PB - Chapter 52
Chapter 52
Qiao Qi and Yao Qiu arrived at Shenzhen Airport at ten in the morning. Su Jiayin, who had arrived the day before, had something to attend to and couldn’t pick them up. Yao Qiu had the branch office send a car over, and she drove Qiao Qi to the hotel first. The hotel had been booked by Su Jiayin that morning; Qiao Qi’s room was right across the hall from hers. It was the same suite she had stayed in opposite Gu Jianchu on her first trip here.
Qiao Qi stood on the terrace, looking out at the sea. Every time she faced Gu Jianchu, it was a battle between her reason and her longing, and every time, reason lost. She had thought coming to Shenzhen would bring a moment of relief, but it seemed not. Yet Qiao Qi had her pride. No matter how much she might understand Gu Jianchu, she couldn’t so easily forgive the betrayal. A sigh escaped her lips. It was simply that she didn’t want to forgive so easily.
“Xiao Qiu, buy a house here.” If she was going to be coming here often in the future, she would need a more comfortable bedroom. She wasn’t fond of staying in hotels.
“Yes, President Qiao.” After that brief exchange, Qiao Qi fell silent again, so Yao Qiu went back inside to unpack.
The doorbell rang abruptly. Yao Qiu went to open it and found Su Jiayin. “President Su, please come in. President Qiao is on the terrace.”
Before Su Jiayin could reach the terrace, Qiao Qi had already returned to the room. She knew it was Su Jiayin. “Are you done with your work?” she asked.
“I came to take you to lunch.” Su Jiayin observed her complexion, then pulled her wrist over to take her pulse. After so many years of studying medicine, she knew a thing or two. With limited means, this was the simplest way to check on Qiao Qi’s physical condition. “How have you been lately?”
Qiao Qi let her old professional habits take over. “Very well.”
Su Jiayin seemed to remember something and suddenly asked, “Did Jianchu ask you to go drinking with her recently?”
Qiao Qi raised an eyebrow. Instead of answering directly, she countered, “Why do you ask?”
Not suspecting anything, Su Jiayin answered honestly, “Jianchu called me a few days ago to ask if you could drink a little alcohol.” After saying this, she immediately put on a teasing, ambiguous smile and said with deliberate cadence, “She’s so considerate of you now, putting your health first. She used to be the one who would secretly take you drinking at the drop of a hat. Ah, love… it’s so beautiful.”
The thought of the untouched wine from that night brought back memories of their passionate evening, which naturally led to thoughts of Gu Jianchu’s beautiful face. In fact, she had been thinking about her just moments ago on the terrace, remembering the first time Gu Jianchu had fallen asleep in front of her, on the terrace of the room next door. It had been so strange and awkward back then.
“So how are things between you two? Any new developments?” Su Jiayin said regretfully. “Leaving Beijing was a terrible idea. Otherwise, I’d know what stage your reconciliation is at. Every time I ask, you just give me that look and don’t say a word.”
Qiao Qi was intrigued. “What look?”
Su Jiayin rolled her eyes at her. “A completely blank expression. The kind that says, This is my private business, and you’re crossing a line by asking. You can ask, but I won’t answer.”
A smile touched the corners of Qiao Qi’s eyes. “Alright, we’re fine. You don’t need to worry. We’re all adults.” Unwilling to dwell on the topic, she let her smile fade and asked, “If you’re done with your work, come with me to the factory tomorrow.”
Su Jiayin stopped joking around. “You didn’t just come here suddenly for Xingda’s restructuring, did you? From our last few calls, I got the feeling you have big plans for the factory.”
“I do.” Qiao Qi turned on her tablet and handed it over. “Take a look.”
Half an hour later, Su Jiayin finished reading. “Upgrade the production line to 8.0?” she said in disbelief. “I can tell you for a fact that Ruifeng’s board of directors will never approve this proposal, and my family won’t approve the loan either. Personally, I don’t think your idea is feasible.”
Most domestic factories currently operated at an automation level of 4.0. The so-called Automation 8.0 referred to a fully unmanned super factory, maximizing efficiency while cutting salary expenses. However, even on a global scale, the number of companies that had upgraded to an 8.0 level was minuscule. Deep down, Qiao Qi knew her 8.0 plan had little chance of success.
