So Delighted!

At 1:30 in the morning, Zhao Wanyu felt a terrible dryness in her throat. Drowsily waking up, she saw Chen Mengchuan asleep with his head pillowed on the edge of her bed. She froze in a daze, a deep wave of emotion welling up in her heart. Her eyes turned red uncontrollably, and tear-droplets rolled down.

After a long while, Zhao Wanyu wiped away her tears, extended a weak hand, and nudged him. "Brother Chuan, can you help me pour a cup of water?"

Chen Mengchuan slept very lightly and woke up at the gentle nudge. Opening his eyes and hearing what Zhao Wanyu said, he got up, poured a cup of water, and fed it to her. Feeling her forehead, he found the fever finally seemed to have subsided.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up and shook his sore arms.

"Brother Chuan, come up and sleep..." Zhao Wanyu said with a blushing face.

Chen Mengchuan was taken aback, feeling quite awkward. He knew that Zhao Wanyu felt sorry for him.

"It's okay..." Zhao Wanyu looked at him with a shy, blushing face.

Looking at her face, Chen Mengchuan softened a bit. Worrying that she might run a fever again during the night, he nodded, kept his clothes on, and lay in beside her.

After dawn, a waking Chen Mengchuan touched Zhao Wanyu's forehead. The fever was completely gone, and he felt a weight lift from his heart.

He got up, dressed, poured a cup of water, and sat by the bedside. Looking at the sleeping Zhao Wanyu, he remembered that the two of them had shared a bed again last night, and his weathered face flushed red. He had only known Zhao Wanyu for three days, yet unexpectedly they had slept together for three days...

He got up and went out of the house. The morning sun shone on his face, full of warmth. In his memory of that illusory dream, after going to the Island Nation, life with Ayase Sonoko had never been very pleasant. Between arguments, pressure, and work commitments, marital life had never received that much attention. Only two years after marriage did they finally conceive Zhihui, but during the pregnancy, they quarreled incessantly over even more trivial matters.

Only after the divorce did everything begin to turn around. Right and wrong did not lie with the individuals, but with the union itself.

He shook his head, cast all these thoughts aside, and sighed.

After a few stretches, Chen Mengchuan walked out of the courtyard and happened to see Ayase Sonoko walking toward the Xu family's place. She carried a fish in her left hand and a basket in her right, filled with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit.

"Good morning, Mengchuan-kun. Has Miss Wanyu's fever gone down?" Ayase Sonoko wore a smile as bright as the sunshine.

Chen Mengchuan nodded.

"I brought some fresh fruit, as well as vegetables and fish. Miss Wanyu needs to replenish her fresh protein and nutrition." Ayase Sonoko smiled as she handed the fish and vegetable basket to Chen Mengchuan.

Chen Mengchuan hurriedly took them.

"Also, once her fever breaks, have her wear more clothes and come out to sunbathe. She needs some sunlight. But don't let her bask too much, or she'll end up as dark as me. Take good care of Miss Wanyu. Moui shite kudasai. See you later." Ayase Sonoko smiled, waved, and turned toward the school.

Chen Mengchuan stood on the spot, watching Ayase Sonoko leave as many memories welled up once more. During their post-marriage life in the illusory dream, when Ayase Sonoko learned that she was about to be replaced by a newly assigned teacher, there was the sight of her kneeling on the ground and crying, reluctant to part with these children, and finally, the breakdown and desperate look in her eyes when she received the notice that she was to be deported back to her country.

She had cried and raged at an official in charge of education, shouting that education had no borders and that the future of the Island Nation and China lay in these children—only children were the hope of everything in the future. Yet in the end, she was still deported back to the Island Nation. After he himself later went to the Island Nation, she had remained depressed ever since...

Suddenly, a dull ache blossomed in Chen Mengchuan's heart. So many times she had discussed returning to China with him only to be refused by him; the breakdown and tears after their arguments perhaps also stemmed from her desire to return here to see these children she had spent three years supporting in teaching.

At this thought, watching Ayase Sonoko's departing figure, Chen Mengchuan suddenly felt a stifling tightness in his chest.

After handing the things over to Eldest Sister Xu, Chen Mengchuan's cell phone rang. Glancing at the number, it was a call from his father.

He sighed, but still answered the call.

"Dad."

"Hmph, do you still have me as your father in your eyes? Is a Chinese project something you can just go extort? Foolish!" Father Chen started yelling the moment he picked up.

Chen Mengchuan frowned slightly. Knowing his father's stubbornly loyal character, he could only speak slowly: "Dad, don't try to talk me out of this matter. I originally only intended to demand two million from Guo Siming as the price for kicking me out of the AI team, but when I remembered how Guo Zhidong used to not only work against you but also forced you out of the Xia Science Academy, if you can swallow this breath, I certainly can't. A gentleman takes revenge ten years later, so don't try to dissuade me."

Father Chen was taken aback by these words, and a wave of warmth surged in his chest. He hadn't expected his son to be standing up for him. Yet under the banner of China's greater cause, the older generation's Chinese spirit—having lived through China's difficult and bitter days—quickly took the upper hand again. He spoke up: "I am relieved in my heart that you can think this way. It's just that this is a major Chinese project, and Guo Zhidong certainly won't let the matter rest. Having been at the Xia Science Academy for thirty-five years, I know his character very well. You need to handle this wisely. When we are chased by a vicious dog, throwing out a bone is a useful way to divert attention."

"The Guo Family is powerful and influential not just in Beijing; you need to consider your own personal safety, understand?"

After a long silence, Chen Mengchuan said slowly, "I know, Dad. I'll handle this matter well."

