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  Chu Shuo's Office.

  Lu Yudong didn't say a word as he placed a stack of documents on the desk.

  Chu Shuo picked them up in surprise. The contents detailed how, over a decade ago, his father, Chu Linsheng, conspired with several other companies to frame Lu Yudong's father.

  The more Chu Shuo read, the more alarmed he became.

  "Do you know when I plan to submit these documents to the prosecutor's office?" Lu Yudong asked calmly, sitting across from Chu Shuo.

  Chu Shuo's face turned pale. Based on the contents of these documents, Chu Linsheng would be looking at a minimum of twenty years in prison.

  "Was it the moment Jiang Ci started working at my firm?" Chu Shuo asked.

  Lu Yudong had set up an Audit Department, and the whole of Jiangzhou knew about it. Chu Shuo had always suspected that he might have already known about Jiang Ci's plan to switch jobs. Today, with Lu Yudong coming directly to his office to confront him, Chu Shuo was even more convinced.

  "Smart. You know what to do without me having to say it," Lu Yudong said, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked at Chu Shuo.

  Though Chu Shuo liked Jiang Ci a lot, compared to his father facing twenty years in prison, he would rather—temporarily give up on Jiang Ci.

  "But aren't you and Jiang Ci in a contract marriage?" Chu Shuo asked, echoing the belief Jiang Yi had instilled in him, which he firmly trusted.

  "Contract marriage?" Lu Yudong lit a cigarette with ease. "Do you think I'd act like this if it were a contract marriage? In a contract marriage, I wouldn't care about her well-being."

  Chu Shuo thought Lu Yudong made some sense.

  "I understand," Chu Shuo said, feeling extremely down.

  Whether it was a contract marriage or not, they had a marriage certificate.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Seeing how compliant Chu Shuo was, Lu Yudong stood up to leave.

  As he reached the door, he paused, "Stop flirting with my wife from now on!"

  Chu Shuo remained silent for a long time. As long as they had a marriage certificate, it was indeed "flirting."

  ...

  Jiang Ci's luck was terrible this afternoon.

  Just back from the café, she received an email from the Human Resources Department: Thank you for submitting your resume, but there is still a significant gap between your qualifications and our requirements for audit personnel. We hope you continue to strive.

  A "significant gap."

  Jiang Ci instantly felt like a withered eggplant.

  It seemed that even with Lu Yudong translating her resume, it was of no use. These emails were indeed personally reviewed by Lucas. Lu Yudong had no say in the matter.

  Then, she received a WeChat message from Chu Shuo: [Jiang Ci, thank you for trusting our firm and submitting your resume, but Accountant Zhuo Xiao said you declined. Since that's the case, we won't insist. Accountant Zhuo will look for a new assistant.]

  In an instant, both job opportunities were gone.

  Jiang Ci felt utterly dejected, wondering if her abilities were really that lacking.

  She couldn't focus on work all afternoon.

  At five o'clock, she went to the parking lot.

  Lu Yudong hadn't arrived yet, so she stood there, one foot resting on the other, trying to calm herself.

  For the first time in her life, Jiang Ci felt so insecure.

  Staring at the ground, tears slowly began to fall.

  Lu Yudong approached and stopped, seeing Jiang Ci's desolate appearance.

  It was the first time he had seen her like this.

  He had been quite angry with her for "playing both sides," but seeing her so pitiful, his anger dissipated considerably.

  Lu Yudong unlocked the car with the remote. Jiang Ci snapped back to reality, quickly got into the passenger seat from the other side, and wiped her tears away.

  In the car, she kept her hand covering half of her face, looking out the window.

  As they exited the garage, Lu Yudong asked, "What's wrong?"

  "Do you think I'm really useless?" Jiang Ci choked out, "I thought I was capable, but I can't do anything right."

  Lu Yudong couldn't help but smile slightly, "Why do you say that?"

  "Today, the Human Resources Department replied, saying my qualifications are far below their requirements. I..." Jiang Ci lowered her head, "Even with your endorsement, it was no use. Am I embarrassing you?"

  "Mm." Lu Yudong responded simply, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

  But clearly, Jiang Ci wasn't looking for his answer; she just wanted to vent.

  "I've always been in the top three in my studies, went to a key middle school, then a key high school. In my second year of high school, something happened at home. My dad passed away, and my mom was hospitalized. I took care of her while attending school. Given my family situation, I didn't take the postgraduate entrance exam. I gave my direct admission spot to someone else... But I always felt it wasn't my fault. But today..." Jiang Ci said, twisting her hands, "But today, the Human Resources Department sent me an email saying there's a huge gap between my qualifications and their requirements, a huge gap..."

  Lu Yudong glanced at Jiang Ci, just in time to see a tear fall onto her leg, followed by another, and another... until they flowed like a river.

  Suddenly, Lu Yudong felt he might have been too harsh.

  "Is it just this one thing?" he asked.

  "Also..." Jiang Ci's eyes flickered. She didn't want Lu Yudong to know she had also applied to Zhongnan, since she had already declined. She thought it was better not to mention it, "It's not just this one thing, but the rejection from New East's Human Resources Department really upset me."

  "Not just this one thing?" Lu Yudong caught her wording.

  "Mm." Jiang Ci said, "Do you think I'm embarrassing you?"

  "What's done is done, what can we do?" Lu Yudong replied nonchalantly.

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