Teacher Yang truly didn’t want to accept the manuscripts Wei Hanyun had brought. He knew very well that Wei Hanyun was here to indirectly repay the favor Zhong Ziyan owed from her last visit.
When Zhong Ziyan needed a gift for a senior musician, Teacher Qian had taken the initiative to give her the family’s Schubert manuscript without charging a single penny.
As the saying goes, gifts make hands short—it was always meant to bring them closer. Once they got along well, Teacher Yang could naturally take Zhong Ziyan on as another student, and given the manuscript’s value, she wouldn’t easily refuse.
Not that it was a forced transaction, just a little social tactic.
But Teacher Yang’s plan was about to crumble before it even began, thanks to the triple repayment brought by Zhong Ziyan’s husband.
If he accepted, he’d owe them a favor; if he refused…
Could he really stand by and watch Wei Hanyun tear up these three priceless, irreplaceable handwritten musical scores?
The short-tempered old man found himself in a dilemma, glaring fiercely at Wei Hanyun before suddenly hopping off the sofa and scurrying to the kitchen to seek backup from his wife.
When he entered, Teacher Qian didn’t spare him any courtesy, waving her spatula like she was shooing a fly. “You’re in the way—get out!”
The old man: “……”
Zhong Ziyan also glanced back and, seeing Wei Hanyun standing calmly nearby, paused her task to ask, “What’s wrong?”
“Teacher Yang was just overwhelmed by our return gift,” Wei Hanyun said with a smile.
Teacher Yang’s lips trembled with indignation, but as he eyed the roaring flames beneath the pot, he couldn’t shake the feeling that if he refused now, those three manuscripts would be tossed in as fuel.
This was sacrilege!! A desecration!!!
“That’s good,” Zhong Ziyan said, her expression softening slightly. “I’ve been thinking about taking that manuscript for free last time.”
Teacher Qian shot her husband a look. “They came sincerely to give a gift—just accept it.”
Her eyes conveyed a message: Today’s not the day for battle—retreat!
Teacher Yang stomped his foot, huffed, and turned away, already scheming about how to return an even more extravagant gift to Zhong Ziyan later. Something far more valuable!
The trendy old man plopped back onto the living room sofa, whipped out his phone, and began searching for the recent auction prices of these obviously newly acquired collectibles.
If Wei Hanyun had owned them all along, Zhong Ziyan wouldn’t have needed to buy the manuscript from them before. That meant Wei Hanyun must have purchased them recently—just for her.
Even one of these would have caused a stir in the global music community, so their sale couldn’t have gone unnoticed.
As the old man squinted through his reading glasses, struggling with the oversized keyboard, Yang Xiuzhu peeked over. “Dad, what are you looking up?”
“Checking how much these are worth,” the old man muttered without looking up.
“Oh, I already checked,” Yang Xiuzhu said, sliding a freshly brewed cup of tea toward his father. “If you’re planning to ‘return jade with gems,’ we might need to sell a couple of houses first.”
News outlets worldwide had been buzzing about the mysterious tycoon who splurged on three legendary handwritten scores. His proxy bidder had been ruthless, driving the prices far beyond expert estimates in a fiercely competitive auction.
Yang Xiuzhu didn’t need to think hard to realize Wei Hanyun had acted so aggressively to immediately settle Zhong Ziyan’s debt to their family.
His old man’s dream of taking her as a student was probably doomed. Yang Xiuzhu sipped his tea philosophically.
After all, he was up against Wei Hanyun.
……
Zhong Ziyan wasn’t entirely sure what had happened. After lunch at the Yangs’, she left with Wei Hanyun.
Teacher Qian’s expression remained as serene as ever, Teacher Yang’s as grumpy, and the only difference from last time was Yang Xiuzhu standing by the door.
As they descended the stairs, Zhong Ziyan asked, “Is it settled?”
“Settled,” Wei Hanyun said, taking over the driver’s role to open the car door for her. “From now on, visiting them is entirely up to your preference.”
