Online Love, Based on the Real Object - Chapter 46

“There is no need to be that subservient,” Chu Yunjing said, biting her lip. Her words carried a hint of spiteful frustration. “At worst, we simply lose the factory.”

The moment she finished, Qi Ning reached out and smacked her shoulder. “What kind of nonsense are you talking?”

“How are you going to produce anything or do business without a factory? Who taught you to run away when facing a setback?” Qi Ning scolded her, still visibly angry.

“Let me tell you, stop thinking about that useless stuff. This whole thing was a disaster out of nowhere. If we get through this, you will owe me a very large favor!”

As Qi Ning continued to chatter on, Chu Yunjing suddenly pulled her into a hug.

“What is this? Are you that moved?” Qi Ning patted her shoulder. “Good girl, Jingjing. Big sister will give you a warm hug!”

Ignoring Qi Ning’s occasional lapse into broken Mandarin, Chu Yunjing asked softly, “What kind of conditions did you agree to?”

“Huh?” Qi Ning blinked.

So she only heard that part?

“She didn’t say what she wanted. I do not know what her conditions will be yet.”

Chu Yunjing felt a slight sense of relief. “If it is money he wants, just give it to him. Do not agree to anything else.”

“Talking about money ruins the relationship.”

“You actually want to talk about feelings with him?”

“I think talking about feelings is not necessarily a bad thing.” She was already so close with Sister Shu, after all.

“Why would you talk about feelings with a man who tries to rob you while you are down? Give me his number. We do not need his help. If they want to appeal, let them. If they want to close the factory, let them!”

Seeing Chu Yunjing’s indignant expression, Qi Ning fell silent for a moment. Realization seemed to dawn on her as she whispered, “Um.”

“Shu Mingjie did not agree to help. I did not ask him for anything.”

“Then who else are you looking for?”

Qi Ning scratched her head. “Sister Shu. She is the only one powerful enough to help.”

“Oh.”

Chu Yunjing suddenly calmed down.

Qi Ning thought, “How do you have two different faces like that?”

The lawyer arrived shortly after, took a detailed account of the situation, and left to wait for further processing.

Before they could catch their breath, there was another knock on the office door. This time, it was the factory manager. He was drenched in sweat and panting, clearly having rushed over in a hurry.

“President Chu! We found something.”

She had Manager Liu sit down. After he gulped some water, he explained everything in one breath.

Over the past few days, they had cross-checked the ID copies of the temporary workers but found no issues. The surveillance footage had not captured anything suspicious either.

As for the long-term employees, they were naturally above suspicion. Most had been there since the factory’s founding. Given the company’s good benefits, they would not risk their livelihoods for a bit of quick cash. It was far more likely that someone had taken advantage of the temporary hiring phase to infiltrate the staff.

Since the factory was closed and the workers were on leave, Manager Liu had taken some people to the employee dorms to see if they could find anything. They initially found nothing after asking around. But just as they were leaving, they spotted a shifty figure carrying luggage as if he were trying to flee.

The factory had only paused production; no one had been fired yet.

Manager Liu felt something was off and immediately had him stopped. However, questioning him yielded nothing. The suspicious man was indeed a temporary worker, likely intending to report his departure first.

“I have people watching him, but no matter how we ask, he says he does not know anything. I do not know what to do now,” Manager Liu said, rubbing his head. He had been so worried lately he felt he was going bald.

Qi Ning asked, “Did you call the police?”

Before Manager Liu could speak, Chu Yunjing intervened. “Calling the police now is useless. We do not have definitive evidence. If we are not careful, he might even counter-sue us.”

“That is true.” Qi Ning rubbed her chin, feeling a headache coming on.

After a long, tense silence, Chu Yunjing finally spoke.

“Since there is no evidence, then we will make evidence.”

“What?”

That night.

The employee dormitory rented by the company had a curfew. On workdays, the security guard would lock the main gate after midnight. All entries and exits had to be registered until the gate opened again at 6:00 AM.

Past 1:00 AM, the sound of snoring echoed through one of the dorm rooms. The occupants were dead to the world. Only one person was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He checked his phone several times but received no reply.

The phone hidden under the covers began to vibrate. The man saw an unlabeled number on the screen, and his face lit up with joy.

He poked his head out from under the blanket to confirm the others were fast asleep before tiptoeing out of the room.

“Hello?” he whispered, covering his mouth with one hand while scanning the hallway for anyone else up for a bathroom break.

“Why haven’t you come out yet?” The voice on the other end was raspy, clearly a man’s voice.

“I told you I am being held here!” the man hissed. “When are you going to get me out?”

“Did you not say there was no risk? Also, when are you giving me the final payment?”

“Do not be in a hurry,” the voice laughed. “Did you confirm the items were placed?”

“Of course I did! We haven’t worked for days now. If you do not believe me, come see for yourself.”

“How much did you put in?”

“I put in exactly as much as you paid for.” After saying this, the man suddenly felt something was wrong. “Why does your voice sound so strange?”

“I have always sounded like this. You are just too nervous. Do not change the subject!” The voice on the other end sounded angry.

“Who is there!” Someone came out to use the bathroom and saw a figure standing by the door. Thinking it was a thief, they shouted instinctively.

The man hung up in a panic, hurriedly shoved the phone into his pocket, and lowered his voice. “It is me! Just out for the bathroom. Everyone is sleeping! Do not wake them up.”

“Oh, it is you. I thought it was a thief.” Seeing it was a coworker, the person did not say more and headed to the bathroom, scratching his head.

Qi Ning had been sleeping quite soundly, but having drunk too much water before bed, she woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom.

