Tan Qianche replied, "Work is going well. I need to make the most of my time guiding students."
Lin Zhixia pondered his wording and grasped his underlying meaning.
What Tan Qianche meant was that Lin Zhixia exercised almost no control over her students, making it difficult for them to maintain high-quality, efficient output. Lin Zhixia even suspected that Tan Qianche regarded her as a student too, subtly teaching her how to become a strict and responsible teacher.
Lin Zhixia felt indignant.
She had her own teaching methods.
Her graduate students were all adults—they could manage their own schedules.
Moreover, many graduate students ended up working in fields unrelated to their majors after graduation. Lin Zhixia wanted her students to discover their interest in research, not force them to work year-round without breaks. Even she had her off days—how could she demand her students remain constantly tense?
The moment she stepped through her front door, Lin Zhixia was still thinking about her teaching issues.
Then, she heard her mother's voice: "Xia Xia, you're back? Why didn't you tell me you'd be home for lunch?"
Mom was home!
The gloom in Lin Zhixia's heart instantly vanished.
That morning, her parents had moved the remaining items from their old house in Ancheng Community and enlisted a real estate agent to help sell the property. Her mother handed her an agency contract to review carefully, but Lin Zhixia said, "Mom, Mom, I want to eat first. I'm so hungry."
Hearing this, her mother hurried to the kitchen.
The phone in Lin Zhixia's pocket vibrated again. She turned on the screen and saw a WeChat message from Jiang Yubai: "How were your classes today?"
With a willing listener appearing, Lin Zhixia poured out everything: "Not very smooth. I taught two classes—after the first one, more than half the seats were empty. Almost all the students from the Software School and Computer Science School left."
Her fingers flew across the nine-key keyboard: "I really hoped the Computer Science students would stay for the lecture, since we're constantly working on creating quantum computers. If the withdrawal rate exceeds seventy percent, this course will be canceled."
A withdrawal rate over seventy percent... wasn't impossible, Jiang Yubai thought.
Long before Lin Zhixia started the course, Jiang Yubai had reviewed her PowerPoint slides.
After all, Jiang Yubai was an outstanding graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge. Trinity College emphasized developing students' mathematical thinking abilities, and Jiang Yubai had some confidence in his own math skills. But after looking through Lin Zhixia's slides, he could only roughly understand a few basic formulas—the rest of the complex theoretical derivations were almost entirely beyond him.
Back when Lin Zhixia studied at Provincial No. 1 High School, classmates often brought her problems, begging for her help. She always managed to explain complex concepts in simple terms to resolve their difficulties. However, based on Jiang Yubai's observations, Lin Zhixia didn't quite grasp the upper limits of ordinary people's comprehension—she was better suited for small classes where she could adjust her approach for each student in real time.
When teaching large undergraduate lectures, she tried to convey the maximum amount of information in the shortest time possible.
No wonder more than half the students had left.Jiang Yubai analyzed for her: "Students are all afraid of failing courses. If they don't pass, they have to retake them, which affects postgraduate recommendations and studying abroad—it's quite troublesome. They ran away not because your class is bad. Your PowerPoint is the most professional, comprehensive, detailed, and theoretically supported undergraduate course PPT I've ever seen."
His fingers paused briefly before typing out that sentence.
Lin Zhixia only asked him one question: "Can you understand it?"
That, right there, was a killer question.
Jiang Yubai felt as if he had been transported back to his elementary school days.
At this moment, Jiang Yubai was dressed in a sharp suit, sitting in his spacious CEO office, while his secretary organized contracts nearby.
Clear sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling across his solid wood desk. The secretary handed him a document with both hands: "President Jiang, the latest version of Jiangke Software's 'Equity Incentive Plan' has been revised according to your previous comments..."
Jiangke Software is a software services company catering to global clients.
The year was 2016, and Jiangke Software was founded in 2011. In just five short years, it had expanded rapidly, maintained a stable client base, and achieved steadily rising business performance. It successfully broke through traditional software sales models, transforming into a mature software service provider, hailed as an industry benchmark for "new-generation internet startups."
Five years ago, Jiangke Software Company released its first product—a seemingly unremarkable image recognition system. Due to a lack of operating capital, the company once found itself in dire straits.
The founder, Chai Yang, hustled everywhere, meeting hundreds of investors. Eventually, by sheer chance, Chai Yang crossed paths with Jiang Yubai. Jiang Yubai recognized the potential of his business model and became his angel investor.
Jiang Yubai also leveraged his family's network to promote the company's business in Thailand, India, South Korea, and Singapore. Additionally, since Jiang Yubai's father already controlled a well-established internet enterprise, Jiangke Software became a subsidiary of that company.
Jiangke Software integrated projects and advanced on all fronts, developing to a flourishing peak.
Jiang Yubai owned two investment companies and was consistently involved across various industries. Jiangke Software could be considered a milestone in his investment history. However, just yesterday, that milestone developed a crack.
Jiang Yubai received news that Jiangke Software's founding team planned to resign and leave—and they intended to issue a public statement.
The content of the statement remained unknown for now.
Jiang Yubai found the situation somewhat tricky.
For years, Jiang Yubai had worked behind the scenes, rarely stepping into the public eye. He believed in caution as the key to longevity, always considering the implications from every angle.
