Chapter 68 Keeping the Appointment: What exactly happened to you four years ago? ...
The internal testing event took place at Jiangcheng International Center.
As she was leaving, Ye Yuying looked up at the sky above, which was covered with gray, leaden clouds. She reached out and tested the air with her hand, and finding that it wasn't raining, she wrapped her cashmere coat tighter around herself and went out.
The site had been set up last night. When Ye Yuying arrived early, there were only staff members coming and going, and Ding Chu was debugging the equipment with the staff.
Although the audience seats were still empty, looking at the vast expanse of white seats, Ye Yuying's palms, which were holding her cane, began to sweat. To prevent the cane from slipping in her hands, she kept wiping it with an absorbent cotton cloth.
The event was open to the public, including various media outlets, KOLs, medical experts, and most importantly—one hundred genuine patients with lower limb dysfunction and their families, selected from applicants across the country, who looked on with a mixture of anticipation and skepticism.
The crowd filed in, and the second floor was designated as a special observation area, where representatives from each of the investors took their seats.
Originally, it was thought that this matter would not alarm Feng Ting, but unexpectedly, Feng Ting not only entered from the second floor early, but Cheng Mingdu also followed him in. The two sat side by side on the side of the first row on the second floor, a position from which they could observe the whole situation.
Ye Yuying, who was already a little nervous, saw Cheng Mingdu in his striped suit. His gaze did not fall directly on her, but he calmly and cautiously took in the situation. He did not deliberately observe, but it seemed that no detail could escape his eyes.
Seeing Cheng Mingdu arrive made her even more nervous.
Reporter Bai Yi sat quietly in a corner of the media area, holding a small notebook in her hand, while the photographer followed behind her with his camera, taking a seat with her.
Backstage, Ye Yuying was making final preparations. The makeup artist touched up her makeup. She was wearing a dark gray women's suit, which complemented the color of her cane.
The makeup artist didn't overdo it; she simply used a dusty rose lip gloss to add color to her pale lips, making them look healthier.
She wore a pair of soft, thin-soled leather shoes, and her entire outfit was understated yet sophisticated, exuding confidence.
During a break from makeup, Li Song entered the dressing room and said that he happened to be free and could help monitor her physical condition.
Ye Yuying looked at him through the halo of the makeup mirror, raising an eyebrow suspiciously: "Was it really that convenient?"
Li Song swaggered down on the sofa behind him and gestured with two fingers. “I’ll keep an eye on you. With me here, I’d like to see which doctor dares to give you a nerve block injection. That would make the surgery a few months later more difficult. I’ll personally oversee it.”
Ye Yuying shrugged dismissively. She hadn't planned to get a painkiller injection today anyway; in fact, using crutches seemed to suit the characteristics of an exoskeleton product better.
Before going on stage, Ye Yuying glanced at herself in the mirror, her face made up with makeup, the faint scar under her left eye still faintly visible. She took a deep breath.
This moment—the moment of judgment.
Leaning on her light, silver-gray cane, she walked slowly and alone onto the stage.
Without looking at the teleprompter, he scanned the room with clear and determined eyes and began his composed and dignified opening remarks.
"Distinguished guests and friends, welcome to the Ashera v1.0, 'The Power of Walking', first user experience beta test event."
"Four years ago, my friend was in a car accident that nearly cost her the ability to walk. To keep hope alive for people like her, Ashera was born. The concept of artificial exoskeletons has been around for a long time, and our role is to improve it, optimize it, and empower people with mobility impairments to walk..."
She deliberately avoided mentioning the fact that she was in a car accident.
Ye Yuying briefly recounted their origins and technological development. Her voice echoed clearly in the huge hall, without the slightest tremor or tension; every word carried a restrained strength.
A slight ripple appeared on Cheng Mingdu's calm face. He adjusted his posture slightly, focusing his gaze entirely on the slender figure speaking on the stage, even examining the silver cane in her hand, and fell into deep thought.
The following demonstration went surprisingly smoothly. One after another, the testers successfully and briefly stood up after putting on the exoskeleton, although the performance was not stable due to it being a first-generation product.
However, the product itself is quite well-made.
An experience officer who claimed to be a retired teacher went on stage. After putting on the exoskeleton and walking a few steps, he suddenly let out a painful scream, and his whole body fell straight forward!
"The equipment is out of control! It's caught my leg! It hurts so much!" He fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
This scene was broadcast live without reservation through dozens of cameras.
Backstage, Ding Chu and Lao Wu's faces instantly turned deathly pale.
Questions began to resound from the conference venue to the internet.
Just as everyone was in a panic, even considering whether to cut off Ashera's live stream—
Ye Yuying suddenly stepped forward and, under the watchful eyes of everyone, slowly and even somewhat limped, she rushed directly to the experience officer.
Throwing away his crutches, he endured the excruciating pain and slowly squatted down, ignoring the other person's exaggerated reaction. He simply used his engineer's meticulous and professional eyes to quickly inspect the equipment.
Cheng Mingdu watched from the stands as her legs trembled slightly from the exertion of force...
Ye Yuying quickly found the problem. A non-core clip used to secure the sensor had been deliberately and discreetly removed.
She looked at the sensor data, discovered the problem, and confirmed her initial judgment.
"Hello, one of the clips is not fastened. Just fasten it."
