Pregnant and Pampered: The Heiress in a Military Compound

’Do we really have to do this?’

The team leader stood at the door, silent for a good while. Afraid of being roped into shouting slogans if he entered, he deliberately waited for Xie Changning to finish before knocking.

His timing was perfect, allowing him to dodge a bullet.

Inside, Xie Changning was just about to declare the meeting over when she heard the knock. A perceptive team member by the door went to open it, revealing the team leader standing there, wreathed in smiles.

For some reason, though, she felt his smile held a hint of bitterness.

’Maybe I’m just seeing things?’

The team leader walked in, still smiling broadly. "So lively in here! Are you all celebrating making it to the finals?"

The team leader was playing dumb.

He made no mention of what he’d just overheard.

Xie Changning didn’t bring it up, either. It wasn’t as if she could actually ask her superior to chant slogans. The most she’d do was get him to praise every technician and point out each of their strengths...

When Xie Changning voiced her request, the leader felt that coming to congratulate them today had been a mistake.

’So many people! How much praise would he have to dole out?!’

"Of course!" Though he was reluctant, he agreed cheerfully on the surface.

And so, the leader embarked on his praise tour.

He knew that a little praise now would be good for the competition later, so he didn’t hold back his compliments.

He lauded each person for their many strengths.

The technicians flushed with embarrassment from the praise. But when they turned their heads, they saw Xie Changning trying to stifle a laugh.

The technicians: "?"

’Mr. Xie! Director! What in the world are you laughing at!?’

What else could Xie Changning be laughing at? The leader, of course, for being so gullible!

Once the leader had finished, Xie Changning asked with feigned innocence, "Director, was there something you needed?"

"I came to congratulate you..."

The leader looked at Xie Changning’s triumphant expression and finally realized what had happened.

But he wasn’t angry.

This visit from the leader wasn’t just on his own behalf. "During the semifinals, everyone back home was closely following the competition. The higher-ups have sung your praises for securing a spot in the finals. They also wanted to ask... when can the cellular phone from the semifinals be mass-produced back home?"

"We can’t do that just yet. We haven’t established the signal infrastructure..."

Xie Changning explained to him why they could make and receive calls here abroad.

It was because of the short range.

Back home, the first hurdles would be distance and signal coverage.

Only then would the technology be truly convenient.

"Alright. I’ll relay this to the higher-ups."

Xie Changning nodded, indicating that as long as the signal issue was resolved, she could handle mass production.

After their chat, the team director stood up and left.

He had to make an overseas call to report to his superiors.

Once he was gone, the team members curiously gathered around Xie Changning.

"Director, our cellular phone is so advanced. Are foreign countries going to start coveting our technology?"

"I saw a foreign dignitary yesterday, and his expression looked a little off when he saw the cellular phone."

Sensing the team’s anxiety,

Xie Changning shook her head slightly. "I don’t know if they’re coveting it or not, but I have faith in our country. The nation will protect us and protect our assets."

The team members nodded, reassured by her words.

"Alright, meeting adjourned. I need to rest for a bit."

Even after sleeping all day, Xie Changning felt she hadn’t gotten enough rest.

She still needed to go lie down.

The team members were exhausted as well. With the meeting officially over, they all returned to their rooms to rest.

Once everyone was gone, Xie Changning’s room fell silent.

She lay on the bed, letting her mind go blank.

Just as Xie Changning was about to fall asleep, a knock came at her door. "Hello, ma’am," a voice said from outside. "There is a gentleman downstairs who says he is a friend of yours. He would like to see you."

The staff member’s voice from the hallway startled Xie Changning, who had been dozing with her eyes closed. She snapped them open.

"Tell him to wait downstairs for a moment."

"Yes, ma’am."

Xie Changning got up, went to the bathroom to quickly freshen up, then opened the door and headed downstairs.

She knew that here in a foreign country, the only people who would come to see her, besides the patent lawyer she’d hired, would be Jerry.

Spotting Jerry, Xie Changning greeted him first before her gaze lifted to the patent lawyer who had just walked in.

He was carrying a briefcase, his expression serious.

The lawyer opened his mouth to speak, but upon seeing Jerry sitting across from Xie Changning, he instantly clamped it shut.

"The other technicians are upstairs. Why don’t you go wait there for a bit? I just need to have a word with my friend."

"Yes, Director."

As Xie Changning sent the patent lawyer upstairs, Jerry, who had recently started studying Chinese, heard her words and his eyes lit up.

The word "friend" was one of the vocabulary terms he had just learned!

’She considers me a friend!’

’Just being polite,’ Xie Changning thought.

Jerry, however, took her words to heart and sat up ramrod straight.

When Xie Changning turned back, she saw him self-consciously adjusting his clothes. A flicker of confusion crossed her face. "Is something wrong?"

’Why is he suddenly preening like that?’

"It’s nothing."

Jerry looked a little embarrassed by her question and just shook his head.

Xie Changning didn’t press the issue.

"The staff said you were looking for me?"

"Yes."

Jerry hadn’t forgotten the reason for his visit.

He took two partnership contracts from his briefcase and pushed them across the table to Xie Changning. "My father and I both agree that the two products you’re currently working on have immense commercial value. We’re willing to take a gamble on you."

Xie Changning’s tech was just too impressive.

His father had personally attended and watched the entire semifinal. He’d said that seeing Xie Changning advance to the finals was simply a display of her baseline abilities.

In fact, his father predicted she had a very high chance of becoming the champion.

That’s why they were both willing to take the risk.

"I have to warn you, an official from your country has been very unhappy with me lately. He could make trouble for me at any time. If you partner with me and he finds out, will your company be...?" Xie Changning feigned hesitation.

In reality, she was testing just how powerful Jerry’s father’s connections were.

’He has to have them. Otherwise, Jerry wouldn’t even be here today.’

"No. My father has a classmate..." Jerry stopped mid-sentence.

He didn’t need to continue; Xie Changning understood.

Jerry’s father’s classmate must have a powerful background and be on good terms with his father. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be looking out for him.

With that assurance, a trace of genuine feeling finally entered Xie Changning’s smile. "Oh, my friend, it would be my honor to partner with you!"

She deftly picked up the contracts and began to flip through them.

Jerry: "?"