77: Chapter 77 Spending 1 million to buy a 'clarity buff'

Song Zhiwei's gaze was locked tightly on Zhang Fan, her tone carrying a hint of imperceptible urgency: "How about this? I won't ask you to protect me, just allow me to stay by your side. But I can guarantee it won't affect your work. You go to the company, I'll wait in the lounge nearby; you have a meeting, I'll stay outside the conference room; if you need to handle private matters, I absolutely won't disturb you. I just need you... to stay in a place where I can see you."

Zhang Fan looked at her pale face, and his internal monologue surfaced again: "This plot progression... should the next step be saying 'I can't live without you'?"

But complaints aside, he understood that Song Zhiwei's persistence wasn't an act. The system intelligence couldn't be wrong; she truly needed him to get rid of the 'Low IQ Halo' and avoid repeating past mistakes.

The atmosphere around them grew increasingly tense, and some people started heckling: "President Zhang, 5 million! Just agree!"

Others whispered: "What's wrong with the Eldest Miss of the Song Family? Why is she so attentive to a tech company boss?"

"Do you think the Eldest Miss of the Song Family has taken a liking to Zhang Fan?"

"That's impossible, right? He just has a small, crappy company; how could he possibly connect with the Song family?"

Some thought he was foolish for not taking the 5 million; others thought he was playing hard to get, wanting to negotiate better terms with the Song family.

Zhou Yurou quietly tugged at his sleeve and whispered: "Why not... talk in private first? The Song family's resources would be good for the company."

Liu Ruyan was standing in the crowd at this moment, watching Song Zhiwei's reliance on Zhang Fan, and felt inexplicably uncomfortable, her fingers unconsciously clenching the corner of her clothes.

Zhang Fan took a deep breath, suppressing the complex emotions in his heart.

He knew he couldn't just look at the money for this decision. If he agreed, he would be 'bound,' and it might cause misunderstandings within the team;

If he didn't agree, Song Zhiwei might fall under the control of the 'Low IQ Halo' again, and the system mission wouldn't be completed.

More importantly, the Song family's influence was there. If he refused directly, would it bring new trouble to Singularity Technology?

Song Zhiwei seemed to see through his hesitation and added: "If you're worried about affecting the company, I can sign a strategic cooperation agreement with Singularity Technology—all companies under the Song family will prioritize using your AI technology, and the cooperation fees will be doubled. This can be considered... an extra 'bodyguard bonus'."

Once these words were out, even Gu Jingcheng couldn't help but widen his eyes. The family had dozens of enterprises, covering finance, real estate, technology, and other fields. If a strategic cooperation could be reached, Singularity Technology's YuFan AI could fully open up the market, which would be more profitable than making games!

The eyes of the whole room were focused on Zhang Fan. Fu Zhenhai watched the scene before him, his expression growing uglier.

He had originally wanted to use the summit to suppress Zhang Fan, but he didn't expect to let Song Zhiwei raise Zhang Fan's status instead.

He gritted his teeth and suddenly spoke: "Miss Song, have you been deceived by this kid? He's just someone who makes skin-swapping games; he's simply not worth you valuing him so much!"

Song Zhiwei finally turned to look at him, her eyes as cold as ice: "President Fu, who I choose and who I cooperate with seems to have nothing to do with you."

One sentence left Fu Zhenhai speechless, and he could only sit down sullenly, though he hated Zhang Fan even more in his heart.

He had already made up his mind that no matter how Song Zhiwei protected him, he would make Singularity Technology pay the price.

Zhang Fan ignored Fu Zhenhai's petty actions, his gaze falling on Song Zhiwei, his tone serious: "Miss Song, the reward of 5 million is indeed tempting, but I can't joke about the company's development. How about this? Regarding your safety, I can help you contact a professional security team, and I will cover the costs. As for the rest... we can talk about it privately later."

His words left room for maneuver, neither directly refusing nor agreeing to the 'personal bodyguard' request.

Song Zhiwei was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting him to say this, but she quickly reacted and nodded: "Okay, I'll wait for your news."

The atmosphere of the summit became exceptionally subtle because of this interlude.

Many people began to take the initiative to exchange business cards with Zhang Fan, wanting to take the opportunity to connect with the Song family; others quietly observed Fu Zhenhai's expression, wanting to see the next trend.

