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墨書 Inktalez
"Alright, alright, just make the call!" Hong Xinran urged.
Song Pearl then lowered her head and dialed the number.
Although she had never called that number before, Song Pearl had memorized it in her heart. It was her first job, just like when she first entered school; she was very nervous and made sure to remember every detail about it.
The phone rang three times before it was answered.
"Hello, good afternoon," a polite female voice came through, and it sounded pleasant.
"Hello, I am Song Pearl. I am the technician you recruited from your research institute a while ago, and I am here to report for duty..." Song Pearl felt a bit nervous; she was afraid the other party wouldn't understand her, and the more anxious she became, the more her words got jumbled.
"Oh, Song Pearl, I know you. We were just worried about how to contact you," the woman on the other end said in a warm and gentle tone. "Here's the thing: you don't need to come in for your report. Our Professor Lin discovered that you cheated during your exam at your school and has proposed to revoke your employment offer..."
"Ah," Song Pearl replied numbly, not knowing what to feel. How could this happen? Although she could no longer take that job, being informed in such a manner was hard for her to accept.
If she had known, she would have preferred not to make the call!
Even though the cheating incident had not been reported, it still became a stain on her student life. If she hadn't been working at Hongqing and was sent back to school by the research institute, it would surely be a joke.
"Have you already hired someone new?" Song Pearl asked.
The woman on the other end thought she wanted to negotiate further and replied, "Yes, Professor Lin recommended another candidate from your school, and they have already been confirmed."
"Who from our school?" Out of curiosity, Song Pearl asked one more question, knowing that the other party might not answer such inquiries.
"Her name is Wang Ziyan; she just reported for duty this morning. Her file and recommendation form have been submitted; she's outstanding in both character and academics..." The pleasant voice continued, but Song Pearl didn't catch everything; she only clearly heard three words: Wang Ziyan.
Ziyan went to the research institute; she finally found a job in Provincial Capital. She should be happy for her, so why did she feel a pang of bitterness in her heart?
"Oh, thank you," Song Pearl said as she hung up the phone.
"What happened?" Hong Xinran asked. "Are they not planning to let you go there anymore?"
"Yes, they have revoked my employment offer," Song Pearl lowered her head, feeling somewhat wronged.
"This is nothing, anyway, you've already been working here..." Hong Xinran encouraged her.
"Yes, I know..."
When Song Pearl came out with Hong Xinran, the homeroom teacher was standing not far away.
"Hey, don't you have a cat paw print on your forehead?" Seeing that Song Pearl still looked downcast, Hong Xinran tried to divert her attention and chuckled, "Take a good look this time!"
"Maybe it's my eyesight?" Song Pearl blinked and looked at the approaching homeroom teacher, feeling weak. "If there's none, then there's none!"
"Hey, homeroom teacher, what happened to your forehead?" Hong Xinran suddenly called out loudly to the homeroom teacher.
The homeroom teacher touched his forehead. When Song Pearl saw Ban Chengdong's fingers brushing against his forehead, the cat paw print transferred onto his fingers. Perhaps it was the shadow of a tree; she looked up at the nearby Flower Bed where a bare tree stood.
After touching his forehead, the homeroom teacher looked at his fingers, which were neither dirty nor anything else. He looked at Hong Xinran in confusion: "There's nothing, what's wrong?"
"See? You must have seen it wrong!" Hong Xinran made a funny face at Song Pearl.
Song Pearl lowered her head.
"You two girls hurry up and get to work after your phone call!" The homeroom teacher said sternly, thinking that Hong Xinran and Song Pearl were joking with him.
In this factory, Ban Chengdong was considered a handsome and refined man. He had a good temper, was patient, and talkative, earning the favor of the female workers. It was quite common for the female workers to joke around with him.
"Maybe I saw it wrong. Let's go." Song Pearl's workplace was not in the same direction as Hong Xinran's infirmary. After they parted ways, they each went their own way.
When Song Pearl arrived at the Inspection Station, the main door was still closed, showing no signs of busyness.
