Chapter 114

Chapter 114

The outside world had no idea that the undercurrents and the brewing storm within Lingjing Era were actually all being managed by Wen Jueqian and Qi Yi.

Wen Jueqian had long known from the "future" that someone within Lingjing Era would sell off core technology related to the cognitive interaction system.

He didn't tip his hand, just using the excuse of "adjusting R&D direction" to transfer the suspects from the core development team to peripheral departments while tightening access controls on core technology assets.

Wen Yanxu's cleanup of Ruijia Capital was moving forward at the same time. After discussing with Qi Yi, Wen Jueqian decided to take this opportunity to thoroughly resolve Lingjing Era's equity structure problems.

Ruijia Capital held a portion of Lingjing Era's shares. If they could buy them back, along with shares bought back from small shareholders, Lingjing Era's equity structure would be greatly optimized, and the founding team's controlling stake would become even stronger.

Qi Yi contacted Luo Hanfeng of Huanying, who acquired Ruijia's shares at a reasonable price.

When the final transaction was completed, the total shares held by Wen Jueqian and Qi Yi surpassed fifty percent. Adding the shares Wen Yanxu held through proxy companies, the founding team's control over the company reached its highest level since the founding of Lingjing Era.

Shortly after the equity restructuring wrapped up, Wen Jueqian received a meeting invitation from Wen Juelang under the pretext of business cooperation.

This took Wen Jueqian by surprise.

He had recently stumbled upon a promotional article about neural detection devices on Kuangye A.

It showcased Wen Yuan Medical's medical-grade neural signal detection equipment, boasting extremely high precision and already being used clinically at multiple major hospitals.

The latter half of the article shifted focus, looking ahead to the application prospects of this technology in Holo-Pods—if such high-precision neural detectors were installed in full-immersion game devices, they could enable more accurate user status monitoring and greatly lower the chances of user brain death.

The article was clearly gauging market reaction. Wen Yuan Medical was already planning to enter the Holo-Pod field but hadn't approached him directly for cooperation.

That came as no surprise. Wen Qishan had always been cautious. The Wen family's recent major moves had inevitably gotten out—Lingjing Era's internal equity changes, executive shake-ups, and a flood of negative press on Bi'an had caused Fusheng Realm's reputation to become sharply divided in a short time.

Given Wen Qishan's nature, he wouldn't make a move until things became clear.

Wen Jueqian didn't have much of an emotional reaction to this. As a decision-maker, Wen Qishan would naturally prefer to seek more stable partners to reduce risk.

Being in the business world himself, Wen Jueqian understood that reasoning. If it were him, he would also prioritize Lingjing Era's interests and go with a safer option.

Understanding was one thing, but when that reasoning was applied to him personally, a chill still ran down his spine.

And now that Lingjing Era's situation had stabilized, Wen Juelang immediately jumped on the opportunity to discuss business cooperation.

So Wen Yuan didn't want to help in a crisis, only add to the glory?

Wen Juelang arrived at the teahouse before Wen Jueqian. He looked better than the last time they met, but a faint tiredness still lingered in his brow.

Seeing Wen Jueqian enter, Wen Juelang stood up and reached out his hand. "Jueqian, thank you for making time to come."

Wen Jueqian understood from his attitude that today was strictly business, not personal.

He took Wen Juelang's hand. "You're too kind, President Wen."

Hearing that title, a trace of bitterness flickered across Wen Juelang's face before he quickly put his smile back on.

Wen Jueqian sat down across the tea table.

After pouring him a cup of tea, Wen Juelang skipped the pleasantries and cut to the chase.

"Wen Yuan Medical has recently made significant progress in neural detection technology. Here's our clinical data."

Wen Jueqian took the documents he was holding.

"Lingjing Era's technical expertise and connections in the full-immersion gaming field are resources Wen Yuan Medical values highly. We hope to establish a strategic partnership with Lingjing Era to develop together the next generation of neural detectors that are safer and compatible with full-immersion games."

Wen Jueqian replied, "Lingjing Era is indeed planning to research technologies that improve the safety of full-immersion games, but there are plenty of companies researching this. Wen Yuan Medical's technical expertise lies mainly in medical devices. Lingjing Era needs to evaluate the feasibility and value of cooperation between our two companies before we can give you a further response."

Wen Juelang nodded, not trying to push him.

This conversation was just a feeler, and Wen Jueqian didn't believe Wen Yuan had only approached Lingjing Era.

Before leaving, the two shook hands in farewell, putting on social smiles and exchanging pleasantries. Wen Jueqian could feel that the rift between him and Wen Juelang had turned into a transparent wall standing between them.

They could both see each other, but could never reach each other again.

As they walked out of the tea room together and got into the elevator, Wen Juelang suddenly spoke. "Qianqian, business is business from now on. But in our daily lives, Mom, Dad, and I all hope you'll come home more often to see us."

Wen Jueqian heard him but didn't say anything.

Wen Juelang continued, "I'm divorcing Li Yi. I once thought we were deeply in love, but now I see it was all a joke." He let out a bitter, self-deprecating smile, his voice flat, as if he were talking about someone else. "Lately I feel like I've been living in a lie. Everything I had seems to have been an illusion."

