The second round of testing arrived quickly.

Originally, Lu Linshen intended to head to the area where the Feiyun Group was located. However, when he looked up, he found himself standing at Meng Suihuan’s door. And she was staring straight at him.

He had no choice but to muster up the courage and walk in.

Meng Suihuan’s gaze remained fixed on Lu Linshen, almost as if she wanted to burn a hole through him. After all, in her eyes, the man before her was practically a walking ATM. The more she looked, the harder it was to look away.

Lu Linshen had a lot of questions brewing in his mind, but to his surprise, the first words that escaped his mouth were: “I’m sorry.”

This caught not only himself off guard but also Meng Suihuan, who had been scheming how to milk him for all he was worth. However, she recovered quickly and seized the opportunity, raising her eyebrows slightly.

“Since you feel sorry for me, there’s a perfect opportunity to make it up to me.”

“What opportunity?”

“Accept my investment,” Meng Suihuan said bluntly.

At this exchange meeting, aside from her interest in Lu Linshen’s company, the Feiyun Group had also shown interest. What’s more, Feiyun Group’s financial resources were clearly superior to hers.

“I know the Feiyun Group is also interested in you, but their interest will fade. Everyone knows the Feiyun Group’s boss has a penchant for investing. If a project piques his interest, he’ll throw money at it. But you need to understand, no one stays interested in something forever. His investment in your company will be no exception.”

“But I’m different—”

“I’m here for your project and your unique insights into the internet. More importantly, I don’t have any other investment projects right now, so I can pour all my resources into your company.”

“I think you’re smart enough to weigh the pros and cons.”

Meng Suihuan believed she had laid out the stakes clearly and had presented herself with remarkable composure. Only she knew how anxious she actually was. After all, Feiyun Group was the one who, in the original story, had invested in Lu Linshen. The boss later became one of his staunchest supporters, allocating a third of the company’s resources to fund his research and eventually helping him rise to prominence.

As she considered how to persuade him from another angle, Lu Linshen finally responded.

“You’re interested in the internet?”

But his response had nothing to do with the answer she was hoping for.

“Of course, I’m interested,” Meng Suihuan replied matter-of-factly. “Especially the future you just envisioned—it’s thrilling, to say the least. That’s—”

Exactly what life in the 21st century looks like!

Of course, she couldn’t say that out loud. Instead, she rephrased her thoughts carefully.

“That’s the kind of life I’ve dreamed about.”

As Meng Suihuan started to wonder if she had overdone her performance, Lu Linshen finally spoke again.

“Hmm. I see.”

“But I’ll need to discuss this with my team before making a decision.”

Meng Suihuan: “…”

So all that effort was for nothing!

Lu Linshen left Meng Suihuan’s place and headed straight to Feiyun Group.

He asked the same question, and the boss of Feiyun Group provided an answer accordingly. Afterward, Lu Linshen returned to the small four-person team.

As soon as Qin Yu saw him, he excitedly asked, “Lu Ge, how did it go?”

Although Xie Zhixin and Xu Xuanyi weren’t as dramatic as Qin Yu, their anticipation was just as evident. They were all eager to hear the results of the exchange meeting.

“Both sides have extended an olive branch to our company,” Lu Linshen said. “So I’d like to hear your opinions.”

He then explained the points raised by both parties. Qin Yu, upon hearing what Meng Suihuan had said, was so excited that the word “thrilled” might as well have been written across his face.

“I definitely choose the beautiful young lady!”

Fearing Xu Xuanyi would later mock him, he quickly clarified, “I’m not picking her just because of her looks. What she said really moved me!”

“We’re seeking investment anyway, and now we’ve encountered someone wholeheartedly interested in the internet. Wouldn’t collaborating with her yield twice the results with half the effort?”

Xu Xuanyi ignored Qin Yu and instead focused on Lu Linshen. “Lao Lu, I’ve always trusted your judgment. Whoever you decide we go with, that’s who we’ll follow.”

Xie Zhixin echoed this sentiment. “As long as our research and projects can continue normally, I have no objections to whichever company invests in us.”

Qin Yu quickly backtracked, “…I take back what I said earlier. Let’s leave everything to Lu Ge!”

Lu Linshen glanced at Qin Yu: “…”

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, he slowly uttered a name, revealing his stance and choice.

Meanwhile, at Meng Suihuan’s side, after Lu Linshen left, she internally cursed him a thousand times over. So when Chen Ke arrived for the second round of interviews and mentioned Lu Linshen’s name, she practically exploded.

Why had she let herself get blinded by the system’s data and considered working with Lu Linshen? She could complete her mission and return home perfectly fine without him!

