[96: Keep an Eye on Her]

"What is it?" Su Jingrui asked, wobbling slightly as he began pedaling his bicycle, his gaze trailing in the direction Su Hanyan had gone. He saw her boarding a bus.

Where could she be heading?

"It's about Yanyan," Lin Zhiqiu said.

"Her? What about her?" Su Jingrui asked distractedly.

"I just heard today," Lin Zhiqiu explained. After lunch, she had been teased by colleagues who thought she was getting close to Zhou Ningkai. She clarified that Zhou Ningkai was pursuing Su Hanyan and had asked her for help, which led to her colleagues discussing Su Hanyan. "Several of my colleagues in the logistics department mentioned that they often see her leaving the factory alone after work. They have no idea where she's going."

Su Jingrui abruptly braked, turning back sharply. "What did you say? She goes out every day?"

Lin Zhiqiu nodded slightly. "That's what I heard."

"Didn't they ask Su Hanyan?"

"They're not that close to her, so how could they ask?"

"This damn girl better not be up to something shady," Su Jingrui said, his mind racing with possibilities. This girl was becoming bolder, completely different from before.

"If you think that..." Lin Zhiqiu paused, "what do you think she could be doing?"

Su Jingrui shook his head. "I'm not sure. Qiu'er, keep an eye on her for me. If anything happens, let me know. Even though she's had a falling out with the family, I can't allow her to do anything disgraceful out there."

"Alright!" Lin Zhiqiu nodded with a slight smile.

...

Su Hanyan arrived at Director Zhang's house to find the old lady happily making dumplings. Her eldest grandson's academic improvement had her overjoyed.

"Xiao Su! You really have a talent! You have no idea how much trouble this kid's English grades have been. His father has tried everything, from scolding to hitting, but nothing worked! Since you started tutoring him, his grades have improved dramatically! At this rate, I'm sure he'll get into university next year. I can't thank you enough, Teacher Su!" Grandma Zhang held Su Hanyan's hand, expressing her gratitude.

"Zhang Tian is a smart kid! As long as he puts his mind to it and works hard, he'll do well! His grades were low, so the improvement is quick, but it will slow down later. Grandma, you'll need to keep an eye on him," Su Hanyan said seriously.

Since she had taken on the responsibility of tutoring him, she needed to fulfill her duty, whether it was teaching or reminding.

"I will! I definitely will. If he doesn't study properly, I'll nag him!" Grandma Zhang said happily.

Zhang Tian, studying in his room, overheard the conversation. He came out with an apple in his mouth, leaning against the doorframe and watching the two women discuss him.

After Grandma Zhang finished making the dumplings, she turned around and was startled to see her grandson standing there. "You little rascal, standing there silently! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Zhang Tian laughed. "Look at how scared you get." Then, turning his gaze to Su Hanyan, he awkwardly said, "Teacher Su, thanks!"

Su Hanyan smiled. "What for? It's the result of your hard work."

Zhang Tian scratched his nose, looking uncomfortable. "I think I've caused you some trouble. There's something I need to discuss with you."

[97: The Second Job]

"Huh? Trouble?" Su Hanyan raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You've caused me trouble?"

Grandma Zhang immediately scolded her eldest grandson in a low voice. "Can't you go a day without causing trouble? How did you manage to give Teacher Su trouble?"

"Grandma, you don't understand..." Zhang Tian dismissed his grandma's interruption and called Su Hanyan into the living room to discuss the matter. "Teacher Su, I'll get straight to the point. My classmates want you to help us with English tutoring."

"Your classmates?" Su Hanyan asked.

"Yes!"

"How many are we talking about?"

"Not just a few, but a dozen or even dozens!" Zhang Tian explained.

"So many?" This took Su Hanyan by surprise. "Don't you have an English teacher? Why are they all coming to me?"

Zhang Tian ran a hand through his hair proudly. "It's because my grades have improved so much. I increased my score by thirty points in a month, making everyone envious! Even our teacher praised me! I'm a role model now!"

"No wonder," Su Hanyan smiled. "It looks like I might need to start a second job because of you!"

Zhang Tian laughed. "Will you consider it, Teacher Su?"

"How did Zhang Lu and the others do?"

"They didn't improve as much as I did, but they did well. We discussed it and want to continue your classes during the holiday. Is that okay?" Zhang Tian asked.

After a brief silence, Su Hanyan asked, "Aren't you taking a break for the New Year?"

Just then, Director Zhang returned, carrying a roast chicken and half a pound of cooked meat. He joined the conversation with a smile, "They're preparing for the college entrance exams. There's no time for breaks. Xiao Su, if you're available during the holiday, could you continue tutoring them?"

"I don't mind. If anything, it's a good excuse to get away from the chaos at home," Su Hanyan replied. "I'm available. It depends on your schedule."

"That's wonderful!" Zhang Tian was thrilled. "I'll tally up who wants to attend and let you know, okay?"

"Sure," Su Hanyan nodded. She could use the extra money over the holiday while balancing work and rest.

"Great, it's settled then." Zhang Tian took a couple of bites from his apple and tossed the core into the trash can. "I'm off to study some vocabulary..."