The elevator arrived at the first floor, and the doors slowly slid open. As he walked out, Wen Jueqian said, "Brother, life goes on. Let's both move forward."

He didn't look at Wen Juelang and walked out first after saying that.

Wen Juelang stood in the elevator, watching Wen Jueqian's back disappear.

He realized that Wen Jueqian wouldn't be visiting their parents for a long time.

The elevator doors slowly closed. He didn't step out.

----------------

Back at Jing'an Mansion, Wen Jueqian changed into comfortable clothes and half-reclined on the living room sofa, eyes closed, doing nothing.

He felt a vague, inexplicable emptiness.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and shot Wen Yanxu a text: "What time are you coming home tonight?"

Wen Yanxu: "Seven."

Wen Jueqian checked the time—it was six o'clock. One more hour.

He set down his light terminal and closed his eyes again. All his tangled thoughts could be set aside. For this one hour, all he needed to do was wait for Wen Yanxu.

Just after seven, he heard a sound at the door. Wen Jueqian got up from the sofa and ran barefoot to the front door.

Sure enough, Wen Yanxu was home.

Wen Yanxu looked up and saw Wen Jueqian standing barefoot on the floor. His brows immediately knitted together. "There's no carpet here. Why aren't you wearing slippers?"

He walked over to Wen Jueqian, wrapping one arm around his waist and the other under his knees, scooping him up.

Wen Jueqian didn't struggle, staying still in his arms.

"Where are your slippers?"

"In the living room."

Wen Yanxu carried him to the living room, set him down on the sofa, then crouched down and slipped the slippers onto his feet one at a time.

Wen Jueqian watched the crown of his head. The Young Master had never waited on anyone in his life, yet caring for him always came so naturally.

"Let's go eat dinner first." Wen Yanxu reached out to pull him up.

Wen Jueqian did not take his hand, but looked up at him, his eyes soft with reliance.

Wen Yanxu bent down and pressed his forehead to Wen Jueqian's: "What's wrong?"

Wen Jueqian wrapped his arms around his neck: "Will you hold me?"

Wen Yanxu let out a soft laugh. "Of course I will." He lifted Wen Jueqian up in the same steady way as before, brushing his nose against Wen Jueqian's cheek: "Why're you so clingy today?"

Wen Jueqian felt a little ticklish and buried his face in his shoulder.

It wasn't until they got to the dining room that Wen Jueqian spoke quietly: "I feel like you're all I've got left."

Wen Yanxu walked to the dining table and sat down, instead of setting Wen Jueqian in the chair next to him, he sat him on his lap.

Wen Jueqian didn't object, quietly leaning into his chest like a cat curled up in someone's arms.

"Open wide."

Wen Jueqian looked at the shrimp at his lips. "I can feed myself—" Before he could finish, the shrimp was already pushed into his mouth.

Wen Yanxu ignored his protests, feeding him bite after bite through the whole meal. Wen Jueqian's protests were useless, and he finally just gave up.

When he really couldn't eat another bite, Wen Jueqian pulled back a little. "I'm full."

Only then did Wen Yanxu set down his utensils, reaching out to rest his hand on Wen Jueqian's stomach and gently rubbing it: "You really full?" His tone held a hint of regret, like he wasn't ready to stop.

Wen Jueqian pushed his hand away and muttered, "Why'd you have to feed me? I'm not a kid."

Wen Yanxu's playful look faded, his eyes turning soft and serious: "The little cat looked so down. I was worried he didn't have the energy to eat, so I had to help him out."

He gently brushed a stray strand of hair off Wen Jueqian's forehead. "What happened? You wanna talk about it?"

Wen Jueqian lowered his head, the dining room light casting a small shadow under his lashes.

"I've realized I've always been chasing things I couldn't have, so I never felt satisfied."

Wen Yanxu ran his fingers through his hair: "Qianqian, anything you want, I'll give it to you."

"I know." Wen Jueqian's voice was hoarse, a few faint specks of light clinging to his lashes. "You've already given me so much love."

"Maybe I shouldn't be so greedy. Being with you, loving each other—that's already enough happiness."

Wen Yanxu reached out to wipe the corner of his eye, his brow furrowing slightly, heartache almost spilling from his eyes. He pressed his chest closer to Wen Jueqian's back, letting him feel his warmth and heartbeat.

"What else can I do for you? So you never feel sad again, and stay happy forever."

Wen Jueqian shook his head, catching Wen Yanxu's hand and burying his face in his palm: "Being with you is already happiness enough."

But Wen Jueqian still felt regret, still felt a void, still felt sorrow.

Wen Yanxu suddenly understood. Some wounds he could not heal, but those wounds needed to be seen, to be accepted, to have someone by their side, slowly healing through love.

The rain in Wen Jueqian's life soaked through Wen Yanxu's palm and seeped into his heart.

He tightened his arms, pulling Wen Jueqian deeper into his embrace. He wished he could melt Wen Jueqian into his very being.

To let Wen Jueqian understand that he never had to bear all his sorrow and pain alone.

Wen Yanxu carried Wen Jueqian back to the bedroom, his hand tracing Wen Jueqian's waist, undoing the barriers between them. The two pressed together with nothing in the way, until there was no gap left.

Each other was eternity.

"We will be together forever."