Chapter 24

The icy rain soaked through the clothes, and the cold sensation of water droplets could be felt seeping through the fabric onto the skin.

The chilling sensation passed through the senses was merely an illusion. Human skin had warmth.

When Jiang Ling wrapped her arms around Song Guanshu’s waist, both of them could feel each other’s body heat—burning, scalding, and not their own.

The spring rain grew heavier, and the sky gradually darkened, but it no longer felt as cold as when the first drops had fallen.

The two of them returned home in a miserable state.

After attending to the whole family’s dinner, Li Jun lay down on the kang bed. When she heard the sound of the door opening outside, she sat up and glanced out the window. Seeing the young couple across the way only just now returning home, she couldn’t help but curl her lips in disdain. Who knew where they had been fooling around?

The rain-soaked clothes clung tightly to their bodies. Song Guanshu was relatively fine, since men’s clothing was made of thicker material and didn’t reveal much.

Jiang Ling loved to look good, so she had long since changed into a light, thin spring blouse. The wet fabric clung to her body, outlining her figure, and the fine curves usually hidden beneath loose clothing were suddenly fully revealed.

Song Guanshu took only a quick glance before hastily looking away. “You go change first.”

While Jiang Ling was changing clothes, he threw another handful of firewood into the stove pit. They had both been caught in the rain and needed to take a hot bath.

Jiang Ling, in her hurry to change, didn’t even notice how close she was to exposing herself.

She quickly changed in the bedroom, then went to call Song Guanshu.

At that moment, Song Guanshu was sitting in front of the stove pit in a daze, lost in thought.

“I’m done. Your turn.”

The water in the pot was almost boiling. Song Guanshu scooped a basin of hot water and went into the bedroom to wash himself clean.

He washed up and changed clothes quickly. Jiang Ling hadn’t even warmed the stool beneath her when he came out holding a towel, his hair still dripping wet.

The stove pit had a fire going. Sitting around it, the warmth it gave off felt very comfortable.

Song Guanshu helped Jiang Ling carry the basin of hot water and the thermos into the bedroom. Jiang Ling used a lot of water when bathing—her hair was long, so she needed at least two basins plus a thermos of hot water.

Before heading into the kitchen, Song Guanshu asked for her opinion, “Let’s just cook some plain noodles tonight, something simple.”

After running around all day, Jiang Ling had no appetite for a big meal either. Something simple would do.

“No problem. Thanks for the trouble.”

Her wet hair was bothering her, so Jiang Ling started by washing her hair. She squeezed some shampoo into her palm and, with her eyes half-closed, didn’t notice that the texture of the shampoo was quite different from usual.

It wasn’t until she spread the shampoo through her hair that she sensed something was off. Why did it smell so strange?

The smell grew stronger and stronger, and she couldn’t hold back a gag.

Song Guanshu, who was cooking, heard the noise and came to the bedroom door to ask, “What happened? Are you feeling unwell?”

A cloth curtain hung over the window by the door as a cover. When either of them bathed, they would hang the curtain; usually, it was kept down.

“This shampoo reeks.” As she spoke, the smell from her hair hit her again and she gagged once more.

“How could the shampoo smell bad?”

“How would I know!” Jiang Ling was already upset about the foul odor in her hair. Hearing the tone of his question, she immediately lost her temper, and her voice came out noticeably sharper. “It was perfectly fine a couple of days ago.” Standing by the door, Song Guanshu fell silent for two seconds before saying, “Maybe it accidentally got contaminated with something dirty and spoiled. Do we still have enough hot water? I’ll boil another pot.”

Jiang Ling gave a muffled hum. “It’s not enough.”

The hot water in the pot had originally been prepared to cook the noodles, but now even using all of it wasn’t enough for her to wash her hair.

“The water’s boiling. I’ll put the hot water by the door. You open it and get it yourself? I won’t look back.”

“No need.” She hadn’t gotten to the point of undressing, so there was no need for him to avoid looking.

Jiang Ling opened the door with one hand while the other held her dripping wet hair.

Her lips were tightly pressed together, and she looked a little pitiful.

On impulse, Song Guanshu asked, “Want me to help?”

Right after saying it, he regretted being so talkative. But Jiang Ling had already responded.

“Okay.”

Jiang Ling crouched dispiritedly in front of the basin, her entire head buried in the water.

She wasn’t someone with obsessive cleanliness, but she couldn’t stand having a foul smell in her hair.

She let Song Guanshu pour water over her head without a care. She had no self-awareness.

He was just trying to help, but Jiang Ling treated him as if he were a shampoo boy at a barbershop. She didn’t even lift a hand to wash herself.

That rare flicker of compassion in Song Guanshu led him to hold a dipper in one hand to pour water, and use the other to rub and lather her hair.

It wasn’t that Jiang Ling sat around waiting to be served and did nothing at all—at the very least, she held her collar firmly to keep the clean neckline from getting splashed.

Song Guanshu did things earnestly. Since he had agreed to help her, he saw no reason to do a half-hearted job.

