Chapter 417

Chapter 417

Bai Xiuxiu was somewhat distracted by his appearance, unsure if it was because the family had been eating well recently or if it was just his natural good looks. He looked younger compared to when they were living with Old Wang's family.

Younger than when she followed him around in her past life, not just in appearance but in the look in his eyes.

In her past life, there was always a lingering look of worry between his brows and in his eyes.

His eyes always had a cold, distant look when he gazed at others.

If not for his naturally gentle appearance, people might not even dare to greet him on the street.

He was a completely different person now.

At this moment, he was still wearing the blue sweater. Ever since she said she liked it, he seemed to always be wearing blue clothes.

He even asked her to knit another one so he could alternate between them.

Noticing his puzzled expression, Bai Xiuxiu smiled at him. "No, I just noticed you were spacing out and wanted to remind you that it's time to leave."

"Let's go," Wang Qinghe said, gently holding his wife's hand, a faint smile on his lips.

Ever since they left Old Wang’s and started their own life, Wang Qinghe had increasingly sensed that Xiuxiu also cared for him deeply.

If she didn’t like him, she wouldn’t always think of him so considerately.

He felt like he had truly captured her heart. Whenever he thought about it, he would be so overjoyed that he couldn't sleep.

If this were a dream, he wished this life could go on forever. He wanted to remain in this dream for the rest of his life, never wanting to wake up.

Wang Qinghe rode his bike and first dropped Bai Xiuxiu off at the community office.

Bai Xiuxiu got off the bike, pecked him on the cheek, and said, "Ride safe, I'm heading to work."

Wang Qinghe stood there, dazed, watching her walk into the building. He then pulled his scarf up to partly cover his face, blushing, and rode off toward the factory.

Bai Xiuxiu got to her desk and started reviewing the work she needed to do.

Even though she had the day off yesterday, the workload hadn’t decreased and everything had to be caught up today.

Wang Qiong had now been transferred to sit in front of Bai Xiuxiu. Since Bai Xiuxiu joined the community office, they’d always gone out on assignments together, and they had a good relationship.

Noticing Bai Xiuxiu sitting down and getting to work, Wang Qiong leaned over and whispered, "Xiao Bai, did you hear? Someone came to see Director Gao today, bringing a person who is supposed to start working in our office. They’re taking either Lin Qiong’s or Lu Fang’s spot."

Wang Qiong’s usually cool tone made her gossip seem oddly out of place.

"Already? I thought they just left not long ago," Bai Xiuxiu said in surprise.

After all, hiring for the community office isn’t exactly a breeze. It wasn’t that there were no applicants, but the committee had to make selections from those who applied.

Director Gao is really thorough; she wouldn’t make a decision that fast. How much time had actually passed?

"Exactly? It's hard to believe Director Gao agreed," Wang Qiong had also heard it from someone else.

Apparently, someone spotted it this morning.

We'll have to wait and see once Director Gao gets here.

The Director Gao that Bai Xiuxiu and the others were concerned about was in another office, feeling overwhelmed.

She glared at the trio before her—an elderly man, a middle-aged guy, and a young woman in her twenties.

If they were just random people, it wouldn't matter much.

The issue was that the middle-aged man was her boss's secretary.

She couldn't just leave.

"Director Gao, don’t you need two more people? It's the busy season right now, and this young woman can step in. She's just temporary. Once you find someone more suitable, she'll leave.

If you can't find anyone suitable and she works well, you can keep her. What do you think?"

The middle-aged man pushed up his glasses, trying to sound reasonable.

He Quan stood next to Zhou Jiaojiao, feeling unconcerned. After all, an old friend had assured him that everything would be fine.

Director Gao glanced at Zhou Jiaojiao and then at her resume.

When she saw that Zhou Jiaojiao was from the same place as Bai Xiuxiu, she felt a bit of goodwill.

Bai Xiuxiu worked very well, so this young Zhou…

What harm could a temp worker do?

"Alright, she can stay. But I'll be clear—if she doesn’t perform well, I’ll send her away immediately." Director Gao's attitude was serious.

Zhou Jiaojiao was overjoyed to hear she got the job.

Although it was just a temporary position, at least she was now in the provincial city. She could take it slow and find a better job later.

For now, being here meant she was closer to Bai Xiuxiu, making it easier to cause trouble for Bai Xiuxiu.

She could already picture how miserable Bai Xiuxiu would be when Bai Xiuxiu and Wang Qinghe left the provincial city in disgrace, while she stayed behind.

"Director Gao, don’t worry. I’ll work hard," Zhou Jiaojiao promised confidently.

"Okay, come with me," Director Gao said, nodding.

Seeing that everything was settled, He Quan reminded Zhou Jiaojiao, "You need to work hard from now on. Don’t let us down."

Zhou Jiaojiao turned her back to He Quan, her expression instantly turning cold.

This old man sure had a lot of demands. Didn’t he know she knew what to do?

Soon, Director Gao led Zhou Jiaojiao into the office. Everyone had been working, but when they heard the door open, they all looked toward the entrance.

Seeing the new face, everyone was surprised.

Director Gao brought Zhou Jiaojiao inside and introduced her to everyone. "This is Zhou Jiaojiao. You can call her Xiao Zhou. We're very busy during the year-end, so she’s been temporarily assigned here.

She’ll take over the work previously handled by Lin Yan, but the work left by Lu Fang still needs to be shared among you. In another half month, we’ll be on holiday. Let’s work hard to get through this period without any mistakes.

Let’s aim to keep our office rated as one of the best this year."

Director Gao gave a serious pep talk to everyone.

Everyone clapped enthusiastically in agreement. With everyone watching, Director Gao placed Zhou Jiaojiao behind Bai Xiuxiu.

At her desk, Zhou Jiaojiao couldn’t stop beaming. She whispered to Bai Xiuxiu, "Big sis, didn't see this coming, did you? That you'd meet me here."

Bai Xiuxiu turned to look at her. "Who are you supposed to be?"

Zhou Jiaojiao's smile froze. "Cut the act!"

"I'm really not your big sis; my husband has nothing to do with your family," Bai Xiuxiu spoke slowly and calmly, which only made Zhou Jiaojiao angrier.

"Don't think no one knows what you and your husband have done. Dad got locked up because of you two."

Zhou Jiaojiao glared daggers, wishing she could strangle Bai Xiuxiu thinking about her lost money.

Bai Xiuxiu was already living the high life—why come here to mess with mine?

Zhou Jiaojiao's glaring was impossible for Bai Xiuxiu to miss. She glanced back at Zhou Jiaojiao and smiled. "Save your drama for home. What's the point of talking to me here?

What's going on with your dad?"