Chapter 39

Chapter 2: Snap!

　　”Yeah, that’s right, Teacher Yuan Xiaoling is absolutely correct. I’ll make sure the graphic designers take note,” the Supervisor grinned ingratiatingly. “Any other suggestions?”

　　Yuan Xiaoling subtly pursed her lips.

　　Even though she was acting so high and mighty, he still maintained such a fawning attitude. It wasn’t impossible that he had ulterior motives, just like her roommate had suggested.

　　”Let’s get back to work,” Yuan Xiaoling said coldly, her little face stiffening. “Minnow! Start from the first line!”

　　…………

　　In the eastern mountainous region of Tianhai City, near Osmanthus Village, Bai Ling followed the villagers’ directions and gradually approached the residence of the woman named Ms. Wu Osmanthus. The journey was relatively easygoing, not even requiring the use of her powers.

　　This trip had a bigger goal than simply finding the list of enemies—she sought the truth.

　　For ten years in her previous life, with the help of Spiritual Power tiers, Bai Ling had completed several acts of vengeance but never got close to understanding the reasons behind them. Now, with many people still alive and time on her side, she finally had the opportunity to follow the initial clues and investigate further.

　　Standing before an ordinary farmhouse, she raised her hand to knock.

　　Knock knock knock.

　　”Who is it? I’m coming.”

　　An elderly woman opened the door. Seeing the unfamiliar White-haired Maiden standing there, she looked somewhat timid. “Excuse me, who are you looking for?”

　　”Is Ms. Wu Osmanthus here?” Bai Ling asked directly.

　　The woman hesitated for a moment. “That’s me.”

　　Bai Ling furrowed her eyebrows slightly.

　　The photo she’d found was from over a decade ago when Wu Osmanthus had first joined the factory. Back then, she was young, around her twenties. While not stunningly beautiful, she was certainly spirited. After more than ten years, she now appeared as a weathered old woman.

　　”Did you work at Yunhai Factory before?” Bai Ling continued without hesitation. “I have some questions I’d like to ask you about.”

　　After pausing briefly, she pulled out a few bills from her pocket. “This is for the interview fee.”

　　She could’ve used mental suggestion to ensure complete cooperation from the woman, something she’d always done in the past. However, for some reason, an image of Yuan Xiaoling politely saying thank you popped into her mind.

　　And that was how it happened.

　　Ms. Wu Osmanthus seemed pleased, her aged face lighting up with a smile. “Please come in and sit down.”

　　…………

　　After shouting “Minnow!” countless times, the script for the character’s first scene was finally finished. Stretching her arms, Yuan Xiaoling walked out of the dubbing room.

　　”Teacher Yuan Xiaoling, thank you for your hard work,” the Supervisor quickly greeted her. “The results are excellent; we’re all moved by your voice. It will definitely be amazing once it goes online.”

　　”Hmm, I don’t really feel anything special,” Yuan Xiaoling said seriously. “Are you guys just inexperienced?”

　　The Supervisor’s expression froze momentarily but quickly adjusted. “Ah, hahaha, Teacher Yuan Xiaoling really knows how to joke around. You must be tired after such a long session. Take a short break.”

　　Then someone handed her a cup of bubble tea. “Teacher Yuan Xiaoling, we just bought this from the shop downstairs. It’ll soothe your throat.”

　　Yuan Xiaoling took it casually and glanced at it. “What flavor is this?”

　　”Um… mango sago dessert.”

　　”What’s this fancy nonsense? I prefer strawberry. Remember that next time.”

　　”Yes, yes, yes.”

　　Several people agreed with her while sneakily observing her slowly bring the cup to her cherry lips, ready to sip through the straw—

　　Snap! The lights went out.

　　”Ouch, what’s going on?”

　　”Power outage?”

　　”My file wasn’t saved yet!”

　　At this point, a man dressed as a maintenance worker pushed the door open. “Sorry, the circuit breaker tripped during routine maintenance. We’re working on fixing it. Please bear with us.”

　　”I can’t deal with this…” The Supervisor wanted to scold him but stopped himself upon seeing Yuan Xiaoling standing primly nearby. He gritted his teeth and said, “How do you manage to mess up the wiring like this? Fix it quickly!”

　　”Yes, yes.”

　　But after this disruption, the room became too dim, and Yuan Xiaoling didn’t end up drinking the bubble tea.

　　”Sorry, Teacher Yuan Xiaoling, it’s unfortunate that this happened during your visit,” the Supervisor apologized.

　　”It’s fine. Anyway, today’s work is done. I might as well go for a walk,” Yuan Xiaoling put down her cup. “No need for sweet drinks when walking—it’s exercise.”

　　A few people in the room suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

　　The Supervisor, sweating profusely, could only helplessly say to the girl’s retreating figure, “Make sure to come again next time. Safe travels.”

　　The cup of bubble tea sat lonely on the table, yet several pairs of eyes were fixed on it. One person’s face was particularly anxious, as if they desperately wanted to grab the drink and force Blonde-haired Maiden to drink it.

　　”Don’t look anymore. It’s broad daylight outside, and there are plenty of people around. What do you plan to do?” The Supervisor glared darkly. “Clean up and deal with the stuff. We’ll wait until the power comes back.”

　　The power outage seemed to affect only part of the floor; other floors and elevators remained unaffected.

　　As Yuan Xiaoling left Tianhai Tower, she noticed a maintenance worker at the corner, looking familiar.

　　”Huh? Aren’t you the one who came in earlier?”

　　He was the one who had announced the circuit breaker issue earlier.

　　”That’s me,” the repairman smiled sincerely. “Sis, you’re safe. Earlier, I saw them trying to slip something into your bubble tea. Luckily, the power cut off before you drank it. That was quite fortunate.”

　　Hmm? Slipping something into the bubble tea?

　　So unoriginal. But it doesn’t matter to me, Yuan Xiaoling thought to herself. Water won’t betray me.

　　”Thank you, Uncle,” the Blonde-haired Maiden blinked innocently. “But, was it really luck?”

　　…………

　　”More than ten or twenty years ago, it was so long ago, I barely remember. At the time, the people from Yunhai Factory and our Village Chief—Old Village Chief, who has already passed away—came to the village recruiting workers. They promised great conditions and assured everyone the Village Chief wouldn’t deceive his own villagers, so many people were lured into joining.”

　　Ms. Wu Osmanthus recounted the past with a numb expression. “Once inside the factory, we realized it wasn’t what we expected… sigh.”

　　After listening to her talk for a while without getting to the main point, Bai Ling grew impatient and directly asked, “Do you have any memories regarding a labor dispute that occurred ten years ago?”

　　Apparently struck by the memory, Ms. Wu Osmanthus’s eyelids twitched.

　　”We weren’t in the same workshop, and the ones involved weren’t from the same village. I don’t know the specific details, but I do know the incident was significant.”

　　”Incident?” Bai Ling was startled. “What kind of incident?”

　　Wasn’t it supposed to be a labor dispute?

　　”Ah, one person died, three were severely injured,” Ms. Wu Osmanthus lowered her voice. “Many others were beaten up. The Village Chief forbade us from telling anyone. Don’t let on that I told you.”

　　Bai Ling paid closer attention. “Tell me more.”

　　——————Line Break——————

　　PS: There will be another update later. My schedule is messed up, ugh. Early sleepers, good night!

　　Also, regarding some overly aggressive comments, certain slides we shouldn’t touch, dear readers, please restrain yourselves. You know, I know, we all know.jpg Love you, kisses!