Tian Tian was briefly stunned, but didn’t say anything. They’d been together so long—she knew exactly what kind of person he was. He wouldn’t do anything against her wishes.
Zhou Haoting acted as if he hadn’t thought of that. He pulled her straight into the room, then gently pressed her down onto the only chair in the room. Then he knelt on one knee beside Tian Tian’s feet and wrapped both hands around hers again.
“Miss Tian Tian, I, Zhou Haoting, now solemnly ask you—will you be with me? The kind that lasts a lifetime.”
Tian Tian looked into his deep eyes, eyes like a whirlpool about to pull her in. She suddenly felt her face grow hot and her ears burn.
She took a deep breath, lowered her head slightly, and touched her forehead to his. A soft bump sounded, and both of them burst out laughing.
After laughing, the atmosphere became even more harmonious.
“Of course, Mr. Zhou Haoting. Please take good care of me from now on.”
Hearing this, Zhou Haoting felt like countless fireworks were exploding in his head. He lowered his head and kissed Tian Tian’s hand. Then he reached up and cradled her face, tilted his head up slightly, and kissed her. With that motion, Tian Tian naturally lowered her head to meet him.
After a long while, the two flushed people separated, and Tian Tian suddenly said, “You dummy. It’s tiring to keep your head down.”
She’d been holding her head down for so long that her neck felt a bit sore and her mouth a bit swollen.
Zhou Haoting also felt he’d been a bit silly.
“It’s my fault. All my fault.” Then he lifted her up from the chair and lowered his head to kiss her again.
“This time I’ll lower my head. I won’t make you lower yours ever again.”
Tian Tian understood what he meant. Her heart felt sweet, but her hands didn’t hold back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to meet her.
Outside the window, the setting sun shone into the room, blurring their silhouettes.
There’s a saying: lucky in love, unlucky at gambling. But Tian Tian didn’t gamble, so she didn’t know if she’d be unlucky at it. But lucky in business—that was real.
After getting together with Zhou Haoting, life seemed the same as before, yet somehow different. In short, the two still left the house together in the morning and came back together at night. At least two of the three daily meals were eaten together. But both felt happier than before.
And work was especially smooth. Not that there were no bumps, but they always got resolved quickly.
Sure enough, by the end of the month, all the goods on Ye Lifeng’s side were finished.
Tian Tian hurried over to complete the remaining steps.
Spot checks, packing according to the client’s requirements, then notifying Xiao Ming’s side. Telling them the goods were ready and asking them to confirm the final shipping schedule.
Once the shipping schedule was confirmed, it was time for the container loading date.
When the order was placed, both sides had agreed that on loading day, Xiao Ming’s side would send someone to follow up. So on the morning of loading day, Tian Tian got up early.
Because they had to spot-check before loading, and the truck driver needed time to pick up the container, today was bound to be busy.
Zhou Haoting delivered breakfast early so Tian Tian could sleep a bit longer.
“You don’t need to go to so much trouble.”
Seeing Zhou Haoting come over at six, Tian Tian felt a bit bad. “Your factory is busy too. You should sleep more.”
Zhou Haoting said, “It’s fine. This first order still needs care. You eat breakfast first. After you’re done, I’ll go with you to take a look.”
Foreign trade was different from domestic trade after all. Some clients in some countries had specific requirements for container loading. And this was Tian Tian’s first order—she had to make it perfect.
Tian Tian had worked in shipping and documentation in her past life, so she was actually very familiar with this. But Zhou Haoting didn’t know that! So she could only agree. “Alright, you come with me. But just this once, okay? If I have more orders later and containers go out every day, are you going to accompany every loading?”
Zhou Haoting said, “Yes, yes, yes, you’re right. Later when Boss Tian ships so many goods every day, I really won’t have time to watch every one.”
Tian Tian harrumphed. “Now you know! Maybe I’ll become a clothing king someday.”
Zhou Haoting said, “Yeah! Then I’ll definitely become a home appliance king too.”
Tian Tian really wanted to say, you will be a home appliance king in the future.
Ah, knowing the future sometimes was quite stifling.
The two chatted and laughed, ate breakfast together, and went straight to Ye Lifeng’s garment factory in the neighboring village.
