Jonathan put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth slowly, then raised the wine glass on the table and laughed happily, "Gillian, congratulations on our first big contract!"

Huo Qinian looked up at him and raised his eyebrows, "Do you really have to do this? Well, if you insist..." He picked up his own wine glass and clinked it with Jonathan, "To the future."

"To the future."

Jonathan took a sip of wine, and then shook the glass from time to time. While shaking, he commented on Huo Qinian seriously: "Gillian, you are not excited enough. Buddy, we just negotiated a big contract! I don't understand why you are unhappy..."

Huo Qinian put down his glass and glanced at him, "I'm not unhappy, Please give up your unnecessary curiosity..."

"No, this is not unnecessary curiosity, this is reasonable and appropriate concern for partners." Jonathan said this, as if he thought of something, and showed an interested expression, "So, is it Professor Su's business? You haven't been able to impress her yet?"

Huo Qinian felt like he was stabbed in the chest.

Jonathan was simply talking about everything.

It was such a cold day, and the heating at home was broken, which was already bad luck. What was even worse was that he couldn't sell any of the products - Teacher Su was unwilling to take him in.

He stayed in a hotel for two days in a row, don't even mention how he felt.

Especially, Huo Qinian always felt that after this incident, Su Yunbai would distance himself from him again. Whenever he thought of this, no matter how big the contract was, it couldn't make him really excited.

But Huo Qinian would not admit this in front of Jonathan.

He put down his knife and fork, looked at Jonathan, and said, "Jon, if you are really so free, why don't you be in charge of the next business trip?"

"Relax, relax..." Jonathan put on a look of surrender, "Gillian, I'm not laughing at your joke, okay? Well, a little bit, just a little bit.

"Hahaha... this is so funny! Okay, don't be angry, good brother, I can help you!

"Listen, mate. Christmas is just around the corner. Every Christmas, my sister will invite some people she likes to attend her Christmas party... I guess Professor Su will be there this year.

"Christmas party... you know it without me telling you, right? It's a good opportunity to meet 'new friends'. Old mate, what do you think?"

Huo Qinian's eyes moved slightly.

He said, "I can take the next two business trips, but Jon, you know, I never do business at a loss."

Jonathan smiled and clinked glasses with Huo Qinian again, "Deal. "

Although Huo Qinian had received the "inside information" early, he had a lot of things to do. As Christmas was approaching, he went on two business trips. Unfortunately, the return flight was delayed. When he returned to R University, it was less than an hour before the party started.

Huo Qinian went straight to the party without even taking a break after getting off the plane.

He arrived a little late, and the central dance floor on the first floor of the villa was already open. Accompanied by a classic old song, men and women danced together. Outside the dance floor, including the corridor on the second floor of the villa, people gathered from time to time. Small circles, some watching people dancing, some talking in low voices with their companions.

People's laughter and chatter blend into the background music, creating a kind of liveliness different from Chinese gatherings.

The guests invited to this kind of party are more complex, and most of them are strangers. Sometimes friends bring their friends, and the social scope suddenly becomes very wide, and the atmosphere is very free. Unless it is a big name with a good reputation, it is unlikely that one person will attract the attention of all the guests.

But among the people present, some people came here specifically for the development of These people often come very early and are very curious about everyone who comes in and out of the party.

As soon as Huo Qi Nian arrived, he attracted the attention of these people.

Temperament is a very mysterious thing. Some people don’t look like a prince even when they put on a dragon robe, and some people make people weigh them a little more in their hearts even if they rush in.

Huo Qi Nian belongs to the latter.

Wearing the same suit and leather shoes, some people have the aura of a rich young man who eats, drinks and has fun, some are mature business people, and some are like bosses with power.

Huo Qi Nian is very The aura of a superior. He was used to all kinds of occasions, and some things did not require him to deliberately adjust himself, which almost became instinct. As soon as he entered the party, he naturally had the face of President Huo, and he looked particularly intimidating.

Huo Qinian stood at the door, his eyes swept around, with a kind of indifference in his expression, as if nothing caught his eye.

Soon, his eyes focused - Jonathan was here.

The two of them punched each other like good brothers, and then walked in together.

After everyone left, someone lowered his voice and asked: "Who is that person? I don't seem to have seen him before? Is he Asian?"