Coming out, she noticed light leaking through the crack of the study door. She thought Chu Yunjing had forgotten to turn it off. To her surprise, when she pushed the door open, she found Chu Yunjing working.

“What are you doing up in the middle of the night?” she cried out in shock.

Chu Yunjing stopped typing and replied honestly, “I have insomnia. I could not sleep, so I got up to look things over.”

She had not been sleeping well lately. Even when she did manage to drift off, she would wake up startled in the night. Tonight was full-blown insomnia. The thought of the penalties and the ensuing mess made her even more anxious. Manager Liu had not sent any news yet, so how could she possibly rest?

“You just think too much.” Qi Ning walked over, unceremoniously slammed the laptop shut, grabbed her hand, and pulled her up from the chair. “Stop thinking. Come sleep with big sister.”

“If I do not sleep, how will I have the energy to handle things?”

Qi Ning was bleary-eyed, walking forward with her eyes half-closed. She had intended to take Chu Yunjing back to her own room, but out of habit, she opened the door to her own bedroom instead.

She paused. “Forget it, just here. You are going to stay here and sleep. I will watch you.”

With that, she pushed Chu Yunjing onto the bed and lay down beside her. To prevent her from escaping, she even threw a leg over Chu Yunjing’s legs.

Chu Yunjing was speechless.

Lying on her side, Qi Ning gently patted Chu Yunjing’s shoulder and began to hum softly. “Sleep, sleep, my dear baby.”

Qi Ning had forgotten how the lullaby actually went, so she just hummed from the depths of her memory. The song reminded Chu Yunjing of when they were children in the nursery. The headmistress would hum lullabies to coax them to sleep.

More than twenty years had passed in the blink of an eye.

The voice grew smaller and smaller until it faded away entirely. Qi Ning had drifted off into a daze herself. Chu Yunjing turned to look at Qi Ning. Her head was very close. The warm yellow light made her features look soft, harmless, and gentle.

“Thank you,” she whispered, leaning her head closer to feel the other’s warmth.

When you are tired, draw warmth from those beside you.

The nerves that had been taut finally relaxed. Chu Yunjing had a dreamless night and did not wake up once. When she opened her eyes in the morning, the space beside her was empty.

Walking out of the room, she smelled a delicious aroma wafting from the kitchen.

Qi Ning was wearing a pretty dress with a cartoon apron that did not match her style at all. She was swaying her head and humming while flipping an egg with a spatula. She tried to do a cool pan-flip, but while the pan moved, the egg went flying.

“Damn it, piece of junk,” Qi Ning cursed under her breath. She thought she was lucky no one saw the fail, only to turn around and see Chu Yunjing leaning against the doorframe.

Chu Yunjing actually let out a supportive chuckle. Seeing Qi Ning being silly made her mood significantly better.

Qi Ning’s face turned red. “Do not laugh!”

“Okay,” Chu Yunjing coughed slightly. “I will not laugh.”

She walked over and saw two bowls of noodles by the stove, one of which already had a poached egg on top. The egg was not pretty and the edges were a bit burnt.

“Let me do it.” Chu Yunjing tried to take the pan, but Qi Ning blocked her, making her grab thin air.

“No need. Go take the noodles out and eat.” Qi Ning waved the spatula. “Today, I will show you my cooking skills! I am making you lunch!”

“Ah, dark cuisine,” Chu Yunjing said instinctively.

“What did you say!” Qi Ning reached out and tapped her head, proudly puffing out her chest with hands on her hips. “I am all-powerful!”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

Qi Ning shooed Chu Yunjing out of the kitchen. “Get out, get out! Do not ruin my performance!”

Before leaving, Chu Yunjing paused and looked back at Qi Ning, who was restarting the stove. Her lips curled up into an extremely gentle smile.

Since moving into Chu Yunjing’s house, the number of times Qi Ning had cooked could be counted on one hand. Before starting, she was full of confidence about making a love bento.

Now, she was questioning her life choices while staring at the somewhat charred meat in the pan. She tasted a piece. The flavor was fine, but the presentation was terrible because it was all black.

She contemplated throwing it out and starting over, but she hated to waste the ingredients. If that person saw this, who knows how much she would get teased.

Just as she was about to pack it up, Chu Yunjing walked in with an empty bowl. Qi Ning instinctively blocked the plate of twice-cooked pork.

“What are you hiding? Did you not say you were cooking? Where is the dish?” Her shifty behavior successfully caught Chu Yunjing’s attention.

“No, nothing.” She had hidden it on instinct, but now she was even more embarrassed to show it. She had been so confident about her cooking earlier.

Unfortunately, she was not as tall as Chu Yunjing. Her attempts to hide it only made the other more curious. Chu Yunjing stood on her tiptoes and peered over her shoulder to see the plate.

“Is it not already done?”

Qi Ning gave up and moved aside. The blackened, slightly charred twice-cooked pork was revealed in its entirety.

She thought that if she had not added so much soy sauce, it would definitely look better than it did now.

Seeing Chu Yunjing staring blankly at the meat, Qi Ning gritted her teeth and straightened her neck. “Go ahead and roast me if you want!”

Chu Yunjing was silent for a while before saying, “It is not bad.”

Qi Ning thought that even she would not dare call this not bad.

“If you have been kidnapped, blink twice.” She would rather Chu Yunjing roast her. At least then she would know her faults. This kind of blind praise felt like a helpless refusal to argue.

Chu Yunjing took a pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat, and tasted it. “The taste is good. It is just a bit dark. Use less soy sauce next time.”

“Really?” Qi Ning still could not quite believe it.

Chu Yunjing looked at her, reached out to pat her head, and gave her a tender smile. “Yes.”

She could not help but feel that Jingjing was acting a bit strange today.

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