51 is coming
A month after the incident, Yang Zhi didn't come to the company. His car, usually parked carelessly downstairs, was nowhere to be seen. Instead of coming, he mailed an agreement to Yang Xiao's home, clearly stating his voluntary withdrawal from Zhimiao, free of charge.
It was both expected and unexpected. With Yang Zhi's personality, he would never stay in Zhimiao after something like this happened. But what Yang Xiao didn't expect was that he didn't want a single cent.
But she wasn't exactly grateful to him for that. The bruises on her waist hurt even when she lay flat on her back. Deep down, she felt like she was at the beginning of a war, thinking it was smoke, only to see a white flag.
Naturally, the lawyer her senior had introduced wasn't needed, but she still gave him a large red envelope and notified her senior across the ocean. Although she'd been recuperating at home for a month, the model at Xingyang had already passed preliminary validation. The next step was to contact the Third Municipal Hospital, feed it with more data, and launch a trial run. How could she be idle at such a critical moment?
However, within just two months, the Third Municipal Hospital's attitude had become ambiguous, leaving her often baffled. They had clearly provided them with preliminary data, but seemed unwilling to further cooperate and help Zhimiao achieve results.
Director Hu's cell phone was almost broken by her these days, but he still refused to give in and told her that the hospital had other arrangements and he could not make the decision.
But Maitreya Buddha was compassionate after all, and told her explicitly and implicitly that the institute wanted her to sell the model and technology to them as a package, and they would take charge of the project themselves.
Oh my god, it turns out they wanted to swallow up Zhimiao, so they kept dragging their feet and not giving them any progress. When Zhimiao's capital chain broke, they lowered the price and bought in again.
What a capitalist drama.
Yang Xiao, of course, disagreed. With a sullen face, she thanked Hu Yufang for the inside scoop and hung up the phone. She paced around the living room in her slippers, then grabbed her car keys and left.
She ultimately decided to use the company car. When Yang Zhi was around, people had their own cars and paid for them, so it wouldn't be good for her to monopolize them all day. Plus, she'd always been willing to save money, but now her back injury hadn't fully healed, and she couldn't stand for long periods of time, let alone squeeze into the subway during rush hour.
When Yang Xiao arrived at the company, she just opened the door to the floor when she heard a scream from inside.
"Boss Yang, you can finally be here!" Zhao Mutao looked up and saw her, jumping up and clapping her hands. "We all missed you so much. Xiao Fei was just asking when you'd be back from vacation."
The company's top boss hitting the second-in-command wasn't a good thing for the company's overall reputation and employee management. So Zhao Mutao announced to everyone that General Manager Xiao Yang was on leave due to illness.
But in reality, everyone was just pretending to be clueless. The noise was so loud that day that even Zhao Mutao, who worked at the outermost workstation, heard it. It was impossible for the two people in the technical department not to know anything.
When Liu Xingyang saw Yang Xiao coming to the company, he immediately lowered his head and sent her a message, wanting to chat with her during lunch. Yang Xiao was always perceptive. Either there was a problem with the data, or...
Yang Xiao chose a corner seat in the coffee shop downstairs, away from the chill brought in by the crowds pushing through the door. Winter had already arrived in Beijing. As soon as she sat down, she got straight to the point: "Is it Mr. Yang who wants to take you away?"
If there was a problem with the data, why bother meeting her alone? There was no place in the company where we couldn't discuss it. Since we couldn't discuss it in the company, it might just be about salary and future prospects.
"Yes, Sister Yang. I..." Liu Xingyang didn't order any coffee. She took the hot water the waiter poured and held it in her palm, steam coming out of it. "My family member is in the hospital again."
"I understand. I really can't give you a raise based on your current salary. But Big Yang can always do that." Yang Xiao picked up the coffee and took a sip. The bitterness was mixed with the rich aroma of the beans. She put down the cup and added, "I remember that there was no non-compete clause in your contract, right?"
Liu Xingyang raised his head abruptly, then quickly lowered it again: "No... no, I've confirmed this."
"I'm sorry, Sister Yang." After saying that, he kept his head down, like a good student who had made a mistake, not daring to look directly into Yang Xiao's eyes and apologize to her.
"There's nothing wrong with me, really. I also trust your character. You won't take Zhimiao's things over there, right?" Yang Xiao took a step back and spoke out the problem that she was afraid of but had to face.
"Sister Yang, don't worry. I can sign a supplementary agreement with the company before I leave. As for the core algorithms and data, I will divest them completely." Liu Xingyang looked at the glass tabletop, pushed his glasses up, and said sincerely, "I won't do anything to harm Zhimiao. It's my hard work."
"Okay." Yang Xiao smiled and waved to the waiter. "Order coffee. It's my treat. I don't think plain water is that refreshing."
"Thank you, Sister Yang. Actually... I thought you would blame me." Seeing her smile, Liu Xingyang dared to say what was in his heart. The big promise he had made to help Sister Yang make money has now become a joke.
"Losing such a good partner like you is indeed a great loss for Zhimiao." Yang Xiao shrugged, her short ponytail swaying. "But it's nothing, it's normal. The workplace is like the market. If you don't offer good quality products at low prices, you won't be able to keep customers."
