Film and Television Time Travel: Why Do I Always End Up in Romance Dramas?

Chapter 39: The Dinner Party

At seven o'clock in the morning, Nie Xiguang was frying eggs in the kitchen of his rented room.

The oil sizzled in the frying pan, and the bread machine popped out freshly toasted bread.

Her movements weren't very skilled, but she was very serious.

This is what Yu Chen saw when he walked into the kitchen.

In the morning light, Nie Xiguang, wearing an apron and with his hair loosely tied up, was carefully scooping fried eggs onto a plate.

"Awake?" She turned around, smiling. "Perfect timing, breakfast will be ready soon."

Yu Chen leaned against the door frame and looked at her: "I didn't expect you could cook."

"I know a little bit of the basics." Nie Xiguang placed the plate on the small dining table. "I learned it all from my grandfather."

The two sat facing each other eating breakfast.

Suzhou outside the window is beginning to awaken, with the faint sound of traffic coming from afar.

"The lab is starting sedimentation experiments today," Yu Chen said, taking a sip of milk. "We might be busy until very late."

"I'll stay with you," Nie Xiguang said naturally.

Looking at her, Yu Chen suddenly felt that this kind of morning was very nice.

Simple, down-to-earth, like the life every ordinary person should have.

---

At noon, in a popular restaurant in Shanghai.

Ye Rong arrived ahead of time.

She chose a window seat, ordered an Americano, and suddenly looked at the message Sheng Xingjie had sent her on her phone: "I need to see Yu Chen within three days at the latest."

The pressure was like a hand gripping her heart.

"Ye Rong!" Si Liang's voice came.

Ye Rong looked up and gave a standard smile.

Siliang wore a newly bought dress today, carried a handbag from a mid-range luxury brand, and wore exquisite makeup.

If we're talking about who's the prettiest in a college dorm, it's definitely Si Liang, but that's because Nie Xiguang doesn't wear makeup.

"Have you been waiting long?" Siliang sat down and carefully placed her handbag on the chair next to her.

"Just arrived." Ye Rong pushed the menu over. "Take a look and see what you'd like to eat. This place's specialty is waffles."

After ordering their food, the two chatted for a bit about their recent lives.

Ye Rong asked casually, "Are you and your boyfriend doing well? I remember he's... in IT?"

Siliang's smile faded slightly: "It's alright. His job is quite stable, but... you know, in Shanghai, his salary is barely enough to support himself."

His words conveyed helplessness and dissatisfaction.

Ye Rong stirred her coffee: "The cost of living in Shanghai is high. Some of my colleagues spend tens of thousands of yuan a month just on rent."

"Yes," Siliang sighed. "Sometimes I think, I really don't know what I'm working so hard for. My classmates who stayed in their hometowns already have houses and cars."

"Everyone has different goals." Ye Rong looked at her. "Siliang, you're so eligible, you could find someone even better."

Siliang's eyes lit up for a moment, but quickly dimmed again: "It's not that easy. Good men are either already married or have very high standards."

"There are always opportunities." Ye Rong put down her coffee spoon. "I work at Shengyuan and I come into contact with people from this social class. Some of them are young talents who are already senior executives in their early twenties, with annual salaries starting at a million."

Siliang's breathing quickened noticeably: "Really?"

"Of course," Ye Rong smiled, "but these things can't be rushed. I'll introduce you two when the opportunity arises."

"Ye Rong, you're so kind!" Si Liang held her hand. "I always thought you were the most reliable person back in college!"

Ye Rong smiled and withdrew her hand, but inwardly she was sneering.

She knows Siliang too well.

This woman is vain and jealous. She had a crush on Zhuang Xu in college, but she couldn't compare to Nie Xiguang.

This kind of psychology is the easiest to exploit.

In the past, this was how she stirred up conflict between Siliang and Nie Xiguang.

"Oh, right," Ye Rong said as if suddenly remembering, "Xi Guang, have you two been in contact recently?"