Director Zhang, pleased with his son's progress, expressed his gratitude to Su Hanyan. "Thank you, Xiao Su! He hasn't been this obedient in a long time."

"Exactly," Grandma Zhang added as she brought out a dish, wiping her hands on her apron. "Since his mother left over a year ago, this is the first time I've seen him smile."

Director Zhang lowered his head, a faint bitter smile on his lips.

Sensing the delicate atmosphere, Su Hanyan decided to excuse herself from their family matters. "Grandma, let me help you cook the dumplings."

...

The meal was harmonious, and the atmosphere at the table was warm.

After dinner, as Su Hanyan prepared to return to the factory, Grandma Zhang pulled out a small red envelope from her pocket. It contained ten yuan as a token of appreciation.

Despite her initial refusals, Su Hanyan eventually accepted the envelope.

[98: Winter Break]

Tonight, Su Hanyan felt quite accomplished.

Director Zhang had settled her tutoring fees for the month, totaling forty yuan. With the additional ten yuan red envelope from Grandma Zhang, she now had fifty yuan.

Back in her dormitory, the first thing Su Hanyan did was repay Zhu Lin the money she had borrowed. She also checked her wallet, finding that besides the fifty yuan, she had the twenty yuan bonus from the factory. With payday next week, she expected to earn another thirty yuan.

Her small purse would soon be bursting with money!

With the end of the year approaching, Su Hanyan had nearly one hundred yuan saved. She planned to treat herself with new clothes, shoes, skincare products, and maybe even a meal at a fancy restaurant she'd been reluctant to splurge on before.

"Yanyan, your wallet is full now?" Zhu Lin teased her upon seeing her fussing over her money. "Wow, quite a bit! You're becoming a little landlady!"

"Hey, don't joke around," Su Hanyan laughed. "I'm far from it! You're the real landlady, having worked for so many years. You must have saved quite a lot, right?"

Zhu Lin gave a mysterious smile. "Guess."

"I bet you have," Su Hanyan exclaimed. "Treat us! You're the little rich lady! When we get our break, treat us to candied hawthorn!"

"Look at you, getting excited over a candied hawthorn!" Zhu Lin teased her. "Fine, when the holiday starts, I'll treat you all to some good food!"

Shaoyu, who was studying, closed her book upon hearing this. "We get our break this Friday. Let's go shopping in the afternoon, and Zhu Lin, you're treating us to dinner!"

"Perfect timing. Sure, I'll treat you all!"

The girls in the dormitory were in high spirits, eagerly looking forward to Friday.

...

Time flew by, and the year was coming to an end.

After another snowfall, the city was filled with the festive atmosphere of the New Year. The factory was preparing for celebrations, with employees organizing parties, cleaning the streets, hanging Spring Festival banners, and bustling markets full of people buying New Year's goods, all with smiles on their faces.

The factory was no exception.

This year's tasks were completed ahead of schedule, and the profits were good. The factory management prepared generous New Year's goods for the workers, including sunflower seeds, peanuts, assorted fruit candies, and fresh apples and pears.

On Friday, the workers came to work with smiles, knowing that today was mainly for cleaning the factory. After lunch, they would receive their wages and New Year's goods before heading home for the holiday.

In the workshops, workers busily cleaned machines, oiled and maintained them for storage. Everywhere in the factory, men were sweeping snow and fallen leaves.

The offices were also busy with year-end cleaning, organizing files, and archiving documents. It was a scene of bustling activity.

The busiest today were the finance and logistics departments. The finance department was distributing wages to all the workers, while logistics was sorting and distributing New Year's goods to each workshop and office. After lunch, everyone would sign for and collect their goods.

The logistics staff, including Lin Zhiqiu and her colleagues, had their little privileges.

At the moment, they were in the warehouse, picking the biggest and best-looking apples to set aside for themselves.

"Qiu'er! Are you done packing?" Qu Shan had already picked her share and found a few more good apples to give to Lin Zhiqiu. "I found a few more good ones. Here, take them!"

[99: Constantly on My Mind]

Lin Zhiqiu had almost finished packing her apples. When she saw the large, red, and vibrant apples in Qu Shan's hands, she was tempted once again.

"Sure, thanks!" she smiled as she accepted the apples.

"What's there to thank for?" Qu Shan grabbed an apple from the pile, wiped it with her sleeve, and took a big bite. "This is our little privilege in logistics. If we don't use it now, when will we?"

Lin Zhiqiu smiled and turned back to pack more apples.

The factory allowed each person three jins of apples. Lin Zhiqiu carefully picked the largest, brightest apples, weighed them, and packed them into a paper bag.

These three jins of apples were meant for Zhou Ningkai.

Since their last meeting, she had found him different from other men. He was talented, capable, and admirable.

After preparing the apples, she placed them at the bottom of the cupboard with her own apples and then began selecting pears.

When lunchtime arrived, the logistics work was finally done. Qu Shan called a few girls to go to the canteen for lunch.

Today, the canteen served dumplings. Lin Zhiqiu looked around after getting her meal, hoping to spot Zhou Ningkai to remind him to pick up his stuff early in the afternoon to avoid any awkward situations.

