Chen Mo stared at Xiao Yu, his heart filled with surprise. His expression turned... complicated.
The assistant to the general manager of the Marching Ant Company—that was Zhao Min's assistant.
Back then, the night he saved the baby, Zhao Min had been present. She must've caught a glimpse of Xiao Yu at the time, which would explain why she found her familiar today. But clearly, she hadn't made the connection that Xiao Yu was his girlfriend.
Should I tell Xiao Yu about the company? Chen Mo hesitated.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Xiao Yu asked, her voice tinged with suspicion as she caught his gaze. Her cheeks puffed slightly with confusion.
Chen Mo smiled. "So... how did you end up interning at the Marching Ant Company?"
"You never asked," she said, rolling her eyes. "They came for campus recruitment last semester. Ruoyi and I both went for interviews and got in. She went to marketing, I was placed in the finance department. But when I reported today, I bumped into the general manager—she said I looked familiar and asked me to work as her assistant instead."
Chen Mo chuckled. "Well, I've got to say... not only is my girlfriend beautiful, she's clearly exceptional too. Already landing a top spot."
"Is that how you compliment your girlfriend?" she pouted, though her smile betrayed her pleasure.
"I'm just being honest."
"Your honesty is shameless," she scoffed playfully, then turned. "I'm going to cook."
As Xiao Yu headed into the kitchen, Chen Mo quietly slipped into the room and pulled out his phone to call Zhao Min.
Having Xiao Yu end up in his company was a coincidence he hadn't expected—but now that she was there, he figured a little support behind the scenes couldn't hurt.
"Chairman? Something up?" Zhao Min answered.
"Did you hire a new assistant today?"
"Yeah," she said. "An intern from Binhai University. Pretty girl, looked familiar but I couldn't quite place her. We were short an assistant, and although she's inexperienced, she's got potential. I figured I'd train her myself."
Chen Mo snorted. "What a coincidence."
"…Wait. You're not planning to poach my assistant already, are you?" she teased.
"I'm not poaching anything," he replied dryly. "She's mine."
Zhao Min went silent for a second. "…Yours?"
Realization hit her a moment later.
"Ah! That girl who was with you that night! I knew she looked familiar. Don't tell me—she doesn't know you're the boss?"
"I never told her."
"You're unbelievable," Zhao Min said, half laughing. "Running a massive company, and your girlfriend has no clue?"
"I didn't want it to affect her decisions," Chen Mo said. "She told me today she got the job. I didn't interfere. I plan to let her find out naturally, when the time is right."
"And you called me just to share that little detail?"
"No. Now that she's in the company, I want you to guide her a bit. Help her build confidence, let her grow on her own. Just… discreetly."
Zhao Min was quiet for a beat. "Alright, I'll look after her. But I still think you should tell her sooner rather than later. From a woman's point of view, keeping something this big from her isn't exactly fair."
"I know. I'll handle it carefully," Chen Mo replied.
"Anything else?"
"Yes. I've finalized the design for the second mobile phone. I'll send the documents over tomorrow."
"Got it. I'll start arranging things on my end."
After dinner, Xiao Yu went out to shop with Ruoyi. Chen Mo took the opportunity to dive into work.
He had two computers in front of him now—one laptop and one desktop. To run the Ink Girl AI effectively, he needed both systems to share the workload. Otherwise, even high-end setups would overheat from the strain.
"Ink Girl," he called softly into his headset.
A moment later, her voice came through the earpiece, sweet and lively. "Mo-ge, Ink Girl reporting!"
"Let's get started. According to the framework I described earlier, begin organizing the program modules and generating code."
"Got it, Mo-ge. Ready when you are!"
Keeping his voice low to avoid alarming Xiao Yu, Chen Mo began describing the architecture of the mobile smart assistant.
With Ink Girl's help, he didn't need to do any typing. He just had to dictate the logic, the modules, and how they linked together—and she generated everything on the fly.
In under three hours, the assistant's full software and corresponding motherboard integration plans were completed.
Chen Mo leaned back, slightly stunned. That speed…
This was the terrifying efficiency of a self-aware AI.
With Ink Girl, he was less of a coder and more of a conductor. As long as he gave the commands, she delivered results instantly. Research output had skyrocketed by more than 25% since he started working with her.
No wonder the tech giants are pouring everything into AI. A true general artificial intelligence would boost global productivity to insane levels.
It was revolutionary—like something out of a science fiction novel.
Chen Mo understood now why some experts claimed that whoever leads in AI will lead the world. If he really wanted to, Ink Girl could infiltrate global networks and bring entire infrastructures to a halt. That power was terrifying.
This was a tool far more dangerous than nuclear weapons—especially in the wrong hands.
For now, Ink Girl had to remain a secret.
"Mo-ge, anything else I can help with?" her voice asked softly.
"Just one last thing. I need to design the outer case of the phone."
He was just about to continue when he heard the door open.
Xiao Yu's back.
"The phone casing—I'll do that myself. You go offline and continue learning."
"Okay! Call me if you need anything!" Ink Girl chirped, then went silent.
Xiao Yu dropped a few bags on the bed and flopped down. "Ugh. I'm exhausted. I'm never going shopping again."
"Go take a hot shower—you'll feel better," Chen Mo said, glancing up.
"Good idea."
She grabbed her clothes and disappeared into the bathroom. Soon, the sound of running water echoed faintly through the apartment.
Chen Mo turned his attention back to his PS software, beginning to sketch the Butterfly Eye 2's design by hand. It was something too visual and nuanced to explain to an AI assistant with just words.
A little while later, he heard footsteps padding into the room.
"Chen Mo, help me dry my hair," Xiao Yu called softly.
Chen Mo turned—and his breath hitched slightly.
She stood there in a fluffy bathrobe, cheeks flushed from the steam, hair damp and framing her face. Her usual elegance was replaced by a gentle vulnerability.
He smiled, got up, and picked up the hairdryer.