Back at China Star's No. 2 Lab, after receiving Haifeng's rare praise, the engineers were glowing.
They had long lived under the shadow of Lab No. 1—labeled the "burn money" division with little to show.
But this time, they'd delivered something special: the Azure Dragon 820, a chip capable of rivaling Apple's A-series.
Haifeng stood before the silicon prototype, calm but cautious.
"This chip is powerful—but can we mass-produce it?"
With China's domestic lithography tech still lagging, they had to turn to a foundry in Taiwan.
"It's tight," said Lu Hong, "but we should be able to tape out small batches by August."
Haifeng nodded. That would be enough—if they could scale quickly afterward.
Piaocheng International Airport – Arrival Gate
A young woman walked out of the terminal, attracting stares from all directions.
She was stunning.
Tall, with perfect proportions
White dress fluttering gently
Bright, intelligent eyes
Skin like porcelain
Lips like rose petals
Ye Lingzhi had returned to China.
This is the "tyrannosaurus" Haifeng feared?
Not even close. This was a goddess.
She hailed a taxi and gave the address with a calm smile.
"To the Huaxing Auto Parts Factory, please."
The driver looked confused.
"Don't think there's a place by that name anymore… Oh! Do you mean the old factory that got merged into Huaxing Technology? It's Audi Automotive Company now!"
Ye Lingzhi blinked, a bit lost.
Merged? Audi? What?
The driver went on enthusiastically.
"Huaxing Tech is fantastic! They built their smartphones and even beat foreign brands.
I even bought one—it's called the Hongmeng S1R. Cost me over 3,000 RMB (≈ $413 in 2025), but worth every cent."
Ye Lingzhi was stunned.
"They're building phones now? Since when?"
Her aunt never mentioned any of this. She had no idea Huaxing Tech was this big—or that the auto parts factory had become part of a national tech giant.
"When was it merged?" she asked.
"Wasn't an acquisition. The same boss runs both places.
"Same boss?" Ye Lingzhi asked, heart starting to race.
"Yeah. Young guy. He was barely in his twenties. Last name… Lu, I think?"
The driver shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"My kid's older than him and still doing nothing. This Lu guy built a tech empire before turning 25.
If my son had even a tenth of that talent, I'd laugh in my sleep."
Ye Lingzhi's mind was spinning.
"Please take me to Huaxing Tech HQ."
"Huh? Not the Audi interview?"
"Change of plans."
As the car sped toward the towering center of China's fastest-growing tech company, she sat in silence.
So… the 'crybaby'… turned out like this?