Chapter 152 Terms of the Trade

After finally enduring until noon, Yang Liu walked out of the workshop in a daze. The entire sky was overcast and gray, matching her bleak and wretched mood at the moment.

In a trance, Yang Liu caught sight of a figure sitting on her Phoenix bicycle inside the bicycle shed.

Could it be Cui Yue?

Yang Liu hurried forward with a few small steps, but the moment she saw who it was, her delicate face instantly darkened.

"What are you doing here? Get lost!"

Feng Tao was sitting cross-legged on the back seat of Yang Liu's bicycle, looking as pleased as punch, brimming with boundless self-satisfaction.

"Oh, little sister, why are you showing me such a cold shoulder?"

Furious, Yang Liu's face turned pale as she pointed a finger at Feng Tao's nose.

"Stop calling me that casually! I am no sister of yours, and you are no brother of mine. Please get off my bicycle, thank you!"

Yang Liu deliberately emphasized the words "thank you" very loudly.

Unfazed, Feng Tao chuckled cheerfully, casually pulled out a Da Qianmen cigarette, and lit it.

Lazy rings of smoke billowed upward, overlapping layer upon layer, making him as obnoxious as ever.

Choked by the pungent smell of smoke, Yang Liu coughed repeatedly. She pushed the bicycle forward in a huff and made to leave, only for the handlebars to suddenly grow heavy.

Feng Tao pressed one hand down on the handlebars, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Shall we have a chat?"

"I have nothing to talk about with you!"

Yang Liu struggled with all her might for a few moments, only to find the bicycle remained completely motionless.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Why are you in such a bad mood today?"

Feng Tao chuckled a few times and continued.

"It seems you already know about that guy's situation. I can tell you for a fact today, the factory is about to sweep him out on his ear..."

With that, he exhaled a massive cloud of smoke, feeling immensely gratified inside.

"Feng Tao, was that some dirty trick you pulled behind the scenes?!"

Yang Liu suddenly thought of something and demanded sharply.

"Hey now, little sister, you can say anything you want, but you can't just throw around wild accusations! Which of your eyes saw me pull any dirty tricks?"

Feng Tao's face was plastered with the smug expression of a petty villain who had gotten his way.

Glaring fiercely at Feng Tao, Yang Liu abandoned her bicycle and turned to leave!

"Hey, hey! Don't go! I haven't finished talking yet!"

Feng Tao hurriedly stood up to give chase.

"I truly have nothing to say to someone like you. Staying near you for even one more second makes me sick to my stomach!"

"Hey! Don't you want to save that guy and keep him in the factory?!"

Feng Tao shouted at Yang Liu's retreating back.

Yang Liu's heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively stopped in her tracks.

"Oh, looks like you still care about him after all!"

Feng Tao's words were dripping with jealousy.

"What do you want to say?"

Dropping his previous playboy demeanor, Feng Tao stared intently into Yang Liu's face and said solemnly.

"Why can't you ever like me, instead of falling for that penniless nobody?!"

Yang Liu remained silent, gently biting her lower lip with her pearly white teeth.

"I genuinely like you. Over all these years, you're the only one I've ever cared about."

Feng Tao reached out to grab Yang Liu's hand, but she pulled away.

"What on earth do you want?"

"I want to be with you. As long as you agree to be my girlfriend, I'll agree to any condition you name!"

Feng Tao said excitedly.

"I'm sorry, we really aren't suited for each other..."

Yang Liu turned to leave, but was once again grabbed by Feng Tao.

"Don't you just care about that guy? Heh, how about this—let's make a deal. As long as you agree to be with me, I guarantee he won't be expelled from the factory and can stay right here."

Feng Tao smiled cunningly.

Yang Liu froze. In her wildest dreams, she never expected this scoundrel to propose such a condition.

Feng Tao smiled coldly in silence. Seeing the hesitation on the woman's face, he knew his chance had arrived.

He gently rested a hand on Yang Liu's shoulder, catching a faint, lingering fragrance that made his very heartstrings tremble.

Yet this time, no matter how much resistance and disgust she felt in her heart, Yang Liu unusually did not push him away. Her body remained ramrod straight and slightly trembling.

"You don't need to give me your answer right now. I'll give you a full day to think about it. Once you've made up your mind, come find me. The moment you agree to be my girlfriend, I give you my absolute word that I'll keep him in the factory!"

"How can you guarantee that?"

"Heh, whether someone stays or goes ultimately comes down to just one word from my father."

Feng Tao let out a dry chuckle. He relished this sense of superiority; the thrill of casually manipulating other people's destinies gave him a secret rush of pleasure.

With that, Feng Tao feigned magnanimity and turned to leave with a victorious smile. He knew Yang Liu could not refuse the condition he had offered. Winning her over was perhaps only a matter of time.

When dealing with someone who was deeply emotional, the best approach was to use emotion as the remedy, trapping them inextricably within the web of their own feelings.

Countless women had ruined their entire lives over that single word: love.

This was a condition Yang Liu simply could not refuse.

Even if her heart was breaking into a million pieces, she would pay any price.

She truly could not bear to watch Cui Yue sink like this and ruin his entire life, even if she had to use herself as a bargaining chip—she had no regrets.

She only hoped that his world would remain free of wind and rain, safe and sound.

Drop by drop, tears like pearls snapping from a thread rolled down into the mortal world, splashing up tiny ripples of sorrow.

It was a sleepless night. All through the night in the small pavilion, listening to the spring rain, she poured out her melancholy and yearned for the one who was far away.

Regarding the disciplinary outcome of this incident, Cui Yue had already received verbal notification from Old Zhang, the workshop director. The official red-headed document would be issued by Monday at the latest, and by then, he would have to pack up his bedding and get lost.

Accompanied by the night, Cui Yue strolled alone through the empty factory grounds. Only now, faced with his sudden departure, did he realize there was actually a trace of reluctance in the depths of his heart.

The familiar factory buildings, the familiar machinery—the only thing missing was the sight of familiar faces.

They always said farewells brought sorrow; damn it, that saying really was true. His nose was starting to sting right about now.

"Damn it, where did this dust storm come from to get in my eyes?"

Cui Yue reached out and secretly wiped the corner of his eye.

Unknowingly, Cui Yue had walked up to a secluded workshop building and stopped in his tracks. Raising his head, he read the bold characters on the sign.

Raw Materials Workshop!

A sudden, inexplicable panic gripped Cui Yue's heart. How on earth had he ended up walking all the way here?

Inside the workshop, lights blazed brightly, and from time to time, machinery emitted a mechanical clacking sound.

A narrow crack was left open in the heavy workshop doors.

Cui Yue swallowed hard, his heart skipping a beat. Why did this feel so much like the scene from his dream?!

A chilling night wind arrived uninvited, sending a shiver down Cui Yue's spine. After a moment of hesitation, driven by some inexplicable impulse, he pressed his face against the gap in the door.

The interior of the workshop remained set up as usual. The workstations were completely deserted, yet that single machine was operating all by itself.

"It's that machine! Huang Juan died on that very machine!"

Cui Yue's eyelids twitched wildly in terror. Could there be more?

A terrible premonition suddenly welled up from the bottom of his heart.

Just as his peripheral vision shifted, he caught sight of a woman sitting in a chair, her waterfall-like long hair cascading all the way down to her waist.

A fair, delicate hand gently stroked those long locks as she slowly turned her head.

Upon a deathly pale face rested two gray-white eyeballs. Her nose had long since vanished, leaving only a hollow cavity, while the corners of her mouth curled upward into an eerie smile.