Ye Linchen was taken aback by Lin Xuemei's question; she hadn't expected Lin Xuemei to ask such a question suddenly.

She paused for a moment before answering with a smile.

“It’s not that I don’t want her to join; I’m not targeting her personally. If anyone wanted to join us, I would consider all the issues and risks in the same way. Starting a business is, after all, a very risky and arduous undertaking. I just want to minimize the risks we can control.”

Her calmness relieved both Lin Xuemei and Li Hongying.

They were all worried that Ye Linchen was being so cautious because of his personal prejudice against Zhao Yutong.

Now I feel at ease.

Li Hongying smiled and stretched: "That's good. Your meticulousness is commendable. With you in charge, we feel at ease. Alright, it's getting late, let's go eat dinner. By the way, are you going back to school tonight?"

"Yes, I need to go back and tell Zhao Yutong this news."

Ye Linchen nodded, straightened the documents on the table, and put them into a file bag.

The three of them then packed up and went back to their dormitory together.

Zhao Yutong was squatting by the bed organizing a stack of books when she saw the three of them push the door open and enter. She immediately put down the books in her hands, looked up at them expectantly, and her eyes were filled with a mix of nervousness and longing.

Ye Linchen looked at her and sighed inwardly.

She stepped forward and succinctly told Zhao Yutong the results of the meeting.

Zhao Yutong paused for a moment, a barely perceptible look of disappointment flashing in her eyes.

She had hoped to advance further, but she ended up just being an "employee".

But she reacted quickly, composed herself, and said with a smile, "That's great, I'll be looking forward to your guidance from now on."

Lin Xuemei and Li Hongying were both very happy to see that she had no objections.

Lin Xuemei nodded and said, "No problem, we'll all help each other out."

Li Hongying then suggested, "Okay, now that you've joined us, we're a team now. Let's all work together to try and get the startup support quota! By the way, have you eaten yet? If not, let's go to the cafeteria together to celebrate your joining."

Zhao Yutong smiled and shook her head: "I haven't eaten yet, so thank you both very much."

The four of them chatted and laughed as they walked towards the cafeteria.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, they lined up to get their food and found a corner seat to sit down.

Zhao Yutong sat beside them, quietly listening to Ye Linchen and the other two discuss the department's follow-up arrangements, occasionally interjecting a few soft words, appearing well-behaved and sensible.

Just like Ye Linchen had seen during his tutoring sessions.

After finishing his meal, just as he was about to return to his dormitory, Ye Linchen's pager suddenly vibrated.

She looked down and saw that it was a message from Gu Jingran.

A slight thought crossed her mind.

For a while, Gu Jingran was traveling back and forth between Jiangcheng and Gangcheng for his company's business, only returning to Jiangcheng for three or four days a month.

Previously, she was busy with her business and tutoring, leaving her with no time to spare.

It's been more than half a month since the two of them last met.

Judging from this, Gu Jingran probably just returned to Jiangcheng today.

Thinking of this, Ye Linchen couldn't help but smile happily.

When Zhao Yutong saw that smile, her eyes flickered almost imperceptibly.

Ye Linchen put away his pager, looked up at the three of them and said, "I have to go out for a bit, so I won't be going back to the dorm with you guys."

Lin Xuemei looked at the sweet smile on her face, winked at Li Hongying, and made an ambiguous gesture.

"Xiao Chen, are we going to see our young and promising CEO, Mr. Gu?"

Ye Linchen was in a good mood, and her smile deepened when she heard her question.

She nodded readily and replied, "Yes."

"Go on, go on. Quickly throw yourself into the arms of love!" Li Hongying waved her hand and joked with a smile, "After a busy day, you should relax."

Lin Xuemei also laughed: "Yes, our CEO Ye should also take a break from work and rest, communicate more with CEO Gu, and stop always running around with us."

Ye Linchen didn't mind their teasing and nodded with a smile: "You make a good point, then I'll be going now!"

After saying that, he picked up his tray, said goodbye to the three of them, and walked quickly toward the public phone booth at the school gate.

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria.

Zhao Yutong watched Ye Linchen's figure disappear into the distance, then turned to Li Hongying and asked casually, "Where are you going, senior? Are you meeting someone?"

As Li Hongying cleared the table of dishes and put them on plates, she nodded and said, "Yes, she went to see her boyfriend."

"Senior, you have a boyfriend?" Zhao Yutong asked in surprise.

"Yes, he's a successful and accomplished boss, and he drives a car," Li Hongying replied.

Lin Xuemei added with a smile, "He's also very handsome, and tall, probably around 1.85 meters."

Zhao Yutong opened her eyes wide, half out of curiosity and half out of inquiry.

"Wow, Senior Ye is really amazing. When did you two get together?"

Lin Xuemei couldn't help but laugh: "I don't know when they got together. At first, we only knew she had a guy she liked, and we even helped her come up with ideas."

"Last summer, I went to a restaurant near the school and I happened to see her having dinner with a very handsome guy. I was originally planning to question her when I got back to the dorm and ask her who the handsome guy was and if he was the boy she liked. But she didn't try to hide it at all and just introduced him as her boyfriend."

Li Hongying added, as if to deliver a jabs at him, "We were all very angry when we found out, saying that we shouldn't have told our roommate about something so big. We forced her to treat us to a meal to make up for it, but in the end, her boyfriend paid for it at a hot pot restaurant in the city center. We had a very enjoyable meal."

Both of them smiled as they recounted that dinner.

That day they went to the most bustling restaurant in Jiangcheng, a hot pot restaurant serving spicy beef hot pot with a fragrant and spicy broth.

Gu Jingran chatted and laughed throughout, behaving generously, serving them food and drinks, and taking extra care of Ye Linchen, leaving no room for criticism.

Lin Xuemei recalled, her tone tinged with emotion.

"Actually, after that meal, I had a very good impression of President Gu. It's one thing to be handsome, but the key is his demeanor. He's a big boss, and he sat with us students without any airs."

“Yes,” Li Hongying chimed in, “and he even offered to help Lin Chen solve some practical problems. At that time, I thought they were a good match.”

Zhao Yutong listened quietly, her face always smiling, but a faint emotion flickered in her eyes.

She chuckled softly and said, "Oh, I see. No wonder... Senior is so lucky."

She spoke naturally, with envy in her eyes, and Lin Xuemei and Li Hongying couldn't detect anything unusual.

But at this moment, only Zhao Yutong herself knew that a strange, inexplicable interest had quietly arisen in her heart.