Since we are both reborn, of course I would choose the rich woman!

Chapter 402 Youthful Spirit is an Irreplaceable Thing (6k views, please subscribe)

After Lin Yongzhen left, the villa that Lü Yao bought in Mianyang suddenly became deserted.

Every time Lü Yao returned to his residence from the branch office in Mianyang, even though Cheng Xinyu was still there, the cold air emanating from the spacious room always left him feeling empty inside.

Cheng Xinyu noticed Lü Yao's inner turmoil, so she summoned Li Qiuwen, who was already unemployed, from Rongcheng to Mianyang, hoping that Li Qiuwen's arrival would liven things up and make Lü Yao feel better.

Lü Yao was quite grateful for this.

But some things cannot be made up for simply by one person leaving and another person filling the void.

So after spending a few days with Cheng Xinyu and Li Qiuwen, Lü Yao had dinner with them on a weekend evening. After dinner, Lü Yao, Cheng Xinyu, and Li Qiuwen sat at the table together, drinking and chatting.

Lu Yao first raised his glass to Cheng Xinyu to express his gratitude, saying, "Xinyu, you're so thoughtful to have Qiuwen come and keep me company. I'm sorry to have troubled Qiuwen, but I can tell that she didn't really want to do this kind of thing."

Li Qiuwen panicked immediately and quickly raised her glass, saying, "No, that's not true. Mr. Lü, you're always joking with me."

Cheng Xinyu laughed and added, "That's right, Qiu Wen doesn't have as much social experience as me, and she's quite thin-skinned. She can't stand being scared like that by you, boss!"

Lü Yao could understand Li Qiuwen and Cheng Xinyu's nervousness. The two of them were like an alliance in the company, and Lü Yao's feelings towards Li Qiuwen would directly affect whether Cheng Xinyu's position in the company was secure.

Lu Yao didn't delve into the topic further and continued, "Alright, don't be so nervous or uncomfortable. You've been with me long enough. There's a lack of support in Shangnan, especially for your department. I've noticed that your department's performance has declined recently."

Cheng Xinyu frowned immediately and said, "Boss."

Lu Yao waved his hand and explained, "I didn't mean to kick you out. I'm asking you to go back because the company really needs you, and also because I need some peace and quiet myself. By the way, Xinyu, after you go back, help Qiuwen build up the brand around Qiuwen."

This involves a series of on-the-ground operations such as setting up additional companies, brand operation, and supply chain integration. These operations require coordination with Huasheng, whose headquarters are in Shangnan, so it is only right for them to go back at this time.

After saying that, Lü Yao patted Cheng Xinyu's hand and said with a smile, "This is an order."

Looking into Lü Yao's calm yet resolute eyes, and hearing his gentle yet unquestionable "command," Cheng Xinyu felt her bones melt instantly.

As Lü Yao's status in the business world rose, the aura he exuded became increasingly irrefutable, and this psychological admiration pleased Cheng Xinyu.

In today's rather corny internet parlance, Lü Yao is increasingly displaying the aura of a "superior."

The emergence of this kind of temperament is actually quite simple.

A person will develop this kind of "temperament" if their environment allows them to accomplish whatever they set their mind to.

This has nothing to do with talent, intelligence, personality, cultivation, or any other qualities.

This is a confidence in controlling the situation.

In "The Godfather," the old Godfather can calmly say in front of the heads of several major families, "I will give them a condition they cannot refuse," exuding domineering power. In "Personal Tailor," Teacher Fan can also say in a self-deceptive and old-fashioned manner, "I may not want it, but they cannot not give it to me," a statement full of official airs. Therefore, the "superior" temperament is purely cultivated by self-confidence.

The character played by Teacher Fan is certainly not likable because the character's underlying nature is fake.

Cheng Xinyu tilted her head slightly, her eyes sparkling as she chuckled, "Yes, ma'am~~"

This scene made Li Qiuwen, who was watching from the side, lower her head; she felt a little uncomfortable.

Lu Yao then looked at Li Qiuwen and said, "During your time in Chengdu, the account has received a very good response. Your total number of followers across the internet has exceeded three million, and your number of followers on Douyin has also exceeded one million. This is a very good sign. With this account, you can find more internet celebrities to interact with in the future."

Li Qiuwen nodded hesitantly.

Lu Yao continued, "If you have any questions in the future, just ask your sister Xinyu. She will help you."

Li Qiuwen lowered her head even further, and at the same time, some doubts began to creep into her heart: "Why did President Lü say so much today? And the implication of his words sounds very ominous."

Cheng Xinyu also looked at Lü Yao with concern.

Lu Yao continued to smile and said casually, "Don't worry, I'm just being cautious. You saw what Sister Yongzhen did. The international situation is very delicate right now, and anything can happen. We're working with President Rong, and there are more and more projects involved, so we need to be careful."

