Chapter 32

Yan Qing returned to her dormitory, and Zhuge Xiaoxiang called back. As soon as she answered, she heard his apologetic voice: "I'm sorry, I was busy this afternoon and didn't hear my phone ring."

Yan Qing showed no sign of anger. On the contrary, she had almost forgotten that she had called him.

"Nothing much, just asking how Ruoting is doing," she said.

"You'll have to stay in the hospital for a few more days and receive IV fluids."

Yan Qing didn't mention visiting him in the hospital, only saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

"I'm fine. By the way, has President Shen made any further indication?"

"Not at the moment," Yan Qing said.

"It's okay, it's not important." His heavy breathing came through the phone, sounding both worried and guilty. "I haven't seen you in so long, I don't even know how you've been these past few days."

Yan Qing touched the smooth gauze on her forehead: "I'm fine, don't worry. Take good care of Ruoting and Auntie."

As summer vacation draws to a close, students are returning to school one after another, and the campus, which had been quiet for two months, is bustling with activity again. However, morale is low in Huang Qian's research group.

Huang Qian's project with Tengyue Company, which they had been discussing for a long time, suddenly fell through. This also meant that the project bonuses everyone was looking forward to were gone.

Rumors circulated that Wu Chuan's family members caused a scene at Tengyue Company. Tengyue was a newly established company, and its owner was cautious and afraid of attracting negative public opinion, so he terminated his cooperation with Huang Qian.

At the new semester's group meeting, students gathered in the conference room.

Wang Yongxing habitually tiptoed and shook his leg, causing the two lumps of fat on his face to jiggle up and down.

Senior Brother Liao, a staunchly straight man, had always looked down on Wang Yongxing's effeminate mannerisms. He rolled his eyes at him and said, "Can you stop shaking? You're shaking your soul out of your body."

Wang Yongxing stopped, covered his nose with one hand, and sniffed: "Why hasn't Teacher Huang arrived yet? She's never late. Is she discouraged and giving up on us?"

Upon hearing this, the junior sister looked worried: "No, I still want my supervisor to recommend me for a doctoral program."

Wang Yongxing scoffed: "Going to a PhD program... Your supervisor is in dire straits now. His reputation is ruined, the project is canceled, and he probably can't rely on his old connections anymore. You should watch less anime and use your brain. You'd be lucky if you didn't get dragged into this."

The conference room door creaked open, and Huang Qian walked in briskly, carrying a plastic bag. She placed the notebook under her arm on the table and straddled the chair in her signature unrestrained posture.

"Sorry I'm late." He said, taking two large bags of coconut candy from a plastic bag and throwing them in the center of the table. "These are from Hainan, have a taste."

Everyone was surprised. Huang Qian, who had just been through the cheating scandal, did not appear dejected or depressed as expected. Although she was a bit tanned, she looked energetic and her face was even brighter than before the holiday.

Huang Qian put her notebook away and then noticed her junior sister's two drooping eyebrows, which resembled the character "囧" (jiǒng, meaning awkward or embarrassed). "Why are you looking so sad?" she asked, glancing at her new JK uniform. "Did that old man spray you again?"

The background to this incident is that when the junior student first entered the university, she wore an off-the-shoulder top and was criticized by an older male professor in the college for being "indecent." The professor was senior, and Huang Qian did not dare to confront him directly. Behind closed doors, she told her students, "Old-fashioned, your dentures are leaking and you still go around giving speeches. What's wrong with off-the-shoulder tops? I've been wearing them for twenty years."

Later, the junior sister also developed a liking for JK uniforms, which earned her several eye-rolls from the professor.

Therefore, Huang Qian first suspected him.

The junior sister quickly denied it: "No, no."

Huang Qian looked at her suspiciously, but didn't bother to investigate further. Her expression brightened again: "Comrades, I have some good news to announce. A very powerful technology company is planning to collaborate with our research group. If the deal goes through, everyone's small goals for this year can be achieved!"

Senior Brother Liao asked in surprise, "Which company?"

Huang Qian pushed up her glasses, deliberately teasing him: "You'll know for sure at the meeting the day after tomorrow."

Although nothing has been finalized yet, everyone was happy that the research group had found a way out of a difficult situation, and the atmosphere of the group meeting immediately became relaxed. Senior Brother Liao took the lead in peeling and eating two coconut candies.

Huang Qian, lost in her own turbulent emotions, sighed, "Normally, getting a project involves scrambling to come up with proposals and haggling over prices, and even then, there's no guarantee of winning. This company is deep and powerful, and most importantly, the boss is straightforward and doesn't mince words. As long as we can reach an agreement, we sign the contract right away." Huang Qian leaned back in her chair, resting her head on her crossed hands, looking triumphant. "I, Huang, am finally going to rise up and sing my own song!"

