picked up from the logistics department at the factory last time, never used before.

In her other hand, she carried a net bag filled with fruits and pickled vegetables made by Li Juan.

She walked leisurely toward the machinery factory.

Tao Yu was always an early riser, and it wasn’t yet time for work, so the street was relatively empty.

Just as Tao Yu was about to reach the factory gates,

A black car stopped beside her on the road, and the loud voice of Xiao Zhang, who was specially assigned, came from inside the car.

“Tao Yu, heading to work? Get in, I’m going that way anyway.”

Tao Yu stopped and turned toward Xiao Zhang in the car. She smiled and replied,

“No need, I’ll be there in a moment.”

When she glanced toward the back seat, she noticed the window wasn’t fully closed.

Inside, sitting with broad shoulders and long legs, was Song Hecheng.

Perhaps because it was early, Song Hecheng’s voice had an unusual hoarseness.

“Good morning.”

He nodded toward Tao Yu.

Tao Yu took a couple of steps closer to the car, bent slightly, and placed her delicate fingers on the frame of the passenger side window, returning a polite smile.

“Good morning, Director Song.”

She didn’t look at Song Hecheng again but directly handed the net bag to Xiao Zhang, clearly saying,

“Thank you for your help last time. This is a small token from my mother.”

Xiao Zhang’s first reaction was to turn and look at Song Hecheng in the back seat, then awkwardly laughed and said,

“It’s nothing, nothing at all. Aunt Li is too kind…”

But since Song Hecheng didn’t speak from the back seat, Xiao Zhang didn’t dare reach out to take the bag.

Tao Yu just held out her hand, not looking at Xiao Zhang, her gaze on Song Hecheng instead.

Under their shared gaze, Song Hecheng, who had been looking down as if reviewing documents, finally raised his hand and coughed lightly.

Xiao Zhang, quick-witted, immediately understood.

He promptly took the things from Tao Yu’s hand, repeatedly thanking her.

Xiao Zhang then invited Tao Yu to get in the car, but Tao Yu politely declined.

She waved goodbye to the two inside the car and continued walking toward the machinery factory, still holding the brand new lunch box in her hand.

Inside the car,

Xiao Zhang looked into the net bag and immediately exclaimed with delight,

“Wow, Aunt Li brought me some small root vegetables, dandelion greens, and stinky vegetables! I love these…”

Focused only on the food, Xiao Zhang didn’t notice that in the back seat, Song Hecheng had already set down the file in his hand.

His deep gaze shifted toward the graceful figure walking further away.

Tao Yu arrived on the third floor of the machinery factory, just as she was settling into her workspace, when Director Li came in.

In a rush, he handed her a rolled-up blueprint.

“Tao, could you please take this blueprint to the factory director? Jiefang is on leave, and I need to head to the workshop in a hurry.”

Tao Yu accepted the document and nodded in agreement.

After Director Li left, Tao Yu gazed toward the factory director’s office.

She then picked up the brand new lunch box from the table and headed toward the office.

Since it was still early, the two male employees in the secretary’s office hadn’t arrived yet.

As Tao Yu reached the door of Song Hecheng’s office, she saw him answering the black landline phone on his desk.

It was said that only Song Hecheng and a few factory directors had this phone in their offices, and installing one required connections, costing over 3,000 yuan each.

Tao Yu didn’t knock but quietly stood outside, waiting for him to finish his call.

Song Hecheng, however, noticed her the moment she appeared.

He raised his hand, gesturing toward the sofa in the office.

Tao Yu followed his indication, entering the office and sitting down on the sofa opposite him.

She casually placed the lunch box on the table in front of her.

Tao Yu, with her slim waist and long legs, looked delicate sitting on the pure black leather sofa.

The spacious, plush seat made Tao Yu seem small and fair-skinned.

Coincidentally, Tao Yu was wearing a dark blue short-sleeve shirt dress that only reached her knees.

The dark blue fabric was new, bought by Li Juan from the textile factory.

The color wasn’t bright or flashy, and the design was simple, without any elaborate patterns.

But when Tao Yu wore it, her slender arms and delicate legs were on full display.

The dark blue fabric didn’t make her look old-fashioned; instead, it gave off a subtle sense of luxury and hidden radiance.

Tao Yu idly played with the rolled-up blueprint in her hands,

Her eyes, however, were fixed on Song Hecheng, sitting across from her.

Song Hecheng wore a gray shirt.

Tao Yu’s gaze was particularly drawn to the buttons on his shirt.

Each button was fastened meticulously, one by one, up to the very top, just below his throat…

He always seemed to dress simply,

Yet somehow, it was incredibly eye-catching.

And Song Hecheng’s hands, turning the workbook, were subtly veined, continually drawing Tao Yu’s attention.

Perhaps because Tao Yu’s gaze was too bold, Song Hecheng quickly finished the call and walked to the sofa in front of her.

He sat across the table from her, his voice still husky, just as it had been in the car.

“Sorry, I had to take a call.”

Tao Yu smiled lightly.

She propped herself up on the armrest, slightly lifting her hips, and leaned forward to place the blueprint on the table in front of her, not letting go of it.