Chapter 66 Considering Old Friends
Feng Ting and Cheng Mingdu were talking side by side in the elevator when they saw this. Feng Ting stepped out of the elevator first and greeted Ye Yuying: "Oh, President Ye? What a coincidence? Coming to discuss cooperation so early in the morning?"
Ye Yuying immediately took the earphones out of her ears and explained briefly, "The newly rented office building is upstairs."
“Then, that’s even more of a coincidence.” Feng Ting smiled, pointed to the tallest building in the distance, and looked at Cheng Mingdu, “This place is quite close to the Baiyue headquarters.”
Baiyue Capital and Cheng Mingdu are strongly correlated. At this moment, Ye Yuying's heartbeat clearly quickened a bit, but she still wore a calm mask on her face. She nodded slightly and replied in a formulaic manner, "This financial park is indeed quite large."
Cheng Mingdu didn't speak, but simply focused his gaze on her, his deep eyes quietly watching her.
Judging from her demeanor, she doesn't seem to have been overwhelmed by online criticism.
"Since we've run into each other, how about we grab a coffee? It's rare to get Mr. Cheng out of the house, so I'd like him to sit in on your product planning." Feng Ting said with a smile, trying to break the awkward silence of the chance encounter.
Feng Ting could understand the distant relationship between the two siblings to some extent, since both of them were business people and would use respectful titles when they met in official settings.
This was an excellent opportunity to speak directly with Cheng Mingdu.
After all, Feng Ting was the client, so she should have been more than happy to accept. However, she still truthfully replied, "Next time is fine. The morning meeting is about to start, and there are quite a few things that need to be finalized. Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Feng."
Cheng Mingdu lowered his gaze and glanced at her knuckles, which were slightly white from gripping the cane tightly, making it difficult to tell whether she was looking for the intersection of Rejection Street.
“Since you have something to do, go ahead and take care of it.” His voice was calm, revealing no emotion. “We’ll reschedule.”
“…Okay.” Ye Yuying felt as if she had been granted a pardon and immediately perked up, saying, “Take care, you two.”
He spoke at a consistent pace, but with a hint of impatience.
Feng Ting was somewhat puzzled by the way the two siblings got along, but considering that they were half-siblings and hadn't seen each other for many years, it was normal for their relationship to be strained.
He touched his chin, just as the driver arrived, and he walked toward the back seat.
The two were about to leave one after the other, but as Cheng Mingdu passed Ye Yuying, he paused slightly and whispered:
"Your leg isn't healed yet?"
Ye Yuying smiled sheepishly, instinctively trying to cover her cane with her sleeve, "It'll be a while longer."
"Take good care of yourself."
After Cheng Mingdu said those words, he and Feng Ting drove away, and Ye Yuying finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She wasn't lying today. In order for the internal test to be held successfully, she needed to have a very intense internal meeting with Ding Chu and Lao Wu this morning to finalize the product to be presented to the public so that arrangements could be made in advance.
She is mainly able to appear at the company in the morning and evening. In the afternoon, she needs to meet with representatives from hospitals and rehabilitation centers to see if a cooperation can be reached.
When they arrived at the office, Ding Chu and Lao Wu were already waiting in the conference room with several engineers.
On the whiteboard were sketches of various technical points and risk contingency plans related to last night's live stream of the internal testing meeting.
"Alright, everyone's here." Ye Yuying leaned her cane against the wall, didn't sit in the main seat, but found a random place to sit down, and got straight to the point without any pleasantries.
"Let's go through the final process of the internal testing meeting first. From the selection of experience officers to the on-site equipment debugging, and then to all the unexpected situations that may be encountered during the live broadcast, every step must be flawless. Most of the time will be allocated to product contingency planning."
At this moment, the meeting was in progress, and no one was thinking about online public opinion anymore.
They discussed the bandwidth pressure on the live streaming platform, the configuration of the on-site medical team, and even the order and duration of the experience officers' appearances on stage, all of which were simulated and estimated, as well as some possible ways to avoid emergencies.
Ye Yuying has a clear mind and an astonishing level of attention to detail.
Although she didn't appear nervous, everyone knew that this was their first public appearance in the closed beta, and they couldn't afford to make any mistakes.
Finally, and most importantly, everyone worked together to finalize all the technical plans for exoskeleton v1.0.
After the meeting adjourned and the external engineer left, Ding Chu finally brought up the matter that had been on his mind for a long time.
“Boss, I’ve done a quick calculation of the experiment costs. Even if all the money from Redwood comes in, it won’t be enough to support the next phase. If there’s no additional investment or new investors, the cash flow will still run out.”
Ye Yuying pondered for a moment, "I've thought about this problem too. If we invest all our resources in the exoskeleton and go all in, we can eventually achieve a return on investment, but the timeline is too long and it's highly dependent on investment. We can try launching our previously developed sub-products into the market, which are types that can achieve a rapid return on investment."
She said thoughtfully, "We should consider 'echo' in parallel."
