Chapter 89 Let him see
On a chilly morning, pale sunlight peeked through the gray clouds and fell on the busiest intersection in Beijing.
The road was lined with long queues of vehicles, their roofs sparkling with golden light. Pedestrians thronged the sidewalks on both sides, their clamor echoing through the city.
In the crowd, a middle-aged man wearing a dark blue crew neck sweater, with slightly gray hair and his eyes covered by a black cloth, walked from the east, leading an electronic guide dog.
Passersby made way for him, and many people curiously looked at the tall, thin man and the high-tech dog beside him.
The robot dog slowly turned its neck left and right, as if observing the road conditions, and then straightened its neck and gave a mechanical reminder: "You have reached the pedestrian crossing. The light is red. Please wait."
The man gripped the leash tightly and stopped.
A girl wearing headphones next to me couldn't help but glance at it a couple more times, then covered her mouth and said to her companion, "This guide dog can actually remind you to wait at a red light..."
A gust of biting wind swept by, causing the knotted strip of cloth tied behind the man's head to flutter wildly in the wind.
The man's lips were slightly parted as he patiently waited for the green light to turn on.
The green light finally came on, and the electronic guide dog announced: "Green light, you may proceed. Please follow me."
The man walked steadily across the zebra crossing. Upon reaching the intersection ahead, the radar detector turned its head again to warn: "Please turn right immediately."
Along the way, we encountered a bicycle lying across the road. The radar detector sensitively identified it and guided it around. Passersby looked on in surprise, their hushed conversations filled with awe at modern technology.
Finally, the man stopped in front of the tech building. He took off the cloth covering his eyes, and the glaring light made him squint.
"General Manager Zhu."
The assistant, who had been following not far behind, quickly stepped forward and draped the coat he was carrying over Zhu Ao's shoulders.
The assistant took the leash, and Jooli landed, put on his coat, and took out his black-rimmed glasses from his pocket and put them on.
The team following far behind caught up, with Vice President Deng Lei panting as he held a half-eaten biscuit. "President Zhu, you're incredibly fast! You've disappeared in the blink of an eye!"
Zhu Ao's gaze swept over the three people behind him.
Each person had a pancake, and Xiao Wang still had a conspicuous black sesame seed stuck to the corner of his mouth. He frowned rather helplessly: "I sent you along to do field observations, not to eat breakfast with me. Did you record all the delay data for the path planning? And you, Xiao Wang..."
Xiao Wang, whose name was called out, puffed out his chest and slapped his leg with his laptop bag in his left hand.
"Have the obstacle avoidance algorithm logs been uploaded in real time when encountering obstacles?"
The team members exchanged glances, and Deng Lei quickly swallowed the biscuit in his mouth: "We're recording it, Mr. Zhu! The data from when we crossed the street is particularly complete..."
Zhu Ao went upstairs, grabbed his briefcase, and left. As he passed the office area, he ran into Deng Lei. Zhu Ao called him over, and the two stood in the middle of the road and chatted.
Zhu Ao was going to be away for a week, so he asked Deng Lei to quickly get the data sorted out. Then he took out a 20,000 yuan general consumption card from Bailian Department Store from the inside pocket of his coat and asked Deng Lei to organize a dinner and karaoke party for everyone over the weekend.
After giving his instructions, Zhu Ao turned and left. Engineer Xiao Min watched the elevator doors slowly close, then immediately turned and rushed into the office area, snatched the card from Deng Lei's hand, and held it high, causing cheers to erupt in the office area.
More importantly, the boss is financially strong. In the three years since the company was founded, the boss has invested nearly 300 million yuan annually in the research and development of electronic guide dogs and assistive glasses for the blind. The project has not yet made a profit, but there has never been any news of him being short of funds.
Once, when his assistant went to the office to deliver tea, he overheard the conversation. The boss's friend praised him for his good judgment, saying that he didn't invest in the declining real estate market but instead invested in semiconductors, which yielded a very good return.
The boss held up two fingers, but just smiled and said nothing.
As the assistant left, he clicked his tongue, looking quite pleased with himself. Surely it couldn't be just 20 million?
