35. A hasty encounter
It's been ages since Beijing has seen such heavy rain. It's so heavy that everyone, familiar or not, is checking in on everyone's well-being. But for Ling Ling, who's still working late into the night, as long as the building doesn't collapse, the storm outside doesn't matter to her. "Where are you now? At work or home?" Gushansi Bei suddenly sent this message on her phone. Ling Ling couldn't help but smile wryly at the greeting. Even a stranger she met online could so accurately control her monotonous schedule. Ling Bu Ling: Can't I be in bars, parties, dinners, and other places of entertainment? Gushansi Bei: I just wanted to remind you that your company's current system development approach is still based on traditional model-based data analysis technology. In fact, the industry is already moving towards "data + artificial intelligence" analysis technology. Ling Bu Ling: No way! Doesn't that mean our major project has no reason to exist?! Gushansi Bei: That's not the case. Artificial intelligence also has many false concepts. If the data source is not objective, the artificial intelligence will also be very watered down. Since your company is building a platform for the first time, it's better to focus on building the infrastructure and ensuring the objectivity of your data sources. You're not a company that relies on traffic generation to make a living. Ling Bu Ling Bu Ling: Then I'll quickly check the qualifications of the company providing our data source. Gushan Temple North: So you're still at the company. Ling Ling smiled knowingly, finding his cunning strangely heartwarming. But Ling Ling didn't reply. Instead, she flipped through the list of data procurement companies and searched through their qualifications one by one. Ling Ling worked until after ten o'clock in the evening before leaving work. Seeing the rain outside eased, she left the building. Seeing the rain from above was a bit of a misunderstanding. Once she reached the bottom of the building, she realized that the rain still wasn't prepared to let anyone wander without an umbrella. She quickly took two steps, found shelter under the eaves, and leaned against the edge of the flower bed to admire the rain. She thought, just wait for half an hour. If the rain eased, she'd run to the subway station and catch the last one. If it was still heavy, she'd take a taxi. Any money saved would be a plus. After a day of scheming and a frantic rush, Ling Ling found it refreshing to sit still and admire the night rain. She pulled out her phone, captured the scene, and uploaded it to Weibo. The buildings and streets, washed clean by the rain, were shrouded in mist in Ling Ling's lens, adding a touch of tenderness to the hard concrete. "I wonder if this rain will stop in half an hour. I wait here, feeling my life slipping away into the sewer with the rain. But the real inner...
It has been a long time since Beijing has had such heavy rain. It was so heavy that everyone, whether familiar or not, had to ask about each other’s safety.
But for Ling Ling, who still works overtime until late at night, as long as the building does not collapse, it doesn't matter whether there is wind or rain outside.
"Where are you now? The company or home?"
On the mobile phone, Gushan Temple Bei suddenly sent this message.
Ling Ling couldn't help but smile bitterly when she saw this greeting. Even a stranger she met on the Internet could completely control her monotonous schedule.
Does it work or not: Can’t I go to bars, parties, dinners and other places of entertainment?
Gushan Temple North: I just want to remind you that your company’s current system construction ideas are still based on traditional model-based data analysis technology. In fact, the industry has begun to evolve towards "digital intelligence" analysis technology of "data + artificial intelligence".
Does it work? No way! Doesn’t that mean our big project has no rationale for even existing?!
Gushansibei: That's not the case. Artificial intelligence also has many false concepts. If the data source is not objective, AI will be highly inflated. For a company like yours, building a platform for the first time, it's better to focus on building the infrastructure and ensuring the objectivity of the data source. You're not a company that relies on traffic generation to make a living.
Does it work?: Then let me quickly take a look at the qualifications of the company that provides us with the data source.
Gushan Temple North: So you are still in the company now.
Ling Ling smiled knowingly, and inexplicably felt that his cunning was very heartwarming.
But Ling Ling did not reply to him. Instead, she took out the list of data procurement companies and searched for their qualifications one by one.
Ling Ling was busy until after ten o'clock in the evening before she got off work. When she saw that the rain outside had subsided, she walked out of the building.
There is an error in watching the rain from a high place. Once she got downstairs, she realized that the rain still wasn't ready to let people without umbrellas wander around.
She then took two quick steps, found a shelter under the eaves, and leaned against the edge of the flower bed to admire the rain. She thought, if she waited for half an hour, if the rain eased, she would run to the subway station and catch the last one; if the rain was still heavy, she would take a taxi and save as much money as possible.
After a day of scheming and running around, Ling Ling felt refreshed to be able to sit still and admire the night rain. She pulled out her phone, took a picture of the scene, and uploaded it to Weibo.
The buildings and streets, washed clean by the night's rain, appear misty in Ling Ling's lens, adding a touch of tenderness to the hard concrete. She captioned the scene: "I don't know if the rain will stop in half an hour. I wait here, feeling my life slipping away into the sewers along with the rain. But deep down, I want to watch this rain continue forever."
Yu Chuanbei had Ling Ling's Weibo account set to "Special Follow," so any new updates or private messages would be instantly notified. He had looked at her latest photo and was downstairs at Tuowu Company. He stood up, hurriedly changing his shoes while checking the road conditions. It would take about 20 minutes from his home to Tuowu—he wanted to pick her up from work.
But what if he suddenly appeared before her and was caught? Or was he supposed to just confess? He was still a little timid. A plan flashed through his mind. He grabbed a large pile of books from the bookcase and ran to the door. He grabbed an umbrella, but then decided it was too big. He immediately threw it back and replaced it with a smaller one, then stumbled out the door.
