2.2

Qiao Chen knocked on Duke Flock's study room door. He received a confirmation to enter, then he pushed open the door and walked in.

"Grandfather."Qiao Chen greeted. Because Qiao Chen was Qiaoyi and Qiaoyi was Qiao Chen, he greeted his grandpa quite naturally. This was the first time he could remember where he had a loving family member. He was an orphan in his original life as well as the one he mysteriously joined. Then the one he just visited didn't give him the same feeling like now. Duke Flock was truly his dear grandfather- the one who raised him since he was a child.

"Are you feeling better today?" Duke Flock asked. He carefully watched his little Qiaoyi as he entered.

"Very much so." Qiao Chen said, "Grandfather, I have something I would like to discuss with you."

"Oh? What is it?" Duke Flock softly asked. Even though he was an imposing and dignified individual, he was gentle towards his one and only grandchild.

"I want to cancel the engagement between Jared and me." Qiao Chen replied immediately.

"Why? Was it because he didn't choose to save you?" Duke Flock asked in return. He already understood how Qiaoyi had the accident. He still had his ways.

"I planned this because I wanted to see if I had a place in his heart. The results are very clear about that answer. Since he is no longer faithful to the love and engagement we shared, then why do we need to continue with this relationship? If we continued the engagement regardless of these facts, then it will only end up with me suffering the most."

Duke Flock nodded his head as he agreed, "I'm quite happy that you've come to your senses. I was worried after watching you suffer from your constant paranoia over Jared's feelings. I didn't want you to be hurt."

"Grandfather, does that mean you agree with dissolving the marriage engagement?" Qiao Chen didn't think things would have gone so smoothly. He knew his grandfather had always loved and cherished him… but things as complicated as dissolving a marriage agreement wouldn't be that easy.

Duke Flock shook his head and spoke, "I didn't say that. It isn't that simple to rescind an engagement agreement. The Wilson family is a haughty bunch. Even though I have a high status, we can't dissolve the contract over words alone."

"But grandfather, Jared is a selfish and disloyal. He's already changed loves. Just thinking about being married to someone like Jared makes my whole body crawl. I just know that if I have to marry someone who already loves another, then my life will definitely end in tragedy. I cannot and will not be with him." Qiao Chen tried to persuade.

"Since you fully understand the situation and your own feelings, then he can't hurt you anymore. For families like ours, it's very rare that we marry for love." Duke Flock sighed inwardly.

"Grandfather please, I will never put you in such a predicament ever again." Qiao Chen implored. He looked at Duke Flock with a pleading face.

Duke Flock looked at Qiao Chen's earnest face and serious eyes. He asked, "Have you truly thought this through? Are you sure you're not doing this because you're just throwing a tantrum? And are you sure you won't just go back to Jared after he whispers a few sweet words to you?"

"I mean it- no I swear it. I want to sever the engagement between us. If I ever go crazy and we happen to reconcile, then Grandfather, you definitely shouldn't agree to it. You need to stop me even if you have to lock me away, so I can't meet with him anymore. You can't agree to it." Qiao Chen answered earnestly.

"Oh, you…"Duke Flock helplessly sighed.

Qiao Chen knew that his grandfather really agreed this time. He sat down next to his grandfather's legs. Then he leaned his head endearingly onto his grandfather's knees, and apologetically said, "I'm sorry, grandpa. I'll never cause you worry ever again."

Duke Flock lovingly patted Qiao Chen's head. He could never treat this precious child of his so strictly. This was his only grandson. When Qiaoyi was a couple of years old, his father died. In his time of need, his gher father married someone else and left the household within a year after his father's death. Qiaoyi lost his parents consecutively and within a year. This meant that Qiaoyi grew up with only his grandfather in his life. Unfortunately, his grandfather was a very busy individual. So even though his grandfather couldn't spend much time with Qiaoyi, he still loved him dearly.

These were also the memories Qiao Chen had of this lifetime. Of the four lives that Qiao Chen lived so far, this was the only one where he felt the love and affection of a family. Qiao Chen's apathetic frozen heart melted slightly. He would finally be able to know what it meant to have a family.

Since Qiao Chen was able to jump back into this reincarnation, then he would do all he could to change this life's fate. He didn't want to allow his beloved friends and family to worry over his wellbeing ever again.

