Here We Meet Again – Vin Zhang, Janice Wu

In the autumn of 2018, during the simulated exercise of the W Satellite monitoring and management center’s third control room, the W Satellite high-precision positioning payload system was being tested. Anomalies were detected in the telemetry signals of the W Satellite. Xu Yanshi carefully pondered for a while, his fingers swiftly flying across the keyboard, and soon identified the source of the problem. It was due to inadequate parameter design, with threshold values being close to the critical state, resulting in weak anti-interference capabilities. Under specific conditions, this situation could be triggered. If everyone cooperates, the problem can be resolved before the W Satellite is launched into orbit.

Meanwhile, in another world, Xiang Yuan, the young lady of Donghe Group, was undergoing her grandfather’s pressure to get married. However, she always upheld the belief of not wanting to marry and negotiated with her grandfather. Eventually, both parties reached an agreement.

Xiang Yuan decided to go to Xi’an to save the financially troubled Weilin Company, a subsidiary of Donghe Group. If she can increase Weilin’s market share by ten percent next year, her grandfather will no longer pressure her to get married. Otherwise, she will lose and have to obediently accept her grandfather’s arrangements. Xiang Yuan’s friend, Xu Yuan, called and said she would come to the airport to see her off. While chatting and playing a mobile game with Xu Yuan, Xiang Yuan noticed a little boy sitting nearby, looking disdainful. Xiang Yuan offered him some potato chips, but he refused to eat them. When Xu Yuan arrived, Xiang Yuan casually handed the potato chips to the little boy. The boy returned to his older brother, Xu Yanshi, and complained that Xiang Yuan was the type of woman he disliked the most. Upon arrival in Xi’an, a flight attendant woke Xiang Yuan up, and she disembarked from the plane. Outside, she walked towards a taxi when a driver approached her and asked if she wanted to share a ride.

Xiang Yuan instinctively refused but then remembered her grandfather’s words, so she changed her mind and said she would share a ride. The two men and a little boy she shared the ride with were walking towards her from the other side of the road. When Xiang Yuan saw the tall and handsome man, she was instantly stunned. It was Xu Yanshi. She quickly reacted and, among the group getting into the car, tightened the drawstrings on her hoodie, burying her face. The driver suggested that she should wear more clothes, but Xiang Yuan pretended not to understand in her plastic-level Cantonese. Her friend, Gao Leng, saw the news of the goddess Aixi’er retiring, and she was so shocked that she shouted inside the small car. Then Xu Yanshi’s words almost made Xiang Yuan spit blood. He actually claimed to be a talking old mother hen performing online by typing on a keyboard?

Gao Leng posted a Weibo complaint about Xu Yanshi, and Xiang Yuan couldn’t help but search for the keywords on Weibo, eagerly reading the content posted by this mentally unstable short man. The halfway through the journey, the driver stopped the car, and Gao Leng started imagining things. Xiang Yuan fueled the fire, nearly giving Gao Leng a cold sweat. The driver informed them that the car’s tire was flat and asked them to call another car. In order to continue sharing the ride and splitting the fare, Gao Leng added Xiang Yuan on WeChat. Xiang Yuan’s WeChat name was her real name, and Gao Leng casually asked about it. Xu Yanshi instinctively glanced at her and then let out a disdainful chuckle. Gao Leng seemed to be talkative, not quiet even after getting off the car. Xiang Yuan occasionally responded with perfunctory remarks, and he could keep talking to himself. The ride-hailing car they booked arrived, and Gao Leng quickly took the front seat.

Xiang Yuan was forced to sit in the back seat. During the journey, the driver didn’t know the way, so Xiang Yuan had to connect her phone and project the navigation for the driver to see. Gao Leng saw this and explained to the driver the benefits of in-car navigation. The driver thought he was a car salesman. Xiang Yuan naturally assumed that Xu Yanshi was now selling cars, so she mentioned it to Xu Yuan. Unexpectedly, Xu Yuan directly called her, and the phone connected to the car’s system, exposing her deliberately concealed identity instantly. Xu Yanshi greeted her calmly. Upon reaching the destination, Xu Yanshi helped her with her luggage and untied the tightly knotted hat string for her. Afterwards, Xiang Yuan and Xu Yuan had a phone call. She felt angry, annoyed, and embarrassed. Why did their reunion have to be so awkward? Gao Leng indirectly asked Xu Yanshi if he had recognized Xiang Yuan a long time ago, but Xu Yanshi ignored him.

This reunion stirred up waves in the hearts of both of them. The next day, when Xiang Yuan was about to leave, she received a call from the scheduled driver informing her that they couldn’t make it on time due to a rear-end collision. She had to request another ride. Lu Dong, a man who lived in the same building, asked if she needed a ride. Xiang Yuan didn’t know him well, so she politely declined. Later, she coincidentally shared a ride with a girl who happened to be going to the same destination. Xiang Yuan noticed her work badge and learned that she was an employee of Weilin Electronics. It turned out that Xiang Yuan was the “connection” from the company she had mentioned earlier.

There is still some time before work, Xiang Yuan buys breakfast and milk tea downstairs. She happens to see a girl from the sales department of Weilin Electronics, Yingying, and wants to quickly catch up with her to share a car and buy coffee together. Xiang Yuan, seeing the unfairness, stands up for Lin Qingqing and infuriates the showy girl. Carrying her things, Xiang Yuan enters the building, but the elevator door closes just as she arrives. Xu Yanshi, who is inside the elevator, catches a glimpse of Xiang Yuan outside, but for a few seconds, he thought he was mistaken. Gao Leng, as soon as he arrives at work, learns that a new team leader has been parachuted in. You Zhisha, in a serious manner, shows everyone Xiang Yuan’s information, although her expertise and work in the technical department have no connection. Everyone tacitly assumes she is a beneficiary of connections.

Li, the general manager of Weilin, is a sly old fox. He knows that people coming from headquarters are either well-connected or have some background, so he flatters Xiang Yuan. Vice President Li Qin storms in and complains about the technical department to Li, completely ignoring Xiang Yuan’s presence. Then Xu Yanshi enters, and Li introduces him to Xiang Yuan. When she sees him, Xiang Yuan seizes the opportunity to take out her phone and review the materials from the previous night, only to discover that Xu Yanshi happens to be the team leader of the technical group, while she herself is assigned as the team leader of the second group. Li Qin bluntly states that Xiang Yuan has come to replace Xu Yanshi. Seeing the situation, Xiang Yuan immediately denies it, expressing that she still has a lot to learn from Xu Yanshi. Li asks Xu Yanshi to familiarize Xiang Yuan with the company and also go to the administrative department to collect their ID badges and computers.

Xiang Yuan followed closely behind Xu Yanshi and walked up quickly, about to speak to him, but she accidentally kicked the corner of the sofa and stumbled, almost falling. Xu Yanshi promptly caught her, but soon released his hold, and Xiang Yuan fell to the ground. Seeing that Xu Yanshi was busy with something, Xiang Yuan said she would go to the administrative department. As she was about to take the elevator downstairs, Xu Yanshi coldly reminded her that the administrative department was on the same floor. Yingying from the sales department and her two sisters gossiped behind Xiang Yuan, trying to dig into her background. However, after Xiang Yuan was added to the group, she generously sent a sizable red envelope, causing everyone in the group to go crazy trying to grab it. Yingying’s two sisters each got over a hundred, and Yingying couldn’t resist grabbing one as well, ending up with the lowest amount in the group.

Xiang Yuan went to the technical department and greeted everyone warmly. Except for Lin Qingqing, who treated her slightly better, the rest of the people pretended not to see her and didn’t want her to sit next to them. In the end, it was Lin Qingqing who found her a workstation. However, the workstation was directly facing Xu Yanshi’s office, and Xiang Yuan had no choice but to sit there with a stiff upper lip. Xiang Yuan saw the resume her grandfather’s secretary had prepared for her and called him to question it. The secretary dismissed her with just a few words. Grandfather Si Tumingtian asked the secretary about Xu Yanshi’s relationship with Chen Shan, and the secretary said Xu Yanshi had snatched Chen Shan away from Xingheng during their college recruitment. At that time, Xu Yanshi, even as an undergraduate, almost signed a contract with Xingheng, indicating that he must have been outstanding back then.

The company held a work summary meeting for the third quarter. Gao Leng didn’t dare to come because of the incident on social media. The CEO, Li Yongbiao, took attendance and deducted Gao Leng’s performance for this month. Suddenly, Xiang Yuan stood up and said that Gao Leng had taken a leave of absence. Li Yongbiao didn’t want to lose face and quickly introduced Xiang Yuan to everyone, swiftly changing the topic. The technical department also had a meeting, and Xiang Yuan requested to have Gao Leng transferred to her team. Lin Qingqing also raised her hand, and that’s how Xiang Yuan added both of them to her team. On the first day of work, Xiang Yuan took the two of them out to have some fun and then officially started working. Since the company didn’t approve the budget, Xiang Yuan told Xu Yanshi that she would personally fund a field survey.