*
Zhu Ao arrived in Lanchuan at 3 p.m. After leaving the airport, he took a taxi, told the driver his destination, and said that before going home, he had to go to Huaxin Investment to see his old friends.
The taxi was parked downstairs. Zhou Xian had already been waiting for him at the door when he heard on the phone that he was coming.
As soon as Zhu Ao got out of the car, Zhou Xian greeted him warmly, putting his arm around his shoulder and pushing him forward: "Quick, quick, quick, the freshly brewed Biluochun tea is just waiting for you to taste it."
Back then, after Qiao Shu left the company, Zhu Ao joined Huaxin at Zhou Xian's invitation. In just one year, he doubled Huaxin's market value.
Just when everyone thought he would stay, Zhu Ao suddenly announced his departure. Zhou Xian was completely baffled, thinking that his offer was not generous enough. He then offered him shares, dividends, and even a seat on the board of directors, but still couldn't persuade him to stay.
Zhu Ao insisted on going to Beijing.
Technology is indeed a hot trend, so why not just invest some spare money? But he insisted on personally getting involved in the front lines of scientific research.
Zhou Xian looked at his friend across from him, who was sipping tea with his head down. Under the lamplight, his once black hair was now streaked with silver. Only three years had passed, and at forty-three, an age when he should be full of vigor and vitality, he had aged so much.
“Old Zhou,” Zhu Ao put down his teacup, his tone calm but direct, “My Series A funding is almost gone, I need to start Series B as soon as possible.”
Technology itself is expensive, and Mr. Zhou has seen too many projects that have burned through hundreds of millions of dollars but yielded no results.
How much more is needed?
Both men were knowledgeable in the industry and had a deep relationship. Zhu Ao didn't mince words: "Three hundred million, post-investment valuation of two billion. If all goes well, I'll let you see it on the streets next spring."
Zhou Xian shook his head and laughed at him: "You, why don't you just give up being a good investor and insist on doing this thankless research?"
"If this succeeds, it will be more than six times the original price," Zhu Ao said confidently. "I will demonstrate this at the press conference."
Zhou recalled the prototype of the project Zhu Ao mentioned in his last speech, which could accurately identify obstacles and plan routes. If the technology can truly mature and be implemented, it will be a revolutionary breakthrough, not limited to the visually impaired, and its application scenarios will be limitless.
If Zhu Ao were an outsider, crossing over to do this seemingly "dream-chasing" thing, Zhou Xian would never dare to easily agree.
But Zhu Ao was a top student in software engineering; he could understand code architecture and personally led the development team. Moreover, in the venture capital world, investing in people is always more important than investing in projects.
This put Zhou at least half at ease, so he raised his glass in a gesture of respect.
The two chatted over tea for half an hour, and naturally the conversation turned to Zhu Ao's former employer.
"Did you see yesterday's news?" Zhou Xian gently set down his teacup. "Qiao Shu's independently developed air conditioner compressor has been successful. Even CCTV made a special trip to interview Chen Jiashu. It's already a miracle that a visually impaired manager can steer such a large company, and now he has made a breakthrough in core technology... This Chairman Chen is truly admirable."
Zhu Ao paused in his teacup, then slowly nodded: "Chen Jiashu is different from us." He is a man who has reached where he is today through extraordinary willpower; he is "inhuman."
Zhu Ao spoke calmly, without a trace of resentment, but rather with a sense of relief after experiencing many trials. Zhou Xian suddenly recalled that when Zhu Ao first came to Huaxin, he would immediately put on a stern face whenever Chen Jiashu was mentioned.
One year later, late one night, Zhou contacted Zhu Ao urgently, but the call was answered by a bar waiter. When he drove there, he found Zhu Ao completely drunk and unconscious.
On the way back to the hotel, Zhu Ao was restless at times and babbling incoherently at others. He started out full of ambition: "Chen Jiashu, you see, even without Qiao Shu, I, Zhu Ao, can still make a name for myself! Five years...five years and I'll be sitting at the same table as you!"
