Chapter 43 – “Mission Reward! Lithography Tech Version 10.0”

8:30 PM tomorrow night.

Ye Fei arrived at Times Square right on time, as promised.

As soon as he stepped into the plaza, he spotted Zheng Wanqing and Su Yanyan— The two sisters looked unusually close, walking hand-in-hand.

Zheng Wanqing waved him over. “Hubby, over here!”

Ye Fei walked up, still surprised to see the two getting along so well.

Didn’t they seem pretty awkward just a few days ago?

How did they suddenly become besties?

He asked, “Wife, did you and Yanyan patch things up?”

“What do you mean? We’ve always had a great relationship, right Yanyan?”

Su Yanyan nodded. “Right! Ye Fei, you big villain—I’m warning you.”

“If you ever bully our Wanqing, I won’t let you off.”

Ye Fei let out a helpless sigh.

A woman’s heart really is like a needle at the bottom of the ocean.

Completely impossible to predict.

Oh well.

If they’ve made up, then there’s nothing to worry about.

“Let’s go, hubby. The three of us should get dinner. I’m starving!”

“The baby must be hungry too.”

Zheng Wanqing accidentally blurted out “baby.”

Crap

Her dumb mouth just couldn’t hold it in.

“Wait—baby? What baby?!”

Su Yanyan looked stunned.

“Don’t tell me… you two already—”

Zheng Wanqing quickly waved her hands. “No no no! Don’t misunderstand, Yanyan!”

“‘Baby’ is just a nickname my hubby calls me.”

Su Yanyan rolled her eyes. “Seriously? Out of nowhere, I’m being force-fed dog food.”

“At my age, I shouldn’t have to endure this much PDA.”

Zheng Wanqing breathed a sigh of relief. Phew

That was close.

Almost gave the whole thing away!

Ye Fei was shaken too.

If the truth about the “baby” got out, the task would be a complete failure.

Thank goodness Zheng Wanqing reacted fast.

And thank goodness Su Yanyan didn’t think too hard.

Disaster barely averted.

“Let’s go—there’s a restaurant just ahead that’s supposed to be pretty good.”

“Let’s try it.”

Dinner lasted until after 9 PM.

Su Yanyan suddenly got a call from work— she had a few urgent projects to handle overnight.

So she had to leave early.

“Wanqing, Ye Fei, take your time.”

“I’ve got to go handle some stuff.”

“Dinner’s on me. Bye!”

She grabbed her coat and left the restaurant.

Once she was gone, Ye Fei asked, “Wife, didn’t you say Yanyan was avoiding you lately?”

“What did you say to her to clear things up so fast?”

Zheng Wanqing giggled. “That’s a secret between girls.”

“Not telling you.”

Ye Fei: “Not telling me? Oh really?”

He sat beside her and started tickling her under the arms.

That was her weakness.

“Stop stop! I give up, hubby! I’ll talk!”

Nearby diners looked utterly defeated.

Seriously? Came out for a peaceful meal and got bombarded by PDA?

Can we not just eat in peace?

Sprinkling dog food all over the place this late at night—have some public decency!

Some of us single folks still want to live!

The following week flew by.

Except for classes and sleep, Ye Fei and Zheng Wanqing were practically glued together— eating together, spending afternoons in the library together.

Not just Ye Fei’s dorm mates— even Zheng Wanqing’s roommates began complaining:

Is it really necessary to flaunt your love like this every day?

By 6:30 PM today, Ye Fei finally received the phone call he’d been waiting nearly two weeks for.

It was from the HR head of Kunlun Tech Circuit Manufacturing Company.

“President Ye, we’ve completed the recruitment of one hundred employees as per your request.”

“If you’re available tomorrow, perhaps you could come by the office—”

“It’d be a good chance to assign tasks and meet the team. Does that work for you?”

Ye Fei replied, “No problem. I’ll be there. Have everyone gather on time.”

“I’ll see you then.”

“Great! I won’t take up more of your time then, President Ye.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

“See you.”

As soon as he hung up, a familiar digital voice echoed in Ye Fei’s ear:

[Ding! Host has completed the task of hiring 100 employees. Reward granted: Lithography Machine Manufacturing Tech Version 10.0]

[Reward successfully issued. Host now possesses the technology and equipment to manufacture domestic 0.1-nanometer chips. Ready for immediate production.]

Footnotes

1. 1. 1. 1. nǚrén xīn, hǎidǐ zhēn 女⼈心，海底针– “A woman’s heart is like a needle at the bottom of the ocean.” A Chinese proverb meaning it’s difficult to understand or predict a woman’s thoughts.

1. 1. 1. 1. gǒuliàng 狗粮– Literally “dog food.” Internet slang used to describe excessive public displays of affection that make single people feel bitter or awkward.

1. 1. 1. 1. dānshēn gǒu 单身狗– Literally “single dog.” A humorous term used by singles to refer to themselves, often in contrast to overly lovey-dovey couples.