The lights in the auditorium dimmed further as Lin Zhixia, holding a microphone, stepped to the very center of the stage. The large screen behind her displayed a countdown, and a small portion of the audience below began chanting: "Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
When they reached "zero," several beams of spotlight from the ceiling converged onto Lin Zhixia.
Today, Lin Zhixia was dressed in a deep red suit, her hair and makeup exquisitely styled, able to withstand repeated scrutiny from the crowd. Even without uttering a single word, she was undeniably the focal point of the entire event.
She first thanked the guests present, then began in a narrative tone: "Three years ago, when our team was just formed, none of us could have imagined that three years later, we would be redefining the concept of 'Quantum Computing' with a series of new products..."
Journalists from various fields quickly aimed their cameras at Lin Zhixia, and the atmosphere in the auditorium instantly grew more electric.
Guests in the audience erupted into cheers. Jiang Yubai sat quietly in the plush chair at the very center of the front row, his assistant seated beside him—this assistant, surnamed Shen, was around thirty years old. Impeccably dressed and poised, he cut a striking figure. Assistant Shen had originally worked in the president's office under Jiang Yubai's father at the headquarters before being handpicked by Jiang Yubai's father to serve under Jiang Yubai.
Assistant Shen's recent focus had been organizing today's new product launch.
He was a meticulous man. He had reviewed every step of the launch process, conducted two flawless rehearsals, and worked overtime to coordinate collaboration across departments—his life's ambition was to demonstrate his potential and uniqueness as the "Group's Top Special Assistant" in every aspect of daily work.
So far, the launch had gone off without a hitch.
The audience was captivated, and the journalists were full of praise.
Assistant Shen sat ramrod straight, hands resting on his suit pants, as if wearing the crown of "Group's Top Special Assistant" on his head. Just then, Jiang Yubai unexpectedly spoke: "Half an hour ago, Chai Yang posted on Weibo. Several of his company's signed streamers are planning to livestream Lin Zhixia's product launch."
Assistant Shen froze.
He could hardly believe it.
Chai Yang's livestreaming app had only recently launched. His company had signed many male entertainers skilled in comedy and antics. These performers often joked and bantered in their streams, occasionally dropping risqué remarks that left their audience chuckling upon reflection. That kind of livestreaming style clashing with Lin Zhixia's launch... it was unthinkable!
The halo of "Group's Top Special Assistant" shattered into pieces.
Assistant Shen turned his head and said calmly, "Mr. Jiang, I cross-checked the guest list and arranged three layers of security. Unless Chai Yang can tunnel his way in with his employees, there's no way they could appear at our launch. Every attendee had to present an invitation..."
Jiang Yubai's gaze remained fixed ahead, unwavering. Occasionally, his eyes met Lin Zhixia's, and he would offer a faint smile, as if all his attention was focused on her. Yet he continued speaking to Assistant Shen: "How many invitations did you send out?""Four hundred and sixty-seven," Assistant Shen answered meticulously.
Jiang Yubai pointed out a key detail: "Chai Yang doesn’t need to be present in person."
"You're absolutely right," Assistant Shen agreed. "As long as Chai Yang arranges for a group of friends to show up, secretly pull out their phones, upload video clips, and have the host dub the commentary from home, they can hype up the livestream app. Our security guards can’t just kick them out either—that would damage the company’s image..."
Jiang Yubai rested his hand on the armrest of his chair. He informed Assistant Shen that to ensure Lin Zhixia’s speech proceeded smoothly, he had prepared mobile signal jammers in advance and deployed them around the auditorium. He asked Assistant Shen to open his phone and test whether he could smoothly watch videos.
Under the influence of the signal jammers, mobile devices could still connect to the internet and send or receive QQ and WeChat messages. However, the network conditions would be poor, making video recording impossible and causing livestreams to cut in and out—making it seem as though the livestream app had suddenly crashed.
Assistant Shen couldn’t help but marvel, "President Jiang... what a brilliant solution."
Then, a question arose in his mind: Why didn’t President Jiang use his own phone to check the network?
Soon, he found the answer.
Because Lin Zhixia was on stage.
Under such circumstances, Jiang Yubai would never lower his head to fiddle with his phone. Even if he couldn’t speak to Lin Zhixia, he would still immerse himself entirely in their invisible, wordless interaction.
Lin Zhixia was completely unaware of the commotion in the audience.
