Chapter 57 Favoritism

Chapter 57: Partiality

"Post a public notice, put up a big-character poster."

Old Liu was blunt. "And it must be done by your office personally. List all of Xie Xinyi's contributions, her outstanding achievements, and the reasons why she was chosen as an Outstanding Employee—everything must be spelled out in detail."

He didn’t care how Fang Mingan handled others, but for Xie Xinyi, he insisted that the office must protect her, and it had to be done openly and blatantly.

It couldn’t be like last time, a mere formality. This time, they had to take concrete steps, one by one, and ensure everything was carried out effectively.

Since falling ill, he didn’t know how much longer he had to live. In the past, he had always been cautious, worried about causing inconvenience or harm to others. But what had it gotten him? What had Xiao Jing gotten?

When Xiao Jing was forced to jump off the building by those people, did any of them show any restraint?

No, they didn’t.

They used the most vicious words to hurt a girl who had just turned twenty-two. They slandered her, questioned her, and tarnished her reputation, forcing her to jump off the building—and then they blamed it on her inability to handle pressure.

Pressure?!

They called spreading rumors and slander "pressure"?

Liu Yinsheng looked at the girl lying in a pool of blood and felt utterly disgusted by his own cowardice and incompetence—for the first time in his life.

He hated himself for standing by and watching coldly from the sidelines, and he hated even more himself for thrusting the girl into the spotlight but not daring to speak up in her defense.

At that time, he thought that the truth would come out and that the best way to deal with rumors was to do nothing.

He thought that staying silent was the best way to protect the girl, never imagining that it would instead leave her isolated and helpless, ultimately leading her to take her own life by jumping off the building.

Xiao Jing’s death was a mistake for which Liu Yinsheng could never forgive himself in this lifetime.

So this time, when he heard that Xie Xinyi was being maliciously slandered, he didn’t even wait to finish his IV drip and went straight to Fang Mingan to demand an explanation.

He didn’t want a repeat of the last incident, and he refused to be as timid and hesitant as he was back then.

This time, he was putting it all on the line. He didn’t care what others thought or said—he was determined to protect Xie Xinyi, openly and blatantly.

He laid out his demands clearly on the table. Fang Mingan was aware of his determination to protect Xie Xinyi, but...

"There are so many employees who received awards in the factory this time. If we only praise Comrade Xie Xinyi, won’t it lead to even more resentment?"

He used Director Ou’s earlier argument to try and explain the potential downsides of the situation from another angle.

But Old Liu didn’t care. "Xie Xinyi is Xie Xinyi, and others are others. Besides, it’s Xie Xinyi who’s being targeted, not them. What could they possibly say?"

"But—" Fang Mingan frowned, about to explain further, when Old Liu cut him off with a cold snort. "No buts. If we keep hesitating, it’ll be too late."

Liu Yinsheng was furious at Fang Mingan’s indecisiveness. Just as he was about to lose his temper, Yuan Kang, who had been standing by the door, quickly stepped in to mediate. "We’ll do it, we’ll do it. We’ll write the notice right away. We’ll write about all the award-winning employees’ outstanding achievements this year. That way, no one will single out Comrade Xie Xinyi."

Praising all the award-winning employees, not just Xie Xinyi—that was a good solution.

Old Liu glanced back at Yuan Kang and, ignoring Fang Mingan’s reaction, said bluntly to both of them, "You have to stand up for your own people. Don’t always expect them to handle things on their own."

The meaning was clear: Old Liu considered Xie Xinyi one of his own.

Fang Mingan had nothing more to say. Yuan Kang and he exchanged a glance, and Yuan Kang also kept quiet, refraining from asking more questions.

Although Fang Mingan promised to write the notice immediately before Liu Yinsheng left, Old Liu still felt a burning anger inside.

He and Yuan Kang walked in silence under the warm winter sun. After a long while, he finally asked in a muffled voice, "Do you think if I had spoken up for Xiao Jing back then, she wouldn’t have died?"

"Master..." Yuan Kang followed behind Liu Yinsheng, watching the old man’s hunched figure. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them, unable to offer any comfort. He simply walked with his head down slowly alongside the old man toward the factory gate.

Under the setting sun, the silhouettes of the old and the young gradually lengthened. Someone on the road recognized Old Liu and stopped to greet him. He smiled and nodded in response.

No one brought up that sorrowful topic again. And the matter of commending Xie Xinyi was openly and properly addressed a few days before the factory’s holiday break.

—

As for being publicly commended again, Xie Xinyi initially had no idea that Old Liu had pulled strings behind the scenes.

That day, as usual, she hurried to her workshop, but as soon as she reached the bulletin board, Xiao Jiang suddenly appeared and blocked her path.

"Let me see who this is—isn’t this our Outstanding Employee at Guohui Food Factory, Comrade Xie Xinyi?"

