Online Love, Based on the Real Object - Chapter 49

While the appeal was still making its way through the process, the penalty for Wang Daba was announced on the third day of his detention. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

That afternoon, while Chu Yunjing was discussing how to navigate the factory through this crisis with several executives, a notice from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce arrived without warning. Chu Yunjing was momentarily stunned to see that the penalty had been changed from the revocation of their business license to a fine.

Beside her, He Hao grinned like a fool and nearly wept with joy as he hugged Manager Liu. The factory was saved. No matter the amount of the fine, it was worth it.

“Alright, let’s start the meeting,” Chu Yunjing said, quickly recovering. She handed the notice to Xu Lu and promptly gathered everyone to restart the session.

According to Wang Daba’s confession, only the raw materials for the face masks were compromised. Fortunately, the finished products made from that specific batch of contaminated material had not yet left the factory. For the masks already shipped to the warehouse, several samples from each batch were tested, and all returned without issues.

Chu Yunjing intended to destroy all masks currently in the factory, regardless of whether they were part of the suspected batch.

“Oh, but,” Manager Liu started, his heart aching at the thought of the loss, “there are three batches in the factory right now, and only one is problematic. Is it really necessary to destroy the others too, President Chu?”

Chu Yunjing shook her head. “We have already suffered once. Regardless of whether they are fine, we cannot keep any of them. We must not allow for even a hint of a ‘what if’ scenario.”

This decision was undoubtedly the correct one. Between the fines resulting from this incident, the cost of the raw materials for those masks, and the overhead from the past few days of suspension, the total loss amounted to nearly ten million yuan. It was a massive financial blow.

The meeting lasted for hours, stretching from daylight until dark, leaving the group restless. Near the end, Chu Yunjing checked her watch and noticed it was already past 6:00 PM.

“You have all worked hard these past few days. Let’s go grab dinner together.”

The moment she said this, the fatigue vanished from their faces as they nodded in agreement. It seemed they had truly sat for too long, as they looked overjoyed at the prospect of finishing work.

Just as the group sat down in a private room at a restaurant, a message from Qi Ning arrived. She had likely arrived home and was asking why Chu Yunjing wasn’t back yet and what she wanted for dinner. After replying, Chu Yunjing put her phone away.

The dinner lasted quite a while. Midway through, Chu Yunjing gave instructions regarding the follow-up matters for the factory. For a group of men eating together, alcohol was a must, so they ordered a bottle of Western liquor. Chu Yunjing did not participate in their drinking, instead using tea to offer a few toasts.

After several rounds of drinks, Chu Yunjing sighed inwardly as she listened to the men make drunken, ambitious vows. Rather than grand promises, she preferred practical action.

While they were chatting, her phone on the table rang. Chu Yunjing picked it up, gave the group a look, and stepped out of the room to answer.

“Hello.”

“Are you still eating?” Qi Ning’s voice came through, sounding slightly concerned. “It is already nine o’clock.”

Just from her tone, Chu Yunjing could imagine her pouting. Chu Yunjing checked her watch: it was five minutes to nine. She glanced back at the drinking session in the private room; it looked like these men intended to stay until they were thoroughly drunk.

She decided to let them be. She could consider it a celebration of their “resurrection.”

“Yes,” she replied, looking down at her toes. She continued, “I will be back soon. They are still drinking.”

“Did you drink?”

Chu Yunjing did not answer immediately. Instead, she asked with a smile, “If I did, would you come pick me up?”

“Send me your location.”

That was quite straightforward. After ending the call, Chu Yunjing sent the address. After picking up people so many times, it felt good to experience being picked up for once.

Qi Ning arrived quickly. The restaurant was not far from the residential complex, only about three bus stops away. She took a taxi and sent a message once she was at the entrance.

Seeing the message, Chu Yunjing stood up, grabbed her bag from the chair, and said to the group, “You all continue. I am heading back. He Hao, remember to pay the bill and get a receipt for reimbursement.”

The group tried to get her to stay, but she replied, “A friend is here to pick me up. They have already arrived.”

“Ooh, a boyfriend?” He Hao, having had quite a bit to drink, let his guard down and began to tease her. The moment he said it, he realized his mistake and covered his mouth, wishing he could take the words back.

Then, they saw their boss do something unprecedented: she smiled. Even if the smile was fleeting, they could see it was not her usual cold smirk, but a genuine, heartfelt smile.

“Just a friend.”

As the door closed behind her, the men in the room looked at one another. One of them gave a nervous laugh. “My god, did President Chu just smile?”

“She is beautiful, but it was a bit scary,” another commented. They were still more comfortable with their boss’s cold face.

When Chu Yunjing stepped out of the restaurant, a gust of cool wind blew past, making it a bit chilly. As November began, the temperature in Chonghai City was gradually dropping, with a significant difference between day and night. Wearing short sleeves outside for too long was becoming uncomfortable; it would soon be time to switch to long sleeves.

“Over here!” Chu Yunjing was still looking around for Qi Ning’s car when the person in question popped out from a corner and waved at her.

