The Aurora Tower stood at the pinnacle of the city, its angular silhouette rising like a lighthouse, a spiraling pyramid whose apex pierced the sky, level with the cloud line.
The entire building was done in a uniform palette of pale blue and white, built on principles of environmental protection and energy efficiency, clean and airy. An integrated complex combining offices, sightseeing, and business under one roof, it stood 653 meters tall, second only to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Aurora Tech was the city’s rising star in technology, focused mainly on career development planning and research into the advancement of new-era robots. Legend had it that its founder was a mysterious figure who had started the business abroad. Founded less than five years ago, the company had barely found its footing before preparing to dip a toe into the domestic market rather hasty, one might say.
They would be raising capital by inviting interested partners to invest. Plenty were itching to get in on it, but the threshold was absurdly high.
A tall woman stood there, white shirt tucked into wide-legged suit trousers, sleeves rolled up to reveal a square-faced silver watch, the very picture of crisp efficiency. Her nose was straight, her lips neither too thin nor too full, and her striking looks seemed almost her least noteworthy attribute. She held a phone in her hand, and a brisk, energetic woman’s voice came through the call.
“It took me considerable effort to pull strings and set up this partner meeting, we spent a full six months on the waiting list just to climb high enough for a chance to meet. If you ask me, these old-guard companies are nothing but snobbish, full of airs, and stuck in their ways. But to be fair, their heritage speaks for itself they genuinely have the strength. If we can secure this connection with Baige, there’s no doubt whatsoever we’ll plant a firm foothold in the domestic market.”
Baige. The name made her heart skip a beat. Surely it couldn’t be that much of a coincidence. She spoke up: “President Song, putting the pressure on me this quickly?”
When it came to the company’s strengths and its future plans, AI technology was the trend of the times especially the smart home robots making their way into every household. The technology she held in her hands was capital itself.
Song Niannian gave a snort of laughter: “Hey, I did recruit you from abroad at top dollar back in the day. Once you’ve made it big, don’t you forget me!”
Recalling how she had stayed up all night last evening poring over bid documents and weighing pros and cons, Jiang Yi replied with unruffled ease: “Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”
The person on the other end nodded in satisfaction. “With those words, I can rest easy. Tonight I’ve booked a restaurant to treat you properly—I’ll have my assistant send you the address in a bit.” Then she seemed to remember something, and Song Niannian turned serious again. “Oh, right—cut back on that junk food. It’s bad for your health. You’re not a robot, you know. Resting appropriately is how you set yourself up to go even further.”
“You’re a grown adult, yet you give me not a moment’s peace of mind. And that hovel you live in, don’t make it look like I’m mistreating you. When are you going to trade up already?”
If anything, Jiang Yi wished she were a robot then she could keep working nonstop, spinning without pause. But alas, even robots need repairs someday. It went in one ear and out the other; she hung up within seconds.
Song Niannian stared at the call-terminated screen, so mercilessly cut off, feeling a little glum.
By then, Jiang Yi had already made her way to the pantry. Casually, she cracked open a cup of instant noodles: with one hand she peeled back the foil seal and pulled out the fork and seasoning packets, while the other hand poured in hot water. The instant the lid went back on, she used a corner of the fork’s tines to poke a steam vent and press it down, then glanced at the timer counting down on her watch face. The whole sequence flowed in one seamless motion, as though she had performed it thousands of times before.
Someone showed a flash of surprise, but upon seeing the woman, their expression turned to understanding: “Deputy Director Jiang, pulling another all-nighter?”
Jiang Yi glanced at the time on her watch, waiting three minutes, then gave her a slight nod as a greeting.
This was Zhang Tingting from the module data R&D department, responsible for data correction and compilation. Zhang Tingting said, “How can instant noodles alone keep your nutrition up? How about adding a tea egg? My mom brought them from home last night.”
This was Chen Hangliang from the product packaging design department: “Tea eggs alone are so dry. Deputy Director Jiang, how about a cup of my homemade goji and codonopsis revitalizing tea?”
This was Zhao Zhao from parts R&D coordination, who said with a hint of disdain, “Save that codonopsis for yourself. Someone as young as Deputy Director Jiang doesn’t need that. But a chicken drumstick would work for protein.”
Chen Hangliang was choked up that was a premium remedy he’d brewed especially for late-night overtime. “Hmph, fine, I’ll keep it for myself.”
Jiang Yi looked at her enthusiastic employees chattering away. These were all top graduates from 985 and 211 universities doing mentally demanding work careless about small formalities but sincere and straightforward. They had all followed her from abroad back to China, staying by her side. Sometimes it really was quite lively.
In the end, to keep her instant noodles from turning into soup, Jiang Yi finally got them to quiet down: “All right, tonight let’s try to land a big project. I’ll treat you all to a feast some other day.”
Zhao Zhao’s eyes lit up. When Deputy Director Jiang made a move, there was never a deal she couldn’t close. She spoke up first: “Yay!”
Zhang Tingting looked rather excited.
Song Hangliang’s eyes also brightened, and he decided to go back and work overtime right away.
But by the time they left, Jiang Yi was surrounded by piles of little snacks. There was no way to refuse them. Fortunately, break time was over, and she was the only one left in the pantry.
