Chapter 8
Shen Que was a little disappointed. "It seems like Secretary Wu has a problem with me?"
Huo Junyan looked at the face that was exactly the same as it had been five years ago, and even the subtle expressions and movements had not changed. The only difference was that he was now better at disguising himself.
Has she really forgotten everything?
"Wait for me a moment."
Huo Junyan looked at her silently, but then she took a USB drive out of her handbag and asked him:
Can I use your computer?
Before he could answer, she walked straight around the huge desk, plugged the USB drive into the computer, and peeked her head out from behind the computer screen, saying, "Come and take a look."
Huo Junyan froze for a few minutes, then suddenly gained a clear understanding of Confucius's saying, "Only women and petty men are difficult to deal with."
He walked around the desk, glanced at the screen, and was immediately stunned. It was the front-end technology of the project that Huo's Group was currently following up on. Simply put, it was a cross-platform framework for an APP software.
According to his understanding, the Zhou family business is also vying for this project.
"I'm here to discuss cooperation."
Huo Junyan suppressed his anger, "Who said I wanted to cooperate with the Zhou family?"
“Personally,” Shen Que winked mysteriously, “I personally want to collaborate with you.”
"You're a software development engineer at Zhou's company, planning to betray the Zhou family at a crucial moment, abandon the darkness and join my Huo family?"
“That’s really rude,” Shen Que muttered in dissatisfaction. “I completed the software development independently, and I personally enjoy exclusive copyright and patent rights. Only you despicable capitalists have been stealing the fruits of our labor.”
Huo Junyan's anger subsided slightly. "Oh? Your company plans to steal your work. Do you need legal assistance?"
"Can't you speak properly?" Shen Que angrily threw down the mouse.
He pressed down on the corner of his lips, his gaze falling on the hand she had thrown the mouse in; the fingertips and the back of her hand were also covered with tiny scars.
Huo Junyan suddenly realized how he got these scars – from climbing and gripping the small rocks and pebbles in the sea.
The area where the Karimata Strait disaster occurred has many sharp, jagged rocks hidden below the surface. How terrified she must have been when she fell into the sea.
"Chu Ci" (Songs of Chu)
Shen Que looked up. "What did you call me?"
He stared at her hands without any hesitation, and Shen Que simply held up both palms in front of him. "After I woke up, my hands were wrapped up like pig's trotters. I thought I had amputated them. Later, they slowly healed, and you can't even see the scars unless you look closely, right?"
He grasped her trembling fingers, then abruptly withdrew them. "Do you still want to cooperate?"
"How do we cooperate?" He slowly lowered his hand, unconsciously rubbing it together.
“I want to use your server, your API,” Chen Que said, his eyes darting around, “and your database.” A massive database is the key to supporting the software’s operation.
Huo Junyan was speechless.
So she wanted to have it both ways and go it alone.
Even if the Zhou family wanted to take over this project, it would be extremely costly; her ambition is still frighteningly large.
"How is it?" Shen Que asked expectantly.
Huo Junyan stood up straight and glanced at her, "Daydreaming."
"How can we talk like this?"
"You're being delusional, of course there's no point in discussing it," Huo Junyan said irritably.
Shen Que pursed his lips. "Then you speak."
"I'll pay you patent fees and lease it for three years."
"Rent? Your Huo family is so wealthy, why don't you just say you'll buy it out?" Although she wouldn't sell it.
Huo Junyan sat casually on his desk. "Buying out a company without market testing is expensive."
"You!" Shen Que gritted his teeth in anger. How despicable!
She knew that the Huo Group, the Zhou Company, and two other companies were all vying for the same project, which required independent software support.
Software is merely the medium that carries the project; it can be purchased from the market.
However, the software she developed specifically for this project from the very beginning has already undergone debugging, testing, and calculations, and is ready for immediate use.
Simply put, by acquiring her front-end technology and combining it with Huo's vast database, the project can be launched to the market immediately.
Time is money.
However, whoever holds the core software technology is essentially holding the key to the project's treasury, and no fool would agree to that.
She asked for an exorbitant price; Huo Junyan was a businessman.
My phone rang suddenly; it was my kindergarten teacher calling.
Shen Que's heart suddenly raced. It wasn't time to pick up his child yet, so why was the teacher calling?
"Teacher Liu... What? Didn't I tell you that no one, no one, and no one else is allowed except me?" Shen Que gasped for breath and hung up the phone.
Huo Junyan loosened his arms and gripped the edge of the table, his eyes dark and hesitant to speak.
Shen Que's chest heaved a few times. He glanced at him sideways, suppressed his breath, and said, "Your conditions are too harsh. I'm not going to talk to you anymore."
The office was large. She had already walked a short distance when she heard footsteps behind her and turned to look at him.
"The terms can be renegotiated."
Shen Que paused for a moment, then said, "Okay, let's schedule another time."
As they reached the door, the person behind them stepped forward, opened the door, and said, "I'll go with you."
“I am not Chu Ci.” After saying this, Shen Que opened another door and left.
Secretary Wu hurriedly stood up, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the setting sun shining into President Huo's office. The silhouette reflected in the straight solid wood door was uneven. He smiled and accompanied Chen Que, but couldn't help but look back again.
The elevator display shows it is going up.
Secretary Wu wondered who would be using this private elevator at this time. Then she noticed Shen Que's gloomy expression.
The talks broke down?
He resolutely shut up.
“Secretary Wu,” Shen Que smiled and tilted his head, “your coffee is really good.”
Secretary Wu rolled her eyes inwardly, "You didn't even drink any."
"Thank you, it's my pleasure."
"It was your idea to have the receptionist bring me coffee, wasn't it?"
Secretary Wu's heart skipped a beat. How could they have guessed that? Not daring to be clever any longer, he nodded and said, "Yes."
