Chapter 75 Li Xingzhou's eyes were also bloodshot...
Li Xingzhou's eyes were also bloodshot and filled with tears. He looked at Huang Shiyu's resolute back and felt a burning pain in his eyes. This scene felt strangely familiar to him, as if he had returned to that late night nine years ago, when Huang Shiyu left him with the same back view.
In that instant, my heart seemed to stop beating, and even breathing became extremely difficult.
He desperately wanted to tell Huang Shiyu that he hadn't wronged her... that he hadn't intended to lie to her...
So you can't do this to me...
Countless things I wanted to say flashed through my mind.
In the end, he didn't say a word. Li Xingzhou just stared straight at Huang Shiyu's departing figure, his gaze just like the last time he watched Huang Shiyu leave nine years ago.
Tears blurred his vision, and his heart ached terribly.
He didn't choose to chase after her, but instead embraced Huang Shiyu once more, remaining standing in the same position as before, because Huang Shiyu had told him he wasn't allowed to follow.
Tears finally slid from his eyes, one after another, down his warm skin, across the corner of his mouth, and finally rolled to the ground, exploding like flowers.
If Huang Shiyu turned around at this moment, she would definitely see the resentment, grievance, and despair written all over Li Xingzhou's face and in his eyes...
At the same time, Huang Shiyu got into a taxi. After she sat down, the driver was stunned for a moment when he saw her, and then asked where she was going.
Huang Shiyu was still a little dazed. After a while, she snapped back to reality and glanced at the driver unconsciously. When their eyes met, Huang Shiyu was surprised. She hadn't expected to run into the same driver as before.
This time, however, he was no longer dressed in a suit and tie, but in a simple short-sleeved shirt and trousers. Presumably, he was now a full-time taxi driver. She admired people like him who could bend down for a short time to make a living.
While suffering is not something to be celebrated, the fact that one is willing to set aside pride to make money is something to be celebrated and praised.
Huang Shiyu didn't say much, only that she should drive wherever she wanted and get off wherever she was told. After all, she didn't want to go home, and she didn't know where she was going.
After the car started, she watched the taxi merge into the traffic and the city night view flashing past her eyes outside the car window. The dazzling lights of the skyscrapers were mesmerizing. So many years have passed, but Shanghai is still so prosperous and unchanged, just like the year she first stepped into Shanghai.
While the driver was focused on the road, he glanced at her several times, as if he hesitated for a while before daring to ask, "Someone who works in artificial intelligence?"
The driver's guess was so accurate, with odds comparable to winning the lottery. Huang Shiyu raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying, but instead ambiguously asked for his reasoning, "Why do you say that?"
The driver smiled and explained to her, "There's an artificial intelligence competition being held at the World Expo Center today, and the news is all over the internet. I saw your name trending on social media. I never expected you to be so talented at such a young age."
When dealing with people he doesn't know or isn't familiar with, Huang Shiyu usually likes to play dumb. "You might have mistaken me for someone else. I have a pretty common face, and people often say I look like so-and-so."
"No way, you two look so alike." The driver was clearly confused. He glanced at her again and continued talking to himself, "I'm telling you, you could start a live stream right now. You two look so alike, at least 80 or 90 percent similar. Even sisters don't look this alike. You're definitely going to become famous."
Huang Shiyu didn't answer him, only smiled faintly. However, the driver was a very talkative person, and he chatted with her casually along the way.
The car drove smoothly along the road, passing Nanjing Road and the bustling Bund. Finally, in a dimly lit old alleyway, the car shook violently. Huang Shiyu glanced out. This place was very close to the Bund, only a few hundred meters away, where she had lived for several years.
Huang Shiyu asked the driver to stop on the side of the road so she could get off.
The moment she got off the bus, looking at the demolition banners and slogans that came into view between the buildings, she felt that Shanghai was not entirely unchanging. With the development and construction of the city, perhaps the only thing that would remain unchanged forever is the bustling high-rise buildings.
Before night fell completely, she wandered around the familiar route she remembered. The place was unusually empty and quiet. If it weren't for the stray cats she saw, she would have doubted whether there had ever been any life here.
She had heard during the years she lived here that the government planned to include this old alley in the development plan, but she didn't expect the demolition to proceed so quickly. The conversations between neighbors in the narrow alley were no longer heard, only a quiet silence remained. It seemed that most of the residents had already moved away.
