Building a Sci-Fi Empire: Starting with Cold Nuclear Fusion

In the afternoon, Zhang Shulin and Tang Zhiping both got up to say goodbye.

Chen Yuan escorted the two downstairs and watched the car drive away before returning to his own home.

He suddenly remembered something: he seemed to have forgotten to reply to Ayu's message.

He was too busy in the morning, talking to Zhang Shulin and Tang Zhiping about cochlear implant technology, then discussing things during lunch, and then busy signing contracts in the afternoon, so naturally he didn't have time to reply to messages.

Chen Yuan pondered to himself, "Last night A Yu told me that she was hearing impaired. I didn't reply to her message today. Will she start to overthink things?"

Thinking of this, he quickly took out his phone and saw that he had indeed not replied to the message, and that Ayu had sent another message during that time.

Ah Yu: "Are you busy?"

Chen Yuan checked the time; the message had been sent at 10:00 AM, and there had been no further messages since.

He guessed that Ayu was very likely to be insecure and sensitive, thinking that she had pretended to be hearing impaired yesterday and was not replying to messages today because of it.

That's why Ah Yu didn't send any more messages to "bother" her.

Chen Yuan thought for a moment and typed a long message: "Ayu, I've been talking to people since this morning and only just finished now. I didn't mean to ignore you, so please don't overthink it. Have you returned from Zhouzhuang Ancient Town yet? If you have, I'll drive over to pick you up now. If not, please let me know as soon as you get back."

As soon as the message was sent, Ayu replied immediately, "To be honest, I was really worried because I didn't get a response from you for so long. I thought you were bothered by my hearing impairment, and I felt a little sad. After hearing your explanation, I know I was overthinking it. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thought that way about you. I'm on my way back now and expect to arrive in the city around 4:30. I'll get off near Shilu, and then you can come over?"

Chen Yuan checked the time; it was 3:20.

He typed, "I'll leave at four o'clock and wait for you at Shilu ahead of time."

After sending the message, he took a shower, and his clothes still smelled of cooking oil from the lunch he had cooked.

Chen Yuan valued A Yu highly, so he naturally made sure to wash up thoroughly before meeting her.

Around four o'clock, he changed into a clean set of casual clothes, then took his car keys and went out.

……

Stone road.

Around 4:20.

Chen Yuan parked his car in a public parking space in front of a store, his eyes constantly scanning the buses along the way.

Finally, a tan bus stopped not far away, and then Ah Yu's figure appeared.

Today, Ayu was wearing a white T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and her usual white sneakers.

Unlike yesterday when she wore a skirt, today she was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, which allowed her to clearly see her graceful figure.

Looking out the car window, Chen Yuan was somewhat surprised to find that Ah Yu's figure was incredibly voluptuous.

For example, her T-shirt looked puffy, and her jeans showed off her peach-shaped buttocks and long legs.

She's beautiful, has a great figure, and most importantly, she's very well-mannered and seems to be very caring.

Where can you find a girl like that?

Chen Yuan can say with certainty that if A Yu hadn't had a hearing impairment, such an outstanding girl would probably have been snatched up by other outstanding men before he even got to know her.

It has to be said that the connections between people are truly ingenious.

Chen Yuan immediately got out of the driver's seat and waved to the other side of the road, saying, "Ayu, this way."

Ayu was looking around when she saw Chen Yuan waving. A smile immediately appeared on her face, and she quickly crossed the road.

Today, she is not only dressed differently than yesterday, but she is also wearing the external processor of a cochlear implant.

As she approached, she asked with concern, "Have you been waiting long?"

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "No, I just arrived. Did you have fun today?"

Ah Yu hummed in response, "I wasn't very happy this morning, but I was very happy after receiving your message."

Chen Yuan understood immediately and looked at him with gentle eyes. "I said yesterday that as long as you don't give up, I won't leave. So please don't overthink it."

Ah Yu nodded vigorously, "Yes, I won't overthink things anymore."

Chen Yuan looked at her and said, "Now that you're wearing an external processor, we can talk properly."

Ah Yu smiled gently, "With you by my side, I feel very confident."

Chen Yuan could sense the trust in her tone.

This pleased him greatly; the feeling of being trusted is always good, and Ayu's words satisfied his protective instincts.

Chen Yuan was secretly pleased. He pointed to the car and said, "Will you drive?"

Ah Yu said, "Okay, where shall we go?"

Chen Yuan reached out to help her with her handbag. "Let's go eat first. There's a really good private restaurant around here. I'll take you to try it. We agreed that it's on me today, so you can't secretly pay the bill again."

Ah Yu smiled and said, "Okay, I got it. I'll listen to you."

As she spoke, she naturally handed over the bag.

As Chen Yuan reached out to take it, he accidentally touched the other person's fingertips, and his heart skipped a beat for no reason.

