lcionline Chapter 175 Oasis
Chapter 175 Oasis
As dawn broke, the sky outside the window was shrouded in a thin veil, revealing a hazy gray-white hue.
Xie Yan slept very restlessly. A fine layer of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and her chest heaved. Then she suddenly woke up from her dream.
She stared blankly at the ceiling, as if still immersed in the aftermath of the nightmare.
After a while, Xie Yan slowly raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead, then closed her eyes wearily.
Perhaps it was because of this cold that she had some dreams last night. She dreamt that she was on an operating table, and then she dreamt that she was in a car that had been overturned. She kept experiencing death.
The scenes in her dream were so realistic and detailed that Xie Yan almost thought she had died again.
Fortunately, it was just a dream.
After lying in bed for another hour, Xie Yan finally got up to wash up.
The person in the mirror had beautiful features, a delicate nose, and cherry lips, but her lips were slightly pale, her hair was messy, and she looked exhausted.
Xie Yan stared blankly at the faint dark circles under her eyes and her dry lips.
"I can't believe I have moments like this..."
Xie Yan had taken leave from work and openly stayed home for a few days, but she felt bored and had nothing to do at home.
I picked up my phone and scrolled through my contacts and WeChat friends. There were only a few people I could talk to, besides Xie Qingyu and my colleagues.
Without much thought, Xie Yan sent Xie Qingyu a message, unusually simple and unpretentious: 【Have you had dinner?】
Almost instantly, the other party replied with a picture.
The photo is a bit blurry, but you can tell it's a half-eaten pasta dish with a salad and cream soup on the side.
Xie Qingyu: [Eating]
Xie Qingyu is typing...
Xie Qingyu: [Not tasty]
Xie Qingyu: [I want to eat Lao Gan Ma (a popular chili sauce) sandwich]
Upon seeing his message, Xie Yan smiled knowingly and sent him a picture of her breakfast.
Lao Gan Ma chili sauce with a fried egg, sandwiched in a steamed bun, served with a bowl of millet porridge.
Unsurprisingly, Xie Qingyu sent over a devastated emoji: "[Do you believe I'll fly back right now to eat steamed buns?]"
Xie Yan laughed heartily, "Just focus on your work!"
However, this time the other party didn't reply immediately. A minute or two later, they replied: "I do need to discuss work now, let's talk later."
Xie Yan replied with an "ok".
……
Well, nothing to do again.
The life of the rich must be so hard, and so empty.
Perhaps because she had worked up a sweat last night, Xie Yan felt better this time. After finishing breakfast, feeding the pigs, and changing her clothes, she was about to go out when she caught sight of a sneaky figure.
Xie Yan immediately became alert. "Who's outside?"
This neighborhood is supposed to have very tight security, so it couldn't be a thief, could it?
Hearing her stern voice, the person outside the gate slowly shifted their body and poked their head out.
Gao Yang was caught red-handed and his face turned bright red. He didn't even dare to look at Xie Yan, and he stammered, "It was me..."
Seeing his expression, Xie Yan's brows relaxed, but she quickly tightened her face again. "What are you doing here so early in the morning? Looking for me?"
"Um……"
Gao Yang had just graduated from university. She was wearing a simple hooded sweatshirt, and her face was fair and delicate. Standing there, she exuded a clean and innocent aura that made it hard to criticize her.
He lowered his head and pursed his lips. "I went to your workplace these past two days, but the security guard said you were all away recently. I was worried that you might be sick at home and no one would take care of you, so I wanted to come and see you. But I didn't know if you were awake yet, so I didn't dare to ring the doorbell. I'm sorry."
Xie Yan lowered her gaze and saw the bag of cold medicine and steaming hot xiaolongbao he was carrying. She was instantly speechless.
She hadn't seen such a simple-minded young person in a long time, so simple that she felt it would be a sin for her to curse at them.
Xie Yan paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Thank you for your kindness. Why don't you come in and sit down?"
The next second, Gao Yang waved his hands repeatedly, looking horrified, "No, no, I'm afraid of pigs."
The scene of being frightened by a pig here last time was still vivid in Gao Yang's mind. He found it unbelievable that there was a pig weighing several hundred pounds in this exquisite and beautiful villa.
This unexpected answer made Xie Yan laugh.
She couldn't help but laugh.
Xie Yan, who always appears with a mature and capable image, was wearing a white sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers with no makeup on. Her long hair was tied high at the back of her head, and her eyes curved into crescent shapes when she smiled. Her skin was as white as glazed white porcelain in the sunlight, without a single flaw. She was lively and light.