Huang Shiyu sat by the roadside, holding a few sausages she had bought at a nearby supermarket, feeding the stray cat she had just seen. After the cat had eaten and drunk its fill, it kept rubbing its chubby face against her leg, as if it were being affectionate.
Huang Shiyu smiled, reached out and stroked the cat's head, then its body. The cat meowed contentedly, looking at her with its still-bright blue eyes. Then, it let out a loud howl. This scene made her feel dazed, as if she had returned to that summer when Xiaomi would always stare at her with its eyes that resembled glass marbles. If she stopped petting it, it would whimper incessantly, without any pause.
At that time, she had never owned a cat and didn't know what Xiaomi was doing, whether it was hungry or uncomfortable. In the end, Li Xingzhou told her, and she realized that Xiaomi regarded her as its mother and wanted her to stay by its side more.
Unfortunately, things have changed, and nothing is the same for everyone, not just cats but also people.
Huang Shiyu stared blankly at the cat at her feet, even slowing down her petting. The cat, seemingly oblivious to her distraction, continued to pounce and roll around at her feet, having a great time. But before she could come to her senses, the kitten that had been circling her suddenly darted away.
Huang Shiyu turned her head. It was completely dark. Only a few dilapidated streetlights were illuminating the alley, but that didn't stop her from seeing two cats squatting at the alley entrance. After all, one of them was the one she had fed earlier, and it was looking at her with lingering affection.
No wonder it's so chubby; it's not a stray cat, it has a mother.
Before she could look any longer, the two cats darted away and disappeared into some corner. Huang Shiyu looked towards the end of the alley but couldn't see any trace of the two cats. Only the boundless night was falling, and she couldn't see the end of the road ahead. Huang Shiyu smiled self-deprecatingly. Wasn't her current situation just like that?
But what can she do? She still has to keep going. If there are no lights, does that mean she won't walk anymore?
Anyway, hasn't she been going through all this all by herself all these years?
Regardless of whether it's Song Chaoye or Li Xingzhou, she is still Huang Shiyu, who can always escape unscathed and make a comeback no matter what.
Suddenly, she sensed someone approaching, but she didn't move, assuming it was just a resident who hadn't moved out yet, until the person stopped beside her and stood next to her.
"Little girl, it really is you! I saw your back from the window and it looked familiar, but I wasn't sure, so I didn't dare to call out to you. I noticed you were squatting there without moving, so I came out to check on you. I didn't expect that my old eyes are still sharp."
Huang Shiyu tilted her head slightly.
It had been so long since she last went to that chess and card room for wontons that when the proprietress suddenly appeared in front of her, she almost didn't remember her. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. She was usually calm and composed with everyone, but now she couldn't open her mouth, as if her language system had been lost. Perhaps, maybe, it was during her confrontation with Li Xingzhou.
She twitched the corners of her mouth, smiled, and gave a nonchalant reply.
The proprietress saw that Huang Shiyu was smiling, but only at the mouth; her eyes remained calm. The proprietress could tell that Huang Shiyu was in a bad mood. Although she didn't know what had happened, she still warmly invited her to her home to eat the freshly cooked wontons.
Huang Shiyu instinctively wanted to refuse, but when she looked at the kind-faced proprietress, she swallowed the words back. She could never refuse an elderly person who was about the same age as her grandmother. "Wouldn't that be too much trouble?"
The proprietress grabbed her hand and said, "No, it's just an extra pair of chopsticks. Besides, I live alone, and I'm happy to have you keep this old lady company."
"Then I'll gladly accept your offer," Huang Shiyu said, half-jokingly, as he took the proprietress's arm.
She wasn't actually hungry; she was just holding her breath, feeling a lump in her throat, a feeling that was stuck inside. On the surface, she looked like a normal person, but inside she was incredibly vulnerable.
She found it hard to describe what kind of emotion this was; rather than pain, it was more like the betrayal of the person she trusted most was slowly eroding her.
She had experienced this kind of heavy blow before with Song Chaoye, but she didn't feel this bad then. It was as if all her senses, soul and body were being ripped apart, and all the love, hate and grudges that were blocking her internal organs were being torn apart by bare hands.
For a moment, she thought that only being shattered to pieces could compare to this kind of pain.
She slowly lowered her head, propped her elbows on the table, covered her face with her hands, and buried her head in her hands.
She let out a long breath, not daring to shout out loud. After all, she wasn't the only one in the room, and she didn't want anyone to see her looking like this, looking lost or something else, which would make her feel ashamed and embarrassed.
