The business team was the core division of Hongtai Group.
Second Uncle Gu’s eyes lit up as he hurriedly said, “Yes, yes, yes! The business team is perfect! Yihang has a silver tongue. He’s well suited for sales!”
Second Aunt Gu quickly chimed in as well.
“The business team is where he’ll really learn something! Besides, he’ll meet all kinds of people. It’ll be good for his future!”
Gu Chiyuan glanced at Gu Yihang.
He had always believed this younger cousin was beyond saving.
Scoring less than three hundred on the college entrance exam was one thing. After four years studying abroad, he still couldn’t even speak fluent English.
Still, an ordinary position in the business team was only slightly better than being an intern. It wasn’t exactly a high ranking job.
At least he wouldn’t be managing anyone.
When the time came, he could assign Gu Yihang to a strict, impartial supervisor. That should prevent him from causing too much trouble.
Gu Chiyuan remained silent for two seconds.
Then he nodded.
“Fine! Have him report to the new office on Monday.”
Second Uncle Gu and Second Aunt Gu exchanged a glance, both visibly relieved.
“Come, come, Chiyuan. Let your second uncle toast you! Yihang will be in your hands from now on!”
Second Uncle Gu raised his glass.
Gu Chiyuan lifted his own glass, lightly clinked it against his uncle’s, and took a small sip.
Second Uncle Gu drained him in one go, beaming from ear to ear.
Gu Yihang kept his head lowered, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward.
Success!
It wasn’t a managerial position, but it wasn’t bad either. It was far more respectable than being an intern.
It was already something he could brag about.
He secretly took out his phone beneath the table and opened WeChat.
【Gu Yihang: I’ve got good news for you.】
【Gu Yihang: I’ll be working with you starting next Monday!】
Recipient: Su Nanzhi.
The reply came quickly.
【Su Nanzhi: Really? Congratulations!】
A cute sticker of someone bubbling over with happiness followed beneath it.
Gu Yihang recalled the first time he had met Su Nanzhi.
It had been three months earlier, at a newly opened bar in the eastern part of the city.
He had only recently returned from overseas and had been dragged there by a few drinking buddies. Halfway through the night, he noticed a girl sitting alone at the bar.
She wore a white dress with her long hair falling over her shoulders, quietly sipping fruit juice by herself.
Among all the glamorous women around her, she looked like a pure white flower.
His heart skipped a beat immediately.
Taking advantage of his drunken courage, he had gone over to strike up a conversation. He had expected to be rejected, but instead she had smiled at him.
“Hello, I’m Su Nanzhi.”
He still remembered that smile to this day.
【Gu Yihang: By the way, Nanzhi, are you free this weekend? I’d like to treat you to dinner to celebrate in advance!】
【Su Nanzhi: You don’t have to be so polite. Let’s wait until you’ve officially joined the company.】
【Gu Yihang: Then it’s settled! I’ll treat you to the first meal after I start work! You can’t refuse!】
【Su Nanzhi: Alright, I’ll be looking forward to it.】
Looking at the screen, Gu Yihang finally felt comforted.
Now this is what a girl should be like.
Soft spoken, sweet, and always so gentle.
Unlike that burden sitting across from him, who was cold as ice, as though everyone owed her millions.
After seeing the family of four off, peace finally returned to the Gu residence.
Since she didn’t have to work, Yu Wan spent the rest of the weekend happily lazing around at the Gu house until Monday.
On Monday morning, she got up a little earlier than usual.
After changing clothes and getting ready, she headed downstairs for breakfast.
Mother Yu had already prepared the meal.
Uncle Gu and Gu Chiyuan each held a tablet, eating breakfast while reading the news.
“Xiao Wan, are you going to work today?” Mother Yu asked.
Yu Wan nodded. “Mm! The café is being renovated, so I’m helping out at my boss’s lab.”
Mother Yu nodded.
“Then later…”
“I’ll drive her,” Gu Chiyuan said. “It’s on the way.”
I knew it.
Yu Wan secretly rolled her eyes. Mother Yu and Uncle Gu exchanged amused glances.
After breakfast, Yu Wan said goodbye to the elders before getting into the car with Gu Chiyuan.
“The address.”
Yu Wan snapped out of her thoughts.
“Ah? Oh, right.”
She entered the destination into the navigation system.
The destination was a commercial villa district.
Li Yi’s technology company, Singularity Technology, was located there, not far from the café.
The car slowly pulled away.
Yu Wan secretly glanced at Gu Chiyuan in the driver’s seat, feeling rather surprised.
She had expected him to question her.
Recently, this stepbrother had shown an unusual level of curiosity about her. He had investigated her address, picked her up from the hot spring resort, and even stood up for her.
Given that trend, she had expected questions like, “What are you doing here?” or “Who exactly is your boss?”
She had already prepared several vague answers in advance.
Yet Gu Chiyuan didn’t ask a single one.
“What time do you usually get off work?” he suddenly asked instead.
Yu Wan blinked.
“Around seven, I guess.”
Gu Chiyuan simply nodded. The rest of the drive passed in silence.
The car stopped outside the entrance to the commercial villa district.
Yu Wan got out and looked back.