"I know the person who came to see him. Jonathan Wilson, Miss Wilson's brother."

"I know him, Gillian Huo. Half a month ago, he was the one who won the contract with Company X. Don't look at me like that, that's all I know. My good friend lost to him in that competition, and he scolded this Gilliam for the whole day..."

"Gilliam...is that the Gilliam from Tech City? Huh? Don't you know? He has been in the news in Tech City for a week. This guy's methods... are very fierce! Like a wolf."

"What does he do?"

"It's hard to explain clearly. His company is promoting a short video app. It is said that the data is very good, but his business scope seems to be more than that..."

"Interesting..."

Huo Qinian, who was being talked about, followed Jonathan's steps and came to the second floor of the villa.

The atmosphere on the second floor is different from that on the first floor. After being away from the accompaniment of the dance floor, the surroundings suddenly became quiet, and even the lights seemed to be softer. There

are several sofas in front of the glass greenhouse on the balcony on the second floor. Tall and unique potted plants are placed in it, which has a buffering effect on the field of vision, but only separates the line of sight, not the human voice.

Jonathan took Huo Qinian to sit down on one of the sofas leaning against the potted plant wall, winked at him, and whispered: "Good luck. "

As he spoke, he handed Huo Qinian a glass of champagne.

Huo Qinian had just sat down when he heard a mellow and gentle male voice, still in Chinese: "...Jennifer asked me, are you willing to continue to follow this alcoholic boss here, and never recover except complaining about the unfairness of fate, or are you willing to catch up on a new platform and surpass your competitors...

"I chose the latter... so, here I am."

Then came a female voice with a hint of smile: "It seems that you made the right choice."

Huo Qinian's hand holding the champagne tightened consciously - this was Su Yunbai's voice.

He couldn't help turning his head.

Through the gaps between the potted plants, he saw Su Yunbai.

She was dressed a little more formally tonight, with her long hair tied up, revealing her slender neck, and a thin necklace around her neck, which contrasted with the earrings hanging on her ears. The two sparkled in the light, reflecting the bright and dim light and shadow.

At this moment, she was leaning slightly, playing with the wine glass in her hand with one hand, with a faint smile on her face, and the whole person seemed to be glowing.

Huo Qinian could hardly take his eyes off her.

At this time, the mellow and gentle male voice sounded again: "Speaking of which, do you need to compete to publish papers?"

Huo Qinian was interrupted by the voice and couldn't help frowning.

He finally moved his eyes slightly to the side and looked at the man who was chatting with Su Yunbai.

The man almost had his back to him. Through the gaps between the potted plants, Huo Qinian could only see his back. He was wearing a gray suit and short hair. He looked very tall and in great shape from the back.

Huo Qinian had a blank expression on his face.

This must be an ugly freak who has no sense of propriety.

Su Yunbai said: "We also have competitions. As far as I know, there are several different groups working on the same topic - from different universities.

"But our competition is not as fierce as yours. Yours is like a man guarding a pass, and everyone wants to be the one to break through. The first one to break through will be remembered forever, and the second one who follows closely will be regarded as a parrot..."

The man whose face could not be seen laughed happily, "This metaphor is very appropriate. What about yours?"

Su Yunbai smiled and said, "Ours is more like marching on a small plain, and the marching route is wider. The first person is innovative, and the second person can also talk about it from a different perspective...

"We don't have such a strong sense of 'monopoly'. But the first one is still different..."

The man laughed again, and after laughing, he suddenly said: "You are not what I thought."

Su Yunbai showed a surprised look, "What did you think? Did you know me before?"

The man said: "No, I heard about you from Jennifer. Jennifer said that you are like another me..."

Huo Qinian clenched the wine glass in his hand.

Where did this ugly freak who boasted so much come from? How can he be so shameless? !

And "like another you", why don't you go to heaven?

He continued: "I tried to put myself in your shoes and thought you were... a nerd? I used to be that kind of person.

"I thought I would see a research geek... you know, the kind whose whole life is papers, papers, papers...

" "But you're different. For the sake of our friendship, I think I should be more honest..."

"Honest?" Su Yunbai smiled, "So did you hide something from me?"

