"What are you all doing?"
After speaking with the old master for a few words, Lu Minglang got up to look for Ye Qiusuo. The two of them walked towards a less crowded area while talking, only to come across Xie Xi squatting by the swimming pool and Wan Yurou, struggling hard in the water in her long dress.
When Lu Minglang asked this question, there was a certain amount of schadenfreude in his tone, but he had underestimated just how shameless Xie Xi could be.
Originally, Xie Xi had also wanted to watch the show; this woman clearly knew how to swim, as her first reaction after falling in was to float. Seeing Ye Qiusuo approach, he immediately stood up and backed away towards her in quick steps.
"Professor, she's trying to frame me," Xie Xi said, pointing innocently at the person still struggling in the pool.
Wan Yurou: "..." Are you even a man, damn it?!
But now there were people nearby. She couldn't climb out nor could she stay down, so she had no choice but to let go of her act and pretend to be drowning.
Deep down, Ye Qiusuo was ultimately a rather proper and upright person. Since Xie Xi called her 'Professor,' she regarded him as a student.
In the book, Xie Xi repeatedly fell into the hands of the male and female leads. If this wasn't handled properly this time, a bad reputation was a certainty.
She glanced into the distance; people were already starting to head over upon hearing the commotion. The party was not without media reporters.
"Stand over there." Ye Qiusuo stepped forward, pulling Xie Xi aside. Then, she broke off a nearby ornamental bamboo and extended it towards Wan Yurou.
The two men by the pool stood far away, with no intention whatsoever of reaching out to pull Wan Yurou up.
"Seems a bit short. Maybe we shouldn't bother saving her," Xie Xi suggested, peering over from the side.
Please, just get lost!
Wan Yurou, who was almost at her acting limit, immediately pretended to struggle and swam forward half a meter to grab the bamboo pole.
Wan Yurou's fishtail dress had a high slit, and her shoulder strap had slipped due to her vigorous movements, exposing the front of her chest. The moment she was pulled up, her figure was almost completely exposed.
Clutching Ye Qiusuo, she cried pitifully, sobbing, "Professor Ye, thank you." There was even a hint of genuine emotion in her voice.
Ye Qiusuo looked over at Xie Xi, but he seemed to have misunderstood her meaning. He suddenly tugged at his suit jacket, wrapping it tightly around himself with both hands.
"..."
"Yurou, what happened?" Lu Mingzhe followed the noise over and, seeing Wan Yurou crying so bitterly, couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
Although they had only sung a duet together once, he held quite a bit of goodwill towards her.
He quickly took off his suit jacket and helped Wan Yurou put it on.
The male lead had arrived.
Ye Qiusuo pushed Wan Yurou away. She looked down, frowning at her own clothes—they were still wet.
"Brother, I'll take Yurou to change," Lu Mingzhe said to Lu Minglang beside him.
Seeing that the two knew each other, Lu Minglang dismissed the thought of having someone else escort Wan Yurou away.
"Sorry for breaking one of your bamboos," Ye Qiusuo turned and apologized to Lu Minglang.
"Just one bamboo, it can stay here and continue to be useful," Lu Minglang said sincerely. "If someone falls in later, they can be rescued promptly too."
Ye Qiusuo smiled slightly and changed the subject: "Was that your younger brother just now?"
Lu Minglang: "Cousin."
Though he said cousin, they were actually somewhat distantly related. However, Lu Minglang wasn't interested in going into details about such internal family matters.
Not a biological younger brother?
She remembered the book mentioning that Lu Minglang had a biological younger brother.
"Professor, your clothes are wet," Xie Xi suddenly sidled over, offering his jacket to Ye Qiusuo.
Ye Qiusuo turned to look at him, accepted the jacket, then averted her eyes. After exchanging a few more words with Lu Minglang, she left with Xie Xi.
After walking some distance away, Ye Qiusuo stopped and asked, "Since she was trying to frame you, why didn't you just leave?"
Squatting by the poolside without even extending a hand to help—if someone took a picture or if word got out, it would absolutely affect his reputation.
That's just how the world is. Often, regardless of right or wrong, the perceived weaker party is seen as being in the right.
"You sound just like Sister Wei right now," Xie Xi muttered under his breath. Only his manager would care about whether his reputation was good or bad.
Ye Qiusuo handed the clothes back to Xie Xi: "I'm heading back first. Don't act like you did today in the future."
Acting like he did today, no wonder he ended up being blacklisted by the entire internet in the book.
Wei Qi also heard about the pool incident through the grapevine. Since Xie Xi wasn't implicated, she didn't pay it much mind, just treating it as an amusing anecdote on the way back.
"I heard Wan Yurou fell into the swimming pool, and it was Professor Ye who pulled her out," Wei Qi turned her head to smile at Xie Xi in the back seat. "Probably originally wanted to fool around with someone."
Xie Xi, leaning his head against the car window, said lazily, "That matter has nothing to do with Professor Ye. She was just helping me."
Wei Qi: "!?"
"Xie Xi, what do you mean?" Wei Qi asked urgently, even using his full name.
After Xie Xi finished recounting the whole story, Wei Qi first breathed a sigh of relief, then added Wan Yurou to her personal blacklist.
"Thank goodness for Professor Ye this time. Don't wander off alone in the future. What if you really got stuck with the blame?" Wei Qi said earnestly. "No matter how much you explain, the audience only wants to see what they want to see."
Xie Xi hugged his suit jacket, secretly hiding his phone inside it and opening a game interface, while putting on a pitiful act: "I know, Sister Wei. Professor Ye already lectured me about it earlier."
"Xie Xi," Wei Qi said through gritted teeth, "your phone screen is reflecting light."
Otherwise, she might have actually believed his pitiful act.
