Chapter 80

Chapter 80

"Mr. Chen, should we head to the hotel ourselves or...?" One of the colleagues from the sales department turned to ask Chen Mo, who had just hung up the phone. Then he noticed that the young leader's face was slightly red and joked, "Wasn't that your girlfriend on the phone?"

Chen Mo retrieved his luggage. "Let's go to the hotel first."

He coughed lightly and explained, "Not my girlfriend."

Yuan Hao, standing nearby, was taken aback, and his expression became somewhat inscrutable.

After all, among those on this business trip, perhaps only he knew the real situation.

Indeed, it wasn’t a girlfriend; it was a boyfriend.

And every time Yuan Hao thought about that man, he felt a chill down his spine. If he had initially harbored some unrealistic fantasies about Chen Mo, those feelings vanished completely after learning the other person’s identity.

Mr. Chen was not someone he could ever aspire to be with.

That man would never allow anyone with ulterior motives toward Chen Mo to work close by. Yuan Hao was well aware of his position and had a bit of wit.

So he quickly stepped forward and interrupted the colleague who wanted to pry further, saying, "Let's hurry. The car I booked will be here soon."

Chen Mo did indeed feel that this apprentice had recently become more perceptive.

But he didn’t bother delving into the reasons.

The group stayed at a national chain hotel, less than two kilometers from the venue of the seminar.

By the time they finished checking in, it was already evening.

Chen Mo, still not fully recovered, told Old K and the others that he wouldn’t be joining them for dinner and stayed at the hotel to rest.

He first called the hospital.

Upon learning that his grandfather’s condition remained unchanged, he gave a few instructions to the caretaker and hung up.

Then he took a shower, came out to sort through some materials, and inadvertently fell asleep on the sofa.

In his half-asleep state, he vaguely felt someone covering him with a blanket.

He mumbled, "Ah Yan?"

"Who is Ah Yan?" This question woke Chen Mo up.

Bathed in the dim, warm light of the suite, he saw it was Old K and sat up, rubbing his forehead. "It's you. When did you get back?"

"Just now," Old K said, picking up a glass of water from the table and handing it to him. "I was worried and came to check on you. What’s going on? You’ve been sick for days without getting better. Your forehead feels hot again."

Chen Mo took the glass and drank a couple of sips. "It’s nothing. I’ve taken my medicine."

"The medicine needs to work, though." Old K had become quite familiar with him over the years. He picked up the small bottle of English-labeled medicine on the table and asked, "And why haven’t I seen this medicine before? Ah Yan? Such an intimate name—did this Ah Yan prescribe it for you?"

Chen Mo found Old K’s puzzled expression amusing.

Old K had met Xi Siyan and knew they were old acquaintances, but he hadn’t delved deeper. Chen Mo wondered what Old K’s reaction would be if he knew Ah Yan was Xi Siyan.

And Chen Mo rarely called him that.

The last time was during Yang Zhi’s wedding when he carried him back, and Chen Mo deliberately teased him by calling him Ah Yan.

He must have been half-asleep just now.

Old K took the company too seriously, and now that Xinrui and CM were in a cooperative relationship, Chen Mo didn’t plan to reveal the truth. It would only add unnecessary pressure to Old K.

Old K didn’t press the matter further, putting down the bottle and frowning. "As far as I know, all the companies from Sui City are here. Everyone knows that despite the official rhetoric, Chuanxing is the main beneficiary of this seminar. Since your presentation is on the last day, why don’t you skip the first two days and rest?"

Chen Mo chuckled, a hint of coldness in his laughter. "If I don’t show up, wouldn’t that play right into their hands? Ren Xiansen currently monopolizes at least forty percent of the products under development. This seminar targets quick-turnaround projects with high returns. What do you think he wants?"

Old K: "But things aren’t entirely up to us."

Chen Mo gently rubbed the bottom of the glass. "The market is only so big. Anyone whose share is threatened will get anxious."

Chen Mo focused his career on intelligent technology research.

His interest and expertise in this field were the primary reasons, but his insight and sharpness in many areas often left Old K, even as the boss, rarely opposing his opinions.

The next morning, the organizers sent a car to pick them up.

With R2D having just launched, Xinrui was currently in the spotlight, making them the focus of the entire seminar.

The first day mainly involved registration and welcome sessions, where participants signed in and received relevant materials. To create an enthusiastic atmosphere, the organizers’ welcome speech was particularly inspiring. Chen Mo even noticed several teams around Yuan Hao’s age actively engaging in discussions, showing great enthusiasm for the official slogan of “Technology leads the future, innovation drives development.”

This made one person stand out.

Not because he was ostentatious or spoke loudly.

But because while everyone else was discussing general concepts like “technological innovation has always been the fundamental driver of economic growth,” he casually discussed intelligent information processing and machine perception, using technical terms as naturally as discussing the weather. This drew those genuinely interested in these fields towards him.

Especially the teams with their own research and development products, who were practically glowing with excitement.

Since it was the first day, no one had confirmed their identity badges yet.

So everyone was curious about who he was.

"So young, which small company is he from? Never heard of him."

"Maybe he just graduated. Someone at this level should be recognized in the top universities, right?"

Soon, these people found out.

