Although Linyuan was good, it was not something that Xu Le could get used to. Even after entering Linyuan, he still could not get used to it. Those people who had come to greet him earlier had made it impossible for him to sit down. Now that he had suddenly met Zhou Yu, although he knew that the other must have come with some sort of motive, for some reason, Xu Le felt his mood become much more relaxed when he looked at this young officer who was not more than two years older than himself.
The first time he had met Zhou Yu was in the mecha combat room of Ewha University's comprehensive gymnasium. The confrontation between the black mecha and the silver M37, the conversation amidst the smoke — these memories were all engraved in Xu Le's mind.
During that mecha combat, Zhou Yu's extremely graceful performance had left him with a very good impression. He vaguely felt that Zhou Yu already knew that he was the one inside that prototype mecha that had walked away with its belly full, but since the other had never directly asked, he did not admit anything either.
Tai Zhiyuan hid, Shi Qinghai hid, and Xu Le fled. Other than the unmarried mother beside him, Xu Le was a lonely mess in the capital ring. If it was said that lonely people were shameful, then Xu Le was unquestionably so shameful that he was hated by both men and gods alike.
He was a young man, so he naturally had the mental need to interact with others. In addition, he had always had a good impression of Zhou Yu, so after the recruitment exam at the beginning of spring, although the two of them had not seen each other again, they had still spoken on the phone a few times.
Xu Le moved away from the seat beside him and poured a full glass of wine for Zhou Yu.
A mechanic was like a chief surgeon — what they needed the most was the stability of their hands. He was a very self-disciplined person, so he had rarely drunk alcohol these past few years. However, in the past two years, under the influence of Mr Shi, other than the San Qi brand cigarettes, he had also developed a hobby of drinking.
Fortunately, although the colour of the plum wine was thick, its actual alcohol content was not high.
Zhou Yu sat beside Xu Le and bowed his head slightly to Zou Yu, who was sitting across the table.
However, it was as if Zou Yu did not see him. She looked coldly out the window at the white cliff in the distance. From the bottom of her heart, the young miss of the Zou family was still that cold and arrogant eldest miss. Her gentleness in front of Lady Tai was trained. Her calmness in front of Xu Le was forcefully ground out by the stones in Dong Linyuan. Today, she had brought Xu Le into Linyuan to arrange a coincidental meeting between him and Zhou Yu. As for Zhou Yu herself, she had no interest at all.
Xu Le narrowed his eyes as he looked at the wine in his cup. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Zhou Yu did not have any reaction. He only smiled warmly as he sat down and raised his cup.
Just like his name, he was indeed as gentle as jade. It was just that jade also had a soul, it was just that he didn't have a chance to show it for the time being.
"I really didn't expect you to come, and so quickly." Xu Le shook his head and drank all of the wine in his cup.
Zhou Yu brought the red clay cup to his lips and raised his wrist slightly. The rim of the cup did not leave his lips. He appeared to be very gentle, but in reality, he quickly drank all of the wine in the cup. He placed the cup down at the same time as Xu Le's hand.
"I also didn't expect you to cause so much trouble in just a few months after entering the research institute." Zhou Yu finished the wine in his cup and placed his military cap on the table beside him. He turned his body slightly and looked at Xu Le calmly. "You should understand why I'm here."
At this moment, there were three people by the bamboo table beside the flowing water. Zou Yu was a girl that Lady Tai had taught single-handedly. In addition to her family, Xu Le did not need to avoid her when talking with Zhou Yu.
Xu Le's fingers gently gripped the wine cup as he sank into deep thought. When he saw Zhou Yu arrive, he knew what Secretary Shen planned to do next. He didn't need to know what kind of agreement Secretary Shen, the Li family, and the Federal Academy of Science had reached in order to smoothly get him out of prison. He only knew that he could no longer stay in the Husk Institute. If he wanted to turn the data in his brain into a real new generation of mecha, it would require the hard work of many people.
Under the pressure of the other party, Xu Le was about to be transferred out of the Nutshell Headquarters and sent to the Bai Gong Security Company under the Shell Motor Company. His data would be sent to the Shell Motor Corporation Engineering Dept., and this required a channel.
Although the Li family and the Federal Academy of Science no longer cared about him, the other party would definitely keep an eye on Xu Le. If Xu Le was directly sent to the Nutshell Engineering Dept., it would definitely arouse the suspicions of those people. In order to compete with the Federal Academy of Science for time, this sort of suspicion had to be eliminated.
Coincidentally, the personal relationship between Xu Le and Zhou Yu that could be confirmed became a natural disguise.
"Let's keep in touch in the future."
Xu Le raised his wine cup and looked at Zhou Yu sincerely. Although it wasn't until tonight that he found out that Zhou Yu was also someone that the Tai family could influence, he couldn't help but be shocked by the Tai family's control over human affairs. However, his intuition told him that Zhou Yu was someone worth interacting with, so his attitude was very sincere.
Zhou Yu downed the wine in his cup once more and said with a smile, "Last time, when I sparred with you at Ewha University, I thought that your talent in mecha operation was astonishing. But I really didn't expect that you would actually be able to influence the development of new mecha for the Federation. You have brought me too many surprises, so please don't worry, I will cooperate with you very well."
Being directly reminded of the past by Zhou Yu, thinking back to the battle between the two mecha at Ewha University, Xu Le looked into Zhou Yu's eyes and couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly. There was no such thing as mutual admiration between heroes — the two of them had just found that they were somewhat compatible.
