Before Jiang Yubai could answer, Lin Zhixia reached out with both hands, wrapped them around his neck, and sweet-talked him: “You’ll graduate from university next year, and your time is very precious. Besides studying, you have many things to handle and many activities to plan. Leave this project of developing a new system to me to organize.”

Jiang Yubai still hadn’t given up his original intention.

He inquired in detail about Lin Zhixia’s project motivation, startup plan, and future development direction. Lin Zhixia felt as if she was being interviewed by the boss of a large company. She tilted her head slightly, leaned against his ear while talking, occasionally kissing him. She was pleased to notice that Jiang Yubai’s hand around her waist tightened.

Jiang Yubai continued discussing work with her: “You told me before that you want to make money. Now you have technology, connections, ideas… You can start a company to test the waters.”

Lin Zhixia shook her head: “I don’t have startup capital.”

Jiang Yubai finally found his opportunity to show off: “I’ll invest.”

Lin Zhixia released his neck and put on a thoughtful expression: “One of my advisor’s students, who graduated two years ago and is considered my senior, founded a quantum information company that specifically collaborates with biotech companies on quantum molecular applications. He even emailed me, wanting to hire me to work for him. He offered me this amount…”

Lin Zhixia raised her right hand and showed the number “four” with her fingers.

“Four hundred thousand?” Jiang Yubai guessed.

Lin Zhixia nodded: “Four hundred thousand RMB per year.”

Jiang Yubai held her fingers, gathering them in his palm and caressing them slightly for a moment. She said, “When you touch me like that, it makes me feel a bit ticklish.”

Jiang Yubai couldn’t help but laugh softly, then released her hand. Lin Zhixia stood up, supporting herself on his shoulders. They walked back along a winding path, discussing the commercial value of a “quantum technology company” all the way.

Lin Zhixia told Jiang Yubai that if she decided to start a business under the name of “quantum technology,” she would provide quantum secure encryption libraries for clients, create cloud services based on classical and quantum computing, and build a full-stack software development environment.

Lin Zhixia spoke systematically, and Jiang Yubai listened attentively. He suggested: “When you return to China, let’s start a business together.”

Many university professors had their own companies, serving as both CEOs and university professors. Lin Zhixia had never thought she would join this rank. Her tone was hesitant: “Let’s wait a bit. I haven’t thought it through yet.”

Jiang Yubai asked about her plans after returning to China.

Lin Zhixia naturally said, “First, I need to secure a teaching position at a university and recruit graduate students. Then, I’ll buy a new house near the university town… Can you live with me?”

Jiang Yubai stopped walking.

Lin Zhixia thought Jiang Yubai hadn’t heard clearly. She asked him again: “Can you live with me?”

“Of course,” Jiang Yubai agreed.

“That’s great.” Lin Zhixia smiled sweetly.

*

Lin Zhixia was very action-oriented. After returning to her room, she began contacting her friends and family. As she had anticipated, Luo Ying, Feng Yuan, Wen Qi, and Wei Ruoxing all responded to her call.

Even Lin Zeqiu reluctantly complied. While saying “I don’t have that much free time,” he still sent his GitHub (code hosting website) account to Lin Zhixia.

In less than half a day, Lin Zhixia had assembled five capable individuals.

Lin Zhixia pondered deeply for a while. Their team only had six people, each with their main occupation, and this project was just everyone’s side activity… To achieve their goal as soon as possible, she should find a few more helpers.

So, Lin Zhixia handwrote an extremely complex physics problem, took a photo, and uploaded it to her WeChat Moments—she posted a recruitment advertisement, sincerely inviting all classmates who could solve this problem to join her new system development team.

Deng Shasha was the first to comment: “I only dare to humbly like this post. If you become wealthy and successful, please don’t forget me.”

Lin Zhixia replied with a heart emoji.

After a while, Shen Fuxuan privately messaged Lin Zhixia. He sent her the correct answer to that physics problem. Lin Zhixia was delighted: “Do you also want to join our team?”

To her surprise, Shen Fuxuan replied: “I don’t know much about programming; I’d just be holding you back. Duan Qiyan took a computer course last semester, and he’s interested in learning about your team. But he couldn’t solve that problem and is too embarrassed to talk to you.”

Lin Zhixia created a WeChat group called “New System Team.” She added Shen Fuxuan, Duan Qiyan, and Jiang Yubai to the group. Jiang Yubai’s username was “Jiang Jiang Jiang Jiang.” Shortly after he joined, Lin Zeqiu tagged him and asked: “Are you Jiang Yubai?”

Besides Jiang Yubai and Lin Zeqiu, there were many of Lin Zhixia’s classmates in the group. With everyone as witness, Jiang Yubai politely replied: “Hello, I am Jiang Yubai.”

Lin Zeqiu looked at that line of text on the screen and felt strangely uneasy. He always felt that Lin Zhixia and Jiang Yubai were very close, and he didn’t know how far their relationship had progressed. His sister was only nineteen this year and had always stayed at school with relatively innocent thoughts… Someone like Jiang Yubai, born into wealth, was impossible to be truly devoted to a girl…

Lin Zeqiu’s knuckles tapped on the table. Although Lin Zhixia was an adult, he always felt that she was still young, so he was concerned about her.

The WeChat group gradually quieted down, and all group members seemed to be busy with their affairs.

Lin Zhixia put down her phone, walked into Jiang Yubai’s room, and cautioned: “My brother knows you’re also studying in Cambridge. If he asks you where I live, don’t tell him under any circumstances… If he finds out I’m living with you, he’ll explode, and it will be terrifying. Just tell him I still chose the school dormitory this semester.”

Jiang Yubai didn’t want to lie.

This was like conspiring to cover up something.

Seeing his silence, Lin Zhixia quickly ran in front of him and reiterated: “This is a very serious matter.”

But Jiang Yubai asked her: “If I tell him the truth, how serious could the consequences be?”

Lin Zhixia pointed to the sky: “He might fly over to confront you face to face.”

Jiang Yubai was different from Lin Zhixia. He wasn’t afraid of Lin Zeqiu, and a “face-to-face confrontation” wasn’t a big deal. However, it would be more appropriate for him to visit Lin Zeqiu rather than having Lin Zeqiu come to find him. No matter what, Lin Zeqiu would be his… future brother-in-law, and even if they didn’t like each other, they should maintain surface harmony.

While Jiang Yubai was considering how to improve his relationship with Lin Zeqiu, Lin Zhixia thought he was planning to tell Lin Zeqiu everything, which made her a bit panicky. Jiang Yubai patted her back: “Don’t worry, we have nothing to hide.”

“No,” Lin Zhixia admitted, “I’m crooked, and my shadow is crooked too.”

Jiang Yubai asked: “Why do you say that?”

Lin Zhixia’s voice was barely audible: “Your upper body was all…” Her face slightly reddened with embarrassment: “Played with by me.”

Jiang Yubai recalled that night during their Switzerland vacation. He sat on the edge of the bed and commented: “You seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.”

“Yes, I did,” Lin Zhixia boldly admitted.