In the hazy depths of night, Chen Mengchuan woke from a dream. He rubbed his eyes, rolled his shoulders, and checked the time. It was 1:30 in the morning.
He reached beside him and realized there were no cigarettes. He remembered that he had only started smoking after going to Japan in his dream, overwhelmed by frustration and depression.
In the brief time he had dozed off, he had dreamed of countless fragmented scenes: Ayase Sonoko's gentle smile, helplessness, despair, pain, cold eyes, and the smiles and frowns of many other women he had been close to. Scene after scene, figure after figure, seemed to appear before his eyes.
Chen Mengchuan had no idea what state he was in now. Had he been reborn? Yet it all felt like a distant dream. Was it Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly? Then how could all those vivid memories be explained?
Would the future truly turn out that way? Would it really? In the final moment before he woke, all he saw was Ayase Sonoko's cold gaze when she divorced him...
Chen Mengchuan sank into confusion.
After pondering for a long time, Chen Mengchuan picked up his phone and booked a plane ticket west.
He had to face that elusive future head-on. First, he needed to cut off some painful ties to the past!
After booking the ticket, he tossed and turned in bed before finally falling into a deep sleep.
The next morning, a call from Sun Zhongyong woke Chen Mengchuan.
"Mengchuan, I've settled on an office. It's a three-story, 4,000-square-meter factory building in the Su City Industrial Park. Come take a look. If there's no problem, we'll start renovating." Sun Zhongyong was remarkably efficient.
"Brother Sun, you can make the call. I have some personal matters to deal with, so I'm heading out for a while. I'll be back within half a month to a month," Chen Mengchuan said.
"Fine, then I'll make the decision. Just come back early, and be careful on the road. Safety first." Sun Zhongyong chuckled, exchanged a few more words, and hung up.
"Brother, what's wrong? Is Chen Mengchuan going somewhere?" Gu Xiaoxiao put down the design drawings and pen in her hands and asked. Sun Zhongyong had been smiling during the call, but he frowned as soon as it ended.
"Half a month to a month." Sun Zhongyong nodded.
"Is he going back to Xia Science Academy?" Gu Xiaoxiao asked directly.
Sun Zhongyong slowly shook his head. "I didn't ask."
"Why didn't you ask? What if he goes back to Xia Science Academy and never returns? Chen Mengchuan doesn't seem like that kind of person, but what if the people at Xia Science Academy refuse to let him go? Your loss would be huge," Gu Xiaoxiao reminded him.
Sun Zhongyong rolled his eyes at her. "Enough. I know what I'm doing. Mengchuan isn't the type to offer up his other cheek after getting slapped on one. What I'm worried about is him going head-to-head with the Guo Family."
"The Guo Family?" Gu Xiaoxiao frowned in confusion.
Sun Zhongyong nodded. "I used some connections last night and found out what happened with Mengchuan leaving. Xia Science Academy's deputy director, Guo Zhidong, is from the Guo Family. The one who stole the credit for Mengchuan's AI team was his nephew, Guo Siming. From what I heard, the Guo Family was utterly shameless. After taking Mengchuan's project, they wouldn't even give him a sip of the soup. They simply removed Mengchuan's name from the project team."
Gu Xiaoxiao's eyes widened as she cursed, "How can the Guo Family be so shameless?"
"Standard procedure, really..."
Sun Zhongyong did not want to dwell on the subject. He took out his phone and made a call.
"Manager Jiang, this is Little Sun... I have a renovation project on hand... for my own company... inside the industrial park... No rush, no rush, I'm here... All right, I'll wait for you."
After washing up and eating breakfast, Chen Mengchuan found a large backpack in his room. He packed a few clothes, brought the handwritten module design drafts and some charts and materials, then checked to make sure he had not forgotten anything. He left a note for his parents on the coffee table, picked up his laptop bag, and headed out.
His flight was scheduled for after two in the afternoon, departing from Qiaohong Airport in Shanghai City. He first needed to get to Qiaohong Airport in Shanghai City.
After leaving home, Chen Mengchuan hailed a taxi and reached Su City's high-speed rail station half an hour later. A few minutes after collecting his ticket, he passed the check-in gate, entered the station, and boarded the train.
