Chapter 15

Jiang Ling was still unaware of Zhao Hongyun’s plans. At this moment, a formidable presence appeared in the Accounting Section office. She wore a plaid overcoat and three-centimeter-high leather heels—a rather fashionable outfit for this era.

The moment this female comrade stepped into the Accounting Section, Wei Ming’s expression took a sharp turn for the worse. Immediately after, he forced out a smile that could only be described as fawning. “Wife, what brings you to the factory?”

Ding Yan smiled with a look that wasn’t quite a smile. “Why, is there something shady going on in the factory that I shouldn’t see?”

Wei Ming quickly replied, “That’s not what I meant. I was just wondering if things at the Women’s Federation aren’t busy anymore.”

The Women’s Federation had always been a leisurely office, so his words were nothing more than hot air.

Ding Yan was in her forties, but thanks to good maintenance, she looked much younger than her actual age. Still, when she stood next to her husband Wei Ming, the age gap between them was noticeable.

She swept her gaze across the faces of everyone in the Accounting Section, and finally landed on Jiang Ling.

Ding Yan had never set foot in the Accounting Section before. The others in the section had only seen her through other channels.

Section Chief Tang didn’t like Wei Ming, but he held considerable respect for Ding Yan, who stood behind Wei Ming. “Comrade Ding, please sit down and warm up. It’s cold outside. You didn’t catch a chill on your way here, did you?”

Ding Yan sat down at Wei Ming’s workstation. Wei Ming stood beside her awkwardly, like a mistreated little wife.

Ding Yan was the younger sister of Factory Director Ding of the Daily Chemical Factory. In his early years, in order to secure a promotion, Factory Director Ding had married off his sister to a leader who was nearly their father’s age. With the help of this old leader—who was also his former brother-in-law—Director Ding quickly climbed the ranks and became the factory director.

Director Ding had always felt he owed something to his sister. After his former brother-in-law suddenly passed away from an acute illness, he asked for his sister’s opinion and then arranged for her to marry a much younger husband—none other than Wei Ming.

Director Ding had taken extra care of Wei Ming. After just two years at the factory, Wei Ming was promoted exceptionally to deputy section chief of the Accounting Section.

The other leaders in the factory understood the reason and didn’t interfere. After all, who didn’t have a child or relative that needed to be placed somewhere?

The pairing of an older woman with a younger man really was an interesting sight.

Jiang Ling busied herself with sorting out accounts, though it wasn’t clear exactly what she was so busy with.

Ding Yan suddenly asked Wei Ming, “Why didn’t you come home last night?”

Wei Ming cautiously replied, “I was at Big Brother’s place last night. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him.” The “Big Brother” he spoke of was Director Ding.

“That’s not right. I ran into Xiaoxiao this morning—she said her dad didn’t come home last night either. If my big brother wasn’t home, how could you have been at his place?”

Xiaoxiao was Director Ding’s daughter. With Ding Yan’s arrangement, she had also joined the Women’s Federation after graduation.

“I misspoke. I didn’t mean I was at Big Brother’s place. What I meant was, I was with Big Brother last night. He got drunk in the evening, so I stayed with him and dozed off at the factory for the night.”

Jiang Ling was the first to catch the flaw in his words. Of course, others might have noticed it too, but found it inconvenient to speak up. Jiang Ling, however, had no such scruples.

“That doesn’t add up, Deputy Section Chief Wei. If you slept at the factory last night, how come you were still over an hour late to work this morning?”

Wei Ming, both embarrassed and angry, snapped, “That’s because there was a thief in the factory. I was helping the director deal with it. That’s why I was late. If you don’t believe me, you can ask the Public Security.”

Ding Yan made a note to ask her older brother about it later, and no longer pressed the issue.

At that moment, a head peeked through the heavy curtain. “Who said anything about calling the public security officer?”

It was Xie Lang. After finishing the on-site investigation, he had asked Officer Hong for leave and came with Song Guanshu to look for Jiang Ling.

Xie Lang was also an old acquaintance of Ding Yan. His mother had a wide social circle and was friends with Ding Yan.

After Ding Yan married the older man, she had never been able to have children of her own. She was very fond of children.

Xie Lang had been lively since he was a child, and lively kids were always popular with adults. He often went to Ding Yan’s house to mooch food and drinks.

“Auntie Ding is here too?” Xie Lang slipped in through the curtain. “If I didn’t mishear, was it Uncle who said he wanted to call the public security officer?”

Ding Yan waved him off. “No one’s calling the public security officer. Go back to wherever you came from.”

Following behind Xie Lang, Song Guanshu also stepped inside.

Jiang Ling couldn’t help but curl her lips. The Accounting Section and the Technical Section were only one floor apart, yet Song Guanshu never came to look for her—unless Xie Lang was involved.

The moment they saw Song Guanshu, everyone’s eyes lit up.

The older sisters in the Accounting Section were all eager to tease the young couple a bit, but with Ding Yan present, they held their tongues.

“I didn’t come in because someone mentioned calling the public security officer. I’m here to find someone.”

No one noticed that the moment Xie Lang said he had come to the Accounting Section to find someone, the expression on Wei Ming’s face changed.

“Who are you looking for? Did your thief hunt lead you all the way to the Accounting Section?” Ding Yan hadn’t yet heard what had happened at the Daily Chemical Factory. She only knew from the conversations that there had been a theft, so she made a teasing remark.

“No, I’m not here on official duty. Jiang Ling is my classmate, I came to see her.”

Jiang Ling smiled and said, “You came at just the right time. I helped you identify the person who was at the factory last night. Our Deputy Section Chief Wei and the factory director were both in the factory office building last night. They might be able to provide some useful information.”

Xie Lang scratched his head. Strange, why hadn’t Director Ding mentioned this in the morning? “Since you slept at the factory last night, did you hear any noises made by the thief in the middle of the night?”

“We were drinking. We slept deeply and didn’t hear a thing.”

“Alright, I’ll let my mentor know when I get back to the station.”

Wei Ming added, “I’d very much like to help you solve the case.”

There was still half an hour until the end of the workday. No one could leave early, so the group sat in the Accounting Section office, staring at each other.

Jiang Ling gathered the receipts she had been checking and asked while tidying up, “Ma’am, how long have you been married to Deputy Section Chief Wei?”

“Almost five years now.” It wasn’t hard to calculate, actually. After marrying Ding Yan, Wei Ming first worked as a regular employee in the Storage Section for three years. Then, due to a major work-related achievement, he was exceptionally promoted to deputy section chief in the Accounting Section.

Everyone in the office knew they had been married for quite a while without having any children. Li Chunjiao asked, “So when are you two planning to have kids?”

“It all depends on fate. When the time is right, the child will come.”

There was nothing else suitable to say after that. Li Chunjiao nodded. “That’s true.”

“I’ll head back to the Technical Section first.”

Xie Lang was puzzled. “It’s almost time to get off work. Aren’t you going home with Jiang Ling?”

As soon as he said that, the others all looked at him strangely, as if unsure where that question had come from.

Yu Jiafeng said, “I get what you mean. You’re suggesting that Xiao Song should at least walk Jiang Ling back to her dormitory building so they can spend more time together, right?”

Xie Lang had a nagging feeling that something was off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“No, that’s not it. I mean, they’re already married, aren’t they living together?” Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. “Jiang Ling has been staying in the dormitory lately. Did something happen between the two of you?”

Married?!