Chapter 38

He didn't go into detail with Zhang Xiaoqiang. Later, he shut down his computer to wash up. As he passed the mirror, Wei Qingyue glanced at it twice. The mirror's surface was very clean, reflecting a clear figure.

'It's really impossible without a housekeeping auntie,' he thought silently. He squeezed out some toothpaste. The bare strip of toothpaste looked like it was lying there naked. Wei Qingyue felt a sudden wave of nausea for no reason. He mechanically pressed the switch, and beside the sink, the electric toothbrush started buzzing nonstop.

He washed his face hastily. The facial cleanser foamed up richly in his palm, but it only stayed on his face for a few seconds before Wei Qingyue cupped handfuls of water and splashed them onto his face repeatedly.

Bathing was another matter. Wei Qingyue had strange living habits. After showering, he would walk back to the bedroom barefoot. Unlike ordinary people who would sit down first and then pull back the covers to lie down, Wei Qingyue would walk directly to the foot of the bed, lift his leg to step onto it, and lie down wherever he landed. Then he'd yank the blanket and wrap himself up in it.

If anyone outside were paying attention, they would see a strange young man living alone behind the bright floor-to-ceiling windows, walking back and forth like a robot, meticulously going about his business.

Lying in bed, he suddenly realized he didn't know if Jiang Du would get used to him. He had too many strange habits, but who knew? 'Sleep with me, come into my arms.' As drowsiness washed over him, Wei Qingyue repeated the same thought in his mind: 'Sleep with me, come into my arms.'

He only hoped Jiang Du wouldn't think he was a pervert. With this thought, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he fell asleep with a smile.

In September, the finance department of Lingdong Technology was usually very busy. They had to model the financial data for the next quarter and release the quarterly financial report. Autonomous driving had always been a major bet for the company. As he flipped through the PPT slides one by one, the data for several major business lines came clearly into view.

After the meeting, Wei Qingyue stayed behind to report to his immediate superior, the big boss.

Lingdong had just obtained the Grade-A navigation qualification. Before this, they had come close to succeeding, but in the end, the Ministry of Natural Resources had revoked Lingdong's application on the grounds that there were access issues with Lingdong's shareholders.

Originally, the company's senior management had planned to achieve their goal by acquiring a company that already had a Grade-A qualification, as a stopgap measure. Wei Qingyue insisted on applying independently. He had long predicted that emerging industries requiring the support of navigation electronic maps would become hugely popular in the next few years, and the high-precision map sector had already attracted major players to the field.

"Once the map is activated, the data coverage will no longer be limited to first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen," Wei Qingyue said unhurriedly as he presented the PPT. "Although the industry has been calling for the government to relax review conditions for the past few years, from what we're actually seeing, the window for qualifications has only just started to open this year. However, the detailed policies might, in fact, become increasingly strict."

The other party nodded, signaling for him to continue.

"Although the problem of a lack of unified application scenarios still exists, as Level 2 Autonomous Driving gets designated for mass production projects, this issue can be gradually resolved."

The dignified middle-aged man gestured out of habit and said, "The actual road conditions in our country are much more complex than in Europe or America. It's normal for the data richness to be dozens of times greater. How can the algorithms achieve a high degree of synergy with the map data, right? We still need to hire more people for positions related to the SLAM algorithm, positioning, and high-precision maps. By the way, the Science and Technology Park is doing a test drive next week. You should come and take a look too."

After leaving the meeting room, he went to the break room for some snacks. Holding his coffee, he stood by the window and looked down at the city.

Wei Qingyue had another project to discuss with Zhang Xiaoqiang. The reason he had stayed in contact with her for so many years was that the car company Zhang Xiaoqiang worked for had frequent business dealings with Lingdong. He couldn't cut ties even if he wanted to, not to mention that Wei Qingyue had no intention of doing so all these years.

He invited Zhang Xiaoqiang to dinner on a regular, almost formulaic basis. When discussing work, he was meticulous. But as soon as seeing a doctor was mentioned, Wei Qingyue would become very resistant, feeling that she was the one with a problem.

