Chapter 93 She was stunned, as if she had originally intended to…
She was taken aback, as if she had originally intended to tease someone, but ended up surrendering herself in no time.
The light flickered slightly, as if touched by the wind, and the shadow on his brow bone shifted subtly accordingly.
Cheng Mingdu looked at her, not in a hurry to withdraw his hand, as if trying to determine the source of this sensitivity—was it her skin, or her heart?
Ye Yuying slowly opened her eyes, staring at the flawless white ceiling, completely emptying her mind.
She remembered herself eight years ago, like a stone scorched by the sun, seemingly burning hot on the outside but cold on the inside. Back then, if he had reached out, he could have touched the warmth of her heart.
It is a fiery, dormant volcano that has been dormant for a century.
But now, she seems to have less energy to hide it, her temperament has become more reserved, and she has a more open-minded view of these things.
She closed her eyes again, trying to recall those lonely nights when she thought of Cheng Mingdu's back and his fragrance.
She raised her hand and wrapped it tightly around his neck; she had actually wanted to do this for a long time.
I once thought that their reunion would surely end in mutual loathing, but little did I know...
Cheng Mingdu leaned down, his eyes as deep as the dark blue of the universe, his voice softer than the wind, yet exceptionally clear.
"You're great..."
Her breathing became slightly disordered, as if those words had brushed away a corner of old dust from her heart.
The wind from outside the window crept in again, carrying a damp smell and taking away the warmth from between their cracks.
She suddenly looked up and her gaze met his. His eyes held a ripple of emotion, yet they gave her the illusion of being locked away deep within them.
"Brother, do you feel ashamed...?" she asked softly.
Cheng Mingdu didn't answer immediately, but simply reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. In that instant, she seemed to hear the very soft rustling sound of his fingertips brushing against her hair.
It's as if time has passed between them, leaving a mark that is both gentle and irreversible.
"What do you think?" His voice lowered, carrying a pleasant quality, like the irresistible tide of night.
Ye Yuying did not answer, but merely curled her lips and raised the corners of her eyes slightly, the smile as faint as moonlight gently touching the surface of water.
“…I can’t say,” she said softly, reaching out to touch the corner of his eye. “I can’t see through you…”
Cheng Mingdu's eyebrows and eyes did not move. His fingertips slid down from behind her ear, along the side of her face to the corner of her mouth, and gently pinched her chin with the tiger's mouth, forcing her lips to open slightly.
“Shame…” he finally said.
Ye Yuying's breath hitched. In that instant, she couldn't tell whether she was burned by his words or swallowed up by the darkness in his eyes.
The two were so close that not even the wind could get in; only their breaths mingled in the small space.
"So?" Her voice was even softer than before, like a feather floating on his heart, her fingers lifting the hem of his shirt and tracing patterns on his strong lower back.
Cheng Mingdu looked at her, his gaze so steady it seemed to see right through her to the bone. He closed his eyes slightly, his expression trembling.
"Aying, stop testing me."
His tone was somber, tinged with a sense of helplessness and loss of composure.
The next second, he grabbed her wrist and pressed it against his chest, letting her clearly feel the rapid and heavy rhythm.
"We have long since run out of options."
She didn't immediately pull her hand away. Instead, she slowly, as if tracing the terrain in her memory, slid it along her heart, as if she wanted to crawl into it.
Cheng Mingdu's breathing became noticeably heavier, as if he was trying his best to maintain a final bit of control. He lowered his head, and the stray hairs on his forehead fell down, casting shadows on her lips.
Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared in her mind, and it was as if her eyesight had been taken away. All she could see was a saturated white mist, and she couldn't even hear her own breathing.
He leaned down, his lips almost brushing against hers, silencing her voice in the process.
He leaned down, his breath almost brushing against her ear.
"Look, you're the one who should be ashamed."
She arrived, and once she arrived, she soared into the sky and couldn't come down. To Cheng Mingdu, this was like a hidden pit under a snow slope; if he accidentally stepped on it, his entire body would collapse.
As he finished speaking, the grip on her wrist tightened, as if he wanted to pin her to the spot, sealing off all her escape routes with his palm.
Ye Yuying's heart tightened, her breathing became slightly disordered, but she still raised her chin, her eyes burning with desire, wishing she could etch this moment into each other's very bones.
They had left an indelible mark on each other—the fate they shared.
*
The optimization progress of the second-generation artificial exoskeleton was delayed by one month compared to expectations.
The projection screen in the conference room was lit; it was 9:30 PM. The corridor outside the glass wall was empty. Light shone on the table, illuminating a row of drawings and debugging reports.
Ye Yuying leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping lightly on the pen, her gaze fixed on the graph on the screen.
A 1.7-microsecond delay in mechanical feedback is almost negligible in rehabilitation training, but it becomes a fatal flaw in high-intensity competitive scenarios.
"The core of the first generation is stability, and the core of the second generation is real-time." She circled two words on the paper with her pen. "If we can't solve the microsecond-level latency problem, we will have a very difficult time after the second round."
Old Wu was somewhat troubled: "There's not much room for improvement. The sensor's accuracy has been adjusted to its limit. To shorten the latency, we can only start with the overall structure and control strategy, which means... we have to overturn part of the first generation's architecture, and there's no guarantee that we can actually do it."
This is a very difficult game.
This statement brought a brief silence to the meeting room.
