“Do you remember that smart moxibustion device you mentioned to me last time?”

Shi Xing froze for a moment. She hadn’t expected him to remember something she’d said in passing, and she nodded quickly.

Seeing her reaction, Xie He smiled, then took out his phone and showed her what he’d found.

Shi Xing leaned in to look. It was an advertisement for a company that specialized in producing smart moxibustion devices.

“Well? Interested in learning more about it?” Xie He asked, scrolling through the screen as he waited for her response.

Shi Xing nodded. After a brief pause, she said thoughtfully, “I’ll have Xiaoxiao go with me later.”

Xie He pressed his lips together, let out a soft chuckle, and said, “Alright. I’ll send you the materials directly.”

While they were talking, neither of them noticed the unusual movement behind them.

By the time Shi Xing said goodbye to Xie He and returned to the team, she happened to run into Song Lin looking for trouble. He had been scanning the area, and the moment he spotted Shi Xing, he swaggered over, shaking his head smugly.

Shi Xing rubbed her temples, already sensing that he was about to give her a hard time again.

Sure enough, the next second Song Lin clicked his tongue and sneered, “Late again? Clocking in right on the dot?”

She shrugged and replied calmly, “There’s no rule saying clocking in on time isn’t allowed. Instead of arguing with me here, why don’t you let me get to work and stop wasting time?”

After several previous confrontations with Song Lin, Shi Xing had figured him out—when dealing with him, her tone had to be firm. Only then would he have nothing to argue back with.

Song Lin’s face immediately turned ashen with anger. He clenched his teeth and scoffed, “Fine. Let’s see how efficient you really are.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Xing briskly walked inside, picked up the medical kit, and began working.

One of the team members had accidentally injured themselves, blood seeping steadily from their knee. She took out some gauze and carefully began disinfecting the wound.

She was serious and meticulous throughout, leaving Song Lin with nothing to criticize. With a resentful snort, he turned and left.

Not long after he left, several colleagues gathered around her and let out relieved sighs, chiming in one after another:

“Finally gone.”

“You have no idea—ever since Sister Yu Jing was suspended and he got promoted to management, he’s become unbearably arrogant.”

Although they were half-joking, Shi Xing caught the hidden implication in their words.

After Ji Yu’s incident, photos of her and him spending time together had been leaked. Judging from the angles, it was clearly someone from inside who had secretly taken them. Then Yu Jing was suspended, and Song Lin had immediately gotten the news. Was there really no connection between these events?

At the thought, Shi Xing unconsciously curled her fingers around the gauze and held her breath.

As she was about to get off work, she sent a message to Ying Xiaoxiao, asking her to come pick her up so they could go check out that company on the outskirts of the city.

Ying Xiaoxiao moved fast. Not long after receiving the message, her car was already parked at the entrance. She rolled down the window, tilted her head at Shi Xing, and whistled. “Hop in.”

Watching her string of actions, Shi Xing laughed so hard her shoulders shook. After a while, she finally asked, “Who did you learn all that from?”

“Of course, Xie He. Cool, right?” Ying Xiaoxiao said, even glancing at herself in the mirror and nodding in satisfaction.

Shi Xing lightly patted her and said helplessly, “Why don’t you learn something good? You just pick up the greasiest habits.”

Ying Xiaoxiao burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, back at the training field, Xie He was sneezing nonstop. Ji Yu raised an eyebrow and teased, “Caught a cold?”

Xie He shivered all over, shook his head, and said nonchalantly, “Probably someone talking bad about me.”

Back in the car, after laughing it off, Shi Xing and Ying Xiaoxiao grew serious again. Ying Xiaoxiao lightly stepped on the accelerator, and the car slowly pulled away.

When they arrived at the company in the suburbs according to the address, both of them froze.

Probably because the company had only recently been established, its scale was very small.

Shi Xing and Ying Xiaoxiao exchanged a glance, both feeling a bad premonition.

However, perhaps precisely because it was small, everyone there was extremely enthusiastic. When the boss heard that they’d been introduced by Xie He, he proactively explained the company’s situation to them and even took out their design proposal for them to review.

Shi Xing pressed her lips together and read the proposal carefully, asking several key questions along the way.

The other party answered each one smoothly.

On the way back, Shi Xing stared thoughtfully ahead and asked in a low voice, “What do you think of that company?”

Ying Xiaoxiao, unusually sleepy, yawned and sniffed before saying awkwardly, “That whole presentation just now made me feel like I was back in college listening to lectures—and I was just as sleepy as ever.”

Shi Xing chuckled, put away the documents, and teased, “Why do you and Xie He say exactly the same things to me?”

Unexpectedly, Ying Xiaoxiao snorted and took the chance to drag Xie He. “Who’s like him? At least I’ve read a few books, okay?”

