Lu Jingxiu sank into the soft sofa of the apartment, staring at the ceiling, motionless for a long time.
He had almost sorted out the original owner's memories.
How to put it... it was quite a mess.
The original owner didn't even like Li Qingqing, let alone love her.
During gatherings with friends, he often spouted nonsense like "just playing around" or "I'll hand her over to you guys when I'm bored."
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He said these things with a sense of pride, thinking he was some high-level player not bound by romantic entanglements.
Li Qingqing probably wasn't a fool; over time, she must have sensed something.
So in the end, she was the one who proposed the breakup.
Then the original owner became unhappy.
He probably thought, "I haven't even said no, how dare you leave first," and thus began the relentless pursuit, playing out a chasing-wife crematorium scenario.
"What a scumbag."
Lu Jingxiu pulled out his phone from his pocket and casually swiped open the photo album.
Various selfies, luxury car check-ins, bar videos...
With the original owner's background, his father was the Municipal Party Secretary, and his mother was the Department Chair at Ba City University.
With such credentials, he was surrounded by a full halo wherever he went.
Although he wasn't quite at the level of a top-tier princeling who could call the shots, he was definitely at a height many could only dream of reaching after several lifetimes of effort.
Lu Jingxiu thought of himself.
An Ivy League master's graduate, he squeezed into a big company, worked hard for ten years, and finally managed to climb to a basic management position, with a pile of bosses above him and a bunch of newcomers below, living like a wind-up top.
Then he looked at this original owner.
High starting point, plenty of opportunities, and yet?
This guy spent all his energy playing the role of a dominant president in the love field, pondering not about academics or future prospects, but how to torment each ex-girlfriend.
What shocked Lu Jingxiu more was the original owner's worldview.
In his memory, his father was always busy, the Commission for Discipline Inspection was always on vacation, Uncle Zhang's phone was always reachable, and Uncle Zhang never had meetings.
The original owner grew up in such an environment, completely unaware of the concept of abuse of power, even considering it as a matter of course.
A large amount of unexplained money flowing in and out, acting arrogantly without considering the consequences, and the people around him never reminded him to keep a low profile, instead constantly flattering and fawning.
With the way the original owner was playing, his Municipal Party Secretary father would eventually be dragged down by him.
At this thought, Lu Jingxiu's mind suddenly flashed back to that black Mercedes involved in the street kidnapping.
Then he thought of the Aston Martin he drove today, the high-end apartment outside the school, and the details in the original owner's memory of spending money like water.
Campus, campus belle ex-girlfriend, chasing-wife crematorium, a dominant president family background with overwhelming power...
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Could it be... he really transmigrated into some female-lead novel?
The kind where the dominant president forcefully takes what he wants, the protagonist's halo blinds everyone, and laws and morals selectively turn a blind eye?
That would be...
Too awesome!
Lu Jingxiu suddenly stood up from the sofa, stretched, and his joints made a slight cracking sound.
He walked to the walk-in closet, stood in front of the huge full-length mirror, and carefully examined himself.
The mirror reflected a face.
Very young, probably in his early twenties.
His features were excellent, with clear brows, a straight nose, and lips naturally curved with a hint of a smile.
It was a kind of clean and sunny handsomeness, completely different from the deliberately crafted domineering depth in the original owner's memory.
The original owner, with such a face, insisted on mimicking others' sinister dominant president expressions, which was simply a waste of good looks.
Lu Jingxiu looked at himself in the mirror for a long time.
Then, slowly, he gave the face in the mirror an auntie-like smile.
Rules, the original owner's crowd had no idea how to use them.
They only knew how to recklessly abuse power, treating rules like a carpet underfoot.
But in reality, the truly powerful are never those who ignore rules, but those who understand them thoroughly and turn them into weapons in their hands.
He had spent ten years in a big company, excelling at using the framework of rules to make every process work for him.
From handling unexpected situations to maximizing efficiency within compliance, and even making those who tried to exploit loopholes run into a wall themselves.
"Next, let me teach you how to really use rules."
The first thing was to get rid of anything that might drag his father down.
Like that sports car.
Lu Jingxiu really couldn't understand the original owner's mindset.
Come on, you're a second-generation official, not a second-generation wealthy.
When a second-generation wealthy flaunts wealth, at least they're showing off money earned by their family.
You, a second-generation official, driving a car worth a house around town, where's the thrill in that?
Besides handing a knife to your opponents and delivering materials to the Commission for Discipline Inspection, what else can it achieve?
He decisively contacted a second-hand dealer to get rid of that bright blue Aston Martin. The process went smoothly, given the car's good condition, strong brand, and reasonable price.
Just as he finished dealing with the car sale, his phone buzzed.
Another second-generation official, the original owner's classmate and little sidekick, with a loud personality, the type who's well-informed but not very bright.
Tang Cheng: Brother Lu! Big gossip!
Lu Jingxiu replied with a question mark.
The next second, the phone rang directly.
This kid really couldn't hold it in and called right away.
Lu Jingxiu leaned back in his computer chair, casually browsing a car website with the mouse while answering the call.
"What's up?"
"Brother Lu! Did you see Chen Xinghai's latest update?!" Tang Cheng's voice was loud on the other end, and the background noise suggested he was excitedly slapping the table.
"No." Lu Jingxiu found the number for a local Volkswagen 4S store and jotted it down.
He had his eye on a top-spec Passat, with all the discounts it came to around two hundred thousand, choose a matte black, change the wheels, perfect for daily commuting.
Both stylish and low-key, low-key enough that when people see it, they might just say, "Oh, it's just a beat-up Volkswagen."
He liked driving luxury cars too, but those cars should never be under his name in the future.
"He found a girlfriend!" Tang Cheng's tone was as if announcing some doomsday-level news.
"Mm." Lu Jingxiu pulled out another phone, ready to call the 4S store.
There was silence on the other end for two seconds, probably because Tang Cheng didn't expect Lu Jingxiu to react this way.
He hesitated, then finally dropped the bombshell: "His girlfriend is Li Qingqing! Your ex!"
Lu Jingxiu's finger paused as he dialed the number.
"So soon?" He was a bit surprised.
It hadn't even been half a month since the breakup, and she'd already seamlessly moved on to someone else? Quite efficient.
Could it be the original owner was wrong? Li Qingqing wasn't the pure and innocent campus belle she was made out to be?
Chen Xinghai, the original owner knew, they had a decent relationship, his family ran a business, a standard second-generation wealthy.
With the original owner's personality, he might have said "I'll hand her over to you guys when I'm bored," but if he knew Li Qingqing became Chen Xinghai's girlfriend, he'd probably be driving that flashy sports car over to "claim his territory," causing a huge scene.
But now Lu Jingxiu had a different soul.
He nonchalantly replied, "Alright, wish them happiness. Tell Chen Xinghai for me, Li Qingqing is a good girl, don't treat her badly."
On the other end, Tang Cheng was completely silent.
So quiet that his own breathing was audible.
"Alright, I've got things to do, talk later." Lu Jingxiu waited for two seconds, seeing no response, he casually hung up and dialed the 4S store's number.