Ah Yu had the same reaction, her face instantly turning a little red.

The two remained silent, one getting into the driver's seat and the other going around to the other side to get into the passenger seat.

……

Inside the car.

The two had just fastened their seatbelts.

Ah Yu adjusted her seat and said, "Give me directions."

Chen Yuan said, "No rush, let me show you something first."

Ah Yu turned her head and looked over, asking curiously, "What?"

Chen Yuan picked up the briefcase placed under the passenger seat and rummaged through it. "Guess."

Ah Yu tilted her head slightly and said cooperatively, "You didn't buy me any gifts, did you? Let me make it clear, I won't accept anything very expensive."

Chen Yuan found the application form, turned his head to look at it and said, "It is very valuable, but you must accept it. I spent a lot of effort and worked very hard to get it."

When Ayu heard that it was very valuable, she was about to shake her head and refuse when she saw Chen Yuan take a document out of his briefcase.

She couldn't help but show a curious expression, but didn't ask.

Chen Yuan handed over the application form and said, "Take a look, do you like it?"

Ah Yu took the document and opened it.

She glanced at it and looked up in surprise, asking, "The application form for human volunteers for the new cochlear implant trial by Connolly Corporation?"

Chen Yuan hummed in agreement and said, "Yes, I heard that Connolly is developing a new type of cochlear implant. This cochlear implant is fully implantable and only requires minimally invasive surgery. Unlike conventional fully implantable cochlear implants, which require a major surgery, this new type of cochlear implant does not require a major surgery. So you don't need to worry about safety. In addition, this new type of cochlear implant uses advanced technology and will not have any impact on the body once it is implanted in the ear."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Because this cochlear implant still needs some time to be launched on the market, I don't want you to wait too long. So I've been thinking about whether you can take advantage of the human trials conducted by Connoh to directly experience the benefits of this cochlear implant. Of course, whether or not you participate in the human trials is entirely up to you. If you don't want to go, I'll refuse later. If you agree, you'll not only receive the fee for participating in the trials, but Connoh will also reimburse all subsequent costs for this new cochlear implant."

Human experimentation carries risks. Unless someone is desperate for money, who would volunteer?

Chen Yuan had this in mind, and to avoid A Yu misunderstanding him, that's why he gave such a long and detailed account.

In fact, he knew perfectly well that there were absolutely no technical problems with the new cochlear implant he designed.

In other words, as long as Connoisseur follows the steps, they will be able to produce a finished cochlear implant. What Ah Yu called a human experiment is actually a free... no, paid implantation.

Chen Yuan had done all he could. Now it was up to A Yu. If she trusted him, she would probably accept him. But if she didn't trust him and thought he had some ulterior motives, it wouldn't matter if she refused.

After all, it was only the second time the two had met, so the possibility of unconditional trust was relatively small.

Ayu looked at Chen Yuan with a complicated expression, neither agreeing nor refusing, but asking earnestly, "You didn't reply to my messages this morning, were you busy with this matter?"

Chen Yuan said, "Yes, I met with Mr. Tang Zhiping, the technical director of Conno Company, this morning and we talked about cochlear implants. In the afternoon, their company sent someone over and we talked in detail again. Finally, I got the application form. After they left, I had time to reply to you."

"I……"

Tears welled up in Ayu's eyes as she whispered, "I really didn't expect that someone would care about me so much. Pinecone, you're so kind."

She hadn't received a reply from Chen Yuan in the morning, and she was still overthinking things, believing that his behavior yesterday was just an act.

This is a perfectly normal thought, because she had encountered people like that before.

At the time, Ayu was just very upset, but she didn't resent Chen Yuan for doing that.

She can understand Chen Yuan.

It's already a very good thing that the other party doesn't discriminate against people with disabilities.

As for whether to hold hands or not, most people would choose a healthy partner.

Who would choose a disabled person when given a choice?

Clearly, Chen Yuan has a bachelor's degree, owns a house in Suzhou, and currently has a good job, so he has options.

Therefore, even if Chen Yuan did not reply to the message in the morning, A Yu could understand that he thought he was going to cut off contact.

However, she never expected that Chen Yuan would not choose to cut off contact, but instead, during the time he did not reply to her messages, he was working hard to "save" her from her inferiority complex.

This deeply moved Ah Yu, and for the first time, she had the thought of entrusting her life to him.

Just as she was about to cry from emotion, Chen Yuan seemed to notice and seized the opportunity to lighten the mood with a joke, saying, "Aren't you very touched by what I did for you? How are you going to thank me?"

Ah Yu was indeed so moved that she almost cried.

She looked at it very seriously and asked, "Pinecone, how would you like me to thank you?"

Seeing that the other person was still in a sentimental mood, Chen Yuan continued to lighten the mood, jokingly saying, "How about... you kiss me, and I'll reluctantly consider it your thanks?"