He Yao heard someone calling her name. She put down the wrench in her hand and looked over, her face etched with confusion.
Two tall men in suits were looking her way. She wondered if they were from upper management or clients.
Regardless, she couldn't afford to be rude. She walked over to meet them.
Xu Zheng, finding her pace too slow, met her halfway. He grabbed the shoulder of her uniform and pulled her forward.
“Hurry up, hurry up. We have important clients coming to visit. They want to understand the basic performance and specific parameters of these machines. You know all about it, right? Can you explain it to him clearly?”
“This is a great opportunity for you to get a promotion and a raise. If you serve this major client well today, I'll have your director give you a salary increase. Come on!”
She was unceremoniously dragged and shoved until she stood before Zhan Jingrui.
He Yao pulled her hand away from Xu Zheng’s grip on her clothes. While wearing her gloves, she straightened her attire and looked up at Zhan Jingrui.
It was better not to look, but the moment she did, she froze.
Similarly, on the way over, as Xu Zheng was pulling her, Zhan Jingrui had thought this short person looked somewhat familiar.
As they got closer, he realized this repair worker was a woman, which explained why she was so short.
Moreover, this woman’s skin, her figure, her features, even the way she frowned, all seemed familiar.
Although her overall demeanor was different from before, vastly so, he recognized her immediately.
He Yao.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
After so many years, having just returned to Sucheng, and after exhausting all efforts yesterday to find her without success, he had run into her the moment he arrived today.
Their eyes met, and he saw the shock and panic in hers.
This confirmed it for Zhan Jingrui; it was her.
After so many years, she was no longer the He Yao of the past.
The He Yao of then had jet-black hair that always cascaded over her shoulders. She always maintained a poker face, projecting an aura that kept others at bay.
The He Yao of now had hair cut short like a boy's, wore a cap, and donned such clothes. If not for the curves of her figure, one would hardly guess she was a woman.
The sharpness was gone from her eyes, and her features had softened with time.
She looked like an ordinary, delicate tomboy.
She was nothing like the sharp-featured, scandal-ridden ice beauty of the past.
Xu Zheng, whether he truly had a crush on He Yao or was faking it, hadn't recognized her even now that she was standing right in front of him.
Seeing her stunned and looking at Zhan Jingrui with a timid gaze, he nudged her again, filled with disappointment.
“Hurry up and introduce yourself. Don't you understand? If you don’t, go get your director. What are you doing, standing there like an idiot with the client waiting?”
He Yao snapped back to reality.
No wonder the voice sounded a bit familiar; it was Xu Zheng, Zhan Jingrui’s former deskmate.
She had been working at this company for several years, yet she had never known that the boss was Xu Zheng.
What was happening today?
So many years had passed since their separation, and she owed Zhan Jingrui nothing. She felt no need to be guilty.
Getting a promotion and a raise was more important.
After being scolded by Xu Zheng, she adjusted her cap and turned her attention to the machine.
Without even asking what Zhan Jingrui wanted to know, she proceeded to explain every detail, from the inside out, covering all sorts of specific parameters, based on her knowledge.
Her explanation was professional and fluent, more so than any time she had answered a teacher's question in the past.
It seemed she truly understood these machines.
How interesting.
The person who had once loathed life, spent her days scheming and causing trouble, and wielded her beauty like a weapon, had now become a skilled technician.
As she continued without interruption, Zhan Jingrui didn’t cut in.
The group walked along the machines, listening to her introductions one by one. Xu Zheng was very pleased.
See, even our ordinary repair worker has such solid technical skills. Zhan Jingrui must be satisfied, right?
“Academician. How about it? Are our equipment alright? The finished products are upstairs. Shall we move up and take a look?”
Of course, they had to see. Zhan Jingrui didn’t pay Xu Zheng much attention, only saying, “Have her come along too.”
“Let’s go, let’s go,” Xu Zheng said without hesitation, grabbing He Yao by the shoulder of her uniform.
“You guys made the parts, so you must recognize the finished product, right? Come on, let’s go upstairs and give us another introduction.”
All the department heads had gone to a meeting, leaving them leaderless. There was no one to greet them upstairs.
It was fortunate they had brought He Yao along.
Standing in front of the product display cabinet, she took a deep breath, focused, and began introducing the various products.
Simultaneously, she logged into the system connected to the display cabinet and demonstrated the remote control of the assembled products in smart home applications.
“Our products are compatible with smart audio-visual systems, smart lighting, smart security, integrated smart home systems, and a series of other commonly used products in daily life…”
She had been at this factory for seven years, starting from the most basic job of screwing in bolts, and now she was a production line supervisor. She had experienced it all and spoke about it with ease and familiarity, like reciting a well-loved story.
After her presentation, Xu Zheng asked with a degree of confidence, “Mr. Zhan, do you have any other questions?”
Zhan Jingrui’s fingers at his side twitched slightly. After a moment of thought, he looked at He Yao.
“Theory is one thing, but in practical application, consumers often have unexpected, personalized needs. How is your compatibility with other brands?”
He Yao replied, “Most of them are supported.”
Too vague, Zhan Jingrui pressed, “How are they supported?”
Xu Zheng, completely unable to follow the conversation, instinctively looked at He Yao along with Zhan Jingrui.
It was then that he noticed this workshop girl was quite attractive and looked familiar.
He Yao disliked being looked at this way, so she quickly turned her attention back to the products. “We provide over ten types of universal protocol interfaces according to national standards. As long as other brands use similar interfaces according to national standards, they can be supported.”
Zhan Jingrui nodded and asked several more questions. He Yao answered them all fluently.
Finally, he had nothing more to ask, and He Yao didn’t turn to look at him again.
He quietly gazed at the back of her head. After a moment, he said, “That’s all for today. I have no more questions.”
In that instant, it felt as though all the problems had vanished.
Including the abrupt departure from years ago, which had weighed on his heart for so long, he finally found release.
It was just a relationship, and there was no rule that said if you dated, it had to end well.
In love, many people left midway. He Yao had her own choices, and he couldn’t force anything.
He had been young and impetuous then, with a small mind. He resented her, wished she would live a bad life after leaving him, and even wanted revenge.
Now, seeing that she was neither doing particularly well nor poorly, seeming to fit perfectly into the developmental patterns of her social class, he had suddenly let go.
He already had Chu Xi, and had been with Chu Xi for many years. They were about to get married. Why think about anything else?
Meeting He Yao at this moment, and resolving his inner conflict, was undoubtedly a good arrangement made by fate.
He, who had been unwilling before, could now marry Chu Xi with a clear conscience.