Zhang Xiaoqiang had become more and more adept at navigating social situations. No matter how angry she got, she could still speak to you with a smile in a prim and proper manner. She never got angry at Wei Qingyue, not even when he had lost his composure so badly that any normal person would have cut ties with him. She didn't.

In the past two or three years, Wei Qingyue had become much more composed, but when he spoke, especially in front of acquaintances, he still often had an unpleasant way about him, saying things that would choke a person speechless while remaining completely unfazed himself.

She had once introduced him to a private psychologist who had a great reputation in the field and was highly skilled. But when Wei Qingyue went to his appointments, all he did was sleep. When communicating, his mouth was full of lies; you couldn't even trust his punctuation marks.

There had never been such a difficult client.

But when Zhang Xiaoqiang introduced her regular housekeeping auntie to him, he accepted gladly. When he was studying abroad, his mother was busy building her career and dating, with no time to look after him, so she had him live with a host family. At first, he wasn't very used to it; even the family dog could only understand English. Later, his spoken English improved by leaps and bounds. The hostess would take him to church activities, to sing hymns and study the Bible. Seeing that Wei Qingyue had no intention of converting to Christianity, the hostess let him be. The food was terrible, and the family ate extremely fast. To avoid being disliked, Wei Qingyue was very cooperative with the host family in all matters. However, some of their ideas made him very uncomfortable, such as the sense of superiority and disdain for China that they inadvertently revealed. It was during this time that Wei Qingyue deeply felt human prejudice and the futility of communication. He wasn't very happy. But being not very happy was his normal state in life, so it wasn't unbearable. He just endured it until he got used to it. Fortunately, his academic performance was excellent, and tutoring the host family's child in math was a piece of cake for him, which helped to maintain their relationship in a somewhat balanced state.

Therefore, years later upon returning to the country, Wei Qingyue immediately resumed a state of complete solitude. All he needed was a housekeeping auntie.

At 12:14 PM, while he was eating in the cafeteria, Zhang Xiaoqiang called him about seeing a neurologist.

She tried to coax him over the phone, "I just found out this doctor is an alumnus from our high school. You'll know when you meet him."

Wei Qingyue found her incredibly tedious and said bluntly, "So what if he's an alumnus? What does that have to do with me? Don't waste my time if you have nothing important to say."

"Just go and see. We can all have a meal together, treat it as catching up," Zhang Xiaoqiang persuaded him patiently. She rubbed her lower back from time to time; she hadn't been sleeping well due to recent business trips.

This time, Wei Qingyue was even more direct. "I have nothing to catch up on. If you want to catch up, you guys go ahead. If we have time, we might as well talk about work. I feel that you still have a guarded attitude towards Lingdong. If that's the case, it will be difficult for us to leverage our advantages."

Seamlessly switching from private to public matters, Zhang Xiaoqiang's tone was particularly helpless. "Tsk, President Wei, from your tone in our last conversation, it was clear you felt our presence in the new energy sector was too insignificant, that we weren't worthy of being in your circle."

"That's not true, what nonsense are you talking about," Wei Qingyue laughed. "How would I dare to look down on Director Zhang."

"Hey, just promise me this once, old classmate. Do me a favor." After beating around the bush, Zhang Xiaoqiang circled back to the topic.

"I'm perfectly fine. What's wrong with you? Why aren't you preparing for the auto show instead of pestering me about this?" Wei Qingyue's eyes were cold, his face showing an inability to empathize with others. "I still have to prepare a research report. I'm hanging up now."

"Wei..." Zhang Xiaoqiang didn't finish his name. She froze for a few seconds, then slowly lowered her phone.

The city sky was clean and vast.

In the afternoon, he met with a team from a partner university. The group led Wei Qingyue on a tour of their newest laboratory. Entrusting engineering research and development to universities and research institutes for trial and error was an idea he had proposed to his company partners from the very beginning.

