Forcefully Doting On You - v4c21

 

Chapter 106

In a huge conference room, a young, handsome man in a suit stands in front of a projector. As he switches through PowerPoint slides, he talks about the transformation Dawn Technology will bring to Rainbow Group.

Facing the numerous senior executives of Rainbow Group seated below him, Li Yu speaks clearly and calmly, exuding an air of solemnity. If not for his young face, it would be difficult for anyone present to associate him with the common undergraduate student that he is.

Compared to two years before, he indeed matured immensely.

Mu Hong had some idea about what forced this maturity.

Whenever he thinks about Mu Cai, dear and soft, calling him 'brother' back at home, his tense expression softens, and his critical gaze on the podium eases a bit. Although the other person lacks money and influence, he has managed to go from poverty to being a renown expert and entrepreneur. Mu Hong acknowledges that Li Yu is indeed immensely talented, and there's less of a disparity now between him and his younger brother.

Considering their parents passed away early, if Mu Cai and Li Yu start dating, it can sidestep the difficulties that coming out might pose from a family perspective.

"He could potentially be a suitable sister-in-law choice," Mu Hong contemplates stoically.

In the front, Li Yu finishes his presentation, sparking quiet discussions among the senior executives. For a moment, the room buzzes with low whispers.

The core theme of the project proposed by Dawn Technology is "Artificial Intelligence," that is, to apply the concept of AI to a vast majority of the Rainbow Group's products. For example, cars that can be controlled by voice and can self-drive; smart homes that can maintain a constant room temperature, and can be operated by voice or touch; and features applied to smartphones, such as facial recognition and smart housekeeping, and so on.

These concepts have been proposed long ago, and indeed there have always been people working on them. However, their concepts have never achieved the depth and breadth that the Dawn Technology project promises. Although features like voice control and facial recognition have been developed, their recognition levels are too low due to technical issues. Situations where the device can easily be manipulated by a different person are common. Therefore, these features could only be applied to voice input, rather than being promoted at a deeper level.

Backed by S University's renowned Professor Li's team, leaders in the domestic AI field, Dawn Technology reportedly made significant breakthroughs in voice recognition research. It can distinguish individuals based on voice color, pitch, speech rate, and many other aspects, all with a low error rate. Dawn Tech wants to apply this technology to cars, smart homes, and smartphones, and therefore has approached the financially robust Rainbow Group.

The senior executives analyzed the content of Li Yu's presentation, reviewed and summarized it. Most of them believe that the Rainbow Group can initially send technical personnel to work cooperatively with the other party, conducting experiments to see whether this technology can be successfully applied to cars and smartphones, and then based on the subsequent production cost, decide whether to introduce the product and develop closer cooperation between the two companies.

However, their discussions are just that—discussions. The final decision has to be made by the actual decision-maker of the Rainbow Group.

The Special Assistant, who has been recording Li Yu's presentation and the senior officials' discussion, now pushes the notebook in front of Mu Hong, asking, "Mr. Mu, what do you think?"

As soon as he asked this, the otherwise serious atmosphere in the room became even more tense.

Everyone was silent, all eyes turned to the man sitting at the head of the table, dressed in a business suit and exuding an impressive aura.

Li Yu stood on the stage, his face calm, but his palms sweaty.

Mu Hong didn't look at the notebook for too long before he made a decision: "Let's go ahead with this proposal. We wish for a pleasant collaboration with Dawn Technology."

The tense atmosphere suddenly eased, and smiles appeared on everyone's faces.

The meeting ended here. After finishing the contract review, the special assistants from both the Rainbow Group and Dawn Technology had observed the contracts, and after both CEOs signed it, the collaboration officially took effect.

Li Yu and Mu Hong shook hands.

Despite being a high-ranking executive, Mu Hong carried an aura of authority. Even though Li Yu was young, he showed no signs of fear. Instead, he smiled and said, "Mr. Mu, Cai Cai misses you. He says he wants to go home today."

It was after the meeting and the atmosphere was relaxed, so Li Yu brought up a private matter.

There was a furrow in Mu Hong's brow – he didn’t seem pleased. "If Cai Cai wants to go home, he should go home. Why did he not say so in his WeChat to me, and had you deliver the message instead?"

This made him quite unhappy. His own brother, had an outsider deliver the message that he was coming home to him, the elder brother!

He was displeased!

Li Yu quickly said, "Here's what happened. He only decided on this matter this morning. Since he heard our two companies were having a meeting early in the day, he was afraid that sending a WeChat message would disturb you. So, he asked me to convey the message."