Gao Leng posted on his social media moments, and Ying Yin noticed that Xiang Yuan seemed to have taken her team members on a team-building outing. So she brought a few of her girlfriends to complain to Cao Jie. After hearing about it in his office, Li Yongbiao sneered. Zhang Jun, Shi Tianyou, and You Zhi were discussing this matter and couldn’t understand why Xu Yanshi, who was so frustrated in the company, didn’t resign. You Zhi said it seemed like Xu Yanshi was in a five-year project team and couldn’t take leave for five years. The more they talked, the more exaggerated it became, unaware that Xu Yanshi appeared behind them and gave You Zhi, the originator of the rumors, a slap on the backside. There were grievances throughout the company about Xiang Yuan’s absence from work without taking leave. Xu Yanshi posted several messages in the company’s WeChat group, explaining that she was conducting on-site surveys in G402 and that she would properly educate Xiang Yuan when she returned.

After Xiang Yuan and the others arrived at the road section where the driver gave the most feedback, Gao Leng discovered that it was different from the location on the map. He called Xu Yanshi to provide feedback, but the call was cut off after a few words due to poor signal. Xu Yanshi was somewhat worried and contacted Gao Leng again, but there was still no answer. After completing the on-site survey, Xiang Yuan drove the car back to the gas station, where they finally had signal reception. During this time, Xu Yanshi kept looking at the location on the computer map in his office, concerned about the safety of Xiang Yuan and the others. When he saw the location on the map, he called Gao Leng again. At that moment, Gao Leng was very sleepy and casually stuffed his phone into his pocket, accidentally pressing the answer button. Then his phone started a video call with Xu Yanshi at a strange angle, and coincidentally, the phone’s camera was facing Xiang Yuan sitting in the driver’s seat.

This incredible coincidence brought a smile to Xu Yanshi’s face. He placed his phone beside him and spent the whole night accompanying Xiang Yuan through video in his office. When dawn broke, Xiang Yuan finally finished her work. Xu Yanshi couldn’t help but say, “You’ve worked hard.” Confused, Xiang Yuan took out Gao Leng’s phone from her pocket and realized that Xu Yanshi had been on video all night. Without thinking, she immediately hung up. To cover up the awkwardness, Xiang Yuan messaged Xu Yanshi, expressing that she was here this time for serious work and that she had stopped liking him long ago. Xu Yanshi, who had been smiling, lost his smile when he saw the message.

When they returned to the company, they both brought gifts for the people in the technical department. Today was bonus day, and Xu Yanshi invited everyone to his place for a home-cooked meal.

Feeling awkward, Xiang Yuan found excuses not to go, and Lin Qingqing also didn’t want to go. You Zhi called to ask where they were. Gao Leng honestly explained that these two girls didn’t want to go. Xu Yanshi took the phone, delaying for some time. The taxi arrived at the tenement building where Xu Yanshi lived, and Xiang Yuan had no choice but to go. Gao Leng and Lin Qingqing went upstairs first, while Xiang Yuan accompanied Xu Yanshi to buy groceries. Unexpectedly, Xu Yanshi bought things that she loved to eat. Remembering that Xu Yanshi didn’t have a gift, Xiang Yuan bought two lollipops at the supermarket, pretending that she carefully selected them as a gift for him. However, the supermarket receipt accidentally fell out, exposing her lie. Downstairs, they met Chen Shu, the head of the Sales Department, who jokingly commented on Xu Yanshi’s divorce and child. Xiang Yuan quickly analyzed Chen Shu’s words in her mind, and Xu Yanshi, thinking she believed it, introduced Chen Shu’s identity to Xiang Yuan.

Chen Shu is Gao Leng’s girlfriend. In front of his girlfriend, Gao Leng willingly referred to his crush, Aixier, as a dog. Aixier, who was nearby, rolled her eyes at his remark. They were eating together on the rooftop, enjoying themselves. Gao Leng suggested playing a game, and everyone had to answer when asked. Meanwhile, Chen Shu and Xu Yanshi went aside to discuss matters. Xiang Yuan learned from You Zhi and the others that Xu Yanshi had defended himself in the company’s WeChat group, but she didn’t know what message Xu Yanshi had retracted. After Chen Shu and Xu Yanshi finished their conversation, Xiang Yuan brought a can of beer to Xu Yanshi, and they didn’t expect to meet each other like this again. Xu Yanshi had a dream of aerospace from a young age, and now working on in-car navigation can be considered fulfilling his dream.

Xu Yanshi had his own independent insights about in-car navigation and W Star, and he spoke about them in a romantic manner. Xiang Yuan couldn’t help but recall some memories from their high school days. Back then, Xu Yanshi was considered a top student by all their classmates. He was good-looking and excelled academically. Xiang Yuan persistently pursued him and finally convinced him to tutor her.

Xiang Yuan has her own understanding of “getting what she wants,” which means satisfying her current desires and needs. For this reason, she can go and have hot pot in the middle of the day if she feels like it. With the help of Xu Yanshi’s tutoring, Xiang Yuan’s English has improved rapidly. Her birthday is in a couple of days, and she invited him to her house to attend her birthday party. She also prepared a thoughtful gift for him. However, when Xu Yanshi saw that someone in the class had prepared a birthday cake for Xiang Yuan, he suddenly changed his mind and said he wouldn’t go to her birthday party anymore. Xiang Yuan felt angry and threw the carefully prepared birthday gift at him before running away in tears. It was from that moment on that she learned from Xu Yanshi that not everything in life goes as planned.

The past is in the past, and the present is the present. Xiang Yuan is getting to know Xu Yanshi again in a whole new identity. Although she doesn’t know why Xu Yanshi decided to stay in Weilin, and Xu Yanshi doesn’t know why she came all the way from Shanghai to Weilin. The next day at work, Xiang Yuan went to Li Yongbiao to ask for Xu Yanshi’s information and found nothing suspicious. The office restroom is often a place for gossip, and Xiang Yuan happened to overhear two assistant sisters, Yingying and Yinyin, discussing gossip about herself and Xu Yanshi. She learned a new term called “porcelain package,” which means pretending to be rich and having a swollen face but empty pockets, referring to fake goods. Xiang Yuan, who was used to spending money extravagantly, realized that her bank balance was insufficient when she tried to buy a cup of expensive iced Americano.

She took out the card given to her by her brother, Xiang Jiamian, but the cashier found out that there was insufficient balance when she swiped it. Xiang Yuan’s last trace of trust in Xiang Jiamian instantly vanished. She messaged Xu Yanshi to borrow money, and Xu Yanshi quickly transferred her 5,000 yuan, which was an advance from her boss. Li Qin went to see Xu Yanshi about the signal processing module issue with Mingxiong’s products. Xiang Yuan, who had just arrived, didn’t know the ins and outs of the matter, and Xu Yanshi didn’t want to deal with it. So Xiang Yuan took it upon herself and asked everyone to stay and work overtime. However, Chen Shu insisted on having a gathering dinner, and even though Xiang Yuan tried to entice them to stay with a small treat, they still refused, except for Zhang Jun, who stayed behind. Xiang Yuan went to ask Li Qin for the contract text of Mingxiong. However, Li Qin said that Xu Yanshi and the people in the technical department were all useless.

Xiang Yuan didn’t know what Xu Yanshi had experienced over the years, but when it came to supporting Xu Yanshi, she never hesitated. Li Qin, on the other hand, was somewhat surprised by her attitude. During the dinner, when they talked about Xiang Yuan, there were doubts about her identity. Yingying said that her bags were all fake, and she couldn’t even afford a cup of coffee today. Xu Yanshi lost his appetite and made an excuse to leave first. Zhang Jun worked overtime until midnight and fell asleep due to exhaustion. Xiang Yuan asked him to go back first, and she would help him ask for half a day off from General Manager Li tomorrow. Xu Yanshi returned to the company, claiming that he came back to fetch something, but in reality, he stayed downstairs in the building with Xiang Yuan to work overtime, although Xiang Yuan was unaware of all this. Gao Leng and Shi Tianyou, on the other hand, had too much to drink, so Xu Yanshi wrote a fake note for them to give to Li Yongbiao.

Xiang Yuan was very angry and went to question Gao Leng about Mingxiong’s matter. Gao Leng told her that it wasn’t a problem with the signal processing module at all. It was because the money Mingxiong provided was only enough for Plan B, but they falsely claimed it was for Plan A and even presented evidence. In the end, they shifted the blame onto the technical department, making them the scapegoat. Xiang Yuan took the initiative to find Mingxiong’s Huang Qiming and introduced herself as Xu Yanshi’s assistant. Huang Qiming was notorious for being a pervert, and he asked Xiang Yuan to meet him somewhere to discuss the matter.

When Xu Yanshi returned to the technical department, he didn’t see Xiang Yuan. Zhang Jun told him that Xiang Yuan had been calling Huang Qiming all day, but he didn’t answer. So she went directly to Mingxiong to confront Huang Qiming.

