Chapter 182: Didn’t Expect to See Her
Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Didn’t Expect to See Her
Lu Jingyu nodded. "You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll definitely handle these matters well. Besides, there are so many safe zones. Even if this place truly can’t tolerate me, it just means moving to another one."
Xu Qingsui clicked her tongue, feeling that he was taking things in stride. She had no idea that ever since Lu Jingyu discovered Shen Yan’s ulterior motives toward her, his favorable impression of the 27th District had plummeted. In fact, he didn’t even want to establish himself here anymore.
Giving a hum of acknowledgment, Xu Qingsui didn’t continue the topic. However, she suddenly looked at him with an odd expression, as if she wanted to say something but didn’t know how to start.
Noticing her hesitation, Lu Jingyu quickly asked, "What’s wrong? There’s nothing we can’t say to each other." His slightly intimate tone betrayed his growing anticipation for her response.
Unfortunately, she failed to notice the shift in atmosphere and said bluntly, "Looking at the team members you brought, I’m a bit surprised to see *her*."
Since Xu Qingsui didn’t explicitly name the person right away, a trace of confusion flickered across Lu Jingyu’s face. But as he gazed at her, it immediately dawned on him who she meant.
"Are you talking about Li Yaru?"
Xu Qingsui nodded. Back when she first arrived in Zone 9, Li Yaru was the very first person she had bad blood with. Moreover, the woman was rotten to the core. Not only did she try to harm Xu Qingsui the first time, but the second time, for her own selfish desires, she had completely disregarded everyone’s lives and even used it to threaten Lu Jingyu.
In the end, Xu Qingsui had to give it her all to turn the tide and stop her, exhausting herself so much that she fell into a prolonged coma.
Because of that incident, Lu Jingyu had expelled Li Yaru from the Alliance. Although he later rescinded the expulsion order due to Qi Qin’s lobbying, Li Yaru became completely invisible within the Alliance from then on. She had kept such a low profile that Xu Qingsui had almost forgotten about her existence, and she certainly never expected to see her again under these circumstances.
Wasn’t keeping Li Yaru around back then a move born out of sheer necessity? Why would he bring her along for something as important as this?
Seeing the sheer confusion in Xu Qingsui’s eyes, Lu Jingyu easily guessed what she was thinking. Fearing she might misunderstand, he hurriedly explained, "Don’t overthink it. I remember every mistake she made, and I truly intended to banish her from the Alliance. Keeping her afterward was out of genuine necessity.
"But later, she came to me and revealed that Qiu Fang was plotting against me. I decided to have her stay in the shadows to gather intelligence for me, which could be considered her way of atoning for her sins.
"She’s performed well recently and hasn’t shown any more wild ambitions. Since she did a good job, I decided to give her another chance and brought her here with me.
"That’s all there is to her situation. I absolutely don’t have any personal biases or ulterior motives regarding her, so please don’t get the wrong idea."
Lu Jingyu explained eagerly, terrified that if he spoke a second too late, Xu Qingsui would misinterpret his intentions.
However, Xu Qingsui’s expression remained flat. She nodded. "Oh! I didn’t overthink it!"
Despite her words, her heart indeed felt much more at ease.
"I noticed you also brought Meng Donghua out here," she said. "I thought you would leave him behind to assist Yun Fei!"
Through everything that had happened, Xu Qingsui could see that Meng Donghua was practically Lu Jingyu’s right-hand man. She figured Lu Jingyu wouldn’t feel completely at ease leaving the Alliance in the hands of the recently awakened Chen Yunfei and would definitely leave his most trusted aide to assist him.
"Saying that means you’re underestimating Yun Fei," Lu Jingyu replied. "His intellect and capabilities are extraordinary. Even if he slept for three whole years, it won’t affect his ability to manage the Alliance.
"Besides, he’s full of cunning tricks. When you go back next time, who knows how drastically he’ll have overhauled the Alliance!"
The two joked around for a bit before seeing Shen Yan, who had hurriedly finished his shower, step out again. Without standing on ceremony, he walked straight over to the camper van and climbed inside.
"What are you two chatting about? May I join in?"
It sounded like a question, but his actions suggested otherwise. Since he had already climbed into the vehicle, Lu Jingyu could only roll his eyes at him while Xu Qingsui wasn’t looking.
Shen Yan simply pretended not to see it, sitting calmly in the camper van. But before he could speak, his phone rang. After answering and speaking a few words, his expression grew conflicted.
Taking this in, Xu Qingsui assumed something else had gone wrong and immediately asked, "What’s wrong? Did something happen?"
Shen Yan slowly shook his head. "It’s nothing, don’t worry. It’s just that the staff at the laboratory made a discovery and asked me to head over."
"Boss Shen, that’s a major event! You’d better hurry over to the lab! We won’t trouble you with the trivial matters here." Knowing exactly why Shen Yan had such an odd expression, Lu Jingyu flashed a teasing smile and urged him to leave quickly.
Shen Yan felt a surge of helplessness. The laboratory really did have a crucial discovery that they needed to show him immediately, yet Lu Jingyu’s blatant provocation was hard to swallow. Unfortunately, with Xu Qingsui sitting right there, there were many things he couldn’t bring out into the open just yet. He had no choice but to swallow his pride and suffer in silence.
Mentally adding another mark to his grudge against Lu Jingyu, he said indignantly, "Then I’ll head to the lab first. If there’s anything you need me for, Captain Lu, just have Qing Sui contact me. I certainly won’t refuse."
About to get his alone time with Xu Qingsui back, Lu Jingyu couldn’t be bothered to engage with Shen Yan. He just waved a hand, shooing him away.
Once Shen Yan was gone and they were the only two left, Lu Jingyu’s heart fluttered. He prepared to confess his feelings once again.
"Qing Sui, I—"
"Captain, Guide Xu, why are you two staying in the van?"
The words had been right on the tip of his tongue, but they were cut off before he could utter them. The two looked toward the source of the voice, only to see several of the team members who had followed Lu Jingyu to the 27th District walking over.
Leading the group was Meng Donghua—the very man Xu Qingsui had just mentioned, and the one who had just interrupted Lu Jingyu.
Interrupted once again, Lu Jingyu felt a surge of fury rising in his chest. What had Xu Qingsui just said? That Meng Donghua was his right-hand man? Right now, he only wanted to rip off the man’s left and right arms for ruining his confession.
Feeling the sheer intensity of Lu Jingyu’s glare, Meng Donghua felt his scalp go numb. He racked his brain for a long time but couldn’t figure out how he had offended his captain. Too terrified to meet Lu Jingyu’s eyes any longer, he quickly looked toward Xu Qingsui, silently begging her to save him.
Since Xu Qingsui had her back to Lu Jingyu, she didn’t notice his murderous expression. Seeing the rapidly changing colors on Meng Donghua’s face, she asked, "What’s wrong with you? Did you have a stroke? Have you lost control of your facial expressions?"
Meng Donghua let out an awkward laugh. "No, I’m just feeling a little unwell. It’s nothing major!"
"If you’re feeling unwell, go find a doctor! What are you doing here!" Lu Jingyu snapped.