Chapter 45: The Mistake at the Translation Venue

Xu Jiaojiao moved closer to Xie Zhi, trying to please him. It wasn’t that she had no boundaries, but Shen Guanqi was simply too handsome—his long, slightly curly hair paired with indifferent eyes, his smile not reaching them, reminding her of a cold-hearted male character from a K-drama.

She held Xie Zhi’s hand with her youthful fingers, smiling sweetly and speaking in a soft, coquettish tone, “Hubby, you’re the most handsome, you’re still the best in my heart.”

Hearing this, Xie Zhi’s calm expression was stretched into a smile, warm and gentle, like a god descending from the heavens. Meanwhile, Shen Guanqi’s face darkened, clearly displeased.

The afternoon passed quickly. They left two hours early because this matter was extremely important and could not afford any delay.

Luckily, they didn’t have to take the bus; the government had arranged a car. Uncle Hu sat in the front passenger seat, and Xu Jiaojiao sat in the middle of the back row, trying to ease the tension between the two men.

Honestly, it was quite pleasing to have two handsome men vying for her attention with a smile or a glance. Xu Jiaojiao even thought of keeping both of them, but quickly dismissed the idea. After all, the new China had a one-man-one-woman marriage system, and maybe in the future, dating could be more flexible.

But in the present, if she were to date two men at once, she would definitely be charged with immoral conduct and might even face extreme punishment.

Shen Guanqi noticed her smiling face from the corner of his eye and felt delighted, though he didn’t understand why she was so happy. “Sister, do you want some candy?” he asked, grabbing her hand firmly. The warm touch of his fingers against her smooth skin left him speechless.

Xie Zhi coldly yanked her hand away, his eyes void of emotion as he addressed the man, “Guanqi, I’m only a few months older than you. I’m already married. You should start dating too.”

Shen Guanqi maintained a warm, breezy smile, his gaze fixated on Xu Jiaojiao’s face. “Brother Xie, since you want me to date, why don’t you give Jiaojiao to me? I like her now. I wouldn’t even look at anyone else.”

Xie Zhi scoffed, nearly boiling with anger, his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.

Uncle Hu, hearing this, was growing more and more uncomfortable. He disapproved, saying, “Guanqi, what are you talking about? Jiaojiao is Xie Zhi’s girlfriend.”

Seeing his son’s distressed expression in the rearview mirror, Hu Yunsheng’s heart softened, and he decided not to intervene further.

Xie Zhi wasn’t pleased with Xu Jiaojiao’s silence. His eyes nearly shot fire, but to his surprise, she was almost completely unconscious from motion sickness.

This horrible road, the erratic traffic rules, the sudden stops, pedestrians ignoring laws, and the winding streets—they were all enough to make her feel nauseous.

Finally, Xie Zhi noticed something was wrong and pulled her into his arms. “Jiaojiao, are you motion sick?”

Xu Jiaojiao weakly nodded. She couldn’t escape motion sickness no matter what.

Shen Guanqi peeled a milk candy and put it into her mouth. The sweet milk fragrance helped soothe the nausea in her stomach. She forced a smile, “Thank you.”

She leaned against Xie Zhi, feeling immensely relieved to have arrived early, thankful for the decision to leave earlier so that her pale face wouldn’t frighten anyone.

Shen Guanqi’s gaze darkened as he looked at her slender waist, his palm lightly brushing against it. He thought it looked fragile, like a parasitic plant that could be controlled with one hand, though it seemed to have a strong vitality despite its dependency.

Xu Jiaojiao was helped out of the car, and Xie Zhi opened a bottle of water for her. She drank it quickly, feeling much better. It was as if standing on solid ground made everything feel more bearable.

They entered the venue, which was decorated with a lot of artistic displays—paintings, calligraphy, and photos of factories, all designed to excite people about the event.

Xu Jiaojiao thought it looked just like a school recruitment brochure—impressive on the surface, but behind the scenes, only those involved would know the real truth.

“Once we go inside, remember to be polite and greet people actively,” Uncle Hu advised.

“Got it.”

“Director Li, this is our new translator. You know these two, ten people will definitely be enough.”

The woman addressed as Director Li had short, slightly curled hair, looking sharp yet elegant.

“Hello, Director Li, I’m Xu Jiaojiao,” Xu Jiaojiao greeted politely, though internally, she was confused about how Xie Zhi knew so many people.

“Jiaojiao, you’re so beautiful. Make sure to work hard this time.”

“Okay, Director.”

Director Li’s smile faded, and her expression turned cold as she glanced at Xu Jiaojiao. Originally, she had wanted to introduce Xie Zhi to her niece, but now, her plan was thwarted. She shot Xu Jiaojiao a disdainful look and said coldly, “Jiaojiao, what a nice name.”

Xu Jiaojiao thought to herself, Is this how it feels to be a cannon fodder female character? Everyone around looks down on me equally. So frustrating! She smiled stiffly.

“Director Li, quickly find some typists,” a woman rushed over, her face filled with urgency.

“What happened?”

“The person in charge of the computers found that the saved files are missing. We urgently need people who can type to input the data.”

“Don’t we have typists?”

The young woman’s face flushed as she replied, “There’s too much data. The few typists we have are not enough. Director Li, please don’t delay, find more people.”

“Xie Zhi, you’ve lived abroad, you should know how to use a computer, and Guanqi too. Come with me.” The situation was urgent, and there was no time for explanations. They quickly headed to the backstage office.

Xu Jiaojiao thought to herself, Typing is easy, I’m great at it—spent so many hours playing games and typing insults, I’ve developed some serious skills. But these old computers, I have no clue about them. Let’s see what happens.

As soon as she entered the large room, she shivered from the cold. The machines were heating up badly, and the government had spent a fortune on air conditioning just to prepare for the arrival of foreign capital.

Once they arrived, the people quickly made space. Xie Zhi looked at the unfamiliar computer and realized it was different from the ones abroad, with a different keyboard layout and system. He shook his head, “Aunt Li, I can’t use this computer. Sorry.”

Director Li was shocked, feeling like a heavy stone had dropped on her. Her hopeful glance toward Shen Guanqi received the same answer.

Xu Jiaojiao saw the serious expressions of everyone around her and felt even more uncertain. If she messed this up, the consequences would be much worse than if she succeeded.

“Is everything we’ve prepared for the past few years going to waste?”

“Can we find someone outside?”

“Most people can’t even type in Pinyin, how will they handle computers?”

The low murmurs and sobs echoed through the room. No one had expected that after so many years of preparation, this would be the outcome, and since these documents were confidential, they couldn’t print them—only the read function was available.

Xu Jiaojiao’s beautiful face was filled with distress. Taking a deep breath, it seemed she had made up her mind, “Let me do it.”