Chapter 515: Him and Her? – Daily Gossip in the Sickly Aunt’s Compound

Chapter 515: Him and Her? – The Daily Gossip Life of the Frail Young Woman in the Compound

Lin Qing arrived at the cafeteria as early as usual, with very few people around. She wasn’t one to skimp on herself, so she directly ordered a serving of braised pork with potatoes. When supplies were running low, she skipped the greens altogether!

Even in the capital, which was still in the north, the same old three dishes were unavoidable.

Lin Qing casually picked an empty seat and dug into her lunch.

Meanwhile, the director of the Capital Machinery Factory was hosting deputy factory managers from various regions who had led their teams there. This time, more than ten machinery factories had sent representatives, and Deputy Factory Manager Song was one of them.

Thanks to their factory’s new research breakthrough last year, which had recently made a big splash across major factories, Deputy Factory Manager Song had become a hot commodity, with everyone eager to establish good relations with him.

When their group entered the cafeteria, Deputy Factory Manager Song and several directors from the Capital Machinery Factory held court at the center, hemmed in by others.

Lin Qing had her back to them and didn’t notice, but Song had indeed spotted her.

She stood out quite noticeably—amid the vast cafeteria, that eye-catching pop of green was truly attractive.

When the director of the Capital Machinery Factory noticed her presence, his heart did a little flip. What was going on? Was someone skipping work?

But upon closer inspection, his tension eased. Her attire didn’t seem to match their factory’s uniform.

The deputy factory managers from other regions also wondered—was this some rebellious worker from one of their factories?

So, they all tacitly avoided mentioning her, hoping to quickly overlook her presence. However, there was always that one clueless manager who couldn’t resist commenting, "Which department’s training program ended so quickly?"

The others shot him a look: *Do you really need to know?*

And then, with his actions, he proved that yes, he really did want to know. "Let’s go take a look!"

"…" *Do you really have to be this nosy?*

With no other choice, the group followed him over.

Lin Qing, who had been eating with her head down, suddenly sensed someone approaching and instinctively looked up.

"…" *Awkward.*

The moment Lin Qing saw Deputy Factory Manager Song, she immediately grasped the significance of the group and stood up at once.

"Good day, directors!"

Aside from Deputy Factory Manager Song, everyone else’s first impression was: *This young comrade really stands out!*

Not wanting to leave Lin Qing floundering in awkwardness, Song stepped forward, effectively vouching for her and helping her out of the situation. "Xiao Lin! Has your accounting department’s training program wrapped up already?"

The others raised their brows: *Ah! So she’s one of yours!*

Lin Qing smiled, momentarily unsure how to respond.

Though Song didn’t know why Lin Qing was eating so early, he was certain she wasn’t a shirker. "Just tell the truth," he encouraged.

Lin Qing was nothing if not obedient. "We only took a test this morning. I finished early, so I left first."

*What does that mean?*

*Finished early?*

*And just left?*

Deputy Factory Manager Song caught on right away and beamed with pride again, "Oh! So that's how it is!" Xiao Lin had scored him points again!

The other factory managers didn’t bother asking about the others—no point embarrassing themselves by asking.

As for Lin Qing, anyone who could make such an impression on a deputy factory manager must be quite capable—at least, that’s what everyone else thought.

"These youngsters are impressive, truly formidable!"

Deputy Factory Manager Song wore a smug smile, "She's not bad, not bad at all! Their director says she’s a promising talent!"

Other factory managers: *Do you even hear yourself? Must you be so smug?*

Lin Qing: "..."

She really felt like digging a hole to disappear into!

"Alright, enjoy your meal. We won’t disturb you any longer!" Perhaps sensing Lin Qing’s discomfort, they didn’t linger.

"Thank you! Deputy Factory Manager Song, everyone, have a good one!"

Lin Qing sat back down after they left.

"Phew..." *Did they have to be so intense?*

After that encounter, even the braised pork in front of her didn't taste as good anymore!

Once Deputy Factory Manager Song and the others entered the VIP room, some factory managers, impressed by Lin Qing’s looks and competence, considered setting her up with their relatives.

One of them asked Deputy Factory Manager Song about her, "Deputy Factory Manager Song, is that colleague from earlier married?"

"What's this about? Trying to steal our star employee?"

"Come on, if they hit it off, how is that poaching?"

"Well, dream on! That young lady is already married—her husband is none other than our Cen Gong."

That got everyone talking!

Cen Gong—Cen Xi—who hadn't heard of him?

"Wow! Cen Gong hit the jackpot!"

"True, but that young lady looks quite young. Is she even of age?"

"Knock it off! Of course she is—she’s already twenty! And married for two years!" Deputy Factory Manager Song thought these guys were way out of line.

"Oh wow, married for two years already? Hard to tell!"

"I remember Cen Gong is around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, right? Isn’t that a case of a cradle robber?"

"Hahaha!" The group burst into laughter.

Deputy Factory Manager Song shut them down, "Enough, enough! Don’t say that in front of me—say that to Cen Gong’s face if you dare!"

Everyone immediately fell silent. They didn’t dare—they still had favors to ask of Cen Xi. Who would tease him to his face?

...

After Deputy Factory Manager Song and the others left, Lin Qing wolfed down her food.

She clocked out before everyone else.

Not wanting to go back to rest so early, she decided to walk back slowly to walk off her meal.

Halfway there, just as the workday ended, Lin Qing didn’t want to run into the crowd, so she took a side street.

They say walking on small paths makes it easy to see things you shouldn’t see. Lin Qing had never had such a clear understanding of this before, but now it suddenly became vividly clear!

She saw the familiar him and her, her mind reeled with questions???

Why were the two of them here?

And why were they walking together?

They looked so familiar with each other, as if their relationship was far from platonic!

Lin Qing quickly slipped away and returned to the main road.

Sometimes, Lin Qing felt like her mind couldn’t process things. Strange, really strange!

Why would anyone always want to be a stepmother and go after taken men?

Did they have no moral compass?

Or did they simply not care?

Lin Qing felt her brain just couldn’t make sense of it. Shaking her head helplessly, she dropped the thought and hurried back to the dormitory.

Lin Qing went to find the dorm supervisor Sister Hu had introduced to them the day before, borrowed a medicine pot, and brewed the herbs she had brought.

She didn’t use it for free—she directly paid two yuan for her stay during advanced study.

“Oh my! You’re such a thoughtful young lady!”

“It’s the least I could do, it’s the least I could do. How could I use it for free?”

“Alright, alright! Auntie won’t argue with you!”

They both came away happy.