Teased by Lu Chen’s words, breath, and kisses, He Xiaoyuan laughed uncontrollably, repeatedly saying, “Okay, that’s enough,” and after two more kisses, Lu Chen finally stopped.
“What do you want to ask?”
Lu Chen knew that if his boyfriend came over this late at night, he definitely had questions.
He Xiaoyuan asked, “Everything you told me on the phone—is it all true?”
Lu Chen leaned back against the headboard. “Of course.”
He Xiaoyuan’s expression was full of interest. “The company started preparing that early?”
Lu Chen held his boyfriend’s hand, his thumb slowly stroking the back of it as he said, “As long as it’s a large company, no matter the industry, there will always be strategic deployment in certain directions. Especially since natural language processing isn’t anything new in the internet industry—we’ve done it before. We just never really pulled it off.”
He Xiaoyuan was genuinely curious. “So how is the company doing with it?”
Then, realizing this might be confidential and hard to answer, he changed the question. “Compared to ChatGPT—how does it stack up? Is the gap huge?”
Lu Chen replied steadily, “I know what you’re really asking, but there’s no direct comparison. ChatGPT is trained on English-language corpora; what we’re using is Chinese.”
He Xiaoyuan asked, “Then is the development going smoothly?”
Lu Chen said, “Personally, I think it’s going fairly well. The technical team’s feedback to me has also been fairly positive.”
That was great news.
He Xiaoyuan happily swung the hand Lu Chen was holding, like a little animal bouncing around with excitement.
Just watching him like that made Lu Chen feel pleased.
“Oh, right,” He Xiaoyuan added. “Today Lin Xuhan also said he’s going to build a domestic version of ChatGPT. He said he’s putting in sixty-five million himself.”
Lu Chen picked up his phone from the bedside table, tapped a few times, then turned the screen toward He Xiaoyuan.
He Xiaoyuan took a look—it was Lin Xuhan’s Moments post, publicly announcing that he was going to make a domestic version of ChatGPT.
“So he really is doing it,” He Xiaoyuan said.
Lu Chen put the phone down and gave a quiet “Mm.” “Maybe.”
He Xiaoyuan immediately thought of how Qin Chengfei had stirred things up at the salon that evening, and he recounted to Lu Chen how Qin Chengfei had openly dissed Lin Xuhan and the others for going public just to harvest retail investors.
Lu Chen spoke indifferently. “That’s just how capital plays the game.”
He Xiaoyuan asked, “Do you think they can actually pull it off?”
Lu Chen answered cautiously. “Hard to say.”
He Xiaoyuan thought: I see.
Then Lu Chen added, “But if they want to assemble a strong technical team right now, it’ll probably be pretty difficult.”
“I’ve basically already recruited all the top technical talent.”
He Xiaoyuan’s eyes lit up. Right!
He Xiaoyuan smiled—not flattery, but genuine admiration. “You really are impressive.”
Then he thought of something else. “But Lin Xuhan has already guessed that you might be doing this. Do you think he’ll try to approach you about collaborating?”
Lu Chen replied, “Do I lack his sixty-five million?”
He Xiaoyuan honestly loved this side of Lu Chen—strong, dominant, a little dismissive of others. It was insanely attractive.
Curious-baby He Xiaoyuan pressed on. “What if he really does come to you? Or what if he has some resources you don’t have in deep natural language development?”
Lu Chen answered with certainty. “He doesn’t.”
He Xiaoyuan started swinging their joined hands again, delighted. “My boyfriend is so amazing!”
Lu Chen smiled, leaned closer, and kissed the young man in front of him.
It was hard to say whether, in the future, he might ever do something like ‘lighting the beacons to amuse the lords,’ but at least at this moment—
Seeing how interested He Xiaoyuan was in the development of a domestic version of ChatGPT, Lu Chen kissed his lips and said gently, “Another day, I’ll take you to visit the lab.”
“Really?!”
He Xiaoyuan was thrilled.
Then he asked, “Is the lab in China?”
Lu Chen replied, “Yes. And there are two large clusters in Singapore.”
He Xiaoyuan was cautious. “Is it really okay for you to take me there?”
Lu Chen said, “What problem could there be?”
That was wonderful!
He Xiaoyuan happily wrapped his arms around Lu Chen.
Lu Chen held the young man in his arms, his heart softening along with it. At the same time, he couldn’t help noticing how soft the body in his embrace was—so different from his own hard, solid frame—and how there was a faint, refreshing scent about him.
Lu Chen hugged He Xiaoyuan and said, “It’s late. Don’t go back—stay here.”
He Xiaoyuan immediately let go and stood up. “I’m leaving.”
