When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 259: A Promising Future

Jiang Xubai collected his thoughts and pushed the door open.

"Take a seat," Lu Chen said, finishing the last document and looking up at the person at the door.

An opening like this often indicated an intention for a long conversation.

Once competitors on the racing field, now they had become superior and subordinate in the workplace.

Jiang Xubai inwardly sighed; truly, comparisons between people could be incredibly disheartening.

He had barely sat for half a minute when Lu Chen approached with confident strides in his suit.

He took off his cold glasses, drank the same coffee as Jiang Xubai, unintentionally closing the distance between them for this conversation.

"Why do you want to resign, I want to hear your real reason," Lu Chen said after sipping his coffee, his tone even, "I believe you’re different from the others. If it’s only because of a short-term change in work that’s shaken your state of mind, then I must have misjudged you."

Jiang Xubai did not expect such a direct approach. Was a single encounter during their student days enough to win him this level of trust and esteem?

Since he was leaving, Jiang Xubai certainly had prepared his excuse in advance, even though it was not the main reason, but he had no intention of deceiving anyone.

"My career planning tends to favor the direction of physical informatization. After half a year, I truly feel inadequate in the gaming field and hope President Lu can understand."

What exactly he meant by feeling inadequate, probably only he knew. Previously, Jiang Xubai would have spoken his mind without hesitation, but now, he did not feel it was necessary to embarrass others just before leaving.

After hearing Jiang Xubai’s explanation, Lu Chen just smiled casually, "Physical informatization is exactly the challenge Xinyuan will be facing next."

What does that mean?

Jiang Xubai didn’t quite understand.

Lu Chen continued, "Xinyuan plans to enter the healthcare field and set up a special team to create high-quality and enduring medical products. Right now, we desperately need a leader, and you were the first person I thought of."

Before Jiang Xubai could react, Lu Chen got up, returned to his desk, retrieved a document, and placed it in front of him, "Take a look."

The file cover prominently displayed a line of black font, "Second project team appointment letter."

A company stamp and Lu Chen’s signature were placed below it; the content within was easy to guess.

Greatly shocked, Jiang Xubai had never imagined that, in less than half a year since graduation, he would ascend from a minor programmer to the head of a project team.

The unexpected pie from the sky was so immense it had him dizzy.

"Why must it be me?" Jiang Xubai was not naïve, not truly naive enough to think it was because Lu Chen valued his talent.

Since joining Xinyuan, it seemed like he was waiting for this moment. He had a premonition that what he would face next would put him in an unprecedented dilemma.

"Yunteng Technology, you must have heard of this company."

Lu Chen decided not to beat around the bush any further, "They are currently developing an electronic medical record system, and Huaren is the end client; the project timeline is about three months. What we need to do is to complete the program development one month ahead of them and push the software system into the market, to seize the initiative."

Rather than directly answering Jiang Xubai’s earlier question, he revealed the ultimate objective with straightforward candor.

Jiang Xubai asked, "So, what can I do for Xinyuan?"

With no experience in project management, it was hard enough to guarantee a timely, error-free delivery, let alone one month ahead of schedule.

Lu Chen smiled, "It really saves time talking to a smart person."

He picked up the appointment letter from the low table, flipped through the first few pages, and laid the main content in front of Jiang Xubai. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"As long as we can get the core source code of the medical records system, being one month ahead is not difficult."

The appointment letter’s second line listed the name of the project leader: Jiang Xubai.

But the content of the document was far less shocking to Jiang Xubai than the sentence Lu Chen had just uttered.

Thinking about the previous gaming product, it required no thought to infer that Xinyuan once again planned to forge into a new field by taking the shortcut of plagiarism.

He didn’t feel disappointed, just numb.

In the silence, Lu Chen suddenly shifted the topic, "You graduated almost half a year ago, right?"

"As far as I know, the person in charge of Yunteng’s development of the medical record system is your former college classmate, and you two have a pretty good relationship."

Jiang Xubai frowned, "Who?"

Those well-acquainted with him were none other than a few older members from the base.

Could it be...

At this thought, Lu Chen stood up and patted his shoulder, "A great future is laid out before you; whether to go or stay, you should have a measure of it."

Throughout the entire conversation, the name of that person had never come up.

Yet Jiang Xubai’s mind was clear as a mirror, piecing together all the previous events, he could probably guess who Lu Chen was targeting.

Indeed, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.

Going around in circles, what were assumed to be divergent paths have converged once more due to a medical record system.

Jiang Xubai was full of complex emotions; from the moment he stepped out of the CEO’s office, the clouds weighing down his chest dispersed in an instant, replaced by a suppressed and throbbing sense of excitement within.

Well, what a trick, they had fooled him for three whole years, waiting right here for him.

After two relentless months working on the electronic medical record system, the Yunteng project team finally had their first long break.

On the eve of the National Day holiday, Zeng Zhifei organized a hotpot meal for everyone. Among the exclusively male group, Jiang Shuyao stood out as the single female, creating a slight imbalance.

To address the imbalance, Boss Zeng spiritedly declared before they set off: "Those of you with families, bring them along. Eat up, drink well, rest for three days holiday to recharge fully, and we aim to wrap up Huaren’s project by mid-next month."

"Mid-next month, ahead of schedule?" Jiang Shuyao whispered to Pei Yan after leaning in close.

Amidst the steamy hotpot and shared high spirits, they raised their glasses in lively toasts.

Pei Yan leisurely sipped his drink, lazily wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "Xinyuan has yet to make a move; do you know what they are waiting for?"

Jiang Shuyao blinked, "I don’t know."

"They’re waiting for Yunteng’s core source code."

Oh.

So that was their scheme.

Jiang Shuyao unwaveringly believed in Young Master Pei’s foresight; he must have accurately predicted that Xinyuan would use the old tactic, so he and Zeng Zhifei schemed to quietly advance the project’s timeline.

Certainly, it wasn’t much of a secret.

Announcing it so publicly in the hotpot restaurant, she wondered if it was intended for someone in particular to overhear.

"When do you think they’ll make their move?" Jiang Shuyao couldn’t help but glance around, "Yuan Chong is quite cunning. They wouldn’t be monitoring us all the time, would they?"

"Princess."

"Hmm?"

Before Jiang Shuyao could turn her head, Pei Yan pinched her chin and kissed her on the face.

"What are you doing?" She glared at him, her face flushed.

This was a public place, after all.

Pei Yan grinned and adjusted the hair by her ear for her, "The person spying on us must be a single dog; let them be sour about it."

"..."