Chapter 41

Under the work group’s desperate push, the optimization outline was soon handed over to Qian Longyue.

The technical difficulty this time was obviously higher; you could tell from how often Qian Longyue sighed.

Because time was tight, everyone sent to assist Qian Longyue came from the technical team. Wei Xiaolu only needed to help with peripheral work, nothing that touched the core.

At most, she helped process some data. But after using Qiding Technology’s products, even the professional skills she had once held in her hands seemed to have become useless. What she had learned in college was already decades-old material; even the little that was still useful now seemed destined to be replaced by smart technology.

Sometimes, when Wei Xiaolu sat in front of the computer and mechanically used the data-processing shortcut tools, she would suddenly feel that what she did every day was no different from the work of an assembly-line laborer.

When even pressing a button was no longer necessary... then what would she do?

What would her future professional competitiveness be?

Should she learn how to use more advanced tools? Then why not simply go study the areas that tools couldn’t replace? But in this era, what field would tools never be able to take over?

Wei Xiaolu was suddenly seized by a doubt that burst up from the depths of her soul and pierced straight through her spine.

Because reality was exactly like this; she practically didn’t need to do anything. The moment she hit Enter, data processing began running at full speed on the screen, and the new dataset was entering comprehensive analysis.

The tool really was efficient.

But for some reason, whenever she used it, Wei Xiaolu always felt a faint unease hanging in her heart.

Could this tool really be trusted?

She would think that while spacing out.

Wei Xiaolu shook her head to dispel those stray thoughts and focused on the data stream in front of her.

Then suddenly.

A brief, extremely short stutter flashed before Wei Xiaolu’s eyes.

It was as if something that had been in free fall suddenly paused in midair, as if the world itself had just glitched; as long as you ignored it, you could still live comfortably and at ease.

But Wei Xiaolu’s nerves abruptly tightened. She pulled up the system monitor and discovered that, at the same time as the stutter, the indicator for network upload had also flickered.

That wasn’t right.

At the moment, she was the only one in the department using this tool, and the data had been running just now while she was spacing out; there was no way she had accidentally uploaded anything.

Or was this upload referring to the running data being sent to a higher-level platform?

Wei Xiaolu straightened up at once.

She focused for three seconds.

Then she swiftly raised her hand and started typing furiously on the keyboard; she needed to know exactly where this data had gone.

When lines of code began tracking the upload address, she finally found that inconspicuous destination; her breath caught hard in her chest.

It was Zhaolan’s server.

A wave of icy shock drilled up her spine and into her brain.

This tool that was supposed to help them improve efficiency was actually connected to a competitor’s backdoor?

Wei Xiaolu bit down on the knuckle of her index finger. While her heart pounded with fear, she suddenly realized something else: the person she had been trying so hard to find, the one leaking information, was actually herself?!

Stop! Stop it right now!

She immediately cut off the running process, closed all the programs, then stood up and rubbed her hands together, no longer even sure how to breathe properly.

Pacing back and forth in place, Wei Xiaolu carefully recalled everything that had happened. All the unclear clues suddenly came into focus.

No wonder Zhaolan’s all-in-one platform could be so similar. No wonder the release timing had been so exact. No wonder Chen Yuran had shown no sign of panic. No wonder she had seen their collaboration with Zhaolan at Qiding Technology.

Because this wasn’t a leak at all. It was theft!

This news had to be reported to CEO Shen immediately.

Wei Xiaolu rushed out the door and stormed into Shen Siyan’s office.

“Shen...”

The word froze in midair.

Wang Chen, holding a gift-wrapped case of fine liquor, had turned toward the door together with Shen Siyan.

Could the god of awkwardness please stop favoring me... Wei Xiaolu was stuck in the doorway now, neither able to enter nor retreat. She could only grin awkwardly at the two of them.

Shen Siyan returned her smile, then pushed the liquor Wang Chen had brought toward him.

“Thank you, Wang Chen,” Shen Siyan said. “I don’t drink.”

