200: Chapter 20 Birthday Gift

Shen Yan answered with a completely open and honest expression.

Hearing Shen Yan say so candidly that his girlfriend was abroad, Lü Yan felt inexplicably uneasy.

Sensing a change in Lü Yan's expression, Shen Yan asked her, "What's wrong?"

As soon as he asked, Lü Yan quickly shook her head and adjusted her expression.

"Nothing, nothing. I was just thinking about what kind of gift would be good for my friend."

Shen Yan didn't think much of it, nodded, and continued to accompany Lü Yan in picking out gifts.

Since they had plenty of time, they finally managed to pick out some quite nice presents.

Carrying the large and small bags, Shen Yan drove Lü Yan back to her doorstep.

"There's quite a bit. Do you need me to help you carry it in?"

Lü Yan shook her head, carried the bags in her hands, opened the car door, and got out.

Just as she was about to enter her home, she suddenly turned around and tapped on the driver's side window.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Shen Yan rolled down the window and asked Lü Yan doubtfully, "What is it? Did you forget to take something?"

Lü Yan shook her head, smiled, and replied to Shen Yan, "Thank you for being willing to accompany me today to pick out a birthday gift."

Shen Yan froze for a moment, then realized it was Lü Yan's birthday today.

The gift picking Lü Yan mentioned was actually for her own birthday present.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had told me sooner, I would have bought you a cake."

Lü Yan curled up the corners of her mouth and said with a smile, "No need. Having you company is enough for me."

After saying that, she winked at the still stunned Shen Yan, turned, and went straight into her home.

It wasn't until the figure of the person before her completely disappeared behind the door that Shen Yan slowly processed what Lü Yan had just said.

"..."

Could Wu Ya's intuition be correct? Did Lü Yan really have feelings for him?

He pressed his temples, beginning to doubt himself.

After thinking for nearly ten minutes, he decided to shake off all thoughts related to that matter from his mind.

Since Lü Yan hadn't explicitly told him, he would just pretend not to know.

Thinking this, he stepped on the accelerator and left Lü Yan's house.

The next day, he and Chen Guangke delivered the finalized contract to Jiang Yuan's laboratory.

Once The Supporting Male Character confirmed that the relevant clauses he requested were added to the contract, he readily signed his name.

With the technical lead for the research and development settled, the rest of their tasks proceeded much more smoothly.

Soon, they rapidly established an entire Research Team.

The Research Team moved in, the entire company underwent reorganization, and departmental responsibilities were reallocated.

All these matters left Shen Yan swamped and overwhelmed.

Just as he was busy to the point of being unable to rest, Liu Hui called him.

"What are you doing right now?"

Hearing the question, Shen Yan held his phone while typing on the keyboard and replied, "Busy with work. What's up?"

Liu Hui told Shen Yan, "My part of the work should be finished in the next couple of days. Xiao Ya still needs another week, so I estimate we can head back next week."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Yan's eyes lit up, and he picked up the calendar next to him.

"So that means you two can return around the eighth or ninth of next month?"

Liu Hui hummed in agreement and asked him with a smile.

"We're finally going to meet. Are you happy?"

Putting down the calendar, Shen Yan leaned back in his chair, rubbed his eyes, and replied with a smile, "Of course, I'm happy. How long has it been since we last saw each other?"

Saying this, he let out a long sigh.

"Although I know you're tired of hearing this, I still have to tell you: if it weren't for you, I honestly wouldn't know how to manage my time."

Liu Hui cleared her throat and said, "Didn't I already say it? If you want to change your surname, I'll buy the gifts in advance and wait for you."

Shen Yan replied with a face full of smiles:

"Don't worry, I already bought the gifts. If one isn't enough, I'll buy you two. I guarantee you'll be happy when you return."

Just as he finished speaking, the office door was knocked.

"Hold on a moment!"

Hearing continuous noise from Shen Yan's end, Liu Hui told him, "Alright, we've said what we needed to. I won't keep you any longer. You focus on your work."

Shen Yan pursed his lips and said with some guilt, "I'm sorry, A Hui. I've been too busy these past two days; I haven't even had time for a proper call with you."

Liu Hui replied gently, "It's nothing. Isn't it normal that you can't call me because of work?"

"Besides, it won't be long before I return home. We'll still have time to spend together then. Okay, I won't keep talking; I don't want to delay your work again."

Shen Yan responded softly, feeling deeply touched.

Only after hanging up the phone did he compose himself and say to the person at the door, "Come in."

The person who entered was Chen Guangke.

As soon as he walked in, he raised his eyebrows at Shen Yan, "What were you doing secretly in the office? Don't tell me you were talking to your girlfriend?"

Shen Yan nodded frankly.

Seeing him nod, Chen Guangke looked completely surprised.

"You really were talking to Liu Hui?!"

Shen Yan gave him a sidelong glance.

"Is there something wrong with me talking to my girlfriend?"

Chen Guangke quickly shook his head.

"Of course not. I just guessed casually; who knew you really were calling Liu Hui."

Shen Yan shook his head.

"Did you come in just to ask me if I was talking to Liu Hui?"

Chen Guangke replied loudly, "Of course not! I came in to tell you that the laboratory situation is almost resolved."

Because they had never ventured into the field of Artificial Intelligence, they were unaware that the laboratory equipment requirements were very high.

It wasn't until The Supporting Male Character moved into their company that they realized they couldn't easily procure second-hand equipment from other laboratories.

In addition, The Supporting Male Character had extremely high requirements for the laboratory's soundproofing and basic decoration.

To satisfy The Supporting Male Character, they had been renovating the laboratory according to his specifications during this period.

"As long as it's resolved, that's fine. Since the Research Team has completely moved into our company, we should start the next phase of action."

Hearing this, Chen Guangke frowned and said to Shen Yan, "The thing that's troubling me right now is this: although we've found the Research Team, we're basically still completely clueless about many aspects of this project."

"I think maybe we should hire a specialized consultant, or perhaps someone who is very familiar with this Artificial Intelligence project to help us take charge?"

Shen Yan did not agree with Chen Guangke's suggestion.