“Good,” Zhong Ziyan said, sliding into the car. Remembering it was time to repay her boss, she added, “Any troubles lately?”
After all, the manuscript situation had been entirely her doing, unrelated to their contractual marriage. Wei Hanyun had no obligation to help.
Wei Hanyun replied, as always, “Everything’s going smoothly.”
Sigh. The boss was perfect in every way—except for his stubborn pride.
She’d have to ask Wei Hanyun’s inner circle instead.
Fang Nan had been acting strange lately, so Zhong Ziyan kept a wary eye on him.
Meanwhile, the university innovation competition had begun.
Zhong Ziyan had nearly forgotten her plan to cultivate a forest of money trees until Hua Shuangshuang accompanied her to the exhibition.
Before they entered, Hua Shuangshuang handed her a pair of sunglasses. “Please wear these inside.”
Zhong Ziyan: “……?” She put them on, puzzled. “Too many camera flashes?”
“…Possibly. Better safe than sorry.” Hua Shuangshuang thought it was more about hiding that face from countless stealthy photographers.
Since taking her role, Hua Shuangshuang had done thorough research. She knew Zhong Ziyan’s brief appearance at Hou Tu Entertainment’s press conference had already sparked speculation about her identity.
So she’d carefully selected a pair of compact sunglasses that covered most of Zhong Ziyan’s face—enough to obscure her unless someone stared too closely.
Though, given how internet sleuths worked these days, even that might not be enough. Hua Shuangshuang sighed inwardly.
My boss could easily rely on her looks, yet she insists on flaunting her wealth instead. How…
Utterly enviable!!!
With the sunglasses on, Zhong Ziyan strode inside. Hua Shuangshuang held her VIP guest pass, arranged by Fang Nan with the organizers.
—At an event like this, companies and investors scouted for promising student projects. If a pitch couldn’t even secure initial funding… it probably wasn’t viable.
The exhibition hall was divided into a nine-grid layout, each sector dedicated to different fields. Hua Shuangshuang glanced at the map. “Any particular interests? Or should we go in order?”
Zhong Ziyan considered. “Anything in tech, biotech, or medicine?”
Hua Shuangshuang immediately understood. “I’ll map the route. This way, please.”
“You’re an excellent assistant,” Zhong Ziyan praised sincerely. “Very competent.”
Hua Shuangshuang should have responded with a professional “Just doing my job,” but faced with Zhong Ziyan’s beauty, she stumbled. “Th-thank you.”
“How much does Fang Nan pay you? Enough? If not, I’ll give you a raise.”
Hua Shuangshuang's face was streaked with tears as she mustered all her conscience to reluctantly decline the tempting offer: "My salary already matches my abilities. If you truly wish to reward me, you can give me a bonus at the end of the year."
Zhong Ziyan replied, "Fine, I'll give you a bonus."
Hua Shuangshuang hesitated, "...You say that as if you've already prepared it."
"Well, if I don’t give it this year, there won’t be another chance," Zhong Ziyan said.
Hua Shuangshuang suddenly understood, "My contract is only for a year for now, but I believe my skills are enough to secure a renewal."
Zhong Ziyan turned to glance at her without comment, her gaze obscured behind dark blue sunglasses. "Lead the way."
Hua Shuangshuang complied, the map she had studied already memorized. "This area focuses on high-tech industries. I’ve briefly reviewed twenty-five projects here, all cutting-edge materials and fields."
Zhong Ziyan was genuinely intrigued.
She had traveled through countless worlds in the infinite space—some set in ancient times with cultivation, others in Western fantasy realms with elves, and still others in highly advanced modern or futuristic societies.
With the support of the Deputy Captain and several intellectuals, Zhong Ziyan had also encountered many technologies far beyond this era.
If she saw them, she might recognize them, but explaining their principles or conducting research herself? She’d be completely clueless.
Still, her breadth of experience was more than enough to preliminarily judge whether a project or idea was truly groundbreaking.
Hua Shuangshuang had originally planned to introduce each of the organizer’s highlighted seed projects one by one, but Zhong Ziyan strode ahead swiftly, weaving through the four rows of exhibition booths.
