Chapter 17

Why? How could Lu Xin possibly reveal his trump card to Jiang Chunyu, a woman whose allegiance was unclear? He smiled calmly and said, "Talking about it now is meaningless. Just wait and see!"

"Hmph, making a big fuss over nothing!" Jiang Chunyu narrowed her eyes and sized up Lu Xin, then said with a delicate snort, "I can't see how you could possibly outdo Li Qiming, no matter how I look at it. You'd better think about how to save your own skin!"

"Auntie, please don't say that. Lu Xin is my best friend. You must help him, just as you would help me," Jiang Xueqing was moved by Lu Xin's words. Although she didn't have strong feelings for him yet, she already considered him a close friend. She knew that her parents had been deceived by Li Qiming's false, refined, and cultured appearance and were swayed by the Li family's matching social status. They definitely wouldn't help Lu Xin. The only person she could rely on now was her aunt, Jiang Chunyu, who had raised her since childhood.

"His confidence and arrogance are so over the top, and he even told me to wait and see. I have a low position and can't help him much," Jiang Chunyu gave Lu Xin a cold glance. Her cherry lips pouted slightly, showing her obvious dissatisfaction with him.

This woman is too petty, Lu Xin didn't know what to say.

Jiang Xueqing sighed helplessly on the phone, "Auntie, you are so magnanimous, don't take it to heart with Lu Xin. After all, he just entered society and still lacks social skills. He needs to learn more from you. Since we've already agreed to use him as my shield, just treat him as my boyfriend, like you would treat my real boyfriend, okay? Please, Auntie, dear Auntie, the one who is closer to me than my parents..."

Lu Xin never thought that the usually dignified and cold Jiang Xueqing, who seemed to be a carbon copy of her aunt, could be so coquettish and cute. He wondered when she might act that way with him.

When Jiang Xueqing was very young, her parents were very busy, and her aunt Jiang Chunyu, who lived with them, took care of her. The bond between aunt and niece was even stronger than that between parents and daughter. Jiang Chunyu often treated Jiang Xueqing like a younger sister or daughter, pampering her greatly. When Jiang Xueqing acted coquettishly, Jiang Chunyu was a bit at a loss, but she still said with some dissatisfaction, "You silly girl, I don't understand what you're thinking. Isn't Li Qiming good? Apart from not being as handsome as Lu Xin, he's far superior in every other aspect. You'll regret this eventually!"

"Auntie, don't you think Li Qiming is very similar to Uncle, both so refined and cultured, so mature and reserved? Sigh, both so gloomy and smooth, both two-faced," Jiang Xueqing deliberately said coldly, "Auntie, do you want the tragedy you experienced to happen to me again?"

Jiang Chunyu was silent for a moment, then she looked at Lu Xin again, "Lu Xin, I'll help you, but you can only be a shield. You can't get too close to Xueqing. After all, with your current status, you're far from matching her!"

Lu Xin nodded at Jiang Chunyu without speaking. He didn't want Jiang Xueqing to hear, and for some reason, after that kiss, he felt their relationship wasn't as natural as before. From their conversation, he could sense a change in her attitude toward him, so he didn't want to say anything that might hurt her.

Seeing Lu Xin nod in agreement, Jiang Chunyu giggled into the phone, "Xueqing, don't worry. I'll take good care of Lu Xin. In six months, I'll return him to you in one piece!"

Jiang Xueqing, who was on the other side of the ocean, where it was already 10 PM, felt reassured by her aunt's promise and hung up to take a shower and go to bed.

Jiang Chunyu turned off the speakerphone and looked at Lu Xin again, "Tell me how you and Xueqing met. You're from the Mechanical College, and she's from the Materials College. You shouldn't have known each other before, right?"

Lu Xin briefly recounted their experiences in the university's literary club.

"Ah, so you're both literary youths with similar interests. No wonder you developed an ambiguous relationship," Jiang Chunyu giggled, her laughter shaking her whole body. After a while, her laughter suddenly stopped, and her beautiful eyes coldly fixed on Lu Xin, "By your generation's standards, for a commoner like you to be able to spend so much time with a goddess is already a great blessing. Don't even think about a comeback, okay?"

"Do you think I have the ability to make a comeback?" Lu Xin said sarcastically, "Right now, I'm focused on staying alive. I won't think about anything else!"

"Very self-aware, good," Jiang Chunyu's cold smile suddenly bloomed like a flower, "Since you understand the situation, I'll give you a way to stay alive. Tonight, I'll take you to meet someone. If you can win her favor, one word from her will keep Li Qiming from touching you!"

"Who is she?" Lu Xin asked curiously.

"You'll see when we get there!" Jiang Chunyu smiled mysteriously, "Go back to work now. I'll call you when it's time!"

Lu Xin left Jiang Chunyu's office. Jiang Chunyu picked up her phone and dialed a number, "Sister Fang, Xueqing is abroad for training and can't tutor Xiao Lu in writing anymore. But I've found someone with writing skills no less than Xueqing's. He was the vice president of the literary club when Xueqing was in college. I'll bring him to your place tonight!"

Lu Xin rushed back to the machine repair class and found that everyone had already completed the routine equipment inspection without any issues. Some were reading newspapers, others chatting, and four out of the six people were heavy smokers, making the break room smoky and stuffy.

Lu Xin used to smoke heavily, but after Jiang Xueqing said, "I hate men who smoke" in her sophomore year, he quit smoking decisively and completely. He didn't want to be exposed to secondhand smoke, so he stepped out of the break room and stood outside in the sun.

Lu Xin's mentor, the deputy class leader Zhang Feng, put down his newspaper, walked out of the break room, and stood next to Lu Xin, sighing softly, "Lu Xin, you've offended the class leader, the department head, and even the factory manager. How are you going to survive here?"

"How can I survive?" Lu Xin sighed deeply. He didn't really believe that Jiang Chunyu's casual introduction could resolve the current crisis. Would he have to use his metal control ability to eliminate Li Li, Liu Jianhui, and Li Qiming to survive here? If so, wouldn't he become a murderer? If that were to be exposed, he wouldn't just be unable to work in this company; he might not be able to work anywhere in China.