426: Chapter 426 Overjoyed

Leaving already?

Fortunately, he had brought the gift he intended for Ning Ke with him when he arrived...

Shen Yan thought as he put away his phone and said to Ning Ke, "Okay, but before we go, I have a gift I want to give you."

Ning Ke blinked, his eyes full of astonishment.

"A gift?"

Shen Yan nodded as he led him toward the exit.

"Yes, you helped me out so much before, I must give you something as thanks."

Ning Ke frowned.

"Actually, it's not necessary. This little favor was just a casual thing for me."

Shen Yan smiled, "But you really did help me."

As he spoke, the two arrived at the doorway.

Shen Yan retrieved his stored belongings from the staff.

"This is the gift I'm giving you."

Ning Ke said thanks and accepted the plain-looking scroll before him.

"Is this... a painting?"

Shen Yan raised his chin and replied, "You'll know once you open it."

Ning Ke pursed his lips, opened the mouth of the scroll, and let the painting inside fall out.

As the painting slowly unfurled, his eyes widened further.

"This—this—this is Mr. Li's artwork?!"

Shen Yan nodded.

"I heard you really like calligraphy and painting, so I bought this to cater to your taste. I hope you like it."

Ning Ke could no longer hear what Shen Yan was saying.

He stared intently at the signature on the painting, and his body began to tremble.

"This... this is definitely Mr. Li's original work! Good heavens!"

Seeing how much he liked it, Shen Yan narrowed his eyes, placed a hand on Ning Ke's shoulder, and squeezed gently, "Why don't you put this painting away for now and admire it properly when you get back?"

Ning Ke also realized this was not the right place to appreciate a painting.

He reluctantly put away the painting in his hands and said to Shen Yan with a solemn expression, "Thank you for the gift. I truly love it, but this gift is too valuable. I... consider it me owing you a favor."

"If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask. I will certainly do my utmost to assist you."

Shen Yan followed his lead.

"Speaking of help... I actually do have something I need your assistance with."

Hearing this, Ning Ke quickly said, "What is it? As long as I can help, I definitely will!"

Shen Yan cleared his throat and replied, "As you know, I recently bought a piece of undeveloped, abandoned land. Right now, I'm lacking a developer, but I don't understand this industry and I'm afraid of stepping into a trap..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ning Ke understood what he meant.

"I get it. You want me to recommend a few reliable developers for you, right?"

Shen Yan nodded.

Ning Ke readily agreed to the request.

"No problem! Leave this matter to me!"

Just as Shen Yan was about to say a few more polite words, An Ran came out.

"Oh, there you are. I was just looking for you inside for a long time."

Hearing the voice, Ning Ke turned and greeted An Ran.

"CEO An."

An Ran nodded to him, then walked up to Shen Yan and asked, "Want to go out for some late-night snacks?"

Shen Yan glanced at Ning Ke and hesitated, "Now?"

Before An Ran could reply, Ning Ke, showing great awareness, picked up the gift and said, "I have something to attend to and need to head back first. You two chat."

With that, he nodded to Shen Yan and An Ran, then turned and left the villa.

As soon as he left, An Ran said to Shen Yan, "Yes, now. Are you coming or not?"

The purpose of attending the banquet had been achieved, so Shen Yan did not refuse An Ran.

The two left the villa together.

Fifteen minutes later.

Shen Yan looked at the familiar late-night food stall and raised his eyebrows, "It seems you quite like it here."

An Ran replied with a smile, "This is the closest roadside stall to us. I didn't want to go through too much trouble."

As she spoke, she took a few tissues from the table to wipe it down, asking while wiping, "How long do you plan to stay here?"

Shen Yan picked up the menu.

"Two or three days, I guess."

An Ran crumpled the tissue and threw it into the trash can.

"Actually, there's another piece of news I wanted to tell you about coming out for dinner tonight."

After ordering a few skewers of barbecue, Shen Yan handed the menu to An Ran.

"What news?"

An Ran took the menu and replied while looking at it, "There's a research project overseas with the same direction as your project."

As soon as the words fell.

Shen Yan frowned.

"The idea and direction are the same? Plagiarism?"

An Ran scoffed.

"What kind of plagiarism is that? At most, they just copied your concept."

Shen Yan looked displeased.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

An Ran wrote the dishes she wanted on a piece of paper and handed it to the boss.

"CEO Shen, you are being too naive."

"There are plenty of braggarts in this world, people spouting unrealistic fantasies every minute."

"What I mean is, the concept isn't important; the technology is."

Shen Yan lowered his eyes, leaning halfway back in his chair.

"What are you trying to say?"

An Ran leaned forward.

"I invested a large sum of money in your company, not to follow behind others eating the scraps."

Shen Yan understood.

An Ran was afraid their company's project progress was too slow, allowing the overseas researchers to claim the title of the first successful development.

"CEO An, I have to say, you are worrying needlessly."

"Since we were the first to propose this concept, we will definitely be the ones to successfully set the precedent."

An Ran's expression didn't change.

"Is that so?"

"I heard that the person in charge of that institute is asking for an exorbitant price outside, saying they can complete the research on this project within three months."

Within three months?

That shouldn't be called asking for an exorbitant price; it should be called dreaming, right?

Thinking this, he shrugged and said to An Ran, "You've been exposed to the Artificial Intelligence field since you were young. You should know the significance of pioneering an entirely new field within three months."

"To put it plainly, that person is just having pipe dreams."

"As a partner, I hope you can give us the most basic trust and not let other things shake our cooperative relationship."

As his words ended.

An Ran was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Fine. Since you put it that way, I won't worry needlessly in front of you anymore."

During their conversation.

The stall owner had already brought over the dishes they ordered.

"Why didn't you bring Wu Ya with you this time?"

Hearing An Ran's question, Shen Yan picked up a skewer of barbecue and replied, "I just came over to deliver a gift. There was no need to make a big fuss."

An Ran raised her beautiful eyebrows, her eyes full of teasing.

"But I think... vice president Wu probably enjoys traveling on business with you. After all, she gets to spend time alone with you, doesn't she?"

"Clang!"

The wooden skewer was thrown back onto the iron plate.

Shen Yan spoke with slight displeasure, "Xiao Wu is my vice president. Please be respectful."

An Ran didn't expect Shen Yan to react this way. After pausing for a moment, she said in a joking tone, "Sorry, sorry, I just said that casually..."

Her long experience in interpersonal interactions made her realize that continuing this topic would only add to the awkwardness.

Very quickly, she transitioned the topic extremely naturally.