Before Jiang Yubai could respond, Lin Zhixia wrapped her arms around his neck and fed him another dose of love potion: "You'll graduate from university next year, and your time is extremely precious. Besides studying, you have many things to attend to and many activities to plan. Leave this new system development project to me to organize."
Jiang Yubai still hadn't abandoned his original intention.
He questioned Lin Zhixia in detail about her project motivations, launch plans, and future development direction. Lin Zhixia felt as if she were being interviewed by a big company's boss. She tilted her head slightly, leaning close to his ear as she spoke, occasionally planting kisses on him. She noticed with satisfaction that Jiang Yubai's arm around her waist tightened.
Jiang Yubai maintained a professional tone on the surface: "You told me you want to make money. Now you have the technical skills, connections, and ideas... you could start a company to test the waters."
Lin Zhixia shook her head: "I don't have startup capital."
Jiang Yubai finally found his chance to shine: "I'll invest as a capital partner."
Lin Zhixia released his neck and put on a thoughtful expression: "One of my advisor's former students, who graduated the year before last—my senior—founded a quantum information company that specializes in collaborating with biotech firms on quantum molecular applications. He even emailed me, wanting to hire me. He offered this amount..."
Lin Zhixia raised her right hand and showed the number "four."
"Four hundred thousand?" Jiang Yubai guessed.
Lin Zhixia nodded: "An annual salary of four hundred thousand RMB."
Jiang Yubai took her fingers and gently rubbed them in his palm for a moment before she said: "When you touch me like that, it makes me a little ticklish."
Jiang Yubai couldn't help but chuckle softly before releasing her hand. Lin Zhixia placed her hands on his shoulders and stood up. They walked back along a narrow path, discussing the commercial value of "Quantum Technology Company" the entire way.
Lin Zhixia told Jiang Yubai that if she decided to start a business under the "quantum technology" banner, she would provide clients with quantum-safe encryption libraries and create cloud services based on both classical and quantum computing, building a full-stack software development environment.
Lin Zhixia spoke convincingly, and Jiang Yubai listened attentively. He suggested: "After you return to China, let's start a business together."
Many university professors have their own companies, serving as both CEOs and professors. Lin Zhixia had never imagined she would join their ranks. Her tone was hesitant: "Let's wait first. I haven't fully considered it yet."
Jiang Yubai asked about her plans after returning to China.
Lin Zhixia naturally replied: "First, I need to secure a university teaching position and recruit graduate students. Then, I'll buy a new apartment near the university town... Would you live with me?"
Jiang Yubai stopped walking.
Thinking he hadn't heard clearly, Lin Zhixia asked again: "Would you live with me?"
"Of course," Jiang Yubai agreed.
"That's wonderful," Lin Zhixia smiled sweetly.
Lin Zhixia was highly action-oriented. After returning to her room, she immediately began contacting friends and relatives. Just as she had expected, Luo Ying, Feng Yuan, Wen Qi, and Wei Ruoxing all responded to her call.Even Lin Zeqiu reluctantly went along with it. While saying "I don't have that much free time," he still ended up sending his GitHub account to Lin Zhixia.
In less than half a day, Lin Zhixia had gathered five capable members.
After careful consideration, Lin Zhixia realized their team only had six people, each with their own main commitments—this project was just everyone's side activity... To achieve their goals sooner, she should find a few more helpers.
So, Lin Zhixia handwrote an extremely complex physics problem, took a photo, and posted it on her WeChat Moments—she had published a recruitment notice, sincerely inviting any classmates who could solve this problem to join her new system development team.
Deng Shasha was the first to comment: "I can only humbly like this post. Remember me when you make it big."
Lin Zhixia replied to her with a heart emoji.
A while later, Shen Fuxuan privately messaged Lin Zhixia. He sent her the correct answer to the physics problem. Lin Zhixia was pleasantly surprised: "Are you joining our team too?"
Contrary to her expectations, Shen Fuxuan replied: "I don't know much about programming—I'd just hold the team back. Duan Qiyan took computer science classes last semester and wants to learn about your team. But he couldn't solve that problem and feels too embarrassed to talk to you."
Lin Zhixia created a WeChat group named "New System Squad." She added Shen Fuxuan, Duan Qiyan, and Jiang Yubai to the group. Jiang Yubai's username was "JiangJiangJiangJiang." Shortly after he joined the group, Lin Zeqiu tagged him and asked: "Are you Jiang Yubai?"
Besides Jiang Yubai and Lin Zeqiu, the group contained many of Lin Zhixia's classmates. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Jiang Yubai politely responded: "Hello, I'm Jiang Yubai."
Staring at that line of text on the screen, Lin Zeqiu felt inexplicably unsettled. He always felt that Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai were getting too close, though he didn't know how far their relationship had progressed. His sister was only nineteen this year, had always stayed in school, and was quite naive... Someone like Jiang Yubai, born into a wealthy family as a rich second-generation heir, was almost certainly incapable of being devoted to one girl...
Lin Zeqiu's knuckles tapped rhythmically on the table. Although Lin Zhixia was already an adult, he still thought of her as young and couldn't help worrying about her.
The WeChat group gradually grew quiet, as if all members were busy with their own affairs.
Lin Zhixia put down her phone and walked into Jiang Yubai's room, instructing him: "My brother knows you're also studying at Cambridge. If he asks you where I'm living, whatever you do, don't tell him... that I'm living with you. He'd explode, and it would be terrifying. Just say I chose to stay in university housing this semester."
Jiang Yubai didn't want to lie.
This felt like coordinating testimonies.
Seeing his silence, Lin Zhixia quickly stepped in front of him and reiterated: "This is a very serious matter."
Jiang Yubai asked her instead: "If I tell him the truth, how bad could the consequences really be?"
Lin Zhixia pointed toward the sky: "He might take a flight here to confront you in person."Jiang Yubai was different from Lin Zhixia. He wasn't afraid of Lin Zeqiu, and a "confrontation" didn't bother him at all. However, both emotionally and logically, it should be him visiting Lin Zeqiu, not the other way around. After all, Lin Zeqiu would be his future... brother-in-law. Even if they disliked each other at first sight, they still needed to maintain superficial harmony.
While Jiang Yubai was contemplating how to improve his relationship with Lin Zeqiu, Lin Zhixia mistakenly thought he was going to confess everything to Lin Zeqiu, which made her somewhat flustered. Jiang Yubai patted her back: "It's fine, we stand straight and fear no crooked shadows."
"No," Lin Zhixia declared, "My body is crooked, and so is my shadow."
Jiang Yubai asked in return: "Why do you say that?"
Lin Zhixia's voice was barely audible: "Your upper body has been..." Her face slightly flushed as she added with a hint of shame: "...thoroughly explored by me."
Jiang Yubai recalled that night during their Swiss vacation. He sat by the bedside and commented: "You seemed to have quite enjoyed yourself."
"Yes," Lin Zhixia admitted without hesitation.
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