After My Fiancée Failed to Pretend to Be an Alpha - Chapter 22

Early in the morning, Tang Cheng failed to catch a ride with Lu Xinxue. Last night had gone too far, and now Lu Xinxue was avoiding her.

They rarely indulged in the kind of romantic gestures that marked a proper relationship. For them, even a breathless closeness was enough to evoke girlish shyness.

So why had she pushed so boldly, teasing and provoking? Most of the time, their bond was calm and steady, was she being too impatient?

Tang Cheng reflected.

Tang Cheng did not change.

She thought the results were good.

If she could slip candy into Lu Xinxue’s hand at midnight, why couldn’t she push further?

Since Lu Xinxue had taken one step toward her, that was enough reassurance. The rest, Tang Cheng would take upon herself.

Arriving at Lu Corporation, she was stunned. In just a few years, skyscrapers had risen from the ground.

Inside the venue, she saw countless mechanics ready for the challenge—veterans in their sixties and seventies, fresh graduates barely twenty. Lu Corporation was the pinnacle of the pyramid: the most avant-garde designers, the most advanced equipment, the deepest resources.

The conference hall held about a hundred candidates, already filtered through résumé screening. Outside, countless others had been turned away.

The first to enter was a female Alpha, carrying a sealed folder.

Tang Cheng looked up—it was her. No wonder she had said, we’ll meet again.

So, they had known she submitted her résumé. Which meant Lu Xinxue knew as well.

Why hadn’t she mentioned it? Perhaps because she hadn’t wanted Tang Cheng to enter Lu Corporation—until recently, when she changed her mind.

But why the sudden change?

It made sense. Lu Corporation had holdings in the United Tower. For such large-scale maintenance, they would naturally send their own people.

The Alpha noticed Tang Cheng, glanced sideways, and offered a faint smile.

Everyone took their seats. The test papers were distributed, reminiscent of classroom exams from her student days.

Tang Cheng had the materials, so the answers came easily. Her left hand flew across the page, swift and sure.

Besides, Lu Xinxue had told her yesterday to relax and do as she pleased.

Her score wouldn’t affect the engineers competing for positions. Lu Corporation’s recruitment wasn’t bound by quotas. They upheld the principle of “better none than unworthy,” even going three consecutive years without hiring a single candidate.

Tang Cheng’s presence here was more symbolic than competitive.

As long as she passed the written test, she would advance to the second round, the practical exam with no ranking involved.

She was the first to finish, estimating a score around seventy. No need to waste time.

Outside, she ran into the Alpha again. Leaning against the wall, cigarette in one hand, phone in the other, she was giving instructions.

Noticing Tang Cheng, she ended the call quickly.

“So fast?” Yu Xia’an exclaimed, taking a final drag before crushing the cigarette.

“I don’t even know your name.”

“Yu Xia’an. A University graduate. You should call me senior sister.”

She extended her hand.

Yu Xia’an? A University. Tang Cheng remembered. Yes, she owed her that title.

She placed her hand in Yu Xia’an’s, feeling the rough calluses across her palm. Tang Cheng flushed with embarrassment.

Years ago, her own hands had been the same—hardened from tools and machinery. Now they were soft, pale, slender. Beautiful, but less suited for work.

Back in the academy, their mentor had passed down a technical key. It was said to be the graduation project of a senior two years ahead—an innovation that had stunned the field. It proposed bio-molecular kinetic mechanics. If successful, it would usher in the era of cybernetic technology, a milestone in modern science.

The theory was clear: if Yu Xia’an could prove that electronic chips could be activated by biological motion, she would become a pioneer, showered in fame and fortune.

Tang Cheng had never met this senior. She had buried herself in the lab.

With that key, she had made progress using enzyme reactions to generate microcurrents, enough to drive a chip.

But on the day of the presentation, she was locked inside the academy. She could only watch as Zhou Yidong stole her research. By the time she arrived, it was over. That arrogant youth, who had often humiliated her, stood on stage, spouting lies about “benefiting the people.”

Hot-blooded, Tang Cheng had confronted him. Words turned to blows. The chaos rivaled her brawls with Zhang He.

Perhaps she and Yu Xia’an had crossed paths then, but in the disorder, she couldn’t remember.

Their mentor, Yang Kai, had witnessed it all.

Later, she tried to explain. His response still stung: “You can’t rely on the Lu family to stir trouble. You’re not cut out for mechanics. You shame me.”

Her memory blurred. What happened after?

She only remembered that three days after the presentation, she and Lu Xinxue were engaged.

She never told Lu Xinxue about these humiliations. Like the bullying before, she buried it deep, never letting it reach her.

She focused instead on their wedding banquet.

“Senior sister.”