Xu Yanshi sent a message to Xiang Yuan asking her where she was. Xiang Yuan directly sent him an address. Yin Yin secretly recorded a video of Xiang Yuan talking to Huang Qiming, and coincidentally captured Xiang Yuan agreeing with what Huang Qiming said, calling Xu Yanshi a useless person who can’t do anything. Yin Yin immediately sent the video directly to Xu Yanshi. Originally, Xu Yanshi had planned to pick up Xiang Yuan and go back together, but after seeing the video, he gave up on that idea. The next day, Xiang Yuan couldn’t find Xu Yanshi and asked Zhang Jun. She learned that Yin Yin had called him over, apparently because of the video. Thinking back to the gossip she overheard in the restroom last time, Xiang Yuan mistakenly believed that Xu Yanshi and Yin Yin had been together, and speculated that a small video of them had been secretly filmed. Curiously, she asked Xu Yanshi for the small video to watch.

As it turned out, it was a small video of herself and Huang Qiming, in which she was talking badly about Xu Yanshi. Xiang Yuan immediately felt embarrassed and swiftly changed the subject. Xu Yanshi calmly and coldly told her that in order to find a product that meets Mingxiong’s requirements, they would need to use Fengyu’s chip. Huang Qiming had already established a long-term partnership with Fengyu, so he wouldn’t allow Weilin to act as an intermediary and make a profit from the price difference. Xu Yanshi’s words hit the nail on the head, but they didn’t discourage Xiang Yuan’s enthusiasm. She sternly handed him a document to sign, and finally, Xu Yanshi softened and asked her to send him the information, instructing his employees to stay and work overtime. Early the next morning, Xu Yanshi took Xiang Yuan to meet Liang Qin, the chief consultant of Xingheng’s R&D department. He shared his ideas with Liang Qin and asked him to negotiate an urgent order with the component suppliers. Xiang Yuan remained silent but unexpectedly learned that Xu Yanshi was qualified to go to Xingheng.

Xiang Yuan bought supper for everyone and returned. After finishing their meal, they continued working overtime. After finishing his tasks, Xu Yanshi also returned to the company. Before he came back, Xiang Yuan had gone to the restroom to touch up her makeup. When she appeared in front of Xu Yanshi, she exuded a youthful and energetic aura. Everyone worked tirelessly and unitedly, finally overcoming the final challenge. Xiang Yuan felt that this moment was very memorable, so she took a photo with everyone as a memento. The arrival of Xiang Yuan brought a lot of vitality to the technical department, especially for Xu Yanshi, who became much more proactive. However, Xu Yanshi felt that she shouldn’t waste her time at Weilin. But Xiang Yuan turned a deaf ear to his words because she came to Weilin to turn the tide. One day, Xiang Yuan’s credit card became overdue, and she had to reluctantly sell her handbag. Surprisingly, the buyer turned out to be Yin Yin.

The bag she originally bought was very expensive, and the money from selling the bag wasn’t enough to pay off her credit card. When she was worried about money, she suddenly remembered Xu Yanshi’s previous repost on Moments about the Xingheng Cup Beidou+Innovation Competition. She wanted to persuade Xu Yanshi to participate in the competition on behalf of the company. She tried begging and acting spoiled, but she couldn’t convince Xu Yanshi. In the end, Xiang Yuan left in a huff. She didn’t know that Xu Yanshi had participated in the competition every year, but he had Weilin’s backing. Everyone was unwilling to give their support and votes to Weilin, so participating in the competition would only become a laughingstock in the industry. Later, Xu Yanshi inadvertently learned from Gao Leng and others that Xiang Yuan seemed to be in desperate need of money. He softened once again and took Xiang Yuan to meet his friend, Wang Qingyi. They planned to participate in the Xingheng Cup’s Innovation Competition under Wang Qingyi’s name, and the matter was settled with just a few words.

Xu Yanshi seemed to have mind-reading abilities and knew that Xiang Yuan was the kind of person who wanted to eat cake at 8 o’clock but would be unhappy after eating it at 9 o’clock. If they waited until the next competition, she might not want to participate anymore. As a result, Xiang Yuan unexpectedly learned that the cake she had eaten before was given by Xu Yanshi. She immediately regretted it. If she had known that the cake was from him, she wouldn’t have treated her tablemate kindly at that time.

Xu Yanshi knew that she was short of money recently, so the prize money for the innovation competition was divided between Xiang Yuan and Wang Qingyi. Li Qin felt even more annoyed when she saw that the technical department had resolved the issues with Ming Xiong’s batch of orders. She believed that the technical department hadn’t been thinking about doing a good job before. Li Yongbiao smiled and, in his opinion, thought positively. During her free time, Xiang Yuan would chat with Xu Yanshi in a separate group about the innovation competition, which made her a bit nervous. She always felt like Lin Qingqing had discovered something. After everyone finished work, Xiang Yuan finally boldly walked into Xu Yanshi’s office. They talked about the innovation competition, gossip in the restroom, and Xu Yanshi’s relationship with Ying Yinyin. Later, with Xu Yanshi’s reminder, they returned to discussing the competition.

Li Yongbiao saw that they were working overtime and reminded them to turn off the lights when they leave. Xu Yanshi quickly turned his computer towards him, as he couldn’t let Li Yongbiao discover the details of the competition. As a result, Xiang Yuan suggested discussing it at her place and invited Wang Qingyi so they could have good food and drinks while conveniently discussing the work. However, Wang Qingyi mistakenly sent the message to the wrong group, and Xiang Yuan found out that Xu Yanshi would be going to Shanghai in a couple of days. But soon after, Wang Qingyi retracted the message, and Xu Yanshi coldly replied, “It’s none of your business.” Xiang Yuan was a bit angry, so she told them to come after having dinner. Xu Yanshi arrived first and seemed to know that Xiang Yuan was upset. He explained that a close friend of his in Shanghai had fallen seriously ill, and he needed to go there to visit him.

Xiang Yuan suddenly lost her anger and even introduced her uncle, who was a cardiovascular surgeon, to Xu Yanshi. Shortly after, Wang Qingyi arrived and noticed how nice the house she lived in was, so he curiously asked a few questions. Xiang Yuan evaded the topic and made up a random excuse. The three of them started working together, and Xiang Yuan would occasionally steal glances at Xu Yanshi. Whenever he caught her, she would awkwardly shift her gaze away. As they neared the end of their work, their neighbor Lu Dong came to deliver a cake. It was his son Xiao Hao’s birthday today. Xu Yanshi, upon seeing this handsome and wealthy neighbor, didn’t show much expression on the surface but felt a pang of jealousy in his heart. He even prevented Wang Qingyi from having a slice of cake. On the way back, Wang Qingyi brought up Xu Yanshi’s future plans, and Xu Yanshi mentioned that Chen Shan would set him free next year.

Although it’s said that brave men don’t dwell on past glories, Xu Yanshi used to be an extremely formidable presence. Professor Liang, the overall commander of the Xingheng R&D department, brought Liang Qin to meet Xu Yanshi, sincerely inviting him to join the Xingheng Technical R&D department after graduation. However, due to some twists of fate, Xu Yanshi chose a different path. This trip to Shanghai would take some time, and Xu Yanshi half-advised and half-warned Wang Qingyi not to go to Xiang Yuan’s house alone until he returned, even if she invited him. The next day, when Xiang Yuan went to work and saw that no one else had arrived, she casually picked up a box belonging to Gao Leng and was startled by the fake fingers inside. It finally dawned on her that the technical department was always empty, yet the attendance records were always complete. That’s the reason behind it all.

Under Li Qin’s urging, Xiang Yuan announced a brand new attendance system to everyone. After Li Qin left, Xiang Yuan mentioned that they would implement a flexible working schedule in the future, which meant no more clocking in and out. If the workload exceeded the basic requirements, she would apply for additional performance bonuses from the headquarters on their behalf. Conversely, if there was no outstanding performance, there would be no bonuses, and the base salary could be reduced accordingly. Li Chi, who used to be a second-generation wealthy individual, had some personality flaws and always felt that this policy was targeting him. He expressed his frustration during the meeting, but Xiang Yuan didn’t pay much attention since Li Chi’s performance had been poor.

Before Old Gui’s surgery, Xu Yanshi tried various ways to contact Xiang Yuan’s uncle, Gu Yan, but couldn’t reach him. Later, after the surgery was over, he accidentally discovered that Gu Yan was the lead surgeon. It turned out that Xiang Yuan had informed her uncle in advance, prompting Gu Yan to end his vacation and rush back from abroad. After hearing Gu Yan’s explanation, Xu Yanshi was deeply moved and immediately sent a message to thank Xiang Yuan.

Xiang Yuan received a message from Xu Yanshi and immediately made a comforting phone call. Xu Yanshi was deeply grateful. He had learned earlier that a friend of his was seriously ill, and he couldn’t come back to Shanghai for the time being. Xiang Yuan promptly contacted her uncle, which indeed took quite an effort, and made her uncle return before the surgery. Although the first-class plane ticket cost her over 20,000 yuan, she was willing to spend any amount of money to help Xu Yanshi in his urgent situation. When a friend asked how Xu Yanshi got Gu Yan’s phone call, Xu Yanshi said it was unexpected, the only unexpected thing in his life. Shi Tianyou blamed Li Chi for his bad attitude earlier. Li Chi showed no remorse and even warned her not to provoke him in the future, or else there would be consequences.