Just then, the proprietress smiled and brought her a freshly cooked bowl of wontons.
"Still the same as before, no cilantro."
Huang Shiyu froze for a moment, then quickly pulled her hand away from her face, took the wontons, and without saying a word or looking at the proprietress, scooped up the wontons and ate and drank the soup in big mouthfuls. She didn't know if it was because of the steam from the freshly cooked wontons, but her eyes felt swollen and sore.
The proprietress glanced at her face. The alley was dark and she had been looking down, so she couldn't see her face clearly. Now she realized that her eyes were red as if they could bleed. This distraught look reminded her of a similar situation when she met Li Xingzhou many years ago. Huang Shiyu was exactly the same as she was now.
She asked, seemingly casually, "You came alone? Didn't Xingzhou come with you?"
Huang Shiyu gripped the spoon handle tightly, shook her head, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Are you very familiar with him?"
The proprietress didn't answer the question of whether she knew him or not. Instead, she talked about when she first met Li Xingzhou. "His beautiful eyes were filled with tears and were red from crying. When I asked him what happened, he wouldn't say. I even joked with him that he didn't do well on the college entrance exam. Do you know what he said? He said the moonlight was too bright and it hurt his eyes. I felt like he was taking advantage of my old age."
"I may be old, but I'm not so blind that I can still tell the moon from the sun." The proprietress's eyes were always smiling as she spoke of this old story.
Huang Shiyu opened her mouth but no sound came out. No one knew better than her why Li Xingzhou had cried back then. She put down her spoon and stared at the oil floating on the soup. Whether it was from staring at it for too long or from the psychological effect of listening to the proprietress's description, the oil gradually distorted in her eyes into Li Xingzhou's tear-blurred eyes.
The proprietress gave her a deep look, seeing that there was no change in her expression and her eyes were still half-closed, so she continued, "And last time he didn't break his promise. He waited for you here for a long time. If I remember correctly, he waited until I closed the shop."
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Huang Shiyu again. She didn't know what Huang Shiyu was thinking, but she kept staring at the bowl in the same position. After a while, she continued, "I'm telling you this because I promised him that if I met you next time, I would tell him. He didn't break his promise last time, but it's your choice to do what you want. I hope your choice won't be influenced by me."
Huang Shiyu understood the proprietress's intention in saying those words, hoping that the two could reconcile.
But what else could she say to Li Xingzhou? He clearly knew how important this project and this batch of equipment were to her; he knew it from the beginning, yet he still treated her like a fool, making her run around in circles.
So none of what the landlady said mattered to her...it didn't matter anymore...
Huang Shiyu gripped the spoon handle, hesitated for a long time without speaking, and silently ate the gradually cooling wontons in her bowl. The wontons, which smelled delicious, tasted bland to her, like chewing wax.
The proprietress knew when to stop and didn't say anything more. As an outsider, she didn't know what had happened between the two, or what the conflict and the trigger were, so she didn't want to ask or say anything more.
Although she could continue to press Huang Shiyu to explain the cause and course of events so she could address the problem, their relationship wasn't close enough for her to overstep boundaries. Besides, looking at Huang Shiyu's lips pursed into a thin line, her intuition told her that Huang Shiyu didn't want to say more. In the end, she sat with Huang Shiyu for a while before going inside to prepare the wonton filling for tomorrow.
Huang Shiyu sat in the corner, watching the proprietress walk into the kitchen, and then glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
It's eleven o'clock.
At that very moment, she caught a glimpse of a figure standing at the door, and her eyes widened in surprise.
Xiang Zhinan said, "Xingzhou sent me here."
Huang Shiyu didn't even raise an eyebrow, continuing to eat her wontons with her head down.
To be honest, she doesn't want to see anyone related to Li Xingzhou right now, because it's like a reminder that Li Xingzhou made a fool of her, reminding her how humiliating it was.
She admitted that she hadn't cultivated that level of inner strength yet.
Seeing her like this, Xiang Zhinan didn't say anything. Holding a document in his hand, he took a few steps forward and handed it to her. "This is what he asked me to give you. One is the patent transfer contract of Qidian, and the other is the information on the cooperation with Qixing. You can take a look."
What did he mean? Huang Shiyu suddenly realized something, looked down at the two documents, and almost froze on the spot. Her fingertips trembled slightly as she flipped through the documents, and her heart began to pound violently without warning. "Wasn't Sunac already acquired? How come..."