Wang Chen glared at Wei Xiaolu with resentment, then immediately put on a bright smile for the boss. “Please just accept it, CEO Shen. It’s only a small apology from me. Sometimes I can’t keep my mouth shut, but I really meant no disrespect toward your father...”

“I know; I didn’t misunderstand you either. I was only helping you solve your housing problem,” Shen Siyan interrupted, pushing the liquor back again. “Also, I don’t accept gifts, Wang Chen. Put this energy into your work instead.”

The smile on Wang Chen’s face stiffened.

He seemed to want to say something else, but Shen Siyan had already turned her gaze to Wei Xiaolu. “Xiaolu, you’re here just in time. Come help me organize this report.”

As she spoke, she beckoned Wei Xiaolu over; when she turned back, she also gave Wang Chen a slight nod. “Engineer Wang, you should go back to work first.”

The meaning of seeing him out was already so obvious that even if Wang Chen was unwilling, he could only hide the liquor behind his back and slink away from Wei Xiaolu’s side.

As soon as he left, Wei Xiaolu immediately locked the door behind her and rushed to Shen Siyan’s desk.

“CEO Shen!”

Leaning back in her chair, Shen Siyan turned slightly and looked at her with a faint smile. “I don’t accept other people’s gifts.”

Wei Xiaolu had something serious on her mind right now; hearing that, she skipped over it almost reflexively. “CEO Shen, I know what’s going on. It’s Qiding—their data-processing tool has a problem. All our data can be sent straight over to Zhaolan!”

After saying that, she was still a little short of breath, so she sucked in a breath and looked nervously at Shen Siyan.

But there was no surprise on Shen Siyan’s face. She listened quietly to the end, lowered her eyes, and gave a slight nod.

She didn’t answer right away. The brief silence made Wei Xiaolu calm down a little.

Then she suddenly realized that barging straight up to Shen Siyan and pointing out the problem like this did seem somewhat rash. After all, it had been Shen Siyan who had decided to buy Qiding’s products in the first place, and in the end this had turned out to be the biggest culprit; it was practically like slapping the boss in the face.

“Um, CEO Shen,” Wei Xiaolu twisted her fingers together. “Nobody could have guessed it would turn out like this. After all, Qiding’s tool really was easy to use, which is why we bought it...”

The more she spoke, the softer her voice became, until she finally trailed off completely.

But Shen Siyan let out a light laugh.

She walked around the desk and came to Wei Xiaolu’s side, leaning against the edge of the table as she looked over with gentle eyes.

“Tell me in detail how you discovered it.”

After Wei Xiaolu repeated everything that had just happened, Shen Siyan reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder. “Xiaolu, you’re amazing. You helped everyone find the root of the problem.”

“But...” Wei Xiaolu hesitated. “I’m worried that if I tell everyone, it might not be good for you. After all, you were the one who decided to buy it...”

“No buts.”

Shen Siyan’s steady voice only made Wei Xiaolu sound less certain.

Wei Xiaolu looked at Shen Siyan.

“Before the truth, who made the decision doesn’t matter,” Shen Siyan said. “And rather than dwelling on whose decision it was, I’m more glad that you were the one who found the problem.”

Wei Xiaolu blinked in confusion.

Across from her, something in Shen Siyan’s carefully composed face seemed to be covered by things Wei Xiaolu didn’t yet have words for.

But through Shen Siyan’s eyes, she could feel an upward, lifting force coming from those nameless things.

“Don’t rush to clear the data yet. That’s evidence,” Shen Siyan said, resting her chin on one hand as if thinking something over. “As for the rest, I’ll think about how to settle the score with Qiding and Zhaolan.”

Wei Xiaolu felt that the future was bright again. She took a deep breath. “Okay, CEO Shen.”

She hadn’t dared make a big deal of this discovery, but the only person who knew about it—Shen Siyan—had already started taking action.

No one knew what exactly CEO Shen had been busy with, but when work ended that day, Wei Xiaolu went back to the apartment alone. She had already showered and settled into bed, and Shen Siyan was still out handling things; she hadn’t come back yet.

