Chapter 13
In Xu Dongyang's memory, his parents' relationship had always been good. But one day, when he returned from winter camp, he was suddenly told that his parents had divorced, that he was awarded to his mother, and that he and his mother had moved to another house.
He couldn't understand why his once happy family had suddenly fallen apart, and his father had become extremely cold towards him. Gradually, he stopped visiting his father, and the father and son only saw each other two or three times a year.
Having lived these years in a daze, he now knows the truth and, of course, won't let Wang Zhanpeng seize everything he shouldn't have. He only knew before that he had his mother's surname, but he was unaware of Wang Zhanpeng's marriage into his wife's family and the company's ownership. Now, he realizes that his grandfather and mother deliberately concealed this to save face for Wang Zhanpeng as a father in front of him. But Wang Zhanpeng clearly didn't care about such good intentions; once his grandfather was no longer a constraint, he couldn't wait to get rid of this marriage, which he perhaps saw as a symbol of shame, and the son who didn't bear his surname.
Xu Dongyang went online to check the current scale of Xu's Enterprise. Compared with when his grandfather was alive, it has not made any progress. It can be said that Wang Zhanpeng has not contributed anything to the company. Fortunately, he has not yet distributed the shares to Wang Sikai and his mother.
According to Ms. Xu, Wang Zhanpeng did not register his marriage with Wang Sikai's mother after their divorce. Wang Sikai's desperate attempt to get into Yenching University was likely an attempt to emulate Wang Zhanpeng's background and increase her standing in his eyes. After all, Wang Zhanpeng is only in his forties; he may have new lovers, or even new illegitimate or legitimate children.
Xu Dongyang had heard Wang Zhanpeng reminisce about his life at Yenching University more than once, and that he regretted not continuing his postgraduate studies there.
Today on the phone, Wang Zhanpeng once again compared Xu Dongyang and Wang Sikai, implying that Wang Sikai was much more promising than Xu Dongyang, who made many bad friends. He also said that once Wang Sikai was admitted to Peking University for graduate studies, he would give him a portion of his shares.
Therefore, Wang Sikai's purpose in participating in the CUPT competition is quite clear.
Ji Zhixing believes that given Wang Sikai's insistence on repeating a year of high school to secure a guaranteed admission, he probably wouldn't be able to get into Yenching University's graduate program based on his own merit. This competition might be his biggest chance to stay at the university for graduate studies and ultimately acquire shares.
What they need to do now is to maintain the integrity of the company's shareholding structure and prevent Wang Sikai from acquiring shares. Otherwise, once the shares are distributed, it will be much more difficult to bring them back.
Ji Zhixing swallowed the braised pork in his mouth: "So, what we need to do now is to stop Wang Sikai from winning the national first prize in the CUPT competition!"
According to Guangling University's regulations, achieving a third-place finish in the CUPT competition guarantees admission to graduate school. However, Yenching University, being one of the top universities in the country, reportedly requires a first-place finish for admission.
Ji Zhixing looked at Xu Dongyang: "Let's participate in the competition too!" This is the most direct way.
Xu Dongyang remained silent. He knew his own limitations and knew that participating in the CUPT competition would only humiliate him in front of Wang Sikai and make him a laughingstock.
Lin Lang remained silent. He couldn't understand how the path of revenge had suddenly shifted, turning from business warfare into a competition. He would go to great lengths for his brothers, but to suddenly transform into a top student was something he couldn't do even if he drained his brains dry!
"Why can't we time the competition perfectly, put a sack over Wang Sikai's head, and beat him up?" That was Lin Lang's plan.
"How could you think like that? This is a society governed by law!" Ji Zhixing looked at him with exasperation. If he could, he would also like to give Wang Sikai a good beating.
However, given their lack of professional skills and limited social experience, it would be virtually impossible for them to leave no trace in an era of ubiquitous surveillance. Such premeditated group crimes could result in anything from being expelled from school and forced to return home to fend for themselves to imprisonment.
It's not worth ruining your life just to beat up Wang Sikai. The best approach right now is to use knowledge as a weapon to cut off Wang Sikai's path to graduate school!
Looking at the two men who had lost all fighting spirit, Ji Zhixing was furious at their lack of determination: "How will you know if you don't try? I'm here for you!"
Xu Dongyang and Lin Lang glanced at him in unison, but thinking about it, it wasn't impossible. They had seen Ji Zhixing's hard work and performance during this period, and perhaps he really could lead them to success.
Xu Dongyang and Lin Lang exchanged a glance, both somewhat tempted.
Ji Zhixing made the final decision: "It's settled then! We'll register now and get started." Even if they didn't achieve good results, at least they tried. Besides, wouldn't the knowledge gained in the process be beneficial? Ji Zhixing felt that participating in the competition could only bring advantages and no disadvantages.
After dinner, the three returned to Xu Dongyang's room and turned on the computer to check the CUPT competition information.