Her long, smooth, ink-black hair flowed through his hands. A few strands were tangled together and required his fingers to carefully comb them out.

Strands of hair wound around his fingertips, and in some vague, indescribable place, there was a sudden ticklish sensation, as if something was about to break through the surface.

He rinsed with clean water three more times. To make sure there was no lingering smell, Song Guanshu leaned in slightly and sniffed. Now, her hair carried only the scent of water and a faint trace that belonged uniquely to Jiang Ling.

“You can get up now. It’s all clean. No other smell.”

Song Guanshu’s words carried a fair amount of weight with Jiang Ling.

She stood up, and Song Guanshu casually took the towel draped over the washbasin rack and placed it over her head. It was originally a pillow towel that Jiang Ling had repurposed as a hair towel.

As Jiang Ling dried her hair, Song Guanshu quietly mopped the floor dry, then fetched two more basins of hot water.

“You take a bath first. I’ll go make dinner.”

Even at dinnertime, Jiang Ling was still sullen and gloomy.

The dining table was unusually quiet. Song Guanshu wasn’t quite used to it and glanced at her a couple of extra times, but in the end, he didn’t say anything.

It was only after the meal that he brought out the bottle of shampoo Jiang Ling had thrown into the corner.

He squeezed out a bit from the bottle and examined it carefully, then opened a new, unopened bottle of shampoo from home to compare.

Jiang Ling was in a terrible mood, but when she saw Song Guanshu sitting at the table fiddling with things, her curiosity got the better of her.

Curiosity overcame her bad mood, and she asked, “What are you doing? Are you saying someone secretly put something dirty in my shampoo?”

There were only the two of them at home. If someone really had tampered with her shampoo, she did have a suspect in mind.

“No,” Song Guanshu replied concisely. “There’s a problem with all of these shampoos.”

Facing Jiang Ling’s puzzled gaze, he added, “A quality issue.”

Song Guanshu looked at the production dates on the bottles of shampoo and fell into deep thought.

Jiang Ling laid out the bedding and quickly slipped under the covers. “So this whole time, the factory has been having trouble selling products because of this?”

She worked in the Accounting Section and was well aware of the factory’s financial state. Revenue was low, expenditures were high, and the books looked terrible.

“Go to sleep. Someone will take care of it.” Song Guanshu glanced at the person under the quilt, with only half her head peeking out.

Jiang Ling had never considered telling anyone about seeing Director Ding checking into a hotel room. She had no proof—speaking up would only be considered slander.

She wasn’t the kind of person to do things that brought her no benefit.

She thought Director Ding would act as if nothing had happened, but unexpectedly, the next day he came to the Accounting Section under the pretense of looking for Wei Ming.

This was the first time Director Ding had taken the initiative to seek out Wei Ming since he joined the Accounting Section.

The other staff in the section felt honored and flattered by the visit, and as one of the people directly involved, Wei Ming stood even straighter than usual, his chest puffed out more than ever.

Director Ding spoke with Wei Ming about two trivial matters and then said, “Yan’er has a bit of a temper. Please be more understanding with her.”

Wei Ming nodded repeatedly in agreement, but his heart began to pound with unease. He often saw Director Ding at social events and meals, and not once had he ever said something like this.

Could it be that he hadn’t served her well in some way, and Ding Yan had gone home to complain to Director Ding? Was this visit Director Ding’s way of standing up for his younger sister?

Other than that, Wei Ming couldn’t think of any other possibility.

He quickly replied, “She has a very good temper, and she treats me well. If there’s anything I’ve done wrong, please don’t hesitate to tell me directly.”

Director Ding patted Wei Ming on the shoulder. “You’re a good one. I believe you can take good care of her.”

After giving his instructions to Wei Ming, Director Ding let his gaze sweep across the others in the office.

His eyes first landed on Section Chief Old Tang. “Didn’t drink last night?”

This made Old Tang suspect the leader had come to give him a warning. He put on a smiling face and said, “Drinking leads to mistakes. I wouldn’t dare drink during work hours.”

Director Ding laughed heartily. “Liquor is grain-based fuel. The more you drink, the younger you get. It’s fine to have a little, just not during work hours.”

Old Tang hunched slightly and nodded. “You’re absolutely right.”

Director Ding motioned downward with his hand. “Sit, sit, no need to put on a show.”

He glanced around at everyone. “I’m just here to see Wei Ming. You all go on with whatever you’re doing. Don’t mind me.”

That’s what he said, but no one dared to truly ignore the presence of a leader.

The few women who had been knitting sweaters quickly stuffed their yarn and knitting needles into their drawers the moment Director Ding walked in.

“You must be Xiao Li,” Director Ding said, pointing at Li Chunjiao. “I remember you clearly. When the warehouse caught fire, you rushed to save the factory’s supplies in time and helped prevent major losses. That kind of spirit is something the rest of our workers should learn from.”

These were all people whose names Director Ding could recall, and he went on for quite a while, leaving everyone deeply moved.

Li Chunjiao, who spent every workday knitting sweaters while getting paid, was especially touched and nearly felt ready to burn herself up for the sake of the factory.