Volume One, Chapter 16: Living with One’s Tail Between One’s Legs?

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Watching my cousin’s behavior, I suddenly felt like laughing.

It was truly ridiculous!

The first thing he thought when he saw I had money was that I had stolen from him!

My cousin’s wife sat beside me, softly comforting, “Xiaogang, don’t overthink it.”

“I know,” I replied.

I didn’t think much about it.

I knew exactly what kind of person my cousin was.

I noticed a hint of disappointment in his wife’s eyes as well.

Just then, my cousin stormed out of the room with a scowl.

Still glaring, he asked where I got the money from.

I straightforwardly said the boss gave me a bonus because I worked well.

His expression clearly soured. Muttering under his breath, he told me to keep working hard, not to get cocky over a little money, and most importantly, not to get fired.

I couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Maybe because I ignored him, he lost face a bit and urged his wife to quickly get ready and head to the factory.

Speaking of the factory, I remembered I had to report to Song Xiaotang.

Originally, I planned to share the good news during dinner.

But after seeing my cousin’s attitude, I changed my mind.

Wouldn’t it be better to say it right at the factory gate?

Soon, my cousin’s wife changed into her work uniform and was ready to leave with him.

I made an excuse that I wanted to check out the factory and left with them.

My cousin didn’t stop me. With a smug look, he said if I learned to keep my tail tucked, I could work in the factory and not just be a useless waiter at a pool hall.

I let him have his moment of pride, thinking to myself, “When he sees me entering the factory, let’s see what kind of face he’ll make then.”

…

It was 7:50 a.m.

My cousin, his wife, and I arrived at the factory gate.

Song Xiaotang was already waiting there.

Knowing about my past with Song Xiaotang, my cousin’s wife nervously advised, “Xiaogang, maybe you shouldn’t go over there?”

I reassured her not to worry.

But my cousin was on edge to the extreme, almost frantic, telling me to stay away from him so Song Xiaotang wouldn’t get angry at me and drag him into it!

Honestly, looking at my cousin’s face, I was numb with disbelief!

Whatever he feared, it seemed to come true!

Song Xiaotang walked straight toward me.

My cousin panicked, turning to glare at me and cursed, “This is all your fault!”

“I’m telling you, you better keep your tail tucked!”

“No matter what she says, don’t talk back!”

“If she scolds you, just listen.”

“If she hits you, just endure it!”

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“If you cause me to lose my job, I’ll kill you!”

No sooner had my cousin finished threatening me than Song Xiaotang reached us.

Immediately, my cousin changed his tone, looking sycophantic as he greeted her humbly, “Manager Song.”

After a pause, he quickly pointed at me, distancing himself, “Manager Song, I don’t know him. If you want to deal with him, go ahead, but don’t blame me.”

“Are you crazy?” Song Xiaotang shot him a sharp look, then turned back to me and said in a slightly coquettish, teasing tone, “Why are you only here now? I’ve been waiting for you forever.”

I didn’t have any warm feelings for her, didn’t think too much, and just responded briefly.

She immediately told me to follow her.

I asked her to wait aside for a moment while I greeted my cousin and his wife.

“Then hurry up,” she said, stepping aside.

When I turned back, I saw my cousin staring blankly at me like an idiot, completely baffled.

My cousin’s wife, much smarter, anxiously asked if I was really going to work at the factory.

She sounded a bit shaky, probably from excitement.

I nodded firmly and told her that today Song Xiaotang asked me to report to the factory in the morning and that I would be working there.

“Oh! That’s wonderful!” my cousin’s wife exclaimed, beaming like a blooming forsythia.

My cousin’s expression was priceless—shock, envy, and thick jealousy.

That cheered me up quite a bit.

However, as I was saying goodbye to my cousin’s wife, he suddenly perked up again and sourly warned me to keep my tail tucked so as not to upset Song Xiaotang and cause trouble for him.

I ignored him, bid farewell to my cousin’s wife, and walked into Zhenglong Garment Factory with Song Xiaotang.

Stepping into Zhenglong Garment Factory properly for the first time, I felt a strange mix of emotions.

A few days ago, standing at the factory gate, my biggest dream was simply to work there.

But then Song Xiaotang fired me.

Later, because of her, I had nine beer bottle cuts on my forehead.

Yet today, unexpectedly, Song Xiaotang was waiting at the gate to lead me inside.

This contrast felt like a dream.

Still, despite her kind demeanor today, I hadn’t forgotten what she did before.

In my heart, I still believed Song Xiaotang harbored ill intentions toward me.

…

Song Xiaotang led me around the factory and introduced me to Manager Liu, whom I had met before.

After a brief registration, I officially became a worker at Zhenglong Garment Factory.

But not a general laborer.

Song Xiaotang had Manager Liu register me as security personnel, with a monthly salary of three hundred yuan, a little more than a general laborer.

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Strangely, Song Xiaotang didn’t have me stand guard at the gate or wear the security uniform. Instead, she took me to the design department.

That’s when I learned Song Xiaotang was the manager of the design department.

My job was simple: stand at the entrance of the design department.

I wondered if this was some sort of punishment.

Standing there was fine, not a big deal.

But I hadn’t stood for ten minutes before Song Xiaotang brought me a chair to sit at the door.

That made me even more puzzled about her intentions.

But I decided to face whatever she threw at me.

So I spent my time sitting and standing at the design department entrance, relaxing.

The design department was very busy.

Starting from 8:30 a.m., people came and went, consulting with Song Xiaotang.

Honestly, today’s Song Xiaotang was a completely different person from the shrew I remembered.

She spoke politely, didn’t lose her temper, and never shouted.

I couldn’t fully understand their conversations, but it seemed related to clothing design.

Apparently, Song Xiaotang had genuine expertise and oversaw all the designs.

This surprised me.

Even more surprising, during a busy moment, Song Xiaotang brought me a bottle of drink.

I was already confused about her motives, and this made me even more so.

I couldn’t help but take a closer look at Song Xiaotang.

Maybe because of her different demeanor today, I noticed she was quite attractive.

She wore a black dress, with a slender waist and long legs—curves perfectly proportioned.

Her long legs were wrapped in black stockings, her pale skin faintly visible—very beautiful.

However, I wasn’t attracted to her appearance.

I still thought she was somewhat untrustworthy, maybe even troubled.

Before long, the morning passed.

Just as I was about to doze off from boredom, Song Xiaotang suddenly came to the door and asked me to go eat with her.

Well, eating was fine—I was hungry anyway.

But instead of taking me to the factory cafeteria, she brought me to a restaurant in the commercial street to eat rice rolls.

After the meal, she took me back to the factory.

In the afternoon, I stayed by the design department entrance, sitting and standing intermittently. Nothing happened.

The afternoon passed quietly.

As the end of the day approached, Song Xiaotang found me again and asked me to eat with her.

Honestly, I really didn’t understand what Song Xiaotang was up to.

Her behavior put me in an awkward middle ground. It would be better if she were straightforward—just fight it out and then we’d go our separate ways.

I couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly do you want?”