The next morning, he moved his slightly sore neck as he sat up on the bed.
It was Xia Shiyu who knocked on his door to wake him up.
She was accustomed to the nine to five routine. So every day, she wakes up early to cook breakfast. She placed the scrambled egg, toast, and milk on the dinner table. When they were eating breakfast, Jiang Chen’s heart pumped a little faster while he watched her in an apron.
He didn’t know she had such a virtuous side.
He remembered back in university that one of his friends who always bragged about how many girlfriends he had always said that a single girl’s life is not always the tidiest. It was normal for them to clean up in a few months. But from Xia Shiyu, Jiang Chen didn’t see any carelessness.
Their conversation during the day was normal, not the slightest bit of awkwardness existed from yesterday.
After breakfast, the two headed to the office together. She looked okay, but from the thick makeup covering her eye bags, Jiang Chen could see that she didn’t have the best night of sleep.
…
The meeting with Daimler corporation took place in Future International. The representative they sent was from Europe and had arrived last night. The representative was rumored to be a “person of importance”. Before the representative arrived, Jiang Chen was guessing who it could be, but he ended up seeing a familiar face.
“Haha! Hello, Mr. Jiang, we meet again.”
With fluent Chinese, Carmen Rothschild opened his arm with a warm smile and walked in front of Jiang Chen.
“Mr. Carmen? This is a surprise, you personally came to China.”
Jiang Chen looked at the man in front of him with surprise before he quickly regathered himself and opened his arm.
Although it was weird to hug a man, out of respect, Jiang Chen gave him a manly hug.
“Of course, Daimler corporation values the partnership with your company, the same goes for the Rothschild family,” Carmen said earnestly.
[He shouldn’t have figured out the GPS tracker… ] Carmen thought in his mind.
[What is this guy’s intention?] Jiang Chen was puzzled too.
The USB Carmen gave Jiang Chen last night had a GPS tracker inside. Yao Yao, who only specialized in programming, although she had some abilities in electronic device modification, didn’t receive any anti-surveillance training, so naturally, she didn’t notice it. If it were Ayesha, the GPS tracker would not escape her eyes. It was all about specialties.
“My honor, you are also an important partner for Future International.” Jiang Chen smiled.
The two sat down around the conference table. The bodyguard following Carmen stayed outside the room. The two technical experts in suits and an assistant followed inside. Xia Shiyu took out the contract and placed it in front of Jiang Chen, then stood beside him.
Just as the meeting started, Carmen couldn’t wait and immediately said, “Let’s get straight to the point shall we”
“As you wish.”
Jiang Chen smiled and signaled the employee to place the brief containing the USB and the chip in front of Carmen.
On this trip, Carmen brought the technical experts from the company. The contract stated that the product must be delivered by May. To be honest, when Daimler’s programmers heard that Future Technology not only tackled the technical barriers in the smart driving system, they also managed to complete it within a month before the deadline. They were so shocked that their eyes almost popped out.
Everyone had the same thought, “Is Future Technology tricking them?”
The Germans’ rigorous technical skills were renowned worldwide. They could not let a single mistake exist during the quality assurance process. Because of their skepticism to Future Technology’s ability, the board sent the two technical experts responsible for the primary control system over to audit the smart driving program.
If the innovative technology had any problems, Daimler corporation’s loss was not as simple as compensation, the reputation they’ve built over the years would also suffer greatly as a result. On the other side, if this triggered people’s fear for the autonomous driving vehicle, it would indeed cast a gloom over the future of smart cars. Because of their persistence to safety, it resulted in aborting the contract with the previous company.
The two technical experts walked up. A man with a stern expression open the briefcase, and the other took out a laptop computer. They inserted the USB into the laptop and began to work.
The conference room was quiet, there was only the sound of keys clicking and computer fan spinning.
Carmen’s arms were placed on the table with his eyes half-closed, but Jiang Chen noticed that he had his full attention on that computer screen. Xia Shiyu was still expressionless, but from her continuously moving eyes, Jiang Chen could clearly sense her unease.
Jiang Chen was the most relaxed. He leaned back in his chair while waiting for the results to come out.
At the same time, Jiang Chen noticed that the assistant behind Carmen was observing him. Jiang Chen gave him a friendly smile, but he looked away.
The two technical experts’ expression was turning more and more grave as they began to exchange opinions in a small voice.
Xia Shiyu held her breath as her heart was pumping rapidly.
It was a one billion dollar deal! Whether it was a success or failure, it would all depend on the words that came out of the two peoples’ mouths.
Finally, the two technical experts stood up. From their actions, the review was completed.
“The result?”
Carmen was more eager than Jiang Chen.
The older looking technical expert nodded, then turned to Jiang Chen and said in English.
“Mr. Jiang, your company’s achievement in artificial intelligence is at the point worth praising and envying. Please allow me to apologize for my skepticism of your company’s ability.”
While he said this, the technical expert bowed deeply to Jiang Chen.
“Don’t worry. As a technical expert, it is a virtue to dare to question,” Jiang Chen replied with a calm tone.
“Ahem.” Carmen coughed.
The technical expert realized his mishap and stopped talking.
They were not in the lab, but the conference table.
“Since our chief technical engineer has already verified the excellent performance of the software, then my trip is certainly worthwhile.” Carmen stood up and smiled.
Xia Shiyu felt relieved. She only noticed now that her palms were drenched in sweat.
She looked at Jiang Chen as her eyes stopped on the smile laced with confidence.
Her face felt hot as she looked away subtly.
Seeing Carmen stand up, Jiang Chen also stood up with a smile and extended his hand.
“It’s great working with you.”
“Haha, It’s great to work with you too.” Carmen also extended his right hand and shook with Jiang Chen.
One billion dollars. Although it was small compared to the eight billion USD gap, it would certainly alleviate some of their financial pressures.
But then, the corner of Jiang Chen’s eyes caught the ring on his hand.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
That is…