It was already past ten.

Wei Xiaolu rolled around on the bed several times, torn over whether she should send a message asking when her boss would be home.

But before the caring message could even be sent, an annoying one came in first.

[Wang Chen: Xiaolu, help me out, will you?]

[Wang Chen: I put the liquor under CEO Shen’s desk. I don’t dare tell her myself. Tomorrow, could you mention it to her and ask her to accept it?]

“Could you get lost!”

Wei Xiaolu was really about to explode. What the hell kind of thing was this? Running into a coworker like this was truly the misfortune of eight lifetimes.

Of course, after seeing how this man spread rumors, Wei Xiaolu didn’t dare lash out rashly. She could only swallow her anger and reply while cursing him in her heart: [She already said it; she doesn’t accept gifts.]

[Wang Chen: Just help me say it to her, okay? I feel pretty awful about it too. All of you know who her dad is, and nobody told me.]

Then maybe think about why nobody told you?

Wei Xiaolu took a deep breath and silently recited that she didn’t owe work any extra kindness after clocking out, but she still couldn’t suppress her anger. She roared, “How can there be someone this stupid!”

After taking two more deep breaths, she replied:

[Wei Xiaolu: I can only mention it to her. If she still won’t accept it, I can’t do anything about it.]

[Wang Chen: Thanks, thanks. I’ll treat you to barbecue later.]

Who cares about your barbecue!

Wei Xiaolu was furious.

She had planned to get to the company before Shen Siyan the next morning, hide the liquor, and then return it directly to Wang Chen, saying that Shen Siyan wouldn’t accept it and had asked for it to be sent back.

Yes, she simply didn’t want Wang Chen to get his way. She wanted Wang Chen to live in constant anxiety.

But on the other hand, she also didn’t want Shen Siyan to be forced into accepting this apology gift. After all, Shen Siyan herself had said she didn’t accept other people’s gifts.

Wei Xiaolu froze.

She didn’t accept other people’s gifts.

But Shen Siyan had accepted the gift she gave her.

She slowly sat up from the bed.

Twenty minutes later, the lock clicked open, the door opened, and Shen Siyan came back.

Wei Xiaolu, still not having figured out what was going on, went out to meet her, then followed right behind Shen Siyan as she walked into her bedroom.

“Hm?” Noticing she was being followed, Shen Siyan smiled. “What’s wrong, Xiaolu?”

“CEO Shen, um...” As if she wanted to confirm something, Wei Xiaolu spoke the words she had originally planned to hide. “Wang Chen asked me to tell you that he put the liquor under your desk.”

Shen Siyan let out a soft sigh. “Help me return it to him tomorrow.”

“You’re not planning to accept it?” Wei Xiaolu asked.

Shen Siyan shook her head. “I have a principle of not accepting gifts.”

“Then the one I gave you...”

Shen Siyan turned around, her gaze landing on Wei Xiaolu’s face. “Yours is the exception.”

Her fingertips hid under her sleeve, concealing the trembling of her heart very carefully.

Wei Xiaolu really wanted to ask why she was the exception, but she also seemed to know what the answer was. She knew that once she asked, something would inevitably change quietly, so in the end she didn’t ask. Instead, she said, “Then the skincare products I gave you, are they suitable?”

Shen Siyan looked at her.

Wei Xiaolu also looked at Shen Siyan.

Then she saw the corners of Shen Siyan’s mouth lift just a little as she smiled softly.

“I haven’t used them yet,” Shen Siyan said, opening the cabinet and taking out the skincare set that had not yet been unwrapped.

“Oh.” Wei Xiaolu was a little dazed. “You haven’t used them yet?”

“Right.” Shen Siyan placed the box of skincare products on the table.

“Also, you don’t lack these things anyway,” Wei Xiaolu murmured. “Then just keep them for now; when you need them someday in the future, you can use them.”

“In the future...” Shen Siyan’s voice trailed off.

Then she looked at Wei Xiaolu again and said calmly, “Actually, I wanted to keep them so that one day in the future, I could use them with you.”