Lu Chen chuckled, looked over, and explained, “I’m not telling you to sleep in my room. There’s a guest room.”
“I’m leaving,” He Xiaoyuan said, already heading out.
He waved his hand as he went. “You go to sleep. Good night.”
Pretty cautious.
Lu Chen had no choice but to throw back the covers and get up to see him out, saying as he walked, “What’s wrong with staying at my place? Do you think I eat people?”
He Xiaoyuan was already out of the bedroom and out of sight when he suddenly reappeared at the doorway, bracing himself on the doorframe and shooting back, “You don’t?”
Lu Chen followed him out. “Come here. Let me take a bite.”
The next day, in the office, He Xiaoyuan heard Chang Bei and several other bosses talking about Lin Xuhan’s Moments post announcing he was going to make a domestic version of ChatGPT—
“Is it real? It’s not just lighting off a firecracker or two and calling it done, is it?”
“I think it’s real.”
“I even saw Jiang Heng from Quadrant Capital reply to Lin Xuhan’s post. Looks like he wants to do it together.”
“Figures—another capital-driven scheme.”
…
He Xiaoyuan exchanged a look with Qin Chengfei.
Qin Chengfei leaned over and whispered, “What did the big shot you mentioned before say?”
He Xiaoyuan whispered back, “The big shot doesn’t care about them.”
Qin Chengfei asked, “So the big shot isn’t doing this?”
He Xiaoyuan didn’t want to say too much. “The big shot has his own plans.”
Chang Bei and the others were still talking—
“Sixty-five million isn’t nearly enough. Just running the model once costs more than that.”
“You still don’t get it? This is a concept stock.”
“When you put it that way, I get it instantly.”
“Same. Instantly.”
“Hey, with a super-sized case like this, only a few major companies could actually pull it off.”
“Then why don’t you go ask the big boss?”
“Forget it. It’s not like I haven’t brought it up before. Didn’t it get shot down?”
“By the way, if Lin Xuhan and them really put together a funding round, they’ll still have to assemble a technical team, right?”
“Definitely. Didn’t you see that post? He said more than half the equity would go to the technical team.”
“Then they’re definitely going to look for Fang Dinghao, right? Deep natural language processing—how could a top talent like that not come out of retirement?”
“Where is Fang Dinghao now?”
“No idea. Anyway, he’s not at Sipu.”
…
He Xiaoyuan and Qin Chengfei leaned toward each other at the same time and spoke in unison: “Do you know Fang Dinghao?”
Qin Chengfei replied, “Never heard of him.”
He Xiaoyuan shrugged, indicating he didn’t know.
He glanced across the aisle at Chang Bei. “Mr. Chang, who’s Fang Dinghao?”
Chang Bei explained, “A top-tier technical expert. If Lin Xuhan wants to build a domestic version of ChatGPT, he’s unavoidable.”
He Xiaoyuan couldn’t help but wonder—had Lu Chen already recruited him?
Just one day later, early in the morning, Lu Chen received a message from Yang Yun: Lin Xuhan and Quadrant Capital were both looking for Fang Dinghao.
Yang Yun: “Headache…”
Yang Yun: “Bad news: we haven’t secured him yet, and now a few more groups are approaching him.”
Yang Yun: “Good news: Fang Dinghao couldn’t care less about us or them.”
Lu Chen: “Still not working?”
Yang Yun: “Soft or hard approaches don’t work; he won’t budge. I’m still trying.”
That evening at Yanlan Bay for a late-night meal, He Xiaoyuan suddenly thought of Fang Dinghao’s name and casually asked, “I heard he’s a top talent. Chang Bei said it—has he already been recruited?”
Lu Chen replied, “No.”
No?
He Xiaoyuan felt a bit odd. A technical genius well known even to Chang Bei and Yu Xun—how could Lu Chen not know him? Impossible.
He asked, “You haven’t heard of him?”
Lu Chen said, “I know him. He used to be a director at Huayu, very skilled technically. I mean, we haven’t been able to recruit him.”
He Xiaoyuan was surprised. Not recruited?
His first thought: maybe the offer didn’t meet Fang Dinghao’s conditions?
Then he felt something was off.
Lu Chen—handling a huge project, a top-tier technical talent—how could he not provide excellent compensation and stock options?
He Xiaoyuan asked, “So what conditions didn’t match?”
Lu Chen shook his head. “That’s not it. He just won’t come.”
Huh?
Lu Chen clarified, “Literally, he refuses to join.”
He Xiaoyuan was puzzled. “?”
He guessed, “Is it because he’s doing well at another company? Or he doesn’t like Sipu?”
