Chapter 3124 — Jingjing's Confession

Wei Zhao was caught between laughter and tears. "You invented this yourself. Even if you hadn't given it to me and had gone straight to the Liu family of the secular world to cooperate, I couldn't have said a word against it. And you're thanking me?"

"Not at all—Jingjing's things are Brother Wei Zhao's things. Jingjing has no head for decisions anyway!" Han Jingyi nestled against Wei Zhao's chest, as docile as a little bird.

"Good grief, Brother Arrowhead, you sure don't waste time. Sure, Jingjing's got the seal of approval from both me and Sister Yaoyao, but you can't go hugging and cuddling right at the front gate the moment Sister Yaoyao's gone. At the very least, do it inside the villa—and bring Xiaoshu along while you're at it!" Shen Yushu's voice suddenly came from behind Wei Zhao.

Blushing with embarrassment, Han Jingyi wriggled free of Wei Zhao's embrace and looked at Shen Yushu. "Jingjing was a little tired, and Brother Wei Zhao was just steadying me..."

"I understand, I understand... Huh? What's this fun-looking thing?" Shen Yushu pointed at the automatic first-tier pill cauldron in Wei Zhao's hands.

"This is a wonderful thing Jingjing invented..." Wei Zhao said, and went on to explain the automatic first-tier pill cauldron's functions to Shen Yushu.

"No way? Jingjing, you're amazing! This time Brother Arrowhead's struck it rich—he's going to be a tycoon!" Shen Yushu's eyes went wide as she stared at the automatic first-tier pill cauldron in Wei Zhao's hands.

"Hehe..." Wei Zhao chuckled, and Han Jingyi, flattered by the praise, grew a little shy.

"Oh, right, Brother Arrowhead—this thing has a computer program inside, doesn't it?" Shen Yushu suddenly asked.

"Yes, of course it does." Wei Zhao nodded.

"Then you'd better watch out. If there's a computer program in there, it absolutely has to be encrypted. Those ancient sects and hidden families may not understand it themselves, but what if someone among their acquaintances does? If it gets pirated, our product won't sell at all!" Shen Yushu warned.

"You're right. There are so many knockoffs these days—if someone counterfeits it once it's out, the loss would far outweigh the gain." Taking Shen Yushu's warning to heart, Wei Zhao nodded in full agreement. "Xiaoshu, you've thought it through more thoroughly than either Jingjing or I did!"

"That's right, Brother Wei Zhao—Xiaoshu's right, it has to be encrypted!" Han Jingyi nodded as well. "But Jingjing isn't good at the hacker side of things—encrypting and decrypting computer programs. And I wouldn't quite feel at ease asking an outsider for help. That's a real problem..."

"Hacker?" Wei Zhao suddenly smiled. "As it happens, I have a good friend whose computer skills are superb—hacking especially. Handing it to her should be no problem at all. And I have two master's wives who are also experts in computing. Once the program is encrypted, those ancient sects and hidden families probably won't be able to copy it even if they try!"

"That's good..." Shen Yushu was a little surprised; she hadn't expected Wei Zhao to know people with such talents.

"Then, Brother Wei Zhao, you go ahead and take care of this first. Here's a flash drive—the design plans for this automatic first-tier pill cauldron and the source code for its microcontroller are all on it. You can start looking into production, and Jingjing will go back and continue her research!" Han Jingyi said.

"Continue your research? What else is there to research? Isn't this enough?" Wei Zhao was briefly taken aback.

"This is only first-tier! There's still second-tier and third-tier. First-tier is easier, though—after testing it many ways, Jingjing found that titanium alloy can replace the materials for a first-tier cauldron. But second-tier cauldrons aren't so easy. Without a substitute, there's no way to mass-produce and market them, so Jingjing has to keep working hard!" Han Jingyi said.

"Then I'll leave it to you!" Wei Zhao didn't try to stop her; instead he encouraged her. "Jingjing, from now on, making money is all up to you."

"Mm-hm, yes! From now on, Jingjing will be Brother Wei Zhao's money tree!" Han Jingyi smiled, waved goodbye to Wei Zhao, and happily ran back to her own villa.

"Brother Wei Zhao, do you think Han Jingyi approached you, helped you refine pills, and even invented this thing for you—do you think she has some ulterior motive?" Once Han Jingyi had left, Shen Yushu suddenly spoke up.

"Hm?" Wei Zhao was momentarily startled. Shen Yushu rarely spoke to him in such a formal tone—so if she was saying it this way, it must be important. "I can't see it. It's hard to imagine she'd have any motive."

"Right? What motive could a girl who's willing to give her very life for you possibly have?" Shen Yushu shook her head in confusion. "Xiaoshu can't quite figure it out either. Han Jingyi helps you so much and even makes such a miraculous thing for you to earn money—could it really be that she simply worships Brother Arrowhead, just like Xiaoshu does?!"

"Pfft..." Wei Zhao was torn between laughter and exasperation at Xiaoshu's words. "If she were like you, that would mean her scheming runs deep too..."

"How mean! Brother Arrowhead's mocking Xiaoshu for being scheming..." Shen Yushu was displeased.

"It's not mockery. At least you'd never do me harm, right?" Wei Zhao smiled. "I don't think Han Jingyi would either, so no matter what, if she doesn't say anything, I won't ask. She's already given far too much for me..."

"And Sister Yaoyao too," Shen Yushu reminded him.

"Yes. Once things here are settled, I'll make a trip to the Dark Night Palace to visit Yaoyao." Wei Zhao nodded solemnly.

Only then did Shen Yushu happily go back to watch TV.

After returning to his room, Wei Zhao dialed Xiao Jiu's number. Some things, once he had chosen to face them, Wei Zhao would not shy away from. Having accepted both the young lady and Han Jingyi in succession had brought about a shift in his mindset.

Since the people around him had changed because of his arrival, and that change was irreversible, why should he still try to resist it? Better to let nature take its course!

"Eagle?" The Ninth Princess was briefly taken aback when she received Wei Zhao's call.

"From now on, just call me Wei Zhao—or, like Xiao Qi does, call me Brother A-Yi," Wei Zhao said. "The codename Eagle is no longer in use."

"Huh?" The Ninth Princess was rather surprised. "You're not going to keep things strictly business with me anymore?"

"No matter what, nothing can change the fact that we grew up together. So why change it?" Wei Zhao said with a smile. "Xiao Jiu, have you thought it over? About your birth parents and your brother."

"I'm planning to go and see. If the Successor really can cure the illness in my body, then I'd rather become the Successor. Sitting in a wheelchair every day and finding sunlight more and more unbearable—it's simply too painful..." Xiao Jiu said. "Don't change the subject. What you mean is, you've decided to accept me?" (To be continued)