As he said this, Li Yu thought of Cai Cai lying in his soft bed, his delicate hand clutching the sheets, and his sleepiness showing in his small yawns. Li Yu couldn't help but soften his heart, and even his tone became gentler as he spoke: "He also said that WeChat messages were cold and impersonal. Nothing could compare to having me personally tell you how much he misses you."

Mu Hong was immediately appeased and quite satisfied. Seeing Li Yu's longing expression for his brother, Mu Hong's impression of him improved slightly.

After nearly two years, he still adored Cai Cai very much. This was crucial.

Rarely taking the initiative, Mu Hong said, "You two should come home early this afternoon. Cheng Li really misses Cai Cai. And don't leave in a hurry this time. Stay at home for a few more days."

In the past, Mu Hong never said these words to Li Yu directly and only spoke to Mu Cai. Now that he was inviting Li Yu himself, Li Yu was delighted.

He deeply loved Mu Cai and naturally wanted to grow old together with him. An essential aspect of this was the acceptance and blessings of his family, as Li Yu knew Mu Cai valued his family greatly. He didn't want to put Mu Cai in a difficult position, so he had made countless efforts to get where he was today, to be worthy of Mu Cai's status and minimize any dissatisfaction from his family.

In these nearly two years, the attitude of Mu Cai's parents towards Li Yu had become increasingly sincere. However, Mu Hong had always maintained a cold attitude, believing that their relationship was just for fun and would not last. Now that Mu Hong had taken the initiative to say these words, did it mean he finally recognized Li Yu as Mu Cai's boyfriend? Were they getting closer to the day when he and Cai Cai would marry and have a wedding?

The more Li Yu thought about it, the more eager he became to fly back to Mu Cai's side, to hold and kiss his beloved Cai Cai. Under Mu Hong's increasingly dissatisfied gaze, Li Yu finally came back to his senses and firmly replied, "Alright, Big Brother."

Mu Hong relaxed his furrowed brows, acknowledging Li Yu's response indifferently.

Although Li Yu seemed intelligent, his EQ seemed to be a bit low. Mu Hong thought he still needed to be observed more closely to ensure that Cai Cai wouldn't be aggrieved.

________________________

At 4:30 pm that day, Li Yu was getting ready to leave the Dawn Technology laboratory. Although he was still a frontline researcher, he was gradually becoming the boss, so no one objected to his leaving early. Some colleagues even joked, "Li Yu, you're leaving work so early today? Going to be with your boyfriend?"

Li Yu candidly nodded, "Yes, I'm going to accompany him home today."

Though he didn't deliberately mention his personal life, he had admitted early on that he had a wonderful boyfriend, thus avoiding any unnecessary misunderstandings among colleagues.

At first, some of his coworkers felt regretful, thinking such a promising young man had already been "taken." They wondered if there would ever be a chance to "steal" him.

All this changed when his boyfriend had visited him at the company several times.

He was a young man of stunning beauty, gentle and polite, every smile and frown exuding soul-stirring charm. Add to this the fact that he was the younger brother of the chairman of the Rainbow Group, coming from a wealthy family – he was the perfect lover that countless people dreamed of.

The surrounding colleagues immediately overturned their previous thoughts, figuring it was probably the boyfriend of Li Yu who was taken. Some even changed the target of their "undercutting" intentions.

However, all these were silently handled by Li Yu.

Upon hearing Li Yu's declaration, envy filled the faces of everyone around.

Li Yu was not bothered by their looks. He simply picked up his briefcase and mobile phone, went downstairs with a spring in his step.

Mu Cai was waiting for him downstairs.

It was now springtime, and Mu Cai was wearing a loose white thin sweater and casual jeans, playing with his phone in front of the car. From a distance, the perfect proportion was simply pleasing to the eye.

Li Yu walked out of the building, smiling, "Let's go."

Mu Cai had just completed a game level, covered a small yawn with his pale hand, "You drive, I'll take a nap."

Li Yu couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy, "You've been playing this game for several days, staying up late every night, you haven't spent time with me in quite a while."

Li Yu was typically reserved, always trying to snatch the game from his hand. But now, his jealousy was clearly and openly expressed—obviously, he could bear it no longer.

Mu Cai couldn't help but smile, "Alright, alright, I got it. I'll only play ten minutes a day from now on!"