“I knew you’d say that.” Qiao Qi chuckled. “I just want to try.”
“Try what? No wonder you came here so quietly, without bringing anyone. To be honest, right now, the only company that could pull off this plan is Rongfang, now that they’ve secured the U.E. project. As long as their marketing is on point, funding won’t be a major issue. No other company could possibly get funding with this proposal. Even with Ruifeng’s deep pockets, it can’t compete with Rongfang’s absolute advantage. You’ll just end up being a laughingstock.”
Qiao Qi was noncommittal. “I’ve thought about that,” she said softly.
Su Jiayin’s gaze was fixed completely on her face, but Qiao Qi avoided her eyes, looking down at the tablet. “I know you,” Su Jiayin said. “You’re practical and efficient. You wouldn’t just throw this at me for no reason. I thought it was strange when you came to acquire Xingda. And I know that during the year you were gone, the Young Master Jin invested in a domestic new energy company. Putting it all together, I think you want to pursue independent research and development. So, what’s your real plan?”
A year ago, she had already arranged for Ning Song and Xu Yangpu to screen domestic new energy companies and had applied for government subsidies for related projects. The goal was to get the board to approve the plan as much as possible, even under the assumption of certain failure. Fortunately, with Zhiyu’s help navigating things, everything had gone relatively smoothly.
Qiao Qi looked up, a smile in her eyes. “Why don’t you take a guess, President Su?”
“It’s either competition or cooperation. Your rush to upgrade the automation makes it look like competition, but their advantage is too great. My guess is you want to cooperate.” Su Jiayin paused, a question on her mind. “Does Jianchu know your plan?”
“I think she has a vague idea. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have given up on Xingda and turned to Feihuang.”
Su Jiayin was too surprised to speak. After a long moment, she started laughing to herself. “You two are really a perfect match. It’s such a shame you broke up. I’m raising both hands in favor of you two getting back together immediately.” Qiao Qi shot her a look. Su Jiayin continued, “As long as you have an advantage, the possibility of cooperation is high. But under the current circumstances, I still think 8.0 is impossible to get approved. It’s a waste of time. I know you must have a backup plan. Stop being mysterious and just tell me.”
“6.0.”
“I’ll think about it. But I’ll do my best to help you.”
“I know.”
Su Jiayin grew a little annoyed. “You know everything, don’t you? The moment Hongyuan stopped the acquisition, you guessed that Jianchu was onto you. You came to me with this 8.0 plan knowing full well I couldn’t make it happen, and you already knew I’d help you with your backup plan. Is there anything you don’t know, President Qiao?”
“Of course.” For once, Qiao Qi spoke in a lazy drawl, smiling. “For example, right now, I don’t know why President Su is suddenly angry.”
Su Jiayin was taken aback, realizing her emotions had come out of nowhere. She leaned over and rested her head on Qiao Qi’s shoulder with a hint of coquettishness. “A Qi, I’m sorry.” She paused, then added nonsensically, “It’s so hard.”
Qiao Qi raised a hand and patted her reassuringly, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her voice was soft and low, like a stream flowing through the mountains. “While I can’t say I completely understand how you feel, I probably understand you better than most. Going from one life to another… your work, friends, home—everything becomes unfamiliar. The skills you once mastered, the habits you relied on, all have to be relearned. I know it’s hard, but take your time. There’s no rush.”
Su Jiayin let out a soft laugh. “Just blame it on my period.” She snuggled deeper into Qiao Qi’s embrace, content. “No wonder Jianchu is shamelessly chasing after you. Our A Qi is just too gentle. I almost want to steal you away from Jianchu myself.”
Qiao Qi gave her a light pat, silently telling her not to joke around like that. “Get up. Let’s go eat.”
Su Jiayin returned to her usual self. “I’ll take you somewhere nice. Jianchu recommended it and told me to take good care of you.”
The next day, Su Jiayin flew back to handle the financing at her family’s company. Qiao Qi moved to a hotel closer to the factory and worked almost around the clock. Writing a plan was simple; executing it was another matter entirely. She bypassed Ruifeng and appointed Ning Song as the main person in charge of this automation upgrade. Her official reason for being there was still the restructuring work.