Siliang's expression stiffened: "She's in Suzhou now. I haven't seen her since the last time the boss got married."

"Hey, tell me," Ye Rong feigned ignorance, "how could Uncle Nie bear to let her go to a place like that?"

"Who knows?" Siliang's tone was a little sour. "Maybe she just likes experiencing life. Anyway, her family is rich, she can do whatever she wants."

"And the guy next to her last time, you could tell at a glance that he'd have a bright future."

Ye Rong sensed the jealousy in his words and knew that the time was right.

She stopped talking and changed the subject.

The meal lasted for over an hour. When it came time to pay the bill, Ye Rong insisted on paying.

"I'll treat you next time," Siliang said.

"Okay." Ye Rong nodded with a smile. "Wait for my news."

The two parted ways at the restaurant entrance.

Siliang took a taxi and left, while Ye Rong headed towards the subway station.

She took out her phone and found Yu Chen's WeChat.

---

3 PM, Shuangyuan Laboratory.

The sedimentation experiment has reached a critical stage.

Yu Chen stared at the monitoring screen of the reactor, his brows slightly furrowed.

"The temperature fluctuations are too great," he said to Hua Xiangyang beside him. "Reduce the heating rate by another five percent."

"it is good."

Nie Xiguang was recording data on the other side.

Her notebook was filled with numbers and graphs. Occasionally, she would look up at Yu Chen's focused profile and feel a strange sense of satisfaction.

It feels great to work side by side like this.

My phone vibrated.

She picked it up and saw it was a WeChat message from Ye Rong: "Mr. Yu, President Sheng would like to invite you to dinner tonight at the Cloud Top Restaurant at 7 pm. Would that be convenient for you?"

Nie Xiguang's heart tightened.

She looked up at Yu Chen, hesitated for a few seconds, and then walked over with her phone in hand.

"Yu Chen, Ye Rong sent a message..."

Yu Chen glanced at the screen, his expression unchanged.

He took the phone and replied immediately, "Okay, tonight then."

Then he handed the phone back to Nie Xiguang: "You're coming with me tonight."

"Me?" Nie Xiguang was taken aback. "Shengxingjie invited you, is it appropriate for me to go?"

"That's appropriate." Yu Chen turned back to look at the screen. "You're my girlfriend, it's only natural for you to have dinner with me."

He spoke so naturally, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world.

"Okay." She nodded. "I'll go."

---

At 6:30 p.m., Yu Chen and Nie Xiguang set off for Shanghai.

In the car, Nie Xiguang looked out the window at the gradually darkening sky and suddenly asked, "Yu Chen, what do you think Sheng Xingjie will say tonight?"

"Winning them over, testing them, or threatening them," Yu Chen said, turning the steering wheel. "It could be all of those."

"Does President Lin know about this?"

"I know," Yu Chen said. "I spoke to him on the phone this afternoon. He said the Sheng family is in a lot of chaos right now, and Sheng Xingjie is panicking."

"Why the rush?"

Nie Xiguang felt like she had a million whys. Although she could probably guess the reason, she just wanted to ask.

"Because Sheng Xianmin's health isn't very good." Yu Chen glanced at her. "Many people in the group are starting to take sides, and Sheng Xingjie needs to produce results as soon as possible to solidify his position. My skills are exactly the kind of results he wants."

Nie Xiguang understood: "That's why he keeps looking for you."

"Yes." Yu Chen paused, "But the technology is in my hands. The one who's anxious is him."

The car passed through the tollbooth and entered Shanghai. Neon lights began to illuminate the distance; night always falls exceptionally early in this city.

Sheng Xingjie had already arrived at the private room of the Genting Restaurant. He was wearing a casual suit today, without a tie, and looked more relaxed than usual.

Ye Rong sat next to him, holding a tablet computer and reporting something.

The door was pushed open, and a waiter led Yu Chen and Nie Xiguang in.

Sheng Xingjie looked up and was visibly taken aback when he saw Nie Xiguang, but quickly recovered and stood up with a smile: "Engineer Yu is here! And this is...?"