Li Qin came over to confront Xiang Yuan, saying that she hadn’t been consulted about the reform of the attendance system in the technical department. Xiang Yuan calmly explained that she had already reported it to the headquarters, and the headquarters had approved it. Li Qin checked her email and indeed saw the response from the headquarters. She had no choice but to leave in frustration and went to instigate trouble with Li Yongbiao. Li Yongbiao’s words reminded her of Xu Yanshi when he first arrived. At that time, Li Qin believed that Xu Yanshi was Chen Shan’s person, so she indirectly reminded him to choose the right side and worship the right Buddha. Unfortunately, Xu Yanshi didn’t appreciate it, so Li Qin always hindered him in his work. She didn’t approve project funds and wanted the technical department to do all the work. As a result, Xu Yanshi gradually lost his passion for work.

Xiang Yuan decided to meet Huang Qiming tonight regarding the urgent 50% order for Mingxiong Electronics. Gao Sibo woke up, and after Xu Yanshi exchanged a few words with him, he went back to rest, leaving Zhang Yi to take care of him. Outside the hospital, Xu Yanshi saw Xiang Yuan. Xiang Yuan told him that she seemed to have caused trouble. At that moment, Xu Yanshi felt that no matter how big of a mess she had gotten herself into, he would help her. There were only two signatures left on the contract from Huang Qiming, which made Li Qin very angry. If Xu Yanshi couldn’t handle the mess Xiang Yuan had created when he came back, Xiang Yuan would be fired. Chen Shu tried to explain to Xiang Yuan, but Li Qin didn’t listen and warned Chen Shu not to stand on the wrong side afterwards. Xu Yanshi took Xiang Yuan to eat, and Chen Shu called Xu Yanshi.

From Chen Shu, Xu Yanshi learned about the trouble Xiang Yuan had caused. It turned out that at the dining table, Xiang Yuan was forced to drink by Huang Qiming and later went crazy, vomiting on Huang Qiming and wiping her mouth with his tie, even tying it into a bow tie. Huang Qiming became furious and left only two strokes for his signature. Xiang Yuan knew it was Chen Shu calling, appearing like a misbehaving child, but couldn’t help but want to eavesdrop on what Chen Shu was saying on the phone. After all, Xiang Yuan acted that way because Huang Qiming had spoken ill of Xu Yanshi. Xu Yanshi understood this and didn’t blame her. After finishing their meal and walking out, they unexpectedly ran into their former high school classmate, Li Yang, who was a big blabbermouth. Xiang Yuan wanted to pretend not to recognize him.

To their surprise, Li Yang stuck to them like gum, and Xiang Yuan and Xu Yanshi had no choice but to get into his new Maserati. Li Yang had a gut feeling that something was going on between the two of them, so he thought of giving them a push and invited them to a party together. Xiang Yuan and Xu Yanshi, with their terrible tacit understanding, couldn’t agree on whether to go or not. However, in the end, they decided to go. Another person attending the party was Zhong Ling, who had admired Xu Yanshi since their school days. Xu Yanshi had to remind Xiang Yuan that Zhong Ling was Dongting’s veteran green tea, so she shouldn’t let Zhong Ling snatch Xu Yanshi away. Fortunately, Xu Yanshi was perceptive. When he saw that Xiang Yuan seemed upset, he used his injured hand as an excuse to politely decline helping Zhong Ling open a water bottle and instead asked Li Yang for assistance.

After dinner, they went to play games together. Xiang Yuan took Li Yang’s place and played on the computer. One classmate proposed a bet: if Xiang Yuan’s group lost, she would have to watch a movie with him. Upon hearing this, Xu Yanshi became serious. He and Xiang Yuan showed great synergy in the game, working together seamlessly. Zhong Ling started to cause trouble and deliberately killed Xiang Yuan twice in the game.

When Xu Yanshi saw Xiang Yuan being bullied, he didn’t hesitate to directly eliminate the character Zhong Ling in the game. Xu Yanshi’s swift action astonished Xiang Yuan, and she felt secretly delighted. After the game ended, Xiang Yuan accompanied Xu Yanshi to send Xu Yanshi on his way. The two of them took a stroll together on the streets of Shanghai at night. Xu Yanshi could tell that Xiang Yuan didn’t like Zhong Ling because her dislike for someone was evident in her eyes. Seizing the opportunity, Xiang Yuan asked Xu Yanshi whether she liked him or not based on the way she looked at him now. Xu Yanshi didn’t answer but embraced her and then used the excuse of having a car. They began discussing matters of love, and Xu Yanshi confessed that he had been in a relationship before, but it was an online relationship, and the other person was the one who initiated the breakup. Interestingly, Xiang Yuan had also been in a relationship, and her game partner was her online dating partner as well.

Xu Yanshi called a car and offered to give Xiang Yuan a ride home. Secretary Bai called Xiang Yuan, informing her that Grandpa had instructed him to investigate the people around her, particularly the unusual relationship between Xu Yanshi and Chen Shan. It turned out that back then, Chen Shan had given Xu Yanshi 1.5 million yuan, and only then did Xu Yanshi join the Weilin subsidiary. This revelation sparked resentment in Xiang Yuan’s heart. When they got out of the car, her attitude suddenly made a 180-degree turn, and Xu Yanshi asked her why she was angry. Xiang Yuan lied to him. Gao Leng was watching a TV drama at Chen Shu’s house, and when Chen Shu’s alarm clock went off, it meant Gao Leng had to leave. Xu Yanshi worked at the hospital while accompanying Gao Sibo. The nurses at the hospital found Xu Yanshi very handsome, so they found various excuses to enter the ward repeatedly, but Gao Sibo saw through their intentions.

After the training at the headquarters, Xiang Yuan hurriedly went to catch a flight. She insisted on taking the elevator with Chairman Si Tumingtian. The employees who were watching this scene thought Xiang Yuan might have gone crazy to dare to challenge the Chairman. At the entrance of Donghe Group, Xiang Yuan saw the famous Chen Shan and suddenly changed her mind, canceling her ride-hailing trip. Chen Shan was Xiang Yuan’s mother’s former student, so she naturally recognized Xiang Yuan. Boldly, Xiang Yuan asked Chen Shan about her relationship with Xu Yanshi. Chen Shan was momentarily stunned and replied that Xu Yanshi had helped her a lot, but the rumors circulating in the company were not true. With her question answered, her doubts were cleared, but she had missed her flight. Shi Tianyou planned to buy indoor slippers for everyone and asked Xu Yanshi about Xiang Yuan’s shoe size.

When Si Tumingtian learned that Xiang Yuan had sought the help of her uncle Gu Yan for the sake of a high school classmate, he instructed Secretary Bai to investigate and see if there was any possibility of a romantic relationship developing between his granddaughter and this high school classmate. Meanwhile, Xiang Yuan remained firm in her decision never to get married in this lifetime. Due to a flight delay, Xiang Yuan postponed her return to Xi’an by a day. She went to meet Karma, who was a renowned professional esports player known as K-shen in online gaming. In his game livestream, she acted as a lucky fan. Coincidentally, Gao Leng was also watching Karma’s livestream and naturally saw Xiang Yuan there. Everyone gathered around to watch, and Xu Yanshi went out to get water. Upon hearing some key words, he returned to the office and logged onto his seldom-used Weibo account. Gao Leng asked about it, and Xu Yanshi, with an expressionless face, asked him to send him the link to the livestream.

When Xu Yanshi noticed that Gao Leng was paying attention to Karma, he guessed that Gao Leng was watching K-shen’s livestream. So, Gao Leng spent money to send a barrage message, and both Xiang Yuan and Xu Yanshi saw it. Xiang Yuan messaged Xu Yanshi, and Karma asked about it without muting the microphone. Xiang Yuan casually mentioned that she was messaging her boyfriend. Xu Yanshi, who was watching the livestream, instantly lit up. The people on the computer side who were watching the livestream were puzzled. When did Xiang Yuan have a boyfriend? Xu Yanshi was in a good mood and decided to treat everyone to a late-night snack. He heard that Xiang Yuan seemed to have been scolded by the chairman for arguing with him at the headquarters, so they thought Xiang Yuan was forcing a smile during the livestream. Gao Leng took Xu Yanshi’s phone and called Xiang Yuan. When the call connected, his tone was quite arrogant. Xiang Yuan was about to get angry when Xu Yanshi took the phone and asked her when she would return to Xi’an.

