CH 17

After Qu Zhi left the hotel, he went straight back to the company. The development of the guide robot they were working on was still in progress, and the project was time-consuming, so they had to utilize their lunch break as well.

When Qu Zhi returned to the office, most of his colleagues were already working. Qi Sheng's main task recently was to sell the delivery robots, which would generate revenue for the company. He never expected that as a developer, he would also have to take on the responsibility of sales.

He thought he was the most troubled person in the company, but as soon as Qu Zhi walked in with a look of deep frustration, Qi Sheng became interested, "Old Qu, what happened to make you look so upset? Tell me about it, so I can have a good laugh."

Qu Zhi sighed and replied, "It's nothing."

Qi Sheng didn't believe him and prodded, "Then what's with the gloomy face? What are you thinking about?"

Qu Zhi said, "Zheng Baozhu."

As soon as Qi Sheng heard that name, he became even more intrigued, "What's wrong with Miss Baozhu again?"

A colleague with a low ponytail sitting nearby, who had heard them mention this name frequently lately, asked, "Is she the one who wants to become a star?"

Qu Zhi paused for a moment and glanced at Qi Sheng, "What do you think?"

Qi Sheng chuckled nervously, "Haha, I just said it without thinking..."

The colleague said, "Wanting to become a star is not a big deal. Stars can dress up beautifully and be adored by so many people, satisfying their vanity easily."

"It's not like that," Qu Zhi retorted, "Being a star is still a job, and it's not necessarily easier than other professions. To excel at it, you still need to put in a lot of effort."

The colleague looked at him in astonishment, seeming surprised by his response.

Qu Zhi then took out a rolled-up blueprint and slowly spread it out on the table, "Let's talk about work. I've received the layout plan of the subway station, and they've drawn it very detailed, but we still need to visit the site in person."

Collaborating with the subway station to launch the guide robot was a completely new attempt. The subway transportation had made traveling convenient for many people, except for blind individuals who were over ten million. This was the reason why people who take the subway daily would rarely encounter a blind person on the train.

According to the relevant regulations of the subway, guide dogs are allowed on the subway, but the process of taking the subway involves many issues that guide dogs cannot solve for their owners. Therefore, visually impaired individuals usually enter the subway under the accompaniment of staff and are then escorted out by waiting staff after arriving at their destination.

What Qu Zhi and his team were working on was to develop a guide robot that could replace the staff in performing this task.

Qu Zhi attached great importance to this project because it was not merely about developing a robot; it was about integrating the subway, a mode of transportation, into the lives of visually impaired people, enabling them to live better in the city.

Time flew by quickly when they were working. When Qu Zhi came back to his senses, it was already quite dark outside. He changed his clothes and left the laboratory, encountering Qi Sheng waiting outside.

"Waiting for me?" Qu Zhi swiped his card and walked out. Qi Sheng followed him and said, "Waiting for you to have dinner."

Qu Zhi snorted, "I think you're just here to gossip."

"... You found me out," Qi Sheng replied sheepishly, "But you seemed a bit unusual today; you were actually speaking up for Miss Baozhu?"

Qu Zhi paused for a moment and said, "I'm not defending her. I just realized that maybe I did have a little prejudice before."

Qi Sheng thought in his mind: I think it's more than just a little, isn't it?

Seeing Qu Zhi's cold and piercing gaze, Qi Sheng hurriedly continued, "Can you share your thoughts with me?"

"..." Qu Zhi had seen how nosy Qi Sheng could be. If he didn't satisfy his curiosity today, he would bother him for a whole week, "I heard from Liang Huihui that she signed up for English classes and makeup classes. Would hotel employees start from scratch and learn on the job? Would a real boss do business like this?"

High employee turnover was already common in the service industry. It was very likely that right after training this batch of employees, they might quit. Not to mention that the classes Zheng Baozhu had them enrolled in were not professional skills, but basic skills that employees should already have.

"It's not about doing business; it's about charity," Qi Sheng responded after hearing Qu Zhi's explanation, "She genuinely wants to help her employees."

