Chai Yang walked to the window, drew back the curtains, and saw dark clouds hanging over the city, with fallen leaves and raindrops drifting in the wind.
He gazed at the distant scenery until Jiang Yubai interrupted his thoughts: "This agreement..."
Chai Yang clasped his hands together. "How would you like to revise it?"
Jiang Yubai flipped the document over and placed it face down on the table. "According to your request, you want to retain company equity after leaving—to remain a minor shareholder of Jiangke Software."
Chai Yang sat in a chair and looked up at him. "I'm the founder of this company. Keeping my shares would be good for the company's reputation, don't you think?"
Jiang Yubai smiled.
Chai Yang fell silent. Coming from a technical background, negotiation wasn't his strong suit. Jiang Yubai refused to sign the agreement and wouldn't even discuss the terms. Frankly, they couldn't see eye to eye.
Chai Yang stood to leave. "Let's talk another day."
Jiang Yubai stopped him. "You're rushing to resign for a new venture. You have the skills, funding, and an experienced team. You know international tech startups—breaking through technical barriers is just a matter of time..."
Chai Yang turned back to look at him.
But Jiang Yubai said, "Only by setting down your current burdens can you fly farther."
Chai Yang suddenly asked him, "Why invest in that Quantum Technology Company? The quantum hype is artificial. No scientist's experimental results have proven quantum computers are necessarily superior to traditional ones. Silicon Valley is full of bandwagon investors burning cash, yet no quantum company has achieved mass-market product deployment. If you want high returns, why not expand into gaming and live streaming?"
Jiang Yubai didn't argue.
After all, Chai Yang didn't know Lin Zhixia. He knew nothing about her.
Jiang Yubai wasn't investing in the "quantum technology" concept—he was investing in Lin Zhixia herself. He firmly believed she would achieve success in a worldly sense, even though she cared nothing for material wealth or fame.
Chai Yang took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Regardless, without your support back then, there'd be no me today. Inappropriately speaking, I consider you a friend. You too must set down your burdens to fly farther."
With that, Chai Yang strode away. He spent two days at home feeling unprecedentedly relaxed. The next morning, he formally submitted his resignation, left the company with numerous team members, and publicly released a departure statement.
Originally, Chai Yang had planned to describe his passive situation in the statement, but he recalled Jiang Yubai's words... and ultimately abandoned that approach.
Chai Yang was only twenty-seven this year.
He was still young.
One piece of Jiang Yubai's advice had struck a chord—only by setting down his current burdens could he fly farther.
News of "Chai Yang's Team Mass Resignation" quickly dominated tech industry headlines.
Since Jiangke Software was an internet company born in Beijing but raised in the provincial capital, the provincial Morning Daily even created a special column tracing Jiangke Software Company's development history.
The Morning Daily reporter also interviewed Chai Yang, documenting his personal journey in detail.To understand Chai Yang's thought process, Lin Zhixia bought a copy of the Morning Daily from a newsstand near the university entrance. She brought the newspaper back to her office, reading it word by word with growing seriousness.
In the newspaper, Chai Yang publicly declared that "Quantum Computing" was merely a gimmick, and that professionals in the internet industry must clearly recognize future development directions without being misled by hyped-up concepts.
Chai Yang also stated that he would lead his team into the live-streaming industry. He believed that in the coming years, live-streaming would become an industry hotspot that could not be ignored.
Lin Zhixia closed the newspaper and pressed her hands over Chai Yang's photograph.
Why did Chai Yang have to disparage "Quantum Computing" when resigning was already enough?
Lin Zhixia's Quantum Technology Company had just been established not long ago—externally known as "ptsic Quantum Laboratory." Since all core team members graduated from world-class universities and had access to underlying technology platforms provided by top internet companies... "ptsic Quantum Laboratory" had maintained a fairly good reputation within the industry.
However, Chai Yang's single statement pushed "ptsic Quantum Laboratory" into the spotlight of controversy.
Lin Zhixia wasn't angry.
She was just somewhat puzzled.
Chai Yang didn't understand this industry and hadn't read Lin Zhixia's research papers—how could he so confidently claim that "Quantum Computing" was a false concept built on hype?
Lin Zhixia calmly pondered for a while.
Meanwhile, her students immediately erupted in discussion.
In the "Quantum Frontier Laboratory" located in the same building, Xu Lingbo cursed while processing data: "This Chai Yang, I'm really speechless. When I encounter something I don't understand, I wish I could sew my mouth shut. But him? He goes and trashes our Professor Lin's company as worthless in the Morning Daily."
Fang Yiwen also snorted contemptuously.
Zhan Rui chimed in: "Just don't... don't pay attention to him."
Only three people were present in the entire laboratory: Fang Yiwen, Xu Lingbo, and Zhan Rui.
In front of his senior and junior colleagues, Xu Lingbo couldn't help voicing his true thoughts: "Chai Yang's only twenty-seven, just a few years older than me, but he can't control his mouth. During his interview, he even called their quantum company a gimmick... Damn, our university just signed a cooperation agreement with this quantum company. His careless remark essentially slapped our university in the face."
Fang Yiwen remarked: "He's very bold."
Xu Lingbo scratched his head and complained with visible frustration: "Ah, forget about Chai Yang for now. The undergraduate students are causing trouble too—many are demanding to drop the course. Professor Lin's class..."
He suddenly stopped speaking at this point.
Because Lin Zhixia had entered the laboratory.
"Good morning, students," Lin Zhixia greeted them.
"Good morning, Professor Lin!" Xu Lingbo responded loudly.
Lin Zhixia found a document recording experimental data in the operation room—this contained the summary of her two years of doctoral research. Holding the document, she walked around the laboratory, inspecting each student's work. Then she said: "You must believe in your research direction. You're all intelligent and hardworking—the future belongs to each one of you."
The students nodded one after another.
Lin Zhixia applauded for them.Carrying the documents, she walked out of the laboratory, hailed a taxi outside the school gate, and went straight to the office building of the ptsic Quantum Laboratory. As the head and senior consultant of the company, Lin Zhixia's office was located on the top floor.
However, Lin Zhixia rarely made appearances.
The receptionist was pleasantly surprised to see her: "Hello, please wait a moment. Shall I connect you via the internal phone line?"
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