At that moment, a knock came from the distance. Thinking it was Feng Jiu, Meng Suihuan didn’t even look up and said, “Just take them to sign the contract directly. I’ll head back to the company.”

After speaking, she didn’t hear the expected response. Looking up, she saw the familiar face of Lu Linshen.

“What are you doing here again?”

Before Lu Linshen could reply, Qin Yu, who was behind him, eagerly answered first, “We’re here to sign the contract with you!”

“?” Meng Suihuan’s gaze fell on Lu Linshen, her eyes filled with confusion. “Didn’t you just reject me?”

“I only said I needed to discuss it with my team, not that I was rejecting you,” Lu Linshen calmly corrected her.

Thinking back, he had indeed said he needed to consider it. But in Meng Suihuan’s mind, that was as good as a polite rejection—especially with the predatory Feiyun Group in the picture.

Plus, Lu Linshen was a notorious jerk in her book, someone who would abandon his wife and children.

So the moment he left, she’d already written him off.

She hadn’t expected that his so-called “considering” wasn’t a brush-off or a rejection. It really was just that—consideration.

Realizing this, she suddenly found him much more agreeable and even gave him a dazzling, radiant smile.

“No time to waste. Let’s sign the contract now.”

She turned to leave, only to notice Lu Linshen still standing there, unmoving.

“What are you standing around for? Let’s go!”

Lu Linshen rubbed his forehead, quietly walked over to her seat, and picked up a contract before following her.

“Let’s go.”

It was then that Meng Suihuan remembered the organizers didn’t have extra contracts on hand. After the first round of the competition, they’d already sent the contracts over in advance. As long as both parties agreed, they could sign the contract on the spot. They only needed to register with the organizers afterward.

She had almost forgotten the contract’s existence.

But she couldn’t blame herself entirely—after all, the contract was incomplete.

“This contract isn’t fully comprehensive. I’ll draft a new one later on,” she added.

On the way to registration, they happened to run into Feng Jiu and his group.

“Boss, I’ve already wrapped things up on my end. We can head back to the company anytime.”

“No rush,” Meng Suihuan replied calmly, shaking her head. “I still need to take them over for registration.”

The moment Chen Ke saw Lu Linshen and his team, she let out an excited scream. Her reaction was far more animated than when dealing with her own procedures.

“Ahhh!! Senior Lu! I just knew you guys would make it through! There’s no way investors wouldn’t be impressed at this exchange meeting. I just didn’t expect we’d end up signing with the same company!”

“Meng Jiejie, you scared me to death earlier. I thought I said something wrong and upset you, or that you might take it out on Senior Lu and his team! I’m so glad you made the right choice in the end!”

Meng Suihuan: “…”

She could feel a gaze lightly resting on her. Though she didn’t turn her head, she was certain it was from Lu Linshen.

With righteous confidence, Meng Suihuan responded to Chen Ke, “How could I? I’ve always trusted what I see with my own eyes and never make snap judgments based on mere gossip.”

Well… except for the occasional bias.

And so, the group headed grandly to the organizer’s office to complete the registration.

After they finished registering, Meng Suihuan immediately asked Feng Jiu for a pen and borrowed the incomplete contract from Lu Linshen. Swiftly, she scribbled down a string of phone numbers and the company address before handing it to him.

“Feel free to contact me anytime.”

When she finished writing, Feng Jiu quietly reminded her from the side, “Boss, I already gave them two of our business cards earlier. All the information is on them.”

An oblivious Meng Suihuan: “…Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Feng Jiu felt wronged. Normally, he was responsible for this sort of thing, but he had no idea why the boss was so proactive today. Not only did she personally escort the team to register, but she also gave them her contact information herself. He had wanted to stop her, but her actions were so fast that by the time he opened his mouth, she was already finishing up.

—

After wrapping up the exchange meeting, Meng Suihuan headed straight back to the company. But just as she reached the entrance, she ran into Song Zhi, who looked visibly anxious.

Seeing her, he immediately ran over.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” she asked directly.

Song Zhi’s expression darkened. Hearing her question, he nodded without hesitation. “The theme for our Donghu Huayuan project has already been used by someone else.”

If this were in later years, Meng Suihuan wouldn’t have been too surprised, since similar ideas are common. But at this stage, the situation felt much more delicate.

“Who used it first?”

“Zhao Shenglun,” Song Zhi said through gritted teeth, clenching his fists. “He’s the former partner from my company.”

Hearing that, Meng Suihuan immediately understood. Wasn’t this the guy who secretly diverted funds and took away part of Song Zhi’s company team?

What was already a somewhat sensitive issue now became even more suspicious.

“Investigate it!”

“See if it’s just a coincidence that he had the same idea as us—”

“—or if there’s a mole in our team!”