After putting away his luggage, he closed his eyes and began considering the many things ahead.
The matter with Xia Science Academy had clearly only just begun. After he hung up on Guo Siming yesterday, that old fox, Deputy Director Guo Zhidong, had sent his father to act as a mediator. Although Chen Mengchuan had refused, Guo Zhidong certainly would not give up. The people he sent might already be on their way to Su City.
Once Guo Zhidong failed to find him, there would be nothing he could do but swallow his broken teeth. After dragging things out for a while, he would still have to come looking for Chen Mengchuan.
Su City was right next to Shanghai City. Chen Mengchuan had dozed for less than half an hour when the high-speed train arrived in Shanghai City. After leaving the station, he headed straight for Qiaohong Airport.
Partway there, his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. Chen Mengchuan narrowed his eyes and did not answer. After it stopped ringing, the caller tried twice more before Chen Mengchuan finally picked up.
"Brother Chuan, it's Xiao Guo. I'm at your doorstep. Can we meet? About what happened at the academy, I want to apologize to you in person. It was all my fault. Brother Chuan, you can hit or curse me however you want." Guo Siming's voice came through the phone.
Chen Mengchuan grinned and smiled. "Team Leader Guo. I was wondering who it was. You changed your number?"
Guo Siming's face darkened, but he forced a smile. "Brother Chuan, you're still blaming me. This was entirely my fault. Brother Chuan, please give me the chance to apologize in person. You can even slap me twice if you want. How about it?"
"Team Leader Guo, what's past is past. Sorry, but I'm in Minhang, Shanghai City, visiting a friend. We can have a meal together sometime when we're both free. That's all for now." Chen Mengchuan smiled as he spoke, then hung up directly and added the number to his blacklist.
He truly did not want anything more to do with Xia Science Academy, nor did he have the energy to dwell on so much. With humanity's apocalypse looming, what the hell did personal grudges matter?
Outside Chen Mengchuan's family home, Guo Siming gritted his teeth viciously. The hand clutching his phone bulged with veins, as though he wanted to crush it.
"Head to Minhang District, Shanghai City immediately," Guo Siming said to the two assistants beside him.
By the time Chen Mengchuan entered the airport terminal, it was already past one. He collected his boarding pass, found his gate, and walked over to an empty seat near the boarding checkpoint.
"Hello, is anyone sitting here?" Chen Mengchuan asked the young long-haired woman beside the empty seat.
The young woman brushed back her hair, revealing a clean, delicate face. Her beauty caught Chen Mengchuan somewhat by surprise.
"No." The young woman shook her head and gave Chen Mengchuan a polite smile with her lips pursed.
"May I sit here?" Chen Mengchuan asked.
The young woman nodded politely, then lowered her head again to look at her phone. Her long hair fell back down.
After sitting down, Chen Mengchuan opened his laptop and continued writing the Chisako module.
After working for a while, Chen Mengchuan caught the young woman in his peripheral vision. She seemed to have finished looking at her phone. Sitting upright, she stretched lazily, the full curve of her chest drawing a breathtaking arc.
"Sorry to disturb you." After glancing at Chen Mengchuan several times, the young woman spoke politely.
Chen Mengchuan stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. He was rather surprised that this beautiful woman had struck up a conversation.
The woman's graceful red lips parted as she politely asked, "Are you developing an Artificial Intelligence software system?"
Her question surprised Chen Mengchuan.
"I may be being presumptuous, but could we get acquainted? I'm Zhao Wanyu from KeDa Intelligence in Shanghai City. I work in HR at KeDa." There was an apologetic note in her soft voice as she generously extended her hand.
KeDa Intelligence, one of China's top publicly listed Artificial Intelligence equipment companies! No wonder she could tell he was writing Artificial Intelligence software.
Chen Mengchuan smiled and slowly reached out to shake her hand. "Hello, I'm Chen Mengchuan."
Zhao Wanyu held his hand. Upon hearing Chen Mengchuan's name, she froze slightly. Then, as though she had remembered something, surprise appeared on her face. "You're Chen Mengchuan?"
As she spoke, her entire body leaned forward slightly.
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