Chapter 25 The Rebirth of the White Moonlight (2) He really took the bait...

Chapter Twenty-Five

Xia Zhi wasn't shocked. She had seen Lu Qi's awfulness before and knew all too well that these rich kids often bullied people by abusing their power.

She took a deep breath, thinking it better to have one less thing to do than one more, and prepared to help him take off his shoes. But she hesitated, because she had never served anyone before and naturally didn't know where to begin.

Lu Qi stared at her intently, a mocking smile on his face: "What? You don't know how? You think it's dirty?"

Xia Zhi choked. As a shop assistant, adjusting shoes for customers was a perfectly normal thing to do.

So, just as she was about to step forward with a stiff upper lip, Lu Qi suddenly moved his foot away: "Never mind, I'll do it myself."

Just as Xia Zhi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Lu Qi suddenly asked leisurely, "What's your name?"

Xia Zhi was slightly taken aback. Just as she was about to speak, the shop assistant next to her smiled and said, "Her name is Xia Zhi."

Lu Qi was changing his shoes when he heard this. He looked up at Xia Zhi with a sharp and probing gaze.

Xia Zhi subconsciously explained, "It's the 'only' in 'just'."

Lu Qi kept watching her, seemingly observing her discreetly. He never believed in escaping death or being reborn, but he had to admit that he was quite interested in the woman before him at that moment.

Even if it's a stand-in, it'll still fill the void in his heart.

Lu Qi gave a faint "hmm": "What a coincidence."

Xia Zhi naturally knew what he meant by those words, but he could only pretend not to understand.

Lu Qi looked at her confused and innocent appearance and found it amusing.

He became even more certain that the woman in front of him was there to learn from Xia Zhi, perhaps because their names were similar and they happened to look alike.

However, upon closer inspection, Xia Zhi is prettier.

Lu Qi said calmly, "You don't know Xia Zhi from the Xia family, do you?"

Xia family, Xia weaving?

Xia Zhi understood better than anyone else, but she belatedly realized what Lu Qi meant. Xia Zhi's death had caused a huge uproar in City A; many people had even attempted suicide at her wedding.

She stared blankly at Lu Qi, suddenly realizing why he had been humiliating her all along.

Although she was Xia Zhi, because the original owner suffered from long-term malnutrition and was not the same person, upon closer inspection, she did not look as beautiful as in her previous life.

It's no wonder Lu Qi thought that way; he probably believed she was using Xia Zhi's name to seduce him.

Xia Zhi found it a little funny, but she didn't want to have anything to do with these people in her life.

So she explained softly, "I know Xia Zhi, actually, Xia Zhi and I look a bit alike..."

Lu Qi was changing his shoes when he heard this and suddenly looked coldly at Xia Zhi: "You and she are somewhat similar."

Xia Zhi: ...?

Lu Qi took a step closer to her with interest: "So? And then?"

Xia Zhi instinctively took a step back, almost falling. Lu Qi's strong hand caught her, and he looked down at her, asking, "Are you trying to seduce me?"

Xia Zhi was in a completely hopeless situation. Because of her experience in the first world, she calmly said, "I don't have any. If you need me, I can leave now."

Lu Qi suddenly reached out and held Xia Zhi's hair, saying casually, "You must have found out by now, so you deliberately came here to find me. You know I often spend money here."

Xia Zhi choked up; she genuinely didn't understand why Lu Qi would suddenly come here to spend money.

In her past life, she remembered that Lu Qi hadn't shown any interest in this shoe store either!

Xia Zhi stood up straight and explained coldly, "No, I really didn't. You're overthinking it."

Lu Qi's eyes flickered, and his gaze towards Xia Zhi grew increasingly complex. After a long while, he took a step back, walked to the mirror, and pretended to look at himself in the mirror as if nothing had happened.

The waiter who witnessed everything gave Xia Zhi a look, then walked up to Lu Qi with a smile: "Sir, these shoes suit you very well."

Xia Zhi took advantage of the chaos to leave; she hadn't expected to encounter such a setback on her first day of interviews. However, because the company offered a relatively generous salary, and it was close to home so she could take care of her mother at any time, she still planned to pass the interview and continue working there.

Around 7 p.m., Xia Zhi received notification that she had successfully passed the interview.

Xia Zhi readily agreed and promised to go to work the next day.

Xia Zhigang knew that if her mother needed a kidney transplant, it would cost at least several hundred thousand yuan.

Her mother comforted her, saying it was alright, and Xia Zhi couldn't help but cry for the first time.

Xia Zhi had a very difficult night's sleep.

That night, she dreamed that Lu Qi, Song Ling, and Song Ye recognized her and all hugged her and cried.

Xia Zhi woke up, gasping for breath. She felt like it was a nightmare, because she didn't want to have anything to do with them at all.

She asked, a little annoyed, "Xiao Qi, what's wrong with the female lead?"

[Host! The female lead, Lin Yue, will appear naturally! You don't need to worry about that!]

Xia Zhi sighed silently, glanced at the time, and knew it was time to go to work.