Gu Jianchu now sent her messages every day. Occasionally, Qiao Qi would reply with a few simple words, maintaining a certain distance. The summer was scorching, and Gu Jianchu rarely went out, preferring to stay in air-conditioned spaces. She hadn’t seen Qiao Qi in over two weeks. She desperately wanted to find time to fly to Shenzhen, but she was simply too busy with work.
That evening, she went to her parents’ house for dinner but didn’t see Gu Fanchu. “Did Fanchu go back?” she asked.
Her father, Gu Feng, replied, “No, he said he was bored sitting at home, so he went traveling. Said something about living abroad for so long and wanting to see the sights in China this time. Who knows what he’s really up to, or where he’s run off to?”
Gu Jianchu assumed that with Qiao Qi out of Beijing, Gu Fanchu’s plans had fallen through, so he had gone off to travel out of boredom. What she couldn’t have guessed was that Gu Fanchu had found out Qiao Qi was in Shenzhen and had immediately flown there. At this very moment, he was enjoying the sea breeze, wondering what excuse he could use to ask Qiao Qi out the next day.
Sometimes, relationships need a bit of luck. Gu Fanchu’s biggest surprise upon arriving in Shenzhen was running into Ning Song. And even more surprisingly, Gu Fanchu himself was a systems architect—and a highly skilled one at that. Thus, his meeting with Qiao Qi seemed perfectly natural and inevitable.
Gu Fanchu’s business acumen wasn’t as sharp or precise as Gu Jianchu’s, so he had no idea that the new factory’s technological upgrade was actually aimed at Rongfang. As long as he could get close to Qiao Qi, he didn’t think much about anything else. And so, he became an unofficial member of Ning Song’s team, helping with the architecture.
Every time Qiao Qi saw him, she didn’t quite know what to say. The phrase she used most often was, “Mr. Gu, we’re really troubling you.”
Gu Fanchu didn’t mind at all; in fact, he was happy every day. “Miss Qiao, whenever you see me, it’s either ‘we’re troubling you’ or ‘thank you.’ You really don’t have to be so polite. Ning Song and I are old friends. It’s only right that I help.”
Qiao Qi felt slightly awkward, first because he was Gu Jianchu’s brother, and second because they were business rivals. She said, “Mr. Gu, if you have any requests, please let me or Ning Song know. We’ll do our best to accommodate you.”
Gu Fanchu seized the opportunity. “I don’t have any special requests. But if Miss Qiao isn’t busy, would you do me the honor of having a meal together?”
Gu Fanchu had asked her out twice now; this meal was bound to happen sooner or later. Besides, he had been so generous with his help that Qiao Qi couldn’t refuse out of gratitude. “You’re too kind, Mr. Gu. It should be me treating you.”
“Since Miss Qiao has agreed, how about tomorrow night?” When Qiao Qi nodded, he added, “May I pick you up tomorrow evening?”
“There’s no need to trouble yourself. Once you’ve chosen a place, Mr. Gu, Yao Qiu will drive me there.”
Gu Fanchu didn’t insist. “Then I’ll see you later, Miss Qiao.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Gu.”
Gu Fanchu was serious about Qiao Qi, which was why he was so indecisive about the dinner location. Having lived abroad for so long, he was barely familiar with Beijing, let alone Shenzhen, which he had only visited a few times. After much thought, he called Gu Jianchu to ask if there were any special restaurants in the city.
Gu Jianchu had a bad feeling. “When did you go there?”
Gu Fanchu grew wary and lied, “I just arrived, which is why I’m asking you about special restaurants.” He then turned the tables. “What’s wrong? It’s quite beautiful here. Why don’t you come relax for a bit too?”
“I’ve sent the restaurant to your phone.” Gu Jianchu disliked her own brother pestering Qiao Qi, so she said, “You can come back after another two days of fun. It’s rare for you to be home; you should spend more time with Mom.”
“Okay, I know. I’ll be back in a couple of days.” He had already found out from Ning Song when Qiao Qi was returning to the city—in two days. That would give him an excuse to go back with her.
After hanging up, Gu Jianchu paused her work for a moment. She didn’t believe for a second that Gu Fanchu had gone to Shenzhen for no reason, especially since Qiao Qi was there. What she found amusing was the thought of Gu Fanchu pursuing Qiao Qi, and she wondered if Qiao Qi felt both awkward and helpless about the situation.
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