The call was from Lanxin.

    I didn't want to answer her call at first, but thinking about Shen Qingxue's thing, I picked up the phone.

    "What's up?"

    Nevertheless, my tone was still cold.

    "Longlong, where did you go? Look at the time, why are you still not home?" Blue Xin's concerned voice came from the phone.

    "What am I to you that you can dictate to me? Do you have any right to do that?" I was about to say this to her, but realizing that I needed her help, I changed my tone, "You rest first, I'll be back in a while!"

    "Longlong, you've been playing outside long enough, hurry home!" Blue Xin gave me a reminder before hanging up the phone immediately.

    Who called you? I heard everything clearly.

    I wore a wry expression and said, "Could it be anyone else but my dad's younger wife who is just 8 years older than me?"

    Shen Qingxue smiled lightly and said, "It seems like your stepmom still cares about you a lot!"

    I pursed my lips: "Who knows what she's up to?"

    Although I wanted to help Shen Qingxue solve her problem, I couldn't say too many bad things about Blue Xin in front of her without being sure if Blue Xin was going to help.

    I couldn't just assume that Blue Xin had been a bad woman who dated older men because of what Zhao Liang and Lin Jiao Jiao said.

    "If your stepmom is so worried about you, let's wait until you finish your meal, and then we'll go home separately," Shen Qingxue smiled understandingly at me.

    Seeing that she hadn't picked up her chopsticks, I asked her:

    "Why don't you eat?"

    "I've finished eating, take your time!"

    "I'm also full, let's go!" I immediately put down my chopsticks and waved for the server to come over to settle the bill.

    She refused to let me pay for it.

    Since the total bill was only over 300 yuan, I didn't argue with her.

    After paying the bill, we walked out of the hotpot restaurant.

    "Goodbye, Shen Qingxue!" I said to her. "I'll let you know the good news!"

    "Zhang Long, that's thoughtful of you!" Shen Qingxue mistakenly thought I was joking with her, so she didn't take it seriously.

    I hailed a taxi for her.

    After watching her get on the taxi and leave, I finally got into another taxi to go home.

    Blue Xin sat on the long chair sofa in the living room on the first floor of the villa waiting for me.

    "You finally came back, huh?" As soon as she saw me enter the room, she got up from the sofa and gave me a cold, icy look.

    "That's my home, why can't I come back?" I countered.

    "I hope you know that," she said when she saw that I was acting as if someone had just shot him, "Since your father has entrusted you to me, you have to listen to my arrangement!"

    "Why should I?" I asked, not convinced.

    Blue Xin said in a serious face, "Just because I am your stepmom and the legal guardian of you!"

    I rebelliously said, "I don't need a woman who once dated a tycoon and been a mistress to be my guardian!"

    Blue Xin's fair face turned red, scolding me angrily, "Zhang Long, you're being too much. Can't you think logically? Zhao Liang and Lin Jiao Jiao are clearly trying to stir up trouble between us. Why do you have to believe their lies?"

    I challenged her, "Then tell me, did you date my dad when you were in college?"

    "Not at all," Blue Xin shook her head, "I've told you before. At that time, I really treated your father as an older brother. Why won't you believe me?"

    After she explained like that, my mood improved a lot.

    However, I still stubbornly said: "But, I have already reached the age of 18 and become an adult. I have the ability to take care of myself and do not need you to supervise!"

    Blue Xin stared at me and asked, "You don't have a degree, you have no special skills, other than fighting, what can you do? In this legal society, what good does just being able to fight do?"

    That sentence really caught me off guard.

    In the temple, besides learning martial arts from the master, I was just following the monks inside to eat vegetarian food and recite Buddha.

    Although the master taught me a lot of knowledge and principles of living, in a society where one has to rely on one's abilities to make a living, those theoretical things were indeed useless.

    Blue Xin saw that I didn't respond, so she put her thoughts out there:

    "I've already made connections with the school leadership of Rong City University's College of Economics and Management. Starting tomorrow, you will go to school as an auditing student."

    "After two years of study, I will arrange for you to work as a department manager at Wenlong Group."

    "If you pass the evaluation, I will appoint you as a vice president of the company. Then, I will step down to second-line and let the position of the company president go to you!"

    Blue Xin had laid out such a blueprint for me, which indeed made me somewhat attracted, but thinking about the promise I had made to Shen Qingxue, I shook my head and said:

    "I don't want to be a company chairman; what I want now is for you to help me with one thing."

    "What is it?" Blue Xin asked.

    "I want you to help my Chinese teacher from junior high school…"

    I briefly narrated to her about Shen Qingxue's father being framed and arrested by the police, as well as the current predicament of Yadao Industrial Company.

    Blue Xin asked, "What's the name of your Chinese teacher?"

    I replied, "Her name is Shen Qingxue!"

    "Ah? Is that her?" Blue Xin was taken aback.

    "How did you know?" I asked in surprise.

    "Of course not!" Blue Xin was still uncertain whether the Shen Qingxue I mentioned was her former college classmate, so she shook her head.

    After hesitating for a moment, she continued to say to me:

    After hesitating for a moment, she continued to say to me, "If it's to get her father out of the holding cell, I can't help you and don't have the ability to do so. But if it's about our two companies collaborating, I can consider it!"

    I asked with delight, "So you've agreed?"

    "Yes, you are the future leader of Wenlong Group, and how could I not agree?" Blue Xin looked at me and said, "Tell her to come to my office as the chairman of the board at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning."

    I blurted out, "Thank you, stepmother..."

    Blue Xin asked in surprise, "What did you call me?"

    This was the first time we had met since we knew each other, and it was the first time I had called her "stepmother". Of course, she couldn't help but be surprised.

    "I..." I realized I had blundered and didn't know how to respond. I immediately turned around, went up the inner staircase, and retreated into my guest room.

    As soon as I entered the room, I couldn't wait to make a call to Shen Qingxue's phone.

    "Zhang Long, have you arrived home?" Shen Qingxue's lovely voice came from the phone.

    I replied, "Yes, I'm here!"

    "What's the matter?" Shen Qingxue, who seemed to have forgotten everything, asked.

    It wasn't that she forgot everything but that she didn't believe in my ability to do it.

    "I've arranged with the chairman of Wenlong Group, Blue Xin, and she said you should go to her office at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning."

    To avoid shocking Shen Qingxue, I still can't tell her that Blue Xin is my stepmother at the moment.

    "Aha? What did you say? The chairman of Wenlong Group is named Blue Xin?" The microphone still carried Shen Qingxue's exclamatory voice.

    I asked curiously, "Yes, do you know her?"

    "No...I don't know her..." Shen Qingxue stammered a bit.

    After hearing each other's names, the two women were startled first, and then they said they didn't know each other. This made me feel strange and tasteless.