Chapter Eight: Rules

"Have you heard? Xu Fei has come to our factory."
"You mean that Xu Fei?"
"The one whose wife nearly got taken away by Ma San to pay off his debts."
"That good-for-nothing? Wasn’t he fired from the steel plant?"
"I heard Zhang Lichun from their factory gave him a letter of introduction."
"This lad sure knows how to work his way in."
"Shh, quiet..."

At that moment, Xu Fei, led by Zhou Lina, entered the administration building of the factory.

"Lina, you’re here," called out a few office workers who had just been gossiping about Xu Fei, greeting Zhou Lina. Their eyes, however, remained fixed on Xu Fei, not leaving him for an instant.

Zhou Lina waved to them and went straight upstairs with Xu Fei.

"Are those your colleagues?" Xu Fei asked.

Zhou Lina nodded. She worked in the laboratory department of the sugar factory and was the only woman there.

"Do any of those men give you trouble?" Xu Fei asked after glancing at her.

She looked at him, replying, "Why do you ask that?"

"Now that your Brother Fei is here, if anyone dares to bother you, just tell me—I’ll take care of it."

Zhou Lina smiled and nodded.

"That one just now has already been handled by you," she said.

"Zhao Quan? Ha, he’s not worth mentioning. Now that we’re colleagues, if he tries anything again, I’ll teach him a lesson," Xu Fei said, waving his fist for emphasis.

Zhou Lina said nothing, but her heart warmed. She knew Xu Fei already had a family, but the feelings she’d had for him since childhood couldn’t simply be forgotten. Perhaps she could no longer tell if what she felt for Xu Fei was love or something else.

Xu Fei, for his part, only felt a sense of guilt towards Zhou Lina that lingered in his memories—he had, after all, once let this woman down.

As a single woman, she was inevitably the target of unwanted attention from unsavory men. All Xu Fei could do was protect her.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in," called a voice from inside.

Director Sun of the administration office sat at his desk, reading the morning’s Donghai Daily.

"Director Sun," Zhou Lina greeted.

"Oh, it’s Lina," Sun Xing said, putting down his newspaper and nodding with a smile. But when his gaze fell upon Xu Fei, his expression darkened.

"Xu Fei? You?"

Sun Xing and Xu Fei knew each other. They were both assigned clerical positions after graduating from technical school. At the time, Sun Xing had chosen the sugar factory—unlike the steel plant, it wasn’t a frontline unit. Yet he’d chosen the sugar factory.

Only Xu Fei, as his classmate, knew why: it was for a person—Zhou Lina.

"Director Sun, what’s this? Am I not welcome?" Xu Fei said.

Sun Xing stood up with a smile, gesturing to the sofa. "Sit, sit. An old classmate visiting brings honor to my office; how could I not welcome you? What would you like to drink? Still like Maojian tea? I have some sent from home..."

Xu Fei plopped down on the sofa and waved his hand. "Director Sun, no need. You’re the boss now; how dare I drink your tea?"

"Boss?" Sun Xing slowly sat back down. "What do you mean by that?"

Zhou Lina quickly interjected, "Director Sun, Xu Fei is joining our factory now."

"You?"

In Sun Xing’s eyes, Xu Fei was a useless man. He’d never thought much of him, for one simple reason: because of Xu Fei’s presence, Zhou Lina had rejected him.

Though Sun Xing was still unattached, he dared not bring up the idea of rekindling things with Zhou Lina. After all, Xu Fei had married, and his family had fallen on hard times. Over the past half year, Sun Xing had done everything to impress Zhou Lina, even befriending her father over fishing.

Just when his roundabout plan to win her over seemed to be progressing, Xu Fei had suddenly reappeared in both their lives.

"Here," Xu Fei said, unaware of Sun Xing’s inner calculations.

They were classmates, after all. Xu Fei assumed the employment formalities would go smoothly today.

Sun Xing took the letter of introduction, which bore Zhang Lichun’s signature and the steel plant’s official stamp—unmistakably authentic. Still, Sun Xing’s face gradually darkened.

"What’s wrong?" Xu Fei asked, noticing his expression.

"Xu Fei, I’m happy to have you join us—old friends together again. But..." Sun Xing looked at Xu Fei. "The old factory director isn’t here. He has to personally approve new hires."

Xu Fei’s heart sank. What rotten luck.

"When will he be back?"

"He’s gone to a provincial meeting—at least three days."

"Three days?"

Xu Fei knew full well how he’d gotten that letter of introduction—it was valid for only one day. He’d even lied to Zhang Lichun, saying he had two large bills for him. Xu Fei had planned to act fast, settling everything before Zhang Lichun caught on.

Now, his careful plan was falling apart.

"Old classmate, can’t you make an exception and process the paperwork today? When the old director returns, I’ll complete the formalities then," Xu Fei pleaded, his urgency clear.

But Sun Xing was all the more certain—he could not let this happen. If it were anyone else, he could approve it as director, but not Xu Fei. Never Xu Fei.

Holding the one-day letter of introduction, Xu Fei felt as if his heart had sunk to the bottom of a well. He’d hoped that by starting this job, he could finally begin anew. Now, thanks to some damned regulation, all his hopes were dashed.

"Alright, since it’s the rule, I understand. I’ll wait for the old director to return," Xu Fei said, standing up to leave.

Seeing Xu Fei’s disappointment, Zhou Lina’s heart ached as well.

"Sun Xing, please help Xu Fei," Zhou Lina said, looking at Sun Xing. She didn’t want to beg this man, but for Xu Fei, she spoke up.

"Lina, you know the factory rules," Sun Xing replied.

"I understand," she said, seeing through his little schemes. "Please help him."

"Help him? Well, it’s possible, but..." Sun Xing pulled a movie ticket from his drawer.

"By the way, there’s a film tonight—a good one. How about we go together?"

Zhou Lina eyed the ticket in his hand and suddenly felt that the man before her was filthy.

"If you don’t have time, forget it," said Sun Xing, tossing the ticket back into the drawer. Before he could close it, Zhou Lina said quietly, "I’m free."

Sun Xing’s eyes lit up, a trace of smugness at his lips. He handed the movie ticket to Zhou Lina.

"Six o’clock tonight," he said.

Taking the ticket, Zhou Lina felt deeply insulted. She didn’t even want to look at the man before her. She turned towards the door. At the threshold, she asked coolly, "Xu Fei?"

"Oh, tell him to go to Workshop One. I’ll inform Old Wang right away."