"Sister Yang..." Feeling that Liu Xingyang was about to burst into tears in the next second, Yang Xiao quickly interrupted, "Okay, I'll go buy some cakes and share them with them. Xingyang, our Zhimiao welcomes you back anytime." After saying that, she stood up and walked towards the cashier.
Liu Xingyang was still sitting in his chair in a daze. He knew very well that compared to Yang Zhi's rough and tumble management style, Yang Xiao was obviously the type of person who was better at managing employees in a more meticulous manner.
And once he left, everyone knew that he would never come back.
The city still felt like autumn, a kind of autumn entwined with summer, with the weather fluctuating between cold and hot. The department was flooded with patients, and Zhou Qi was so busy that even going to the cafeteria to eat was like pouring food into his mouth.
Miao Yue casually tapped the cafeteria table with her knuckles, trying to attract Zhou Qi's attention, but he didn't look up. One look at whose hand it was was enough to tell; the nails had simply changed from burgundy to bright red.
"I'm talking to you one last time. This is the end." Miao Yue stood opposite him and saw him burying his head in chewing, shoveling food and food mixed together into his mouth. "Is anyone trying to snatch it from you?"
Zhou Qi said nothing, wiped the corner of his mouth with a tissue, turned around, picked up the plate and left. If anyone competes with him, the King of Hell will compete with him.
Behind him, there was a burst of rapid high-heeled shoes hitting the cafeteria floor, a crisp sound. But Zhou Qi found it very irritating and quickened his pace.
"Zhou Qi!" Miao Yue saw him walking in front of the crowd and about to disappear at the cafeteria door, so she had to raise her voice and call him.
Zhou Qi didn't stop, as if he was telling her that the investigation would not stop.
Miao Yue sneered and walked in the opposite direction. If that's the case, then whatever. Whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with her. No matter how much she favors him, she won't throw away her money and power for him. Love is not worth money, money is.
As Zhou Qi entered the department, he heard the nurses at the door discussing something about a seafood market. He didn't catch it clearly, perhaps because he was too busy to listen. He had just sat down when the nurses started calling patients. Fortunately, there were fewer patients in the afternoon and the shift ended early.
As he walked, he took out his phone and was about to call Yang Xiao, but Fang Qiu was one step ahead of him and said, "Zhou Qi, there might be SARS in South China. You should be careful recently."
"SARS?" Zhou Qi repeated subconsciously. How could a disease from the 2000s come back again? "Where did you get this news, Senior Brother?"
Fang Qiu's voice wasn't as casual as usual. "Oh, Wuhan, over at the Huanan Seafood Market. I don't know if this news is true or not, but it's been going viral in my group. The CT scan showed white lungs. It's very similar to SARS back then. I think the Third Hospital will issue a verbal notice soon, asking you to keep an eye out for fever patients coming from Wuhan."
Zhou Qi's heart sank, "Okay, I got it, senior brother. You should be careful too." After the other party hung up the phone, he stood there. The joy of getting off work early was gone. He clicked on the do not disturb group message, and sure enough, the group was in an uproar.
He decisively called Yang Xiao. After two beeps, Yang Xiao said weakly, "Hello..."
"What's wrong?" Zhou Qi felt his heart almost jumped into his throat after reading the group messages that popped up one after another and hearing Yang Xiao's voice at this moment.
"My general ran away." Yang Xiao confessed, and then sighed deeply on the other end. "Yang Zhi and I had a falling out, and now he's gone to live with Yang Zhi. When I was chatting with him downstairs today, I pretended to be so magnanimous. I said everything I could to welcome him back, but the truth is, I really couldn't bear to let him go. He's so capable."
Zhou Qi listened, feeling a surge of information. He was torn between two things in a short period of time, leaving him with a difficult decision: should he care about her feelings first, or warn her to be careful about SARS? Forget it, let's take it one thing at a time.
"Xiaoxiao," he said, slowing his tone, "There are highly suspected cases of SARS in Wuhan. Don't go there for the time being. Also, be careful around people who have a travel history to Wuhan."
"If you are willing to tell me about Yang Zhi, I am of course willing to listen. It doesn't matter if you don't want to. As for the general, after she/he leaves, there will definitely be a more suitable person. Just believe and look forward to it." Zhou Qi pressed the car key, opened the car door and got in. Yang Xiao's voice immediately became extremely clear.
"Okay. Sometimes I think, if I had a mother, she would be like you, right?" After saying that, Yang Xiao herself felt that what she said was ridiculous, and she laughed out loud while holding up her phone.
Zhou Qi started the car and listened to Yang Xiao's giggles. He couldn't help but curl his lips, "Is this the male mother they mentioned on the Internet?"
"Your internet speed is quite fast." Yang Xiao teased.
"So you feel better now?"
"Much better." Yang Xiao told the truth.
"Then what I learned online was worth it." Zhou Qi chuckled softly, "Let's talk when we get home. We're driving now."
"good."
Zhou Qi turned on the car music, and instantly the sound of piano music overflowed from it. Outside the car window, the purple-red sunset glow filled the air, spreading like a piece of cloth in front of the distant mountains. The wind blew in through the half-open car window, carrying a hint of winter. Everything was as quiet as if a storm was about to come.
Well, before the sky falls and the earth breaks, he has to park the car in the basement, then unbuckle his seat belt, take out his mobile phone, and then say hello to the people of Beijing.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