Xu Yanshi took the phone call. He knew Xiang Yuan would feel embarrassed, so he intentionally said he hadn’t watched the livestream and didn’t hear what Xiang Yuan said. Xiang Yuan felt secretly delighted and planned to ask Kama to delete the video later. The next day, Xiang Yuan flew back to Xi’an, and Xu Yanshi specially came to pick her up. When she walked out of the airport, she saw Xu Yanshi’s figure and suddenly had the idea to play a prank. She deliberately put on sunglasses and pretended not to recognize him. Xu Yanshi expected this and held onto her suitcase. Xiang Yuan acted as if she had just recognized him, fully immersing herself in the role, which attracted the attention of nearby children who spoke without restraint. Xu Yanshi escorted Xiang Yuan back home, helped her tie her scarf, and when Xiang Yuan looked in the mirror at home, she found that the scarf was not tied very well.

In the afternoon, Xiang Yuan went directly to work. By chance, she overheard Ying Yinyin and her two companions causing a commotion in the technical department. They believed that Xiang Yuan’s hasty request for travel expenses from the chairman not only had a very small chance of success but could also affect their year-end bonuses. Xu Yanshi stepped forward and said that Xiang Yuan was part of the technical department, so he would take responsibility for any issues that arose. Xiang Yuan prepared a plan for the reimbursement of travel expenses and sent it to Secretary Bai before calling her grandfather. Before coming to Xi’an, she had negotiated with her grandfather and obtained three opportunities for independent decision-making. This time, Xiang Yuan used one of those opportunities and successfully persuaded the headquarters to modify the travel expense terms for the Weilin branch. However, these modified terms did not apply to interns, and Ying Yinyin happened to be the only intern.

Looking at the employee classification, everyone discovered that Xiang Yuan turned out to be an A-class employee. In the entire Weilin branch, only Li Yongbiao and Li Qin were A-class, and now Xiang Yuan was also A-class. This raised numerous suspicions about her background. Gao Leng made a joke, but Chen Shu dragged him into the office. His first reaction was to apologize and beg for forgiveness. Chen Shu wasn’t angry and instead gave him a shaver, which he liked and needed the most. Uncle came to Xi’an for a meeting, and Ying Yinyin took this opportunity to pour out her grievances to Uncle. Uncle advised her to behave. Ying Yinyin accidentally sent a message intended for Xu Yanshi to the group, but retracted it the next second. However, Xiang Yuan and Xu Yanshi still saw it. Xiang Yuan didn’t hold back and replied with a few words, and the three words “intern” were enough to choke Ying Yinyin.

Xu Yanshi was working on programming with Wang Qingyi. Wang Qingyi asked about his progress with Xiang Yuan, and Xu Yanshi confidently stated that he had everything under control, almost certain of success. The Weilin branch was about to hold a new product launch event, and Xiang Yuan was very excited. She was looking forward to this opportunity to introduce the company’s new products. Li Yongbiao smiled and reminded her that there wasn’t much funding to make the event too grand. At most, it was about maintaining contact with old clients. Despite Li Yongbiao’s words, Xiang Yuan showed great enthusiasm and shared her ideas with everyone, planning to focus on the freight navigation market. Clearly, she was well-prepared. After everyone listened to her, they applauded. Ying Yinyin and her two companions were once again gossiping about Xiang Yuan and Xu Yanshi in the pantry. Xiang Yuan was annoyed and deliberately came up with a plan. She made Ying Yinyin treat the entire technical department to bubble tea, and she even excitedly held Xu Yanshi’s hand.

Secretary Bai called and sent a photo that made Xiang Yuan mistakenly believe that Xu Yanshi was Chen Shan’s boyfriend. As a result, she did a 180-degree turn in her attitude towards Xu Yanshi. Xu Yanshi was preparing to go on a date with her and was confused by her sudden change in behavior. He checked online and thought that Xiang Yuan was playing hard to get. Chen Shu informed Xu Yanshi that Xiang Yuan had made plans with Huang Qiming for tonight, so Chen Shu suggested that Xu Yanshi join them. After all, Xiang Yuan’s personality needed some patience.

Xu Yanshi called Xiang Yuan in and gave her something that was said to be a hangover remedy. He would accompany her to the evening party. That night, Xiang Yuan tactfully bought a new suit and tie, bowing and apologizing to Huang Qiming. Xu Yanshi was well versed in the culture of drinking at the table, and with just a few words, he delighted Huang Qiming. However, Xiang Yuan still needed to apologize. Huang Qiming had a glass of wine poured, and if Xiang Yuan had sincere intentions to apologize, she had to drink that glass of wine. Xu Yanshi stood up and said that Xiang Yuan had taken cold medicine, so he would drink the wine on her behalf. Xiang Yuan immediately understood that the so-called hangover remedy he gave her in the afternoon was actually cold medicine, which meant she couldn’t touch a drop of alcohol tonight. Xu Yanshi was afraid that she wouldn’t take it, so he deliberately said it was a hangover remedy.

At the same time, Gao Leng was also trying his best at home to prepare hangover soup for Chen Shu. Seeing Huang Qiming getting more and more excessive, and Xu Yanshi having already had quite a few drinks, Xiang Yuan deliberately whispered in Xu Yanshi’s ear that there was a phone call from Ruifeng explaining next year’s orders, so they could just deal with things here casually. Xiang Yuan lowered her voice, but it happened to be loud enough for Huang Qiming to hear. Huang Qiming no longer mentioned drinking and asked the waiter to serve the dishes. Xu Yanshi took action, and the deal for this order was quickly signed, leaving both parties happy. After the drinking session ended, Xu Yanshi and Xiang Yuan returned to the company to work overtime. Although Xu Yanshi had taken the hangover remedy in advance, Xiang Yuan was still worried. When Gao Leng learned that Chen Shu hadn’t been drinking, Huang Qiming focused his anger on Xu Yanshi. Gao Leng took back the hangover soup and sent it to Xu Yanshi.

Xiang Yuan was concerned about Xu Yanshi, and she herself was a little tired. Xu Yanshi showed her something interesting. As a result, they had close contact, and Xiang Yuan inadvertently turned her head and kissed Xu Yanshi. That night, Xiang Yuan couldn’t sleep because of this incident, and Xu Yanshi stayed in the office all night. Gao Leng had sent him hangover soup last night but waited outside his house all night without seeing Xu Yanshi. In the morning, Xiang Yuan overslept and hurriedly came to work. Chen Shu told her that Xu Yanshi had already helped her take a day off. You Zhi rushed in to inform Xu Yanshi that a pinhole camera had been found in the women’s restroom, and Yingying said it was placed by Li Chi. Unaware of the camera, Xiang Yuan rushed to the restroom and was stopped by Xu Yanshi.

Xu Yanshi asked her to use the men’s restroom while he stood at the door as a guard, preventing other male colleagues from entering, even Gao Leng was sent to another floor to use the restroom. When Xiang Yuan returned from the restroom, she learned about the camera from Gao Leng, but didn’t know the full details, so she didn’t comment. Chen Shu also went to the restroom, and Gao Leng tried the same thing but ended up being subdued by Chen Shu, almost breaking his arm. Xiang Yuan received a call from her childhood friend Yi Shi, who was getting married and invited her to attend. Xiang Yuan declined, saying she was a bit busy lately, but Yi Shi said that if she didn’t come, the wedding wouldn’t take place, so Xiang Yuan reluctantly agreed. Lin Qingqing happened to see that the person calling Xiang Yuan was Yi Shi, and she asked if it was Yi Shi, the boss of Jia Yi. Xiang Yuan confirmed it and mentioned that Yi Shi was her childhood friend.

Xiang Yuan handed over the completed proposal to Xu Yanshi, who learned that she would attend her childhood friend’s wedding in a few days. Coincidentally, Xu Yanshi also received an invitation. Li Chi came to the office, and everyone looked at him differently. Li Chi secretly looked at Gao Leng’s WeChat chat history on his computer and discovered that Yingying had slandered him for placing a camera in the women’s restroom. He caused a big scene. Xu Yanshi checked the surveillance footage while the security personnel inspected Li Chi’s computer but found no strange photos, only a candid picture of Chen Shu. Gao Leng became furious and punched Li Chi, indirectly causing Xiang Yuan to hit her head on the corner of the table and faint. Xu Yanshi, who was in the surveillance room, learned about the incident and immediately rushed back to the office. He carried Xiang Yuan in a princess hold and took her to the hospital. Their female colleagues were all stunned.

Chen Shu felt that Gao Leng was too impulsive and didn’t consider the consequences before doing anything. Gao Leng also felt that she didn’t understand him, and they ended up in a cold war. Xu Yanshi took Xiang Yuan to the hospital for examination. The doctor, seeing her severe vomiting, didn’t rule out the possibility of a concussion and recommended that she stay in the hospital overnight for further tests. During this time, family members could accompany her. Xu Yanshi didn’t hesitate to admit that he was Xiang Yuan’s boyfriend.

Xiang Yuan, despite living in the courtyard, had an outgoing personality that allowed her to chat enthusiastically with the two girls in the same ward. When talking about Xu Yanshi, Xiang Yuan spoke ill of him behind his back, but Xu Yanshi overheard everything. Xu Yanshi walked over and casually said something that made Xiang Yuan feel ashamed. Xu Yanshi knew that Xiang Yuan liked to eat cake, so he went a long way to buy her one. According to the two girls in the ward, the cake from that shop was not available for delivery and was hard to come by, which showed Xu Yanshi’s thoughtfulness towards Xiang Yuan. Chen Shu received the news and learned that the incident had caused a stir in the company. At first, Xiang Yuan was happy to see Xu Yanshi being so nice to her, but when she received a call from Chen Shan, her mood plummeted, and she became colder towards Xu Yanshi.