When he went to look for Jiang Du, it was already past her closing time. Old Luo told him that he wouldn't be able to get his watch back for some time. Wei Qingyue frowned upon hearing this, finding it amusing:

"What, did they send it back to Europe for repairs?"

To Wei Qingyue, a phone was a tool for making calls and contacting people, not for telling time. Time was calculated by a watch. He was particularly stubborn about certain things.

However, Jiang Du had actually eaten already. She said embarrassedly, "I was too hungry, so hungry I had no energy at all, and I happened to have the bento box my Grandma made for me. How about this, I'll keep you company while you eat?"

When she faced him, she seemed unconsciously a little reserved again, as if she had completely forgotten that long, wet, and hot kiss, forgotten that they had already been intimate.

Wei Qingyue hadn't forgotten. He first apologized for being late, then found a random fast-food restaurant and ate exceptionally fast. Jiang Du watched him and reminded him, "Isn't it hot? Eat a little slower, otherwise it's bad for your esophagus and stomach."

As she said this, Wei Qingyue listened, slowing down and starting to chew his food thoroughly.

"Don't eat so fast in the future. It's not good for your health," Jiang Du said, sitting quietly, emphasizing it once more.

"Starting to manage me already?" There was a bit of sweat on Wei Qingyue's eyebrows, making them glisten.

Jiang Du became even more embarrassed by his words. She thought, 'I am going to manage you. You were the one who said you needed someone to manage you, and I don't want anyone else to do it, so it has to be me. Besides, if someone else tried to manage you, I know you wouldn't listen.'

Thinking this, she became incredibly happy.

It was strange, Wei Qingyue seemed to have telepathy. He gently kicked her shoe under the table, "Since you want to manage me, then go ahead."

Jiang Du denied it reflexively, "Who wants to manage you?"

Wei Qingyue smiled without saying a word.

"What have you been busy with?" He put down his chopsticks, pulled out a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth, and then poured some water to rinse his mouth.

Jiang Du always had a shy smile. She said, "Interviewing and writing articles."

"You?" Wei Qingyue laughed in surprise. "Interviewing? Who have you interviewed, being so shy? Why didn't you come to interview me that day?"

Jiang Du touched her hair awkwardly and said, "Sister Huang has to be the one to interview you. I'm not qualified. And I don't really like interviewing your type. I prefer to interview the little guys, ordinary people, for example," her speech was slow, and her eyes blinked as she looked at Wei Qingyue, trying to gauge if he wanted to listen.

"For example?" Wei Qingyue sat beside her. He naturally stretched his arm out onto the back of her seat, crossed his legs, and watched her with focus. This posture brought Jiang Du completely within his sphere of influence. At his core, Wei Qingyue was a very dominant person.

Jiang Du glanced out the window twice. Not far away, an old woman selling flowers was sitting on a stool under the night sky, looking around.

She pointed and said, "For example, that old woman. I want to know what she's thinking, how much she earns each day, why she comes here to sell flowers. Is it because she's struggling financially, or is she just passing the time? If I ever get the chance to film a documentary about the city, I'd focus on people like them."

Wei Qingyue turned his head and followed her finger, "I remember you told me about a documentary. I watched it. Although it's very far from my own life, but..."

"You were deeply moved, weren't you?" Jiang Du turned her head and met his smiling eyes. Unable to look away in time, she stared blankly for a few seconds.

"But I don't think I was particularly moved. I just thought, 'Oh, that's tragic, and they're still living like that. Everyone has their own hardships.'" Wei Qingyue shrugged. "I've known this for a long time, so I don't cry as easily as you girls do."

Jiang Du lowered her eyes and said softly, "I hope that people who watch the documentary can draw some strength from it. It's not like you have to be moved to tears after watching it."

"Then should I watch it again?" Wei Qingyue was still looking at her with a smile, his head tilted. He coughed lightly and patted her on the shoulder, signaling for her to stand up. "We just finished eating. Want to go for a walk together?"

