Chapter 29 You don’t have to like someone who treats you well, but you have to…

Seeing Gao Xing, Xu Jiakai was surprised for a moment, but he quickly remembered what Shi Yunran said, that Shen Xingjian had a woman at home.

Xu Jiakai stood in the living room, looking toward the entrance, carefully examining the girl before him. She seemed young, thin, and dressed simply. Although she looked ordinary, she possessed a pair of deer-like eyes, gleaming with an untamed brilliance.

She seemed to have just run back from outside, her rain-soaked hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, and she looked a little disheveled.

Xu Jiakai saw the girl's eyes sweep past him and then quickly move to Shen Xingjian behind him, with some fear and worry in her eyes.

Shen Xingjian didn’t expect Gao Xing to come back early today. He operated the wheelchair and came over to introduce: “He is Xu Jiakai.”

Her happy fingers unconsciously clung to the corner of her clothes. Her eyes quickly swept across Xu Jiakai's face, and she quickly looked away as if burned, but she couldn't help but secretly look at him again.

"Hello." Her voice was very dry, and the smile she forced on the corners of her mouth was as stiff as if she was wearing a mask. The cold sweat on her back made her T-shirt stick to her skin, making her feel chilly.

Seeing that she didn't seem confused after hearing his name, Xu Jiakai assumed that Shen Xingjian must have mentioned him to her, so he politely responded, "Hello, what's your name?"

The moment Xu Jiakai took a step forward, Gao Xing instinctively took a half step back. By the time she realized her misstep, it was too late to hide it. She hurriedly lowered her head, pretending to adjust her rain-soaked trouser legs, but she could hear her own pounding heartbeat pounding in her eardrums.

"I...I'm happy," she replied.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Xu Jiakai always felt that the girl in front of him seemed hostile to him, but this was clearly the first time they met.

"Since the documents that need to be signed are almost all signed, I'll go back first." Xu Jiakai didn't pay much attention to Gao Xing's reaction. He turned around and picked up some supplementary documents on the coffee table regarding the division of Zhongyue, and said to Shen Xingjian.

Seeing this, Shen Xingjian did not try to stop him.

People with different ideas cannot work together. The best outcome for him and Xu Jiakai is to return to the position of ordinary friends.

Xu Jiakai took the documents and passed by Gao Xing.

He actually didn't understand why Shen Xingjian chose the girl in front of him, who was obviously far inferior to Shi Yunran? However, considering Shen Xingjian's current state, it was already good enough to have someone willing to take care of him.

After Xu Jiakai left, Gao Xing immediately walked to Shen Xingjian and asked why Xu Jiakai came.

"There were some documents that needed to be signed for the transfer of Zhongyue's legal representative. Xu Jiakai happened to be free today, so I asked him to come over." He said, "What's wrong?"

Gao Xing frowned, not knowing how to answer.

Zhang Wei said Xu Jiakai was the murderer, but there was no evidence or reason. It was all his one-sided statement, which was not enough to convict Xu Jiakai.

Seeing that she was silent, Shen Xingjian asked, “How did you feel when you saw Xu Jiakai today…?”

"What feeling?"

"It's just... about ten years later..."

Before he finished speaking, Gao Xing understood what he meant.

Whether it was Xu Jiakai, Shi Yunran, or Zhang Wei, everyone he knew had their own future, but he was the only one trapped in time. The world ten years from now might be just an experience for others, but for him it was unfamiliar and out of reach.

I am happy to think of Xu Jiakai whom I met at the Xinghai anniversary celebration that day: the host said that he is a benchmark for young entrepreneurs, the soul of Guanya Automobile, and a pioneer of future smart travel... His titles are higher than each other.

Although the host praised him to the skies, Xu Jiakai in front of the camera just smiled modestly, attributing the success of Guanya Auto to the support of investors and the efforts of the team. Finally, he said that smart travel was the common expectation of him and his former friends.

"That friend he was talking about...is that you?"

In response to this question, Shen Xingjian did not answer immediately, but was silent for a while and asked her: “Gao Xing, have you ever seen disabled people on the street?”

Gao Xing didn't know why he asked that and shook his head.

"You can't see them because there are few of them, or because they don't exist?"

Gao Xing seemed to have never thought about this problem, because people often have no concept of things they don’t care about, just like most people don’t know that when you blindfold one eye, what you see is not darkness, but nothingness.

"There's one thing I've never told Xu Jiakai: I want to make smart cars. It's not because they're so cool, so promising, or so popular with investors, but because..." His voice suddenly became soft, "I want people like me to be able to leave home with dignity."

"Technology shouldn't just be the icing on the cake," he said, looking up with a blazing gaze. "It can be the legs, the eyes, and the courage for some to live again."

He laughed as he spoke: "It's a pity that I probably won't be able to see it, but fortunately someone is helping me realize it."

When he said this, he felt regretful, unwilling, and sad, but not jealous or resentful.