"I'm currently in the engineering department's office. Anda has been specially recruited to be a mecha test pilot." Zhou Yu put down his wine cup and turned to look at Xu Le. After a long silence, he said, "In the end, it's still you from Donglin who's developed the fastest."
Xu Le didn't say anything, pouring him another cup of wine. At the same time, he filled his own red clay wine cup and raised it.
The bamboo leaves of the bamboo house fell into the meandering stream. The three of them drank in silence by the window. Zhou Yu observed Xu Le but found that he couldn't quite understand this person.
He was born in the West Woods Region, which was at the forefront of the battle between the Federation and the Empire. The people of the West Woods were mostly bathed in blood and fire. Their temperaments were valiant and ruthless, and they had a spirit that would rather break than bend. Although Zhou Yu's expression was gentle and amiable like a gentleman, deep in his heart, there was still a trace of unwillingness to fall behind others.
Tonight, when he saw Xu Le in Linyuan, Zhou Yu knew that even if he didn't want to, he had to. Perhaps it was luck. This person from Donglin had first met Tai Zhiyuan, then met Professor Shen. He had grasped the Federation's most important and confidential data, and had even received the strong support of the Tai family. Just based on these points alone, he had already left Zhou Yu in the dust.
Zhou Yu drank his wine in silence. Before coming to Linyuan, he had already learned all the details of the entire incident from Secretary Shen. He understood that Xu Le didn't rely on luck. Whether it was the gleaming blade at Hushan Road, the axe marks at the research institute, or the baiting or forcing of the Tai family in the end, there was no place that didn't reveal this young man's stubbornness.
Stubbornness was an excellent or troublesome quality, but when it was taken to the extreme, it would become exceptionally terrifying.
Just like at this moment, the scenery in Linyuan was beautiful. There was no music to annoy the ears, but there was running water that could calm the heart. The people eating and chatting, or rather, the people, wore simple but expensive clothes that fit their bodies. Their movements were elegant and quiet. Only Xu Le, who was beside him, wore a casual shirt of unknown brand that probably didn't cost much. It had a lot of wrinkles on it. He just sat like this in Linyuan's most expensive bamboo house cubicle.
He sat with one leg bent, the hand that was holding the wine glass on his knee, and his head slightly lowered. He looked very much like those unemployed people on the streets in movies.
What Zhou Yu didn't know was that Xu Le was originally an orphan from a mining family in Donglin. In the past, before they met that uncle, what he and Li Wei were most used to doing was sitting with their legs crossed on the sidewalk of Zhonglou Street and watching the TV screen in the café.
This was a posture of thinking, and Xu Le was indeed thinking. Since he was very young, he was used to thinking in silence. In his opinion, if people didn't think, they were no different from the bison that only knew how to lower its head and eat grass outside the electronic fence.
He was thinking about Linyuan, the delicious food on the table, the scenery outside the window, and the future. He thought very clearly, so when he bent his leg and held the wine glass, he vaguely became that orphan on the streets of the past.
…
…
No one had entered Wangdu's Fuming Apartment. The surveillance equipment installed around the building confirmed that it was safe. Zou Yu's expected delivery date was at the end of July, and she had already moved back to the Xishan Courtyard. Presumably, the faint knife marks on her face and her impossibly large belly could sever the last hope of the Minister of Defense's family.
As for whether Lady Tai had spoken during the Zou family's reconciliation, Xu Le wasn't sure. It was just that he wasn't used to the fact that there was suddenly one less person in the room, so he buried his head and slept. When he woke up, he began to take big bites of the ready-to-eat lunch box that had been automatically reheated. For three whole days, his life consisted of sleeping and eating. He only walked out of the apartment and returned to the research institute after he had replenished all the energy and mental energy that he had expended.
Many of the Husk Institute's staff had seen Xu Le smash the laboratory into pieces with their own eyes. There were also some people with backgrounds who knew that he was involved in the death of an active duty officer in the Ministry of Engineering. When they saw him walk into the research institute like nothing had happened, their eyes suddenly became extremely shocked.
The director of the third department of the research institute personally wrote an electronic recommendation letter for Xu Le. He was sure that he hadn't done anything wrong in the past few days. The young second lieutenant in front of him really did have a close relationship with Deputy Minister Zou. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stay in the Shell Motor Company after causing such a big mess.
After Xu Le received the recommendation letter, he refused the enthusiastic director's request to personally deliver it to the Whitewater Security Company. He drove himself to the address on the letter.
The black car once again drove past Hawking Avenue, where the Ministry of Finance was located. It drove past the dead end that led to the Bureau of Proclamation. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly, and he forced himself not to think about the omnipotent Charter computer at the end of the road.
At this moment, the phone rang. The sound of the seventh young master of the Li family, Li Xiaotong's extremely hearty laughter could be heard.
"I heard that you have been assigned to the Whitewater Company?"
Xu Le was slightly surprised. He didn't expect that after the night at the Ivy Garden, this person would actually take the initiative to contact him. He believed that he didn't have anything that the other party needed. Both the Li family and the Federal Academy of Science had already confirmed that the core data was in their hands.
"Yes, I'll report right now," Xu Le replied.
The other end of the phone was silent for a moment. Then the voice said, "Can you do me the honor of coming out for dinner tonight?"
Xu Le subconsciously looked at the weather outside the window. He confirmed that the sun's orbit today was normal.
Perhaps the silence made Li Xiaotong a little uncomfortable. He said very seriously, "I don't mean anything else. I just want to … hang out with you."
…
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