After they went outside, Wei Qingyue, not forgetting to get his revenge, continued with what she had said earlier, "What do you mean you don't like interviewing my type of person? What type of person am I?"

Jiang Du was taken aback for a moment, then answered truthfully, "The type that feels very distant."

"Distant in what way?"

"Very smart, very confident, at the forefront of the times, always talking about high-tech and new technologies, able to speak eloquently, and always climbing higher. Sister Huang has interviewed many successful people. Most of them are not that young anymore, but of course, there are young ones too, like you. She also did an episode on a famous livestream salesperson. To be honest, I don't know what these people are so excited about, what all the fuss is about. I can't understand these people." Jiang Du always spoke slowly and gently. The expression on her face finally allowed Wei Qingyue to pinpoint the source of her clear sense of alienation—it was faint, yet not cold.

"In the end, I'm just too ordinary, and I don't like joining in the excitement. But I'm still very curious about the world, so I chose this profession, where I can meet all sorts of people." Jiang Du noticed that Wei Qingyue's eyes had not left her face. She subconsciously touched her cheek. "Do you want to talk about yourself?"

"Talk about what?" Wei Qingyue asked, feigning ignorance.

Jiang Du was stumped. She immediately tried to recover, "Nothing, I was just saying." She was still the same; if others didn't want to talk, she wouldn't press them at all.

But Wei Qingyue continued, "My story, if I were to tell it from the beginning, would be very long. It starts from when I left in '07, all the way until now. Of course, it's no magnificent epic. Sometimes I was lucky, and other times, it was shitty as hell."

He asked if she minded him smoking. Jiang Du thought for a moment and said, "If you want to, go ahead and have one."

Wei Qingyue lit a cigarette. When the wind blew, the smoke drifted away and dispersed. His hair was also messed up by the wind, and in the moment it covered his brow and eyes, it was as if she could see the boy from back then again. But he now had a man's build, no longer thin; his shoulders had become sturdy and broad.

He began to talk about his studies, his work, and returning to China to start a business with his senior. But the continuous high investment led to their startup eventually being acquired by Lingdong. And so he came to Lingdong, in charge of the planning, R&D, and operational management of the autonomous driving division.

Jiang Du listened with great interest. Wei Qingyue finished the cigarette in his hand. The last ember was carried by the wind and landed in her hair. He was very apologetic and carefully dusted it off for her. By her ear, she could hear his low laugh.

The two of them were very close. Jiang Du stood still, letting him fix her hair. Wei Qingyue suddenly said, "I've wanted to touch your hair for a long time. I always felt it must be very soft, and it really is."

Jiang Du looked at him in surprise. Wei Qingyue said, "Don't look at me like that. What I mean is, I've had my eye on you for a long time."

Jiang Du's face turned red. She stammered, changing the subject, "Huh? Why did your and your senior's startup fail?"

Wei Qingyue, focused on stroking her hair, answered casually, "It was too rudimentary. We couldn't hold out until we became profitable. Back then, in 2015, I had just returned to the country. My senior thought the prospects for autonomous driving were vast, so he left his original company to start his own business. I happened to be interested too, so we messed around with it together. Later, we had trouble with financing, the capital chain broke, and we had no choice but to sell ourselves to Lingdong."

Hearing the words "sell ourselves," a flash of amusement appeared in Jiang Du's eyes. Wei Qingyue slowly lowered his hand from her hair and said succinctly, "I can sell myself to you, too."

His eyes were so bright, reflecting the early autumn night sky.

Jiang Du's breath hitched, all the strength drained from her body in an instant. But her heart was pounding with exceptional force. She could change her name to 'Bang Bang' from now on; this heart of hers just went 'bang bang' all day long. How was she supposed to respond to him? Oh, she had originally wanted to talk to him about some work-related things. She had thought of many topics long before he came to see her. Jiang Du's mind was a mess...

"Find a time, and I'll formally sell myself to you?" Wei Qingyue made no effort to hide his desire for her. He spoke even more bluntly, interrupting her thoughts.