To be fair, if he was happy, he would feel a little unbalanced when he saw his partner who once walked shoulder to shoulder with him reach a higher place alone, but Shen Xingjian did not. He was just relieved and blessed.

I'm glad to know that Zhongyue is not only Xu Jiakai's hard work, but also Shen Xingjian's. If he hadn't died, would he have been like Xu Jiakai, carving out a niche in his field one day in the future? And talking big on screen?

Somehow, a sentence suddenly popped up in Gaoxing's mind: You don't have to like someone who is nice to you, but you have to like someone who is already nice.

Gao Xing couldn’t speculate on the relationship between Shen Xingjian and the current Xu Jiakai, so he could only tell him what he heard from Zhang Wei today as it was.

“You said…Zhang Wei told you…Xu Jiakai killed me?” Shen Xingjian couldn’t believe it when he suddenly heard this.

"That's impossible!" He denied it almost subconsciously.

Gao Xing walked over and gently pressed his tense shoulders. "I don't know why Zhang Wei said that, but since it happened, the most urgent thing is to find out what happened."

Shen Xingjian knew that, aside from the car accident, the biggest conflict between him and Xu Jiakai was the development of Zhongyue. That incident was long over, and the division of Zhongyue had already been agreed upon. He couldn't find any reason why Xu Jiakai would kill someone.

But if Zhang Wei was lying, why would he do that?

…

In geometry, the triangle is the most stable shape.

And in friendship, there is always that extra person among three people.

Xu Jiakai is the redundant one.

After leaving Mingjing Lake, Xu Jiakai drove to the Science and Technology Building in the Jingnan High-Tech Development Zone. He was no longer the small-time entrepreneur who had first arrived here, wearing an ill-fitting suit, carrying a laptop, and combing his hair to resemble a successful entrepreneur.

He became calm and listened at ease to the man opposite him who was picking on him without any hesitation.

"Mr. Xu, I heard you just signed a cooperation agreement with Guanya. It's different when you lean on a big tree. Why are you so dismissive of our small project that you're just turning in a half-finished product?"

The person speaking at the conference table was a middle-aged man in his forties, with a fat head and big ears, and the pits on his face were denser than the swamps in the wetland.

How could Xu Jiakai not hear the sarcasm in his words? There are people like him in this world who will rack their brains to make things as difficult for others as possible within the scope of their own limited authority.

Over the past few years of his entrepreneurial career, Xu Jiakai had long been accustomed to greeting people with a smile. Instead of the rage he'd shown when he first started, he put on a mask and explained with a smile, "Mr. Zhu, we've already followed your instructions. The page layout and navigation are based on the sample you provided. Is there anything else you're not satisfied with?"

The navigation page Xu Jiakai was referring to wasn't the car navigation system, but rather the navigation system for a shopping app. Mr. Zhu, who made his fortune in speculation, was eager to capitalize on any new opportunities. With online shopping booming in recent years, he wanted to emulate the e-commerce giants and capture a piece of the action. So, he hired their team to design the interface and build the app.

Shen Xingjian had originally refused to take the order, believing Mr. Zhu wasn't truly committed to the business. However, their smart travel app hadn't launched in the first half of the year, and the company was still on the brink of collapse. Seeing no need to skimp on the money, Xu Jiakai took the deal anyway.

Now, they have the full support of Guanya, and the success or failure of this small project will not have any impact on the company. Xu Jiakai can immediately turn against him and say he will not serve him anymore, but then all their previous efforts will be wasted. He does not like sunk costs.

Like most small bosses, Mr. Zhu is a capitalist on the surface, but a slave owner in reality. He cares more about other people's attitude towards him, whether they are servile or not, and whether they regard his words as an imperial decree, than the profits that have not yet been realized by the success or failure of the project.

Seeing Xu Jiakai's arrogant attitude, he laughed strangely and said sarcastically, "If I hadn't been so kind and let you participate in our group's school-enterprise project, you'd probably be writing code in some shabby factory right now!"

"Come to think of it... I, Zhu, can be considered your mentor." He deliberately dragged out his tone. "Is this how you repay your benefactor?"

Xu Jiakai stood up and slowly arranged the computer he was using for the demonstration. "Mr. Zhu, you have a really good memory. I'm sure you also remember who saved the nearly abandoned code from that project?"

He gently pushed up his glasses, a faint sneer curling up at the corner of his lips. "I won't forget your kindness, so all these years... I have been holding back from submitting the evidence of your kickbacks to the board of directors. Don't you agree?"

"You!" Mr. Zhu suddenly slammed the table, gritting his teeth but unable to do anything.

After leaving the science and technology building, Xu Jiakai immediately threw away his seemingly gentle mask.

This world is so unfair. Good-for-nothings seize wealth, while diligent and kind people are trapped in hard work.

Xu Jiakai looked at the high-tech building behind him that soared into the sky, and the whistling wind blew his hair.

The words of Guanya Technology’s investors are still fresh in my mind: There is no real starting from scratch in this world. In the upper-level game, choice is far more important than strength.