He seemed to have inadvertently broken through the mask of perfection, revealing a more genuine and approachable side.
Gao Yang was stunned, his young heart pounding wildly in his chest.
------
A few days later, Xie Yan finally stepped into the research base for the first time.
There was no other way; she couldn't keep taking leave and avoiding things like this. Although she didn't care about the small amount of salary deducted, the project couldn't be completed anytime soon, and she couldn't stay at home forever.
I finally found this job, I can't let it fall through.
Before she came, she asked Luo Dandan and found out that Shen Yan had only come to inspect once in the past two weeks, which was a very low frequency and within Xie Yan's acceptable range.
However, there is some good news: since the equipment manager and his team joined, progress has indeed been much smoother.
The person in charge on the other end was a man in his forties who looked to be in the tech industry. He wore thick-rimmed glasses, a blue plaid shirt, and had a thinning hairline with a bald patch in the middle of his forehead, making him look somewhat weak.
But Xie Yan just seemed so approachable.
Isn't this just a carbon copy of her former programmer colleagues? They're practically family!
She felt a strange sense of warmth, like meeting an old friend in a foreign land, and greeted him cheerfully, "Hello manager, I'm Xie Yan. It's a pleasure to meet you. What should I call you?"
The man glanced at her, but there was no admiration for her beauty in his eyes; his dark circles were filled with longing for his year-end bonus.
Isn't it just rewriting the code?
Isn't it just a complete program upgrade?
Tiny keyboard!
callme, I'm going to smash it to death!!!
Manager Feng pushed up his glasses with an 800-degree prescription. Seeing that Xie Yan looked quite young, he smiled confidently, unaware that the fine lines at the corners of his eyes made him look like he had a hard life.
"I'm only thirty-one this year, you can just call me Brother Feng."
Thirty-one...
Xie Yan looked at his receding hairline and gave him a knowing smile, along with deep sympathy.
Therefore, a programmer's age is a top secret.
Cui Nan walked over with a cup of coffee in her hand. She seemed to have been resting well recently and looked quite radiant.
She pulled Xie Yan around, looking her up and down. "You've definitely lost weight. You've been sick for so long, you need to eat well. Where's your little puppy?"
"?" Xie Yan looked confused. "What little puppy?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Nan chuckled and leaned closer, winking and making small faces in a low voice.
“That day we were on the phone having a meeting, and after we finished, the phone wasn’t hung up and the speakers weren’t turned off. Didn’t a little boy say he wanted to pick you up and take you home? His little voice was so sweet, everyone heard it.”
"..."
"........."
Feeling the subtle gossip in the eyes of those around her, Xie Yan had a headache. "She's just a former colleague. We're not related. Don't talk nonsense."
Speaking of Gao Yang, Xie Yan's only regret now is telling him that she and Xie Qingyu are not a couple.
When she heard Gao Yang's question, she was almost speechless. But thinking about it, it's normal for outsiders to misunderstand their relationship.
Xie Yan herself seemed to be closing herself off from love, but she couldn't stop Xie Qingyu from finding a girlfriend. He was almost thirty years old here, so Xie Yan had to make a serious clarification.
When Gao Yang heard this, he became even more enthusiastic, sending her chicken soup every day to help her recover.
...If she had known this would happen, she would have preferred not to say anything.
After a brief exchange of jokes, we officially began our work.
In a corner of the base sits a device with its outer shell disassembled but the original components still powered. Complex wiring connects to the control panel, and it is said to be the latest holographic gaming device on the market.
Xie Yan stood in front of the gaming equipment, her eyes slightly brightening, as if she had seen the entrance to another world.
The silver-white helmet display has sleek lines, resembling a product of the future, while the deep blue ambient light gives it a high-tech feel.
She picked up the haptic feedback gloves and tried them on. The soft material fit her palm perfectly, as if they were custom-made for her.
Xie Yan tried clenching her fist and heard a mechanical female voice from the helmet saying "New account login successful".
"So, the palm print is the key to the 'Oasis'..."
For some reason, Xie Yan suddenly became excited.
The robotic arm she researched ten years ago was still a half-finished product. Apart from slapping people, it only caused trouble. She was actually quite regretful that she couldn't develop it to the end. But now, with the current level of technology, a robotic arm is no longer enough.
"Team leader, can I give it a try?"
Xie Yan looked at the motion capture suit being adjusted beside her, her expression eager to try it out.
"Of course, just try it out, and see if there are any other problems."
She put on the helmet, and the world before her suddenly changed, blurring the line between reality and illusion.
Xie Yan smiled slightly, her heart beating faster than usual.
Come on, let me see just how amazing this world is.