Chapter 163: Chased Off by Dogs

Shen Xun has never been caught up in family trivialities; in the past his family had only him as a son, and when he was young the whole family obeyed his father, and once he became capable he took charge of the household, and the family listened to him.

After marriage, he buried himself even more in work, and all the big and small matters at home were handled by Jiang Lai; any petty quarrels or troubles never reached his ears.

Lately, his ears are filled with family minutiae, and dealing with them is more exhausting than his work.

The days when Jiang Lai is present are his most relaxed, requiring only his focus on work.

Shen Xun misses her.

He got up and headed toward Villa No. 9; just as he approached, he saw two bodyguards walking dogs at the entrance.

His steps halted.

The bodyguards also paused, confirming that the man before them was Shen Xun, and immediately pulled the dogs toward him.

Woof!

Woof! Woof!

The barking shattered the silence.

Shen Xun stared at the two men and two dogs, his brows knitting into a V; he stepped a foot toward the main gate of Villa No. 9, the bodyguards stepped forward as well, and the barking grew even more fierce.

This was set up specifically to guard against him.

Whose idea?

Ke Zhongyu?

Ke Zhongying?

Or Jiang Lai?

Regardless of who, it made Shen Xun feel agitated and uneasy.

He just managed to call out, "Jiang…"

The bodyguards released the dogs.

Shen Xun turned and left.

Aunt Mo, hearing a noise outside, opened the door; everything outside was normal, she went back to iron the clothes, and after finishing she happened to see Jiang Lai, who was working by the window, stretch lazily.

"Miss Jiang, the clothes you need to wear tomorrow have been ironed,"

"Alright, thank you for your effort, Aunt Mo."

Jiang Lai got up and went to sleep early.

She still had more important matters to attend to and couldn't keep spending time on the series of troubles caused by divorcing Shen Xun.

According to the blueprint that Ke Zhongyu originally presented in the tender documents and at the conference, the Crystal Core will be used in the military, agriculture, and industry sectors, and the project was renamed: Three-Region Smart Core.

It is abbreviated as "Three-Region".

Today is the official launch day of the Three-Region Project, with the entire engineering team of over three hundred people divided among the military, agricultural, and industrial sub‑projects.

Professor Cheng heads the industrial sub‑project, Xiao Qian went to the agricultural side, and Jiang Lai stayed in the military sub‑project, though only as an assistant.

She, Director Guo of Lan Chuang Research and Development Center, and Ke Zhongyu are all co‑heads, forming a three‑legged stool that supervises each other.

The launch ceremony was not grand; before the final results are unveiled, everything is handled low‑key.

After the group photo, the ceremony ended, and everyone went to different laboratories.

Lan Chuang Research and Development Center has Laboratories 1, 2, and 3; the military sub‑project is in Laboratory 1, located underground of the Ke Clan building.

Laboratories 2 and 3 are in the same building but have different entrances; personnel may not cross between labs, and iris scans only grant access to the corresponding laboratory.

Only Jiang Lai, Ke Zhongyu, and Director Guo simultaneously possess all three permissions.

Ke Zhongying joined the military project team; even though she is the group's young lady and Zhao Lao's prized disciple, she still can only serve as an assistant tasked with recording and organizing data due to insufficient seniority.

But Ke Zhongying was very happy, her smile never left her face, even when she saw her older brother suddenly pull out an old‑man thermos cup.

She quietly told Jiang Lai, "Sister Jiang Lai, look at the cup my brother is holding; the person hasn't even reached thirty yet, but his taste is already following suit."

Jiang Lai looked over and realized it was the one she had given.

She asked Ke Zhongying, "What do you mean 'taste is already following suit'?"

Ke Zhongying replied, "It just means he likes old‑man stuff; what taste does my brother have?"

Jiang Lai was slightly stunned, "I bought that."

Ke Zhongying: "…"

"Good taste, mature, steady, reliable—clearly a trustworthy leader; a good purchase."

She quickly changed her tone.

Jiang Lai was amused by her initially shocked yet earnest flattery, saying, "All typical leaders use this, the shop clerk also recommended it, that's why I bought it."