Qiao Chen entrusted his grandfather to deal with cancelling the engagement. Duke Flock was always a swift and decisive individual. The way he handled his affairs was just the same. In only five days, Qiaoyi and Jared officially canceled their engagement. Qiao Chen knew that Jared's talks with his father played a big role. Otherwise how would his father agree to cancel the marriage agreement with a powerful figure like Duke Flock so easily?

After they successfully canceled the engagement, Qiao Chen stayed at home to recuperate. He stayed for two days before returning to the Fifth Fleet's base. Qiao Chen arrived at the base's engineering department and reported to the section chief's office.

Qiao Chen entered the office and greeted the head. They exchanged formalities. The chief also briefly asked about Qiao Chen's physical conditions. After their small talk finished they continued to the matter at hand. The chief said, "You punishment has already been decided and dealt out. You weren't informed of the changes because you were recuperating at home. Since you have recovered well enough to return to work, we can't avoid the inevitable. The punishment must be met. Now, since you've arrived here to work for the Fifth Fleet's engineering department: You haven't had much of any notable achievements. In fact, you've made numerous mistakes so far. To make matter worse, we're still dealing with the mess you've made. Therefore, after reviewing your history, the captain has decided to revoke your title as Chief Engineer. You have been demoted to a general mech engineer. During this time, you need to seriously and earnestly reflect on your conduct. After you've done this, please submit your reflection in writing to our department."

This punishment mirrored the punishment Qiaoyi received during his lifetime. Therefore, Qiao Chen was already expecting this meeting. He removed the magnetic ID card from his pocket and placed it on the section head's desk. Then Qiao Chen respectfully said, "While I was recovering at home, I diligently reflected over my time here at the base. After reviewing my behavior and misconduct I feel that I am still too inexperienced both emotionally and professionally. I've come to the conclusion that I might need to start all over. As in I need to start from scratch. Therefore, I would like to cease my employment here. Please section chief, accept my application for resignation."

When the section head heard Qiao Chen's initial words, he was pleased with Qiao Chen's manner in admitting his mistakes. However, once he heard the words of resignation, he was surprised. The section head immediately asked, "You want to quit?"

"Yes. I've already made my decision. During the time I reflected, I've realized me inadequacies. This is why I need to start all over again." Qiao Chen continued, "Also, in regards to the damages I've caused to the mech's sensors, I will be compensating the base with the full amount of money the damages incurred."

"I know your family isn't short of money. However, the base doesn't require you to pay for the damages incurred. Also, you just said that you felt you were too inexperienced. But doesn't it seem a bit immature to say you want resign at this point? You don't need to just up and quit over momentary anger. I know that you've been demoted from your position as chief engineer. However this is only temporary. You can be promoted again… You know, I've always thought highly of you and how hard you strive. If you put forth more effort and attain notable accomplishments, then I will find an opportunity for you to be promoted to chief again." The section chief sincerely advised Qiao Chen. He received the Duke's assistance and support before. Therefore, he always made it a point to take Qiaoyi under his wing.

"Thank you so much Section Head. However, I think that it is better for me to take responsibility for the things I've done. After careful consideration, I understand that my resigning is not being done in a fit of anger. To tell you the truth, I am preparing to return to my alma mater. When I said I need to start from scratch that meant that I was going to go back to school and study. I need to find out what my shortcomings are and rectify them."

The section head stared at Qiao Chen for a moment. After he thought about it, he asked, "Have you seriously thought this through? And you are absolutely sure this isn't because you're throwing fit? Because resigning is no joking matter. You can't just request a resignation and expect to come back after you've changed your mind."

"Yes, I've thought this through. I am very serious. I will be taking full responsibility for my words and actions." Qiao Chen responded in a serious and honest manner.

The section head saw Qiao Chen's resolute attitude. He finally relented, "You already know that your status and circumstances are special. So I will not be able to approve your resignation on my own. Please anticipate a delay. I will report your resignation to the captain. I ask that you wait for further updates."

"Yes, sir."

Qiao Chen returned to his dormitory at the base and waited.