Aside from Gao Leng, Shi Tianyou and two others came to the hospital to visit Xiang Yuan. Xiang Yuan urged them to go back to work and asked Xu Yanshi to go as well. In the evening, when Xiang Yuan got up to use the restroom, she noticed that Xu Yanshi hadn’t left and was dozing off outside the ward. When Xu Yanshi opened his eyes and saw her, Xiang Yuan hurriedly went to the restroom. Xu Yanshi recalled some memories of when they were studying together. He had noticed Xiang Yuan’s proximity to him, and although he didn’t show it on the surface, he was touched and even made time for tutoring her. However, because he didn’t attend Xiang Yuan’s birthday party and didn’t have a chance to explain, he went with his father to Wuhan to avoid debt collectors. On the night before he left, he tried to find Xiang Yuan but couldn’t see her.

When Xiang Yuan returned from the restroom, Xu Yanshi figured out his feelings and told her that he might have developed feelings for someone he shouldn’t have. Xiang Yuan actually liked him too, but she had already decided not to get married from the start, so she didn’t want to hold Xu Yanshi back, especially since she was deeply concerned about his relationship with Chen Shan. In the end, she reluctantly said that what she wanted at sixteen might not be what she wanted at twenty-six. They were both adults, and Xu Yanshi quickly understood that she was rejecting him. Xu Yanshi stayed at the hospital until morning and ordered breakfast for Xiang Yuan before leaving. Gao Leng caught a cold and, thinking of Chen Shu’s kindness, as well as realizing that fighting was wrong, he messaged Chen Shu to apologize and tried to gain her sympathy by mentioning his illness.

Xu Yuan came to Xi’an from Shanghai for an interview and visited Xiang Yuan, who was in the hospital. She was surprised to learn that Xiang Yuan had rejected Xu Yanshi’s confession the previous night and thought that if she told Zhong Ling about it, Zhong Ling would definitely be furious. Before leaving, Xu Yuan told Xiang Yuan that she was planning to get married, but she would share the details when Xiang Yuan returned to Shanghai. The police came to the company to investigate and questioned almost everyone. When Xiang Yuan went to work, she felt that people around her were secretly talking about Xu Yanshi, so she worried that her rejection would affect him and anxiously called him. Seeing that Xu Yanshi was safe and sound, Xiang Yuan felt relieved and made up a reason to explain why she contacted him. Xu Yanshi mistakenly thought she was the one who came and asked him for help with shopping.

Xiang Yuan willingly cooperated with the police’s questioning and truthfully stated her impression of Li Chi and that she didn’t believe he was capable of such a thing. Perhaps due to her interaction with the police, memories of her painful childhood resurfaced, or maybe her head injury hadn’t fully healed, but she suddenly felt dizzy. Xu Yanshi came in and supported her head. Next, it was Xu Yanshi’s turn to be questioned by the police. During the questioning, the police received a phone call informing them that the main culprit had been found, a pipeline repair worker. After the police left, Xu Yanshi couldn’t help but blame Xiang Yuan for disregarding her own health and rushing into everything.

Xu Yanshi’s tone became a bit urgent, but he quickly apologized to Xiang Yuan. Xiang Yuan’s expression didn’t look good. Xu Yanshi truthfully told everyone about Li Chi’s matter, but Li Chi didn’t appreciate his goodwill. He rudely threw his work card on the ground. Gao Leng went after Li Chi to apologize, but Li Chi provoked him with words, and impulsive Gao Leng once again fought with Li Chi in the company. Chen Shu had to call Li Chi away and broke up with Gao Leng. Yin Yin was disciplined because of this incident, and Yang Pingshan, the vice president of Donghe Group, stood up for Li Chi, so Li Chi didn’t suffer any consequences. Xiang Yuan called Gao Leng outside and showed him the discussions about Chen Shu among their colleagues, and only then did Gao Leng realize that because of his impulsive actions, Chen Shu had silently endured so much criticism.

Xiang Yuan comforted Gao Leng and made him realize how difficult it was for Chen Shu. That night, Gao Leng thought a lot and regretted his actions. He wanted to send an apology message to Chen Shu but ended up deleting it word by word. The next day at work, Gao Leng and Li Chi had a hostile encounter. Li Chi once again tried to provoke him with words, but Xiang Yuan, who was behind him, called out Chen Shu’s name, and Gao Leng immediately changed his attitude. Xiang Yuan received an urgent call, so she bought a cup of milk tea and went in to show goodwill to Xu Yanshi, asking when the cargo navigation system design could be ready. Xu Yanshi said it would take three days, and he asked Xiang Yuan to accompany him on a trip the next day. Xu Yanshi didn’t like milk tea at all, but because Xiang Yuan bought it, he still finished drinking it.

Li Qin estimated that the development of the cargo system was almost complete. Once Weilin shifted its focus to the truck navigation market, all the customers she had accumulated would be wasted. Li Chi was her person, and he came up with a trick to harm Li Qin. Xu Yanshi took Xiang Yuan out to test the onboard system, and their relationship made some progress because of this joint work. They stayed in a hotel for the night and continued their work the next day. There was only one day left until the deadline for submitting the design. When they returned from the business trip, everyone in the technical department worked overtime and stayed up all night to complete the final 1.8 version of the design. Xu Yanshi finished his final tasks and saw that everyone was resting, so he made an exception and let Li Chi do the final tidying up.

Li Chi deliberately approached Xiang Yuan when she was busy and asked her to sign without giving her a chance to verify. He urged her to sign quickly. Afterward, Li Chi didn’t copy the document to Xu Yanshi and directly sent the design drawings to the factory. Li Chi called Li Qin to inform her that once the factory started production, the cargo navigation market would be ruined for Xiang Yuan. Later, Xu Yanshi learned from Xiang Yuan that the drawings had been sent to the factory, but he didn’t receive a copy of the document. He immediately went back with Xiang Yuan to check the files and indeed found that the version of the design drawings was incorrect. Fortunately, there was still time, so Xiang Yuan called Master Li and told him they needed to change the design. Li Chi went to work, and Xiang Yuan took the drawings to confront him. Li Chi turned the tables and accused her of not understanding technology and relying only on Xu Yanshi.

Xu Yanshi had a conversation with Li Chi, who believed that Xiang Yuan also had some responsibility in this matter. Based on this, Li Chi thought Xu Yanshi wouldn’t dare to do anything to him. Xiang Yuan carefully examined the confirmation letter and discovered that Li Chi had changed the 1.8 version to 1.3. She went to Xu Yanshi to discuss it, but he told her not to worry about it and that he would handle it. Xiang Yuan felt that Xu Yanshi had become worldly-wise, and she was dissatisfied, so she intentionally bought the food that Xu Yanshi liked. Later, Xiang Yuan went to Li Yongbiao and unexpectedly learned that Xu Yanshi had already taken the initiative to transfer Li Chi. She ran back to the office to find Xu Yanshi and saw Gao Leng helping him pack up. She thought Xu Yanshi had been fired because of this, but after Gao Leng explained, she realized that Xu Yanshi was just going on a business trip to Shanghai for a week.

Xu Yanshi talked to Li Chi again and claimed that it was his decision to transfer him, asking him to stay away from Xiang Yuan in the future. Xiang Yuan learned from Gao Leng that Xu Yanshi hadn’t had a good time at Weilin over the years, as his opportunities to be transferred to the headquarters were repeatedly taken by people with connections. Xiang Yuan assumed that Xu Yanshi must dislike people with connections. She called her grandfather and told him about Li Chi’s situation, demanding that Li Chi be transferred. Li Chi confronted Xiang Yuan in the meeting room, saying that she was an ineffective leader.

Li Chi’s words left Xiang Yuan speechless. That night, Xiang Yuan contacted her grandfather again, determined to get his opinion on the matter concerning Li Chi. Si Tumingtian’s lengthy discourse did nothing to help Xiang Yuan. Because of Li Chi’s involvement, Xiang Yuan lost another opportunity to make an independent decision. Inspired by Li Chi’s words, Xiang Yuan decided to start learning technology. She took two books from Xu Yanshi, but before she could even begin studying, she started having inexplicable fantasies. She imagined a day when she would become skilled, and both Xu Yanshi and Gao Leng would be impressed by her expertise.

Xu Yanshi went on a business trip to Shanghai, and Xiang Yuan accidentally dialed his number. She mentioned borrowing two books from him, and Xu Yanshi chuckled as soon as he heard the book titles. Before ending the call, he cautioned Xiang Yuan not to cause any trouble.