Xie Xi quickly lowered the brightness, pretending nothing had happened.
...
On Tuesday, Ye Qiusuo took five students to visit Celestial Sphere Tech. Her ID card had high clearance, and coupled with her involvement in several projects, the students could tour several floors consecutively.
"All mobile phones and communication devices need to be placed aside. You can pick them up when we go back down," Ye Qiusuo briefed the students before going up.
"Professor, are we really going up just like this?" Lin Lu asked, somewhat incredulous.
"There's additional security screening upstairs. Just follow me," Ye Qiusuo said, taking out her ID card and leading the students up.
The areas the students could enter were all projects Ye Qiusuo herself was involved in, making explanations easier and more straightforward. However, some places involving core designs still required confidentiality.
Fortunately, the students weren't thinking that deeply; they were just there to broaden their horizons.
"Qiusuo, your students?" Zhang Chengjue, holding a tablet, passed by and was taken aback upon seeing the students behind her.
"I brought them for a look," Ye Qiusuo said naturally.
"Little Zhao, go to the 7th floor and entertain Professor Ye's students. Bring some snacks over," Zhang Chengjue said, turning his head slightly to speak into his earpiece. Then, smiling at Lin Lu and the others, he added, "You can consider our Celestial Sphere Tech after graduation."
"Could we really come here?!" Lin Lu exclaimed excitedly.
"Of course. You are Qiusuo's students, after all," Zhang Chengjue said. Seeing his assistant bringing down a cart of food, he turned to Ye Qiusuo. "I actually have something to discuss with you. Shall we go up and talk?"
Ye Qiusuo turned to her students: "Wait here for a bit."
"These are made from ingredients grown by our own Celestial Sphere Tech. Everyone, please try some," Assistant Zhao said, pushing a small cart and beckoning Lin Lu and the others.
Watching the two of them leave in the elevator, Lin Lu couldn't help but nudging Ding Hong, sighing with emotion: "Zhang Chengjue, the big boss of Tianqiu Tech! I actually got to see him in person. My life is complete."
Ding Hong was surprisingly calm: "Your mentor owns half the sky at Tianqiu Tech. Why are you still so excited?"
Assistant Zhao, who was distributing snacks, paused his hand and glanced at Ding Hong.
"Hmm, you're right." Lin Lu thought it over carefully. The several foundational projects that established Tianqiu Tech's market position were all his mentor's achievements. Strictly speaking, the real mastermind behind Tianqiu Tech should be his mentor, Ye Qiusuo.
"Qiusuo, help me close the door." Zhang Chengjue walked into the office first. He looked down and flipped through some documents on the desk, then looked up and spoke to Ye Qiusuo at the door.
Ye Qiusuo closed the door. "What did you want to talk to me about? Is there a problem with the project funding?"
"You only care about the funding." Zhang Chengjue smiled helplessly. "I wanted to ask on behalf of several shareholders about your collaborative project with Shuanglu Tech. They're all discussing why you didn't just come to our own company."
Shuanglu was the tech company in Lu Minglang's hands. It wasn't large in scale, but it was backed by the Lu family conglomerate.
"It's better to earn money from others," Ye Qiusuo said bluntly. "Besides, Shuanglu's offer is far higher than Tianqiu's."
Zhang Chengjue raised a hand to massage his forehead. "Qiusuo, don't say that last part in front of the shareholders, or it might create discord."
"This project isn't that useful anyway," Ye Qiusuo frowned. She wasn't bound to Tianqiu Tech by a lifetime contract, and project signings were inherently free.
"You know, they all see you as part of Tianqiu, so it's hard for them not to overthink things," Zhang Chengjue said helplessly. He pushed a document toward Ye Qiusuo. "This is the approved funding. Check if the amount is correct."
Ye Qiusuo reached out and took the document, flipping through it. It was indeed the approved funds. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. The shareholders hope you'll finish the projects currently in hand first before starting this new one." Zhang Chengjue tapped his finger on the desk. "I heard you've been recording some show recently? You should probably put that on hold for now. I remember you weren't this playful before."
"Recording the show doesn't interfere with the project delivery timeline. And after finishing the show, I should be able to get a bonus," Ye Qiusuo did not agree to his suggestion.
Zhang Chengjue was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "How much is the bonus?"
"Five million."
"Only five million?" Zhang Chengjue was somewhat surprised. "You're wasting your time."
"It's not a small amount," Ye Qiusuo felt that spending three or four hours a week recording a show to earn five million was still worthwhile. That time slot was originally her rest time anyway.
"You've fallen into the money pit," Zhang Chengjue shook his head in resignation. "Forget it, you do your thing. I have other matters to attend to."
Ye Qiusuo took the funding approval document and headed to the 7th floor. As the elevator doors opened, she saw several students slumped on the hallway benches, looking utterly stuffed.
"Professor Ye." Assistant Little Zhao pushed a cart into the elevator and greeted her. As they passed each other, he slightly bent his waist, almost like a bow.
Ye Qiusuo's gaze was fixed on the students and she didn't notice his gesture.
"Mentor, these snacks are sooo good," Lin Lu's cheeks were flushed, and even his accent slipped out.
"Where's my phone? Let me search for the same brand!" A girl sitting on another bench pawed at a robot pacing back and forth, shaking it as she spoke.
Even the usually quiet Ding Hong seemed a bit dazed, his eyes unfocused. Upon seeing Ye Qiusuo, he immediately stood up and declared loudly, "Mentor, I will definitely study hard!"
After saying that, he bent at a ninety-degree angle, then gradually went further down until he was completely flat on the floor at a hundred and eighty degrees.
Ye Qiusuo: "..."
So, what new snack did the lab develop?