Following Huang Qian's instructions, Yan Qing spent a day and a night creating a technical document and then spent an afternoon polishing the PPT.

Huang Qian was very satisfied: "I knew it! Entrusting anything to Yan Qing is always the right thing to do!" But she vaguely felt that something was still missing. Suddenly, she remembered that in Hainan, to pass the time, she had randomly picked up a book in her hotel room to read. It was a self-help book that taught interpersonal skills: "99 Social Rules You Should Master".

At this moment, Huang Qian, who had never been good at interpersonal relationships, suddenly felt enlightened, as if she had been struck on the forehead by a pointer in a book.

"When entertaining a CEO like this, the tea break needs to be prepared properly. I've heard that Lianxi Restaurant is extremely famous for its desserts, which are quite high-end. If we can serve their desserts at our tea break, it will not only show that we value them, but also show that we are not short of money and are equals with them. It's a win-win situation. It's a pity that Lianxi Restaurant doesn't deliver."

When Yan Qing heard the words "Lianxi Restaurant," her heart stirred. Huang Qian was unaware that she had once eaten the leftover bread from Lianxi Restaurant that Secretary Gao had packed up; she only expressed longing for the desserts at this upscale restaurant.

Yan Qing looked at the map: "This place isn't far, I'll go buy it and bring it back."

Huang Qian nodded happily: "That's fine too."

At the meeting that afternoon, Huang Qian was dressed in a smart business suit, and her newly permed hair and light makeup complemented each other perfectly. The students, who were used to seeing her in men's T-shirts, jeans, and canvas shoes, were a little surprised and secretly said in the group chat, "Our teacher looks really good today!"

After finishing her presentation in one breath, Huang Qian raised her cup and gulped down several mouthfuls of water, then wiped the droplets from her mouth with her sleeve. This unpretentious gesture drew glances from the company representatives opposite her, their eyes revealing unspoken thoughts. Only the students sitting on either side of Huang Qian chuckled to themselves, exchanging messages in their group chat: "Even a director in disguise is still a director; one gesture gave her away."

Huang Qian looked sincerely at the group of men in suits opposite her: "Gentlemen, that concludes my report. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have."

Everyone first glanced at the man sitting in the center. Seeing that he didn't react, the vice president surnamed Gou spoke up: "Professor Huang, your algorithm is crucial to the intelligent system we are developing. We've always outsourced to professional companies before; this is our first time collaborating with a university. Our biggest concern is whether you can guarantee the progress and quality of the work."

Huang Qian looked at her students with composure and confidence, as if she were admiring the vegetables she had carefully cultivated in her greenhouse: "You can rest assured. My students are all very capable. I have great confidence in my team. It's safe to say that your company has excellent judgment in choosing us! To be honest, the initial version of this graphics processing model was designed by one of my most outstanding students!"

Another assistant, surnamed Hao, laughed and said, "Then we must ask your prized student to stand up and introduce himself to everyone."

Huang Qian chuckled awkwardly, "I arranged for her to go out and take care of some things..." She glanced at her watch and muttered, "Why hasn't that girl come back yet?" Then she took out her phone and made a call.

"Hey girl, where are we?"

"You're back." Everyone heard a gentle female voice from just a door away.

Then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Huang Qian said loudly.

Yan Qing said apologetically, "I'm sorry I'm late."

"It's alright, it's alright, sit down."

Holding a pen and notebook, Yan Qing found a seat at the back and sat down.

No one noticed the fleeting shift in the man's gaze as he sat in the middle. He looked past the row of people at her. She had clearly rushed back; her hair was disheveled and draped over her shoulders, her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her chest rose and fell gently with her rapid breathing.

She opened her notebook with one hand and tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear with the other.

For the long time the man stared at her, she kept her head down, looking at the notebook open on her lap, unaware of the gaze coming from across the room.

Huang Qian forgot to introduce Yan Qing to everyone in the blink of an eye and continued, "Does anyone else have any questions?"

The vice president and his assistant both shook their heads, then looked at the man in unison.

The man looked away. "Professor Huang, everything else is fine, but we need someone as a dedicated technical support person, stationed at the company. Is that alright?"

Yan Qing felt that the voice sounded very familiar, and subconsciously looked in the direction of the voice, just in time to meet Shen Hanyang's indifferent gaze.