The silver gray Bentley had already turned around and disappeared into the traffic.
She stood there watching it vanish, utterly confused.
That was it? He wasn’t going to ask anything?
What’s Gu Chiyuan planning? Is he coming to pick me up after work?
Shaking her head, she turned and walked inside.
The commercial villa housing Singularity Technology was… much cozier than she had imagined.
It was a three story villa covered in ivy, with a small garden at the entrance.
It didn’t look like a technology company at all.
Using the access card Li Yi had given her, Yu Wan unlocked the door and stepped inside, immediately greeted by a bright, spacious interior.
The first floor was an open office area, but it looked nothing like the cubicles of a traditional company.
The workstations consisted of oversized sofas paired with adjustable height desks, while lush green plants were scattered everywhere.
A row of beanbag chairs lined the floor to ceiling windows, warm sunlight pouring across them.
Yet the equipment was thoroughly modern.
A massive display screen hung on the wall, scrolling endless streams of code and data.
Several robots of various shapes stood in one corner.
Yu Wan stared at them for a moment before realizing what they were doing.
One large tracked robot slowly crawled along a simulated wall, its mechanical arm fitted with an inspection probe that appeared to be checking for structural cracks.
Another slender robot was suspended on several steel cables, simulating movement along high altitude support cables. It moved steadily, though painfully slowly.
In another corner, a robotic arm continuously repeated the motions of grasping, lifting, and placing objects. Nearby lay several apples that had been crushed out of shape.
“What are these…”
Yu Wan looked bewildered.
“They’re simulating high altitude operations.”
Liang Ming’s voice came from the staircase.
“The one climbing the wall is an exterior wall inspection robot, used for inspecting the outer surfaces of high rise buildings. The one on the steel cables is a cable maintenance robot built specifically for climbing bridge cables. As for that robotic arm, it’s simulating debris removal for post earthquake rescue operations.”
Yu Wan turned and saw Liang Ming running downstairs from the second floor.
“Yu Wan, you’re finally here!”
He grinned brightly.
“The boss has been waiting for you for ages!”
Yu Wan grabbed him by the arm.
“Tell me something. Does your company actually make money?”
Recently, she has been studying the current artificial intelligence market.
These dangerous industries still relied on human workers because, compared with research costs that easily reached hundreds of millions, paying workers tens of thousands a month was practically insignificant.
Even risking human lives was considered cost effective by many companies.
From a humanitarian perspective, Yu Wan wholeheartedly approved of Li Yi’s research direction.
But from a business management perspective…
It felt like it would lose money.
Liang Ming blinked before laughing.
“Don’t worry, Yu Wan. We have more projects than we can handle,” he said with a smile. “Besides, back in college the boss made tens of millions just selling patents. Investors were practically chasing after him, begging to fund him, but he turned every one of them down. He said he didn’t need the money.”
“And you don’t need to worry about the café either. The boss bought it to collect data. In our line of work, data is worth more than anything else.”
Hearing that, Yu Wan relaxed slightly.
Even if he hadn’t yet reached the status of the financial prodigy described in the original novel, things still seemed to be going quite well.
She followed Liang Ming farther inside.
“The boss is on the third floor. I’ll give you a tour first,” Liang Ming enthusiastically explained. “The first floor is the common office area, the second floor is R&D, and the third floor is the boss’s private territory.”
Yu Wan followed him upstairs.
Most of the team worked on the second floor.
The majority sat at their workstations, typing away at their computers.
Some people in the lounge area wore headphones, while others discussed problems together. The atmosphere was lively.
“Our working hours are pretty flexible,” Liang Ming explained. “If there’s work to do, we put in overtime. If there isn’t, you don’t even have to come in.”
His voice attracted some attention.
When everyone noticed Yu Wan, they all looked up and waved enthusiastically.
“Hi, Yu Wan!”
“Yu Wan’s here!”
“Yu Wan, you look beautiful today!”
Most of them were a few years older than Yu Wan, yet they all called her “Yu Wan.” The enthusiastic welcome left her feeling a little embarrassed, and she simply nodded in response.
Liang Ming quietly said beside her,
“Don’t mind them. They’re just enthusiastic.”
Enthusiastic? Yu Wan complained inwardly.
This is obviously gossip.
After touring the second floor, Liang Ming led her upstairs to the third.
The layout there was completely different from the two floors below.
The entire floor was an open space.
Several robots stood along the walls, each with a different design. Some looked humanoid, others were purely mechanical, and one appeared to be only half finished, with wires exposed everywhere.
Against one wall stood a row of bookshelves packed with technical books, along with all sorts of strange little ornaments.
Near the floor to ceiling windows sat a sofa set, with what looked like a professional coffee brewing setup on the coffee table.
There was also an enormous desk.
And behind that enormous desk sat Li Yi.
In front of him were no fewer than twelve monitors.
Yu Wan fell silent.
How many pairs of eyes does he have? Can he really keep track of all of them?
She quietly stepped closer and discovered that every screen displayed something different.
Some showed code. Some displayed data charts.
Some contained robot simulation models.
And one monitor…was playing Tom and Jerry.
Yu Wan was speechless.
Wait a second.
What’s with the Tom and Jerry screen?