When Will My Childhood Sweetheart Marry Me?-Chapter 262: On the Eve of the Storm

"Are you awake?"

"Uh-huh."

After a night of drinking, Pei Yan’s voice sounded somewhat hoarse.

"I’ll go get you some water." She got up but he pulled her back halfway.

"Not thirsty, just sleep with me a little longer." Pei Yan pressed her head against his chest, his voice falling from above into her ears, "How did you manage to get me back last night?"

His smiling tone made Jiang Shuyao roll her eyes.

"Still feel like laughing," she thought about Jiang Xubai and Zhang Xinxin, the two buffoons from last night, and her head ached, "I thought you were just pretending, but who knew you were serious."

"I was just too happy, drank a little extra." Pei Yan caressed her cheek with his finger and spoke softly, "Let’s have breakfast brought to the room by the hotel, and we can check out in the afternoon."

Jiang Shuyao paused, "Are we really being watched?"

"Making it thorough, can’t let last night’s drink go to waste."

That was also true.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Shuyao looked up at him, "The source code, have you already handed it over to Jiang Xubai?"

Pei Yan’s gaze lowered slightly, a hint of weariness around his lips, "It seems you really trust him."

"It’s not that I trust him, it was something Zhang Xinxin said that woke me up," Jiang Shuyao recalled last night’s events, "She mentioned that Jiang Xubai can’t hold his liquor at all, spills any secrets when drunk, thus he never dares to get drunk in front of others."

Knowing he couldn’t outdrink Pei Yan, yet purposely using this foolish tactic, why.

She had noticed Pei Yan carrying a USB drive in his pocket frequently these past days, surely waiting for this day for a long time.

But one thing had been troubling Jiang Shuyao for quite a while.

During her free time previously, she had researched domestic cases of software infringement over the past few years. If the defendant was merely imitating the type, it was difficult to win.

Unless Xinyuan copied it exactly as it was, with solid evidence, no matter how powerful Yuan Chong’s methods, once Xinyuan fell into the storm of official investigations, it would be devastated even if not destroyed.

Furthermore, by that time, with Yunteng as the plaintiff after such legal trouble, Yuan Chong dreaming of using Xinyuan to set traps for others was a fool’s errand.

But the crucial point was...

Jiang Shuyao asked doubtfully, "After Xinyuan gets the source code, would Lu Chen really direct copy use it?"

That was the key.

Hearing this, Pei Yan showed a slight, ambiguous smile.

"If it were three years ago, I might not be sure, after all, a proud programmer wouldn’t stoop to plagiarize someone else’s code," he paused, "but now, used to taking crooked paths, once someone has tasted the returns from such shortcuts countless times, it’s addictive like poison, nearly impossible to quit overnight."

"As for whether he will directly copy," Pei Yan half-jokingly whispered, "Apart from wholly adopting it, he has no other options."

Jiang Shuyao had to admit, in terms of understanding people, he really was better than her.

Thinking carefully, she seemed to understand why Pei Yan agreed to collaborate with Yunteng when he brought up that condition to Zeng Zhifei.

Actually, during the entire project, his daily work with the Yunteng project team didn’t cross paths at all, to put it precisely, they were totally unrelated.

At first, Jiang Shuyao was confused and clueless.

But later, she accidentally read some of the programs written by Pei Yan and discovered many strange and interesting aspects.

Every time he completed a function module, he would copy it to his USB drive, like an assembly line, ultimate complexity and indifference in processing, devoid of any sentiment.

Pei Yan spent two entire months creating a version of the medical system that was radically different from the Yunteng project team’s version.

A version tailored uniquely for Xinyuan.

Thinking of those days, the tons of code exported from his computer every day still made Jiang Shuyao’s scalp tingle.

Previously at the base, everyone used to call him "Tentacle Monster".

In the Yunteng project team of six people, under the same schedule, Pei Yan managed to finish three days ahead of time.

Compared to then, Pei Yan’s typing speed now was a hundred times scarier than during his college days.

...

The next day, the meeting room at Xinyuan was embroiled in intense debate.

Jiang Xubai had successfully obtained the source code of the medical system, becoming the hero of Xinyuan’s entry into the medical market.

Upon hearing the news, Yuan Chong made an unexpected visit to the CEO’s office, demanding that Jiang Xubai must copy and integrate the code into the Xinyuan servers within three days, and the v1.0 version of the system had to go online within a week at the latest.

This decision was passionately contested by Lu Chen.

"No, a direct copy could lead to a lawsuit from Yunteng, and our chances of winning would virtually be zero. The risk is too high, and I do not agree to proceed this way!"

Compared to the agitated President Lu, Jiang Xubai then looked at the mysterious stranger beside him, who seemed much more composed.

Yuan Chong swirled the red wine in his glass, his eyes shining with a bluish gleam behind his glasses, seemingly well-prepared for Lu Chen’s concerns.

"Let’s release the first version quickly as I suggested. Even if Yunteng sues, they will need time to prepare their documents. What we need to do is to complete the reorganization of our internal medical system code before we receive any legal notice from Yunteng. Find a suitable opportunity to stealthily replace the first version. By then, even if Yunteng wants to find evidence, it will be untraceable."

Indeed, such a sly fox, Jiang Xubai thought to himself after hearing the mixed-race man’s plan. It was a good strategy, alas.

While scoffing inwardly, Lu Chen suddenly turned around and instructed Jiang Xubai, "Open the Yunteng code for me to see."

"Okay."

Faithfully playing the role of a lackey, Jiang Xubai took out the silver-white USB drive from his pocket and inserted it into President Lu’s computer.

Soon, a dense document interface appeared on the projector connected for video.

Lu Chen frowned in suspicion, "It’s not encrypted?"

Jiang Xubai cleared his throat proudly, "It was, but I cracked it."

Lu Chen looked at him without saying a word.

He maneuvered the mouse to briefly skim through the core code. Initially, his expression was calm, but the deeper he looked, the more furrowed his brows became.

Then, the meeting room fell into deathly silence.

After a full night of deep sleep, Jiang Xubai hadn’t yet delved into Boss Pei’s masterpiece beforehand. Upon seeing it now, he almost popped his eyeballs out.

...What the hell.

He had never seen such unreadable code. No, it was completely unreadable.

The entire structure was exceedingly complex, and though the overall logic seemed fluid, breaking down just any functional module revealed a totally convoluted confounding text.

Not just Jiang Xubai, but even Lu Chen, a talented graduate from Capital Institute of Technology, was completely baffled.

"Trying to dismantle and mimic it in a short period will be tough."

This was the conclusion Jiang Xubai reached after ten minutes of silence.

Yuan Chong narrowed his eyes displeased, just about to speak, when Lu Chen beside him coldly chuckled, "He prides himself on being unique, thinking that no one in this world can surpass him, but I, particularly don’t believe in this nonsense."

After speaking, he snapped the laptop shut and calmly instructed Jiang Xubai, "Do as Mr. Yuan suggested. I want to see the first version up and running on schedule in three days, and as for the subsequent dismantling and reorganization."

Lu Chen glared fiercely, "I will personally handle it."