Chapter 27: Enemies will also be afraid

The office door was knocked on twice.
Song Huai’s voice sounded from outside.

“Just a moment.”

Tong An’yu had to quickly clean up her face, mainly her already-smudged makeup.

Perhaps she had rubbed too hard with the makeup remover cotton.

The skin around her eyes had become red, making her look like a unique giant panda.

She let out a bitter, amused chuckle at her own state.

Then, she stood by the window, letting the breeze blow on her for two minutes.

Once her emotions had slowly subsided, she put on a pair of low-prescription glasses as a disguise and pulled the door open.

Song Huai was at the door, holding a laptop.
He poked his head in and said, “Team Leader Tong, am I interrupting you?”

The employees at Hexin Technology only knew that the Si family and Lin Huaixu were enemies.

They didn’t know that Tong An’yu and Lin Huaixu also had a past.

Therefore, they assumed Tong An’yu’s unusual behavior was entirely due to the extreme pressure from an enemy.

“It’s fine, go ahead.”

Tong An’yu forced herself to put aside her emotions and enter a professional mindset.

Song Huai hurriedly held up the laptop.
“Oh, so, the client previously mentioned that this time, besides AI intelligent recognition and multi-sensor fusion, the chip also needs to have smart home integration… I don’t think their idealized low power consumption is achievable on this basis. We can probably design the functions, but we must inform them of this problem in advance.”

Tong An’yu had already anticipated this.
She just hadn’t had the chance to formalize it into a report yet.

“Pet phones are generally worn for long periods, so extending the battery life is actually more important,” she said objectively.

Holding the laptop was awkward for Song Huai, so he couldn’t help but stomp his foot.
“Exactly! The multi-pet interaction they’re talking about isn’t even the client’s primary demand. Take my sports camera, for example. I feel it’s useless now because it can only be used for twenty or thirty minutes at a time. If a company could make one with a battery that lasts for several hours, I would definitely buy it, and—”

Tong An’yu interrupted, “That’s just what we think. The client has their own considerations. The competition in the pet phone market is also very fierce right now; everyone wants to differentiate their product.”

Song Huai’s momentum faltered slightly.

“So, I’m saying, can we discuss with them whether we can guarantee the lowest power consumption and longest battery life based on the existing functions in the market? That way, we won’t have to change the design plan too much.”

There was another point Song Huai couldn’t say outright.

Chip design was an extremely complex job, and their entire team had already been designing according to the original concept for a long time.

For the client to suddenly change the requirements, even with extra pay, was truly infuriating and frustrating.

Tong An’yu shifted her gaze from the computer screen to Song Huai.

“I think it’s unlikely. The client is a large company with a complex structure. The decision to change the product plan must have gone through many departmental approvals. Getting a company like that to retract a decision is nearly impossible. They will only solve what is easiest to solve, which is us.”

Song Huai was about to argue but suddenly paused, then asked cautiously, “Team Leader, did you… cry?”

Only when Tong An’yu turned her face directly towards him did he notice.
Her eyes were still red, her eyelashes slightly damp, and the delicate, light makeup she had applied in the morning had been wiped away.

Out of a masculine instinct to protect, Song Huai immediately said, filled with righteous indignation, “F*ck! Who bullied you? The guys and I will go sort him out!”

Tong An’yu couldn’t even remember the last time she had cried in front of someone.
She hastily pushed away her glasses and wiped her face haphazardly.

“No, makeup remover just accidentally got into my eyes.”

Song Huai was half-convinced, half-doubtful.

“Are you really okay?”

“Of course. I’m the daughter of the corporation’s big boss, what worries could I possibly have?” Tong An’yu laughed.

“Alright… well, Team Leader, don’t put too much pressure on yourself either.”
Song Huai backed out with his laptop.

The smile Tong An’yu had squeezed out instantly vanished.

But she forced herself to think of something good.

For instance, the month after next, her senior from her PhD program was holding her wedding at a winery in the suburbs of Jing City.

She could have a short three-day vacation, staying in an old European-style castle, looking at lavender, soaking in hot springs—pure enjoyment.

Before that, she had a huge pile of things to deal with.

Where would she find the time for sentimental grief?

This was the first time Hexin Technology was using its independently developed chip design software, and the client was willing to take this bold leap with them, so this project was extraordinarily significant.

In the past, the entire industry used design software from two American companies, and the market was extremely trusting and reliant on them.

This meant that if those companies decided to impose restrictions, it would cause huge losses for many domestic enterprises.

To break the blockade, Hexin Technology had practically burned through money to develop a new set of design software.

But for the software to be promoted and become an international standard, there was still a very long road ahead.

