Scorching!

Peng City, Zhong Wei Technology.

Just as Hua Long Technology had obtained further verification results and gained a huge boost in confidence, hurriedly preparing for trial production and deeper formal business cooperation, its competitor, Zhong Wei Technology, had not been idle these past few days either.

Procurement Manager Peng Fan had been following up on the samples Zhou Feiyu had sent out. As soon as they arrived that morning, he transferred them to Project Director Feng Zhongfa and asked him to coordinate the testing arrangements.

"How are the results?"

Project Director Feng Zhongfa had been getting chewed out by the higher-ups these past few days. They brought it up every time they spoke, making him lose a great deal of face. So although he had begun working on other projects, the moment he heard it was this material, he immediately arranged for it to be tested.

An hour later, before his subordinates had even given him the results, he personally rushed to the Research and Development Department to keep watch, urging the R&D director to come with him.

"Old Feng, is there really any need to be in such a hurry?"

The R&D director spoke helplessly, but still took him to the Research and Development Department to get the results.

"Everyone from top to bottom is watching this. Without a result, this matter won't be settled."

Feng Zhongfa spoke with clear-headed helplessness.

By the time they reached the Research and Development Department, the engineer responsible for material verification had already cut the material into the required sizes and assembled several finished samples for his needs. He was preparing to arrange reliability testing.

Seeing the two directors come in person, the engineer could not help feeling nervous.

Only when he heard the R&D director ask for the results did he relax. He gave a detailed introduction to his preliminary test findings. "President Feng, Director Wang, I've only conducted rough tests on this material. I haven't done the reliability testing yet, but judging from its initial performance, this material is truly extraordinary. First is its thickness. The optical films currently used in mainstream mobile phone screens are generally 0.08 to 0.1 millimeters thick, while this material is only 0.05 millimeters, saving a tremendous amount of space. Second is its optical performance, which I consider the most incredible part. Its brightness is nearly one percentage point higher than King Material's. That's simply unbelievable. King Material's light utilization rate has basically reached 99%. By that calculation, this material would be at 100%, but that's impossible, so I find it rather strange as well..."

Just hearing that much, without even needing to listen to the remaining performance specifications, Feng Zhongfa and the R&D director both froze for a moment.

Feng Zhongfa murmured, "No wonder Hua Long Technology dared to bid for Oupai's project. Such high brightness, and such a low price. How did Hua Long Technology get the jump on us with a material like this?"

The R&D director gave a bitter laugh. "We made a mistake. We didn't do our job well enough."

Aside from the procurement department taking the blame for losing Oupai's project, their Research and Development Department had also been severely reprimanded by management, especially him, the R&D director.

Only now did he understand why Hua Long Technology had snatched away Oupai's project. With such a heaven-defying material, it would have been a joke if they still couldn't beat them.

Hua Long Technology was the leader among ODM manufacturers, an entity even stronger than them. Naturally, they were no joke.

Feng Zhongfa turned and hurried away. He had to report this to his superiors, even to the boss.

The R&D director froze, then hurriedly followed after him.

They were both smart men. At this point, the material's subsequent reliability verification was no longer so important. The current results were already enough. What truly deserved attention, and a massive investment, was the company—or rather, the person—who had developed this material.

Hua Long Technology had gotten the jump on them and obtained this material. If Hua Long Technology monopolized it, Zhong Wei Technology would be finished.

This was a strategic weapon!

In this cost-driven era, whoever possessed materials with stronger performance and better prices would emerge victorious and dominate the market. If Zhong Wei Technology fell behind, it would never have a chance to turn things around again.

Then they would have to compete for OLED screen projects. But OLED screen projects were basically controlled by Korean companies and domestic mobile phone glass giants such as BE and HE, which dealt directly with mobile phone manufacturers. As an ODM manufacturer, they had no advantage at all. They might not even be able to obtain OLED resources, and the outcome would be just as miserable.

Nanjiang County.

Zhou Feiyu, who had gone to Li Shihan's home to meet her parents, received a warm welcome from Li Shihan's Parents. That evening, he had dinner at Li Shihan's home.

Zhou Feiyu naturally agreed with delight.

Following Zhou Feiyu's instructions, Li Shihan did not mention his startup venture to her parents during dinner. Whenever they asked about it, Zhou Feiyu took over and said he was still in the initial stages and would share the good news with them once he had achieved something.

Li Shihan's Parents naturally did not ask further.

"Feiyu, you're the first boy Shihan has ever brought home on her own initiative. Come by often from now on. Auntie will boil eggs for you."

The mother-in-law liked her prospective son-in-law more the longer she looked at him. Li Shihan's mother said with a beaming smile.

Li Shihan's father was not much of a talker, but his words and manner were fairly casual. Clearly, his attitude toward Zhou Feiyu was quite good; at the very least, he did not put on a sour face.

"An honest and dependable family too."

Zhou Feiyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that this sort of family environment was quite nice and made people feel comfortable.

A wife should be virtuous. Having a stable family and stable in-laws would undoubtedly be greatly helpful to both life and career. Zhou Feiyu did not expect his wife's family to be extraordinarily powerful. That would be less than ideal. It was enough for him to be capable himself.

After dinner, they rested for a while, but Zhou Feiyu lingered instead of leaving.

Seeing that it was getting late, Li Shihan's Parents invited him to stay the night.

Zhou Feiyu immediately agreed without hesitation.

"Can't you come again next time?"

Li Shihan shyly gave him a little shove.

"I don't even have a car. It wouldn't be convenient to go back now."

Zhou Feiyu hurriedly came up with an excuse.

And so, his staying the night was settled.

That night, the cool darkness was like water.

Li Shihan took the initiative to show Zhou Feiyu around her village.

Under the New Countryside initiative, although Nanjiang County was not economically developed, nearly every village had been built up to be fairly neat and beautiful. Solid, level concrete roads, tall, bright streetlights, all kinds of fitness equipment, stone tables, and stone benches—it truly lived up to the name New Countryside.

The two talked about many things, but this time, Li Shihan did most of the talking. She spoke of her childhood, amusing stories from school, and her life as an art student at university.

Perhaps because she had never shared so much with anyone before, Li Shihan was especially talkative that night, chuckling as she spoke. The breeze stirred her jet-black hair, carrying its faint fragrance around Zhou Feiyu's nose, and he could not help becoming utterly intoxicated.

Zhou Feiyu asked himself honestly: no girl had ever made him feel this way, and no girl had ever trusted him or been so intimate with him. He understood his own feelings.

"Li Shihan!"

Under the streetlights, surrounded only by stone tables, stone benches, and the chorus of frogs in the fields, Zhou Feiyu's heart surged with emotion as he softly called to her.

"Hm?"

Li Shihan answered softly, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him.

After her laughter faded, Li Shihan's clear black-and-white eyes seemed to hold a pool of autumn water, carrying a touch more charm than usual.

Zhou Feiyu could no longer hold back. He reached out, took both of Li Shihan's hands, and gave a firm pull, drawing her directly into his arms.

Then he quickly lowered his head and kissed her.

"Mmph!"

Li Shihan immediately let out a muffled whimper, but it soon disappeared.

The next moment, in response to Zhou Feiyu's bold actions, Li Shihan returned his kiss with passion.

Two young, scorching hearts began pounding wildly at that moment, their rhythms gradually joining as one.