Ye Yuying stared at the red curve, knowing full well that overturning it meant additional funding and time, and she didn't have much time left.
The surgery arrangements in Germany, and her increasingly severe neuralgia...
"It's getting late, let's go home first, I'll think about it some more."
She raised her hand and rubbed her temples. A few scattered colleagues clocked out and left the company, and the floor returned to complete silence.
Cheng Mingdu came up in the elevator, holding a cup of unsweetened hot cocoa and a slice of matcha strawberry cake. Ye Yuying got up to open the door for him.
As soon as she entered the room, she disregarded the surveillance camera and used her left hand to gently hook his shirt collar, forcing him to lower his head and be kissed by her.
She showed a long and persistent interest in Cheng Mingdu, who was always dressed in a suit and tie, and the two of them would secretly flirt with each other after the other had left.
Cheng Mingdu didn't intend to keep it a secret, but since she liked this forbidden and dark feeling, he had no choice but to play along with her.
He closed his eyes and quietly responded to her.
Ye Yuying smelled his cool, refreshing scent and suddenly understood why everyone wanted to become capital.
Despite having been busy all day, Cheng Mingdu's eyes were still bright, and he showed no signs of being listless.
He gently put his arm around her waist to ease the burden on her legs, and leaned slightly forward so that she could more comfortably fulfill her wish.
"Are you tired from work today?" His breath lingered near her ear.
"I'm not tired," she gently nuzzled his Adam's apple with the tip of her nose, "I just missed you."
She asked deliberately, "What, are you getting a reaction?"
He paused, his eyes softening, as if he couldn't bear her sweet, gentle words every day.
Cheng Mingdu cleared his throat, maintaining professional decorum, and said in a low voice, "This is your company."
"Isn't that even more exciting?" She tirelessly enjoyed provoking him until he couldn't take it anymore, then she would just pat her behind and run away.
But every time, he would grab her and pull her back into his arms.
He took her restless little hand and helped her into the office. His gaze swept across the desk and landed on the data chart on the screen.
"The delay problem hasn't been resolved yet?" He placed the cake beside her.
Cheng Mingdu was helping her with the Echo project. In principle, the exoskeleton was kept secret from him, but Ye Yuying also intended for him to have some contact with it.
Because in the future... if any problems do arise, at least Cheng Mingdu has technical expertise and capital, so Ashera won't be allowed to continue developing, and other employees won't lose their jobs...
"Yes, overturning the architecture would be too costly. I'm thinking about what solutions we can use," she said truthfully.
Cheng Mingdu pulled out the chair next to him and sat down, his tone still retaining the gentleness he had shown her, but also carrying a professional rigor, "Your current control logic only calculates the next action after the sensor data reaches the main control chip?"
Ye Yuying nodded: "Yes, this is the safest way."
“It’s also the slowest way.” Cheng Mingdu understood their predicament almost instantly and offered a suggestion from the side.
"Predictive control could be considered to compensate for the delay before data acquisition, and the trend of the action could be determined in advance. Even if there is a 5% error, it can be reduced to within one microsecond."
“The error in early assessment is too great a risk if applied to people recovering from illness,” Ye Yuying frowned.
“But your target market for the second generation doesn’t have to be rehabilitation.” Cheng Mingdu’s voice was calm and unhurried. “In the field of daily life, or among people with partial disabilities, the difference between 0.5 microseconds and 1.7 microseconds is a significant advantage.”
As Ye Yuying listened, she sipped her hot cocoa, a slight smile curving her lips.
Cheng Mingdu's judgment gave her a new perspective, which at least ensured that the project could continue to move forward.
She always knew that if he were willing to get involved in the company's operations and solve these bottleneck technical problems, it wouldn't take long to get the project back on track. However, she never proactively asked him for help.
As night fell outside the window, the glass reflected the indoor lights, casting their shadows as they sat side by side.
"Would you consider helping me take over the meetings?" Ye Yuying turned her head, her tone seemingly joking, yet containing a hint of inquiry.
Cheng Mingdu glanced at her: "If you're willing, of course you can, but this is your career."
She chuckled softly: "Looking for a job?"
“I don’t need to look for a job.” He leaned back in his chair, his expression calm. “But at least I can help you clean up the mess.”
Ye Yuying held the paper cup, her fingertips slightly red from the heat, but she didn't let go: "Then I'll feel much safer."
Cheng Mingdu's lips twitched almost imperceptibly, as if he was holding back something he wanted to say.
"If you really need me to come in, just let me know." His tone was calm, yet it seemed as if he could see right through her.
She shrugged, as if admitting something, yet also as if denying it: "Maybe."
Ideally, after Cheng Mingdu takes over, the company will be different. A large amount of capital will be injected, and many investors will enter the market because of his influence. The R&D pace will become faster, the team will be efficient and professional, and the company will be able to hire the top people in the industry.
And she... can gradually withdraw, freeing up time to face the surgery in Germany, and peacefully embark on that uncertain road to recovery.
"I really hope you can come." She looked at him, her eyes expressionless.
He stared into her eyes, remained silent for a few seconds, and her words seemed to differ somewhat from his expectations.
At that moment, it was as if he had taken a part of her into his palm as well.
Cheng Mingdu's voice was soft but steady, "I will cover for you. You can go all out and make it the only winner in the market."
Ye Yuying smiled, took a sip of the bitter hot cocoa, and felt a strange sense of peace in her heart.
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