Chapter 112: Knowing Jiang Lai's Identity

Lin Shutong felt she had just heard the biggest joke of her life.

She sat in her chair, chin held high, looking Jiang Lai up and down.

"They say clothes make the man, but just putting on gold-plated clothes doesn't make you a Buddha, Jiang Lai."

If Jiang Lai had that kind of ability, would she be at home washing clothes and cooking for Shen Xun every day?

"You two just share the same name, you aren't the same person. Don't fool yourself." Lin Shutong added, never rising from her seat.

Jiang Lai glanced at the bodyguards.

The bodyguards approached Lin Shutong from both sides and, in front of everyone, lifted her up entirely.

Lin Shutong shouted: "What are you doing!"

Jiang Lai pushed aside the chair she had been sitting in, and Xiao Qian immediately pushed a new swivel chair over, calling out: "Senior Sister."

Lin Shutong looked sharply at Xiao Qian.

Jiang Lai sat down, and the others also said: "Chief Engineer Jiang, you're here."

Jiang Lai nodded: "The breakfast I ordered for you will be here soon. It's a bit late, but you can have a few bites before waiting for lunch."

Lin Shutong was left completely dumbfounded on the sidelines.

The bodyguards released her and stood on either side of Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai raised her eyes and replied to her earlier words: "Expert Lin, it is you who shouldn't fool yourself."

The bidding had already begun.

Jiang Lai looked at one of the empty seats: "Expert Lin, sit."

It was the posture of a true superior.

Lin Shutong remained frozen in place, looking at Jiang Lai in disbelief. It wasn't that she hadn't suspected it when she first heard Jiang Lai's name; after all, it was such a coincidence, the same city and the same name.

But Jiang Lai was too unlike a Chief Engineer holding great power.

She was so drab.

The Shen family had also belittled her everywhere, speaking with such conviction, all saying she was just a lowly administrator at the Ke Group with a monthly salary of four thousand.

Later, Jiang Lai did indeed work at the Ke Group, and even after becoming Ke Zhongyu's secretary, she only lasted less than a month.

How could she be the person in charge of the Self-developed Chip Project?

Lin Shutong only felt her brain buzzing; her left and right hemispheres began to fight, one thinking everyone had joined forces to deceive her, the other thinking everyone wasn't that idle.

Jiang Lai sat in her seat, calm and composed.

The breakfast she bought arrived, and she had the bodyguards bring it in; everyone had a share, naturally including Lin Shutong.

Lin Shutong looked at the steaming breakfast on the table, her chest heaving slightly, still refusing to believe it.

"What evidence do you have to prove you are Chief Engineer Jiang?"

Jiang Lai: "Me sitting here is the evidence."

"Expert Lin, Chief Engineer Jiang is Chief Engineer Jiang, who else could she be?" someone spoke up. "We all know Chief Engineer Jiang; it's just that Expert Lin only arrived when the project was almost finished, so you haven't met."

The person's words were a jab at her using connections to get in.

Anger ignited in the depths of Lin Shutong's eyes.

Xiao Qian said: "If Expert Lin doesn't believe it, you can go ask Ji Lao; Ji Lao has called Senior Sister to his office several times."

This person's words were also a jab at her.

Who didn't know that every time Grandfather called Jiang Lai to his office, it was about her affairs.

Lin Shutong turned around in a rage; she was going to find Grandfather to verify it.

"Expert Lin, where are you going?" With a single look from Jiang Lai, the bodyguards stepped forward to block Lin Shutong.

"The bidding has already begun. To prevent information leaks, no one is allowed to leave the conference room without authorization." Jiang Lai looked at her: "Does Expert Lin want to sit down herself, or should I invite you to sit?"

As the words fell, the bodyguards at her side were already rolling up their sleeves.

Lin Shutong had no choice but to sit down, grabbing her bag from the chair and slamming it onto the table, as if venting her dissatisfaction.

Jiang Lai reminded her again: "Expert Lin, keep quiet."

Lin Shutong turned her head to glare at Jiang Lai, her fingers gripping the bag strap, her nails digging deep into the leather.

Everyone was focused on listening to the presentations from the major company representatives; only Lin Shutong was distracted.

She already believed that Jiang Lai was the Dr. Jiang who had been avoiding her all along.

An unprecedented sense of crisis rushed toward her like a giant wave.

If A-Xun knew that Jiang Lai was actually this capable, would it be even harder for him to let go?

Would the Shen family's attitude change drastically after learning of Jiang Lai's identity?

At the signing ceremony this afternoon, how would she explain the things she had once said?

Lin Shutong suddenly felt it difficult to breathe.

Watching Shen Xun standing before the numerous bid evaluation committee members and major company representatives, speaking eloquently, she didn't feel much joy.

Listening to Grandfather's high praise for Star Universe Technology, only anxiety remained in the depths of her heart.

She didn't know if Jiang Lai would take revenge on her and Shen Xun.

Lin Shutong looked at the calm Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai was still holding a pen, discussing the situation of each company with other researchers.

Xiao Qian said: "Senior Sister, listening to it so far, the product Star Universe Technology intends to make is more in line with our original intent."

"Let's see more." Jiang Lai raised her eyes to look; the large conference room had paused for a five-minute break. She said to everyone: "You all take a break too, drink some water."

Lin Shutong stood up quickly, wanting to go out again.

The bodyguards were standing at the door.

"Jiang Lai, what do you mean by this?" Lin Shutong turned back to look at Jiang Lai, who was drinking water.

Jiang Lai was the one who was confused.

"Expert Lin, didn't Ji Lao tell you the rules of the bidding meeting? Even during a break, you are not allowed to go out, and you are not allowed to use equipment to contact the outside world."