Shortly after hanging up, Xiang Yuan accidentally dirtied Xu Yanshi’s white shirt. She felt extremely frustrated with herself, as just moments ago, she had boasted about not causing trouble, yet in the next second, she had soiled Xu Yanshi’s shirt. Li Chi’s words also affected Xu Yanshi. He worried that when he was not around, Xiang Yuan might be taken away by someone else. So, in the middle of the night, he called Gao Leng and asked him to take care of Xiang Yuan. Gao Leng was disturbed by the interruption and had a hard time sleeping, resulting in him being sleepy at work the next day. Meanwhile, Xu Yanshi was very curious about Xiang Yuan’s activities and received a photo of her from Gao Leng. Xu Yanshi’s attention was fully captured by the photo, and only when Chen Shan mentioned Xiang Yuan’s childhood did he regain interest.

Before leaving work, Gao Leng turned back and saw Xiang Yuan in Xu Yanshi’s office, looking distressed. He recorded a short video and sent it to Xu Yanshi, who immediately called Xiang Yuan to ask if she needed help. Xiang Yuan sought his assistance, and Xu Yanshi instructed her to log in to QQ for remote guidance. The romantic aspect of science and technology was perhaps creating a Cartesian heart-shaped curve to express affection. Xiang Yuan was moved, and she took a photo of the heart-shaped curve with her phone. Bixi’s Bi Yuntao shared a hotel room with Xu Yanshi and proposed an idea for pursuing a girl. The idea was not bad but somewhat malicious and difficult to execute, so Xu Yanshi ultimately did not adopt his suggestion.

Si Tumingtian informed Xiang Yuan that Li Chi had been transferred to logistics, and the order for Xiang Yuan to become the head of the technology department had been issued. Xiang Yuan was put on the spot and wondered how to tell Xu Yanshi about this development. She rode the elevator with Lu Dong, who volunteered to give her a ride to work. Xiang Yuan’s mind was preoccupied with how to honestly discuss her promotion to department head with Xu Yanshi, so she casually agreed. Xu Yanshi arrived at work early and specifically bought milk tea for Xiang Yuan. However, when he saw Xiang Yuan getting out of Lu Dong’s luxury car, he couldn’t help feeling upset. He took a sip of the milk tea himself and asked Xiang Yuan to dispose of it. Unconsciously, Xiang Yuan also took a sip. They shared the same straw, but then Xu Yanshi changed his mind and took back the milk tea from her hand, leaving Xiang Yuan puzzled.

Everyone thought Xu Yanshi would become the head of the technology department, but during the company meeting, Li Yongbiao announced that Xiang Yuan would be taking on the role. Gao Leng and the others in their group enthusiastically discussed the matter, and at the same time, Xiang Yuan announced the news of Li Chi’s transfer to logistics. After the meeting, Li Qin used her old tricks, warning Xiang Yuan to be careful, or she wouldn’t know what would happen to her in the future. Xiang Yuan calmly and lightly responded with a few words, showing her strength. Li Qin immediately called Yang Pingshan to confirm, and Yang Pingshan advised her to appease Li Chi. Everyone felt that Xiang Yuan’s actions were inappropriate, and Yu Zhi suggested that she should avoid confronting Xu Yanshi for the time being. Li Chi returned to pack his things and made some cryptic remarks.

Worried that Xu Yanshi would be angry, Xiang Yuan tried to please him in every possible way. Xu Yanshi seized this opportunity and kept giving her tasks. After all, Xiang Yuan had taken someone else’s position, so she felt guilty and obediently acted as Xu Yanshi’s errand runner. She frequently entered and exited Xu Yanshi’s office, and Lin Qingqing almost thought she was pursuing Xu Yanshi.

Xiang Yuan invited everyone to her house for a meal on the weekend, watching Xu Yanshi’s reaction. Xu Yanshi playfully teased her, saying he was busy the day after tomorrow, and everyone else also claimed to be busy. Xiang Yuan became sulky, but when Xu Yanshi saw how anxious she was, he relented, and everyone said they had time. In reality, Xiang Yuan didn’t know how to cook and was at a loss in the kitchen. Xu Yanshi went to help her, and at first, Xiang Yuan insisted on doing it herself. But later, Xu Yanshi couldn’t bear to watch and took over, stir-frying a dish. The atmosphere was initially harmonious, but then Xu Yanshi casually remarked that Xiang Yuan was like a pampered princess who never experienced hardships. Xiang Yuan took it as a veiled insult, thinking he was mocking her privileged background. In a fit of anger, she pushed him out of the kitchen. As a result, besides the dish Xu Yanshi cooked, everything else was ordered as takeout.

After Gao Leng and Chen Shu had a quarrel, they sang sentimental songs at Xiang Yuan’s house, disturbing everyone. They suggested playing Truth or Dare to resolve the tension. Gao Leng was the first to take the dare, but he didn’t dare to call Chen Shu and vent his frustrations, so he obediently drank alcohol. Next, the bottle pointed at Xu Yanshi, and he chose to take the dare. Both You Zhi and Shi Tianyou offered two dares simultaneously. While everyone expected Xu Yanshi to choose doing push-ups, he claimed that his hand was injured and instead chose to call the first girl on his call log and ask her to be his girlfriend. Everyone was intrigued, and Xu Yanshi made the call. After a while, Xiang Yuan’s phone started ringing. Everyone’s eyes widened, heads lined up like curious spectators, but Xiang Yuan hung up the phone in the next second.

The few who were left feeling disappointed, Gao Leng mockingly said Xiang Yuan was scared. After everyone left, Xu Yanshi stayed behind to help Xiang Yuan with the dishes. Afterward, they had a heart-to-heart conversation, and Xiang Yuan learned that Xu Yanshi wasn’t angry because of her promotion but because she had taken a ride in Lu Dong’s car to work. Xiang Yuan received a message from Gao Leng, informing her that Xu Yanshi had been faithful all these years and must really like her, which was why he had made exceptions for her multiple times. Xiang Yuan immediately grabbed some clothes and rushed to the parking lot to stop Xu Yanshi. But she couldn’t bring herself to say the truth, so she simply said they were like siblings and she would protect him from now on. Xiang Yuan submitted her weekly report and set off for Shanghai to attend a wedding. When she arrived, she discovered that her childhood friend Yi Shi’s new wife was Xu Yan.

Xu Yan’s wedding was simple, with only one person officiating the ceremony. According to Xu Yan’s description, the officiant was a negative example. The next day, during the wedding, Xiang Yuan once again found Xu Yanshi as the officiant, and it seemed like everyone except her knew about it. The competition’s time and location were set in Shanghai for tomorrow. Coincidentally, both Xu Yanshi and Xiang Yuan were in Shanghai, and Wang Qingyi was also preparing to go. Xiang Yuan was worried that her grandfather would be angry if he found out she had participated in the Starheng competition, so she didn’t dare to go home. Xu Yanshi naturally offered her to stay at his place. Xu Yanshi picked up his younger brother, Xu Chengli, and Xu Chengli recognized Xiang Yuan as the gossiping girl from outside the airport last time. But in front of Xu Yanshi, Xu Chengli behaved well.

Xu Chengli was driven into the room by Xu Yanshi to do his homework, and then Xiang Yuan was also sent to the room to learn programming. When Xu Yanshi was away, Xu Chengli started teasing Xiang Yuan, acting like a mischievous kid. The sound insulation in the lane was poor, and Xiang Yuan couldn’t sleep at night. Xu Yanshi offered her the living room since it would be relatively quiet there. Early the next morning, Xu Chengli finished his drink in one go, and Xiang Yuan pretended to reward him with a kiss. But Xu Chengli ignored her completely, while Xu Yanshi eagerly finished several bottles, waiting for Xiang Yuan to kiss him. Xiang Yuan’s expression was indescribable, thinking that Xu Yanshi had never drunk those beverages before.

Xiang Yuan and her team succeeded in the preliminary round, and the three of them met at the final competition in Shanghai. The event was livestreamed, and all three appeared on camera, leaving comments in the live chat. Si Tumingtian saw Xiang Yuan on TV and called her to ask where she was. Xiang Yuan didn’t dare to let her grandfather know that she participated in the Xingheng entrepreneurship competition, so she lied and said she was in Weilin. WeilTech from the United States also participated in the competition to expand into the Chinese market. They ranked first in the preliminary round, tied with Wang Qingyi’s “This is a Serious Tech Company.” The representative from WeilTech was Feng Jun. Interestingly, both Xiang Yuan and Xu Yanshi knew Feng Jun, and there were many things between Feng Jun and Xu Yanshi that Xiang Yuan didn’t know.

Initially, Feng Jun was the first to notice Xiang Yuan and greeted her. Then Xiang Yuan took him to meet Xu Yanshi. However, Xu Yanshi was rather cold towards Feng Jun. They didn’t shake hands, and they only had a brief conversation. Xu Yanshi didn’t reveal that they were participating in the competition. Xiang Yuan followed Xu Yanshi to leave, and Feng Jun added her on WeChat. Wang Qingyi also met his senior Lu Junliang at the competition venue. Lu Junliang kept making sarcastic remarks, but Wang Qingyi fought back without backing down, leaving Lu Junliang speechless. Wang Qingyi went to find Xu Yanshi and Xiang Yuan and told them about his encounter with Lu Junliang, as well as the fact that Xiang Yuan and her team had encountered Feng Jun. Xiang Yuan noticed that there seemed to be something between Feng Jun and Xu Yanshi that she didn’t know about.

