His uncle suddenly interjected: “Create a WeChat group, add your father-in-law, mother-in-law, and your parents, so the elders from both families can set a date to meet, and then…”
Before his uncle could finish, his mother interrupted: “Let the children arrange it themselves, they’re adults.”
Uncle smiled and said, “That’s true, they’ve grown up.” Then added: “Xiao Jiang, share your in-laws’ WeChat IDs with me, I’ll chat with them and help you earn some impression points.”
Even after his uncle said this much, his parents didn’t echo his sentiments.
Jiang Yubai pondered thoughtfully.
He ended the video call and typed a line: “Next Sunday at noon, Western Suburb Restaurant, our two families can meet. Lin Zhixia’s parents and brother should all be there.”
Afterward, he stood up from his seat, picked up his suit jacket, and draped it over his left arm. As he walked out of the study, he happened to run into Lin Zhixia.
Lin Zhixia fell into his arms as if staging an accident. He instinctively embraced her tightly, thinking that she must have overheard his conversation with his parents, but she didn’t say or ask anything. Her trust in him was unspoken but evident.
He gently patted her back.
She asked: “Are you going out?”
“Going to a meeting,” he said.
Lin Zhixia nodded: “I’ll leave with you, I want to go to school.”
Today was Saturday, and Lin Zhixia’s work enthusiasm hadn’t diminished in the slightest. Jiang Yubai couldn’t help asking: “Professor Lin works on Saturdays too?”
Professor Lin responded matter-of-factly: “Did I ever rest on Saturdays and Sundays when I was pursuing my doctorate?”
Jiang Yubai was speechless.
After having breakfast at home, they took the elevator directly to the parking garage at the bottom of the building. The various luxury cars made Lin Zhixia dizzy again. She revealed: “I want to learn to drive now, I’ve signed up for a driving school training course.”
Jiang Yubai casually said, “You’ll learn quickly.”
“Not necessarily,” Lin Zhixia was quite modest, “maybe I don’t have a driving talent.”
Jiang Yubai made no evaluation.
Lin Zhixia moved closer to him: “If I can’t learn, can Teacher Jiang teach me?”
Jiang Yubai stopped in his tracks.
Lin Zhixia called him again: “Teacher Jiang?”
Jiang Yubai’s gaze moved downward, falling on her left hand—she wasn’t wearing the engagement ring, as it was too conspicuous and didn’t match her consistently low-key lifestyle. However, she had put the astronomical sphere ring Jiang Yubai had given her on her ring finger. She noticed his gaze and immediately hid her left hand behind her back.
Jiang Yubai found her every movement and word utterly adorable. He said, “Teacher Jiang will schedule lessons for you this weekend.”
And so, Jiang Yubai was upgraded from swimming coach to driving instructor.
*
Around nine in the morning, Jiang Yubai personally drove Lin Zhixia to the university entrance.
Before getting out of the car, Lin Zhixia kissed his cheek: “See you tomorrow.”
Holding the steering wheel, he responded: “See you tomorrow.”
He watched Lin Zhixia’s retreating figure, recalling how, when Lin Zhixia was an undergraduate, he often waited outside her school gate for her after class—that was four or five years ago now, time indeed passed quickly.
On the wide road, vehicles flowed endlessly. Jiang Yubai changed lanes and headed straight for the company. He arrived at the meeting room ten minutes early, and as soon as he entered, he saw Chai Yang.
This was a small meeting room that could accommodate a maximum of seven people. In the center of the room was a round table with no head or deputy positions. The “round table meeting” was said to represent an equal dialogue model. Chai Yang was sitting in a chair directly facing the door.
He raised his hand in greeting: “You’re here? I just arrived.”
Jiang Yubai asked him: “Where are the others?”
Chai Yang hurriedly stood up: “Listen to me first…”
In Chai Yang’s team, there were only seven core members—Jiang Yubai had emailed four of them, but hadn’t notified Chai Yang. Clearly, among those four people, at least one had disclosed to Chai Yang about Jiang Yubai’s secret meeting.
Chai Yang’s attitude was polite: “In the five years I’ve worked with you, I’ve gained a lot of insights. Thank God, Jiangke Software has developed. In the first year of the startup, I lived frugally, upgraded servers, couldn’t afford the monthly rent of five hundred yuan, ate instant noodles during the day, and slept on the floor at night…”
Jiang Yubai joked with him: “This paragraph would be quite suitable for a resignation statement.”
Chai Yang spoke as if chatting with a friend. His tone was relaxed: “Following your advice, I’ll add this paragraph to my resignation statement.”
Jiang Yubai asked him directly: “You’ve suffered a lot for this company, the brand effect is tied to your name, why do you still want to resign with your team?”
Jiang Yubai had never sat down.
He stood in front of Chai Yang, creating a slight pressure on him—a pressure that made him feel irritated. He spoke slightly faster: “I mentioned a proposal to you, Jiangke Software is just a subsidiary. In the long run, you need to let it split for an IPO… Additionally, regarding technology, I have several undergraduate classmates in Silicon Valley and a few in London who are doing well in technology and management. They’ve helped me connect with Chinese teams in Silicon Valley tech startups. These people are all willing to return to China, capable of technological research and development, which would reduce our product’s online burden.”
Jiang Yubai didn’t respond. He pulled out a chair and finally sat down, very close to Chai Yang.
Chai Yang said, “I submitted two proposals to you, and you rejected both. I’m not trying to complain…”
He coughed once, hesitating to continue.
Jiang Yubai encouraged him: “Say what you want to say directly, it’s rare that we have a chance to communicate privately.”
Chai Yang was still hesitating when Jiang Yubai unexpectedly deprecated himself: “I don’t come from a technical background, never learned programming, lack strategic vision, and can’t understand much of the content. I can only look at other people’s PowerPoints—whatever the PowerPoint looks like, that’s what I think the product looks like…”
Chai Yang’s expression changed slightly.
In earlier years, Chai Yang had suffered from stomach problems due to his startup life, irregular meals, and sleepless nights. He experienced stomach pain when under stress, like now, his digestive system was very uncomfortable.
The words Jiang Yubai had just spoken were Chai Yang’s own.
One evening, Chai Yang and his team of friends had organized a drinking party. Everyone was having fun and drank quite a bit, with Chai Yang getting particularly drunk. At this time, someone happened to ask Chai Yang about Jiang Yubai’s leadership abilities.
Chai Yang had then vented his frustrations.
He hadn’t expected Jiang Yubai to know about it.
“I said that last year,” Chai Yang hurriedly explained, “it has nothing to do with this year’s matters.”
“I knew about it last year, too,” Jiang Yubai responded.
Chai Yang reflected on Jiang Yubai’s attitude toward him throughout the entire year and couldn’t find any fault. He had to admit that Jiang Yubai, despite his young age, was a very tolerant leader. However, Jiangke Software’s management and operation model had long exhausted Chai Yang both physically and mentally. Chai Yang just wanted a clean break with Jiang Yubai.
Chai Yang took out an agreement and placed it in front of Jiang Yubai. He said, “Jiangke Software is a child I’ve raised with my own hands. I won’t say much more, Mr. Jiang. Look over the agreement content, and if there’s anything you’re not satisfied with, we can revise it.”