Cheng Xinyu nodded with some skepticism.

After discussing the main matters, Lü Yao started chatting with Li Qiuwen and Cheng Xinyu.

Lu Yao talked about Hou Yulou, the customs and culture of Sichuan, and Li Qiuwen's future. Before long, Li Qiuwen would become "General Manager Li" and a retail tycoon in a certain field of the Internet.

Around nine o'clock, Lü Yao got up and told Cheng Xinyu and Li Qiuwen that he was going back to his room upstairs.

After Lü Yao went upstairs, Cheng Xinyu's smiling face quickly turned cold. She looked at Li Qiuwen with a cold expression and said in a cold voice, "Want to go out for a smoke?"

Li Qiuwen sensed the chill in Cheng Xinyu's words. Her body trembled slightly, and she could only say in a voice barely above a whisper, "Okay."

Upon arriving at the villa's courtyard, Cheng Xinyu sat down at the round table and said to Li Qiuwen, who had followed her, "Please sit down."

As she spoke, Cheng Xinyu took out a cigarette and lit it.

For a moment, the only sounds in the courtyard were Cheng Xinyu silently smoking and the quiet burning of her cigarette.

Li Qiuwen sat obediently to the side like a schoolchild who had made a mistake. After she finished her cigarette, Cheng Xinyu stubbed it out and asked, "Do you hate me?"

Li Qiuwen suddenly looked up: "How could that be!"

She quickly waved her hand and explained, "I didn't mean that, Sister Xinyu, you're overthinking it."

Cheng Xinyu gave a forced smile: "Am I overthinking things, or have you done too much? Is this how you use opportunities to get close to your boss in the workplace? Do you think the pledge I made you to make back then was inappropriate, and that's why you've been holding a grudge ever since?"

Cheng Xinyu's words grew increasingly harsh, but she didn't stop speaking. Instead, she said even more coldly, "If you think I went too far back then, I won't stop you. You can leave the company, and I can give back your account and everything you've acquired."

“You also have the video that was taken back then. If you feel wronged, you can go to court or the police station to seek justice for yourself.”

Under Cheng Xinyu's stern criticism, Li Qiuwen was almost panicked. She raised her head and waved her hands repeatedly: "That's not how it is, Sister Xinyu, I didn't think that way, really, you have to believe me."

As she spoke, tears streamed down Li Qiuwen's face.

Cheng Xinyu took out another cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and asked in a softened tone, "Then tell me, what happened?"

Li Qiuwen hesitated for a moment, then said with great embarrassment, "I, I don't dislike Sister Xinyu, nor do I dislike President Lü. It's just that the more I achieve, the more attention I receive, and the more concern I get from you all, the more uncomfortable I feel."

“Every time I see Mr. Lü showing concern for my career and life, I feel increasingly distressed.”

Li Qiuwen clenched her chest as if she could no longer breathe.

Cheng Xinyu understood immediately upon seeing this.

She sighed and added, "I want to get close but I'm afraid, I'm distant but I still miss you. I hope my relationship with my boss is no longer this distorted and twisted one. I yearn for the so-called normal relationship that the world portrays, right?"

Li Qiuwen lowered her head again and nodded firmly.

Cheng Xinyu looked at Li Qiuwen and shook her head slightly, then said, "You know what I used to do, right?"

Li Qiuwen nodded.

Cheng Xinyu continued, "When I first entered the industry, a senior colleague told me that the most important thing in our line of work is not to fall in love with a customer. But I was young and naive back then, just like you, and I couldn't resist the advice."

"Not satisfied with receiving money or care from others, they even want more. They want to possess someone entirely, and they want it to be rightfully theirs."

At this point, Cheng Xinyu laughed self-deprecatingly, then said to Li Qiuwen earnestly, "Remember, the things that the world portrays are poisons rooted in our minds. In the relationship of power, there are only two theorems—survival of the fittest and loyalty above all else."

"For ordinary people like you and me, if we want to stand at a high enough level, we must shake off those boring and pointless worldly ideas from our minds and not ruin our future."

Li Qiuwen nodded silently.

That's what they say, but Cheng Xinyu knows all too well how difficult it is to do something like that.

Without experiencing repeated inner torment, of being torn apart and shattered, how can one achieve a true inner transformation?

So Cheng Xinyu leaned closer to Li Qiuwen, stroked Li Qiuwen's face with both hands, and sighed, "You've been protected too well."

Unlike herself, a rose that grew out of barren land, Li Qiuwen was born into a relatively wealthy family. Her parents had decent and stable jobs and had lived a peaceful and loving life together. Growing up in such an environment, Li Qiuwen naturally longed for the happiness her parents presented.