She noticed a few spectators in the back rows standing up, raising their phones toward her, only to slowly sit back down, their expressions as dejected as eggplants wilted by autumn frost.
Lin Zhixia remained unfazed.
She had just finished introducing the quantum encryption security vault when Professor Gu Likai, seated in the front row, led the applause.
Professor Gu Likai, over seventy years old, had flown from Beijing to the provincial capital specifically for today’s launch event. Lin Zhixia felt particularly grateful. She faintly sensed that she had fulfilled a kind of legacy, presenting this special "inheritance" before the public.
A few days earlier, the vice principal had remarked to her, "After all, it’s still part of the same lineage."
The same lineage.
She lifted her chin slightly.
Everyone was watching her.
Raising her voice, she continued, "Next, I will focus on introducing the new generation of cloud computing platform, which represents an epoch-making innovation. As a young tech company, we have our own sense of mission and responsibility..."
As she uttered the word "responsibility," a strange thing happened—an image flashed through her mind.
At the age of ten, inside the Laboratory of Marine Physics, she had made a pinky promise with Shen Zhaohua, vowing to pursue her ideals relentlessly for the rest of her life.
She had always preferred the word "ideals" over "truth," because what humanity currently recognized as "truth" might not be real or absolute—it might merely be a special tool for expressing concepts or solving problems under specific conditions, much like cyclic groups versus non-cyclic groups, Euclidean versus non-Euclidean spaces—each following contradictory laws, each possessing its own unique significance.
Lin Zhixia’s mind raced at high speed, yet her words remained clear and concise: "We have endowed quantum technology products with entirely new meaning."The staff wheeled in two tables, each equipped with a computer connected to a local network, with the display projected onto a large screen. Using these computers, Lin Zhixia demonstrated the differences between the Quantum Computing Platform and traditional cloud computing platforms on the spot. The superiority of Quantum Computing included, but was not limited to, highly efficient acceleration, encryption, and quantum-safe application mechanisms.
After the demonstration, the entire room fell into complete silence.
Jiang Yubai fixed his gaze on Lin Zhixia, while Assistant Kim seemed to hold his breath.
Lin Zhixia stood still for a moment before continuing, "As you can see, for individual users, we provide simpler acceleration, more secure encryption, and more affordable prices, ensuring you experience unparalleled speed and security while surfing the internet. For enterprise and government-level users, we tailor solutions, build service systems, guarantee data transmission security, and enhance the reliability of communication networks. For example, we can support encrypted quantum communication between Earth satellites and ground stations."
Her words once again ignited the enthusiasm of the reporters present.
Assistant Kim sighed in admiration, "Colleagues from the engineering department always say Professor Lin leads the charge in overcoming technical challenges... She's a genius, isn't she?"
"Of course," Jiang Yubai replied with pride. "She is a genius."
She is a genius, he thought to himself.
Leaning back slightly in his chair, he watched her shine on stage.
Lin Zhixia, radiant with confidence, went on to describe, "Currently, we’ve launched a 'Product Tester' campaign, inviting tens of thousands of individual users from around the world to use our Quantum Computing Platform for free—for life. The reason we dare to do this is simple: we have full confidence in our product!"
Jiang Yubai led the applause.
The audience quickly followed suit.
The applause lasted over ten seconds before Lin Zhixia straightened her posture and declared with conviction, "In the future, we will engage in extensive collaborations with industries such as finance, telecommunications, power, security, biopharmaceuticals, and more. We remain at the forefront of creating quantum computers, and we promise to deliver high-quality software and hardware services to the market. We are the world’s first company capable of providing large-scale commercial quantum products. I am certain that at this very moment—10:30 AM on October 28, 2016—our company’s first-generation product will make a lasting contribution to the technological revolution of the 21st century."
As her words concluded, the large screen played another promotional video.
Lin Zhixia stepped back slowly, exiting the stage.
She had delivered a continuous speech for over an hour.
Her throat was dry and slightly sore, but her heart raced with excitement.
The feeling was indescribable—as if something extraordinary was about to emerge from within her.
A product launch was entirely different from an academic presentation.
In academic settings, Lin Zhixia would only use complex, specialized terminology to elaborate on her research ideas and innovative technologies.
But at a product launch, she had to compare her company’s offerings with competitors, focusing on functionality and potential. The audience’s reaction was far more enthusiastic than she had anticipated. After resting backstage for a while, a staff member informed her, "Professor Lin, you’re all over the news. The entire industry is buzzing."