The factory was already open, brightly lit inside. A truck was already parked outside the warehouse, with a 20-foot container on its frame.
“So early!”
Ye Lifeng saw Tian Tian and the others coming and went to greet them. “Not early. Picking up containers at the port requires queuing. The earlier you pick up the container, the more peace of mind. This 20-foot container is a small quantity too. If you go late and there’s no container to pick up, it’ll delay the shipping schedule.”
True! Tian Tian knew that in this era, getting a container from the yard or port wasn’t easy. Sometimes you made a reservation, but someone else bribed their way in and took the container, and there was nowhere to reason about it.
“When are the trading company people coming?” Ye Lifeng checked his watch.
It was already past seven. According to the agreement, the trading company people should arrive by eight at the latest.
After the clothes were unpacked for inspection, they’d have to be repacked. Although it was spot-checking, it still took time.
“If this goes smoothly, I figure there’ll be repeat orders soon.” Tian Tian chatted with Ye Lifeng about the order. She also mentioned upcoming orders.
Yes, besides Xiao Ming, Tian Tian had also received a new order from her old classmate Chen Jiahao. The order was also bikinis. From what Chen Jiahao said, the one placing the order was his rich wife.
The guy was efficient—he’d already married the rich woman in Hong Kong. The kind with an official marriage certificate.
When Tian Tian learned this, she was shocked. This guy really had managed to save himself decades of struggle.
Honestly, she somewhat admired Chen Jiahao. After all, the pretty-boy life wasn’t something just anyone could pull off.
Anyway, off track. Looking at it, Chen Jiahao’s rich days ahead were guaranteed.
The two were talking when they suddenly heard Zhou Haoting’s voice. “They’re here.”
Hearing this, Tian Tian knew the trading company people had arrived. But Zhou Haoting’s tone sounded a bit strange.
When she turned to look, her expression turned a bit strange too.
For no other reason than that the person who came was actually Xiao Ming.
“Oh, Manager Xiao. You’re a big manager—why did you personally come to inspect the goods and supervise the loading?”
Hearing Tian Tian’s words, Xiao Ming wore a serious expression. “I’m just a worker. Why can’t I come inspect goods?”
Then he said pointedly, “Unlike you and Boss Zhou—already bosses, yet still personally coming to the site.”
Tian Tian found this person’s appearance strange, but he was the cargo owner. Coming to inspect goods and loading was perfectly normal.
“Alright, then we can start now, right?”
Xiao Ming smiled. “Let’s go. I’ve never tried doing this before!”
What followed were the procedures: inspection, packing, loading. All the way through, everything went smoothly. No accidents occurred. It was as if Xiao Ming really had just come to work.
But why did Tian Tian feel things weren’t that simple?
She watched the container doors close, the seal lock, the truck head to the port to return the loaded container. Everything was so normal.
So normal that even after Xiao Ming drove off, Tian Tian still felt something must be off.
She asked Zhou Haoting, “Am I overthinking this?”
Zhou Haoting shook his head. “Xiao Ming does everything with a purpose.”
Tian Tian nodded. That was exactly what she thought. She just felt this person hadn’t simply come to work.
But by the time she got off work and went home that afternoon, nothing had happened.
Only then did Tian Tian feel she might really be overthinking it.
But was she really overthinking?
No.
Sure enough, the next day she gave herself a day off and slept in her room. The goods had shipped. The next batch wouldn’t go out for two months. Tian Tian wasn’t busy and could rest well for a while.
However, someone probably envied her leisure. Her sleep-in didn’t last long before she was woken up.
People had come downstairs. They were talking very loudly, noisy as hell.
Tian Tian used the blanket to block her ears, but it didn’t help.
She sighed. Once again, Tian Tian felt maybe she should move. But her rental building was still under construction. Moving would be inconvenient too.
Before she could agonize over it, her room door was pounded with bangs.
Tian Tian said, “Who is it!”
“Tian Tian, open the door. I have something to ask you.”
Hearing it was Granny Cui, Tian Tian opened the door. Then she saw Granny Cui with an anxious expression.
“Tian Tian, tell me. Yesterday, yesterday at Boss Ye’s factory, did you see a young man?”
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