Chapter 489 I’ll Take Care of You

**Chapter 489: I've Got Your Back**

Factory Director Xue knew how relentless these reporters could be and had no intention of engaging with them.

He shot a resentful glare at Jiang Yu—just as hard to shake off as he expected.

“No interviews!”

Li Nian pulled out her notepad. “No interview’s fine—we can just ask you a few quick questions. I’ve heard about Department Head Jiang’s achievements before, and always wanted the chance to interview her. Of course, I’ve also heard the rumors going around these past few days. Factory Director Xue came today to do a full-blown raid—”

“Correction,” Factory Director Xue snapped, “It was a search, not a raid. Watch your words.”

Li Nian gave a noncommittal smile. “Turning the place upside down—that’s just a search?”

Factory Director Xue kept his face cold and stayed silent.

She pressed on, “Then may I ask what you found during this ‘search’?”

His expression darkened further, but he said nothing.

Xu Lihua summoned her courage and called out, “They were ready to skin her alive even when they found nothing. If they’d actually uncovered something, do you think he’d let Jiang Yu walk away?”

Li Nian nodded in realization. “So nothing was found, then?”

“Of course not! Poor Jiang Yu—she gave her all for the factory, turned up so much dirt, and handed it all over. If she’d held onto even a fraction of it for herself, she wouldn’t be in this mess now.” Xu Lihua sneered.

Li Nian jotted notes while asking, “Does Factory Director Xue feel any remorse? Have you apologized to Department Head Jiang? Aren’t you worried this will disillusion the workers?”

Jiang Yu retorted coldly, “Let me correct you—I’ve officially submitted my resignation to the factory today. I’m no longer ‘Department Head Jiang.’ You can just call me by my name.”

Li Nian blinked in surprise. “Why resign? You did nothing wrong—why would you want to leave?”

Jiang Yu feigned a sigh. “Promoted to department head so young—maybe I stepped on someone’s toes and brought this disaster on myself. After thinking it through, this backstabbing environment isn’t for someone like me who just wants to get things done. He can have the job.”

Deputy Factory Director Zheng nearly laughed out loud—this time, Xue had really bitten off more than he could chew.

Li Nian’s eyes hardened slightly, her gaze toward Factory Director Xue turning sharper.

“What are your thoughts on Jiang Yu leaving?”

“Is she a pawn in your internal power games?”

“She contributed countless wins to the factory—isn’t this just biting the hand that feeds you?”

“Whose toes did she step on? Were you trying to shove your relatives into jobs at the factory?”

Only then did Factory Director Xue realize how tame Li Nian’s earlier questions had been.

Just listening to her questions made him break out in a cold sweat.

“I was just following orders!”

Even if he had ulterior motives, there was no way he could admit it now.

Li Nian pressed, “Whose orders?”

Factory Director Xue stammered, shoved past them, and stormed off.

Li Nian let him go without another word.

"Doesn’t Director Xue feel even a shred of guilt for driving someone who genuinely worked for the factory to resign?" she demanded angrily, staring at his retreating figure.

But there was no reply.

Director Xue quickened his pace and strode out of the alley.

Director Zheng sighed. "Jiang Yu, you..."

Jiang Yu gave a faint smile. "Thank you, Director Zheng, for your guidance all this time and for standing up for me today. My resignation isn’t a joke or a spur-of-the-moment thing. Please approve it."

Director Zheng took a deep breath, his face turning a deep shade of red.

"I don’t have the authority to approve it, but I will submit your application. Jiang Yu, you still have time to reconsider."

Jiang Yu smiled. "I don’t need to reconsider. My decision is final. This city’s big enough—I’ll find my place."

Ding Jianan quickly added, "If you want, I can put you in touch with Director Lan to join the production studio."

Jiang Yu’s message was clear: if they didn’t want her here, she’d go elsewhere. She wasn’t tied to the Second State Cotton Mill.

Director Zheng felt a headache brewing. From the moment Jiang Yu stepped aside and let Director Xue search her place, he knew this wouldn’t end peacefully.

With her, every compromise was just setting up a counterattack.

Quitting was just step one—she wasn’t done yet.

Director Zheng looked to He Tingyue for backup, but he just shrugged.

"I do what my wife says."

Too frustrated to argue, Director Zheng stormed off with his men.

Once they’d all left, the courtyard finally quieted down.

Li Nian and a couple reporters walked over, smiling and offering handshakes.

"Jiang Yu, right? I’m Li Nian."

Jiang Yu shook their hands. "Come on in."

Li Nian stopped short, taking in the mess in the courtyard.

They hadn’t outright trashed the place, but they’d definitely made a mess of things.

The signs of the search made her skin crawl.

Jiang Yu smiled and led them inside.

While pouring tea, she heard Li Nian speak.

"I’ve heard of you. I know Huang at the Evening News."

She handed them tea. "Tea’s ready."

Li Nian said, "I’m a country girl too, but I got lucky—I had relatives in the city who helped me get where I am. That’s why I get how tough it is for a country girl to make it here."

She also knew that Jiang Yu’s journey to this point couldn’t have been easy.

"Don’t let anger make you quit like this. It’d be a shame."

Jiang Yu smiled lightly, "No need to feel sorry. Ask whatever you'd like, and I'll tell you everything I know."

Li Nian took out her notebook—it contained the questions she had already prepared.

"There are mainly three sections: family, work, and marriage. You don’t have to go into too much detail about private matters. Additionally, I’ll pick some highlights from your past for discussion."

"Alright."

Before coming, Li Nian had heard that Jiang Yu’s highest education level was junior high school graduation. At first, she didn’t believe it, but now that Jiang Yu confirmed it, she was amazed.

Calm and self-assured, Jiang Yu spoke eloquently, effortlessly handling their pointed questions and smoothly navigating awkward pauses.

They hit it off right away, and it wasn’t until mealtime that they realized they had overstayed their welcome.

Jiang Yu wouldn’t hear of them leaving empty-handed. She smiled and said, "I’ve asked Tingyue to reserve a private dining room at Dongkelai Restaurant. Let’s go there together—we can continue our chat over dinner."

Li Nian blushed. "We couldn’t possibly."

"You helped me today, so it’s the least I can do to thank you. Give me this chance, won’t you?"

That settled it—they couldn’t say no.

After the meal at Dongkelai, they finally said their goodbyes.

Before leaving, Li Nian said, "I’ll show you the draft before it goes to print."

Jiang Yu nodded. "Good. Please keep it objective and stick to the facts."

"Of course. Don’t worry, we’ve got this."

After seeing them off, Jiang Yu turned to He Tingyue beside her.

She tilted her head with a smile. "Home?"

He Tingyue gave her hair a playful tousle. "With all that’s going on, how can you still smile?"

Jiang Yu reached for his hand, their fingers intertwining.

"With you by my side, I’m not afraid of anything."

The two walked home slowly under the sunset.

The sunset painted the sky in streaks of pink, reflecting in Jiang Yu’s eyes.

She sighed. "Now that we’re both unemployed, we’ll have to dip into our savings."

He Tingyue chuckled. With everything else going on, her only worry was their finances.

"No problem. You can always start over whenever you want."

Jiang Yu gave him a teasing look. "I thought you’d say something like, 'I’ll take care of you.'"

He Tingyue faked a pout. "I wanted to, but I realized my wife is so capable, she doesn’t need me to."

If anything, he was the one leaning on her.

Jiang Yu let out a laugh, rising on her toes to pat his stubbly buzz cut.

"I’ll take care of you!" [teasingly]