"In fact, I'm Jennifer's lobbyist. You know, our center has been recruiting people, capable people. Jennifer is very optimistic about your field. She plans to develop a secondary verification software for radiotherapy planning software, and your experience interests her very much...

"She thinks you and I have the same roots - you know, although I grew up in the United States, my parents are both Chinese. She thinks we have more common topics and hopes I can convince you to join us..."

He couldn't help laughing as he spoke, "Well, she actually hopes I can use the 'beauty trap'..."

"What?" Su Yunbai was stunned and couldn't help laughing, "William, this is exaggerated."

"These are Jennifer's original words. You will know when you get to know her. She is actually a very lively person. Jennifer's theory is that each circle has its own topics. Not only are we both Chinese, we are also engaged in scientific research. Although we are in different fields, we should have more common topics..."

"I never thought that the so-called 'common topics' would be a problem before. But it turns out that what she said makes sense. I have had a very pleasant time so far tonight.

"It feels wonderful that you can understand what I'm saying. In fact, I myself did not expect that one day I would talk about the G4 structure of DNA molecules and biopharmaceuticals to a new friend...

"In the past, whenever I mentioned this at a party, no one would pay attention to me unless they were from the same profession. To be honest, I often use these topics to get rid of people I don't like, and it always works."

Su Yunbai laughed so hard, "Good idea. Although I am not in your field, it may be because your goal is to develop anti-cancer drugs, and my profession involves cancer treatment... Anyway, at least we can be related?"

The two chatted more and more happily.

Separated by a potted plant wall, Huo Qinian's face became more and more stern, and his heart became more and more sour.

He felt that this man named William was talking nonsense.

What, now that we are not in the same field, does it mean that we have no common topics?

But on the other hand, he couldn't help but get involved.

Do he and Su Yunbai... have any common topics?

Su Yunbai never told him about her work.

No, she did tell him. She had "properly" told him about it when he went to inspect Pilot Technology.

Thinking of this, Huo Qinian's face turned a little bad.

He simply wished he could go back to the past and slap his arrogant self in the face.

The sound of the two people talking next door came clearly -

cancer data, cancer treatment effects, which hospital is better at what, which hospital has introduced a new treatment system...

Huo Qinian's face gradually became empty.

When talking about these more professional things, the two began to mix Chinese and English, and their speaking speed became faster and faster. There are some specific terms that Huo Qinian has never even heard of.

He was like a poor student who plunged into the world of top students. In addition to feeling at a loss, he also felt an inexplicable bitterness.

Huo Qinian's mood gradually became heavy.

He couldn't help but think of the more youthful Su Yunbai. She used to open a web page and learn from a bunch of posts about the so-called luxury goods, how to dress, etiquette, and all the things he took for granted.

She had worked so hard to gain a foothold in his world. She had cultivated so successfully that he always subconsciously forgot how different she was from him.

Their lives were actually very different, as if they lived in two different worlds. It was she who used her own time and energy to make up for his life.

It was always she who took the trouble to integrate into his world. And what about him? Did he know what her world was like?

Thinking of Su Yunbai and her work, apart from a TargetR, apart from those cold reports and the identity of Minister Su... did he really understand what "Associate Professor Su", "Teacher Su"... these titles really meant? The more Huo Qinian thought about it, the more frustrated he felt

, and he couldn't help but take a gulp of wine. As the refreshing champagne went down his throat, he tasted a bitter aftertaste.

He never felt that what he did for Su Yunbai was better than what she had done for him. Every moment, he even discovered new shortcomings in himself.

At a glance, he could not see the end of this road leading to Su Yunbai's heart.

But it doesn't matter, he can learn, he can wait.

This time, it is his turn to understand her world.

After returning to work after the New Year, Jonathan found that Huo Qinian was almost always with his iPad in his spare time.

At his age, Gillian has become addicted to electronic products?

Jonathan was really curious. One time, he couldn't help but move closer to take a look and found that there was actually a thesis on the page. Huo Qinian frowned and was full of hatred, while taking notes with a pen.

Jonathan was shocked: "Killian, are you going to study for Professor Su's doctorate? Man, there is no need to work so hard, right? This is not a good idea. Let me tell you, for the sake of fairness, R University strictly prohibits teacher-student romance!"