Shi Xing nodded indulgently. Just then, Ji Yu sent her a message saying training had just ended and asking if she wanted to grab dinner together.

She thought for a moment, then turned to Ying Xiaoxiao and asked, “They’re done with training. Want to go eat together?”

Ying Xiaoxiao nodded and joked, “I came back to Jinggang City planning to seriously study for my exams, but every day it’s either wandering around here or going out there.”

Shi Xing linked arms with her and comforted her softly, “It’s fine. Relaxing once in a while is good too. Otherwise I’d worry you’d be so stressed you’d go crazy.”

Ying Xiaoxiao laughed at her words, deliberately messing up her hair to scare her, lowering her voice. “Like this kind of crazy?”

The two of them joked around as they arrived at a high-end restaurant in the city center.

As soon as they entered, a server led them to a private room.

The moment they walked in, they saw Ji Yu and Xie He already seated inside.

Although the two of them could be pretty annoying at times, it had to be admitted that from this angle, they were striking—one with sharp features and cold brows, the other with deep eyes and a playful smile, looking slightly roguish.

Ying Xiaoxiao walked over quickly and knocked on Xie He’s head. The two sworn enemies immediately started bickering again without missing a beat.

Shi Xing naturally moved to Ji Yu’s side. Watching the scene, faint dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

Ji Yu noticed the proposal documents in her bag out of the corner of his eye, lowered his gaze, and asked with mild curiosity, “What’s that?”

At his question, the noise on the other side quickly died down. Xie He spoke first. “You went this afternoon? That was fast.”

Ying Xiaoxiao lifted her chin proudly, her tone unconsciously rising. “I specifically went with her this afternoon.”

Ji Yu sat quietly, his gaze darkening slightly. Sensing his mood, Shi Xing quickly explained, “Earlier I saw a team member accidentally get burned by a moxa stick, so I wondered if we could develop a smart moxibustion device to control the temperature. Xie He happened to have connections, and you were busy training, so I thought I’d just have Xiaoxiao go with me.”

When Shi Xing finished her long explanation, both Xie He and Ying Xiaoxiao froze for a moment, then quickly lowered their heads and laughed.

Especially Xie He, who couldn’t resist teasing after laughing. “So you’re under strict wife management, Shi Xing.”

Her face instantly heated up, flushing red.

Ji Yu smiled and defended her. “Can’t help it. Some people are just born to be spoiled by their wives. Others probably don’t have that kind of fate.”

Every word reeked of smug superiority.

Xie He shuddered, utterly grossed out by him, and hurriedly shrugged.

During dinner, the three of them began reminiscing about their college days. Only Xie He couldn’t get a word in edgewise and complained, “Can’t you talk about something current?”

Ying Xiaoxiao patted his head and said bluntly, “You don’t have to listen.”

Xie He hissed in pain and said helplessly, “Keep hitting me like that and my head’s going to crack. The nation is about to lose a rising star in badminton.”

As the two of them bantered back and forth, the atmosphere at the table grew lively.

After dinner, Ji Yu walked Shi Xing home. Once inside, he spoke slowly, “Actually, if anything comes up in the future, you can tell me first.”

Shi Xing knew he was still hung up on the moxibustion issue and nodded quickly.

Seeing her like this, Ji Yu sighed lightly and joked, “You make me feel like I’m completely useless as a boyfriend.”

Shi Xing paused, then suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and acted coy. “No, that’s not true. At least in some areas, you’ve helped me a lot.”

“For example?” He raised an eyebrow, his tone ambiguous.

Shi Xing was momentarily speechless.

Instead, Ji Yu seized the initiative, lifting her up and settling her on his lap.

The temperature in the air gradually rose. Just as the two of them were leaning closer, Ji Yu’s phone suddenly rang.

He answered it, his expression changing instantly. Shi Xing looked at him curiously and asked, “What’s wrong?”

After a brief hesitation, Ji Yu handed the phone to her.

Shi Xing took it and was instantly shocked. The photos on the screen were all secretly taken that morning while she and Xie He were discussing the moxibustion device. Because of the deliberately chosen angles, the two of them appeared unusually close.

Seeing her confusion, Ji Yu said calmly, “No idea who took them. They were planning to post them online, but my team intercepted them first.”

Shi Xing unconsciously tightened her grip on the phone. She didn’t dare imagine what would happen if these photos were actually posted online—given their current status, there would surely be another wave of fabricated rumors.

“And the photos from before, when we were spending time together,” she added, recalling something and speaking indignantly.

Ji Yu nodded and asked, “Do you have any suspects?”

After a moment, they spoke in unison: “Song Lin!”

Aside from him, Shi Xing couldn’t think of anyone else who would target her so relentlessly.

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