16: End of Chapter 16

He stood on the spot, watching her retreating figure slowly swallowed by the crowd until she was completely out of sight, before turning to walk in the direction of his rented place.

By this time, night was gradually falling.

Back at the rental, Qiao Yichen tossed the key onto the nightstand, took off his coat and put it away, and casually poured himself a glass of water.

The room was very quiet.

He sat down at the desk and unlocked his phone.

The account balance was still frozen on the number he had seen yesterday afternoon.

He didn't recalculate the costs or review the revenue structure.

He simply made a quick calculation: the starting capital was 500,000, and she accounted for 24%. Now, the channel fees and buyout costs totaled 1.2 million.

So, he only had one thing left to do.

He tapped open the transfer interface.

He entered the amount: 290,000.

There was no memo.

Confirm.

The moment his fingerprint pressed down, the screen flashed once, followed by a notification that the transfer was successful.

It was quick.

He placed the phone back on the desk and didn't move immediately.

He sat for a few seconds.

He knew clearly in his heart—

This wasn't 'splitting money'.

It was a rule that had already been established.

Their understanding of this matter was completely aligned.

A few minutes later, his phone vibrated once.

A message popped up.

["Received."]

He glanced at it but didn't reply.

He then placed his phone on the desk and got up to take a shower.

Hot water poured down, and steam slowly filled the small bathroom.

Qiao Yichen stood under the water and closed his eyes for a moment.

He rarely allowed himself to zone out at this hour.

Not in his previous life.

Back then, as soon as one project ended, the next milestone and the next pressure immediately followed.

It wasn't that he wasn't tired; it was that he didn't dare to stop.

But now, for the first time, he clearly realized—

It was possible for things to end this quietly after they were done.

The next day was Friday.

Nine-thirty in the morning.

Qiao Yichen arrived at the office as usual.

The atmosphere in the office was much more relaxed than in the preceding days.

The project was running smoothly, and Party A was no longer frequently sending over new requirements; everyone was mostly organizing data and preparing the weekly report.

Not long after he sat down, a message popped up in the project group chat.

["Temporary data discussion meeting at ten o'clock this morning."]

He glanced at it without thinking much.

After finishing the emails in his hand, he entered the meeting room on time.

The meeting was small.

Two people from Party A attended, and their tone was noticeably more cautious than before.

"There was a slight fluctuation in the conversion rate at a certain time this morning."

On the projection screen, a curve showed a subtle dip.

The magnitude was so small that if one wasn't watching closely enough, it could easily be dismissed as noise.

Qiao Yichen glanced at it but didn't speak immediately.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the other party to finish speaking.

"It's not a big issue," the person from Party A added, "we just wanted to confirm the reason."

Only then did Qiao Yichen speak.

"The strategy was passively adjusted during that time slot."

He spoke very calmly, using neither an assertive statement nor an emphasized tone.

"Was that on our end?" the other party subconsciously asked.

"No," Qiao Yichen shook his head, raising his hand to point at the backend records, "you switched the creative assets package at that specific time."

He paused.

"The system weightings were reset; a short-term fluctuation is a normal reaction."

The meeting room fell silent for half a second.

It wasn't due to tension, but because the explanation was provided so readily.

The person from Party A looked down, flipped through the records, and quickly nodded.

"Yes, there was an adjustment."

"Then that matches up," Qiao Yichen said. "It's already recovering, so no extra intervention is needed."

After saying this, he added nothing further.

But those who needed to understand already understood.

The meeting room quieted for a moment.

The people from Party A looked down and flipped through the records, quickly nodding.

"Yes, that happened."

"Then that lines up," Qiao Yichen continued. "A short-term fluctuation is normal during the system's re-learning phase. It is already recovering now."

He didn't emphasize, "The problem isn't on our side."

Liu Yanran, sitting next to him, did not interject.

Instead, right after he finished speaking, she smoothly sent the supplementary data into the meeting group.

"The trend looks like it has already corrected itself," she said. "Observing it for another round this afternoon should suffice."

That statement provided an exit route for the meeting.

The people from Party A quickly nodded.

"Then let's leave it at that for now."

There was no argument.

Nor was there any blame-shifting.

The meeting concluded perfectly.

When they walked out of the meeting room, it was already close to 11:30.

There weren't many people in the office corridor at that time.

Liu Yanran walked alongside him.

"It should be fine now," she said.

"Mhm," Qiao Yichen nodded. "Slowing down over the weekend will actually make it more stable."

She glanced at him, seeming like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just smiled.

"Shall we eat together at noon then?"

"You decide," he said.

"Let's just do it downstairs at the office building, no need to make a fuss."

"Okay."

At noon, the area around the office building was noticeably livelier.

Friday lunchtimes were always distinctly different from other weekdays.

More people, slightly more noise from chatter, and slower steps.

It seemed everyone was using a subtle method to start celebrating the arrival of the weekend early.

They chose the familiar restaurant downstairs from the office.

They didn't intentionally change locations.

But when they sat down today, even the air felt relaxed.

Their window seat had just the right amount of sunlight, reflecting the street view outside onto the glass.

Pedestrians came and went, but it had nothing to do with them.

This was the last 'lunch' of the work week.

Lunch was simple.

The two ordered a few quick dishes and sat by the window.

They didn't discuss data.

Nor did they review the project.

They just chatted casually about lighthearted things.

She mentioned she might sleep in until she woke up naturally over the weekend.

He said he planned to tidy up his apartment.

The topics were domestic and casual, not forced.

But Qiao Yichen knew very clearly—

If it were his previous life, at this moment, his mind would only be thinking:

When would the next project start?

Would his holiday be taken up again?

But now, he was genuinely thinking about the 'weekend'.

Halfway through the meal, she suddenly looked up at him.

"Thank you for the money," she said.

Her voice was very soft.

Qiao Yichen paused, then shook his head.

"No need."

Upon hearing that, she didn't pursue the topic any further.

She lowered her head and continued eating.

They both knew clearly—

That wasn't gratitude.

It was a tacit understanding between the two of them.

After the meal, they walked back upstairs together and then parted ways.

"Have a good rest this weekend," she said.

"You too."

She turned and walked into the office.

Qiao Yichen stood in place until her figure completely disappeared around the corner of the corridor before turning and slowly walking back to his workstation.

As he sat down, he suddenly realized—

This long work week was truly coming to an end.

Friday afternoon slipped away silently amidst the tapping sound of keyboard clicks and the flickering of screens.

It was still light when he got off work. Qiao Yichen walked out of the company, stood by the roadside, and took a deep breath.