In this autonomous driving competition, not only speed and precision were important, but also avoiding obstacles. Moreover, the distribution and order of all the scenes were kept secret, making it like a closed-book exam. It was a significant challenge for the algorithm design. However, Xu Yanshi’s designed program showed promising performance. As the competition began, WeilTech temporarily took the lead, but Feng Jun wasn’t happy because he knew Xu Yanshi’s abilities. He left the viewing area and happened to meet Lu Junliang. Lu Junliang wanted to get back at Xu Yanshi, so he convinced Feng Jun to cooperate with him. He had a way to prevent Xu Yanshi’s team from getting first place. Xu Yanshi’s team, with car number 7, started the race and performed perfectly, catching up to WeilTech, which was temporarily in the lead.

Feng Jun started to panic. He said a few words to Lu Junliang, and Xiang Yuan happened to see it. Just before car number 7 reached an intersection, its speed suddenly slowed down. Xu Yanshi’s expression became serious because he knew there was a problem with the system signal. Fortunately, Xu Yanshi had prepared a Plan B. The car successfully passed the intersection by relying on synchronous positioning and map drawing technology. It switched to inertial navigation when the navigation signal weakened, but the speed slowed down and the precision decreased. It could only barely finish the track. In the end, car number 7 completed the race, ranking second, just behind WeilTech. Wang Qingyi found it strange because, in theory, such a major competition shouldn’t have signal issues. He couldn’t help but speculate that Lu Junliang might have used a signal jammer. If someone really did that, he believed it must be Lu Junliang.

Xu Yanshi went to answer a call on the side, and Xiang Yuan told Wang Qingyi that she saw Feng Jun go out and meet with Lu Junliang. Feng Jun took something from him, and then the signal became poor when Feng Jun returned. So, Wang Qingyi told Xiang Yuan about the grudge between Xu Yanshi and Feng Jun from the past. Back then, Feng Jun, Gao Sibo, and Wang Qingyi illegally hacked into Donghe Group’s computer system, and Feng Jun used Xu Yanshi’s computer. When Chen Shan brought a lawsuit against them, the lawsuit only listed the names of Xu Yanshi, Gao Sibo, and Wang Qingyi, leaving out Feng Jun’s name. Even so, Xu Yanshi still helped resolve the issue. After negotiating with Chen Shan, they settled the matter by compensating two million and upgrading the security system.

However, they didn’t expect that after the three of them completed the security system upgrade, Feng Jun, who was in charge of raising money, disappeared without a trace. Feng Jun’s father coldly said that Feng Jun had already gone abroad and that he had no connection to the matter. Everyone was disappointed with Feng Jun. Xu Yanshi and the others raised two million themselves, but Xu Yanshi’s father ended up squandering the money, causing Xu Yanshi to lose the opportunity to enter Xingheng. According to the conditions given by Chen Shan, Xu Yanshi went to work in Weilin. After hearing all of this, Xiang Yuan was very angry and waited for Feng Jun to come out after the competition ended.

Xiang Yuan tried to test it and knew that Feng Jun really used a signal jammer. Feng Jun showed no remorse. Although Xiang Yuan grew up with him since childhood, she had no good feelings for someone who only caused trouble and then ran away. Feng Jun may have anticipated that Xu Yanshi would not report him to the organizing committee, but Xiang Yuan would not let him get away with it. Feng Jun also tried to silence Xiang Yuan with money, but she found him increasingly disgusting. Lao Qing (Xiang Yuan’s grandfather) left first, and only Xu Yanshi was waiting for Xiang Yuan. Even though Xiang Yuan knew so much about Xu Yanshi’s past, she didn’t rush to verify it with him. Thousands of words condensed into one sentence, “I’ll protect you in the future.” Si Tumingtian called Xiang Yuan again, but she was too guilty to answer and quickly pulled Xu Yanshi away from the competition venue, but her grandfather still saw them.

In front of Xu Yanshi, Xiang Yuan blurted out a lot, saying that they were just there to observe and learn. Her grandfather wasn’t foolish and could tell that her relationship with Xu Yanshi was extraordinary. He called her back for a conversation. Si Tumingtian told Xiang Yuan to stay away from Xu Yanshi a bit, but his words went in one ear and out the other for Xiang Yuan. That evening, Xiang Yuan returned to Xu Yanshi’s home. Xu Yanshi nervously asked if the chairman had given her a hard time. Xiang Yuan was moved because it was clear that Xu Yanshi was worried about her. Xu Yanshi left and left food for Xiang Yuan in the refrigerator. Xiang Yuan suddenly remembered what Xu Yuan had said and understood what it felt like to meet the right person. Feng Jun asked to meet Xu Yanshi, attempting to create a rift between him and Xiang Yuan. Xu Yanshi remained calm on the surface, but he was still affected.

On payday, Xiang Yuan bought seafood to treat Xu Yanshi, who had been busy with the competition. After Xu Yanshi returned, they worked together to make a big meal, but unfortunately, they ran out of gas, so they ended up eating instant noodles. The next day, Xiang Yuan and Wang Qingyi returned to Xi’an first. Xu Yanshi said he had something to do in Shanghai and went to meet Lin Kaixuan from Kaisheng Group, who offered him a good deal. Then he went to meet Chen Shan. Chen Shan also submitted her resignation letter, planning to go out and make a big impact. Xiang Yuan wanted to ask Xu Yanshi about his reasons for staying in Shanghai, but Lao Qing didn’t know either. Chen Shan told Xu Yanshi about Xiang Yuan’s childhood, where she had spent a lot of time apart from her mother. Xu Yanshi suddenly wanted to see Xiang Yuan and asked Chen Shan to help him send her to the airport. He took a plane back to Xi’an.

Xu Yanshi couldn’t reach Xiang Yuan on the phone, so he called Lao Qing, who said he had taken her to the company. Xu Yanshi immediately rushed back to the company and learned from Gao Leng that Xiang Yuan had come to the company to pick up something and then left with a client. Shi Tianyou told Xu Yanshi that Xiang Yuan might like him because when Xu Yanshi went to Shanghai on a business trip last time, Xiang Yuan secretly smelled his shirt. Xu Yanshi asked Gao Leng for Xiang Yuan’s address and hurried over. On the way, he received an accidental call from Xiang Yuan and heard her casually making up a story. He couldn’t help but chuckle. Xiang Yuan talked with the person in charge of soaring flight about the drone project. She drank a lot of alcohol and when it was about time, she handed the contract to the person and hurriedly went to pay and leave. Coincidentally, she met Xu Yanshi at the checkout counter.

Xu Yanshi asked Xiang Yuan to go to his car first while he paid. He inquired with his friends and learned that Duan, the general manager of Soaring Flight, hadn’t been to Weilin this week. Instead, two other managers from their branch went, probably wanting to take advantage of Xiang Yuan before canceling the contract. Xu Yanshi calmly took a few photos without paying. Afterwards, he told Xiang Yuan that she had been deceived, and that they had no intention of signing the contract. Xiang Yuan felt very upset, and Xu Yanshi felt even sadder seeing her like this.

Xu Yanshi invited Xiang Yuan to watch a play together on the weekend, but unexpectedly, Lu Dong also brought Chen Shu along. Xu Yanshi intentionally sat next to Lu Dong, preventing him from sitting beside Xiang Yuan.

After Xu Yanshi dropped Xiang Yuan off at her home, he went to the observatory. While talking to Xiang Yuan on the phone, he drove and took the opportunity to confess his feelings, asking her if she would be his girlfriend.

At the product launch event, Xiang Yuan served as the host.

Someone deliberately schemed to lock Xiang Yuan in the props room, hoping to prevent her from going on stage to introduce the new products on time. Xu Yanshi helped buy her time, while Xiang Yuan tried various ways to open the door.

Li Qin discovered that Xu Yanshi participated in the StarHeng competition and reported this to headquarters, resulting in Xu Yanshi being taken for investigation.

If the situation is serious, Xu Yanshi could potentially face prosecution.

Xiang Yuan presented her work ID and knew that the despicable act of sabotaging the company’s press conference was done by Li Qin and Li Chi.

The investigation team arrived in Weilin, and Si Tumingtian called Xiang Yuan, warning her to stay away from Xu Yanshi.

Later, Xiang Yuan learned that Xu Yanshi was the person who taught her to play games during their university days.

Everyone gathered together, and Xiang Yuan was the last person to find out about Xu Yanshi’s resignation. Gao Leng, You Zhi, and others saw that Xu Yanshi was leaving, and they also didn’t want to continue working in Weilin.

Xiang Yuan felt angry about this, and what Xu Yanshi left for her was just some suggestions for company reforms.

Lu Dong gave Xiang Yuan a gift, and suddenly Xu Yanshi emerged from the elevator, pulling Xiang Yuan into the house and closing the door.