Qu Zhi didn't say anything. They fell silent for a while until Qi Sheng broke the silence, "Miss Baozhu is such a kind person. She should be willing to buy a few of my robots, right?"

Qu Zhi: "..."

At this moment, Zheng Baozhu was practicing her acting in her room. She could read books downstairs, but when it came to practicing acting, she needed to be indoors and focus. Speaking of reading, she remembered waking up at noon with a thin blanket draped over her shoulders. She didn't know who draped the blanket over her.

Probably a hotel staff member.

While she was lost in thought, her phone rang. It was a call from Tan Yao. He had been helping her investigate Li Yifan's situation, so they exchanged contact information. Since adding each other on WeChat, Tan Yao messaged her every day, but due to her busy schedule, she mostly ignored him.

Today, Tan Yao called directly, Zheng Baozhu guessed that there might be some information on Li Yifan.

She answered the call and asked, "Hello, Tan Yao? What's up?"

Tan Yao's voice came from the other end, "Miss Baozhu, I found the information on the person you asked me to check. Let's meet and talk about it."

Zheng Baozhu replied, "I'm busy right now, so just tell me over the phone."

Tan Yao, who hadn't forgotten his original intention of coming to Starlight Farm to pursue Zheng Baozhu, said firmly, "If you can't go out, then I'll come to your room to find you."

Zheng Baozhu: "..."

After hanging up Tan Yao's call, she decided to make a video call to him.

Tan Yao answered with a puzzled expression.

On the other side of the video call, Zheng Baozhu smiled at him, "Now we can consider it a meeting. Go ahead, tell me."

Tan Yao: "..."

He hated this high-tech stuff that made human interactions lack sincerity. :)

Zheng Baozhu urged him again, and finally, Tan Yao said, "My cousin asked his classmate, it turns out that this Li Yifan is quite famous in their major. He seems to have good grades and receives scholarships every year. Also, he's dating the department's campus belle."

Zheng Baozhu was taken aback, "What?"

Tan Yao repeated, "He's dating the campus belle. According to my cousin, he made quite a scene when he was pursuing her, giving her lots of gifts."

"...Oh!" this time Zheng Baozhu heard it clearly. Just as she suspected, Li Yifan turned out to be unreliable.

"Scumbag!" Zheng Baozhu had been practicing her lines lately, and her delivery of the words "scumbag" was spot on, hitting Tan Yao directly in the face.

"...Are you talking about someone else?" Tan Yao looked puzzled as he glanced behind him, making sure it wasn't him she was referring to.

No matter who it was, it definitely wasn't him.

Zheng Baozhu collected herself and asked, "Are you sure you got the right person?"

"Absolutely," Tan Yao nodded. He wanted to impress Zheng Baozhu and did his best to handle things, so there's no way he made a mistake, "There's only one Li Yifan in that major, we matched it with the information from the graduate exam. Oh, I also have some pictures taken by my classmates. Shall I send them to you?"

"Sure."

Tan Yao ended the video call and sent all the photos of Li Yifan to Zheng Baozhu. He couldn't resist asking, "Who is this Li Yifan? Your relative?"

Zheng Baozhu didn't want to reveal the matter about Liang Huaihuai, so she made up an excuse, "Hmm, he's a distant relative."

After sending that reply, the photos arrived. Apart from individual pictures of Li Yifan, there were also photos of him together with a girl, showing their intimacy. It should be the campus belle Tan Yao mentioned.

Zheng Baozhu: Thanks for your help with this matter. Consider it a favor owed to you.

Tan Yao: Sigh, it's nothing. Don't be so polite to me.

Tan Yao: But if you really want to thank me, that's not impossible. 

Tan Yao: Recently, there's a new movie released, with good reviews. How about we go watch it?

Tan Yao was excitedly talking to himself, but Zheng Baozhu didn't even look at her phone. She was currently contemplating a major issue – how to tell Liang Huihui about Li Yifan.

If she tells her directly, it will definitely hurt her feelings. But if she doesn't say anything, it's not right either. Li Yifan used Liang Huihui's money to pursue someone else, which made Zheng Baozhu extremely angry.