The captain was surprised about Qiaoyi's resignation application. The resignation notice was a bit of a difficult matter to deal with. There had been a lot of infighting within the bases. With all these factions vying for power, who wouldn't want more help? As Duke Flock had aged, he had to gradually withdraw from contention. However, his power and prestige remained. The base would have benefited from Qiaoyi's identity as Duke Flock's grandchild, even if he wasn't a genius in mech engineering. Unfortunately, Qiaoyi sent in his resignation. For Qiaoyi to bring the matter of resignation up with them, that meant that Duke Flock should already be aware of it as well. They couldn't really force people to stay, let alone someone of Qiaoyi's status.

Vice Captain Canette saw the head commander in a tough situation. He already disliked Qiaoyi, so he decided to give his own advice. He told the captain, "Captain, since the resignation application has already been submitted, you might as well approve it. This can set a precedent. If another person commits such an error similar to Qiaoyi's, they can follow his steps to avoid punishment by threatening to resign. If this happens, how will we keep the men in line or even manage the base? The Flock family only has two remaining family members; It's just Duke Flock and Qiaoyi himself. Qiaoyi cannot inherit the title since he is a female. Besides, he was only considered a genius by his teacher. Calling him a genius could have been made up for all we know. After all, ever since he entered the base, he turned out to be such a dunce in engineering. We haven't seen an ounce of brilliance from any of the works he's submitted so far. Therefore, captain, I think that if we cut our losses with Qiaoyi now, then we probably won't lose out in the long term."

The captain was successfully persuaded by his vice captain. Qiao Chen's resignation application was approved.

Qiao Chen received the notice of approval. With the formalities complete, he prepared to leave the base. He packed up his virtual assistant and personal items from his office.

"Qiaoyi, I heard that you're resigning?" Greene asked. Qiao Chen left the office door open and there Greene stood at the entrance.

"You heard correctly. I have resigned." Qiao Chen replied. He motioned his hand toward the boxes that indicated his departure. However, he stayed to listen to what Greene was going to say.

"I'm sorry if it was because of me that you broke off your engagement with Jared. But we can't control our feelings. No one can. However, if you can set aside any preconceived ideas you have of me, perhaps we can become good coworkers." Greene offered.

Although Greene's appearance was considered delicate and pretty, he had a faint sense of elegant melancholy that twinkled in his eyes; that made him seem much more attractive. It also evoked a sense of desire in the males so they would protect and care for Greene's happiness.

Qiaoyi, on the other hand, was the complete opposite of Greene. Qiaoyi was born to nobility. He had that same delicate and pretty appearance, however he also an innate air of arrogance. With his head held high, it felt as though Qiaoyi was always beyond one's reach.

Qiao Chen replied, "We're the only ones here. That doesn't work on me, so you don't have to put on an act anymore. I can clearly see your real face under that fake mask of yours."

Qiao Chen knew that Greene's words were just for show. However, Greene's system hadn't collected enough data on mech engineering yet, so Qiaoyi was that last person that Greene wanted to leave the base. Qiao Chen's sudden resignation disrupted Greene's original plan. Furthermore, the base would soon launch their new mech project, so he needed a good engineer to steal a project from.

In the previous life, Qiaoyi applied to head the project. However, midway into the project, Greene tampered with Qiaoyi's data. His programs had a huge error; therefore he was disqualified from participating in the project. Greene compiled a program from data and projects that had yet to be completed and submitted it as his own work. Ultimately, he succeeded and was credited as the leading contributor to the project.

Since Qiao Chen immediately resigned this time, he wanted to see how Greene would complete the upcoming project.

Green sighed, "I know you hate me for stealing Jared, but I truly do love him. He fell in love with me too. Anyways- I thought you weren't the type of person who gave up so easily… So I never expected you to admit defeat, give up on your love, and run away with your tail tucked between your legs." He continued to quietly ridicule Qiao Chen, "Not only did you give up like a little bitch, but you even served the job offer to me on a silver platter too. I was going to have a fair competition with you over love and career and see who would come out on top. But everything went my way to easily! I didn't even get to enjoy it at all. It turned out that you were just a little baby…" He only spoke loud enough for the two of them to hear. Greene also kept that gentle expression and tone he had on his face before. However, Greene's eyes filled with contempt and mockery that only Qiao Chen could see.

Are you trying to come at me? Qiao Chen sneered, "Jared and I don't even see eye to eye. So don't worry, you didn't steal a thing. Whoever you thought you 'stole' is none of my business. After all, there are plenty more fish in the sea. Oh by the way…"Qiao Chen walked to Greene's side and derided, "You want to compete in a fair competition against me? A person like you doesn't even deserve to even dream about it."

