Joining My Company Means Being Mine

MFC originally started its journey by manufacturing automobile components.

Under the leadership of Jerome, who took office, sweeping reforms were initiated, with a primary focus on research and development.

In a mere four to five years, over ten patents were filed, elevating the company's international standing significantly.

From this perspective, Jerome demonstrated great foresight.

"This is our research and development laboratory. There are three levels of identity authentication to enter the main research area, including iris recognition and facial recognition. Later, our HR department will input your information into the system," Jerome explained.

Leaning towards the verification screen, he even winked charmingly at the camera.

As the door opened, he turned back to Vivian, revealing a row of pearly white teeth.

"Our research developed this verification system, incorporating dynamic authentication in facial scans for added security."

Indeed, a typical CEO, always demanding the development of seemingly unnecessary features.

Vivian struggled to imagine herself making facial expressions at a machine every day.

She rubbed her temples, realizing that Jerome's presence alone was challenging her limits.

Suddenly, a serious question crossed her mind, "Do you appear here frequently?"

At these words, a knowing expression appeared on Jerome's face.

The young girl couldn't contain her impatience, inadvertently revealing her true intention to get close to him even before starting work.

Logically, as the helm of the entire company, he did not need to frequent the R&D department.

However, given the clear indications from his fan base, he didn't mind indulging the girl's small requests.

Just as he was about to say that he could come often, he had second thoughts.

Instead, he decided not to set expectations for the girl and planned to surprise her when he appeared later.

Vivian might be even happier that way.

Feeling like a seasoned idol with devoted fans, he casually said, "I have millions of things to attend to every minute. Who has time to bother with such trivial matters? If there are developments, they would find time to report to me."

That's good.

Vivian breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't want to spend every day for the next three months in close quarters with this immature CEO.

"Jerome, why did you come over?"

As soon as they entered the research lab, a man in work clothes emerged from the workshop.

Taking off his protective goggles, he frowned at the woman behind Jerome.

"Who is this? Visits are generally not allowed in the research base."

"She's with me," Jerome said.

With hands in his pockets, he said, "This is Vivian Sharp from the Car R&D Center. For the next three months, she will be working with you on R&D, primarily assisting in improving certain functionalities."

Then he turned to Vivian, "this is Len Mill, the leader of our R&D center."

Vivian had heard of Len before.

He was the first foreign member of a core research team in a German automobile company.

For some unknown reason, he returned to the home country and joined MFC, sparking heated discussions in the industry.

In fact, Vivian and Len had a connection a few years ago in a global automotive design competition.

Representing different research institutes, they competed against each other.

In the final showcase, Vivian slightly outperformed Len, winning the championship.

Vivian admired Len, despite his abilities not matching hers.

Qualifying to compete with her on the same stage was no easy feat.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Vivian greeted, "Nice to see you again. Please show me the control panel."

Len, wearing rimless glasses, furrowed his brow.

He didn't have a favorable impression of Vivian.

The girl was too arrogant.

Although his team regretfully secured second place in their past encounter, he always believed that Vivian benefited from her gender.

Female engineers were scarce in the automotive industry, and in that competition, she was the only female finalist, earning her extra points during the presentation.

Unexpectedly, these two individuals who had a history of rivalry were now crossing paths at MFC.

Moreover, the backdrop of this meeting was Vivian's criticism of the car he had dedicated years to developing, refusing to issue a safety certificate.

Len was quite unpleasant.

"Vivian is an engineer herself. Doesn't she know the rules? Even if it's a publicly unveiled car, not everyone is entitled to see its core technology. The reason German automotive technology has stayed at the forefront for so many years is that it manages the confidentiality of core technology well. After all, no technology could avoid the risk of being replicated."

Upon hearing this, Vivian was not angered but rather amused.

Crossing her arms, she said, "You've misunderstood. The reason German technology has maintained a global high standard is that they haven't stopped innovating and can accept opposing opinions. Excuse my bluntness, but you've spent seven or eight years developing only this one car with safety performance. There's really no need to worry about your technology being copied, especially since any accidents would be on you, not the alleged copier."

"You!"

Len took a half step forward in anger, but eventually gave up, muttering, "Sharp-tongued. No wonder it's said that women and villains are equally hard to deal with."

Throughout her career, Vivian detested people bringing her gender into discussions.

And Len's comment directly lowered her opinion of men in general.

With a slightly cold expression, she retorted, "When someone hits the sore spot, they blame it on gender. It seems that besides lacking in professionalism, your character is also subpar."

The air was thick with the scent of gunpowder.

When Jerome agreed to Vivian's involvement, he didn't anticipate this much.

Both sides signed a confidentiality agreement, thinking everything was foolproof.

However, Len's objection was unexpected.

Without proper communication in advance, Jerome had to take some responsibility.

Massaging his temples, he sighed, "Len, bringing gender into this discussion is indeed inappropriate. Vivian is here to solve problems, and there's no need to be so tense. Besides, frankly speaking, this matter is already decided, and you don't have the power to veto it."

Len heard Jerome's words, and his face darkened.

He remained motionless, his expression filled with stubborn defiance.

Vivian didn't expect Jerome to speak up for her.

She could understand why Len stood still; engineers could be quite stubborn at times.

Before coming, Vivian had done some research on Jerome.

He studied economics and management at an ordinary university for his undergraduate degree, with little knowledge of automobiles.

However, his notable trait was talent appreciation, coupled with foresight.

After joining MFC, he invested heavily in talent acquisition, creating a top-notch domestic core R&D team within a year.

Originally, Vivian didn't want to get involved personally.

However, considering how foolish this guy was, if she offended the R&D team and caused paralysis in core development, she would become a historical villain.

Closing her eyes, Vivian even imagined a pitiful Jerome wiping away tears.

She sighed, surveyed the surroundings, and then fixed her gaze on the screen control panel next to the automatic door.

With determined strides, she walked over.

Amid the puzzled looks of the two, Vivian stared at the screen for a few seconds, then swiftly tapped her slender fingers on it.

Len frowned, thinking of stepping forward to stop her, but Jerome held him back.

In just a few seconds, a car inside the research factory, separated by a glass window, started automatically and drove straight towards them.