Chapter 10: Difficult Choice
The negotiation room was quiet.
Wen Yan frowned, his voice very soft, carrying obvious resistance: “I’m just an intern. I might not be suitable for such important work.”
“Wen Yan.” Pei Zhouye’s voice was cold, directly calling his name. “Don’t give me polite platitudes.”
Wen Yan pressed his lips tightly together, his gaze falling somewhere on the desk, simply not looking at the person opposite him.
Pei Zhouye saw Wen Yan’s angry appearance; the corner of his mouth hooked up and then was suppressed. “Wen Yan, your project indeed has potential. The data model is already close to the industry’s cutting-edge level. But the budget plan is too radical. Besides Pei Corp, there probably isn’t a tech company willing to implement it for you.”
If the person opposite were a project manager, Wen Yan would definitely have politely and professionally elaborated on his answer. But the person opposite was Pei Zhouye; he knew whatever he said was useless.
They knew about the funding issue, but this competition entry was originally prepared for Pei Corp and the competition, and they hadn’t thought about implementing it so early.
Pei Zhouye continued: “This project is very suitable for us. I don’t mean anything else; I just need someone familiar with the project details to interface throughout the process.”
“If you are unwilling, your work can still participate in the competition according to the normal process. There won’t be any inside manipulation to switch you out. However, the duration of this competition is very long. When the results come out in three months, you will be behind in all aspects and will need to spend time and effort again. Your team can then only participate in subsequent development as interns.”
Pei Zhouye stared at Wen Yan, not letting go of any expression on Wen Yan’s face.
He was forcing Wen Yan. He was forcing Wen Yan to walk in his direction. He was determined to win.
After a moment, Wen Yan looked up and replied coldly: “I understand.”
The four people were still waiting for him in the coffee shop. Wu Qingqing waved excitedly at him.
“What did you talk about later? Are there any other questions? I feel like we performed really well just now!”
Wen Yan didn’t speak for a long time. After a while, he opened his mouth: “Can I withdraw from the group? It shouldn’t have any impact. You guys continue…”
As the four people’s expressions froze, his voice became weaker and weaker.
He didn’t trust Pei Zhouye.
Although Pei Zhouye’s appearances brought protection and benefits time and again, he always gave people an unfathomable sense of danger and always occupied a high position.
Wen Yan couldn’t get a sense of security from there.
Pei Zhouye saved him, but he was afraid of Pei Zhouye.
Wu Qingqing’s expression froze. “Did something happen?”
She forced a smile again: “It’s okay, Brother Yan. If you’re not going, then I’m not going either. Originally, you put in the most effort for this competition, always busy working hard.”
The other few people also chimed in.
Wen Yan looked down at the table, silent for a while.
It wasn’t easy to piece this group together. Duan Mingtao’s professional grades and abilities were extremely excellent, but his temper was cold and stubborn. Wu Qingqing was one of the only two girls in their major; the other wasn’t keen on competitions. The other two people in the group were classmates who had always teamed up with Wen Yan for competitions.
Everyone had finally worked together with one heart and looked forward to this cooperation so much that they specially bought tickets to rush back to school from home. Women are often questioned in the industry; if Wu Qingqing could have this internship experience, her path afterward would be much easier. Duan Mingtao was excellent but had a strange personality and wasn’t popular; winning this time could also prove his ability. As for the other two classmates, Wen Yan also didn’t want to disappoint their long-standing expectations of cooperation.
Wen Yan looked up and put on a smile again: “I was joking.”
Several people suspected for a few seconds, then became happy again.
Jiang City at noon was too hot. Several people agreed to have dinner nearby in the evening.
Wen Yan took the bus back to the residential area and told Gu Yulan about today’s events.
He frankly mentioned that Pei Zhouye asked him to interface directly and arranged his workstation near the president’s office, which was extremely unconventional.
The reply came very quickly.
[Congratulations, Yan-yan! Being able to enter Pei Corp is something worth celebrating…]
Wen Yan’s slender fingers typed on the screen a few times, then deleted everything.
Is he the only one who finds it strange? Is he, an adult male college student, too suspicious?
The other side saw [Typing…] flash a few times at the top of the screen and probably sensed Wen Yan’s unhappiness.
[Yan-yan, if you are unwilling, forget it. Your happiness is the most important thing.]
Wen Yan tried to reassure himself.
He is a male college student with a boyfriend. Someone like Pei Zhouye might just be teasing him a few times on a whim. He shouldn’t be too confident and narcissistic.
[I don’t plan to quit.]
The reply was instantaneous: [That’s great! When this project is over and we have a break, we’ll go on a trip to relax and reward the hardworking Wen Yan.]
Wen Yan pursed his lips into a faint smile and chatted idly with Gu Yulan.
In the afternoon, the two regular members said in the group chat that they couldn’t make it because they had to rush to modify another work.
A wave of crying emojis filled the group chat.
Finally, it turned into a private dinner for the three of them.
Wen Yan hesitated for a while and announced the news of his relationship in the group.
[???]
[!!!]
A row of question marks and exclamation marks, followed by active questions about who it was, boy or girl.
[It’s a boy.]
Wen Yan typed out Gu Yulan’s name, but felt it was strange to announce the other person’s name on the phone, so he changed the message and sent it.
[You all know him. I’ll introduce him to everyone when there’s time later.]
Several people’s curiosity was piqued even more, clamoring for him to bring him tonight so Wu Qingqing and Duan Mingtao could check him out first.
Wen Yan helplessly agreed and asked Gu Yulan if he was willing. Gu Yulan agreed very quickly.
The two people who couldn’t come because of modifying their work cried even harder in the group.
The agreement was to meet at the restaurant at seven o’clock. It was a slightly distant private kitchen, very famous, with very good food.
Gu Yulan had something to do and also agreed with Wen Yan to meet at the restaurant.
Wen Yan agreed on his phone.
Suddenly, a bright light flashed before his eyes, and a car horn honked a few times.
Wen Yan looked up and saw that face that always appeared inexplicably.
Pei Zhouye stood beside a Cayenne, dressed casually but looking like he had carefully dressed up, dashingly handsome. No matter how many times he looked at that face, it still brought a direct impact.
Wen Yan suddenly thought, why does Pei Zhouye love changing clothes so much?
Like an NPC in a game, always randomly refreshing in a certain place, changing into set after set of different outfits.
“Where are you going so late?” Pei Zhouye came up with a question.
He originally wanted to ask Wen Yan out, but firstly, he didn’t have Wen Yan’s contact information obtained through legitimate means, and secondly, he felt Wen Yan would definitely refuse him.
Finally, he wandered near Wen Yan’s home and saw Wen Yan dressed up for some unknown reason and about to go out. Alarm bells rang, and he drove the car to intercept him.
Wen Yan, dressed in a white shirt and jeans, looked a bit confused and subconsciously replied: “Going to eat with Wu Qingqing and Duan Mingtao.”
Pei Zhouye’s mouth turned up; he was very satisfied with Wen Yan’s proactive report.
“I’ll take you.”
Wen Yan’s expression instantly became vigilant; he hadn’t even said where he was going: “Do you have something to say to me?”
Pei Zhouye didn’t speak and opened the passenger door for Wen Yan.
Recommended Reads