"That fast!" Lin Zhixia was genuinely surprised.She unscrewed the cap of a mineral water bottle, took a sip, tidied up slightly, and walked back toward the stage.
The venue was brightly lit as the audience gradually dispersed. Lin Zhixia spotted her undergraduate advisor Gu Likai, the vice president who was her direct superior, key technical staff from the company's engineering department like Luo Ying, Tang Tingting, Lin Zeqiu... and Jiang Yubai.
Jiang Yubai had just finished speaking with Gu Likai. Turning around and seeing Lin Zhixia, he extended a hand toward her.
Lin Zhixia happily ran to him.
"Your speech was brilliant," he said with a smile, then revealed, "Teacher Gu thinks highly of our company."
Gu Likai stood nearby.
It had been a long time since Lin Zhixia last saw Teacher Gu, who had guided her into the quantum industry and shown her much kindness. With both joy and candor, she said to him, "Teacher Gu, I'm now mentoring three graduate students myself."
"Good," Gu Likai nodded. "Keep it up—you can achieve even greater things."
Lin Zhixia discreetly clasped Jiang Yubai's hand behind her back while firmly replying, "Don't worry, Teacher. I will."
Gu Likai scanned the room but didn't see Tan Qianche. Understanding the situation, he didn't mention him, only remarking, "Your senior brother's research output has been lacking these past two years."
Tan Qianche had started university at eighteen and earned his Ph.D. at twenty-eight—ten years under Gu Likai's guidance. After graduation, Gu Likai had even helped arrange a postdoctoral position at a top international laboratory to gild his academic credentials.
Undoubtedly, Tan Qianche was Gu Likai's star pupil.
Knowing they hadn't met in a long time either, Lin Zhixia suggested, "Teacher Gu, let me call senior brother. Our academic family should reunite."
Unexpectedly, Gu Likai declined. "My flight back to Beijing is this afternoon. No need to see him." He added, "Over the years, you've kept progressing—more clear-headed than your senior brother."
Lin Zhixia fell into thoughtful silence.
When Lin Zhixia was an undergraduate, she hadn't even reached adulthood. The her of that time differed somewhat from her present self.
The undergraduate Lin Zhixia would never have imagined she'd personally handle marketing for the company's quantum products.
The day after the product launch, Lin Zhixia's marketing plan went live.
She personally wrote a series of viral WeChat articles with eye-catching headlines and astonishing content. Her writing skills had reached masterful levels, successfully sparking a trending topic—"Quantum Cloud Computing"—within days. She remained modest about it, saying, "It's really nothing. I'm just drawing public attention, hoping Chai Yang will apologize to me sooner."
Jiang Yubai couldn't help suspecting that even if Lin Zhixia started her own WeChat public account and wrote daily articles, she could live quite comfortably.
As the "Quantum Cloud Computing" hype continued, the vice president introduced Lin Zhixia to government officials. They held several meetings discussing how to "promote quantum technology applications in government security." Simultaneously, financial and internet companies from Beijing and Shanghai came knocking, while foreign enterprises extended collaboration offers. In less than two months, Lin Zhixia's Quantum Technology Company had opened doors to the global market—with virtually no competitors keeping pace.At this moment, when Lin Zhixia looked back at Chai Yang, she felt a rather subtle sentiment.
One day in late December, Lin Zhixia sat in Jiang Yubai's study and described to him, "Chai Yang seems to have nothing to do with us anymore."
Jiang Yubai had just returned home and was still dressed in a suit. He undid his cufflinks, revealing his wrists—the lines of his wrists were smooth and elegant. Lin Zhixia couldn't resist reaching out her fingertips to lightly touch him as she listened to him say, "Chai Yang wants to sue me."
"What?" Lin Zhixia was shocked.
Jiang Yubai, however, remained completely calm. "A civil dispute. Not a big deal."
"A criminal dispute would be something else entirely," Lin Zhixia said gravely.
Jiang Yubai rolled up his sleeves another inch. Lin Zhixia stretched out her fingers and traced the veins on the back of his hand thoughtfully. "I'm curious—why would he suddenly decide to sue you? Shouldn't he be focusing wholeheartedly on his startup? Without results, how can he attract investors?"
Jiang Yubai went through Chai Yang's network of connections and added one last detail: "Nie Tianqing works at a top-tier venture capital firm. He and Chai Yang are on good terms."
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