The CUPT competition has no restrictions on the number of participants or eligibility. Of course, students who are not academically strong generally wouldn't bother participating in such a challenging competition. Each school usually has a representative team led by the school and composed of top students, with corresponding teachers providing guidance and laboratory practice opportunities. Other students forming their own teams don't have such favorable conditions.
In past CUPT competitions, many non-official teams couldn't even make it past the provincial cutoff. And the few teams that have managed to reach the national finals have only achieved a third-place finish so far.
As for the national first prize, almost all the winners come from those few prestigious universities, while Guangling University has never won it. Their best result in history is the national second prize.
Xu Dongyang and Lin Lang felt increasingly less confident as they looked at the screen. They suddenly found it difficult to even swallow, and they feared that the days ahead would be tough.
In the afternoon, the three of them went to the computer mall as planned.
Ji Zhixing tried out several laptops at different price points at Xu Dongyang's cousin's shop and finally chose a Dell Precision 7540, which was called a "mobile workstation".
Compared to regular laptops, these mobile workstations are more geared towards professional users. They provide a good operating environment for data processing, image processing, software development, and scientific research.
Of course, there are also drawbacks. From the appearance, it is bulky and heavy, and it is not at all as lightweight and ultra-thin as it seems. It looks like a set-top box.
The biggest drawback is the price! Xu Dongyang's cousin very sincerely gave a discount and rounded down the price, but even though it was already cheaper than online channels, the final price was still as high as 30,000 yuan!
In fact, Ji Zhixing hadn't originally planned to buy such an expensive laptop; his budget was 10,000 to 20,000 yuan. However, considering the needs of the competition, he figured that "a workman must first sharpen his tools if he wants to do his work well," and having a mobile workstation would make things much easier.
Moreover, the store was full of high-end laptops, with many costing 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, and even two rows of laptops costing several hundred thousand yuan. Ji Zhixing even saw a 200,000 yuan UltraLAB PA410G. In this environment, a "mere" 30,000 yuan mobile workstation seemed like a great deal. The atmosphere was so inviting that Ji Zhixing impulsively decided to buy it, only to feel his heart bleeding as he paid—he was back to square one!
Xu Dongyang said he would pay for the computer if it was needed for the competition, but Ji Zhixing insisted on paying for it himself because he would need it for his own graduate and doctoral studies.
Xu Dongyang's cousin gifted him a high-end laptop bag. Ji Zhixing slung his laptop over his shoulder, fully experiencing the heavy weight of the mobile workstation. He suddenly felt like a laborer of knowledge, but he was willing to do so!
Feeling she hadn't treated her son's friends well at lunchtime, Mrs. Xu insisted they stay for dinner. Unable to refuse her hospitality, Ji Zhixing and Lin Lang went home with Xu Dongyang for another big meal and stayed overnight at the Xu family's house.
The next morning, Ji Zhixing woke Xu Dongyang and Lin Lang, who were still sleeping in, urging them to hurry back to school and get to work. The competition was on December 8th, and it was already October 8th, yet they hadn't even decided on the direction of their competition project. Time was extremely tight!
Xu Dongyang yawned before starting the car. Lin Lang was fast asleep in the back seat, just like when they arrived. Only Ji Zhixing was full of energy, holding his laptop, unaware that the "small goal" post on the school forum had started discussing him again.
"Report! Something's up! Ji Zhixing's family has delivered something again!"
"What is that? What is that?"
"Guess!"
Given that Ji Zhixing's family sent ten luxury watches worth 100 million yuan for the first time, many people guessed that it was a sign of extravagance.
"Is it going to be another watch?"
"Cars? Ferraris? Rolls-Royces? Lamborghinis? Porsches?"
"I guessed it was a car too!"
"Could it be a property ownership certificate?"
"It might not be something that expensive, right? Didn't you send clothes and shoes last time?"
"Those are all brand-name products, they must cost over a million yuan in total!"
"In a post about a small goal, the unit 'ten thousand' is really not enough."
"Last time it was clothing, could it be food this time?"
"The food? That's so boring."
The answer is: I don't know! (doge.jpg)
"..."
"Which dorm do you live in, classmate? No offense, just asking." (smiling face)
"Hehehe! I really don't know."
The poster then posted several more photos, showing a large box piled up at the entrance of dormitory 310. The box was metallic, with no writing or markings on the outside, making it impossible to tell what was inside.
"The only piece of information we can rely on is—it's extremely heavy!"
“That’s right, I was watching too! They’re moving the second box up now. It takes two men to lift each box, and it made a loud thud when it was put on the ground. It must be incredibly heavy.”
"No need to handle it gently, it's still heavy..."
"Could it be..."
"banknote?!"
"bullion?!"
Everyone's enthusiasm was instantly aroused, and they urged the poster to broadcast the live stream.
"The third box is here!"
"The fourth box has arrived!"
"Where is Ji Zhixing? Didn't he come to open the box?"
"It seems like everyone in their dorm went out early yesterday morning, and I haven't seen them today."
"Here he comes! Ji Zhixing is back!"
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