Lu Chen shook his head. “Neither.”
He continued, eating as they talked: “He hasn’t worked for the past two years. You could say, from his previous experience, even with top-tier skills, high salary, and equity, he still finds working meaningless.”
“So after resigning, he hasn’t been employed. Even if opportunities came knocking with high pay, he wouldn’t accept.”
He Xiaoyuan was even more surprised. “So even if you try to recruit him, he won’t come?”
Lu Chen nodded. “I personally haven’t approached him. Yang Yun has been trying, but no luck. We haven’t given up and have promised all sorts of conditions, but he still won’t join.”
He Xiaoyuan guessed aloud, “He probably doesn’t need the money.”
Lu Chen: “Correct. He’s wealthy.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Does he have kids or anything?”
In a large company like Sipu, leveraging children’s schooling or spousal career opportunities is a common tactic to attract talent.
Lu Chen understood He Xiaoyuan’s meaning. “He has no partner, no children, claims no ambitions, and doesn’t need money—basically impervious to any persuasion.”
Wow.
He Xiaoyuan thought: such people really exist.
This is already “four empties” level?
“So what is he doing now?” He Xiaoyuan asked, meaning work.
Lu Chen: “Nothing. Not employed.”
He Xiaoyuan: “He must do something at least, right? Eat, maybe? After meals, just lie down? Play games, scroll on his phone—surely something occupies him.”
Lu Chen: “I heard he likes fishing.”
He Xiaoyuan, still thinking in terms of work, immediately said, “Then can’t we try approaching him through fishing?”
Lu Chen laughed. “How? Give him the world’s best rods, lines, and floats? Take him to fish species he’s never caught? Or rent some wild rivers for him to fish freely?”
He Xiaoyuan reacted quickly. “Yang Yun hasn’t already tried all of these, right?”
Lu Chen, calmly eating, replied: “All tried. No use.” Hence, “impervious to persuasion.”
“Even introduced him to top anglers, big shots, attractive people in fishing circles—didn’t work.”
He Xiaoyuan said casually: “What if he likes men, handsome ones.”
Lu Chen glanced at him: “Tried that too—applies to men, women, even beautiful fish.”
He Xiaoyuan almost choked on his food at “beautiful fish.”
Indeed, impervious to everything.
He Xiaoyuan: “So he still hasn’t been recruited, and you’re still trying?”
Lu Chen: “Mm.”
He Xiaoyuan thought further: “He’s so famous and capable. Lin Xuhan must be looking for him too.”
That was confirmed.
Lu Chen nodded.
He Xiaoyuan asked again: “If he joins—or doesn’t join us, but goes to another company—how much would it impact the team and development?”
Lu Chen used one word: “Significantly.”
He Xiaoyuan considered this. Indeed, this person was extremely important.
That night, lying in bed at the apartment, holding his silver leopard brooch in his hand, He Xiaoyuan thought silently: This Fang Dinghao…
The next day, during a break at work, He Xiaoyuan thought of Fang Dinghao again and pondered for a while.
Qin Chengfei returned from the break room with two cups of coffee, handing one to He Xiaoyuan.
He Xiaoyuan took it, casually asking, “How’s your project going?”
Qin Chengfei sat down: “Still pushing progress.”
He turned his head. “What’s up?”
He Xiaoyuan sipped his coffee. “Nothing, just remembered something, so I asked.”
That afternoon, while in a meeting, Lu Chen received a message from He Xiaoyuan:
He Xiaoyuan: “Reporting to leadership, I’d like to request a case.”
Case Theme: Recruit Fang Dinghao
He Xiaoyuan wasn’t joking—he genuinely treated getting Fang Dinghao on board as a project he could take on. Lu Chen had taught him before: projects are made by “digging,” by uncovering what’s hidden.
Previously, He Xiaoyuan had only followed behind bosses like Chang Bei, Xiao Qiyi, Yu Xun, and Xue Jinming on their projects. Lacking experience, connections, and influence, he never had a project of his own. He had envied Qin Chengfei, who had projects to run. Now, this opportunity had appeared—he didn’t want to miss it, even if the “case” didn’t look like a formal project.
Lu Chen had already said Fang Dinghao was extremely important.
If taking over a company could be a project, then taking over a person—why not?
He Xiaoyuan felt ready and motivated. Although unsure, he submitted the project request to Lu Chen, the department head. He was nervous, thinking Lu Chen might reject it. But Lu Chen barely questioned him and approved it, with just one requirement: no “handsome guy” tactics.
He Xiaoyuan, in his first work message after falling in love, sent Lu Chen a slightly playful reply:
He Xiaoyuan: “Don’t worry, Lu Chen, the handsome guy is all yours.”