Unfortunately, she was disappointed. Zhou Ningkai seemed to have disappeared today, and she couldn't find him anywhere.

Lin Zhiqiu had no choice but to sit and eat with her colleagues.

Zhou Ningkai had initially planned to go to the canteen for lunch, but he received a call from Lu Feifan, who wanted to discuss something with him and asked to meet him immediately.

As soon as work ended, Zhou Ningkai changed his clothes and headed out of the factory.

Lu Feifan was waiting at the factory gate. Light snowflakes fell on his gray wool coat, forming a thin layer.

He had been waiting for over ten minutes and was starting to get impatient.

He took a cigarette from his coat pocket, just about to light it, when he saw a surprising figure.

The woman in the blue work uniform, with a high ponytail and a military-green crossbody bag, walking out of the factory, was none other than Su Hanyan, whom he had been thinking about for months.

Lu Feifan quickly put the cigarette back in his pocket and approached her with a smile. "Hi, Su Hanyan!"

Su Hanyan had received a call and planned to have lunch with her father at the Changfeng Machinery Factory, a few bus stops away. Just as she walked out of the factory gate, a strange man waved and greeted her.

"Who are you...?" She stopped and looked at the man, finding him vaguely familiar but unable to recall where they had met.

"It's me! Lu Feifan!" Lu Feifan had thought she would remember him, but seeing that she didn't recognize him, he had to remind her, "We met at the hospital a while ago... remember?"

"Oh!" Su Hanyan recalled and smiled, showing her white teeth. "It's you! Hello, Dr. Lu!"

"I'm good, really good." Lu Feifan was thrilled to see her. He had been looking for her for so long, and now she appeared before him unexpectedly. "Miss Su, do you work here?"

Su Hanyan couldn't help but laugh at the formal address. She nodded and chatted with him, "Yes! I work here. Are you waiting for someone?"

[100: Movie Tickets]

"Yes, I'm waiting for someone! I have some matters to attend to!" Lu Feifan's bright eyes lingered on her face, and a smile unknowingly crept up his lips. He wanted to chat with her more. "Can I ask you about someone? Do you know Zhou Ningkai from your factory's design department?"

"Zhou Ningkai? Engineer Zhou? You're looking for him?"

"Yes."

"I know him," Su Hanyan replied with a light smile. "It's lunchtime now, so he should be in the canteen if I'm not mistaken. Dr. Lu, if you're waiting here, you might want to register at the gate and find him in the canteen."

"Thank you..." Lu Feifan's words trailed off as he spotted someone running towards the factory gate. A slight smile played on his lips. "There he is!"

Su Hanyan turned and saw Zhou Ningkai jogging towards them.

"Since the person you're waiting for is here, I'll be off! Goodbye, Dr. Lu!" Su Hanyan waved and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Ningkai called out, asking her to wait. "Secretary Su, hold on, I need to talk to you."

Su Hanyan had no choice but to stop and wait beside Lu Feifan for the approaching Zhou Ningkai.

Zhou Ningkai arrived, panting. He glanced at both of them before asking, "You two know each other?"

"Yes, we do!" Lu Feifan habitually smiled, squinting at Zhou Ningkai and teasing him, "Why are you so slow? I've been standing here in the cold wind for twenty minutes waiting for you!"

"I came as soon as I put down the phone!" Zhou Ningkai caught his breath and asked, "What's so urgent that you needed me?"

Lu Feifan smiled and motioned towards Su Hanyan. "We'll talk about our matter later. Didn't you need to speak with her? What is it?"

"Oh, right." Zhou Ningkai pulled out a few movie tickets from his pocket, blushing slightly as he handed them to Su Hanyan. "The technical department distributed some movie tickets, and I have a few extras! Since we have the afternoon off, I was wondering if you have time to watch...a movie?"

So that's what it was about?

She thought Zhou Ningkai had something important to discuss.

"Thank you, Engineer Zhou, but I'm afraid I don't have time this afternoon," Su Hanyan declined without a second thought. She had already planned to go shopping with her roommates.

Even if she had the time, she wouldn't go to the movies with Zhou Ningkai.

"If not today, then maybe tomorrow?" Zhou Ningkai looked at her with hope. "Secretary Su, I heard this movie is really good..."

Lu Feifan squinted and watched for a moment before chuckling. Zhou Ningkai seemed to have a crush on the girl and wanted to ask her out.

But the girl Zhou Ningkai wanted to invite happened to be someone Lu Feifan was interested in.

That meant he had to intervene!

[daddy jin chen come home quickly! there are wolves trying to court your sheep]

"How many tickets do you have?" Lu Feifan lazily reached out and took one. "Count me in! I haven't had many surgeries lately and could use a break."

Zhou Ningkai was stunned to see one ticket missing. He quickly signaled Lu Feifan with his eyes, indicating for him not to interfere.

Lu Feifan ignored the signals, took the remaining tickets, and checked the times. He handed one of the same showtime tickets to Su Hanyan. "Here, take it. No reason not to!"

HODDEOKI's note
we finally broke through the three digits! thank god. things are progressing quite slowly, eh? we still have 815 chapters to go, chat. until then ~