It wasn’t just them.

In the fields of photolithography equipment and wafer fabs, there were other companies like Hexin Technology, investing in research and development regardless of the cost, breaking through layer after layer of shackles, and chasing forward day and night.

So that China’s semiconductor industry would no longer be constrained by others, all of them had to succeed.

They could only succeed.

A call came in.

It was surprisingly Sun Han, whom she hadn’t contacted in a long time.

As soon as Tong An’yu answered, the other end said impatiently, – “Little Tong, I saw the news. You and Lin Huaixu ran into each other at the symposium?”

“Ah.”

Tong An’yu gave a dry laugh.

Sun Han was still her usual straightforward self, even sighing, – “I was worried you’d be upset, so I called you, otherwise…”

As a PhD from T University, she had caught the industry trend and found a job as an algorithm engineer in Shenzhen-Hong Kong.

Who would have thought that after several job hops, she was headhunted and recruited by TY.

There was a position there that suited her perfectly, with a generous salary and benefits.

Moreover, it was visibly still in a period of high-speed growth and would only get better.

It was just that after she made the switch, she…

Tong An’yu, on the other hand, was quite philosophical about it.

“It’s fine. If you hadn’t gone to PetParty, I would have never known that Yuan Qing and the others were taking dividends for nothing.”

Once she knew, she completely lost all hope.
The difference between being loved and not being loved was truly obvious.
She had completely blundered into the ride-or-die relationship between Lin Huaixu and Yuan Qing.

– “Little Tong, I’ve applied to my boss to transfer to the Jing City office. We can get together often in the future.”

Everyone inside their company had thought Lin Huaixu was going to Singapore to open an overseas branch.

Unexpectedly, he had been planning the Jing City office all along, only announcing it internally now that it was almost established.

“That’s great!”

She and Zhu Yan were both based in Jing City and often had meals together.

If Sun Han came too, it would feel like they were back in their university days again, except…

“By the way, Sun Han, where has Xiaoying been all these years?” Tong An’yu asked.

After her surgery, she had forgotten many things.

Coincidentally, she had also lost her phone, so she had to re-add all the friends in her contact list.

When she asked Zhu Yan for Jiang Xiaoying’s WeChat, Zhu Yan had said coldly, “Don’t add her.”

She was bewildered.

Their dorm relationship had always been great, so why shouldn’t she add her?

She considerately asked if Zhu Yan had fought with Jiang Xiaoying.

Zhu Yan said yes, and that they had already cut ties.

Later, she asked Sun Han.

Sun Han said that none of them were in contact with Jiang Xiaoying anymore, and since she had forgotten, it was better not to remember.

Tong An’yu could never figure this out.
How exactly did they end their friendship with Jiang Xiaoying?

And what could make four years of friendship fall apart?

Sun Han was, as expected, very calm.

– “I don’t know. She never contacted me either. Let’s just pretend this person doesn’t exist.”

“But I kind of miss her,” Tong An’yu said in a small voice.

– “She’s the last person you should be thinking about,” Sun Han said.

After finishing the call with Sun Han, Tong An’yu buried herself in work.

She didn’t even eat dinner, finally finishing the report for the client.

At two in the morning, she turned off her computer, stretched her stiff back and waist, and left the office.

The prolonged mental exertion made the large bump on the back of her head ache faintly.

When she stood up, her vision went black, and it took a moment to recover.

After leaving the company, the lights in the elevator lobby turned on in response.

She couldn’t help but look across the hall again.

PetParty hadn’t had anyone move in yet.
The office area was empty, yet it easily sparked the imagination.

She seemed to see Lin Huaixu walking out from inside, wearing a fifty-yuan T-shirt and faded jeans, holding an internship contract.

He would chuckle softly as he popped a piece of chewing gum into her mouth and called her name in a low voice—

“Tong An’yu.”

“I promise.”

When those seemingly cold eyes looked at her, they were intensely ardent, as if filled with a gentle, flowing fire.

To this day, she still didn’t know what he was promising, yet she couldn’t help but lift the corners of her lips into a smile.

The ding of the elevator arriving startled her.

The university-aged Lin Huaixu vanished before her eyes.

Nothing here had changed—the building, the tiles, the lights, the elevator.

Only they were no longer the people they once were.

As she stepped into the elevator, Tong An’yu couldn’t help but wonder, ‘When Lin Huaixu comes to the Jingjin Center again, would his imagination be as vivid as hers?’

‘Probably not.’

‘After all, it was such an insignificant part of the past.’

Only after walking out of the building did she realize it had started to rain outside.

It was quite heavy.