"No, enduring the pain won't do. I'll go find Huihui right now!" Zheng Baozhu opened the door, ready to talk to Li Huihui directly. However, the moment she opened the door, she hesitated.

"No, this won't do," she closed the door and went back inside, "I can't be so impulsive. I need to tell her, but I have to consider the right way to do it."

After pondering for a few seconds, she realized there might not be a good method: "I'll just be straightforward. Regardless of how I say it, the result will be the same!"

She opened the door again with determination but hesitated once more. She closed the door again and retreated back inside.

"She may look carefree, but she's sensitive inside. Will she be able to handle this?"

...Zheng Baozhu was in distress, all because of that scum Li Yifan!

No, she has to tell her!

Zheng Baozhu opened the door again. Qu Zhi, who was standing in the hallway, had seen her opening and closing the door multiple times. Unable to contain himself, he asked, "Zheng Baozhu, are you out of your mind? Suffering from mania?"

"...Oh," Zheng Baozhu finally noticed Qu Zhi in the hallway, not knowing when he had returned. She frowned and closed the door again. Two seconds later, she opened it again, with only her head poking out from inside, "Qu Zhi!"

She called out to Qu Zhi.

Qu Zhi glanced at her, gesturing to ask what she wanted to ask.

Zheng Baozhu beckoned him over with a wave, whispering, "Come here."

"..." Qu Zhi's eyebrows twitched slightly. After hesitating for a couple of seconds, he walked over.

Zheng Baozhu was standing on the other side of the door, with a half-open door separating them. She didn't step out; Qu Zhi didn't enter.

Glancing around the hallway, Zheng Baozhu whispered to Qu Zhi, "Do you remember I told you about Liang Huihui's boyfriend, Li Yifan?"

"Uh-huh," Qu Zhi nodded gently, "What happened?"

Zheng Baozhu indignantly said, "I asked a friend to investigate; he really turned out to be a scum! He spent Huihui's money and pursued someone else at the university!"

"Hmph!" Qu Zhi sneered, "Not surprising."

Zheng Baozhu frowned, "But how do I tell Huihui now?"

Qu Zhi asked, "Do you have any evidence?"

"Yes," Zheng Baozhu wanted to show Qu Zhi the photos, but realized she had left her phone on the table, "Wait a moment."

She quickly went inside to retrieve her phone and found the photos Tan Yao had sent: "Look, these are pictures of Li Yifan with that girl! It's obvious they have a special relationship, right?"

Qu Zhi glanced at the screen. The two people in the photos did seem intimate, "You should show these photos directly to Liang Huihui."

Zheng Baozhu hesitated, "But wouldn't that be too direct? How much would it hurt Huihui?"

Qu Zhi said, "The hurt is caused by the situation, not by what you say to her. No matter how tactful you are, the result will be the same; hurt."

Zheng Baozhu furrowed her brows, thinking Qu Zhi was right.

"Then... the sooner, the better. Let's go and tell her now?"

Qu Zhi raised an eyebrow, "Us?"

"Let's go!" Zheng Baozhu grabbed Qu Zhi's coat and dragged him all the way to the entrance of the restaurant, mustering her courage.

Qu Zhi: "..."

Liang Huihui was currently working the night shift and was still in the restaurant. Zheng Baozhu pulled Qu Zhi all the way there.

The employees couldn't help but marvel at the scene they witnessed along the way.

Liang Huihui and Qi Sheng were standing at the restaurant's entrance, talking. When Liang Huihui saw Zheng Baozhu approaching, she greeted her cheerfully, "Miss Baozhu, you're here? Mr. Qi is preparing to book tomorrow's dinner."

Qi Sheng glanced at Zheng Baozhu and Qu Zhi's current posture and smiled, "Tomorrow, the people from the Euro Grand Hotel will come to our company for a visit. Professor Luo asked me to treat them to a dinner in the evening, and I thought it would be convenient to have it here since it's nearby and the food is good."

Their synchronized conversation caused Zheng Baozhu to momentarily forget the main issue at hand for a second, "The Euro Grand Hotel? Are they buying your service robots?"

