80 village women marry military officers; it was supposed to be a fake marriage.

Li Mingyue hadn't expected Huo Qingyan to stand up for her. Knowing he was going to protect Lin Yue, she gritted her teeth in anger and retorted, "Of course! If Lin Yue dares to do it, what wouldn't I dare to say? I just don't want the people in the factory to be kept in the dark. Someone like her doesn't deserve to work here."

Huo Qingyan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So what you said has been verified and is something that actually happened. You need to know what these words mean to a girl. Can you take responsibility for it?"

Li Mingyue was also feeling uneasy. She had only heard these things from Lin Mei and hadn't seen them with her own eyes, but she trusted Lin Mei and believed that Lin Mei wouldn't harm her.

So she raised her voice and said, "Of course, this was all done by Lin Yue herself. Although she is shameless and has an improper lifestyle, she can't come and ruin our garment factory. We all want to be recognized as advanced workers."

Huo Qingyan sneered, "You're so concerned about the factory, huh? What if you can prove that what you're saying is utter nonsense?"

Li Mingyue wasn't afraid of his threats. She glanced at Zhou Long standing beside her. With someone protecting her, she wasn't afraid of anything. "I absolutely cannot be wrong. If I am wrong, I'll be arrested and punished as appropriate. I'll even kneel down and apologize to Lin Yue."

Hearing her say that, Huo Qingyan nodded in satisfaction. "Okay, everyone heard that. I'll give you one last piece of advice: those who do many evil deeds will surely perish. Don't spend all your time thinking about harming others, or you might end up harming yourself."

Although Li Mingyue liked Huo Qingyan, he had always rejected her, which made her resentful. Now, she was even more furious because he was defending Lin Yue. "What business is it of yours? Why are you showing up here? Could it be that you and that Lin Yue are having an affair? I knew it. You're usually so cold and indifferent. It seems you've already been bought off by Lin Yue."

"What kind of advanced youth are you? I think you're just someone who can't distinguish right from wrong and is morally corrupt. You don't deserve the title of 'advanced' at all."

Li Mingyue has essentially thrown all pretense of civility. Since she can't have him, she'll ruin Huo Qingyan too. Once he becomes a universally reviled rat, he'll have no choice but to obediently befriend her.

Her words made everyone around her gasp. Everyone knew that Huo Qingyan was a ruthless and taciturn man, a former soldier whose identity was kept secret, and no one dared to mess with him.

Li Mingyue usually fawns over him, but he never pays her any attention. Now, she's suddenly changed her ways and dares to talk to Huo Qingyan like that.

In reality, there are very few people with a sense of justice. No one is considering the factory's honor; they are just people who want to join in the fun and are easily swayed by others.

Huo Qingyan looked at her coldly, said nothing more, and let her lead the people to the factory director's office.

You can't persuade someone who's courting death with good intentions. The more you try to persuade her, the more she'll think you have ulterior motives.

Those following behind Li Mingyue saw that Huo Qingyan did not refute her, and that Li Mingyue seemed confident and assertive, so they believed her and followed her to cause trouble.

A murderous glint flashed in Huo Qingyan's eyes as he said to Wu Changyong, "Go and call the union director here. Tell him that someone is leading a strike."

Then he said to Luo Xiaoshan, "Go to the street office and find the director of the Women's Federation. Tell her that someone here is deliberately damaging the reputation of women and bullying the weak."

Luo Xiaoshan gave Huo Qingyan a thumbs up, "Brother Yan, that was a brilliant move! You're cutting off their supply lines from the ground, leaving them no way out."

Huo Qingyan glanced coldly at the departing crowd. "Since some people want to escalate things, let's give them a hand and make the fire burn brighter."

Wu Changyong and Wang Yiming went about their own business. Huo Qingyan turned around and went to the workshop, where he found Master Zhu. "The factory is so lively, aren't you going to take a look? Aren't you afraid your future apprentice will be bullied?"

Master Zhu continued drawing without even looking up. "Isn't it you who's here? Why would an old geezer like me need to step in?"

Master Zhu was transferred from a clothing factory in Beijing. He didn't really like the atmosphere here, but fortunately, his secondment would end in a few months, and he didn't want to get involved in those boring things.

When your time is up, you leave.

As for Lin Yue, she is indeed one of the few people in recent years who has caught Master Zhu's eye, but she has too many troubles and a tendency to attract negative attention, always causing a lot of problems.

Whether she has the chance to become my apprentice depends on her fate. If she can't even overcome such a small hurdle, how will she face the storms to come?

Huo Qingyan, biting a toothpick, glanced at him unhappily. "If she were your niece, would you let her suffer like this? You call yourself an artist, but I think you're just afraid of trouble."

When he mentioned Master Zhu's niece, his eyes softened considerably. He hadn't seen that adorable little girl since they went abroad, and he missed her terribly.

When he first saw Lin Yue, he was a little dazed. Lin Yue's eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to his sister's, which made him take a few more glances.

Later, he realized she had talent, so he thought of taking her as his apprentice so that his years of learning could be passed on.

However, too many other things came up, which gradually dampened his enthusiasm. Only a few months had passed, and the girl was still hospitalized.

He put down his paintbrush, looked up at Huo Qingyan, and said, "So, what do you want me to do?"

Huo Qingyan's brows relaxed, and he laughed out loud, "As expected of an old fox, you get it right away. Go and make a trip later, and in front of the factory director, accept Lin Yue as your apprentice and give her a backer, so that those monsters and demons won't cause trouble and interfere with your passing on of all your knowledge."

Master Zhu snorted coldly, "Are you so sure she can learn it?"

Huo Qingyan chuckled and put his arm around Master Zhu's shoulder. "Do you still doubt your own judgment?"

On the other side, Li Mingyue had already led a group of people to the door of the factory director's office. The corridor was crowded with people. She didn't know who pushed her, but she bumped into the door.

With a loud thud, everyone fell silent. Li Mingyue, clutching her aching face, turned around and shouted angrily, "Who pushed me? Were they trying to kill me?"

Everyone looked at each other, and no one said a word. Li Mingyue was about to lash out when the door to the factory director's office opened.

The factory manager stood at the door, looking at everyone with a puzzled expression. "What are you all doing? Why aren't you working during working hours? What are you all doing crowding here? Are you going on strike? Who started this? Do you want to be fired?"

Everyone was too scared to speak, even Li Mingyue remained silent. Then someone shouted, "It's Li Mingyue. She brought us here. She has something to report."