Zhou Yurou walked to Zhang Fan's side and whispered: "The matter just now... you need to think about it carefully. The Song family's resources are very important to us."

Zhang Fan nodded, but in his heart, he was still complaining about that 'cliché plot': "Think about what... think about how I became a 'key anchor point' in a cliché drama."

He looked up towards the direction of Song Zhiwei, just in time to meet her gaze—she was still standing in place, holding a silver cane, her eyes full of anticipation.

Zhang Fan sighed helplessly—it seemed that he couldn't escape this 'cliché plot.'

After the summit ended, Zhang Fan was cornered by Song Zhiwei in the rest area of the exhibition center. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the bustling traffic of Jiangcheng, but inside the window, a subtle atmosphere of 'cliché plot coming to reality' permeated.

Song Zhiwei looked at Zhang Fan with expectation, while Zhang Fan's brain was still playing the 'this development is too ridiculous' barrage on a loop.

"Miss Song, I really can't do the 5 million for being a bodyguard you mentioned." Zhang Fan broke the silence first, his tone more frank than at the summit, "My company has just gotten on the right track. The test data for star path: reboot needs to be monitored, the iteration of the AI toolbox needs to be pushed forward; I can't follow you 24 hours a day."

Song Zhiwei's shoulders slumped significantly, a hint of grievance appearing on her pale face, completely different from her aura as the 'Eldest Miss of the Song Family': "I know... but I have no choice."

She looked up, her eyes filled with pleading, her voice kept very low, fearing it would be heard by passersby, "I feel like I've been cursed, as long as I'm a little far from you, my mind gets messy, and I can't help but want to do stupid things from before; only by staying by your side can I wake up."

"Cursed?" Zhang Fan raised an eyebrow, but his heart skipped a beat—isn't this the 'Low IQ Halo' the system mentioned?

He looked at the panic in Song Zhiwei's eyes and thought of the past of 'family broken and dead with hatred' in the intelligence, and his heart softened inexplicably. No matter how cliché the plot was, the person in front of him was truly afraid of repeating the same mistakes.

"Then what do you want?" Zhang Fan asked, his tone softening a bit.

Song Zhiwei seemed to have grabbed a straw, and immediately said: "I won't force you to be a bodyguard! Does your house have a spare room? I'll rent it, and give you 1 million in rent every month. I'll just move in, I won't disturb your work, won't interfere with your life, as long as I can stay by your side."

"1 million to rent a room?" Zhang Fan was shocked by this 'super-rich operation' once again.

Internal monologue: "This isn't renting a room, this is spending money to buy a 'sobriety buff'!"

He paused, and began to weigh it seriously. If he agreed, there would be a wealthy heiress in his house, which would definitely cause trouble;

If he didn't agree, if Song Zhiwei was really affected by the 'Low IQ Halo' and approached Pei Yunxiao again, not only would the system mission not be completed, but it might also implicate Singularity Technology;

Moreover, refusing the Song family's 'goodwill' might not be a wise choice.

Footsteps came from the side, and Zhou Yurou and Liu Ruyan walked over.

Zhou Yurou clearly heard the conversation between the two and lowered her voice to Zhang Fan: "1 million in rent is a small matter, the key is the Song family's attitude. And... she really seems to have difficulties, it wouldn't hurt to help."

Liu Ruyan didn't speak, but nodded, her eyes filled with agreement. She had also experienced difficulties herself and could better understand Song Zhiwei's helplessness.

Zhang Fan took a deep breath and looked at Song Zhiwei: "You can rent it, but I have three conditions you must agree to."

"You say it! I agree to everything!" Song Zhiwei nodded immediately, afraid that he would go back on his word.

"First, we will not interfere with each other's private lives." Zhang Fan said one by one, "You live in your room, I'll live in mine; don't enter my room casually, and don't pry into my private affairs. Second, you are not allowed to intervene in anything related to Singularity Technology; whether it's company operations or team members, you cannot interfere. Third, keep our living together a secret from the outside; don't let others know, so as to avoid gossip."

These three terms of agreement both drew clear boundaries and avoided subsequent trouble. Song Zhiwei agreed without even thinking: "No problem! I'll move in tomorrow!"