Because the CEO of Chuanxing Technology, Ren Xiansen, walked over with an official yet insincere smile, extending his hand and saying, "Mr. Chen, it's been a while."

"Mr. Ren, it's been a while."

Actually, it hadn't been that long; just enough time for Mr. Ren's face to heal without any visible traces.

Ren Xiansen's smile grew increasingly stiff as he asked, "Mr. Chen, as a top graduate from Q University, your company Xinrui is doing so well now. Could you still be interested in these small projects?"

When these words were spoken, those who had been discussing earlier were suddenly shocked.

Murmuring, "He's actually Chen Mo?"

"No wonder I felt his understanding of intelligent perception was so advanced. I read one of his undergraduate papers on this topic."

"Should we give it a try? Our target this time is Xinrui, after all. We only agreed to meet Chuanxing out of necessity."

"Wait a moment. Chuanxing and Xinrui are notorious rivals. I can see Mr. Ren is quite dissatisfied; he's barely bothering to hide it."

...

Chen Mo didn't hear these whispers.

It wasn't surprising that people in the same circle found him unfamiliar. During his school days, he rarely participated in professional activities, focusing instead on Xinrui, which was managed externally by Old K and Su Qianran. He seldom showed his face.

His presence here wasn't primarily for academic discussion.

Looking at Ren Xiansen's face, which was struggling to maintain composure, Chen Mo didn't even bother to return a polite smile, calmly saying, "Mr. Ren is joking. Anyone who works hard deserves respect. Only those accustomed to reaping without sowing and stealing others' achievements should reflect on whether they can bear the consequences. Don't you agree, Mr. Ren?"

Ren Xiansen's lips twitched.

Then he smiled again, staring at Chen Mo with an ambiguous expression, saying, "Indeed, who knows what the outcome will be."

This subtle exchange did not go unnoticed by many.

Most chose to observe, refraining from getting involved.

After the morning session ended, they headed to the cafeteria organized by the event organizers.

Chen Mo led Yuan Hao to the table where Old K and the others had reserved seats.

After sitting down, Yuan Hao poked at his meal tray, lowering his voice to say, "Why do I feel like everyone's looking at us?"

"Eat yours," Chen Mo said calmly, taking a bite of the vegetables on his plate.

Old K glanced around, annoyed, "I knew it. We're being targeted. The organizers are aligned with Chuanxing, following UA's instructions, ready to make things difficult for us."

Chen Mo smiled, "Can't handle it? I bet no other company will dare to discuss cooperation with us for the next two days."

Yuan Hao, being young, was about to stand up in anger upon hearing this.

Chen Mo raised his eyes and said coldly, "Sit down."

"Master?" Yuan Hao couldn't contain his frustration.

Chen Mo: "This is just a minor warning. They might even slip laxatives into your food."

"Huh?" Yuan Hao was stunned, looking down at his meal, "Are their competitive tactics that dirty?"

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, "I'm just saying."

One of the salespeople, seeing Yuan Hao too scared to eat, added fuel to the fire, "What's so strange about that? In my internship year, the company I worked for broke into a competitor's safe at midnight. They also put viruses on USB drives and painted competitors' houses. Welcome to the adult world, kid."

Seeing everyone else start to chuckle,

Yuan Hao realized he had been pranked, angrily sat back down, and stuffed a couple of bites into his mouth.

Though it was a joke, Chuanxing had indeed played some underhanded tricks behind the scenes.

Chen Mo never had much of an appetite to begin with.

After a few bites, he stopped eating, leaning back on his chair while waiting for the others to finish, and sending messages on his phone.

Soon, he received replies.

"Mr. Chen, don't worry. Since you've been competing with Chuanxing for so long, everyone wants to seize this opportunity."

"Ren Xiansen's three-piece set is already on its way."

"Just pretending not to get along, got it. Don't you trust me?"

Chen Mo leaned casually, showing no signs of concern.

At this moment, the noise in the cafeteria suddenly increased.

Chen Mo initially paid no attention.

Until Old K nudged him with his elbow.

Yuan Hao across from him also kicked his shoe with his toe.

Chen Mo looked up, puzzled, "What's going on?"

"Look over there," Old K gestured.

Chen Mo turned to look and saw a large group entering the cafeteria entrance.

Not from any affiliated company, but from the higher authority overseeing the research approval for this conference. Among them was a particularly noticeable individual.

Xi Siyan was talking to the middle-aged man in a suit beside him as he walked in from outside.

He gradually approached their position, getting closer and closer.

They could hear someone from the supervisory department saying, "We didn't expect to have foreign guests suddenly. The approval from the Foreign Affairs Office came through so quickly thanks to President Xi's help."

Xi Siyan said, "Not at all, it's my pleasure."

Then he walked past their position without looking around.

Old K nudged Chen Mo's arm, "Why is he here?! Shouldn't you go up and make some connections? You might easily get the supervisory department on your side, and Ren Xiansen would be green with envy."

Chen Mo glanced at Xi Siyan's back, then lowered his head.

He continued fiddling with his phone, "Our relationship isn't at that level yet."

"Then what level is it?" Old K asked.

Chen Mo: "Hmm, not sure, haven't asked."

Yuan Hao across from them had his face buried in his plate.

There's no need to ask about such things.

After all, it's just a plain and ordinary relationship where they can lie in the same bed!