Legendary Captain

Xu Xian's expression of pure enjoyment, which had almost made him sprawl out like a rag doll, vanished instantly. His right hand instinctively covered his chest, and he asked with extreme vigilance, "You saw it?"

"You took the necklace out when you were scratching yourself," Lian Shanxue said.

"Huh?" Xu Xian's old face immediately turned red.

Xu Xian had absolutely no intention of maintaining his image, scratching himself every now and then, completely disregarding decorum. He had indeed accidentally brought the necklace out, but quickly put it back. Even in that short time, Lian Shanxue had noticed—she was incredibly observant!

Lian Shanxue suddenly said, "You're also a fan of Xu Qing?"

"Huh?" Xu Xian's mind didn't quite catch up with Lian Shanxue's words for a moment; she was thinking too fast. "What do you mean?"

"Your necklace!" Lian Shanxue's eyes lit up. "I read about this gold lock in an interview with Xu Zijin. It seems Xu Qing commissioned it for his children. Your gold lock looks just like the one in the magazine!"

"You copied it, didn't you? Your craftsmanship is quite good. You even changed the red string! Can I take a look?" Lian Shanxue looked at Xu Xian expectantly.

Xu Xian shook his head vigorously, like a rattle-drum: "No, no, absolutely not!"

It turns out that the gold lock Xu Qing gave to Xu Xian was strung with a red cord. However, as Xu Xian grew older, the red cord chain became less attractive, so it was replaced with a thin platinum chain. This gold lock pendant chain is probably the most valuable item in the Xu family now, and since this gold lock has special significance for Xu Xian, how could he possibly take it out so easily?

"Just one look, just one look! I've seen a few fan club members copy this before, but none of them have copied it as well as you." As Lian Shanxue spoke, she had already left her seat and slowly moved towards Xu Xian.

Xu Xian: "Fan club? What fan club?"

"Nonsense, of course it's Xu Qing's fan club!" Lian Shanxue moved closer to Xu Xian, her little hand already secretly reaching towards Xu Xian's collar.

"What are you doing?" Xu Xian was furious when he noticed Lian Shanxue's groping hands. "Can't a girl have some self-respect? What kind of behavior is this, touching someone like that?"

"Don't be so stingy! You can't even take a look? It's just that the craftsmanship is so good, let me see it!" Lian Shanxue was about to put her right hand into Xu Xian's collar, but Xu Xian refused to budge.

The commotion caused by Xu Xian and Lian Shanxue immediately attracted everyone's attention. Many people lamented the decline of morality and the loss of traditional values; even as lovers, how could they have any shame in engaging in such disgraceful acts in broad daylight?

Seeing Xu Xian's determined stance, Lian Shanxue quickly changed her mind and offered a compromise: "How about this... I won't touch your gold lock, you can keep it, and I'll take a picture, okay?"

Xu Xian was a little worried: "Just taking a picture? Not doing anything?"

"Look at how stingy you are! I'm just showing off in the group chat, I won't actually use it!" Lian Shanxue assured her.

After much deliberation, Xu Xian saw that Lian Shanxue was determined to get her way. It seemed that he had gotten her wish today, and he would be bothered by her from now on.

"Just take a picture!" Xu Xian reluctantly took out the gold lock pendant. "Hurry up!"

Looking at the gold lock up close, Lian Shanxue couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "The craftsmanship is exquisite! The pictures of this gold lock weren't very clear back then, so the replicas didn't turn out well. But yours... the details!"

Lian Shanxue practically burrowed into Xu Xian's arms to examine Jin Suo closely, while Xu Xian's anger surged. He snorted, "If you don't take pictures soon, I'll take it!"

"Oh! Take a picture, take a picture right away!" Lian Shanxue immediately took out her phone, set the camera, and then leaned her head close to Xu Xian's shoulder. It was obviously a selfie!

"Weren't you filming Jin Suo? Why are you filming yourself?!" Xu Xian said angrily.

Lian Shanxue: "Nonsense, how can I show off if I don't get in the picture! Don't move!"

Lian Shanxue adjusted her position and took more than a dozen photos before stopping.

"Judging by the workmanship alone, your family must have been quite well-off before. How did you fall on hard times?" Lian Shanxue looked at the photos on her phone, still savoring the moment. "If you want to sell them later, contact me first!"

Lian Shanxue wasn't entirely without discernment; the craftsmanship of this gold lock was top-notch, undoubtedly quite expensive, far beyond the reach of ordinary families. However, given Xu Xian's current money-grubbing behavior, he might need to sell the gold lock for cash later. That would give her an opportunity!

"Don't worry, there's no chance. I'd rather starve than sell!" Xu Xian put the gold lock away, extinguishing Lian Shanxue's last bit of hope.

Xu Xian's determination caused Lian Shanxue to feel a pang of disappointment: "What a pity! Where did you make yours? I'll go and have one copied too!"

"I don't know!" Xu Xian said impatiently, "It was a gift from someone else!"

"Who sent this? So generous! Send me one too! No, I'll buy one myself, give me a way!" Lian Shanxue exclaimed excitedly.

"Alright, the photos are taken. I have to go now. You can eat slowly!" Xu Xian was annoyed by Lian Shanxue's pestering. It was almost time for him to start his work, so he gave her a perfunctory reply and prepared to leave.

Xu Xian just stood up when Lian Shanxue stopped him: "Let's meet at a place at ten o'clock tomorrow morning to go over the procedures with me?"

"I'm on night shift tonight, so I'm going to sleep in tomorrow morning!" Xu Xian flatly refused Lian Shanxue's suggestion to cook for him.

He won't be able to get off work until 2 a.m. today. How can sleeping until 10 a.m. be enough?

"Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the flight department?" Lian Shanxue said with a sly smile. "Even if I don't report you, if my initial modification fails the inspection this time, you'll be in big trouble."

Xu Xian felt a chill run down his spine. The ancients said, "The stinger of a wasp is most poisonous, and the heart of a woman is most venomous"—truly a profound truth. Xu Xian, being of low status and little influence, was completely at their mercy.

Gently patting his chest a few times to calm his almost exploding chest, Xu Xian finally managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth: "Contact me tomorrow morning!"

"That's more like it!" Lian Shanxue said with a grin. "Also... the plan for the day after tomorrow should be canceled. I added an extra activity. After tomorrow, you'll have four days off, so you should be able to take over the shift."

The dejected Xu Xian suddenly perked up, his mouth stretching to his ears in a wide grin: "Okay, okay, you go ahead and get busy!"

With four days of rest, there's a high chance I'll be able to get a flight.

After Xu Xian left satisfied, Lian Shanxue sat in the restaurant for a while longer, mainly to post the photos of Jin Suo to her fan group to show off.

Xu Xian's gold lock caused a huge sensation among his fans, mainly because the craftsmanship was so exquisite that some people even asked if it was genuine.

Lian Shanxue's vanity was instantly satisfied, and she couldn't help but think that if she could get a photo with Xu Qing one day, the fan group would be in an uproar.