In the blink of an eye, she was both crying and laughing, mumbling, "I'm sorry... I'll repay you... I'll give you my eyes..."
Just as Zhou thought he had fallen asleep, Zhu Ao suddenly struggled to sit up, squinted, pointed out the window, and mumbled incoherently, "I...I will...make you...see..."
It was after that incident that Zhu Ao, who was doing well, suddenly resigned. Zhou Xian understood that everyone wanted to establish their own independent business, and besides, with Zhu Ao's talent, staying at Huaxin was indeed a waste of his abilities. Due to the special nature of the industry, he kept Zhu Ao until he completed all the handover procedures before letting him go.
After leaving Huaxin, Zhu Ao walked for a while and then stopped by the river.
It overlapped with a certain afternoon in my memory.
“Jiashu, let me tell you, stop taking random medications, and stop acting like you can’t go on living… I’d rather die than live with cancer.” Zhang Shuang habitually put her arm around Chen Jiashu’s neck. “And your eyes, don’t take them lightly, they could become useless one day… Take your medication, use your eye drops, and remember what the doctor said, the most important thing is to keep a positive attitude…”
Seeing that Chen Jiashu didn't react, Zhang Shuang slapped him hard on the back: "Damn it, I'm talking to you, don't pretend you're deaf and dumb. Do you really want me to take over this mess when you're completely blind? Let me tell you, no way!"
Chen Jiashu chuckled softly: "Shut up."
Zhu Ao stood to Chen Jiashu's left. After thinking for a moment, he said softly, "Jiashu, take care of yourself."
Chen Jiashu had been blind in his left eye for many years and had no peripheral vision. Chen Jiashu turned his head and hummed in response.
For some reason, Zhu Ao always felt a secret, inexplicable pleasure whenever Chen Jiashu deliberately ignored Zhang Shuang's banter but responded to him seriously.
*
That night, Chen Jiashu dreamed of Zhu Ao. The face, which had long been blurred in his memory, became exceptionally clear in his dream.
Zhu Ao gently called out "Jia Shu," waking him from his sleep.
A burning sensation spread through my body, but a chill ran down my spine, as if a cold thread was slowly creeping up my spine.
"Jiashu, what's wrong?" The bed shifted slightly, and Qin Qiao gently placed her hand on his back.
Gently stroke.
“Qiaoqiao…I dreamt of Zhuo…Many years ago, the three of us were by the river, and we said…we would build an ‘Enterprise’ together.” Chen Jiashu was panting heavily, his hands gripping the bedsheets tightly to support his limp body.
In the darkness, Qin Qiao saw a faint glow on his forehead—cold sweat beading on his skin. She turned and took a tissue from the bedside table, gently wiping his forehead.
"Yasuki...does he scare you?"
Chen Jiashu turned his head, only to be met with thick darkness. Five years had passed, and he had gradually grown accustomed to it.
“I haven’t dreamed of him in a long time, the last time was last year…” He paused, his tone growing somber. “There’s something I’ve never told you, something I’ve thought about countless times… Back then, with Zhuo, I think I handled things wrong. There was almost no communication between us; I just coldly gave him what I thought was good enough… Qiaoqiao, he hates me, he didn’t help me when I was dying, he even went along with it… In the time right after I escaped, I hated everyone who had hurt me. But my eyes… even if that incident hadn’t happened, I would eventually go blind, wouldn’t I?”
Chen Jiashu would know that Zhu Ao "went with the flow" because the police got the information from a man named Lu Tao.
Lu Tao confessed that the vice president kindly advised them not to act impulsively by mentioning Chen Jiashu's ruthless layoffs and even offered them money. They felt insulted and immediately threw the money away and left.
When Sun Gang relayed the story to Chen Jiashu, he was stunned for a long time. How could someone as intelligent as him not realize that "Zhu Ao" wanted him dead? His most trusted brother wanted him dead, and his pain and hatred were overwhelming.
Qin Qiao leaned closer and gently hugged his slightly trembling body. Chen Jiashu suddenly gave a bitter smile: "But... it's also possible that I won't have that surgery... it might look better in appearance... but it's only a possibility. My eyes already have a lot of problems."