It smelled so good. Jiang Yi, starving, seemed to have forgotten whether she’d even had dinner last night, and had been so busy since morning that she was feeling a little lightheaded. If she hadn’t been keeping up appearances earlier, she would have slurped down several bites already.
So she lifted the lid and took a sip of the broth first, then picked up the fork, twirled up a roll of noodles, and was about to devour it.
She still had to prepare for the evening’s reception and dinner with the business partner. Her phone had just buzzed, but Jiang Yi knew nothing of it at this moment.
Calls to Deputy Director Jiang’s office went unanswered. The Baige partner who was originally scheduled to meet in the afternoon suddenly changed the appointment to noon, because a last-minute meeting had come up that afternoon.
As a result, Jiang Yi, having received no notice of the change, was caught in a timing gap.
Fortunately, the receptionist knew the situation both Deputy Director Jiang and President Song had said an important guest would be arriving in the evening so she received him as the designated host and then went searching everywhere for Deputy Director Jiang.
People in the company took notice. Leading the group at the front was a woman so beautiful it seemed unreal. Her eyebrows were slightly longer than her eyes, with upturned corners sensual and bold, noble and young. Large hoop earrings adorned her ears, her makeup exquisite, her hair falling in waves. A striped blouse was tucked into a red pencil skirt that hugged her graceful curves. She radiated aggression, yet people couldn’t help but be drawn toward her. She truly looked even better than a celebrity.
Perhaps the only one who could rival her was Vice President Jiang, sitting nearby though Vice President Jiang dressed far less flamboyantly, favoring darker tones. If one had to compare, President Shen might actually be two points more beautiful.
She was said to be the president of Baige, who would have thought she’d be so young and stunning?
Zhou Zhengguang, Jiang Yi’s assistant, had just finished handling a business liaison. The moment he heard the news, he rushed back without stopping, only to find this scene: the visitors seated, sipping tea, with President Shen at their head already looking somewhat impatient.
His heart lurched. He stepped forward with an apologetic smile. It had only been ten minutes since they arrived, yet the client was proving even more difficult than expected: “Shall I show you around our equipment workshop in the back first?”
Shen Siyao looked at the smiling assistant, seemingly displeased. Someone beside her spoke up automatically: “President Shen’s time is precious, she has only one hour. We hope you can show us some real capability.”
The words couldn’t have been more polite, but then again, they had the strength to back them up.
Assistant Zhou could only hope Vice President Jiang would return soon. With a client of this magnitude millions on the line at any moment, he felt his scalp tingling under the pressure.
He did all the talking and introducing along the way, while the person beside President Shen occasionally asked a question or two, or gave only vague responses, leaving him unable to read their intentions. It seemed they were watching with some interest, but not much and by now, more than half the hour had passed.
The person beside President Shen kept checking their watch, while President Shen herself hadn’t even bothered to look up at him directly. The disdain was unmistakable, and Zhou Zhengguang began to feel angry.
He had done his homework before this meeting, looking into Baige’s preferences after all, knowing your counterpart was key to tailoring your pitch. But the information he’d gathered was limited. All he’d heard was that President Shen had an unforgettable ex-girlfriend and had remained single ever since. Since President Shen showed no interest in his introduction, perhaps she was just some Eldest Miss sent down from above to gild her résumé, no wonder she understood nothing.
So he too began to look down on her, and simply opened up a different line of conversation: “I’ve long heard President Shen has an unforgettable ex-girlfriend. Is that person still around?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he didn’t notice that the entire team following behind Shen Siyao had gone silent, looking at him with something like pity.
Then an inexplicable gaze turned toward the woman sitting there. Cold eyes narrowed slightly, and the words that came out carried no warmth at all: “Dead.”
Zhou Zhengguang was rather awkward. After a long pause: “Ah! My condolences, President Shen.” He tried to offer some comfort: “Out with the old, in with the new. One must always look forward.”
Jiang Yi’s heart skipped. She lifted her head groggily, only to meet a gaze that was half-smile, half-not a look that seemed to want to stab eight hundred knives into her.
Slightly narrow, upturned eyes; features exquisite as porcelain; a pallid complexion—and eyes that were cold.
Oh no. Those words had landed right in her ears. An unforgettable ex-girlfriend, could it be… her? And that last line Jiang Yi felt the person before her merge with the figure from that midsummer morning that woman with the icy, commanding presence.
She felt dazed.
But Zhou Zhengguang seemed to have spotted reinforcements. So Vice President Jiang was here: “Vice President Jiang! Finally found you. Let me introduce this is President Shen, the president of Baige.”
“President Shen, let me introduce you, this is Vice President Jiang of our Aurora Technology, and she’ll be your partner for this upcoming collaboration.”
Neither of them said a word, standing there as if locked in confrontation though it was President Shen who bristled, while President Jiang seemed oddly guilty.
Jiang Yi extended her hand. Her limbs felt a little stiff, and an emotion flickered across her face. Even with that faint suspicion, she hadn’t expected it to truly be such a coincidence such a vast world, and after all these years, to meet again: “Hello, President Shen.”