It all started two weeks ago when Huo Zixi said in the hospital that Chu Ci wanted to visit him:
Day after day, and then another day, on the fourth day, she finally made a visit on her way, but President Huo refused with a forced smile: "Zixi, I really have to disappoint your friend's good intentions."
Secretary Wu almost lost his composure at that moment.
From last week until today, at the company, she would call Huo Zixi to confirm every time.
President Huo asked sarcastically, "Why does she always think of contacting you first?"
Huo Zixi swore, "Uncle, Chu Ci and I are good friends. Even if we shared a blanket, no one would suspect anything... I'm not saying we shared a blanket, I was just giving an example. Oh, Uncle, you've wronged me! You wronged me five years ago, boohoo..."
Secretary Wu privately analyzed that President Huo was too suspicious, which was why Huo Zixi hadn't dared to contact her privately these past few days.
President Huo was sulking. As his secretary, he naturally had to share his boss's burdens and calm him down first.
The elevator doors opened, and a professional woman with a slightly protruding belly entered. When she saw Chen Que, her pupils constricted, and she was momentarily shocked. Upon hearing Secretary Wu call her "Assistant Gao," she smiled gently and nodded slowly.
Shen Que entered the elevator, turned around, and met Gao's eyes. The elevator doors slowly closed.
The two looked toward President Huo's office; the door was already closed.
Secretary Wu raised an eyebrow, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Sister, is she...?" Assistant Gao gave her a look, and Secretary Wu awkwardly shut her mouth.
"Don't try to be clever about her affairs," Assistant Gao said meaningfully.
Assistant Gao entered President Huo's office, closed the door, and looked at the person in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. He should have been standing at the top of the pyramid, full of vigor, but there was an indescribable loneliness about him.
"You saw her?"
Special Assistant Gao: "Yes."
"Is it her?" The voice faltered slightly.
"Yes." The tone was firm.
Huo Junyan turned around and stared blankly at Assistant Gao.
Upon first meeting the person, Assistant Gao suggested the simplest method of identification—a DNA test with Chu Ci's parents.
He refused.
He was certain that she was Chu Ci.
I would never verify that one in ten thousand.
I'd love to hear how Assistant Gao would dispel that one in ten thousand chance.
“No two leaves in the world are the same,” Assistant Gao said gently, sitting upright in a chair with her skirt draped over her shoulders. “Even twins can’t be exactly the same.”
"As you know, Chu Ci has no twin sisters."
"Appearance can be altered with plastic surgery, but the look in one's eyes and temperament are hard to fake, especially the arrogance that comes from within."
Huo Junyan's lips curved into a barely perceptible smile. "You'd be more accurate to just say she's arrogant. She was just here making outrageous demands of me, trying to become my client." His tone held a hint of amusement.
"What a coincidence! The client our company needs to maintain is coming to inspect in a few days. I've already arranged everything and will send the details to your email."
Huo Junyan nodded, holding the mouse, seemingly still able to smell the lingering fragrance, his fingertips rolling it as if caressing those tiny scars.
"Mr. Huo, is there a problem?"
“No,” Huo Junyan glanced through the emails. “You can delegate these routine inspections to Secretary Wu and the others. You don’t need to do everything yourself.”
Assistant Gao said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Hey, it's the client, what's wrong with being a little 'arrogant'?"
She glanced at her boss's forced smile, stood up, and said, "Mr. Huo, then I'll arrange it like this."
Huo Junyan's gaze fell on her protruding belly. "Is being a mother a lot of pressure?"
Your boss is certainly not concerned about your personal situation.
Understanding what a leader means by saying something seemingly effortless and unpredictable is also part of one's ability.
He wanted to ask if it was the Chu Ci (Songs of Chu).
Chu Ci uses the name Shen Que. She registered her marriage with Zhou Yubai four years ago, shortly after giving birth to their child.
The fact that the Zhou family agreed must mean they had done DNA testing.
Interestingly, although the two registered their marriage, they did not live together, and Shen Que raised the child alone.
Huo Zixi also confirmed this—he searched Chu Ci's shoe cabinet and found only women's and children's shoes, not men's shoes.
Judging from their interaction that night, they clearly didn't seem like a normal married couple.
Mr. Huo knew all this, but he couldn't do anything to blame Chu Ci for falling in love with someone else.
In Gao's eyes, President Huo and Chu Ci were deep-seated enemies five years ago. Now that they have forgotten the past and all grudges have been forgotten, they may be able to forgive and forget each other when they meet again.
But he refused.
No.
Assistant Gao carefully considered his words before speaking, “Actually, the pressure of raising children is even greater. If you encounter an irresponsible partner, you will have no one to rely on, and it will only be more difficult.”
The words should be left unsaid.
Chu Ci lost her memory and had no relatives or friends, leaving her completely at the mercy of the Zhou family.
Huo Junyan's eyes darkened slightly, and he lowered his gaze. Assistant Gao left silently.
Chen Que stared intently at the road ahead, the roar of the accelerator gradually increasing.
Assistant Gao must know her.
The look in her eyes when she first saw her didn't lie, even if it was only for a moment.
However, Chen Que did not have any memory of Assistant Gao, who was someone he had met five years ago.
Seeing that her position was higher than Secretary Wu's, she must have been working for President Huo for a longer time, which is why I had met her before.
No, it should be that I've seen the Chu Ci (Songs of Chu).
She really is...
A black dot suddenly flashed in her peripheral vision. She slammed on the brakes, the electric scooter darted across the road, turned around abruptly, and went in the opposite direction.
The horns blared incessantly. Chen Que shook his head, realizing he still had a tough battle to fight and no time to think about such things. He glanced at the navigation for the Zhou family villa and stepped on the gas.
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