If blindness is like having a house that's still there, but all the things inside have been moved out, then the loss of an eyeball is like the complete collapse of even that last refuge.
It utterly extinguished any glimmer of hope, becoming the ultimate proof that his world had collapsed.
Jia Shu spent a long time learning how to live with the darkness, but he still hasn't fully accepted his physical disability.
The daily process of wearing the prosthetic eye serves as a reminder to him: you are different from others.
Qin Qiao hugged him tightly and said what had been buried deep in her heart for a long time: "For more than a year, I hated Zhu Ao just like you, and I hated those who hurt you. They made my husband live in pain day and night, and I can't forgive them."
“Until one day, I saw you come home from get off work, and the children rushed towards you like two little birds, clinging to you and trying to take you away. At that moment, the smile on your face was a genuine, untroubled joy. I suddenly realized that holding grudges against those people and things only erodes our enthusiasm for the future. Living in the past is not punishing them, but allowing them to hurt us forever and continuously.”
"Jiashu...please stop caring about them, okay?"
Five years ago, the day after his heart-to-heart talk with her, Chen Jiashu found a lawyer and signed a letter of understanding for the two elderly people, which allowed them to have their sentences reduced by two years.
Later she asked him, "Why did you change your mind?"
He said: This has nothing to do with forgiveness. They lost two sons, and another will serve a long prison sentence. Letting them return to their broken lives early, to chew on the bitter fruit of their mistakes every day for the rest of their lives, is a longer punishment than two years in prison.
For him, this was simply a choice to let himself go.
*
A highly anticipated innovative product: the "Smart Guide Dog".
At the press conference, Deng Lei gave a detailed explanation and demonstration of this technological achievement, which took nearly three years to develop.
This electronic guide dog has powerful path learning and storage capabilities, with more than twenty complex indoor and outdoor routes built-in.
During the video demonstration, the R&D team imported a detailed map of an entire office area into the electronic guide dog system. A visually impaired test subject then gave the electronic guide dog the command to go to its destination: "Little Grey, go to the finance department."
Upon receiving the command, the electronic dog flashed red and green indicator lights in its eyes and then guided the user to the destination, eliciting thunderous applause from the audience.
Subsequently, under continuous commands, the electronic dog accurately arrived at designated locations such as the third conference room and the president's office, and successfully avoided obstacles along the way, demonstrating an astonishing level of accuracy.
While passing through the tea room, the experience officer naturally joined in the conversation with his colleagues.
Deng Lei turned to look at the audience: "The route you just saw is only one of the twenty maps stored in 'Little Gray'. After rigorous testing by the team, 'Little Gray' achieved a comprehensive recognition and navigation accuracy of up to 98% in navigation tasks involving twenty similar complex routes. We firmly believe that this number not only represents a technological breakthrough, but also builds a very reliable sense of security for users!"
Applause erupted again, paying tribute to this industry-leading innovation.
Within a week of the press conference, the technology quickly attracted global attention. With continuous reports from domestic and international media and social media platforms, the market value of the "star" technology company soared more than tenfold in a short period of time, transforming it from a startup into a rising star in the technology world.
The company's founder, Tuk, has never appeared in public, and all external statements have been made on his behalf by Vice President Deng Lei.
In early March, the electronic guide dog was officially launched and experience stores were set up in major shopping malls.
Eight months later, the product has provided tangible assistance to nearly one million visually impaired people.
At the end of December, the founder made another big move, donating nearly a thousand electronic dogs to municipal institutions across the country free of charge. The electronic dogs, priced at 180,000 yuan each, are no longer just for high-end users, but have also illuminated the roads for countless ordinary families.
Later, a reporter from Taiwan's CCTV visited the founder in person, but he declined to appear on camera, citing the need to protect the purity of his products. The reporter was deeply moved and respected his choice, ultimately recording his thoughts only in writing:
"To let some people 'see' and bring them light is a promise I made to myself. Now, millions of 'them' have received 'light,' which can be considered a kind of self-redemption. But this promise is only two-fifths complete, and we will continue to dive deeper."
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