Chapter 108 You Should Take Responsibility for Me

Lu Zhenting sighed pretentiously, "In the end, it was my Lu family that mistreated her. I plan to arrange for someone to send her to another safe zone."

This was not something to be proud of, and Lu Zhenting didn't want to say more about it.

He looked at Fu Jinxing and changed the subject: "Professor Fu, what brings you here today?"

“I need several high-performance computers.” Fu Jinxing’s voice was devoid of emotion.

"Alright! I'll have someone search the warehouse right away, and send it to you as soon as I find it!" Lu Zhenting readily agreed, then made a gesture of seeing him off. "Professor Fu, I have some family matters to attend to, so I won't keep you any longer. I'll have someone take you home."

Fu Jinxing, however, did not move.

His gaze fell on Qiao Xi again, then turned to Lu Zhenting, a faint but chilling smile curving his lips: "Minister Lu, perhaps... I can help you deal with her."

Lu Zhenting was taken aback.

“Let her be my test subject.” Fu Jinxing’s voice was as calm as if he were discussing the weather. “My project is in need of volunteers with strong will. It’s a good way to make use of her, saves you the trouble of arranging a place for her, and won’t leave any trace for Captain Lu to trace back to you. It’s a win-win situation.”

Lu Zhenting's pupils contracted slightly, clearly not expecting Fu Jinxing to make such a suggestion.

He looked at Qiao Xi's young face, a rare hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes: "This... let's forget about it. After all... it's my Lu family that owes her. Just sending her out of the safe zone is enough."

He still retained a sliver of hypocrisy, or rather, he feared his son's reaction if he found out.

The chilling aura in Fu Jinxing's eyes seemed to ease slightly. He took a step forward, his voice carrying a seductive, persuasive quality: "Minister Lu, if you personally send her away, what if something 'accident' happens on the way, or she 'can't think straight' and comes back to bother Captain Lu... Wouldn't that create a rift between father and son and cause a greater loss for a lesser cause?"

He paused and continued, "Why don't you hand her over to me? Since Minister Lu doesn't want her to be a test subject, I'll send her out. That way, even if Captain Lu investigates, he won't hold a grudge against you."

These words precisely struck at Lu Zhenting's deepest concern.

He didn't want to ruin his son because of a woman, and he didn't want his son to turn against him because of this woman!

Fu Jinxing's suggestion perfectly resolved all his concerns!

The struggle on his face lasted only a few seconds before turning into decisiveness: "Alright! Then... I'll trouble Professor Fu! This matter is between heaven, earth, you, and me!"

"Don't worry." Fu Jinxing nodded slightly and walked towards Qiao Xi, whose eyes were vacant.

He reached out and gently helped the person up.

From an angle unseen by Lu Zhenting, Fu Jinxing's eyes held a profound understanding that no one could decipher.

************

Consciousness was like something sinking to the bottom of a cold sea, struggling to rise to the surface.

When Josie opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the familiar, cold-glowing metal ceiling and the neatly arranged instrument indicator lights.

The smell of disinfectant permeated the air.

She moved and found herself lying on a metal bed covered with a white sterile sheet, her wrists and ankles secured with soft restraints.

Is this a laboratory?

Is she still in the safe zone?

Quickly turn your head to look.

Under the dim emergency light, Fu Jinxing sat on a chair not far from the bed, quietly watching her.

He took off his white coat and wore only a dark gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his well-defined forearms.

His usual gentle smile vanished, and his eyes behind his glasses were as deep as unyielding ink, churning with a suppressed anger and... hurt that Josie had never seen before.

"Awake?" His deep voice broke the suffocating silence.

Josie tried to activate her superpowers, and a faint amount of superpower energy appeared at her fingertips, but her body remained weak and sore without any change.

After trying twice, she realized that Fu Jin might have done something.

She gave up struggling and calmly looked back at him: "Brother Jinxing, how did I get here?"

Before she lost consciousness, she only vaguely felt that she had been attacked.

She never expected that the first person she saw when she opened her eyes would be Fu Jinxing.

Why would he bind himself to this place in this way?

Fu Jinxing did not answer immediately. Instead, he stood up and walked step by step to the bedside. His tall figure loomed over him, bringing a strong sense of oppression.

He leaned down, placing one hand on Josie's pillow and gently lifting her chin with the calloused fingertips of his other hand, forcing her to look directly into his eyes.

“XiXi,” he said hoarsely, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, “you lied to me!”

She was forced to look up at the intense disappointment and anger in his eyes, her heart feeling as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.

"What did you say?"

“You and Feng Ye have already broken up... and yet you've turned around and gotten together with Lu Yuyang.” He seemed to be listing her sins.

Qiao Xi felt a little guilty because, due to Xu Linchuan, she was actually somewhat extreme after being reborn.

She even wanted to manipulate all men, but... she slowly realized that they were not Xu Linchuan and should not be manipulated by her like that.

“Brother Jinxing, this is just a small matter. You are so busy, I don’t want my trivial matters to bother you.”

"Nothing you do is a small matter to me. Xixi..."

His fingertips caressed her chin with a dangerous intimacy. "Do you still remember how you used to follow me around when we were little, saying that you would definitely marry Brother Jinxing when you grew up?"

Josie's body stiffened slightly.

How could she forget?

Fu Jinxing was her first love, the neighbor she had liked since childhood.

But now... she has talked about Xu Linchuan, and has close relationships with Shen Han, Feng Ye, and Lu Yuyang.

She is no longer the little girl from her past life whose heart and eyes were only for Fu Jinxing.

She lowered her eyes slightly. "Really? That was so long ago... I... I don't remember."

Fu Jinxing's gaze swept across her face, as if judging whether she was telling the truth.

"You heartless little brat!"

Fu Jinxing gave a low reprimand, pressing his fingertip forcefully against her soft lips as a form of punishment, his eyes swirling with complex and unreadable emotions. "You were playful and immature before, I could wait! But Xixi..."

His voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable declaration, "Now, you're all grown up! You have to take responsibility for what you said and did when you were a child!"

“Responsibility…responsibility for what?” Josie’s heart suddenly raced, and she couldn’t help but look up at him with her clear eyes.

"What responsibility?"

Fu Jinxing repeated, the gentle pretense in his eyes completely peeling away, revealing a deep-seated, almost insane possessiveness.

He lowered his head, his warm lips almost touching hers, his gaze fixed on her panicked eyes. "Think carefully, what have you done to me before? Who was it that held my hand and said they wanted to be my bride? Who was it that secretly kissed me?"