Professor Ye made her first-ever album purchase, buying ten copies to support her friend Xie Xi.
"...Digital albums don't have a physical copy," Xie Xi struggled to explain his sales pitch. "But CDs are collectible."
He had a bit of an obsessive streak. Having previously given all his other albums to Ye Qiusuo, he was left with just this new one. He felt compelled to give it to her to complete the set.
Professor Ye frowned. She felt she had already received quite a few things from Xie Xi, which went against her professional ethics as a teacher.
"The university has repeatedly issued strict prohibitions against faculty accepting gifts or money from students. You can't keep giving me things."
Xie Xi: Another week, another new educational shock.
"I'm not a student at this university," Xie Xi retorted, raising an eyebrow as he continued pushing the album toward her. "Professor, I've already given them to everyone I know. It's not anything valuable."
After some back-and-forth, the album ultimately stayed with Ye Qiusuo.
Today was the recording of the "Knowledge Q&A" finals, which had been scheduled earlier. After her class, Ye Qiusuo drove her car to the back door of the administration building to give Xie Xi a ride out.
"I'll park very close. You can come out from inside then." To prevent any students who might still be lurking outside, Ye Qiusuo decided to drive him to the school gate where he could switch cars.
The university had too many students, including a fair number of avid fans, plus the general public's curiosity about celebrities. It being a Sunday, this situation was only to be expected.
But it was disrupting their normal routine.
By the time they reached the school gate, Xie Xi's assistant was already waiting. Wrapped up tightly, Xie Xi got out and slipped into his own car.
"Xi-ge?" Zhang Dong was still scanning the people passing through the gate when Xie Xi suddenly appeared.
"Let's go." Xie Xi leaned back in the seat. "No need to come to the university next week."
Zhang Dong turned his head. "Xi-ge, is the tutoring over?" He remembered the contract was for half a year.
Xie Xi lowered his sunglasses. "From now on, Professor Ye will come to my place for the tutoring sessions."
...
For the finals recording, the stage lighting and set were completely revamped. The overall champion was practically a foregone conclusion in everyone's minds. Ye Qiusuo only needed to answer five more questions correctly for the remaining contestants to have no chance of surpassing her, and answering five questions was child's play for Ye Qiusuo.
Ye Qiusuo was pulled into the makeup room—or rather, all the non-celebrity guests were. For tonight's finals, everyone needed a fresh look, so the program team had hired makeup artists for the non-celebrity guests. The celebrity guests, of course, had their own.
"Professor Ye, congratulations in advance," said an engineer at the next makeup station, her face stiff, daring not to move, only her lips twitching.
"Thank you," Ye Qiusuo accepted without modesty. She absolutely had to win the championship.
"When I was in university, I almost chose your major. Unfortunately, I got placed in a different program. Otherwise, we might be colleagues now." The engineer, probably in her thirties, clearly wasn't used to being made up either.
"You're very accomplished as you are," Ye Qiusuo said, recognizing her. "Your team developed the domestic composite balanced shield tunneling machine project."
"That was the team's achievement. I was just a small part of it."
The two began conversing about their professional fields, leaving the makeup artist beside them utterly bewildered and completely lost. Usually, they overheard all sorts of gossip in the makeup room most easily. So... is this how top experts talk to each other?
Once everyone was made up, they filed onto the stage. The moment Ye Qiusuo appeared, the audience and those on stage fell silent for an instant.
Ye Qiusuo's looks were truly unlike a typical non-celebrity. The female stars on stage couldn't outshine her; in comparison, they even seemed a bit plain.
The finals finally began. The host, wearing a striking blue suit today, stood energetically in the center of the stage. "Esteemed guests, after several rounds of competition, we have finally arrived at the finals today. I believe everyone is as excited as I am."
After a lengthy ten-minute recap of the previous matches, the host announced the official start of the finals.
Ye Qiusuo unsurprisingly scored first. Answering five questions correctly was hardly difficult for her. By the time the host began reading the sixth question, the overall champion had already been decided.
Most of the contestants had practically given up struggling, but not Wan Yourou. She still answered every question, fighting for each one.
Even if she couldn't get the championship, having a reputation for perseverance and never giving up could still make for good material on the trending searches.
...
"The result for the overall champion is out. It's obvious—it's our Professor Ye! Congratulations! Next, second place goes to... Wan Yourou! Third is Qian Jin! At the same time, congratulations to everyone for persevering until now, bringing the audience such a unique program. Thank you all." The host gave a deep bow to the audience below the stage.
The main part of the program ended. Next, several guests shared their thoughts, with Ye Qiusuo being the last.
Sitting there, the thought of 6.5 million consecutively entering her account made her uncharacteristically happy.
"Professor Ye, having participated in this competition and won the championship, what would you like to say?" The host invited Ye Qiusuo to the center of the stage.
"The program is quite good." The prize money is generous.
The host waited specifically for a moment, only to realize she had already finished. He had to steer the conversation back himself before making a final summary.
At this point, all the guests stood in the center of the stage. Even the director was called over. Amid a shower of confetti, everyone struck poses for the camera. Only after the photos were taken did people start to leave.
The director happened to be standing next to Ye Qiusuo, so she took the opportunity to ask, "Director, when will the prize money be issued?"
"...It can be today, but there are procedures to follow. You might have to wait here for a while." Although the director had seen Ye Qiusuo negotiate the endorsement deal with the Likou representative last time, her bluntness about money was still something he needed a moment to get used to.
"Alright."
Ye Qiusuo followed the director backstage and successfully received her prize money. It wasn't the full five million—taxes had to be deducted—but she was in a good mood nonetheless.
...