She pushed open the office door and could still smell a delicious chicken soup aroma. Gao Xiaoxia, who was munching on sunflower seeds, spat out some shells and said, "Why are you so late? I've already finished one task!"
"I had to make a phone call, that's why I'm only here now. Do you need me to do anything?" Song Pearl asked.
"Not right now. Sit down and take a break!" Gao Xiaoxia pointed to another chair.
The large water bucket on the chair has been moved to the workbench. The documents on another desk have also been tidied up and clipped together, placed in the corner of the table.
Song Pearl sat silently in the chair, watching Gao Xiaoxia crack sunflower seeds. At this moment, she felt a mix of emotions, a sense of loss creeping in.
Over there, Wang Ziyan, recommended by Professor Lin, was caught cheating during an exam by Professor Lin. Who is Professor Lin?
Right, she felt that the proctor seemed somewhat familiar but couldn't be sure if she had seen him before. Now that she thought about it, he was indeed Professor Lin; he had also participated in the recruitment interviews at the research institute. Wang Ziyan must have seen Professor Lin as well.
She looked at Wang Ziyan, feeling like she had seen her somewhere but couldn't place her...
Although Song Pearl told herself not to think about it, she couldn't help but dwell on it.
Maybe Hong Xinran was right; after all, she wasn't going to work. Whether the research institute notified her or she informed them, the outcome would be the same. And it wasn't bad that Wang Ziyan could work at the research institute; she had always treated her well, so she should wish her well...
The entire afternoon was quiet. Song Pearl sat blankly for the whole afternoon. No one came over; Gao Xiaoxia cracked a pile of sunflower seed shells and then ran out, only returning just before closing time. As soon as she came back, she urged Song Pearl to hurry up and clean.
Only then did Song Pearl stop daydreaming and took a broom to start sweeping from the first room all the way to the last one. Each room in this Inspection Station was equipped with instruments. Gao Xiaoxia directed from the side, saying, "Don't touch this, don't move that. If you break something, you'll have to compensate for its value of several hundred thousand!"
After sweeping the floor, Gao Xiaoxia found two rags, and the two of them wiped down all the workbenches and accessible equipment from the innermost room outward.
"Alright, time to get off work!" Gao Xiaoxia tossed aside her rag and began changing into her work clothes; her clothes were in the office's locker.
"Thank goodness you came today; you really helped me a lot. Otherwise, with so many rooms, I would have had to clean each one for over an hour," Gao Xiaoxia said cheerfully while putting on her jacket.
"Are you cold in that?" Song Pearl asked.
"Not cold; I'm too fat. If I wear more layers, I look bulky," Gao Xiaoxia replied while looking down at her outfit.
Too fat? Song Pearl pursed her lips. Gao Xiaoxia was indeed much heavier than her.
"Is it time to get off work now?" Song Pearl looked out of the window but still didn't see anyone.
"There are still five minutes until five o'clock. When the shuttle bus arrives later, if you're ready and run fast, you can grab a good seat!"
Gao Xiaoxia was fully equipped, with a bag slung over her arm. She wore gloves on her hands and a plain scarf around her neck, ready to dash out the door at any moment.
"Are you still leaving?"
"It's almost dark. I've already given up my dorm, so I'm not going," Song Pearl replied.
"Yeah, it takes over an hour to get to County Town, and it's already dark before we've even covered half the distance. I don't have a dorm here; I got one at headquarters," Gao Xiaoxia said. "They have everything there. It's too cold here, and living out in the wilderness isn't safe."
"Isn't anyone living here?" Song Pearl recalled that her dorm had people in it.
"Most of the time, it's unoccupied; it's just too cold," Gao Xiaoxia said as she opened the door and stepped outside, with Song Pearl following her to see her lock the door.
"But you don't need to worry about staying here; there are night shift workers and those on duty. Just make sure to lock the door while you sleep, and you'll be fine!" Gao Xiaoxia continued as they walked.
Outside the office area, a large bus with two carriages had just stopped and honked twice.
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