But Jiangke Software's issue was particularly unique.
The leader of Jiangke Software's founding team was named Chai Yang.
Chai Yang and Jiang Yubai shared a deep friendship.
The person proposing the "resign and leave" plan was also Chai Yang.
In other words, Chai Yang founded Jiangke and now wanted to leave Jiangke.
Before leaving, he planned to make a big move.
Back in the day, if Jiang Yubai hadn't invested, Chai Yang would have undoubtedly given up on entrepreneurship.It is easier to go through hardships together than to share wealth and honor. The trigger for Chai Yang's team resignation incident was precisely that "Equity Incentive Plan." Chai Yang and his team hoped Jiang Yubai could guarantee their internal shares and ensure their absolute authority within the company. They absolutely could not adopt Huawei's business model by simply copying the "Equity Incentive Plan."
Additionally, Chai Yang learned through news reports that the "Quantum Technology Laboratory" was a newly established subsidiary this year. Within the parent company, this "Quantum Technology Laboratory" enjoyed equal status with "Jiangke Software Company," receiving numerous preferential treatments and special policies. It even diverted resources from Jiangke Software, which left Chai Yang feeling unsettled.
On the day Jiang Yubai personally went to the university to sign the contract, Chai Yang sent him a text message outlining his plan to change jobs.
That evening, without even having dinner, Jiang Yubai urgently convened an internal meeting—but Chai Yang did not attend. It was said that several domestic companies had offered Chai Yang attractive packages, and he had even found new entrepreneurial partners.
Jiang Yubai thought to himself that the current situation was more severe than he had imagined.
Even so, Jiang Yubai signed and confirmed the "Equity Incentive Plan." As he wrote, he asked, "Any news from Chai Yang?"
The secretary took the document and replied, "He hasn't responded to emails."
Not even replying to emails?
Chai Yang probably wasn't just thinking about changing jobs.
Chai Yang's team consisted of four core members—all senior managers of "Jiangke Software Company," distributed across various departments. Jiang Yubai sent each of them a separate email, scheduling a meeting for the following Saturday at the same location.
After doing this, Jiang Yubai sent Lin Zhixia a WeChat message: "The Quantum Technology Laboratory has just started operating. Leave the equity distribution work to me. It's a thankless task—don't do it, I'll handle it."
Lin Zhixia immediately guessed, "Is there a problem with the equity distribution at Jiangke Software?"
Jiang Yubai's finger hovered over the phone screen.
He had to admit that Lin Zhixia was too clever.
He deliberately downplayed it: "A minor issue, it's fine."
Lin Zhixia sent a "kitten pawing" emoji.
Jiang Yubai suspected she had guessed some inside information again. He simply said, "After my meeting tomorrow, let's discuss this."
"Okay, okay," Lin Zhixia readily agreed.
Jiang Yubai picked up his cup and had just taken a sip of water when Lin Zhixia suddenly sent a message: "No matter what difficulties you encounter, you can always talk to me. Don't feel embarrassed—I'll always support you."
Jiang Yubai felt a warmth in his heart. Mimicking her tone, he solemnly promised, "Okay, okay."
Lin Zhixia began probing: "Is the equity dispute related to Chai Yang?"
Jiang Yubai replied, "Yes."
Lin Zhixia asked several questions in a row, and Jiang Yubai answered each one with complete honesty, until Lin Zhixia brought up again: "Can you understand the 'Quantum Bit and Computer' PowerPoint?"
Jiang Yubai fell silent.
Lin Zhixia pressed, "You really can't understand it?"
Jiang Yubai admitted with slight shame, "Mm."Lin Zhixia concluded with deep regret, "No wonder even you couldn't understand it, let alone other students... Back when I was in high school, I should have tutored more classmates and gained better insight into their learning states."
She had thought that PowerPoint presentation was simple enough, but it turned out to still be beyond standard expectations.
During her time at Cambridge, she had taught four undergraduates - three went straight into Ph.D. programs, one to MIT, one remained at Cambridge, and another established themselves at Stanford. Their physics foundations were all stronger than Jiang Yubai's, which had raised Lin Zhixia's expectations for undergraduates. Realizing this, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with emotions.
Lin Zhixia sincerely hoped that both she and Jiang Yubai could quickly resolve their work troubles.
Lin Zhixia had maintained one habit for many years.
Every Friday evening, she would return to her bedroom, sit cross-legged, and quietly meditate. She would organize memories in her mind, sort through knowledge points to achieve comprehensive understanding, and generate numerous wonderful associations - this was one of the sources of her inventions. To date, she had published nearly twenty high-quality papers and obtained several national patents, receiving continuous funding support.
However, this Friday night, Lin Zhixia abandoned her meditation.
She went to Jiang Yubai's home.
Since Jiang Yubai happened to be free tonight, Lin Zhixia wanted to chat with him, discuss their respective difficulties, support each other, and solve problems.
Today was September 23, 2016, also the day before Lin Zhixia's twenty-second birthday. She suspected Jiang Yubai might have prepared a birthday gift for her.
Her fingerprint was already registered in the security system. She extended her index finger, lightly tapped a screen by the door, and the entrance opened. Stepping across the threshold and passing through the entryway, she called out: "Jiang Yubai?"
To her surprise, Jiang Yubai appeared before her wearing a high school uniform from Provincial First High School.
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