Lu Chen: “Big dinosaur hugs little dinosaur.jpg”
The next day, while He Xiaoyuan applied for the project backstage, Yang Yun sent a message:
Yang Yun: “I’ve sent you all the info, take a look.”
Yang Yun: “Lu Chen already told you, right? About the business and Fang Dinghao?”
He Xiaoyuan: “Yes, I know everything.”
Yang Yun: “Good luck. Just seeing the name ‘Fang Dinghao’ gives me a headache.”
Yang Yun: “Never met someone like him before.”
Yang Yun: “Here’s a tip: don’t waste too much time or energy—if it doesn’t work, withdraw.”
He Xiaoyuan: “OK, thanks for the advice, Yang.”
Chang Bei, looking at his screen in confusion, asked: “Xiaoyuan boss, you have your own project now? What is this, it’s so high-level and encrypted I can’t even see it.”
That night, He Xiaoyuan stayed a bit late in Lu Chen’s top-floor office, organizing the Fang Dinghao information Yang Yun had sent him:
- Fang Dinghao, male, early 30s.
- Graduated from an elite accelerated program at a top university.
- First job at a famous company known for search engine technology, later moved to Huayu, a competitor of Sipu.
- Resigned after a few years and hasn’t worked since.
- Both previous roles were not completely smooth; even with top skills, he chose to remain unemployed rather than join another company.
- From a highly educated, wealthy family—doesn’t need money.
- No partner, no children, enjoys fishing, especially wild fishing.
- Personality reportedly difficult to understand.
Yang Yun had spent two years trying to recruit him. Every persuasion method—reasoning, incentives, emotional appeals—had been attempted, all to no avail.
Lu Chen sat beside He Xiaoyuan, draping an arm around his shoulder. “Any ideas?”
He Xiaoyuan shrugged. “Not yet.”
But that’s how work goes—solving the unknown.
He looked at Lu Chen: “I want to meet this person.”
Even meeting someone requires strategy. There’s a difference between a formal recruitment meeting and a casual encounter. The approach influences the outcome.
He Xiaoyuan decided the best scenario would be a chance encounter while Fang Dinghao was fishing.
Lu Chen reminded him that Yang Yun had tried this approach before—others had likely tried it too.
He Xiaoyuan: “Passing through the same hallways at the same place is unavoidable. It’s okay, I’ll handle it.”
Before meeting Fang Dinghao, He Xiaoyuan prepared: he bought fishing gear. That evening, after returning to his apartment, he browsed online for fishing supplies—rod bags, floats, rod stands, nets, weights, bait trays, and more. He craned his neck at the screen: so many tools just to catch a fish?
Lu Chen stood behind him, holding a cup of water. “Start with a rod. How long? What action rating?”
He Xiaoyuan, completely new to fishing, turned: “Many lengths? Action rating?”
Lu Chen: “Action rating is the stiffness of the rod. Lower rating means stiffer rod. It affects how the rod bends and handles fish.”
He Xiaoyuan made a “stop” gesture: “I’ll look it up myself.”
This was his project.
Lu Chen set the cup down, leaned close to He Xiaoyuan’s face, and whispered: “Or I could teach you, hmm?”
He Xiaoyuan turned to him: no thanks.
Lu Chen kissed his ear: “Hmm?”
He Xiaoyuan exclaimed: “Ah—don’t!” and returned to the screen.
Lu Chen didn’t continue, just kissed He Xiaoyuan’s shoulder through his shirt. “Go on, I’m here with you.”
He Xiaoyuan focused on the screen: a beginner’s guide recommended a 28-rating rod—not too hard, not too soft.
Domestic fishing mostly targets crucian carp and carp; 28 rating rods work best.
Rod lengths: 2.7 m, 3.6 m, 3.9 m, 4.5 m, 4.8 m… He Xiaoyuan studied carefully.
Lu Chen watched him with delight.
A few days later, in a remote, untended rural pond, a tall, lean man sat hunched on his folding fishing chair. His rod rested on a stand, a cigarette unlit in his mouth, sunlight glinting on the floats set up in the water.
The float dipped slightly, then more, until it was fully submerged. The man reacted quickly, grabbing the rod resting on the stand. As he lifted it, he could feel the weight at the end of the line. A smile curved his lips as he jerked the rod upward—a crucian carp was hooked.
He grinned in satisfaction, held the rod upright, reeled in the line, and snatched the fish off the hook, dropping it into the fish basket at the bottom of the pond. He baited the hook again, cast the line, and continued fishing.
Just as he placed the rod back on the stand, his phone rang.