In just a quarter of an hour, Yu Chuanbei parked his car downstairs at the Tuowu Building. He carried his pile of books and an umbrella under his arm, quickly running to the bottom of the building to take shelter from the rain, searching for Ling Ling.
Fortunately, she was still admiring the rainy scene by the flowerbed not far away, wrapped tightly in a narrow-shouldered black suit jacket, her pretty face raised, warm and bright under the soft light. But she picked up her bag, as if preparing to leave.
Whether it was because he couldn't help himself or because he was feeling guilty, Yu Chuanbei's heart was pounding with the breathlessness from running. He took a deep breath, calmed down, and quickly walked towards her, pretending to meet her by chance and calling her name: "Lingling?"
Ling Ling suddenly turned around, not expecting to meet him here and at this time.
"Uh...hi——" Ling Ling's greeting was also very confusing, "Why are you here?"
"I bought some books at a nearby bookstore and am now preparing to go home." He reviewed this set of words several times on the way here, because he knew that there was indeed a bookstore nearby that was open until late at night.
"Oh..." Ling Ling didn't understand his strange habit of hard work for a moment.
"You didn't bring an umbrella? My car is over there. I'll take you home." Yu Chuanbei didn't allow her to have any more wild thoughts, so he invited her decisively.
Ling Ling instinctively declined, "No, no, no thanks. I'll just take the subway."
"Then... I'll take you to the subway station." Yu Chuanbei said disappointedly.
"Uh, okay, thank you."
Ling Ling looked at Yu Chuanbei holding the pile of books and clumsily switching hands to hold the umbrella. She sensibly grabbed it and held the books in her arms.
Yu Chuanbei smiled at her gratefully, opened the umbrella, held her shoulder tightly, and the two of them walked into the cheerful rain.
"This umbrella is too small. Please move closer to me." Yu Chuanbei put his arm around her shoulders and felt the wet and cold outside of her shoulders. He couldn't help but curse himself in his heart for his shameless decision to replace the big umbrella.
"I'm fine. I'm fine now. I'm so sorry you're almost soaked." Ling Ling felt very sorry. Seeing that he was only wearing a thin home-style shirt and was still wet in the autumn rain, she owed him a big favor.
Yu Chuanbei couldn't bear to see her look guilty, so he changed his tone to teasing her: "You don't have to feel sorry. Who knows - maybe this chance encounter was something I planned willingly and carefully?"
"Holding such a heavy pile of books?" Ling Ling wanted to try to lift the heavy pile of books in front of him, but she looked embarrassed and gave up. "Even if it was 'planned', it can't be considered 'meticulous'." Ling Ling curled her lips in dissatisfaction.
"Is it really that heavy?" Now it was Yu Chuanbei who felt sorry.
"Didn't you carry the books all the way?" Ling Ling just thought of it as helping him carry the books and repaying the favor of getting him wet. The weight of this pile of books was definitely worthy of him.
Ling Ling raised her head, intending to glance at him angrily, but instead she took in the graceful angles of his profile, the fine lines of his mouth, and the gently surging Adam's apple. The inky darkness of midnight shimmered with shimmering curtains of rain, while the biting wind and rain mingled with the fresh scent emanating from him.
She suddenly thought of "Gushansibei." Although she deliberately ignored his gender, she could sense that he was a man who admired her. The ambiguity between the two men made her feel, inexplicably, like a betrayal to both, especially the real Yu Chuanbei. But she also had a vague illusion that the two men gave her similar feelings. Or perhaps she hoped that the virtual him and the real him could be one?
Ling Ling withdrew her gaze with great hesitation, not daring to let her mind wander anymore.
Yu Chuanbei was still immersed in regret. Fortunately, they had reached the subway entrance, but they didn't expect that the administrator had closed the fence.
"Please wait a moment! Can you let me in?" Ling Ling ran up the stairs anxiously and shouted into the doorway over the noise of the rain. Yu Chuanbei followed closely behind her, holding an umbrella for her.
"There's no point in going in. The buses inside have stopped. The last bus just left." After the administrator said this, his figure disappeared into the darkness.
Ling Ling dropped her hands in frustration, her backpack dragging on the ground. She cursed herself for being so obsessed that she looked at the handsome guy a few more times and slowed down her pace, causing her to miss the last subway. Yu Chuanbei, on the other hand, felt overjoyed and was about to clench his fist and shout "YES!"
"Then come back to my car and I'll take you home!" He couldn't hide his joy at all. He snatched the book from Ling Ling's arms with one hand and invited her to his car.
So the two reserved fools went back again, having made no progress except getting soaked for the past half hour. If this is all there is to love, it's really exhausting.
After getting into Yu Chuanbei's car, they looked at each other wet and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Yu Chuanbei took out a soft cotton towel and helped Ling Ling wipe the rain from her forehead.
Ling Ling was originally freezing cold, but it seemed as if she was scalded by his fiery movements. She quickly grabbed the cotton towel and lowered her head to wipe herself.
Yu Chuanbei also awkwardly withdrew his gaze from her, and hurriedly started the car and adjusted the heater.
She saw the rain flowing down his wet hair to his face, and a crystal raindrop brushed the corner of his lips and hung on his chin.
She couldn't help but pull out a cotton towel and wipe it on his chin.
Yu Chuanbei's body suddenly stiffened. When he reacted and wanted to grab her hand, she had turned around and avoided looking at him.
"Lingling, actually I--" He didn't want to hide the matter of "Gushan Temple North" anymore, he wanted to reveal everything.
But Ling Ling thought he was going to confess again and she wasn't strong enough to accept it, so she interrupted him anxiously: "Do you still remember my home address? How about I look for a map for you?"
Yu Chuanbei sighed helplessly and said angrily, "Of course I remember."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
