Chapter 61 Brought into the Fold

"If you really want to know, it's because of how much Zhang He likes you."

Shen Xing said softly.

"What... do you mean? What's wrong with him liking me?"

Chen Lijun asked in confusion.

"Liking someone is certainly not wrong, but the intensity of his affection is a bit off. As a man, I know what I'm talking about. For any man, his level of enthusiasm before and after successfully winning a woman's heart will inevitably differ. The way Zhang He acted before clearly showed that he hadn't succeeded yet. In other words, you've been intentionally keeping him on a string, haven't you?"

Shen Xing analyzed.

Chen Lijun remained silent.

"Coupled with the fact that you are still a virgin, it implies that the incident of ruining his wedding back then wasn't just a matter of you two being accidentally discovered, but rather a premeditated action by both of you—or rather, by you alone, carried out on purpose. So everything becomes quite simple at this point. You would only do such a thing for a specific purpose. Though I'm not sure what you're really after, it ultimately boils down to either money or power. Am I wrong?"

Seeing that Chen Lijun did not refute, Shen Xing finished his deduction.

Chen Lijun bit her lip and said coldly:

"You can barely protect yourself, so why are you still analyzing me? I can tell you the truth: you can't help me, so there's no way I will be threatened by you or work for you. If you didn't plan to let me go back, just kill me right now."

Shen Xing didn't seem surprised at all. He chuckled lightly and said:

"As expected, this is your true nature. I suppose the reason you chose someone like Zhang He, besides his decent background, is very likely because he's easy to manipulate, right? You're smart, but your judgment needs some work. What makes you so certain I have no connections within this military camp?"

Chen Lijun sneered slightly:

"Connections are useless here. No matter how powerful a connection is, you can't use it every day. You've caused such a massive disaster, and you'll be lucky just to keep your head. As for trying to recruit me, I advise you to give up on that thought."

Just as Chen Lijun finished speaking, an eagle-engraved military tally glowing with a cold light appeared right before her eyes.

"And now?"

Shen Xing said indifferently.

"This is... a military tally? Ouyang Lin's military tally?!"

Chen Lijun said in disbelief.

"You even stole her tally?! Then you are truly dead for sure. That is a capital offense of treason!"

Shen Xing choked slightly on his breath, put away the tally, and said speechlessly:

"That's going too far. Don't you have any idea what Ouyang Lin's strength is? If I could steal a military tally from her, would I even need to take you hostage? I could just fight my way out of here directly, and who could possibly stop me?"

Chen Lijun froze, and with a rather incredulous expression, she said:

"Are you saying... you're one of Ouyang Lin's people? The connection you mentioned refers to Ouyang Lin?!"

"Uh-huh."

Although it felt a bit like borrowing a tiger's might to intimidate others, Shen Xing still acknowledged the fact.

"Crap! Are you out of your mind? With that kind of status, why go through all this trouble? If you had just tossed that military tally onto the old director's desk, wouldn't he have scrambled eagerly to get people ready for the surgery?"

Coming to her senses, Chen Lijun immediately turned around and stared at Shen Xing as if he were a monster.

Because by her usual logic, a normal person would never do something like this.

Could it be that he simply wanted to flex and enjoy the feeling of slapping someone in the face?

This thought inevitably popped into Chen Lijun's mind.

"You seem to be thinking of something impolite. The reason I did this is very simple: I don't want to appear in the public eye with that identity just yet, at least not right now."

Chen Lijun paused, looked Shen Xing up and down, and mused:

"I can't tell, you actually seem to have some ambition. So what kind of relationship do you really have with Ouyang Lin? Are you relatives, or lovers?"

Shen Xing reined in his expression and said expressionlessly:

"Given your current predicament, is it really appropriate for you to ask so many questions? Let's get back to the main point: are you willing to work for me?"

Chen Lijun struggled with her thoughts for a moment, furrowed her brow, and asked:

"May I ask clearly—is this working for you, or for Ouyang Lin?"

"Most of the time, there's no difference between the two. In special circumstances, you answer to me."

Shen Xing said calmly.

"I see... I understand. Fine, it seems I don't have much of a choice anyway. Since your backing is so strong, it's fine for me to pledge my loyalty to you. But I do have one condition, and you have to agree to it."

"And if I don't agree?"

"Then it's just the difference between me putting in seventy percent effort or full effort, and either way, you won't be able to tell the difference."

"...... Let's hear it."

"I want to uncover the truth behind a certain matter, which probably involves someone high up in the military. The clue lies with the old director. I was originally trying to figure out how to question him without leaving a trace, but now that I have you, things are much simpler. You'll back me up, and I'll go pressure that old bastard."

Chen Lijun looked into Shen Xing's eyes and said earnestly.

"Just like that?"

"Yes."

"No problem. As for who might end up getting dragged into this later, we'll deal with that when the time comes. For now, you go interrogate the old director—there won't be any issues. I promise you."

With Shen Xing's guarantee, Chen Lijun visibly relaxed.

She smiled self-deprecatingly and sighed with emotion:

"Sometimes I really feel like fate likes to toy with people. I racked my brain scheming for so long, moving step by step up to this point, yet my progress still falls short of a single sentence from you. But if I hadn't schemed, I wouldn't have caught your eye. Ah, life—sometimes you just have to accept it."

"There's no need to wax poetic about it. When you finally get full after eating the third steamed bun, you can't say the first two went to waste. Since we've reached an agreement, there's no need to linger here. You can go back now."

Shen Xing was unimpressed by such sentimental sighing.

"I'm going back... by myself?"

"Yes. Calm down, I need to change my image before I show up again."

"Understood."

Grasping the implication, Chen Lijun didn't stay any longer and hurriedly ran off.

At the corner, she glanced back at Shen Xing and found that his previous spot had already been swallowed by the darkness, making his figure completely invisible.

...

Back in the area.

Seeing Chen Lijun return safe and sound, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Although it was a pity to let the intruder get away, at least the intruder kept his word—he said he wouldn't kill anyone, and indeed he didn't.

"Lijun, are you alright? Were you hurt?"

Zhang He rushed over at the first instance, eager to check on Chen Lijun's condition.

To his surprise, Chen Lijun stepped back to dodge him and said very coldly:

"I'm fine, and I wasn't hurt."

Zhang He froze, a faint, ominous premonition welling up in his heart:

"You... what's wrong with you? You're not mad at me, are things...?"

Chen Lijun shook her head:

"You're overthinking it. I was just scared. But there is one thing I need to tell you: I'm not going to continue working at the Logistics Department anymore."

Zhang He looked as if he had been struck by lightning, and stammered:

"Huh? W—why? Haven't we always... always had a pretty good relationship? I've always... always listened to everything you said. If I did something to make you m... mad, can't I just change?"

"There's no need to go to that trouble. You're fine; it's my problem. There's no point in saying more, I've already made up my mind."

Chen Lijun wore a blank expression, abruptly reverting to treating him like a complete stranger.