“It was indeed acquired,” Xiang Zhinan said with a faint smile. “But the acquiring company is a subsidiary of my family, and he used his own real estate as collateral to purchase Qidian’s patents. He knows that you have always wanted to merge Qidian with Xinyu Xinsheng.”
Huang Shiyu's mouth hung open, her throat feeling as if it were blocked by all this information, unable to utter a single sound. She suddenly realized that Li Xingzhou wasn't playing her for a fool, but had genuinely considered everything for her sake. Li Xingzhou understood her, understood her ambitions; he was just too good at hiding his true intentions, too good at pretending, and acted too matter-of-factly, leaving no trace of his true feelings. He thought he had everything arranged perfectly, but he underestimated the principle that Huang Shiyu had always insisted on.
She hates deception, hates concealment, and hates doing things that hurt her under the guise of doing what's best for her.
Song Chaoye was like this, and so was Li Xingzhou, but the two were different.
Although both of them valued return on investment, only Li Xingzhou truly achieved win-win cooperation, unlike Song Chaoye who only cared about money and would stop at nothing to make money, even turning around and betraying his former partners.
"He told me to tell you that instead of investing heavily in the increasingly difficult and narrow field of self-developed chips, it would be better to cultivate your own familiar field. He said that you have thoroughly researched the singularity, done market research, and now the chip market share issue has been resolved. Everything is ready, and all that is needed is your favorable opportunity."
Yes, Li Xingzhou is right.
The chip issue had been a long-standing problem for her, but now it has finally been resolved.
To be honest, if she hadn't been trying to find a way out for Xinshengxinyu, she wouldn't have thought of developing her own chips, let alone desperately trying to acquire this batch of equipment.
She knew that the path of developing her own chips was full of uncertainties and high capital expenditures, but she had no choice when she made the decision. Wang Ping told her that after conducting actual tests on the Xinyu Xinsheng chip equipped with other chips, they found that the body temperature would rise significantly during operation, and the power consumption was not much different from that of the chip equipped with a 3nm chip.
She did try to negotiate chip cooperation with Qixing, but it was very difficult. Qixing, which now has 3nm technology, is completely different from the Qixing that did contract manufacturing back then. It no longer needs to be a follower; now others are following it.
She didn't know how Li Xingzhou had convinced the other party, but for her now, the cooperation with Qixing was just a stepping stone. She wouldn't stop there; she would still pursue the path of developing her own chips. Only irreplaceable technology could be a company's moat, and this part had to be self-reliant. The rest could be replaced by alternatives.
After all, this wasn't the first or second time she had been held back by chip shortages.
There's nothing she can do; she and her company are still too weak right now, and they have to act according to others' wishes. But it's okay; they'll grow stronger eventually, and once they're powerful enough, they won't have to be challenged anymore.
"Stop daydreaming and sign it quickly, otherwise he won't be able to pay off the mortgage and the house will be taken away."
Huang Shiyu held the document and smiled silently.
Li Xingzhou, did you have Xiang Zhinan tell me all this and give me these two contracts so that I wouldn't be able to stay angry with you and would feel guilty?
That's a brilliant move—a strategic retreat to advance. No wonder he was once a top investor with a renowned reputation overseas at a young age.
After a long pause, Huang Shiyu finally spoke, "Why did he have to keep this from me? Why didn't he tell me? Does he think I'd be grateful for this?"
Huang Shiyu spoke these words calmly, without any strained voice or lamentation. But the calmer he was, the more poignant his words seemed.
Xiang Zhinan scratched his head: "Hey, you should know his personality. If he doesn't want to talk about it, he can keep it a secret forever." Seeing Huang Shiyu's silence, he changed the subject: "You have no idea how heartbroken he was. I've never seen him cry so bitterly before."
"How could it be as serious as you say?"
“No, not at all.” Xiang Zhinan shook his head. When he recalled Li Xingzhou, whom he had seen a few hours earlier, he could only describe him as having damaged heart meridians. In his memory, no matter what happened, Li Xingzhou was always calm and composed, even if the sky were falling. Only when he was with Huang Shiyu would he fluctuate so much. No wonder that after so many years, the two of them were still entangled. It could be said that their old ties were hard to break.
But he also knew that Li Xingzhou had gone a bit too far this time. Although his intentions were good, the incident had already happened. Even if no serious consequences were caused, it couldn't be easily resolved with a few "sorry"s or a couple of documents.