Xiao Jiang pulled her, who was caught off guard, through the crowd to the bulletin board. She loudly exclaimed while pointing at the notice for Xie Xinyi to see.

The bulletin board, located next to the factory’s main gate, was where the factory usually posted newspapers and notices—similar to a work group chat in later times.

Xie Xinyi looked at the enthusiastic Xiao Jiang and the reactions of the people around her. She guessed it couldn’t be just a simple notice, so she looked up at the board.

She saw the word "Commendation" standing out prominently on the bulletin board.

She quickly scanned the notice to see who was being commended and for what. In the Outstanding Employee section, she found her name, Xie Xinyi.

"...During her time at the factory, she has repeatedly contributed to the factory’s success, participated twice in the development of new ice cream products with outstanding performance, frequently provided valuable suggestions, and innovated the Doll Head Ice Cream and sandwich ice cream, making significant contributions to the food factory’s revenue..."

The notice was signed at the bottom: Approved by the Office of Guohui Food Factory.

Xie Xinyi stood there in disbelief, unable to believe what she was seeing.

Hadn’t the rumors already been cleared up? Why did Director Fang and the others write such a notice?

Everyone saw her receive the award at the gathering, the person spreading rumors about her had been identified, and the rumors had been exposed.

People had their own judgments about her receiving the Outstanding Employee award, and her contributions and outstanding performance were clear for all to see.

In those days, nobody specifically subscribed to newspapers. Most workers would come to the bulletin board to learn about current events or read factory notices.

Now, with Director Fang and the others writing a notice to commend the award winners, others might not see the underlying intention, but Xie Xinyi immediately understood the purpose behind it.

The office was protecting her. That’s how she explained it to Gu Yu when he came to pick her up.

Gu Yu had been waiting for her in the security room, where Uncle Wang enthusiastically told him about the bulletin board notice, repeatedly praising Gu Yu for marrying such a wonderful wife and saying that Xie Xinyi was a great girl. He also mentioned that those people in the factory were just jealous of her. It was only then that Gu Yu realized the extent of the rumors and exclusion the girl had faced during this time.

He looked at the beaming girl in front of him, noticing she showed no signs of dejection after being targeted by rumors. After thinking for a long while, he finally asked her about the bulletin board notice.

"...It was just a new temporary worker who thought I stole her job opportunity. She teamed up with others who were unhappy about me getting the Outstanding Employee award and spread rumors about me."

Xie Xinyi gave him the rundown on what had been going on. Even though Uncle Wang had been furious when he mentioned it earlier, she, as the person involved, played it down.

Gu Yu didn't believe it but didn't push it, only asking about the factory’s final decision.

"...Of course, they used all their connections to protect me, a key player at the food factory," Xie Xinyi said proudly. "The bulletin board proves it."

She smiled as she described Xiao Jiang’s surprising actions in front of the bulletin board that day but didn't say a word about how she'd been hurt.

"That temporary worker…"

She didn't bring it up, so Gu Yu didn't ask, only wanting to know what had happened to the one who'd been bad-mouthing her.

"Not much. The gossip got to her, so she took three days off sick."

She looked at him, proud of herself, even giving him a mischievous eyebrow raise when mentioning the three days of sick leave, as if to say, "See what I can do? I scared her off for three whole days."

A rare smile touched Gu Yu's lips. "Just three days? That's it?"

He sounded less than impressed with Zhang Pandi’s three-day sick leave as a punishment.

Xie Xinyi shot him a look and fired back, "What else did you expect?"

It’s not like they could kick her out of the food factory.

She looked at the man, and he glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow.

No way?

He actually thought that!

Xie Xinyi quickly shook her head. "Forget it. Her reputation is already ruined. If she stirs up trouble again, nobody will buy it."

As for whether she learned her lesson or would reform, that was beyond Xie Xinyi’s control.

Then again... she looked over at him. "Aren’t you going to ask what rumors were spread about me?"

"What rumors?"

The man played along, even though he had already heard everything from Uncle Wang.

"They said I was fooling around with a bunch of the guys at the factory."

Although Xie Xinyi had never been in a relationship, she knew this is the kind of thing guys get hung up on. Whether true or false, once someone said it, they would doubt. She thought Gu Yu, as a man of his time, would be even more old-fashioned than men in later generations.

Thinking that Gu Yu already knew about this, and that he'd hear the rumors sooner or later, she decided it was better to tell him herself rather than let him hear it from others.

Xie Xinyi thought this way and also wanted to see how the man would react, but the result blew her away.

Because Gu Yu didn’t believe it at all.

Not only did he not believe it, he even shot back, completely unfazed, "So what?"

So what?!

Shouldn't he be demanding, "Which guys?"

Xie Xinyi stared at him, shocked. "You don’t care at all?"