She is lucky.

However, her ambition and her luck were somewhat at odds. The road to higher positions is always paved with blood and fire. Even Zhu Yuanzhang needed the drowning of the Little Ming King to ascend to the throne, and Li Shimin had to step over the blood and bones of his own brothers to create the prosperous Zhenguan era.

Where in this world can one find a peaceful, happy, and prosperous life, where one receives a crown and scepter amidst a sky full of light?
Without giving Cheng Xinyu a chance to continue speaking, Li Qiuwen said decisively, "I won't do that again. I will adjust myself."

Cheng Xinyu smiled and said, "That would be for the best."

If she can't do it, it means that this circle is not suitable for someone like Li Qiuwen to survive in.

……

The afternoon after talking with Cheng Xinyu and Li Qiuwen, Cheng Xinyu and Li Qiuwen started packing their things to return to Shangnan.

Lu Yao drove them to the airport in Mianyang. When they were about to part ways in the VIP lounge, Cheng Xinyu couldn't help but speak up for Li Qiuwen. She hugged Lu Yao as they prepared to leave: "Boss, don't blame Qiuwen. She's... a little bit in love with you. The young girl doesn't know how to handle such a complicated relationship yet, but she's smart and will figure something out."

Lu Yao smiled and said, "You just need to take good care of her. She's your responsibility now."

Cheng Xinyu laughed: "Then wouldn't I be in a terrible situation?"

Lu Yao didn't mince words: "Since you recruited these people yourself, you're naturally responsible for them."

Cheng Xinyu made no attempt to hide her feelings as she leaned close to Lü Yao's lips, then stepped back after they parted, saying, "I'll take responsibility, I'll take responsibility~ Bye-bye~"

After saying that, Cheng Xinyu picked up her luggage and walked briskly to board the plane.

After seeing Cheng Xinyu and Li Qiuwen off, Lü Yao got into his car and returned to his residence.

Now, his residence is truly deserted and desolate.

When Lü Yao returned and stepped into the courtyard, the already quiet villa felt as desolate as a lonely grave a thousand miles away. Perhaps it was not the dwelling that was desolate, but the heart of the person.

Lu Yao casually rummaged through the refrigerator in the first-floor lobby and grabbed a bite to eat. After a simple meal in the spacious and luxuriously decorated villa, he went up to the second-floor terrace and sat down on a lounge chair. While drinking, Lu Yao cleared his mind.

When the sunset turned blood red and the sky was filled with colorful clouds that made the western sky incredibly magnificent, Lü Yao finally snapped out of his reverie.

He checked the time and realized that he had been spacing out on the terrace for more than an hour without realizing it.

A significant characteristic of aging is that time seems to fly by exceptionally fast, and the excitement and eagerness to share new and exciting things are no longer present.

The golden-red sunset glowed on Lü Yao, but his heart remained as calm as autumn water.

At this moment, many things were churning in Lü Yao's heart.

"When you're thirty, the scenery you wanted to see when you were eighteen will be completely different."

"I long to buy osmanthus blossoms and share wine, but it will never be like the carefree days of my youth."

In the end, all these words converged into one sentence in Lü Yao's heart—"Youthful spirit is an irreplaceable thing."

When those words came to mind, Lü Yao suddenly felt a sense of melancholy.

He read novels and watched anime in high school and college. When he saw those spirited and exciting scenes in novels, he would get excited and yearn for them. The stories and scenes in anime full of youthful passion would also get his blood pumping.

But now, he doesn't like watching those anymore.

In worldly terms, he had matured; but in the eyes of young people, he was worldly, shrewd, and cunning. It wasn't that Lü Yao didn't understand things like friendship, family, beauty, and bonds; it's just that he no longer believed in them as much.

The things in novels and TV dramas are so superficial that even an old dog like Lü Yao can't immerse himself in them.

At this moment, Lü Yao couldn't help but think again that if Lin Yongzhen were his younger self, and he met someone like her, he would definitely follow her without hesitation when he learned that she was going to face danger, and use his resources to help Lin Yongzhen sort out everything that needed to be sorted out.

But the soul inside this young body is a soul that will be nearly forty years old in the future, having studied abroad for more than ten years.

He and Lin Yongzhen tacitly avoided involving each other in this matter, and even if they did take action, they kept it a secret from each other. This is the "restraint" between adults.

Facing the rain falling from the sky, Lü Yao let out a long sigh of relief, then turned and went back into the house.

For a period of time afterward, Lu Yao, who was without a woman by his side, fully immersed himself in work. The MCN agency in Mianyang took on Lu Yao's "cultural export" plan, while the media and cultural, game technology and other companies in Shangnan were also proceeding in an orderly manner.