"When you're out and about, take care of your health. That's all." With that, Father Chen hung up the phone.

Clutching the phone, Chen Mengchuan fell into deep thought. At present, he truly was unwilling to get mixed up with the Xia Science Academy in these matters.

Yet, just as his father said, the Guo Family clearly would not let go of this issue. For now, tossing a hard-to-crack bone for them to gnaw on in vain indeed sounded like a pretty good idea.

Having figured it out, Chen Mengchuan pulled an ultra-low-end version from his neural network algorithm, left a few medium-sized traps in it, packaged it up, and with a mischievous grin, dialed Guo Zhidong's number.

"Chen Mengchuan?" A low voice came from the other end of the line.

"I won't waste words with Dean Guo either. This sum of 6.1 million cannot be a single fen short. If Dean Guo nods and agrees, our grievances will be wiped clean. Right now, I have a set of artificial intelligence neural network algorithms that I wrote myself, and I can sell them to you together—10 million, non-negotiable. Have Guo Siming take a look at this algorithm, and you'll understand its value. Think about it, and call me back." Chen Mengchuan spoke with utter directness.

"I'll have Guo Siming find you," Guo Zhidong said in a deep voice.

"Fine, let's leave it at that." Chen Mengchuan dropped those final words and hung up the phone.

Walking into Zhao Wanyu's room, he extracted a section from this ultra-low-end neural network algorithm—the one littered with traps—and sent it to Guo Siming's email. Although it was the utmost trash, it was still, after all, content that led current technology by more than a decade.

He grinned widely. If this Guo Siming actually had the ability to fill all those traps, the Xia Science Academy would be able to utterly crush the other neighbors of the global village in the field of artificial intelligence for at least several years.

Of course he wasn't swindling money here; willing fish would take the bait. He would just make a little pocket change and replenish Tenzhi Technology's cash flow.

After sending the email, Chen Mengchuan stretched his back. Looking at Zhao Wanyu, who was sleeping so soundly she was drooling, his mood inexplicably brightened. It seemed she really was his lucky star.

Before long, his phone rang. Chen Mengchuan grabbed the phone and walked out of the house.

"Chen Mengchuan, what kind of games are you trying to play again?" Guo Siming asked coldly over the phone.

"Didn't Guo Zhidong make it clear to you? You idiot, go check your email, moron." Without waiting for an answer, Chen Mengchuan hung up on him right then and there.

"You mother..." Guo Siming hadn't even finished cursing when the call on Chen Mengchuan's end was already disconnected!

"Chen Mengchuan, you go too far!" The Nokia in his hand was slammed onto the ground in a fit of rage by Guo Siming, evenly shattering into four or five pieces.

"Chen Mengchuan, don't you ever let me catch you in my hands. If I don't grind you to dust, I'll change my last name to yours!" Guo Siming cursed furiously.

"Brother Guo, he told you to check your email..." his assistant reminded him cautiously and softly.

Suppressing his temper, Guo Siming walked over to the desk, flipped open his computer, and checked his incoming mail. The topmost item was the one Chen Mengchuan had just sent.

The email had no subject. Frowning, Guo Siming clicked it open to find a heap of complex code and data structure descriptions.

Reading down line by line, Guo Siming's frown quickly smoothed out, his pupils dilated by degrees, and his heartbeat began to accelerate. Once he finished reading the entire contents of the email, his breathing turned ragged all over, and his heartbeat pounded violently.

He loudly urged his assistant: "Xiao Wang, hurry, put the phone back together."

"Brother Guo, here's your phone." The assistant handed over the Nokia he had already picked up and reassembled.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Wang, Xiao Li, you two step outside for a moment. This call is very important and not suitable for you to overhear. Once I'm done making the call, I'll call you back in." Guo Siming said in a deep voice.

The two assistants nodded hurriedly and left the room.

Seeing the two of them leave, Guo Siming hastily dialed the phone of his uncle, Guo Zhidong.

"Siming, how is it?" Guo Zhidong asked once the line connected.

"Worth it, worth it, worth it—it's definitely worth it! Uncle, forget 10 million, you couldn't buy this technology even for 100 billion!" Guo Siming nodded repeatedly, speaking in an exaggerated tone.

"Are you sure?" Guo Zhidong asked solemnly.

"Absolutely sure! Although this algorithm only shows the tip of the iceberg, it already far surpasses Xuan Yuan's current neural network algorithms." Guo Siming was so excited he felt as if he were about to fly. He seemed to already see the vision of the Xuan Yuan Project under his leadership crushing one major power's artificial intelligence after another, winning one international award after another, and from then on ascending to the pinnacle of his life!

The other end of the line fell silent.

"Uncle, I am extremely certain. Just the portion of the neural network algorithm he sent over has inestimable value..."

"Alright, you don't need to say anymore. I know. Call Chen Mengchuan and agree to his conditions. If what you're saying is true, then we'll consider it owing him, Chen Mengchuan, a favor."

"Alright, Uncle, I'll handle it immediately."

"These 10 million will come out of the Xia Science Academy's accounts." With that, Guo Zhidong hung up the phone. He swiped open his contacts list, stared at the name of Chen Mengchuan's father, and remained motionless for a long time...

After hanging up, Guo Siming excitedly dialed Chen Mengchuan's number. The call connected swiftly: "Brother Chuan, Brother Chuan, it's me, Xiao Guo! Look at this, should I still go find Brother Sun for signing the contract?... Ah, right, got it, Brother Chuan, okay, yeah, yeah, you go ahead and busy yourself, Brother Chuan, goodbye..."

Having finished the call, Guo Siming fiercely planted a kiss on the Nokia in his hand!

So delighted!