Chapter 23: When was she ever in a relationship with Chen Qingyue?

Song Ye kept his hands in his pockets and carelessly tilted his head to look at her for a moment.

He noticed the trace of cunning inadvertently revealed in her eyes.

He looked away and said indifferently, “Jiang Nanshu, are you testing me?”

Jiang Nanshu: “……”

Her thoughts were exposed, and her face heated up.

She lowered her head and remained silent.

The elevator stopped on the sixth floor, and a young couple entered.

The father was holding a three or four-year-old boy, while the young mother carried a small backpack.

Song Ye took a step back and stood beside her.

Their sleeves lightly brushed against each other, pressing together.

Jiang Nanshu suddenly felt a slight sense of oppression.

She blinked and then heard his cool voice coming from above her head, “Who are you meeting?”

The little boy lay on his father’s shoulder, his big eyes blinking as he stared at Jiang Nanshu.

Facing his innocent gaze, Jiang Nanshu found it hard to lie.

She remained silent for three seconds.

“Big sister, my parents said that when someone asks you something, you have to answer.

Otherwise”

Before he could finish, his father covered his mouth with a swift motion.

He was so skilled at it that it was frightening.

It seemed like he often had to silence his son.

Jiang Nanshu: “……”

Otherwise what? Otherwise, it would be impolite?

The atmosphere stiffened slightly.

Something awkward spread in the air.

The little boy’s mother turned back with an embarrassed and apologetic smile, “Sorry, kids just say whatever comes to mind.”

“It’s nothing, kids are innocent.”

Song Ye chuckled lightly.

His body leaned slightly toward her, and he lowered his head, whispering near the top of her head, “I’m asking you, hmm?”

This kind of deliberate teasing didn’t seem like him.

Jiang Nanshu’s cheeks grew warm.

She stiffened her neck and replied expressionlessly, “Jia Jia.”

Song Ye sneered, “Oh.”

“……”

Jiang Nanshu suddenly felt embarrassed and frustrated, as if she had tried to be clever but ended up making a fool of herself.

Ding

The elevator reached the first floor.

Without hesitation, she quickly walked out.

“I’m leaving first.”

She exited the building, took a deep breath, pulled out her phone, and sent a message to Cheng Jiajia:

[If I’m not mistaken, Song Ye really seems to be pursuing me.]

Cheng Jiajia: [!!!!]

Cheng Jiajia: [Busy, tell me everything tonight!]

Shu: [Alright……]

Today was the finalization of the project.

The whole team was busy like they were at war.

At around five o’clock in the afternoon, Song Ye was still in the R&D department doing final tests.

Zhou Jiale stretched her neck to look in that direction, feeling a bit anxious, “Can we finalize it before six? I feel like we might not make it……”

Jiang Nanshu knew she was eager for her date.

She glanced at the clock in the bottom right corner of her computer screen.

“There’s still half an hour, just wait.”

She opened the project directory again, intending to test the uploaded fix from the afternoon.

The S-level and A-level bugs in this version had already been resolved.

Song Ye, seeing that there was still time, was now working on fixing B and C-level bugs.

Jiang Nanshu had already played through this test version several times.

What impressed her was that each time she played, she discovered new experiences.

Previously, in a meeting, Song Ye had mentioned that Project A’s advantage over other open-world games was the integration of AI technology.

However, AI implementation in games was not yet fully mature.

Even internationally, some game companies had attempted to incorporate AI, but the results were mediocre, often with bugs.

If this technology could be fully optimized, it would be a game-changer.

The NPC in the test version was the first experimental model.

Instead of using pre-written dialogues, the NPC was built with AI, allowing it to interact freely with players.

Jiang Nanshu tested it nearly ten times, and each time, the NPC responded differently based on her choices.

It could even deceive players.

One time, she intentionally attacked the NPC and was led down a false route, almost getting herself trapped.

It was quite interesting.

Just the varied responses of this NPC alone made her want to play it multiple times.

She predicted that the player test data would be very promising.

After another test run, the R&D team uploaded a new version.

Jiang Nanshu checked the time three minutes before six.

Song Ye was incredibly punctual.

In the group chat, Song Ye announced the finalization.

The QA team and programmers stayed behind to wrap things up, while the rest could prepare to leave.

The team instantly burst into excitement.

Zhou Jiale jumped up in joy, then quickly sat down to touch up her makeup.

Jiang Nanshu also started packing her things.

Before she could finish, the admin staff pushed in a snack cart filled with beautifully packaged four-inch cakes in various flavors.

There were also packaged apples and drinks.

“Everyone, take one each.”

It was a reward for finalizing the project.

Jiang Nanshu picked a matcha-flavored cake, planning to share it with Cheng Jiajia later.

She texted Cheng Jiajia to ask if she was ready to leave work.

Cheng Jiajia sent a voice message:

[I still need half an hour.

You got off on time today? You can come over first; by the time you arrive, I should be done.]

Shu: [Okay.]

They had planned to eat Thai food tonight at a mall.

Since it was Christmas, the restaurant was likely packed.

Jiang Nanshu carried her bag and cake, leaving work with Zhou Jiale.

In the elevator, she sighed.

Zhou Jiale, in a good mood, asked, “Why the sigh? Other teams are still working overtime, and we get to leave early!”

Another colleague chimed in, “Right? This team has been broke for a while. It’s been ages since we got any perks.”

Zhou Jiale guessed, “Must be Song Ye who requested it.”

Jiang Nanshu showed her phone screen with the ride-hailing app open.

“Oh, you’re going there too?” Zhou Jiale was excited.

“Then come with us, he’s coming to pick me up and is already downstairs.”

Jiang Nanshu hesitated, “Won’t I be intruding?”

“Of course not! It’s just a thirty-minute ride.”

Once they exited the elevator, Zhou Jiale dragged her along.

They got into a black Volkswagen.

Zhou Jiale opened the back door, poked her head in, and greeted the driver, “Fang Xu, is it okay if my colleague comes with us to the mall?”

The man turned around and smiled, “Of course, get in. I can’t park here for long.”

Fang Xu?

The name sounded familiar.

Jiang Nanshu hesitated but got in.

“Thank you, sorry for the trouble.”

The driver pulled away while smiling, “No trouble at all, it’s on the way.”

Jiang Nanshu sat in the back and caught a glimpse of his face.

He looked vaguely familiar.

But it had been years, and his appearance had changed slightly, so she wasn’t sure.