"Yes," Qi Sheng nodded, "They are a five-star hotel and currently don't have service robots for delivering meals. The demand is considerable. If we can successfully negotiate with them, it will be a substantial deal!"

And Professor Luo had given him strict orders to close the deal.

Qi Sheng once again doubted his position in the company.

In just a few sentences, Li Huihui also caught the key information, "Service robots for delivering meals?"

"Yes," at this point, Qi Sheng still hadn't realized the issue.

The usual smile disappeared from Liang Huihui's face, her eyes were now filled with wariness and disdain as she looked at Qi Sheng, "Are you researching service robots for delivering meals? And selling them to various hotels?"

"Uh..." Qi Sheng finally realized that something was wrong.

"No, our robots are mainly used for delivering takeout to customers and won't interfere with your work," he tried to explain.

Liang Huihui asked, "Can they serve dishes in the restaurant?"

"Uh... Well, technically, they can."

Liang Huihui exclaimed, "You are researching these robots without considering what will happen to humans! We are already competing with each other for jobs, and now we have to compete with robots too! Is there any future left for humans at all?"

Qi Sheng sighed.

"Little sister, please calm down," Qi Sheng patiently advised, "It's inevitable that robots will gradually replace some human positions. Jobs with repetitive and simple tasks, like waiters and bank tellers..."

"You're even targeting bank tellers?!"

Qi Sheng turned to Zheng Baozhu and Qu Zhi, changing the topic, "What are you two doing here?"

Though the conversation had shifted, Zheng Baozhu still remembered the purpose of their visit.

"Uh..." Zheng Baozhu glanced at Liang Huihui and pulled her towards the window, "Huihui, look at this. Is this Li Yifan?"

She showed Li Yifan's individual photo to confirm with Liang Huihui. Although the photo was not very clear, it was indeed Li Yifan.

"Yes, Miss Baozhu, how did you get a photo of Li Yifan?" Liang Huihui asked, a bit puzzled.

Zheng Baozhu hesitated for a moment and then showed Li Yifan's photo with the girl to Liang Huihui, "I heard from my friend at H University that your boyfriend seems to be dating the campus belle."

Liang Huihui was momentarily stunned as if she didn't understand what was being said. She just stared at the photo in her hands.

Zheng Baozhu was worried that this news might be too devastating and wanted to say something comforting. However, Liang Huihui raised her head and said, "Miss Baozhu, are they mistaken? This photo doesn't prove anything."

"Ah," Zheng Baozhu carefully chose her words, "But Li Yifan is..."

"Miss Baozhu, I will ask Li Yifan about this," Liang Huihui interrupted, "I'm leaving work now."

Qu Zhi approached Zheng Baozhu and asked, "What happened?"

Zheng Baozhu replied, "She doesn't seem to believe it and wants to ask Li Yifan."

Qu Zhi wasn't surprised by this answer, "When faced with unwelcome news, avoidance is a human instinct. Give her some time."

"Okay," Zheng Baozhu nodded, still feeling uneasy, "But I'm afraid Li Yifan will lie again."

"He definitely won't admit it easily, but deep down, everyone knows the truth. It's just a matter of whether they are willing to face it," Qu Zhi explained.

At this moment, Qi Sheng became curious and walked over, "What are you talking about? What happened to that girl just now?"

Qu Zhi glanced at him, "If you have spare time, you should think about how to close the deal tomorrow."

Qi Sheng said, "I've already thought about this question."

"Oh?" Qu Zhi pretended to be interested.

Qi Sheng replied, "I plan to take you along. I inquired and found out that there's a senior executive on the other side who is coming tomorrow."

Qu Zhi: "..."

"Well, Miss Baozhu, I'll leave the dinner arrangement to you!" Qi Sheng checked the time and said to Zheng Baozhu, "I'm heading back now!"

Zheng Baozhu nodded, "Sure, don't worry, I'll take care of it."

With that, Qi Sheng left, and after he was gone, Qu Zhi intended to go back to his room as well. Before leaving, he glanced at the phone Zheng Baozhu was holding, "That 0-4 is inviting you to have dinner and watch a movie."