Upon hearing this name, Lao Wu, who was looking down at the data, also looked up and asked, "That companion AI?"
Ye Yuying said, "Well, I have basically perfected some of the frameworks, and it does not require complex hardware production and medical approvals. The monetization cycle is also much shorter than that of exoskeletons."
The AI named "Echo" is Ashera's virtual product, which she created for herself on a sleepless night, tormented by pain and longing.
She created an idealized, unwavering virtual friend using data she herself trained.
Ding Chu's eyes gleamed with excitement: "If we can launch it as a paid app first, even on a small scale, it will provide valuable cash flow and strategic buffer time for our main R&D. Moreover, it can reach a wider user base and allow the name Ashera to be known to the public as soon as possible."
Ding Chu's business acumen is undoubtedly sharp, and from a commercial perspective, this could bring them some financial opportunities.
"Before the closed beta launch, everyone's main task is to improve and test Ashera v1.0 as much as possible. I will take some time to optimize 'Echo' and try to give you a trial after the closed beta launch."
After Ye Yuying finished speaking, there were no further objections in the meeting room.
*
On the eve of the internal testing event, Ye Yuying had everything ready, and all the technical preparations and procedural plans had been confirmed.
However, she still had some questions about the legal documents, so she arranged to meet with a lawyer from the law firm she was working with at a coffee shop downstairs from the firm to finalize the details.
The café downstairs from the law firm has a unique structure, with a quiet and elegant interior and a huge outdoor terrace offering a wide view. It is conveniently connected to the taller Grade A office building next door, which is covered with the logos of major financial institutions, by a glass door.
The meeting went smoothly. After the lawyer left with the signed documents, Ye Yuying watched him go.
Leaning on her cane, she walked alone to the terrace to watch the boats sailing on the river.
The terrace, though kept cold by glass, still exudes the chill of a winter in Jiangcheng.
She leaned against the railing, looking at the bustling financial district in the distance, gazing at the Baiyue Capital building, and even wondering if Cheng Mingdu worked on the very top floor.
Looking at this magnificent building, the tension of an impending great battle was slightly eased by this moment of tranquility.
She was lost in thought when the glass door behind her, belonging to the office building next door, was pushed open.
A tall, well-tailored man in a dark cashmere coat was talking on his phone in fluent English. He then hung up, picked up his coffee, and went up to the terrace.
Ye Yuying didn't pay any attention, assuming he was just some financial elite.
Until the man hung up the phone, turned around, and his gaze casually swept across the room, landing on her.
Their eyes met.
Both of them were stunned.
"...Ye Yuying?"
Lin Zhiyan's face showed undisguised and immense surprise, but that surprise quickly transformed into a genuine, joyful, and clear smile.
"It really is you. I just thought this back view looked a lot like it."
Ye Yuying teased mercilessly, "After all these years, it's no wonder you can't remember my back."
Ye Yuying's heart skipped a beat because of this sudden reunion with her old friend after many years.
The Lin Zhiyan before me has long since shed all the naivety of high school. He wears a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, his expression is calm and composed, and his demeanor is capable. Every gesture he makes exudes the confidence and composure that comes from years of experience in the workplace.
"Do you remember my name?" the other person asked calmly as they approached.
“Lin Zhiyan,” she smiled, a natural reaction to seeing an old friend, “What a coincidence.”
"What a coincidence," Lin Zhiyan said with a smile, walking to her desk, naturally pulling out the chair opposite her, and sitting down. "My company is right next door. But what are you doing here?"
"Come see the lawyer," Ye Yuying said succinctly.
Lin Zhiyan didn't press for details. His gaze fell on her face, which was thinner and more resilient than he remembered. There was no gossipy inquiry in his eyes, only the pure concern of a friend.
"Why haven't you posted anything on WeChat Moments all these years, let alone any news?"
“I always feel…” Ye Yuying thought for a moment, then fell silent, unsure of what to explain.
Changing the subject, she took the initiative to bring up the topic: "What about you? Didn't you go to Wall Street right after graduation? I thought investment banking elites wouldn't have time to chat."
Lin Zhiyan couldn't help but chuckle at her slightly teasing question. He took off his gold-rimmed glasses and slowly wiped them with a glasses cloth, a gesture that softened the sharp, professional demeanor of a financial elite.
He looked at her, a slightly self-deprecating smile curving his lips. "I'm still working for someone else, but thankfully I'm back in China."
Working for myself, and still... meeting you.
He put his glasses back on, and his gaze, through the lenses, appeared even clearer and more honest.
“Indeed, that’s why I returned to China,” Ye Yuying agreed.
Lin Zhiyan looked thoughtfully out the window at the bustling traffic, "Every day, new things are growing wildly here, and there are countless opportunities for you to make a difference."
As he spoke, he turned his gaze back to Ye Yuying's face.
“Speaking of companies that can change things…” He looked at her, his tone shifting naturally and directly, “I recently came across one. Although… it’s currently the subject of much controversy online, it’s called Ashera.”
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Author's note: 50~
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