She froze, and the notebook slipped from her hand, falling to the floor with a thud. This immediately drew everyone's attention. She quickly bent down to pick it up, her face turning even redder.

“No problem.” Huang Qian was about to discuss it further with him when the phone rang. Shen Hanyang answered the phone and walked out of the conference room.

Everyone was very excited, and the group chat was buzzing with discussion:

"I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. Director is really capable."

"I'm hopeful for the prize money, and I can finally make a move on the PS5 I've been eyeing for so long."

"Why do I feel like that handsome guy in the middle keeps looking at Senior Sister Yan Qing?"

"Nonsense! People with a love-struck mind will see everything as a romance movie!"

Only Wang Yongxing remained calm, his eyes darting around furtively.

Huang Qian glanced at the time; it was already 3 p.m., so she suggested they go for a tea break together.

Assistant Hao smiled and said, "No need for a tea break. President Shen is very busy. We'll go back to the company after we finish talking."

Huang Qian didn't say much, and nodded knowingly.

Shen Hanyang pushed open the door, revealing half of his profile: "Mr. Gou, could you please come out for a moment?"

Vice President Gou responded and followed him out. A little while later, Assistant Hao also went out.

After a long time, the group still hadn't returned. Huang Qian went outside to take a look, but the corridor was empty; the group had vanished.

"They left without even saying goodbye," Huang Qian muttered in dissatisfaction. She then called all the students in the conference room to the next room.

In the next room, a long table was already set with beautiful bread, cakes, puddings, chocolate chip cookies, and freshly squeezed juice.

"We've gone to great lengths to prepare this, and if they won't eat it, we'll eat it ourselves. Disciples, let's dig in!"

At Huang Qian's command, the students swarmed forward, and in no time the plate of cookies was reduced to crumbs.

Looking at her disciples who were so unconcerned about their appearance, Huang Qian asked in bewilderment, "Have I been starving you all?"

The younger students, showing off their front teeth covered in chocolate sauce, said, "You didn't starve us; it's us who are thirsting for knowledge!" As they spoke, they picked up a croissant and stuffed it into their mouths.

Huang Qian said to Yan Qing, "You should eat some too. You went out of your way to buy these, you must have waited in line for a long time."

Yan Qing said, "Their desserts are only available by pre-order. I had to plead with them for a long time before they agreed to make them to order. Making them to order takes a long time, so it was delayed."

Huang Qian protested, "This cake was so hard to come by, and they didn't even glance at it. They don't know its value. Come on, let's eat it!"

Just as I was about to start, there was a few knocks on the door: "Knock, knock, knock—"

Assistant Hao peeked out from the doorway: "Is this where the tea break is?"

Huang Qian nodded blankly: "Uh..."

Assistant Hao took a step back and bowed slightly: "President Shen, this way."

When Shen Hanyang entered, the tea break on the table was unrecognizable. However, he did not show any disgust. He naturally picked up a small cake and put it in his mouth. His eating manner was casual, yet inexplicably beautiful.

The junior sister whispered to her senior brother, "So handsome."

"It tastes good," Shen Hanyang said, then casually picked up another piece and handed it to Yan Qing: "Try it."

"Holy crap!" The junior sister and senior brother were both secretly shocked.

Yan Qing, of course, was unaware of her fellow disciples' secret thoughts. She was simply debating whether to accept the cake Chen Hanyang offered. Because it was expensive, she had only bought four pieces of each type of dessert. And this cake only had one piece left, which Huang Qian hadn't eaten yet.

In the end, Huang Qian nudged her elbow and reminded her, "Take it! You bought it yourself, try it."

Yan Qing took it with great embarrassment, took a bite, and found the texture to be smooth and creamy with a rich milky aroma, without being overly sweet.

Huang Qian divided the remaining two pieces of pudding between herself and her junior sister.

Shen Hanyang whispered something to his assistant Hao, who beamed and said, "By the way, Professor Huang, since this student is a key figure in the formulation of this plan, why don't we have him handle the on-site technical support mentioned in the meeting?"

Huang Qian clapped her hands: "That's exactly what I wanted! Yan Qing knows the basic structure of this model best, so she's the perfect candidate. Yan Qing, what do you think of this suggestion?"

Ignoring Huang Qian's frantic winks, Yan Qing hesitated and remained silent.

Assistant Hao added, "No rush, let's think about it. Everyone has worked hard today. Tonight, President Shen is treating Teacher Huang and all the students to dinner at Xingyunhui. A private room has been booked. See you at six o'clock!"

The students cheered with joy.

No one noticed that in the corner, Wang Yongxing's gaze at Yan Qing was practically tearing her apart.