Chapter 62 : Face to Face

Han Zhenyu listened to what Li Chong said with disbelief in his eyes.

“Director, I’m already married. How could I possibly be dating someone else?”

“What did you say? You’re married?” Li Chong was also stunned. “Then why did Secretary Chen say she was dating you?”

Li Chong and Director Chen had known each other for several years. Although they weren’t very close, they had dealt with each other many times and didn’t seem to be unreliable people. Moreover, this was a lie that could be easily exposed when the two sides met.

If it wasn’t confirmed that his daughter and Han Zhenyu were dating, why would Chen Dongsheng come and ask him to act as a matchmaker?

Li Chong glanced at Han Zhenyu and knew that his subordinate wasn’t the type to mess around. Could there have been a misunderstanding?

He asked hesitantly, “Zhenyu, did you say something that might have caused Secretary Chen to misunderstand?”

Apart from this, he couldn’t think of how such a misunderstanding could have occurred.

Han Zhenyu stood up and looked at Li Chong sharply, completely losing his usual gentleness.

“Director, since I, Han Zhenyu, joined the factory, I have never dated anyone here, nor have I had any ambiguous relationships with anyone. As for the things you mentioned that might have caused a misunderstanding, I don’t think I said anything like that either.”

Han Zhenyu was tall to begin with, and now that he stood up, Lin Chong felt quite oppressed. Looking at Han Zhenyu’s serious and stern face, he realized his previous questioning might have been too abrupt.

As he was thinking about how to explain, Han Zhenyu, with a sullen face, spoke again. “I don’t know why Director Chen said I was dating his daughter, but I only had one work-related interaction with Secretary Chen from the union.”

Han Zhenyu frowned and thought for a while. “About half a year ago, the director sent me to deliver some documents, and several people from the union office were there at the time. Later, we met a few more times in the factory and the cafeteria, but we only greeted each other politely and exchanged no more than three sentences, even when there were many people around.”

After listening to Han Zhenyu’s explanation, Li Chong didn’t know what to say.

If what Han Zhenyu said was true, then he and Secretary Chen could only be considered acquaintances. How could Director Chen have said that the two were dating?

He sighed and said, “Zhenyu, I really didn’t know this was the case. I thought Director Chen’s daughter was nice, and Director Chen said you two were dating, so it seemed like a perfect match. If I had known you were already married, I would never have agreed to him.”

If Han Zhenyu’s household registration had been with the factory, he would have had to get a letter of introduction when getting married, and I would have known about it.

The issue is that Han Zhenyu is still a temporary worker, and his household registration is still in the countryside, not yet transferred here. To get married, all you need is a certificate from the village, and you don’t need the factory’s involvement, which is why such a big mistake happened.

“Director, I know you mean well, and I don’t blame you,” Han Zhenyu replied.

Han Zhenyu knew that this had nothing to do with him, and his earlier words weren’t meant to blame Li Chong. He explained, “My wife and I got married half a year ago. We were busy with spring planting at the time and didn’t have any guests, so we didn’t inform anyone. I didn’t intentionally hide the fact that I was married.”

“Hey, look at this mess,” Li Chong said, clearly upset. He never thought Chen Dongsheng would be so unreliable, and now he was in a difficult situation.

“Zhenyu, don’t worry. I’ll go find Chen Dongsheng later and ask him what’s going on. I’ll figure out who told you and her daughter that you two are dating.”

Han Zhenyu shook his head and said, “Director, this is really bad. I must confront Director Chen and Officer Chen face to face and ask them to clear my name. As a married man, I can’t bear such a reputation. If my wife knew about this, she would probably think I am a philanderer.”

Li Chong thought for a moment, and he realized Han Zhenyu was right. This could become a big issue if not handled properly.

He tapped his fingers on the table a few times and said, “How about this? I’ll have someone call Director Chen, and you can talk to him here in person. I’ll be your witness.”

“Okay, thank you, Director.”

Han Zhenyu narrowed his eyes and added, “Director, why don’t you also call Secretary Chen? I want to ask her in person, when and where, and what exactly I said that caused her to misunderstand?”

“Okay, I’ll have someone call them.”

Meanwhile, Chen Dongsheng was sitting in his office, sipping tea with his legs crossed. He was quite surprised to hear that Li Chong wanted him to come over.

He hadn’t expected Han Zhenyu to be so eager. He had just expressed his stance, and this guy couldn’t wait.

But then, Chen Dongsheng smiled with satisfaction, thinking that his attitude was quite positive.

It was no wonder Han Zhenyu was so anxious. Given his family’s financial situation, the fact that he could fall in love with a poor boy from the countryside was a blessing he had earned in several lifetimes.

Meanwhile, Chen Hong was helping out in the warehouse that day. She had been distracted since she started work and made several mistakes in the accounts in a short period.

However, as a union secretary, she had come to assist, and although the warehouse staff had some opinions, they didn’t dare to speak up.

“Secretary Chen, Director Li from the transport team wants you to come over. I think he wants to talk about the propaganda newspaper,” said a colleague.

When Chen Hong heard the word “transport team,” her heart started pounding.

She threw the account book to the warehouse staff, then immediately stood up, saying, “Okay, got it. I’ll be right there.”

She didn’t know why Director Li wanted to speak with her, but it probably wasn’t about the promotional newspaper since the transport team’s bulletin board had been replaced just two days ago.

Chen Hong hurried towards the transport team’s office, but when she was almost there, she stopped.

She placed her hand on her chest to calm her excitement, adjusted her clothes and hair, and then walked in, trying to appear calm.

The first workshop was closer to the transport team, but Chen Dongsheng wanted to take advantage of his father-in-law’s favor, so he had arrived later than his daughter.

Chen Hong stood at the door of Li Chong’s office, took a deep breath, and then gathered the courage to knock.

“Come in,” Li Chong’s voice called from inside.

The moment Chen Hong pushed the door open, she saw Han Zhenyu sitting opposite Li Chong.

She glanced at him shyly, then quickly looked away.

Then, she smiled what she hoped was a perfect smile and said softly, “Director Li, are you looking for me?”

“Secretary Chen, I have something to discuss with you,” Li Chong replied with a faint smile, gesturing to the chair farthest from Han Zhenyu. “Sit down first, and we’ll talk when your father arrives.”

As Chen Hong entered, Li Chong carefully observed her every movement.

Though she spoke, her eyes were fixed on Han Zhenyu.

On the other hand, Han Zhenyu remained seated, expressionless. Not only did he not stand up to greet her, but he didn’t even glance at her.

At that moment, Li Chong realized everything. These two people were probably in love with each other but were not interested in one another.