Ex-wife becomes the world's number one hacker

Jiang Yin was taken aback; Long Xingyuan rarely called her by her name directly.

She had never seen him so serious before.

Jiang Yin's heart tightened, and she quickly said, "Go ahead."

Long Xingyuan's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice tense: "Are you... single?"

Jiang Yin raised an eyebrow, looking completely astonished.

Seeing Jiang Yin's surprised look, Long Xingyuan, fearing that Jiang Yin would misunderstand, hurriedly added:

"I mean, if I were single, could I... pursue you?"

Regarding the question of whether Jiang Yin was single, he had previously observed the interactions between Jiang Yin and Tang Ning and found that they weren't in that kind of relationship. Later, he asked Li Tianmu about it, but Li Tianmu told him to ask Jiang Yin himself.

His heart sank. Could there be some powerful background behind this? He wanted to ask but dared not, and he remained anxious for a long time.

But now, he felt he couldn't wait any longer. He knew his feelings for Jiang Yin very well, and he was afraid that if he hesitated even slightly, Jiang Yin would be snatched away by someone else.

In any case, he wanted to express his feelings to Jiang Yin as soon as possible.

Jiang Yin was surprised for a second, then realized what was going on. She suddenly realized that Director Long's frequent visits might not be just a routine matter.

Looking at Long Xingyuan's sincere face, Jiang Yin hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell the truth:

"I'm sorry, Director Long, I cannot accept your advances because I am not single."

Long Xingyuan raised his eyebrows high: "But, usually... are you saying that to reject me?"

Jiang Yin raised her hand, tucked a strand of hair that had been blown against her cheek by the night breeze behind her ear, and said calmly:

"Yes, I usually live alone because I'm separated from my spouse and will get a divorce in a few months."

Upon hearing this, Long Xingyuan felt relieved: he had considered many possibilities, but he never expected it to be this reason.

He visibly relaxed, but his smile remained restrained: "...This is not a problem for me."

Then, fearing that Jiang Yin might misunderstand, he quickly added, "I can wait for you to get a divorce."

Now it was Jiang Yin's turn to raise her eyebrows: "You don't mind? I have a son."

"I don't mind. What I like is you as a person, and it has nothing to do with your other qualities." Long Xingyuan looked intently at Jiang Yin.

To be honest, Jiang Yin was quite touched, but she still resolutely told Long Xingyuan:

"I'm sorry, Director Long, even so, I still can't agree to your request." She lowered her head, composed herself, and then looked up sincerely at Long Xingyuan:

"To be honest, my last relationship left me emotionally and physically exhausted. Even after the divorce, I have no plans to enter into another relationship, so I think you shouldn't wait for me."

After a pause, Jiang Yin added sincerely, "Director Long, you are very good, you deserve better."

Long Xingyuan chuckled lightly and waved his hand gently:

"Don't rush to give me the 'friend zone' card. Since you're not divorced yet, it's really inconvenient to discuss this. I just want to say, after your divorce, when you're thinking about other people, please consider me first, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yin anxiously waved her hand and said, "Director Long, please don't..."

Long Xingyuan smiled, raised his index finger to his lips, and shushed him. "Don't rush into a decision. I won't put any pressure on you. Let's continue our relationship as before. We can discuss everything after your divorce, okay?"

Jiang Yin frowned helplessly: "..."

During a break from the employee get-together, Tang Ning glanced at Jiang Yin's seat and suddenly realized that she was gone.

He was startled and quickly pulled away to look around.

Seeing this, Li Tianmu followed: "What's wrong?"

"Xiao Yin is missing." Tang Ning's voice was a little tense.

The two quickly took a few steps away. In the dim light, about ten meters away, in the direction of the grassland, stood two figures, one tall and one short. They were Long Xingyuan and Jiang Yin, seemingly talking about something.

Tang Ning was about to step over when Li Tianmu stopped her: "Don't go, we might be discussing private matters."

"Hmm? What private matter?" Tang Ning frowned as she looked at Li Tianmu, then suddenly realized:

"You mean, Long Xingyuan has feelings for Xiaoyin?"

"You... just realized that?" Li Tianmu pouted.

Li Tianmu squatted down, and Tang Ning followed suit, squatting down on the grass.

"It's no use being interested," Tang Ning said confidently. "Xiao Yin will definitely reject him."

"Why?" Li Tianmu raised an eyebrow. "Because we're not divorced?"

Tang Ning clicked her tongue: "Not being divorced is one thing, but the most important thing is that she's cut off this nerve, so she'll probably have a hard time falling in love with anyone."

Li Tianmu looked at the two people talking and said, "Brother Yuan keeps coming to your company, haven't you noticed anything wrong?... You two are really oblivious in this regard."

Li Tianmu lowered his head, picked a blade of grass from the ground, and threw it in front of him.

Tang Ning glanced at Li Tianmu and curled her lip: "Can we be compared to you? Where have you young masters gone, thinking about romance and poetry? What about us?...