"Understood," Ke Zhongying said with great comprehension; the professor elders all love using it, and Jiang Lai hasn't really interacted with other youngsters, so not knowing young people's preferences is normal.

But her brother gets it.

So her brother openly carries the old‑man thermos, and at today's launch ceremony and conference, his eyes constantly dart toward Sister Jiang Lai.

Useless waste!

Doesn't know how to confess directly!

He doesn't come, she does.

Ke Zhongying pulled Jiang Lai aside and whispered, "Sister Jiang Lai, you see you're already divorced from that scumbag ex‑husband; once you win the lawsuit and reclaim the money you'll have no financial ties to him at all, and the project is progressing steadily. Do you have any desire to start a romantic relationship?"

"No," Jiang Lai replied quite curtly.

Ke Zhongying's eyes widened slightly.

"I still have a few words for Professor Cheng and Xiao Qian, I'll go ahead first," Jiang Lai walked away, and when she met Ke Zhongyu's gaze, she gave a slight nod.

As soon as she left, Ke Zhongyu came to Ke Zhongying's side, sneered, and scolded her, "Brainless, always charging headfirst."

Ke Zhongying exclaimed in surprise, "You heard that!"

It's not far away; it's strange not to hear it.

Ke Zhongyu gestured that she shouldn't go to the laboratory yet.

Ke Zhongying quickly ran away.

Although the institute and the Ke Clan did not heavily publicize it, those in the know still realized that today was the project's launch day.

When the news reached Shen Xun's ears, Shen Xun stopped the work she was doing and asked Qiao Chuan, "Is there any report?"

Qiao Chuan replied, "The Ke Clan's official website only has a single photo and a brief news release."

After speaking, he opened the Ke Clan website on a tablet, clicked into the banner news, and presented it before Shen Xun.

A dense crowd of men, women, young and old filled the scene, yet Shen Xun instantly spotted Jiang Lai in the middle of the front row.

Next to Jiang Lai still stood Ke Zhongyu.

It was Ke Zhongyu again.

He ground his teeth.

This project should have been his, and the one standing beside Jiang Lai should have been him as well.

Everything was ruined by the despicable, shameless Ke Zhongyu.

He set the tablet down, his eyes no longer seeing, his heart cleared.

Shen Xun stood up: "Call Fu Youlin; we're preparing to meet the person SNO Semiconductor sent this time."

Qiao Chuan knocked on the door of the next office; Fu Youlin was staring at his phone with a worried expression, wondering why Jiang Lai never replied even though all his friends had been added.

Was his asking what she was doing today too forward?

"Fu Youlin, we're about to set off for the cooperation talks."

"Alright." Fu Youlin put away his phone, checked his attire in the mirror to ensure it was appropriate, then left.

They arrived at the private dining room.

Inside the room was a small circular stage for song and dance performances.

The partner was a foreign company, and Qiao Chuan specifically chose a guzheng and a classical dance performance.

Accompanied by the melodious strings and graceful dancing, after three rounds of drinks, Shen Xun steered the conversation back to the cooperation, handing over the project proposal and contract together.

The other side had already reviewed the proposal; if they weren't interested, they wouldn't have attended the banquet.

Now it was time to sign the contract.

The SNO representative's expression showed some hesitation, seeming to lack confidence in their abilities; when changing the subject, he mentioned the recently emerged Self-developed Chip Project from Huaguo.

Fu Youlin and Qiao Chuan silently glanced at Shen Xun, wondering if he knew we had lost the bid.

Shen Xun didn't think so; after probing, she found that the other side knew nothing about the follow‑up of the Self-developed Chip Project, only that it existed.

After a moment of thought, he formed an idea.

"Soren, the Self-developed Chip Project you mentioned, my wife Jiang Lai is the chief engineer of that project."

He retrieved the article about Jiang Lai, scrolled through his phone for a long time, pulled out the photo of their marriage certificate taken back then, and handed it to the partner.

Soren, after seeing it, lost all his hesitant expression, showing only trust, and immediately stood up, saying, "Pleasant cooperation, Mr. Shen."