An An and Qin Ningyi tacitly steered the conversation elsewhere, the father and son exchanging a look that spoke volumes.
This week, the project team’s work entered its final phase. Qin Ningyi also handled some work over the weekend, striving to dedicate more time to the project team.
It was one thing not to have been involved before, but now, whether it was for Huo Rou or for some other reason, since he was here, he had to be responsible for his role.
“President Qin?” The professor was still unaccustomed to calling this former investor “Little Qin,” and still addressed him as President Qin every day.
He was still a bit disoriented by Qin Ningyi’s early arrival.
Zhao Chenyi, on the other hand, was lively and unreserved in his master’s presence. Munching on a bun, he approached, “Brother Qin, why are you here so early today?”
Before Qin Ningyi could answer, he handed the bun he hadn’t finished to Huo Rou, “Master, have breakfast.”
Qin Ningyi, looking at the grease on Zhao Chenyi’s hand, frowned and pulled Huo Rou closer to him, “Ah Rou has already eaten.”
Huo Rou, his disciple, was quite intelligent and quick with her hands. He had considered recruiting her for his company’s physics laboratory. Not only could she greatly benefit Qin Shi, but she could also contribute to the development of physics.
Her only drawbacks were being a bit noisy and being very clingy to her master, Ah Rou. Although Zhao Chenyi’s admiration for Huo Rou was pure and solemn, he…
Qin Ningyi glanced again at Zhao Chenyi’s greasy fingers and came to another conclusion in his mind: too greasy.
He mused to himself and decided it was best to have the head of the physics laboratory formally extend an invitation, preferably after Zhao Chenyi’s project concluded, so he could truly shine within the laboratory. This would prevent him from merely being a tag-along, hindering his professional growth.
Zhao Chenyi suddenly felt a slight instability in his seemingly free life. He shivered, took a vicious bite of his bun, and mumbled with his mouth full, “Tch, do you have to be so stingy? It’s not like I’m eating Master’s food.”
He suspected that this peculiar feeling was likely due to his “future mistress” plotting against him.
Once before, he had been relaying messages from Huo Rou’s fans and was having such a good time that he hadn’t noticed Qin Ningyi had returned from his work. As a result, Qin Ningyi had given him an incredibly difficult problem that day, claiming it would double the project’s progress once solved. It had exhausted him to the point of not sleeping for two days.
Although, the result was indeed as he had said, it had accelerated the progress…
To avoid such unfortunate events from befalling him again, this young man in his prime, he added, “Brother Qin, don’t tell me you came so early just to watch Master, right!”
Alas, he thought to himself, how could Master tolerate someone so clingy?
“Alright,” Huo Rou interjected, speaking fairly for Qin Ningyi, “The project is in its final sprint. Can you handle it?”
“Can’t handle it!” Zou Xiaoxiao yawned as she walked in from outside, “They won’t even let me, an injured person, off the hook.”
Her injury wasn’t serious, but Zhao Hengyu’s constant fussing had kept her away from the project team for several days of rest.
The professor, who had been enjoying the youngsters’ banter,’s eyes lit up when he saw Zou Xiaoxiao arrive.
“Now that we’re all here, we need to work hard to finish!”
The full team accelerated the entire process. Victory was within reach. Having rested over the weekend, the team voluntarily pushed back their evening rest times to catch up. Huo Rou looked regretfully at the piece of jade in her bag; with the current workload, she could only dedicate her free time to the guzheng.
Without those strange mishaps, the project team had completed nearly all the preliminary work this week, awaiting only the final assembly before testing. The completion of the preliminary work also meant the expiration of the project team’s “Huo Rou experience card.”
On Friday, as they left work, Huo Rou gave the souvenirs she had conned from Xiao Yuda to her colleagues. Here, she had experienced purity and felt a sense of fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with comrades.
She looked at Zou Xiaoxiao, whose eyes were red. When they first met, this girl had harbored a stranger’s hostility, but unexpectedly, she had been the one to take the most care of her in the project team.
The piles of ginseng cakes, the peculiarly flavored Dendrobium officinale soup. Although Zou Xiaoxiao didn't say anything, every action was a gesture of her concern.
“Thank you for taking care of me during this time,” Huo Rou said with a smile, poking Zou Xiaoxiao’s forehead. “If you need help in the future, don’t hesitate to contact me.”
Hearing this, Zou Xiaoxiao looked at her with a displeased expression, her eyes already red. “Who took care of you? That was for everyone to eat…”