He fished it from his pocket, glanced at the screen—an unknown number—and ignored it. These past two days, several people had been trying to reach him, saying they wanted him to join a domestic version of ChatGPT. What did that have to do with him?
Fang Dinghao: I already said I’m not interested. Stop calling. Annoying.
He silenced the phone and returned to his fishing.
After a while, a black BMW stopped under a tree not far from the pond.
Fang Dinghao glanced at it but continued fishing.
Under the tree, at the front of the car, He Xiaoyuan stepped out. He checked the photo on his phone, confirming it was Fang Dinghao, then went to the trunk to grab his own equipment.
Carrying a large bag of gear to the pond, he looked around and, about five or six meters away, set down his rod bag.
Fang Dinghao, eyes fixed on the water, observed the newcomer setting up: chair, rod stand, rods, lines. He immediately guessed—this was a total novice, probably sent to persuade him to “come back to work.”
These people trying to poach him—how many times would they keep showing up? It was exhausting.
Nearby, He Xiaoyuan struggled with the rod stand, squatting to anchor the legs in the dirt. Just then, another car pulled up behind the BMW.
Fang Dinghao: Who’s this now?
He Xiaoyuan didn’t notice. Once the stand was secured, Lu Chen, dressed casually, approached.
He Xiaoyuan, surprised, whispered while brushing dirt off his hands: “You came?”
Lu Chen glanced at the gear pile. “Figured you’d need help.” He readjusted the stand, grabbed a rod suited for this pond, checked that the line and float were already tied, added a weight before the hook, adjusted the float, and cast the line into the water.
Then he instructed He Xiaoyuan: “See the float? It’s going down.”
He Xiaoyuan squinted at the water: “Yep.”
Lu Chen retracted the line, readjusted the float, recast: “The lead sinks with the line and float. The lead’s position relative to the top of the float shows the water depth. Got it?”
He Xiaoyuan’s eyes widened. “Oh, that’s how it works.”
Lu Chen adjusted the float again: “Move it down by one hook length plus ten to fifteen centimeters. Later, check if three or four marks of the float are visible above water.”
After demonstrating, He Xiaoyuan understood and nodded.
Then Lu Chen retrieved some bait from a bag and cast it near the rod’s landing point: “This is called chumming.”
He Xiaoyuan: “To attract the fish, right?”
Not far away, Fang Dinghao, having caught another fish, glanced over: Who are these two?
Could it be? Maybe they’re just fishing companions, not here for him.
Meanwhile, Lu Chen and He Xiaoyuan crouched beside a small plastic bowl for mixing bait. He Xiaoyuan poured in powder; Lu Chen measured water, stirred it in, and stopped. “Not too much water—just like this. Wait a few minutes.”
He Xiaoyuan looked up, blinking: “You didn’t work today? Came here just for me?”
Lu Chen: “Taking advantage of the excuse.” He added with a soft tone: “Of course, what can’t your boyfriend do?”
He Xiaoyuan curved his lips: “Are you leaving soon?”
Lu Chen: “No rush.”
With the bait formed into a ball, Lu Chen began teaching He Xiaoyuan how to cast—standing behind him, holding his hands, showing the wrist motion, explaining each step: “Tie two hooks on the leader, bait the hook, then gently lift the rod and flick the wrist…”
Fang Dinghao, hearing the instructions, glanced again. He saw the taller man holding the young handsome guy from behind while teaching him to cast—what kind of position was that?
Was this over the top?
Seeing them fully immersed in the interaction, Fang Dinghao began to reconsider: maybe they were just fishing partners. Not here for him.
On the other side, He Xiaoyuan cast successfully several times, holding the rod ready. Lu Chen’s right hand still held his, guiding him: “Watch the float. Each color mark is one unit. Usually, a few units are visible above water. If the float starts sinking, a fish is biting.”
The float dipped lower, then further. Lu Chen lifted the rod suddenly, feeling the weight as a fish struggled at the hook’s end.
Wow~!
He Xiaoyuan’s eyes lit up with excitement, turning his head to look up at Lu Chen with a smile.
Lu Chen held him gently in front of himself, tilting his gaze down with a soft smile. “Got it?”
“Mm, got it,” He Xiaoyuan replied.
Unable to resist, Lu Chen leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to He Xiaoyuan’s cheek.
Nearby, Fang Dinghao, who had just glanced over again, nearly snapped his fishing rod in half—
TMD!
Couldn’t these two show their affection somewhere else?!
We’re all just here fishing, who allowed this?!
My eyes are about to be blinded!
Which company do you even belong to?!
Is this how you poach talent?!