Xiao Qian added: "Expert Lin, the documents were issued a long time ago. Did you not read them carefully?"

Lin Shutong was so angry her face turned green.

She had never encountered so many rules since she was a child.

"Jiang Lai, why did you hide it from A-Xun?" Lin Shutong walked toward Jiang Lai, her tone questioning.

Jiang Lai leaned slightly against the conference table, holding her water cup, the steam drifting gently upward.

Her tone was also light: "I signed a confidentiality agreement. Everyone in the project team signed a confidentiality agreement. Even family members cannot be told; not a single word can be mentioned."

"When Professor Cheng faces his wife, he just uses 'busy' to brush her off; he hasn't even mentioned the word 'project'."

"During the two busiest years, our project members couldn't go home, and couldn't even easily contact people. Several times, family calls came to the research institute; Xiao Qian's parents only stopped asking after the local police visited their home."

"Although Expert Lin arrived late, you understand what a national-level secret project is, and what a confidentiality agreement is, right?"

Lin Shutong knew she was deliberately pointing out that she hadn't really followed the confidentiality agreement. Thinking about it, she blamed herself; in order to gain the favor of A-Xun and the Shen family, she had mentioned a word or two.

And she did it right in front of Jiang Lai.

But who knew Jiang Lai was the project's Chief Engineer!

Lin Shutong felt like a mute eating coptis at this moment.

She glared at Jiang Lai for a long time, reminding her: "Jiang Lai, don't harm A-Xun. I hope you will consider your... relationship, and not talk nonsense."

She didn't say the words "husband and wife".

Xiao Qian was still here.

Xiao Qian had attended the cocktail party back then, and she had personally said in front of Xiao Qian and Professor Cheng that she and A-Xun would get married.

Lin Shutong ground her teeth.

Jiang Lai thought to herself, even at this juncture, Lin Shutong wasn't worried about herself, but about Shen Xun.

The two of them were indeed deeply in love.

"What kind of relationship could I have with him." Now it was Jiang Lai's turn to deny her marriage with Shen Xun.

This marriage, for her, was a complete dark history.

"Wait." Xiao Qian looked confused. "Senior Sister, you also know President Shen of Star Universe Technology?"

Lin Shutong was surprised.

So Xiao Qian didn't know?

She felt she could do it again; at least now no one would spread rumors that she was interfering in someone else's marriage.

Jiang Lai looked at Xiao Qian, her voice softening a little: "Go sit down. We'll talk about other things later; now is not the time."

"Oh." Xiao Qian sat down obediently and began to whisper to others about the matter between Expert Lin and President Shen of Star Universe Technology at the cocktail party.

The others listened with furrowed brows, worried that Expert Lin would join forces with Ji Lao, ultimately causing the bid to go to Star Universe Technology.

With the backing of Star Universe Technology, wouldn't Expert Lin ride even more over their heads?

Even over Chief Engineer Jiang's head!

The break was about to end, and Lin Shutong was still looking at Jiang Lai: "Think clearly, if A-Xun loses the bid, what benefits can you get?"

"No matter who wins, it's beneficial to me." Jiang Lai said, "The patent is in my hands."

Mentioning this made Lin Shutong even angrier.

She also knew that the patent belonged to intellectual property rights. If Shen Xun wanted to divorce Jiang Lai, Jiang Lai would have to give half of the patent fees to Shen Xun. Would Jiang Lai be willing?

If it were her, even if she watched her husband cheat, she would never let someone else benefit.

Lin Shutong almost couldn't catch her breath.

If Jiang Lai insisted on not divorcing, she would never have a name or status.

Shen Xun would be even more afraid to file for divorce; he was the one who cheated.

Lin Shutong felt she had reached a dead end. Asking her to give up Shen Xun, that sweet pastry, was impossible; asking her to always be a third party without a name or status, she herself was unwilling, and if her family knew, they would break her legs.

"Jiang Lai, so you knew about our affair early on." The jealousy in Lin Shutong's eyes deepened.

Jiang Lai retorted: "What affair of yours?"

Lin Shutong didn't dare to answer.

She couldn't bring herself to say the words "having an affair".

The bidding continued, and Lin Shutong had to sit down, her brain spinning rapidly, trying to find a permanent solution.

She racked her brains but couldn't think of one.

Time passed second by second.

The Ke Clan's luck wasn't considered good; they drew the last spot.

Ke Zhongyu stood on one side of the screen, his deep, pleasant voice explaining that after the Ke Clan and Lanchuang Technology won the bid, they would apply the self-developed chip to the three areas of military, agriculture, and industry.

It was a grand blueprint.

But with the Ke Clan's economic strength and political background, going all out could maximize the utilization rate of this self-developed chip.

Especially Ke Zhongyu's final concluding sentence.

"The birth of the self-developed chip allows us to no longer rely excessively on imported chips, aiming to take a substantial step for our country's technology companies on the road to chip autonomy. Making products benefit the people, improving convenience for the people, and strengthening military, agricultural, and industrial technological power is the lifelong pursuit of the Ke Clan and Lanchuang."

As the words fell, applause thundered.

The corners of Jiang Lai's lips curved upward; Ke Zhongyu had indeed started from the purpose of the national secret chip research.

The project team members also clapped their hands.

Xiao Qian said: "Star Universe Technology and the Ke Clan are hard to distinguish; one has strong industry strength, the other has strong economic strength and high political awareness. It's hard to handle."

Just as everyone was preparing to stand up, Ke Zhongyu spoke again: "Sorry to keep the experts waiting a moment, I have also prepared a document here."

Ke Zhongyu looked at Special Assistant Zhou.

Special Assistant Zhou tore open a black plastic bag, and twenty copies of the document were distributed one by one to the bid evaluation committee members present.