By the time Jiang Xiaoyu arrived at the military base, it was already noon.
A soldier walked over, his face full of surprise. “Engineer Jiang, why are you soaking wet, and why do you have leaves hanging from your hair? Were you crawling through the bushes?”
He said it casually, but it hit a sore spot for Jiang Xiaoyu.
That damned gate guard had refused to open the entrance to the machinery factory no matter what she said.
She had no choice, and when she saw the small grove nearby… well… she had to go through it.
Damn it, that old man—couldn’t he just die already?
Still, the real culprit behind this mess was Song Tian.
If she hadn’t been sent to work at the machinery factory, she and Lu Beizhen would have already reached the base.
Lu Beizhen wouldn’t have been so busy returning to the base that he left her behind.
Sure enough, a distant relative staying at the Lu family really didn’t deserve any special treatment!
Lost in thought, she then heard the soldier say, “Engineer Jiang, go change your clothes first. I’ll wait for you at the training ground.”
“I know,” Jiang Xiaoyu replied.
She went back to the dormitory, boiled some hot water for a shower, washed her hair, changed clothes, and even applied light makeup.
After almost two hours of fussing, she put on a light blue sleeveless dress and high heels and headed to the training ground.
Seeing her outfit, the soldier by the vehicle froze.
“What’s with all of you staring at me? Aren’t my eyes enough? This dress looks good, right? I just bought it—imported chiffon. It looks especially pretty when I spin around.”
“Engineer Jiang, the dress is indeed nice and suits you well, but…” the soldier hesitated.
Jiang Xiaoyu’s brows twitched.
Could he be planning to confess to her?
Well, she could only play the ruthless woman now—after all, she was about to marry Lu Beizhen.
The soldier continued, “…But I brought you over here to fix the cars. How are you going to do that dressed like this?”
High heels could at least come off so she could go barefoot.
But that dress? Crawling under cars like that, she’d be flashing everyone!
What was Engineer Jiang thinking?
“I’ll direct you,” Jiang Xiaoyu said casually. “Just do what I tell you.”
What?
The soldier thought he misheard. “We do it ourselves?”
“Yes. Your cars break down every two or three days. I can’t keep cleaning up every time—it’s all basic issues. You should learn to fix them yourselves and stop bothering me.”
Every time she fixed cars, her hands would be covered in grease, and sometimes her clothes would get stained beyond cleaning—it was infuriating!
“Quick, open the hoods. I have other things to do later.”
Once the cars were fixed, she could wear this outfit to see Lu Beizhen and definitely make him take notice.
The soldier turned green with anger at her words.
A new recruit standing nearby couldn’t help but sneer. “You’re the engineer. If we do your work, what are you doing wandering around the base in that dress?”
“Yeah, this is the military, not a zoo. Don’t strut around like a peacock.”
“You can’t even fix the cars, huh? Maybe we should call Master Tiancai instead. She dresses properly and fixes things well and quickly.”
Most importantly, Master Tiancai didn’t put on airs. She was far better than this Engineer Jiang!
Jiang Xiaoyu looked puzzled. She had been at the base for years—she’d never heard of this Master Tiancai.
Wait…
“You mean Little Sweet Beet, Song Tian?” Jiang Xiaoyu asked.
The new recruit nodded. “Yes. Master Tiancai is also a relative of Commander Lu. She never acts high and mighty. People should stay humble—too much confidence is just vanity!”
Jiang Xiaoyu’s anger flared.
That country bumpkin Song Tian had actually come to the base to fix cars while she was out studying?
Trying to steal her job!
And these people had been won over by Song Tian too.
A group of blind fools.
“It’s just fixing cars. Wait, I’ll change first,” Jiang Xiaoyu said.
She had already been undermined by Song Tian this morning. If she were outdone again, she couldn’t swallow that.
She quickly changed into long sleeves and pants and returned to fix the cars.
In less than half an hour, she repaired all ten vehicles.
“So fast?” everyone exclaimed. “Last time Master Tiancai fixed eight cars, it took nearly an hour.”
Jiang Xiaoyu said, “She’s not a professional. Figuring it out in an hour is already impressive. I studied abroad, so being fast is normal.”
Proudly, she left.
She went back to the dorm, changed into her dress, and then went to the office to see Lu Beizhen.
Lu Beizhen and Zhou Yi were having tea in the office.
Seeing her, Zhou Yi whistled. “Wow, Engineer Jiang, you look great today! Such a petite figure—it’s a shame you’re not in the art troupe.”
Jiang Xiaoyu was pleased but held her composure. “Why would I join the art troupe? If I got in, my knowledge and skills would be wasted.”
Just then, a member of the art troupe in the office came to stamp some papers. Hearing this, she immediately got angry.
“What do you mean, implying our art troupe is just a bunch of pretty fools?”
Jiang Xiaoyu recognized her.
This was the troupe’s leading performer, Xu Yi.
Trained in classical dance, tall, with long legs, and a cold, ethereal face like a fairy.
But Xu Yi was from the Northeast and had a fiery temper—she wouldn’t tolerate anyone and would lash out immediately if offended.
According to her, she didn’t hold grudges—if you wronged her, she’d settle it on the spot!
Now, Xu Yi walked right up to Jiang Xiaoyu. “Explain. You’re an engineer, so you look down on us in the art troupe? Can’t dance or play instruments? With you on stage, dancing is like a monkey scratching fleas, singing is like a buffalo humming, and playing the piano is like scattering rice on the strings—chickens could do better!”
Xu Yi’s tirade left Jiang Xiaoyu stunned.
Her mouth hung open, eyes instantly red, she looked pitifully at Lu Beizhen. “I didn’t mean that…”
Xu Yi snapped her fingers. “I’m scolding you! Why explain to him? Are you slow or something? Look at me!”
The office was thick with tension.
Zhou Yi quickly tried to smooth things over. “Ah, Engineer Jiang didn’t mean anything. She just meant she isn’t pretty enough to join the troupe. She just spoke too quickly.”
Jiang Xiaoyu nodded to go along. “Yes, exactly.”
Xu Yi glared at her, took the stamped documents, and walked out.
At the door, she paused. “Engineer Jiang, you’re so educated, yet you can’t even speak properly. Hmph, I’m not impressed!”
With that, she left.
Jiang Xiaoyu felt slapped and deeply humiliated.
Just as she was about to seek comfort from Lu Beizhen, the man had already stood.
“Beizhen, are you really not entering this competition? The prize is great this time!” Zhou Yi asked, ignoring Jiang Xiaoyu.
“Not interested,” Lu Beizhen refused.
Zhou Yi relented. “Fine, if you’re not entering, I will. Since you’re out, I can get first place. I didn’t want to enter before—the second prize was a bicycle ticket, and I already have one. First prize is a TV ticket, and I don’t have a TV yet.”
“….”
Lu Beizhen stopped in his tracks and looked at Zhou Yi.
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Yi asked, puzzled.
“I’ll enter,” Lu Beizhen said, speaking each word deliberately.