The media company's efforts to cultivate online celebrities are also proceeding smoothly. Under Lü Yao's remote control, things like live-streaming sales, self-operated brands, and cultural counterattacks are making progress every day.

During his time alone, Lü Yao even began to recruit some scholars online, preparing to sell the superior qualities of Asian products overseas.

Things related to the technology field are also progressing steadily. Since Microlight International, under Dr. Liang's leadership, quickly broke through the 14nm chip manufacturing process, while Lu Yao and his team are making commercial arrangements, Dr. Liang is also leading the team to tackle the next chip manufacturing process hurdle.

Next came 10nm, and even 7nm and 5nm. But as the process progressed, the difficulty of breakthroughs increased, so Dr. Liang's team continued to spend a fortune every day, but the progress made was not significant.

However, having a 14nm chip in hand was enough to give Lü Yao and Rong Nianqing a lot of confidence.

Despite their confidence, the overseas technology trading company established by Lü Yao and Rong Nianqing still purchases a large number of chips from overseas. In the information age, the demand for chips from all walks of life is enormous.

For the average person, chips are probably only used in mobile phones and computers.

However, there are also many specialized chips in the chip industry, such as transmission chips and access network chips. Among them, the most core and valuable are base station processor chips, mobile phone processor chips, optical module chips, analog devices, radio frequency chips, supercomputing clusters, and so on.

In some particularly critical facilities, the chips must be 100% secure, reliable, and controllable in one's own hands.

Therefore, even if we use 28nm chips, massive resources, and extremely large-scale designs to solve the problems of energy consumption, heat dissipation, and storage, some particularly important facilities must still use completely domestically produced chips.

For example, the "Sunway supercomputing cluster" at the bottom of Taihu Lake.

Why did they have to make that supercomputing cluster so extravagant?

Isn't it because there weren't any better performing chips at the beginning?

Of course, there are advantages to designing such a large supercomputing cluster. With the subsequent upgrade of domestic chip technology, it is also very simple to replace the core chips of the supercomputing cluster.

This is the design advantage under the concept of "great power thinking". As a result, China has many "human super projects" that seem crazy or even fantastical to the world.

As Micro-Optics International's production capacity gradually stabilized, and with Rong Nianqing's operations in the high-end sector, Micro-Optics International's breakthrough in 14nm chip manufacturing process was no longer a secret in that circle. Micro-Optics International also began to undertake a large number of upgrade and replacement projects for confidential and critical facilities.

These businesses alone have injected a massive amount of capital into Microlight International.

As a result, Rong Nianqing's ranking in the Heavenly Palace is rising rapidly, and those who once coveted her in the shadows are gradually withdrawing their gazes. They have already missed the best time to seize this achievement.

Or rather, this optimal period never existed from the beginning.

Lü Yao had his doubts.

They clearly made a big show of it. More than a month after Micro-Optics International broke through the 14nm key process, the news had already started to spread. Although the initial spread was very small, given the intelligence capabilities of Dongda University, there was no reason why the Three Pure Ones and Four Emperors in the Thirty-Three Heavens wouldn't know.

Lu Yao's subsequent counterattacks against those who coveted his position were all attempts to demonstrate his own value.

Later on, only Rong Nianqing's uncle, Rong Zhijiankang, represented the authorities. Why didn't anyone from higher up contact them? Even if they did contact Rong Nianqing, she would have informed them.

As Weiguang International began undertaking equipment upgrades for key facilities, Lü Yao finally voiced his question.

During the call, Rong Nianqing was quite surprised that Lü Yao brought up this question. She laughed in the video and said, "Oh? I thought you would understand, so I didn't talk to you about this. I didn't expect you to have this problem in your heart."

After thinking for a moment, Rong Nianqing said cryptically, "The saying 'rule the world together with scholar-officials' was said by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, but it was truly implemented during the Northern Song Dynasty. At that time, the status of scholars was unprecedentedly high, and the scholar-officials selected from the gentry in various places could truly rival the imperial power."

“From then on, everyone followed the established rules of their ancestors.”

Rong Nianqing said with particular emotion, "After that, being an emperor wasn't a happy thing."

Lü Yao certainly understood these principles, but could they really play such a game over matters of national importance that truly concerned the fate of the nation? What? Are there traitors like Qin Hui and Qian Qianyi at the top?
Then Lü Yao realized an even more outrageous and utterly terrifying truth...

Will his achievements so far be thrown out to be used as bait?

When Rong Nianqing saw Lu Yao's expression change several times and his eyes become increasingly suspicious and gloomy through the screen, she comforted him with a smile, "Don't think too much about it. The situation is slowly changing, and everything is under control."

Lü Yao nodded.

It seems that Rong Nianqing does indeed have some information that he is not qualified to access.

(End of this chapter)