Qiao Chen left the base and headed to the Star Empire's Mech Engineering College to find his teacher.

The pair decided to meet up at the college's café. Qiao Chen notified his teacher of his resignation. Qiaoyi's teacher, Caesar, knew about Qiaoyi's situation at the fifth fleet's base: It wasn't going smoothly to say the least. However, he was still surprised over Qiaoyi's resignation. Qiaoyi was a very determined person. He was the kind of person who didn't know the meaning of giving up. It wasn't in his vocabulary. He knew Qiaoyi as that type of person would always stand up and persevere in the face of failure.

"It's been mistake after mistake. Everything keeps going wrong every single time I try. It feels as though I just wasn't capable enough, or I'm just lacking something. So that's why I wanted to come back to school and just start from scratch. I hope that Professor Caesar can mentor me again, identify what I'm missing, and help me fix it." Qiao Chen explained as discussed his plan with his teacher.

"To tell you the truth, I've always thought that you were my top student. Of all the people I've taught so far, no one was even close to being able to do what you could do. When you graduated, I believed that there was nothing new I could teach you. So where did it all go wrong?" Caesar responded. He really thought that Qiaoyi's current situation was odd. All the years he nurture Qiaoyi weren't for play. The little gher truly had talent beyond the students he'd taught before. Qiaoyi should have soared after graduation, but he ended up crash landing into the dirt.

Qiao Chen sighed and said, "I don't know either. I distinctly remember meticulously compiling the data and writing the scripts for the programming. But there are always mistakes somewhere in the code. It drove me crazy. I tested it over and over again to make sure everything ran perfectly and it did. Then, every time I'm showing my work, those errors pop up. That new engineer I told you about, Greene, comes in and he is able to identify and correct the error in the data almost immediately. What's even weirder is that these are new programs that I've designed. No one else has ever seen them before, but he's able to fix it like he's seen it before. To make things even worse, every single time I'm just about to complete the program and submit it, Greene has already submitted his. His projects are just so similar to my design and concept."

Caesar immediately asked, "Could he have been hacking into your work?"

"I know, I was suspicious of that too. But, as of right now, I don't have any evidence of it. I don't want to just accuse him with nothing to back it up. So I decided to just stay away from him and see if I'm the one who's really just lacking or if it's him who's been stealing." Qiao Chen sighed.

"So what are you plans now? You have anything specific you want to do, or no?" Caesar knew that since Qiaoyi indicated that he wanted to start fresh, then he didn't really want to repeat his education at all. There was no need to do such a thing.

"I've developed an idea that I want to pursue- planned it out and everything. If you can…professor, can you lend me one of the college's mech engineering labs? And possibly arrange some reliable assistants too? I just want to test it out. I need to see if I can successfully complete this project after leaving the fifth fleet's base."

Qiaoyi's teacher was the college's vice president. It wasn't difficult for him to arrange a lab and some of his own assistants for Qiaoyi to use.

"There's nothing that stops me from doing so. In fact, the third lab was just opened up today. It has the most comprehensive equipment of all the labs on campus. How about you use it? As for the assistants…I'll arrange it for you. Just wait a day or two for them. If there's anything else you need, than just let me know. Here, take the access card. Go take a look today and see what else you need." Caesar unhesitatingly agreed to Qiao Chen's request. He immediately handed the card over.

"Thank you, professor." Qiao Chen gratefully said and accepted the card.

"What are you thanking me for? I want to see the proof too. My eye for talent and ability to teach students are on the line here." Caesar joked.

Caesar's communicator watch rang out. He removed the wireless headset for private communications and hung it on his ear. Then he answered the call, "It's me. Yeah, I'm at the school right now… I'm at the café's lounge area… Uh, well…"Caesar trailed off as he glanced at Qiao Chen. He hesitated for a moment before he continued, "Well, I'm with Qiaoyi…Uh, you're coming right now?…Oh…um okay. See you."

Caesar hung up the call. As he put away the headset, he spoke to Qiao Chen, "Wait a minute. Someone's on their way right now. Well you're attitude's improved recently, so he uhh…ugh. Forget it. I don't want to say anything anymore. If I do, then you'll just be in a worse mood."

Qiao Chen looked at his teacher with a puzzled expression.