After the program recording finished, Ye Qiusuo didn't idle. She began researching populations with dyslexia, discovering that similar cases could be as high as twenty percent, yet they had never received the attention they deserved.
For example, when students get low scores on reading tests, they are often criticized for being careless or not reading the questions clearly. Perhaps it's due to dyslexia, but they themselves don't realize it.
Of course, cases as severe as Xie Xi's, which affect learning and daily life, are relatively fewer.
Perhaps this could be a project worth initiating.
Ye Qiusuo could see the business opportunity within. Having handled so many projects, she keenly perceived that if a product could be developed specifically to help people with dyslexia see text clearly, it would be a good opportunity.
The next day, Ye Qiusuo went to Tianqiu Technology Company to find Zhang Chengjue, hoping he would approve a new project for her.
"What project?" Zhang Chengjue asked.
"Regarding dyslexia." Ye Qiusuo had stayed up all night finishing the project proposal. She turned on the projector in Zhang Chengjue's office and presented it to him.
After listening, Zhang Chengjue was silent for a long time before saying, "Qiusuo, you have a misconception. Do you know why this disorder affects twenty percent of people, yet not many are aware of it? It's because a significant portion of parents don't care and are unwilling to admit their child has this condition. They've managed all these years like this; it's always been this way, so they don't see the need for this. Therefore, your market valuation here is mistaken."
"Always been this way, so no need to change?"
Zhang Chengjue let out a long sigh: "Qiusuo, I know you want to initiate a project whenever you decide to, and I've always allowed you that freedom. But the artificial synapse project was just approved not long ago. Isn't it a bit too hasty to push for another one so urgently? Moreover, you have other projects in hand. Many people in the company are already dissatisfied, feeling you're taking up the majority of the capital flow. I... can't always shield you."
Ye Qiusuo slowly pushed her silver-rimmed glasses up with her middle finger, the thin chain swaying slightly. For a moment, Zhang Chengjue, sitting behind the desk, had the illusion that her aura had shifted.
The next second proved it was not an illusion.
She said coldly, "The reason I have many projects is that I conceive of things others haven't thought of and accomplish what others cannot. Many in the company are dissatisfied? Dissatisfied with being too foolish to even propose a viable project?"
Ye Qiusuo was a child prodigy, looking down upon the masses. It was impossible for someone like her not to have arrogance, though she had always concealed it well.
Hearing her words so abruptly, Zhang Chengjue's expression changed several times before finally calming down, a somewhat helpless smile appearing on his face. "Qiusuo, these aren't my words, don't be angry with me. It's just that the company is entering a critical period now. The therapeutic mushrooms project on the eighth and ninth floors has absorbed a significant investment. There's no way to start a new project at the moment."
"The mushroom project has already started receiving investment... I didn't receive any meeting notice." Ye Qiusuo frowned. Company rules stipulated that when project funding reached a certain threshold, a shareholders' meeting was required. She was completely unaware of this matter.
Zhang Chengjue was taken aback. "Qiusuo, you forgot. A few years ago, you said that for future company shareholders' meetings, I should just vote on your behalf and not bother calling you in."
Ye Qiusuo had indeed said that. Back then, she was swamped with work, begrudging even time for sleep, let alone caring about shareholders' meetings. Plus, at that time, the company required shareholder votes for almost every project, and she simply had no energy to deal with it.
In the past two years, the company rules changed. Shareholders' meetings were only held for exceptionally large sums, and the large-scale projects had always been ones Ye Qiusuo herself took on, requiring her attendance. She had completely forgotten about that delegation.
"I will attend shareholders' meetings from now on."
Ten minutes after Ye Qiusuo left the office, the assistant sitting outside received a call.
"Little Zhao, come and clean up my office."
Ye Qiusuo stopped on the twelfth floor, intending to retrieve the data she had previously requested an experimenter to investigate. If Tianqiu Tech wouldn't approve the project here, she could seek funding elsewhere.
Ye Qiusuo stepped out of the elevator, walked down the corridor, and glanced below to see someone carrying a box towards the elevator, not wearing a company uniform.
It was the person in charge of the mushroom project.
Frowning, Ye Qiusuo turned around and re-entered the elevator, pressing the button for the first floor.
By the time she exited, the person in charge was almost at the security gate.
"Zeng Liqing."
"Professor Ye?" Zeng Liqing, holding the box, turned around, clearly not expecting Ye Qiusuo to stop him.
"You resigned?" Ye Qiusuo glanced at the box in his arms.
For a moment, Zeng Liqing's expression was extremely complicated, but in the end, he just said calmly, "Yes. I still prefer the feeling of teaching."
Ye Qiusuo stared at Zeng Liqing for a while, then shifted her gaze to the project announcement board behind and to his right. There was no notification about the mushroom project on it.
"When was the mushroom project approved?"
"The 28th of last month." Zeng Liqing wasn't sure why she was suddenly asking this. After answering, he said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
"Mm."
Ye Qiusuo stood in place, watching Zeng Liqing's retreating figure until it disappeared from sight, then looked up towards the upper floors.
Some things had changed imperceptibly.
...
In the Huajing Six Tyrants group chat.
Ye Qiusuo: [I have a new project here and need help. Are you all willing to assist?]
Lin Lu (Second Tyrant): [I'm willing! I can! Pick me, Mentor!]
Sun Jiajia (Third Tyrant): [Mentor, he can, then I can!!!]
Ding Hong (Sixth Tyrant): [Mentor, I'm also willing to help.]
...
As soon as Ye Qiusuo sent the message in the group, her five students immediately flooded the chat, each saying they were willing. A hint of a smile appeared in her eyes.
Next step: secure the investment.
