Li Yi had absolutely no idea someone had come upstairs.
With his back to the staircase, he stared intently at the monitors in front of him, his fingers flying across the keyboard. He was so completely immersed in his work that it was as though he had entered another world.
He looked far too focused for anyone to interrupt.
Liang Ming had already tiptoed back downstairs.
Yu Wan glanced around, then quietly took a seat on the sofa to one side, waiting for him to finish what he was doing.
One minute passed.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
Li Yi still hadn’t noticed there was someone beside him.
In the end, even the System couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
【Host, the fem…】
【Shh, quiet.】
System: 【…】
Lowering her head, Yu Wan stifled a laugh.
By the time Li Yi finally reached a stopping point, stretched lazily in his chair, and let out a long sigh of relief, he turned around and met a pair of smiling eyes.
Li Yi: “…”
Li Yi: “…!!!!!!”
【System!!! When did she get here!!!】
【Host, the heroine has been sitting behind you for twenty five minutes already.】
【Why didn’t you tell me sooner!】
【I tried to!】The System sounded utterly aggrieved.【You told me to be quiet.】
【…】
Li Yi’s expression was priceless.
Suppressing her laughter, Yu Wan greeted him.
“Morning.”
“M Morning,” Li Yi replied stiffly.
Taking a deep breath, he raised a hand to tidy his hair before straightening his collar, desperately trying to salvage what remained of his image.
Watching the entire sequence of actions, Yu Wan couldn’t keep the smile from spreading across her lips.
She pointed toward the twelve monitors, especially the one currently playing Tom and Jerry.
“What’s… that?”
Li Yi followed her finger, and his expression froze for a split second.
“Oh, that.” He cleared his throat, trying to make himself sound more professional. “That’s for improving concentration.”
Yu Wan raised an eyebrow.
“You improve your concentration by watching Tom and Jerry?”
“That’s right. After the human brain has been working at high intensity for a prolonged period, it needs appropriate visual stimulation to activate different regions of the brain. Cartoons like this have simple plots but rich visuals. They don’t consume much cognitive capacity while still allowing the brain to relax.”
The more he explained, the more serious he became.
Yu Wan nodded slowly.
“…I see.”
It actually sounded fairly convincing.
【System, I remember you saying before that women are attracted to men when they’re focused on their work.】
Yu Wan heard Li Yi asking in his mind.
【That’s correct. Serious and responsible men generally match the qualities most women look for in a partner.】
【Perfect! Then today I’ll show her what real dedication looks like!】
Li Yi smiled confidently.
Standing up, he walked over to Yu Wan.
“Come on. I’ll show you what we’re doing today.”
The two of them went downstairs to a separate room on the second floor.
The room was smaller than the main office outside, but it was packed with even more equipment.
In the center stood a machine that looked incredibly complicated, with cables running from it into the surrounding computers.
Several robotic arms of different models stood in one corner, while a transparent glass cabinet nearby contained an orderly display of various coffee making tools.
“This is our motion capture laboratory,” Li Yi introduced. “Today’s main task is teaching a robot how to make coffee.”
Yu Wan looked at the robotic arms before turning back to Li Yi.
“So what do I need to do?”
“You just need to make coffee normally.” Li Yi walked over to one of the computers and began adjusting the equipment.
“These sensors will record every single movement you make, your wrist rotation, your arm’s movement trajectory, the amount of pressure your fingers apply. All of that data will be collected and converted into instructions the machine can understand.”
He pointed at her clothes.
“You don’t need to change your outfit, but you’ll have to wear some equipment.”
Only then did Yu Wan notice a black skintight suit lying on the table, covered in countless small white markers.
“This is a motion capture suit,” Li Yi explained. “Once you’re wearing it, our system will be able to precisely record every movement your body makes.”
Picking up the suit, Yu Wan examined the white markers before looking back at Li Yi.
“I’m the only one wearing it?”
Li Yi nodded. “That’s right, just you.”
Yu Wan fell silent for two seconds.
It wasn’t that she was embarrassed.
The whole situation just felt strangely surreal.
…Has this world really evolved into something this cyberpunk already?!
From what she remembered of the original novel, none of this technological advancement had existed.
Whether it was Gu Chiyuan, Su Nanzhi, or Li Yi, everyone had been thriving in the financial world. AI had still been little more than a concept seen in movies.
Carrying the suit, Yu Wan entered the changing room.
Five minutes later, she walked back out.
The black bodysuit outlined her slender figure, while the white tracking markers were evenly distributed across her arms, waist, back, and legs.
Feeling somewhat uncomfortable, Yu Wan tugged lightly at her sleeve before looking up at Li Yi.
“Is this okay?”
Li Yi froze.
“Y Yes…” he stammered, the tips of his ears turning slightly red.
Yu Wan paid no attention to his reaction and walked straight to the coffee machine.
“Let’s begin.”
Snapping back to his senses, Li Yi returned to the computer and performed one final equipment check.
“Everything’s ready.” He looked up. “Just make coffee normally, starting with grinding the beans, then extraction, steaming the milk, and finally latte art. Do each process three times. You don’t need to slow down on purpose, just work at your usual pace.”
Yu Wan nodded, took a deep breath, and began.
She first measured out the coffee beans and poured them into the grinder.
The machine hummed as the beans were crushed, releasing a rich aroma into the air.
These were movements she had performed countless times, so familiar that they required almost no conscious thought.
But today was different.
She could feel all those machines recording every one of her actions.
The thought that she was about to become the foundation of technological progress filled her with an overwhelming sense of solemn purpose.
The room remained quiet, with only the sound of the grinder and her own breathing.
Occasionally, Li Yi would speak.
“Relax your wrist angle a little more. That’s it.”
“Keep the extraction time at around twenty five seconds. What’s your usual timing?”
“When steaming the milk, the depth of the steam wand…”
His voice was calm and focused, completely different from the slightly goofy person he usually appeared to be.
As Yu Wan made coffee, she occasionally stole glances at him out of the corner of her eye.
Li Yi sat before the computer, watching the constantly changing data on the screen with a slight furrow between his brows. His eyes were so focused they seemed capable of seeing straight through the display, while his fingers occasionally tapped across the keyboard to input new commands.
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the side of his face and sharply defining his profile.
Yu Wan withdrew her gaze and continued with the task at hand.
Yet a strange feeling stirred within her.
Her heartbeat seemed just a little faster than usual.
When this man became serious…
He actually looked much more handsome than he normally did.
The entire morning passed quickly.
Yu Wan made more than a dozen cups of coffee, every single one of which was eagerly snatched up by Liang Ming and the others.
The group of technicians knew very little about coffee, but who would turn down free coffee?
The afternoon’s work became even more meticulous.
Li Yi had her repeatedly perform specific movements, including different latte art patterns such as hearts, tulips, and swans.
Each time, he carefully compared the data before making subtle adjustments to the robot’s parameters.
“Look.” He pointed at two overlapping trajectory graphs on the screen. “This one is what you just did, and this one is the robot’s simulation. The difference is already very small, but there’s still room for improvement in how smoothly the wrist rotates.”
Yu Wan leaned closer to examine the display.
The two curves almost completely overlapped, with only one tiny section showing a slight deviation.
“Isn’t this already amazing?” Yu Wan asked.