"My girlfriend, Nie Xiguang," Yu Chen introduced naturally.

"Miss Nie, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Sheng Xingjie shook hands warmly. "I'm quite familiar with Uncle Nie! I didn't expect to see you here!"

Nie Xiguang smiled politely: "Hello, President Sheng."

Ye Rong also stood up to greet them.

Her gaze lingered on Nie Xiguang's face for a second before shifting away, but Nie Xiguang still caught the fleeting complex emotion in her eyes.

The four people sat down. The waiter began to serve the dishes.

"Mr. Yu, let's get straight to the point." Sheng Xingjie raised his glass. "I'm here to see you because I genuinely want to collaborate. At Shengyuan's subsidiary, Jiekai Energy, I can provide you with an independent laboratory. You can build your own R&D team, and there's no budget limit. If you come, the position of chief scientist is yours."

The terms were very direct and tempting.

Yu Chen did not raise his glass: "President Sheng, I've already started at Shuangyuan."

"We can switch over from here!" Sheng Xingjie put down his wine glass. "Equipment, personnel, data—take it all. I'll pay the penalty for breach of contract, I'll compensate for the losses. Mr. Yu, I'm being sincere."

"I know," Yu Chen said, "but some things can't be solved with money."

Sheng Xingjie's smile faded slightly: "Engineer Yu, you're a smart man. You should know that in the business world, choices are more important than hard work. The platform that Shengyuan can provide is something Shuangyuan can't compare to."

"Perhaps." Yu Chen looked at Nie Xiguang, then turned back, "But I promised some people that I would keep the technology in Shuangyuan."

That's very clear.

Sheng Xingjie fell silent. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

Ye Rong sat quietly to the side, not daring to interrupt.

The atmosphere in the private room suddenly became tense.

Nie Xiguang could sense that Sheng Xingjie's gaze had turned cold.

"Engineer Yu," Sheng Xingjie began slowly, "sometimes, promises are heavy, but reality is even heavier. You know better than I do what's going on at Shuangyuan right now. The purchasing department's mess isn't over yet, and then there's internal turmoil at Shengyuan..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Sheng," Yu Chen said, "but I still want to give it a try."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

Sheng Xingjie suddenly laughed: "Alright, it's good that the young man has backbone. Then let's discuss the cooperation method again. The technology research and development will still be done at Shuangyuan, but the results will be shared, with Kaijie Technology having priority usage rights. Is that acceptable?"

Yu Chen was silent for a moment: "I need time to think about it."

"how long?"

"One week."

"Alright!" Sheng Xingjie raised his glass again. "I've been waiting for you for a week! Come on, this glass is for you! Whether the collaboration works out or not, let's be friends!"

The meal took more than two hours to finish.

When they left, Sheng Xingjie escorted them all the way to the elevator.

After the elevator doors closed, Nie Xiguang breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you nervous?" Yu Chen asked.

"A little," she said honestly. "The way he looked at you afterwards was a little scary."

"That's how people are when they're desperate." Yu Chen put his arm around her shoulder. "But at least tonight we figured out his bottom line."

"Then we..."

"Let's stall for now," Yu Chen said. "This week is crucial. The lab must produce results; only with results will we have leverage in negotiations."

The elevator descended to the first floor. Stepping out of the building, the night breeze, carrying the moisture from the Huangpu River, rushed towards me.

Nie Xiguang looked up at the lights of this city that never sleeps and suddenly felt that she and Yu Chen were standing on the edge of a huge vortex.

But strangely, she wasn't afraid.

Because this time, she wasn't alone.

However, she always felt that Ye Rong's gaze towards Yu Chen was strange, and she always felt that Ye Rong was plotting something.

Not only her, but even Yu Chen noticed something.

A danger warning appeared, and subtle fluctuations were observed in Ye Rong.

-

Thank you to Lonely Cloud for the 38 monthly tickets.

Thank you Zhiyan and Wenxu for your continued support.