Without even asking what happened, the man blurted out, "I don't know anything about buckles, your product is faulty."
The staff on site were at their wits' end, but seemed to be used to such situations. The other party was so arrogant that he wouldn't listen to any explanation, making people suspect that he was trying to extort money.
Ye Yuying wanted to reach out and help him fasten the buttons, but her mobility was limited. She tried several times but couldn't reach them. Her forehead ached so much that she broke out in a cold sweat, and she almost bit her teeth to pieces.
Fortunately, in the end, Lao Wu rushed into the crowd from backstage to help him fasten the buckle and prevented the other person from secretly unfastening it.
The missing data on the sensors finally returned to normal, and the other person, looking disheveled, was helped to his feet and stood up with the help of the exoskeleton.
Ye Yuying breathed a sigh of relief, but everyone's attention was focused on this extraordinary miracle. She tried to find something to support herself so she could get up.
The harsh reality confronted her once again: her leg, which had just been overexerted from exerting too much force, was now experiencing spasmodic, protesting pain.
All eyes were on this spectacular, almost miraculous, turn of events.
She tried to use the strength of her arms to push herself up from the ground.
She tried once, but failed.
I tried again, but my knees buckled and I still couldn't succeed.
Her professional and composed facade, befitting "General Manager Ye," seemed about to shatter in public because of her useless and broken body.
The cold sweat on her forehead poured even more profusely.
At this most difficult and embarrassing moment—
A pair of warm, strong hands reached under her armpits.
Immediately afterwards, an irresistible and steady force lifted her unruly and light body steadily and cleanly from the cold ground.
That familiar scent, mixed with the cool fragrance of vetiver, instantly enveloped her entire being.
Ye Yuying's gaze froze.
You don't even need to turn around to know who it is.
At the back of the crowd, Ding Chu was the first to react. He picked up his cane and rushed through the crowd to find Ye Yuying standing there unharmed.
Cheng Mingdu took the light, silver-gray cane from Ding Chu and personally placed it back into Ye Yuying's cold, still slightly trembling right hand.
He had come down from the second-floor stands without anyone noticing. He walked through the crowd, overcame the noise, and came to her side in full view of everyone.
His appearance was all too timely.
Just in time, like when I was a child.
She was in a state of panic, unsure how to meet his gaze, and simply kept her head down, gripping her cane tightly.
At this moment, Li Song arrived just in time, took off the painkiller first, and said to her urgently and worriedly, "Open your mouth."
The painkiller was promptly inserted under her tongue; the movements were practiced and the teamwork seamless.
Cheng Mingdu behind him did not linger for another second.
Turning around, amidst the chaos, he strode confidently off the stage.
Ye Yuying returned to the center of the stage. As the applause subsided and the spotlight shone, she once again grasped the cane that supported her as she stood.
Her back was already soaked with cold sweat, but judging from the reactions of the others, the crisis was perfectly averted.
She stepped down from the stage and waited for the new experience officer to take the stage, ensuring the smooth progress of the live broadcast.
When the show ended, she went backstage and struggled with her thoughts for a long time. In the end, she couldn't help but look back at the observation deck on the second floor and found that the crowd had already dispersed and Cheng Mingdu and Feng Ting had left the stage.
Li Song helped her walk out little by little, patiently supporting her while complaining:
"You know, it would have been so much easier if I had just carried you out. You must have been in so much pain when you squatted down like that."
Ye Yuying, with painkillers in her mouth, was slowly absorbing the familiar bitter taste. She was focused on walking, but upon hearing this, she still took the time to roll her eyes at him.
"You doctors don't understand, do you? In business settings, you need to arrive with dignity and leave with dignity."
“But even if you come in a wheelchair, it won’t affect the performance of your product,” Li Song said frankly. His thought process was very Western; he believed that there was no need to endure illness.
Ye Yuying said slowly, "What if the audience asks, 'How come the people who research exoskeletons can't stand up themselves?'..."
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
At the end of the long corridor leading to the VIP exit in front of them, against the dim light of dusk filtering through a huge floor-to-ceiling window, stood a tall and solitary figure.
Cheng Mingdu's figure appeared at the end of the corridor, backlit, and it was unclear how long he had been standing there.
The air in the entire space suddenly became thin.
A chill ran through her, and she lowered her voice to say to Li Song, "You and Ding Chu go to the car and wait for me."
But your legs…
"I'm fine." Ye Yuying pulled her arm away from Li Song's support. "I'll just say a few words to someone I know and then come back."
Before leaving, Li Song glanced at Cheng Mingdu, his gaze darkening.
In the corridor, in an instant, only Ye Yuying and Cheng Mingdu remained.
The air between the two was filled with unfinished words that had lasted for eight years.
She wanted to speak, to say "Mr. Cheng, what a coincidence," to use the most businesslike and polite greeting to cover up all the turmoil in her heart.
But when she looked up and met his unreadable eyes, she couldn't utter a single word.
In the end, it was Cheng Mingdu who spoke first.
His voice was deep and hoarse, like two rough rocks eroded by wind and snow for thousands of years, rubbing against each other.
He looked down at her, gazing at the faint scar beneath her eye and her pale, bloodless lips. With an almost cruel calm, he asked the question that he, too, had asked himself countless times in his heart.
What exactly happened to you four years ago?
"Why didn't you say a word and keep your appointment with us?"
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Author's Note: 50
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