Chapter 19

When the guard called for Shen Hongxing, she thought she’d misheard. “Sir, did you say a man named Lu Jiaoyang is waiting for me outside?”

“Yes, a young man named Lu Jiaoyang. He’s looking for you. He’s carrying something.”

The tape player? He’d brought it especially for her?

“Shuangshuang, you’re tired. Rest,” she told her friends before hurrying out.

“Chief Lu!” Xu Shuangshuang and the others were excited.  “He came here?” They tiptoed to the gate to see him.

“I think Chief Lu feels something for our boss. His eyes light up whenever he sees her!”

“Yes! And he always helps her!”

“He calls her his niece-in-law, but she broke up with his nephew.  He clearly likes her…”

Shen Hongxing quickly reached the gate. Lu Jiaoyang stood there with the tape player.  Seeing her, he raised it. “I brought it over so you wouldn’t have to wait.”

“You didn’t have to rush,” Shen Hongxing said, noticing his car wasn’t there.

Lu Jiaoyang made an excuse. “Old Zhang had a family emergency. He’ll pick me up later.”  He wanted to stay a while.

Shen Hongxing didn’t want to make him take a bus, especially since he’d delivered the tape player.  She invited him in. “Chief Lu, if you don’t mind, stay for a while.  We can leave when Old Zhang arrives.”

Lu Jiaoyang pretended to reluctantly agree.

Shen Hongxing offered to take the tape player, but Lu Jiaoyang refused. “It’s heavy. I’ll carry it.”

“I’m not a delicate girl. Believe me, I can lift a thousand jin weight,” Shen Hongxing said defiantly.

Lu Jiaoyang didn’t believe her, but he wanted to please her. “I believe you. I believe everything you say.”

“Chief Lu, when will I…” Shen Hongxing was about to ask when Lu Jiaoyang…

He stopped, looking at her seriously. “Please don’t call me Chief Lu. It sounds formal.”

They weren’t close!  Shen Hongxing thought, but she obediently agreed. “Okay. I’ll call you Uncle Lu.”

Lu Jiaoyang’s face turned cold.  He questioned, “You and Ping’an are really over?”  Was she calling him uncle because she wanted to get back together with Lu Ping’an? The thought of her still thinking about his nephew annoyed him.

“Yes! We’re over!” Shen Hongxing declared firmly.

Lu Jiaoyang softened slightly. He said authoritatively, “Don’t call me Uncle either.”

Shen Hongxing was confused. “But I should call you Uncle.” He was Grandpa Lu’s son. Her grandfather and Grandpa Lu were childhood friends. He was Grandpa Lu’s youngest son. What else should she call him?

She mumbled, “Grandpa would beat me if he heard that.”

“I’ll protect you. No one will dare bully you again,” he said.

His words warmed her heart.  In two lifetimes, only her grandfathers had shown her warmth, not even her children from her past life.  They’d been taught by Qin Xianglan to look down on her. She wondered if she’d been foolish to endure that for a lifetime.

She fought back tears. “Okay.  When Grandpa and Grandpa Lu aren’t around, I’ll call you by your name. Otherwise, I’ll call you Uncle.” She didn’t want to disappoint him or her grandfathers. She had to treat them well.

Lu Jiaoyang smiled. He ruffled her hair. “If the fashion show is successful, come to Haicheng. It’s a bigger city. If your enlistment fails, there are more opportunities there.”

Shen Hongxing knew Haicheng offered more opportunities.  She also knew…

In a few years, Haicheng will become China’s first globally-oriented international metropolis, with a booming economy.  She planned to join the army if her application was successful, dedicating herself to the country. If not, she’d go to Haicheng.  Haicheng was full of opportunities in this era.  Anyone willing to work hard could succeed.

But Lu Jiaoyang wanted her to go now? Was it because he was being transferred?

She scolded herself internally. Shen Hongxing, what are you thinking? Lu Jiaoyang is your elder!

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing her silence.

“Nothing!” Shen Hongxing shook her head, smiling. She pointed to the easternmost workshop. “We train there. Want to see?”

“Of course.” He started walking.

She followed, gazing at his back.

Oh my god! Oh my god!

He was Lu Jiaoyang. Lu Ping’an’s uncle.  Her uncle from her past life.

Shen Hongxing shook her head, trying to reassure herself. Once he was in Haicheng, they wouldn’t see each other, and these strange feelings would disappear.