The rainfall in Jing City was unusually high this year.

Because her apartment was only a fifteen-minute walk from the office, she usually walked to and from work and didn’t drive.

But she certainly wasn’t willing to walk for fifteen minutes now.

Tong An’yu resignedly took out her phone and hailed a private car, adding a significant surcharge.

As expected, a brave soul answers to a handsome reward.

After about ten minutes, someone accepted the ride.

The car’s headlights illuminated bean-sized raindrops.

The ground sizzled with splashing water.

The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping.

The rain fell for a whole day.

It wasn’t until seven o’clock the next evening that the rain finally stopped.
The starry sky looked as if it had been washed clean, shining brilliantly.

Such a night was delightful.

Yuan Qing turned to look at the man beside her.

In the first-class lounge of the Capital Airport, Lin Huaixu’s hands rested lightly on his knees as he closed his eyes to rest.

The flight had already been delayed for two hours, but planes were now beginning to take off one by one.

Yuan Qing smiled and said, “Ah Xu, the stars outside are especially beautiful. We’ll be able to see them up close once we take off.”

“You didn’t really have to come with me,” Lin Huaixu said without opening his eyes.

Over the years, he had gradually become quiet and gloomy, inscrutable, like some kind of bog plant that didn’t need sunlight.
The more it grew, the more dangerous it seemed.

“I was planning to go shopping in Tsim Sha Tsui anyway.”

What could Tsim Sha Tsui possibly have that Jing City didn’t?

It was a very clumsy excuse, but Lin Huaixu didn’t press the matter.

“By the way, Ah Xu, where is that suit I had custom-made for you? Why did you change?” Yuan Qing asked, feigning casualness.

This was the one advantage of staying by his side as a friend.

She could ask about anything with a sense of entitlement, naturally and matter-of-factly.

He would also accept her gifts, just like when they were children.

But she didn’t know how much longer this would have to continue.

She was waiting for a signal from Lin Huaixu, but she had yet to receive one.

“It got dirty. It’s already been sent for cleaning,” Lin Huaixu replied, also in the capacity of a friend.

“Did you get some dust on it?”

“Something like that.”

‘Then it wasn’t dust.’

Yuan Qing remembered that on the day of Lin Huaixu’s welcome-back dinner, they had waited for a long time at the plum garden.

Lin Huaixu arrived late.

On such a cold day after the rain, he had taken off his jacket, wearing only a shirt.

The cold rain had chilled his hands until his knuckles were slightly red.

He was in a bad mood, completely oblivious, only warming up after drinking a cup of hot tea.

So, something must have happened that night.

Fortunately, the driver was one she had arranged for him.

Yuan Qing didn’t bring up the matter again and switched topics.

“Just how important was this symposium that you actually flew over specifically for it?”

“Very important.”

Lin Huaixu opened his eyes.

It was almost time to board.

“Why?” Yuan Qing looked at him innocently, but before he could answer, she quickly answered for him, “Oh, I know! There were important partners there, right? The Sun family, who are in the energy business? You’re really working so hard.”

“The flight from Jing City to Shenzhen-Hong Kong is now boarding. Please proceed to the boarding gate…”

The announcement interrupted her words, but she felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

First-class passengers boarded first.

After settling into her seat in the front row, Yuan Qing leaned over to look at the myriad of stars after the rain.

She quickly found the position of the North Star and excitedly wanted to share it with Lin Huaixu.

But Lin Huaixu had already opened his phone to deal with his email.

His brow was tightly furrowed, completely blocking out the surrounding noise, as if all the scenery in the world had nothing to do with him.

Yuan Qing wasn’t too surprised.

Over the past seven years, she had grown accustomed to him working like his life depended on it.

It was just as the outside world said: he was frantically accumulating wealth with all his might, as if trying to break free from some kind of restraint.

“Ah Xu, will you be coming back with the employees who are transferring to the Jing City office in ten days?”

“Yes.”

The phone screen switched to a WeChat chat box, but Lin Huaixu’s fingers remained motionless for a long time.

The shifting light from the taxiing plane cut across his side profile, momentarily casting a soft filter over him.

His gaze rested on those few lively “pats” and on her clever little arguments.

The high pressure from work and the out-of-control jealousy seemed to have been diluted quite a bit.
He really wanted to reply, but he didn’t dare to easily disrupt the light and lively atmosphere she had built.

It was as if a few small, swimming fish had been introduced into a stagnant chat box.

And in the pinned old account, there was a message that hadn’t been replied to in years—
[happy birthday, baby fish]

“Then we can get together in Jing City often in the future,” Yuan Qing said with a smile.