"However," he stretched out his hands, wrapping them around the neck of the lover standing in front of him, and looked up to complain, "Isn't it because this is the solo game you designed for me? It's so fun to play, and the graphics are beautiful; I really, really like it!"

Warmth flooded Li Yu's heart, and he couldn't find the words to speak. This was a small game he had designed according to Mu Cai's preferences as a birthday gift for him. It was only natural that Mu Cai loved it, which made Li Yu very happy.

The person standing in front of him had soft black hair tinted with a scattering of warm light from the sun, his eyes glimmered as they reflected two tiny versions of his own self. His charming red lips were curved upward as he slightly tilted his head to look up at him. He was clearly complaining, but it sounded so much like he was whining cutely.

He was truly irresistible.

Li Yu's gaze softened. Standing in front of the company building, he stretched his hand to the back of Mu Cai's head, took Mu Cai's soft lips, and gave him a deep kiss.

When the kiss ended, Mu Cai collapsed in his arms. Li Yu, slightly out of breath, planted several more kisses on his forehead, eyelids, and cheeks, before saying with a smile, "Let's go. Your older brother specifically asked us to come early today."

Mu Cai lifted his head from Li Yu's embrace, his lips still flushed. With a mischievous smile he commented, "It looks like my brother is finally willing to acknowledge you."

Li Yu gently kissed Mu Cai's pale hand again, looking into Mu Cai's eyes that shone bright like the morning star, he said with sincerity, "I'm greatly honored."

"You always know just what to say."

________________________

Mu Cai woke up from the nutrient pod.

The situation now seemed quite similar to his previous awakening, with the door of the pod already ajar considerably earlier.

But this time, he woke up with a smile on his face.

That's because, in the world that had just ended, when their lives had come to their natural conclusion, Li Yu had kissed his fingers like a knight faithfully guarding his queen and assured him, "We'll meet again."

This meant that Mu Cai would encounter Li Yu again in the next world.

How wonderful.

Just as he was thinking so, he saw Old Huang's face appearing.

"What..." Mu Cai muttered, taken aback.

Old Huang, who usually had a sour expression on his face, looked even grumpier at the sight of him. His heart was filled with a mix of happiness and sadness, relief and fear. "What are you looking at!" he snapped, "Do you know how long you've been lying down this time?"

Mu Cai tried to respond, but his voice was barely more than a whisper, and he couldn't even lift his hand. Every movement was imbued with a sluggish feeling typical of prolonged bed rest.

A sense of foreboding crept over him.

Old Huang wasted no time in launching into a stern reprimand, "You've been laying in there for a whole seven months! Do you have any idea what that means? If I hadn't stepped in, the organization would have declared you a vegetable by now! I had even made up my mind that if you didn't come out in three days, I'd disconnect your brain monitoring equipment! I didn't care if it would impair your cognition! Anything would be better than keeping you like this!"

Mu Cai attempted to speak but could only utter in a feeble voice, "I..."

Old Huang was on the verge of a breakdown, "You what, you?!"

Softening his tone, Old Huang continued, "Cai Cai, I don't know what you've experienced in the energy field, but it's not appropriate for you to stay with me anymore. You said you wanted to contribute to the country and mankind. Now, the energy you've provided far exceeds everyone in this place, even surpassing a power plant. That's enough. It's time for you to go home. I'll explain the contract issues to the organization."

On seeing Mu Cai's silent demeanor, Old Huang continued to persuade, "What's going on in your mind? Is there anything worth clinging on in there? Do you really want to live as a vegetable for the rest of your life? Did you realize that your parents are worried sick? Your elder siblings are heartbroken? If not for yourself, consider their feelings. You're always kind and thoughtful. Can you bear to let them continue hoping for your return to Earth each day and missing you?"

The doctors had been on standby for a while. Now seeing that the patient had fully regained consciousness and adjusted to the real world, they carefully and methodically removed Mu Cai from the nutrient pod and placed him onto a stretcher.

Before leaving, Old Huang said his last words to Mu Cai, "Take some time and think about it for yourself."

________________________

Author's Notes: 

Empress Li: I had just ascended to the throne, spent a few intimate days with the Emperor, and then his world disappeared???

The next world is the last world =w=:

Confronting the heartless attacker, Mu Cai, a deeply affectionate and vulnerable receiver is crying: Why don't you love me, is there something wrong with me, Wah...

The abusive perpetrator, about to speak, is knocked over with a kick. His uncle croaks: Sweetie, don’t cry. Whenever you cry, I just want to...

Mu Cai, pinned down to the bed and stripped of his clothes: ???

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