He didn't say his next sentence: "Our first reaction is always whether it's safe here, and where we can evacuate if something happens. That's just how young masters are; they're the epitome of 'let them eat cake.'"

He also plucked a blade of grass and threw it forward, farther than Li Tianmu.

Li Tianmu: "..."

The following morning, the activity the group had arranged was horseback riding.

Long Xingyuan kept his word and treated Jiang Yin as naturally as before.

This put Jiang Yin at ease.

In truth, Long Xingyuan's confession last night left her completely unmoved. Her plans for the rest of her life consisted only of doing her job well and raising Se Se; there were no other options.

Wise people do not fall in love.

She didn't know which expert said this, but it was indeed accurate, and she didn't want to cause herself any more trouble.

At this moment, facing the rising sun, riding her horse across the vast grassland, listening to the whistling wind in her ears, she felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

With each hoofbeat landing and the earth echoing deeply, her heartbeat gradually merged with the rhythm—thump, thump, thump, no longer a chaotic and hurried drumbeat, but a deep drumbeat that resonated with heaven and earth.

She suddenly felt like crying, yet also wanted to burst into laughter.

The world is vast, and all those worries and fears lost their weight at this moment, allowing her to regain the freedom to breathe.

Her brows relaxed, the corners of her mouth turned up, and a long-lost relaxed smile bloomed on her face.

She knew that she had finally broken free from that emotional barrier.

After galloping for a while, Jiang Yin straightened up slightly, gently pulled on the reins, and slowed the horse down.

Tang Ning rode up from behind, and the two jogged side by side.

"How is it?" Tang Ning asked Jiang Yin. "Feeling alright?"

Jiang Yin turned to look at Tang Ning, and said loudly with a smile, "Fantastic!"

Looking at Jiang Yin's bright smile, Tang Ning knew that this trip to the grasslands was the right one.

Jiang Yin patted the big black horse beneath her and said to Tang Ning, "This horse looks a lot like the one I used to have. It was a 15th birthday present from my grandmother when it was only 4 months old."

She paused, gazed at the distant horizon, and said wistfully, "It's a pity I only had it for two years. When I ran away at seventeen, I had no way to settle it. It's probably been auctioned off by the horse farm, or kept by the farm as a teaching horse."

"Don't think about unhappy things anymore, how about we have a competition?" Tang Ning wrapped the reins of the chestnut horse under her hand.

"Walk!"

The return trip took place after lunch. Unlike the excitement of the arrival, everyone was exhausted after two days of intense sightseeing, and many fell asleep as soon as they got on the bus.

The four of them were in a car, driven by Tang Ning. He said he slept well last night and was still full of energy.

As they approached the outskirts of Beijing, Li Tianmu woke up and needed to use the restroom. Tang Ning found a small gas station nearby and parked the car.

While Li Tianmu and Long Xingyuan went to the restroom, Tang Ning and Jiang Yin also got out of the car to stretch their muscles. The two slowly strolled to the roadside and looked at the grove of trees covered with white flowers on the opposite hillside.

"What kind of tree is this? The flowers are quite beautiful, a whole white expanse," Jiang Yin pointed across the street and asked Tang Ning.

Tang Ning shaded his eyes with his hand and observed carefully for a moment. "It should be an apple tree."

Just then, a small van drove past them.

Gu Liqi, sitting in the van, spotted Jiang Yin by the roadside and was startled, so he looked down: What's that stubborn brat doing here?

The van quickly turned left at the next intersection and onto the road leading uphill.

Gu Liqi straightened up; he couldn't let anyone see him here now.

Since the start of the "big business," he has been very cautious in his words and actions.

He set up the production site of the "big business" in the Gong Hai family's orchard, a barren mountain that the Gong Hai family had contracted.

There are ready-made houses in the orchard, with running water and electricity.

Gong Hai asked his father to let him look after the orchard. His usually lazy and unambitious son was unusually eager to improve, which made Gong Hai's father very happy, and he naturally agreed.

Now, the only people here are Gu Liqi, Gong Hai, Li Changpeng, and the master craftsman in charge of manufacturing—Xiao Liuzi.

Xiao Liuzi was Gu Liqi's college classmate, and in their chemical engineering college, he was a god-like figure.

During the college entrance examination, I got a perfect score in chemistry, but all my other subjects combined didn't reach 100. Even at this private university, I barely passed the minimum requirement.

When Gu Liqi decided to embark on this "great undertaking," it was because he remembered Xiao Liuzi.

After this period of operation, two batches of products were produced, but the product purity was not good, and the price could not be increased.

In response to this problem, Gu Liqi adjusted the raw material procurement channels, hoping it would help improve the purity of the product.

Upon arriving at a courtyard nestled in a mountain valley, Gu Liqi and Li Changpeng jumped out of the car.

Li Changpeng shouted into the house, "Xiao Liu, come and get the goods."

"Here you are." A thin man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face emerged from the house, wearing a stained apron.

He quietly helped unload the goods, moving quickly and efficiently; one of his hands had six fingers.