Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

At 12:30 AM, Wen Shuyan arrived at Ruikang Clinic on Ruijin Road. She found the infusion room and saw Wen Jie lying on the bed without an IV line in his hand. Two men were sitting on chairs beside the bed; one was wearing a blue striped suit, and the other, in a black suit, appeared to be asleep. There was no one else there.

"How is he?" Wen Shuyan asked as she came to the bedside.

"He's fine," the man in the blue striped suit stood up. The light shone on his face, making him look even more resolute and handsome than Wen Shuyan remembered, and he was also taller. "He just drank a little too much and broke his nose. The doctor said he'll be fine when he wakes up."

Wen Shuyan breathed a sigh of relief, took the chair the man offered, and sat down.

"Thank you. We've met before," Wen Shuyan said with a smile. Her smile softened the man's facial features.

"How did you get my phone number?" Han Fei asked, sitting back down in his chair.

"I looked for him all night, but I couldn't get through to him on the phone since morning. I went to the Innovation Building, but the people there told me that Xiao Jie hadn't been to the office for two days. Then I went to his place, and finally I had to go to the publishing house. Your phone number is on the wall of the publishing house."

"Wen Jie's phone must have been left at the publishing house. We've been busy at the publishing house these past two days, and I thought he would tell you."

"So, tonight?"

Han Fei smiled and said, "Tonight is a celebration."

"Celebrating a victory? That means what you did..."

Wen Shuyan paused for a moment, but Han Fei finished her sentence for her: "You could say you won a gamble, and you've gained a little."

Wen Shuyan chuckled a few times: "No wonder, Xiao Jie has always been like this since he was little. He can't control himself when he's happy. Speaking of which, two of his former colleagues came to see him this morning."

Han Fei raised an eyebrow: "Wangyi?"

"Yeah, they seem really curious about what kind of work Xiao Jie is doing," Wen Shuyan said, then quickly added when she saw Han Fei frown slightly, "but I didn't tell them anything."

Han Fei laughed and said, "It's alright, they were just a step too late. I was just wondering why they went to find Wen Jie."

Wen Shuyan looked at Han Fei with an inquiring gaze.

"So that's how it is..." Han Fei said softly, as if talking to himself.

"What did you say?"

"Actually, Wangyi has been eyeing our project for a long time and has been secretly investigating it, but they don't know that we've already noticed their actions. They still think we're kept in the dark, which is why they tried to find Wen Jie to find out what's going on. It's just their overconfidence."

Wen Shuyan nodded slowly, glancing at her watch: "It's so late, aren't you sleepy?"

"fine."

"I don't believe you. Your eyes are practically closed." Wen Shuyan said with a smile, pointing to the buzz-cut man slumped in a chair next to her, fast asleep. "He seems a little sleepy too. Why don't you go back and rest? I can manage on my own."

Did you drive here?

"Um."

"Then we'll help you take Wenjie home."

Wen Shuyan hesitated for a moment: "Um...wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"

"It's alright," Han Fei said, patting the man with the buzz cut on the shoulder.

Han Fei glanced at the open car door and hesitated for a moment. He took a step to steady himself, and then together with Lu Hai, they shoved Wen Jie into the cramped MINI Cooper.

Wen Shuyan drove very carefully, her eyes constantly darting between the left and right rearview mirrors, even though it was late at night and the streets were sparsely populated.

"Why are you the only one who came to pick up Wen Jie?" Han Fei asked from the back seat, his voice mixed with Lu Hai's snoring. "Does anyone else in your family know?"

Wen Shuyan chuckled: "They're all out of Shanghai, it's just me and Xiao Jie."

"Aren't you locals?"

"Yes, my hometown is Huzhou in Zhejiang Province. It's a small county town; you probably haven't even heard of it."

"Nanxun? Changxing?"

Han Fei and Wen Shuyan's eyes met in the rearview mirror.

"Oh? You know Changxing? Have you been there?" Wen Shuyan asked.

"No," Han Fei said, "I've only read about it in books, about tea-producing areas. Guzhu Zisun tea was a tribute item during the Tang Dynasty."

"Yes, my family grows tea, and we do grow Zisun tea, but it's not a purebred. It's an improved variety called Zhenong 139."

"Improved?"

"It was developed by the Academy of Agricultural Sciences," Wen Shuyan said. "The Zisun variety is very delicate, with high requirements for climate and soil, but its yield is very low and the harvesting period is short. The improved variety retains the aroma of Zisun while making up for these shortcomings. My father was the first to introduce this variety back then, and he was laughed at by some people."

"So your family is in the fresh tea leaf business?"

"It's not just fresh tea leaves, but also some that we process ourselves. Are you quite knowledgeable about tea?"

"Uh... basically zero."

Wen Shuyan chuckled a few times: "It's alright, I'll send you some of our family's tea another day."

"Thank you in advance."

The car drove onto Hongmei Road. Wen Shuyan parked the car in front of the Fenglin Luyuan residential complex.

Han Fei shook Lu Hai awake for the second time. Lu Hai rubbed his face, opened the door and got out of the car, then stretched dramatically, leaving Han Fei amazed at how stable his emotions were.

They dragged Wen Jie out of the car, carried him to the elevator, and took him up to the eighth floor.

Wen Shuyan unlocked the door with her key, stood aside, and let them in.

Han Fei and Lu Hai walked through the living room, a strong smell of rotting fruit hitting them. They went to the bedroom and put Wen Jie on the bed.

"Thank you so much for your help," Wen Shuyan said. "I'll go get you some water."

"You're welcome," Lu Hai said, his voice heavy with sleepiness. "It's my fault, really. I didn't keep an eye on him and let him drink so much."

Before Han Fei could speak, Wen Shuyan had already walked past him and headed towards the living room.

He looked around. The bedroom was simply furnished, but tastefully decorated, with a touch of business style, quite different from the programmer's room Han Fei had imagined. To the right of the bed was a row of wardrobes, one of which was open, and Han Fei saw a strangely shaped toy gun inside.

"Electromagnetic coil gun!" Lu Hai's eyes widened as he looked past Han Fei's shoulder at the toy gun.

"What cannon?" Han Fei asked.

"Is that the toy that Xiao Jie made himself?" Wen Shuyan's voice came from the living room.

"Wow, impressive!" Lu Hai reached out and picked up the gun to examine it closely. "Boss, you've probably never seen anything like this before, have you? It's really well-made!"

"Don't point a gun at me," Han Fei said. "What's this for?"

At this moment, Wen Shuyan walked in, holding two bottles of drinks: "Xiao Jie has always liked to take things apart since he was little, and then reassemble the different parts. This must be what he assembled using various parts."

"This isn't your average product," Lu Hai said. "President, wouldn't you like to see how it works?"

Han Fei cleared his throat and looked at Wen Shuyan. Wen Shuyan smiled slightly and nodded.