Chapter 153: The Body Surrendered, but the Mouth Stayed Stubborn

???

Jiang Ning felt like she hadn’t heard it clearly the first second.

She couldn’t help but ask again.

“What did you say?”

“What’s the name of that factory?”

“‘Mingsheng Technology’,” Li Yang added from the side:

“It’s a newly opened factory.”

“I heard the benefits are great.”

“Meals and lodging included, salary is 1,500, and they even provide insurance.”

“If it weren’t for my old man insisting on sending me to sports school, I’d have gone with Tianyao to work there.”

Perfect.

Just perfect.

Jiang Ning took several deep breaths, then slowly exhaled.

She worked hard to control her emotions.

After repeating this action several times,

She pulled her phone from her pocket and made a “one moment” gesture to the two girls in front of her.

Then she tapped a contact from her list.

A moment later.

When the call connected,

A cheerful voice came from the other end.

“Boss! Happy weekend!”

“What’s up?”

“Nothing, just wanted to ask—are you in charge of hiring at the factory?” Jiang Ning asked with a smile.

But to Li Yang and Meng Qing sitting across from her,

Although Jiang Ning was smiling, there wasn’t a hint of warmth on her face.

Instead, it gave off the feeling of someone ready to devour you.

Right then,

The clueless girl on the other end still cheerfully said:

“Yes!”

“Boss, you wouldn’t believe it!”

“Once word got out that we were hiring, the village committees from several nearby villages instantly sent over more than a hundred people.”

“My hand went numb from registering them all.”

“Oh? Sounds like hard work,” Jiang Ning replied flatly.

“Should I give you a reward?”

Reward?

Their stingy boss offering a reward?

At that moment,

Even someone as slow as Wang Jianguo realized something was wrong.

She nervously asked,

“B-Boss, is something wrong?”

Jiang Ning didn’t want to waste time talking nonsense with this paparazzi girl.

She simply said,

“I’m waiting for you at the duck blood vermicelli shop next to the escalator on the basement floor of Times Square.”

“If you’re not here in thirty minutes, you can start shopping for a new camera.”

She hung up, set the phone on the table,

Then gave a gentle smile to the two stunned girls in front of her.

“As you can see—”

“The actual owner of ‘Mingsheng Technology’ is me.”

——————

Twenty minutes later.

Wang Jianguo arrived at the food court on the basement floor of Times Square, half-jogging to find her stylish boss.

She was explaining something to two girls dressed in a non-mainstream style.

“So now, there’s only one solution.”

“No need to withdraw from school.”

“Just attend classes as usual.”

“You don’t need to go to the factory.”

“I’ll still pay your salary.”

“As for living arrangements, I can find you a place.”

Then Jiang Ning shot a glare at Wang Jianguo, who had just arrived, before turning back to the two girls.

“What do you think?”

“I think it’s worth a try,” Li Yang voted in favor.

Then she turned her eyes to Meng Qing.

At that moment,

Li Yang noticed the slightly out-of-breath paparazzi girl standing nearby.

“You are…?”

“Hi, I’m Wang Jianguo, I’m—”

Halfway through her sentence,

Jiang Ning cut her off.

“Don’t mind her.”

Then she looked back at Meng Qing.

“Do you trust me?”

Hearing those words,

Scenes from the New Year at the phone shop flashed through Meng Qing’s mind.

And that same sentence.

Do you trust me?

In that instant,

Meng Qing nodded somewhat dazedly.

“Queen, I trust you.”

Ten minutes later.

Jiang Ning waved goodbye to Meng Qing and Li Yang’s departing figures, then walked toward the parking lot without looking back.

The paparazzi girl stuck out her tongue sheepishly and followed along obediently.

Moments later.

Inside the car.

As soon as the door closed, Wang Jianguo looked at Jiang Ning with puppy eyes.

“Boss! Don’t be mad…”

“I know I was wrong, okay…”

Hearing her syrupy voice, Jiang Ning rolled her eyes hard.

She buckled her seatbelt without a word.

“Don’t call me boss.”

“You dared to hire someone with a fake ID.”

“I wouldn’t dare be your boss.”

“Sounds more like you’re my boss!”

Hearing that, Wang Jianguo caught onto Jiang Ning’s mood, let out a small sigh of relief, and her eyes sparkled.

Then her body suddenly went soft.

She leaned against Jiang Ning.

“Boss~ I didn’t know about that girl’s situation~”

“Besides, the village didn’t attach photos to the documents~”

“Boss~ don’t be mad at me~”

“If it comes to it…”

“If it really comes to it…”

Feeling the soft body pressing in, Jiang Ning’s alarm bells rang.

“What are you doing?!”

“Ever heard of personal space between women?!”

“Don’t get so close, or I’ll sue you for harassment—aaah! Don’t! It tickles! Hahaha—stop it!”

One minute later.

Jiang Ning’s body had surrendered.

But her mouth was still stubborn.

“Hmph!”

“I’ll let you off this time!”

“But if it happens again, I won’t be so nice!”

——————

Evening.

The setting sun cast a gentle glow.

Jiang Ning bathed in the mellow dusk,

Walking along the green National Day Road.

She sighed as she watched the car drive off into the distance.

Today’s incident was a wake-up call.

Though Meng Qing’s situation was resolved,

It didn’t mean the other 200+ new hires at the factory were all clean.

To put it nicely,

Meng Qing only used a fake ID.

Even if discovered, she’d just be sent back and fined a little.

But what if they unknowingly hired a mole from a rival factory, or someone with a criminal record or on the run?

If something happened then, it wouldn’t be a small issue.

At that moment,

Jiang Ning spotted a familiar figure slipping into a nearby alley.

She thought for a moment.

Then followed.

As soon as she entered the alley,

She heard a group of kids shouting.

“Watch this!”

“Spiral Didiwei!”

“Ha!”

“Scrub, check this out!”

“Violent Wahaha!”

When she saw them,

Jiang Ning realized the three little boys were lying on the ground playing marbles.

One shiny glass marble after another

Rolled back and forth in a large circle the size of a washbasin.

They were playing fiercely,

But not very accurately.

After ages, barely a few hits landed.

Standing about two or three meters away, leaning on a grapevine, Jiang Ning gently shook her head.

Thinking back to her own childhood.

Once, with just three milk marbles, she swept four alleys and defeated eighteen local champions.

She was only eight then.

Now, though she still felt youthful energy in her body,

That boldness unique to boys seemed to have slowly merged with her current body.

Becoming… strangely indescribable.

A feeling she couldn’t put into words.

Just then.

One of the boys noticed Jiang Ning standing by the grapevine.

He nudged the boy next to him.

“Jiang Monster!?”

???

Successfully, Miss Jiang was pulled out of her calm and selfless state in an instant.

Then she raised an eyebrow,

And walked over to the three little brats with a smiling face.

She squatted down.

“Mind if I borrow a marble to play with?”

Her voice was soft, gentle, and pleasant.

Like a flowing spring.

However—

Two minutes later,

Miss Jiang was holding a dozen marbles of various shapes, turning around and walking away contentedly.

Left behind were the three little rascals,

Silently shedding little pearls of tears, furious but too scared to speak.