She quickly changed her clothes, told her mother, ate breakfast, and went out.

She arrived at the luxury shoe store as usual, and the store manager from yesterday came over with a smile: "Zhizhi, you're here. From now on, you can just call me Sister Lin."

Xia Zhi nodded obediently and said, "Okay, Sister Lin."

Xia Zhi is actually a person who finds it hard to endure hardship, but because she was paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair in this world, she is not used to having to work.

Fortunately, this job didn't require much brainpower, and Xia Zhi quickly finished processing a customer's order. Just as she was about to go get lunch, she suddenly saw a pair of familiar shoes at the door.

Xia Zhi froze, her heart skipping a beat. She subconsciously looked up and found Lu Qi staring intently at her, his eyes somewhat unfathomable.

He didn't come alone this time; a woman was standing next to him.

Xia Zhi quickly recognized the other person as the female lead, Lin Yue.

Lin Yue looked at Lu Qi and subconsciously asked, "Mr. Lu, why did you bring me here?"

Xia Zhi was speechless. She hadn't expected that the male and female protagonists in this world would have a workplace romance.

Lu Qi looked at Lin Yue, one hand in his pocket, and then said casually, "I'll buy you shoes."

Lin Yue was a little speechless. She looked at Lu Qi with confusion, and then subconsciously looked at the shop assistant who was standing in front of them.

The next second, she couldn't help but scream.

"A ghost! A ghost!!!"

Lu Qi couldn't help but frown, and said somewhat uncontrollably, "She's not Xia Zhi! You've got it wrong! There can only ever be one Xia Zhi!!"

Lin Yue had naturally seen Xia Zhi before, at Xia Zhi's funeral. At that time, although Xia Zhi was extremely beautiful, her face was deathly pale, lifeless, and showed no signs of life, appearing overly calm.

That's when she started to feel sorry for her, such a beautiful woman...

It's just a pity that he died young.

Since then, Lu Qi and his friends have gone mad, constantly indulging in alcohol, seemingly trying to numb themselves with it.

It took several years for them to gradually recover.

Lin Yue's connection with Xia Zhi was limited to the funeral, so she didn't really know Xia Zhi.

At that moment, she saw a face that looked exactly like Xia Zhi's and was startled.

Xia Zhi looked at Lin Yue and said calmly, "Madam, I am not Xia Zhi."

Lin Yue then awkwardly realized what was happening and subconsciously looked at Lu Qi: "I'm sorry, Mr. Lu..."

Lu Qi seemed to have a headache, as if he had thought of something, and subconsciously held his head.

Xia Zhi raised her eyebrows slightly, not expecting Lu Qi to care about her so much.

It seems he's having a pretty tough time without her.

Xia Zhi showed no emotion; in her eyes, they were merely mission targets.

Lin Yue was startled and quickly said, "President Lu...would you like to leave here?"

Otherwise, seeing Xia Zhi's face would only make him more heartbroken.

Lu Qi quickly calmed down and shook his head: "It's okay, I'm fine."

Lin Yue then changed the subject: "How about we go get some milk tea?"

Lu Qi glanced at Lin Yue: "Go by yourself."

Lin Yue then cautiously walked out.

Watching the interaction between the two, Xia Zhi couldn't quite figure out how far their relationship had progressed.

She instinctively asked tentatively, "Sir, was that... your girlfriend?"

Lu Qi seemed to have a terrible headache, and frowned impatiently: "No, just friends."

Xia Zhi couldn't quite figure out what he was thinking, so she quietly stepped aside.

Lu Qi quickly calmed down. He casually looked around and then noticed that Xia Zhi was taking notes. Lu Qi couldn't help but take a few more glances and discovered that Xia Zhi was also left-handed.

Lu Qi's heart was beating slightly faster, even though he knew it was just a coincidence or a clumsy trick by the woman.

But he has to admit, he did take the bait.

He subconsciously said, "Xia, Xia, come here for a second."

Xia Zhi felt a little strange, but she still went over and asked softly, "Sir, what's wrong?"

Lu Qi was carefully choosing his words when he finally spoke: "Why do you work in a luxury store?"

Xia Zhi replied instinctively, "Because of the salary."

Lu Qi looked up: "Are you short of money?"

Xia Zhi was stunned; she didn't know how to answer.

Finally, she nodded honestly: "Yes, I am very short of money."

Lu Qi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Have you considered changing jobs?"

Xia Zhi stood there, stunned, looking at Lu Qi with great hesitation. She definitely wanted to find a job that would pay her more money so that her mother's condition could be brought under control sooner.

Although she wasn't the original owner of this body, spending these past few days with her mother kept reminding her of her own. Her own mother had also passed away early, so she didn't want the tragedy to repeat itself.

What's more, they share the same maternal love, the same kind that makes you want to cry.

So she didn't hesitate any longer, but nodded honestly and tentatively asked, "What kind of work, sir?"

Although she was unwilling to get close to Lu Qi, it seemed to be the last and only way out at the moment.

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Author's Note: Here I am [pity]