“You didn’t drive?” Chu Yunjing walked over, noting she hadn’t seen Qi Ning’s car.

“No. I took a taxi.” Qi Ning was wearing her loungewear and slippers. Standing next to Chu Yunjing in high heels, the height difference was suddenly very pronounced.

She tilted her head up slightly and asked, “How much did you drink?” As she spoke, she sniffed Chu Yunjing like a puppy, then wrinkled her nose in slight disgust. “You smell like alcohol.”

“I didn’t drink,” Chu Yunjing clarified immediately. “They were the ones drinking.”

“Is that so?” Qi Ning clearly didn’t believe her. “Open your mouth.”

“What are you doing?”

Seeing Chu Yunjing’s hesitation, Qi Ning simply grabbed her chin and forced her to look down. She didn’t smell any alcohol on her breath. She was satisfied; it saved them the trouble of a potential DUI check later.

Their interaction caught quite a bit of attention at the busy restaurant entrance. A man walking past even turned back to look, clicking his tongue in a suggestive manner. To an outsider, it looked like they were about to share a parting kiss.

“What are you clicking at!” Qi Ning snapped at the man. He didn’t say anything back, just laughed a bit and hurried away.

Qi Ning let go, took a step back, and held out her hand. “Give me the car keys. It’s my turn to take you home.”

Chu Yunjing did not reach for the keys. Instead, she looked up at the night sky and asked, “Shall we walk back?”

“Are you sure?” It wasn’t that far, maybe a twenty or thirty-minute walk, but it was getting late and Qi Ning was worried about safety.

“Let’s go.” Chu Yunjing didn’t give her more time to think. She reached out, grabbed Qi Ning’s wrist, and started walking toward home.

There was a bicycle path along the road with streetlights at regular intervals. The entire path was bright, and many people were out for walks. Now that the factory issue was finally settled, Qi Ning was in an excellent mood. She swung Chu Yunjing’s hand back and forth as they walked, humming an unknown tune.

“When will the factory resume operations?”

“The day after tomorrow,” Chu Yunjing said. “Over the next two days, we need to settle the wages for the temporary workers and install a new set of security equipment.”

Qi Ning hummed in response. It made sense; after such a big problem, they wouldn’t dare hire temporary workers again.

“Next week is Double Eleven. Will you be able to handle the workload?”

“We will just have to work overtime for production,” Chu Yunjing sighed. “We will move some people from the warehouse. We have to make it work.”

Qi Ning turned to look at her, her smile revealing her bright white teeth. “If you are short on people, look for me! I’ll be your temporary worker!”

Chu Yunjing glanced at her. “A daily wage of a thousand? I can’t afford you.”

“Hahaha!” Qi Ning laughed, stopping her teasing. “What are you buying for Double Eleven? I have a lot of things in my shopping cart waiting for the sale.”

“Nothing I particularly want to buy,” Chu Yunjing thought for a moment. “I plan to buy some schoolbags, pencils, and notebooks.”

“Why are you buying those?” Qi Ning then remembered that Chu Yunjing went to the mountains every year to visit children and do charity work. “Oh. Are they for the kids in Lian Shan?”

Chu Yunjing nodded.

Starting three years ago, Chu Yunjing had gone to Lian Shan every year with her partners to visit elderly people living alone and left-behind children, occasionally sending supplies. Qi Ning knew this because Chu Yunjing often told her about the situation there. Qi Ning had never been to Lian Shan herself, but every time Chu Yunjing went, Qi Ning would provide funds for her to buy supplies for the families in need.

Part of the reason was that the journey was long and she didn’t want the hassle, and another was that it was too cold. While they were still wearing short sleeves in Chonghai City, Lian Shan was a mountainous area where the temperature started dropping as early as August or September. Chu Yunjing always went in winter, and Qi Ning’s small frame couldn’t handle that kind of cold.

Qi Ning nodded knowingly. “Then I will buy some too.” She opened her shopping app and saw the items she had added to her cart a few days ago, which reminded her of something.

She put her phone back in her pocket and asked, “What do you want for your birthday?”

Last year, Qi Ning hadn’t known what to give, so she just transferred money. In return, Chu Yunjing had given her a laptop she had been wanting for ages, which had made her incredibly happy. With Chu Yunjing’s birthday approaching soon, Qi Ning felt she should put more thought into the gift this year.

“I don’t have anything I want,” Chu Yunjing replied.

“No way! You have to say something!” Qi Ning tugged at her, acting as if she wouldn’t walk another step until she got an answer.

Chu Yunjing, left with no choice, finally said, “A cake, then.”

Her original intention was to buy one from a cake shop. Last year, they had separate birthday parties with their respective friends and hadn’t eaten cake together. However, Qi Ning interpreted this as Chu Yunjing wanting her to make one herself.

“Are you sure you want me to make it?” Qi Ning asked tentatively.

Chu Yunjing was about to explain, but then thought better of it. “Yes, you make it.”

Qi Ning felt something was off. She didn’t know how to bake a cake! After a minute of silence, she said reluctantly, “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

Chu Yunjing suddenly began to worry about her kitchen.

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