After all, Huang Shiyu was genuinely hurt, and it's understandable that he felt sad and angry. If it were him, he would feel the same way as Huang Shiyu.
But no matter what, Li Xingzhou was his good friend, the one who would always make a fortune when he needed investment the most. He didn't want to see him so sad and wanted to resolve the rift between them as much as possible.
Xiang Zhinan smiled at her: "You don't know, when we encountered thugs robbing us abroad before, we fought with them. This guy was almost knocked unconscious but didn't cry. Afterwards, he could still joke with me and say that everyone says they would rather laugh in a luxury car than cry on a bicycle. So I would rather sit on a bicycle in the future."
Listening to Xiang Zhinan's description, Huang Shiyu could roughly imagine how miserable Li Xingzhou must have looked when he said those words. She knew Xiang Zhinan's intention in telling her this—to make her feel sorry for him.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Xiang Zhinan didn't intend to waste any more time talking to her and cut straight to the point, "Do you want to go see him?"
Huang Shiyu lowered her head, looking at the two documents in her hands. When she saw the three big characters "Li Xingzhou" written in the "Party B" column of the documents, her eyes felt sore and tight, as if she was choked by those words. She took a few deep breaths and slowly nodded.
In fact, from the moment Xiang Zhinan handed her the documents and said those words, Huang Shiyu's desire to see Li Xingzhou was already palpable.
I want to confront him, I want to ask him what he's doing, is he going to slap me and then give me a sweet treat?
This thought vanished the moment she stepped out the door, replaced by a sharp, bitter pang.
The few dilapidated streetlights that were usually used for lighting in the alley were all dark now, probably because they were broken. Not far away, Li Xingzhou sat in the dark alley, ignoring his expensive suit, his head down, holding a phone with its screen lit up, turning it gently in his hand. His whole person blended into the darkness behind him. Although only a rough outline could be seen, it was hard to hide the desolate feeling emanating from him.
For some reason, just looking at him like that, for a moment, Huang Shiyu felt as if a stone was pressing on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe with each breath.
Xiang Zhinan patted her shoulder: "Well, everyone has to go to the bathroom sometimes. I'm in a real hurry, so I'm going to the bathroom now. Goodbye!" After saying that, he tactfully ran out of their sight. After all, that was all he could do to help. The rest was up to fate.
Seemingly hearing Xiang Zhinan's voice, Li Xingzhou turned his head and saw Huang Shiyu standing at the entrance of the wonton shop.
The two gazed at each other from afar.
Even though it's not the rainy season, Li Xingzhou's eyes seemed to be constantly being washed by the rain.
But with such small eye sockets, how could they hold so much rainwater? Soon, the water overflowed and slid down her cheeks.
“I…have been waiting for you for a long time,” he said.
Those beautiful peach blossom eyes were now brimming with tears, looking at her with wet eyes. Huang Shiyu couldn't help but feel soft-hearted. Looking into those eyes, she sighed, stepped forward and patted his back, "Why are you still crying? You're such a grown man, aren't you afraid of being laughed at by others?"
You cried last time. He wanted to say that, but he was too attached to this moment of warmth and didn't want to ruin it, so he retorted softly, "Can't adults cry?"
Huang Shiyu gently stroked the back of his head, her eyes fixed on his slightly reddened eyes, his trembling eyelashes, and his pupils that seemed to never run out of tears. She wanted to say no, it was that she felt those beautiful peach blossom eyes were swollen from crying.
Moreover, she never knew Li Xingzhou could cry so much, as if he could give his all for it.
"If you keep crying like this, I'll leave you in this dark alley."
Li Xingzhou was stunned: "You mean..."
Huang Shiyu withdrew her hand, no longer looking at his stunned expression. "Are you leaving or not? If not, then I'm leaving." After saying that, she put her hands in her pockets, lifted her foot and walked towards the alley entrance, ignoring Li Xingzhou, who was still standing there in a daze.
Watching Huang Shiyu walk away, it took him about half a second to snap out of his daze. He quickly got up and chased after her, saying, "Come on, wait for me."
"With legs that long, why do you expect me to wait for you? Are you just for show?"
"Of course not, it's perfect for pursuing you."
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Author's Note: There's a double update today because I'm frantically writing [Please, I hope my tutor doesn't find out!] There are red envelopes in the comments, so don't try to save me money! [Yes, I'm that domineering CEO, give me a chance to spend money on you~]
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