"Care about what?" Gu Yu hadn't noticed Xie Xinyi lagging behind, only surprised that she was stuck on this. "You'd rather I trust some gossip over you?"

By the time he asked this, Xie Xinyi was already a few paces behind.

At first, she missed what he'd said. It wasn’t until he noticed she wasn’t following and turned back and asked her again that Xie Xinyi heard him clearly. She froze for a long moment.

Yeah, why had she assumed he'd take their word over hers?

Gu Yu was her guy, and if all went well, he might be the person she would spend her life with.

With such a close relationship and having spent so much time together, they knew each other inside and out.

The kind of person she was... Gu Yu knew that better than anyone, without others telling him.

Why did she think, upon learning that he knew about this, he would choose to believe others instead of her character?

How little confidence did she have in herself, or how little faith did she have in the man she chose?

Xie Xinyi, for all her modern thinking, had just been schooled by this man. Her confidence shaken, she couldn't figure out where that thought had even come from. Worried she'd just spiral into doubting herself, she didn’t dwell on the issue further. As for Gu Yu’s suggestion, she decided it was better not to go nuclear.

In this era, a job was hard to come by. Zhang Pandi had waited two years to get a temporary position. If she pressed the issue and drove her into a corner, it could easily backfire.

It was the same as with Wu Guifen. It was enough to teach her a lesson, show her Xie Xinyi wasn't a pushover.

There was no need to drive her to desperation. Zhang Pandi had a petty streak; best just to steer clear of her.

Xie Xinyi didn’t want to make things too difficult for others. Besides, the other woman hadn't gained a thing from it and had only ended up with a black eye.

Push too hard, and you'll get pushback. She didn’t want to make another powerful enemy, so in the end, she didn't take Gu Yu's advice.

After the bulletin board publicly commended the outstanding performance of the award winners, Zhang Pandi’s popularity in the factory went from being the center of attention to being completely ignored.

She never expected the factory leadership to publicly stand up for Xie Xinyi, let alone that the behind-the-scenes pusher was Liu Yinsheng, who had always claimed to side with reason over personal relations.

The old stubborn man disliked attention-seeking young people the most. Before she came to the factory, Wu Guifen had told her why Old Liu disliked such people.

She thought exposing Xie Xinyi’s affairs would make Old Liu see her true character, but she never expected that the man who always sided with reason would resolutely choose to support Xie Xinyi this time.

Having followed Guohui Food Factory for so many years, this was the first time she had seen Old Liu protect someone so fiercely. Even Wu Guifen, who had been at the factory for many years, found it hard to believe when she heard that Old Liu had gone to Fang Mingan for Xie Xinyi’s sake.

Since his apprentice’s incident, Liu Yinsheng had never cared so much about anyone else.

When Director Ou heard about this from the head of the research group, she also found it incredible.

"Hasn’t Old Liu always sided with reason over personal relations? Protecting Xie Xinyi like this—does he want to take on another apprentice?"

"Probably not," the head of the research group shook his head. "The previous incident hit Old Liu hard, and it’s been years since he last took an apprentice. He hasn’t even taken male apprentices, let alone female ones."

As an old-school craftsman, Old Liu, despite his conservative mindset, made an exception years ago by taking on his first female apprentice.

The master craftsman had very few apprentices—so few that apart from Yuan Kang, who succeeded in apprenticeship but failed to master the craft, there was only Xiao Jing, who was forced to jump off a building.

Liu Yinsheng valued Xiao Jing’s cleverness and quick hands, teaching her everything he knew. However, no one expected the girl to take such drastic measures.

After Xiao Jing jumped from the building, Liu Yinsheng’s hair turned white overnight. Since then, no matter who brought someone to apprentice under him, he firmly refused.

Director Ou also didn't believe Old Liu would take Xie Xinyi as his apprentice. "Even if he doesn't accept her as a formal disciple, he'll definitely offer plenty of guidance. With Xie Xinyi's cleverness, even a little advice from Old Liu would make a huge difference."

The previous two times new ice cream products were developed, it was Xie Xinyi who came up with the ideas, while Old Liu provided some guidance along the way.

The two of them had different opinions about Old Liu's special care for Xie Xinyi, but Xie Xinyi didn't learn that Old Liu had fought for her behind the scenes until the second day the factory was closed for the holiday.

Xie Xinyi never expected that Old Liu, who valued face so much, would swallow his pride and go to the office to seek support for her.

She didn't know why Old Liu had done it, and she didn't believe Xiao Jiang's speculation that Old Liu wanted to take her as his apprentice.

After all, since coming to the factory, she had only interacted with Old Liu during R&D team work. In daily life, they hardly had any contact.

They could barely be considered familiar, but as for a deeper connection, Xie Xinyi thought carefully and realized there really wasn't any.