Several groups of students barely had time to open their mouths to pitch their ideas before Zhong Ziyan’s footsteps had already carried her to the next display.
Hua Shuangshuang hurried after her. "None of them caught your interest?"
Zhong Ziyan stopped in front of a booth labeled E14 and tilted her head slightly. "This one’s a bit interesting."
Hua Shuangshuang took a closer look. Unlike the others, this booth had only one male student sitting behind it. His hair, seemingly uncut for a long time, draped softly over his neck and obscured most of his eyes, giving him a somewhat gloomy demeanor.
Unlike the others, he didn’t immediately jump up to enthusiastically promote his idea. Only when Zhong Ziyan said "a bit interesting" did his head shift slightly.
Since her boss was interested, Hua Shuangshuang stepped forward to handle the social niceties. "Excuse me, could you briefly introduce your concept and proposal?"
She knew all too well that Zhong Ziyan had no patience for polite small talk.
If left to Zhong Ziyan, the conversation would immediately jump to throwing money at the problem.
Though Zhong Ziyan had no shortage of funds, Hua Shuangshuang felt it was her professional duty to safeguard her employer’s financial interests.
The male student silently lifted his head and wordlessly slid a flyer-like document across the table to Hua Shuangshuang.
Hua Shuangshuang: "..." So aloof.
Having navigated society for years, she wasn’t one to judge based on appearances. She smiled and took the document, flipping through it, only to be immediately overwhelmed by the dense technical jargon and specialized terminology. After struggling through half a page, she barely grasped that it was about a research direction involving self-repairing, memory-retaining, and possibly even self-growing nano-liquid metal materials.
As for the scientific principles? Hua Shuangshuang skimmed two lines before wisely skipping ahead.
While Hua Shuangshuang wrestled with the document, Zhong Ziyan leaned down to examine a simple transparent sterile operation box on the table. "Can I try it?"
The student gestured in assent.
Zhong Ziyan slipped her hands into the attached rubber gloves and experimentally manipulated the small metal disc inside.
It looked like an ordinary, unremarkable iron disc, smaller than a coin.
But when Zhong Ziyan tore it in half and set it down, the two pieces seemed to move of their own accord, slowly pulling back together before melding seamlessly like clay.
The process was slow, but Zhong Ziyan, having seen similar black tech before, was already satisfied.
While Hua Shuangshuang was still painstakingly deciphering the flyer, Zhong Ziyan made her decision. "I’ll invest in you."
A supervising teacher who had been watching from the sidelines couldn’t hold back any longer. He interjected, "Miss, let me be frank—this research has no future. This student is from our school. His parents and mentors devoted their entire lives to this hopeless project, and even at their deaths, they only achieved this meager result. There’s no prospect for development. Why not take a look at our school’s seed projects instead—"
Zhong Ziyan glanced briefly at the neighboring booth before dismissing it. "Not worth investing in."
The teacher’s face darkened. "No need to be so harsh, is there? His research is a bottomless pit. Do you know how many investors it’s bankrupted over the decades? And do you even realize how expensive californium is? Just one gram costs at least 200 million! Not to mention, it’s used in nuclear applications—globally, only two companies can synthesize and supply it reliably. The demand far outstrips supply. Even with money, you can’t just jump the queue!"
Zhong Ziyan actually smiled, a flicker of excitement in her eyes. "Really? How expensive are we talking?"
Today, she’d show Wei Hanyun just how much money she could burn through!
The teacher scoffed. "As I said, at least two billion per gram. And even if you had the money, californium isn’t something you can just buy. It’s controlled due to its nuclear applications. The two companies that produce it have years-long waiting lists."
Zhong Ziyan pondered for a moment before brightening. "Then it’s simple. I’ll just buy both companies. That should solve the supply issue, right?"
The teacher: "????"
Hua Shuangshuang: "..." Absolute legend.
Even the perpetually bowed head of the gloomy student snapped up in shock as he stared at Zhong Ziyan.