As for that experiment, Tang Cheng had checked later. Within days of the presentation, a mishap occurred—one dead, one injured. The project was banned, abandoned.

But in her notebook, Tang Cheng had written a new idea, building on that experiment, merging it with the WF series for parallel modification.

If it could be researched again, safely, its results would surpass the original.

That was why the name Yu Xia’an lingered so strongly in her memory.

If not for Yu Xia’an pointing her in this direction, Tang Cheng would never have thought of it herself.

Yu Xia’an asked, “I didn’t expect you to still remember me.”

“That’s what I should be saying.”

Back then, the incident at Tang Cheng’s presentation had caused quite a stir. If not for Yang Kai suppressing it, the whole world might have known Tang Cheng not only as a thief but also as violent.

The public was silenced, but within the academy, Zhou Yidong exaggerated and twisted the story. Tang Cheng was branded a plagiarist, then expelled from her mentor’s tutelage.

All of this had happened during those six years yet Tang Cheng remembered none of it clearly.

Yu Xia’an chuckled, lighting another cigarette. “I knew of your brilliance back then, junior sister Tang.”

Tang Cheng almost laughed at the irony. What brilliance? She had only stayed in the lab because her dorm was taken from her, with nowhere else to go. If that counted as “brilliance,” then the world itself was suspect.

Thinking of those days filled her with disgust. She had buried herself in the lab, while Lu Xinxue was trapped in the family business. They met rarely, and when they did, their words were few, spoken only to ease each other’s worries.

“Just rumors. Why take them seriously?”

“Rumors end with the wise, don’t they?”

Tang Cheng hadn’t expected her to say that. “Perhaps.”

“Have you never thought of reclaiming what was yours?”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t care much.”

Yu Xia’an pressed, “Does President Lu know about all this?”

“Don’t tell her.”

Tang Cheng turned sharply, fixing her gaze on Yu Xia’an. The past was past. She had never burdened Lu Xinxue with it, and she wouldn’t start now.

Yu Xia’an said softly, “I’m only curious. You and President Lu are so devoted, how could she bear to let you carry this alone?”

Tang Cheng narrowed her eyes. “What is your real purpose?”

If this was simply reminiscing between former classmates, she could tolerate it. But dragging Lu Xinxue into it made Yu Xia’an harder to read.

Yu Xia’an smiled faintly. “Once you enter Lu Corporation, I’ll share more.”

Candidates began filing out of the interview room. Yu Xia’an stepped back, keeping her distance. If anyone saw them together, it would only spark more trouble.

Tang Cheng also pulled away silently. This senior had once proposed ideas far ahead of her time, surely she hadn’t been idle these past years.

Not far away, the elevator descended from the top floor.

“President Lu, the United Tower requests your presence,” an assistant said as the doors opened.

The United Tower where the rat from last time still hadn’t been caught. They owed her an explanation. “Tomorrow night, arrange a meeting with Director Huang.”

Though the incident had ended without disaster, Lu Xinxue was preparing to withdraw investment. With Lu Corporation thriving and their own office tower nearly complete, they no longer needed the unprofitable space.

More importantly, Lu Xinxue felt secure only when everything was under her control.

The elevator arrived. By then, most mechanics had begun the second round: repairing machines. Three tasks, each independent, completing one allowed progression to the next.

Tang Cheng, carrying her toolkit, entered the second hall. Each station held machines of varying complexity. By draw, she was assigned seat 73. Clearly, Lu Corporation hadn’t eliminated many in the first round, the real test lay in repairs.

Her machine was small, palm-sized, its intricate parts requiring tweezers to examine.

Not difficult, but without her rimless glasses, it strained her eyes.

As she bent over, a lens appeared before her. Yu Xia’an offered her own glasses, gesturing for her to take them.

“Thank you, senior sister.”

Tang Cheng accepted without hesitation, her hands moving swiftly. Though left-handed, her speed was unhindered.

From the balcony above, Lu Xinxue watched her nimble left hand, recalling last night’s closeness. Where had she learned these tricks?

Despite her skill, the difficulty kept her from first place. She finished around tenth, barely completing the repair.

The device was a new model, unfamiliar to her. She had to compare it with similar machines, reconstruct it, and consider its intended function.

It was thankless work. Tang Cheng resolved never again to fall into debt, never to become a rigid, ordinary mechanic.

Sensing a cold, piercing gaze, she looked up. Lu Xinxue’s seat was empty. Had she left?

The third stage was one-on-one interviews. At midday, Lu Corporation provided lunch. Tang Cheng took a bite, then spat it out.

Such a massive company and the food was terrible.

No wonder Lu Xinxue refused to eat at the office. Perhaps she could use this as an excuse to bring her meals in the future.

Tang Cheng pondered, already scheming for another way to draw closer to Lu Xinxue.