Moreover, she had previously heard Big Chen mention something about Old Liu and his previous female apprentice.

So, after learning that the commendation on the bulletin board was due to Old Liu's efforts, Xie Xinyi went with Gu Yu to visit Old Liu's home.

Actually, at first, Xie Xinyi didn't want Gu Yu to come along. After all, Gu Yu wasn't very satisfied with the factory's handling of her situation.

She was afraid that once they got to Old Liu's house, Gu Yu would either have a cold look on his face or start grilling him with questions, ruining her intention to express gratitude.

But when they arrived at Old Liu's home, Gu Yu unexpectedly dropped his usual cold demeanor. He wasn't aggressive or prying; he just sat quietly on a stool, politely answering Old Liu's questions and even thanking him for helping his wife.

Xie Xinyi sat to the side, accepted a teacup from Mrs. Liu, and also expressed her gratitude to Old Liu.

"That notice should have been posted right after the party. It was the office staff dragging their feet—they only did it after I gave them a talking-to."

Old Liu pulled a long face, dismissing his help for Xie Xinyi, and instead pointed sternly at the pile of gifts they had brought. "Next time you come, just come. If you bring all this stuff again, I'll throw it all outside."

Perhaps feeling his words were too harsh, Old Liu softened his tone after seeing his wife's sharp look and joked, to lighten the mood, "Bringing all these things, if people see, it'll make me look corrupt."

Xie Xinyi laughed. "No way! We're here today to visit a patient, not to engage in corruption."

The girl's voice was soft, and she wore a sweet smile as she spoke. Liu Yinsheng and his wife burst out laughing, greatly amused by her words. After Xie Xinyi and the others left, Old Liu asked his wife, "See, I told you this child is different from the others, right?"

Earlier, he had insisted on going to the factory to speak up for her, even skipping his IV drip. His wife had initially said he was worrying about things that were none of his business.

He had tried to explain to her that Xiao Xie was different from others, but she hadn't believed him.

Now, with Xiao Xie bringing so many gifts to visit him and bringing her partner along, Old Liu was overjoyed and couldn't help gushing to his wife about Xie Xinyi's impressive skills in the R&D team.

"...Yes, Xiao Xie is amazing, even more so than you were in your youth. But no matter how capable she is, it's her own business. You're neither her master nor her leader—why are you so happy about it all the time?"

Mrs. Liu had heard Old Liu say these things so often lately that she was almost tired of it. Seeing the old man still gazing in the direction Xiao Xie had left, hands behind his back, she couldn't help retorting.

"You don't understand," Old Liu grumbled. "If I wanted to be her master, it would be as simple as saying the word."

But for now, Liu Yinsheng wasn't ready to bring it up.

If a young girl receiving an award could cause such jealousy, imagine what those green with envy might do if he announced he wanted to take Xie Xinyi as his apprentice.

He didn't want Xiao Xie to face more backlash. As for taking her as his apprentice, he told his wife, "Let's not rush it. We'll take it slow."

After visiting Old Liu, Xie Xinyi officially entered her vacation mode.

No longer needing to wake up early to report to the workshop, she indulged in a life of luxury, sleeping until she woke naturally and counting money until her hands were sore.

Since she lived and ate at the Gu family home, Xie Xinyi didn't have to worry about expenses like utilities or rent. Every bit of the wages she earned during this time went straight into her own bank account.

When she went to the bank to deposit her year-end bonus, she carefully checked the amount.

Wow, it was quite a sum.

Even without including the money Gu Yu was managing for her, she could now be considered a genuine little rich woman.

Xie Xinyi carefully put away her and Gu Yu's passbooks, and after returning home, she began planning for this year's trip back to her mother's home.

Considering that she didn't get to see her mother, Mrs. Xie, and her younger sister often throughout the year, Grandma Gu decided to ignore tradition and let Gu Yu spend the Spring Festival with Xie Xinyi at the Xie family home this year.

Both Gu Yu and Wen Shuhua had no objections, but Xie Xinyi felt she shouldn't take their kindness for granted.

After discussing it with Gu Yu, they decided that Gu Yu would take his annual leave early. As soon as his vacation started, they would first return to Guozixiang to accompany Mrs. Xie and the younger sister, staying until the Lunar 28th before rushing back to celebrate New Year's Eve with Grandma Gu and Wen Shuhua.

The old lady worried the travel would be too exhausting for them, and Wen Shuhua also thought it unnecessary to make things so complicated. Both agreed that as long as the young ones were happy, the elders were fine with anything. But Xie Xinyi insisted on this plan.

After Gu Yu's leave was approved, she and Gu Yu went to the department store on the 23rd of the lunar year to buy things to bring back home. They planned to set off early the next morning, and Gu Yu had even borrowed a car. But during dinner that evening, something completely unexpected happened.