Qiu Yihe curled her lip, her heart full of suspicion, but she still obediently shut her mouth, though her eyes couldn't help but glance at Jiang Cheng again.
Sunlight poured in through the car window, falling on his well-defined profile, with his eyelashes casting a small shadow under his eyelids.
He was clearly a "tyrant" who resorted to violence at the drop of a hat, so why did he have to have a face that made it impossible to hate him?
The half-hour drive passed in a flash, and the car finally stopped outside a campus surrounded by high walls and barbed wire.
The sentries at the entrance stood ramrod straight.
The armed security personnel had eyes as sharp as eagles.
The moment they scanned the license plate, their originally tense expressions softened slightly.
Raising a hand in a standard military salute, the heavy electric gate slid open silently.
Qiu Yihe leaned against the car window to look out; seeing this setup, she knew it wasn't a private cafeteria.
"What is this place for? There's no sign outside?"
Jiang Cheng smiled and didn't say much, only instructing the driver to park the car in the parking lot.
Just as the two of them got out of the car, a staff member in a white lab coat came to meet them.
His attitude was respectful yet measured: "President Jiang, I'm very happy to see you. My name is Lin Chongzhe."
It was Jiang Cheng's first time meeting Lin Chongzhe.
He had a lean build, wore a well-pressed white lab coat, and had a pair of thin-framed black glasses on his face. The eyes behind the lenses were gentle and spirited, exuding a scholarly air and the refined, steady demeanor unique to researchers.
His overall aura was humble yet not timid; he was the leader of the base's core R&D group.
Jiang Cheng raised a hand in a supportive gesture, his tone friendly: "Professor Lin is too polite. I've come today to check on things. By the way, where is Jolins? No, I mean Professor Chen. Has he been cooperative lately?"
Professor Lin was taken aback for a moment, then nodded with a smile: "You mean Old Chen. He's very cooperative. I'll take you there now. He lives on the west side of the base; we specially arranged a small villa for him."
Qiu Yihe followed behind the two of them, completely confused.
But seeing this setup, she could already tell that this was likely some kind of R&D base.
As for what was being researched, she hadn't figured that out yet.
Qiu Yihe couldn't help but tug at the corner of Jiang Cheng's clothes and asked in a low voice, "Hey, who are Jolins and Professor Chen you mentioned?"
Seeing her look like a curious child, Jiang Cheng smiled and replied, "Do you remember the first time I took you to the Security Bureau?"
Qiu Yihe thought for a moment and then nodded: "I remember..."
"At that time, I went in to see Jolins, but now he has changed his name to Chen Jingzhou."
"Jolins, changed his name?" Qiu Yihe's brow furrowed tightly.
But she soon had an epiphany: "So, you turned him? What does this base develop?"
Jiang Cheng wasn't surprised that she understood his words so quickly.
After all, she was someone who had attended the police academy for five years.
"Chip Research and Development Base."
Hearing this, Qiu Yihe understood instantly.
"So this is the collaborative R&D base you mentioned in your call with Director Wang..."
Jiang Cheng nodded: "Exactly. Because we have Professor Chen Jingzhou, our current research has made great progress."
Qiu Yihe stared at Jiang Cheng for several seconds before asking, "So you brought this Professor Chen back from Tyrande?"
"Oh, you're quite smart..."
Jiang Cheng had already discovered that Qiu Yihe didn't fit the description of 'big breasts and no brains' at all.
On the contrary, she was very clever.
From the fact that she rejected her Great-Grandfather's job arrangements, it could be seen that she had some depth of character.
While they were talking, Lin Chongzhe, who was leading the way, said, "President Jiang, we're almost there..."
After passing through clusters of lab buildings and greenery, a detached villa with a small courtyard appeared before them.
Tropical plants were planted in the courtyard, giving off a somewhat exotic atmosphere.
When they pushed the door open, the scene in the living room made Qiu Yihe freeze on the spot, her eyes wide and round.
A middle-aged man with blonde hair and blue eyes was sitting on the sofa.
At this moment, he had an arm around a woman on each side.
Two pretty women in Thai clothing were leaning in his arms, and on the sofa next to them sat a woman with a slightly protruding belly, gently peeling fruit for the man.
"Old Chen, President Jiang is here to see you," Professor Lin said with a smile.
Jolins snapped his head around at the words.
When he saw clearly that it was Jiang Cheng, his eyes instantly lit up, and his face was flooded with uncontrollable excitement.
He quickly let go of the women in his arms, his steps hurried as he stood up, and he even reached out both hands, walking toward Jiang Cheng with long strides.
Disregarding decorum, he gave him a forceful hug.
"Oh my god! Jiang Cheng! I've finally seen you again!" His voice was clearly full of joy, his tone trembling with excitement, and even his arms were tense, clearly showing his heartfelt happiness.
In the face of his overly enthusiastic behavior, Jiang Cheng maintained a polite smile.
He raised his hand and gently pushed him away, saying in fluent English, "It seems you are very satisfied with your current life."
Chen Jingzhou nodded vigorously, clenched his fist, and waved it in front of his chest in a common Western gesture of encouragement.
With a face full of genuine smiles, he said, "Very satisfied! I don't even know how to thank you!"
After speaking, he immediately waved at the three women who had already stood up, gesturing for them to come over, his tone full of cherish, "Come here, quickly thank President Jiang. If it weren't for him, we might never have been together again in this lifetime."
Hearing this, the three women immediately walked forward gracefully, bowed slightly to Jiang Cheng, and thanked him in unison in somewhat unfluent but clear Chinese: "Thank you, President Jiang."
Just as the three women bowed in thanks and Jolins was full of excitement and gratitude,
the clear and pleasant system notification sounded in Jiang Cheng's mind again:
"Ding! Detected that core character 'Jolins' emotional anchor is completely stable, family fulfillment has reached its peak, and the special side quest 'Stabilizing the Core' completion progress has reached 100%!"
"Based on the target character's current extreme satisfaction and gratitude, as well as his family's collective high recognition of the Host, Jolins' personal loyalty to the Host has experienced an explosive leap! [Name: Jolins]"
"[Age: 55 years old.]"
"[Height: 185]"
"[Weight: 90]"
"[favorability value: 100]"
"[Loyalty: 100]"
Qiu Yihe stood to the side, her eyes wide and round, her face full of shock.
To be honest, she thought she would see an academic elite.
But she didn't expect that this Jolins was just an old foreign man obsessed with women.
This was too different from what she had just imagined.
Seeing this, Jiang Cheng glanced at the women.
The appearances of these women were typical of Southeast Asian looks.
There was an exotic feel in their eyes.
But judging by the aesthetics of us Chinese people,
none of these women could be considered outstanding; they could even only be described as ordinary.
They were quite different from the Jiang Man that Mario had arranged when he went to Tyrande before.
However, this might be the difference between Chinese and Western aesthetics.
Just as we Chinese look at foreigners, most of us also feel they look similar.
Similarly, when foreigners look at us of Asian descent, they often can't distinguish the subtle differences.
These women in front of him might have just hit Jolins' aesthetic sweet spot, which was why he was so obsessed with them.