With the detailed evaluation, Team One now had a clearer picture of their own standings.
At the same time, He Xiaoyuan’s scores showed everyone that hard work did pay off—every new assignment had been evaluated.
At the bottom of the spreadsheet, in addition to the averages, there was a total ranking.
As of now, Qin Chengfei from Team Two was first; in Team One, Yuan Miao and He Xiaoyuan were tied for second, and a girl named Ge Luming from Team Three was third.
However, because the three teams had different start dates and rotated through a different number of positions, the current averages and rankings were only a rough reference. The true competition could only be seen after all teams had completed all rotations.
Someone looked at He Xiaoyuan’s average and asked, “Xiaoyuan, how is your score calculated? Is it the average of all scores, or the highest from each department’s multiple scores?”
Someone else had already done the math: “Whoa, it takes the highest score.”
Meaning that for a department where scores were 5/6/7/9, only the highest, 9, counted.
Immediately, someone said: “Doesn’t that mean if everyone rewrites assignments now, they could all get better scores?”
Yuan Miao explained clearly: “You haven’t noticed Xiaoyuan’s scores go from low to high, right? That means each rewrite helped him understand that department better, which is how he got higher scores. Are you sure if everyone rewrites, their scores will definitely improve? They might stay the same or even go lower.”
Xin Rui added: “Yuan Miao is right. It’s not just rewriting. We’ve seen Xiaoyuan’s work; he really improves very quickly.”
Zou Fanping quietly said: “Don’t call him Xiaoyuan, call him Brother Yuan.”
Everyone laughed and groaned, playfully arguing for a bit, before returning to serious discussion.
“This ranking is only a reference for now. Team Three started two weeks later; once they rotate through their positions, their averages might rise too.”
“True.”
“Qin Chengfei from Team Two and Ge Luming from Team Three are really strong.”
“Not sure about Ge Luming, but we all know Qin Chengfei from Team Two—definitely top-tier.”
“I estimate first place will be among these four: Qin Chengfei, Ge Luming, Yuan Miao, and Xiaoyuan.”
“Very possible.”
“The competition is intense; averages differ by hardly anything.”
“Team Two will definitely try to get scores too. Now everyone knows each assignment gets scored, so they’ll probably follow Xiaoyuan’s example.”
“Wow! Things are getting crazier!”
He Xiaoyuan sat at his desk, reviewing the scores of Ge Luming, Qin Chengfei, and Yuan Miao.
Yuan Miao’s scores had some variation, the lowest being 7. Ge Luming and Qin Chengfei were mostly 9s. Despite starting latest and having fewer rotations, Ge Luming even had a 10.
Looking at their scores, He Xiaoyuan thought quietly: These are all top-notch. Getting first from them won’t be easy. Alright, let’s try.
He closed the spreadsheet, silently cheering himself on. Lu Ge had said he wasn’t dumb.
That night, after washing up in the dorm, He Xiaoyuan cooked himself a late-night snack, planning to eat and then continue studying.
Just as he put the pot on the stove, a message from Lu Ge came: “Sleeping?”
He Xiaoyuan leaned against the marble countertop: “No.”
Lu: “What are you doing? Haven’t returned to the dorm yet?”
He Xiaoyuan: “Back already, cooking a late-night snack.”
He sent a photo of the pot on the stove.
Lu: “Instant noodles?”
He Xiaoyuan: “No, making noodles from scratch.”
Lu: “Mm, instant food isn’t healthy.”
He Xiaoyuan held up his phone, showing the noodles, eggs, and a whole piece of beef he had braised himself.
He Xiaoyuan: “Photo. Got eggs and my own braised beef.”
Lu: “Looks like you can cook.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Of course.” Cooking for himself saved money.
He set the phone aside, started cooking the noodles, and sliced the beef on a small cutting board.
After washing his hands and picking up the phone, he saw Lu’s reply: “Does your dorm have a fridge?”
He Xiaoyuan: “No.”
Lu: “You can request one.”
He Xiaoyuan’s eyes lit up: “You can request that?”
Lu: “Yes. Ask the admin department at the company tomorrow.”
He Xiaoyuan thought: The company benefits are really good. “OK.”
Even these small things made him happy—since joining the company, everything had been going smoothly.
He Xiaoyuan: “Lu Ge, what are you doing?”
Lu: “At home.”
He knew Lu had been traveling for work previously.
He Xiaoyuan: “Back already?”
Lu: “Mm.”
He Xiaoyuan held his phone, thinking: “Lu Ge, dinner?”
Lu: “You want me to eat your beef and egg noodles?”
He Xiaoyuan: “Absolutely not. Must be a big meal.”
Lu: “How big?”
He Xiaoyuan thought for a moment: “Restaurant covers at least ten acres?”
On the top-floor suite at Yanlan Bay, Lu Chen, in a robe on the sofa, laughed at the message.
Ten acres? One acre is 666.666 square meters; ten acres, 6,666 square meters. A restaurant that big… that’s a big meal.
Lu: “That’s huge indeed.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Lu Ge deserves it. Little dinosaur pounding chest selu.jpg”
Lu Chen laughed.
Lu: “Better stick with noodles.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Wait!”
After a few minutes, He Xiaoyuan sent a photo of his noodles topped with egg, beef slices, and vegetables—his homemade late-night snack.
He Xiaoyuan: “Lu Ge, go ahead, eat it.”
Lu Chen let out a quiet chuckle: “Eat it… how? With your eyes?”
He Xiaoyuan: “With a high-level, spiritual understanding kind of eating.”
Lu Chen pursed his lips: “Mm, I’ll give it a try.”
He Xiaoyuan: “How is it? Tasty?”
Lu Chen laughed so much that his shoulders shook: “Delicious. Tasty.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Oh no, I was so busy taking photos, I forgot to add salt.”
Lu Chen stood up, still chuckling: “Don’t add it yet, wait a moment.”
He Xiaoyuan had just picked up the salt shaker when he glanced at the phone next to his noodles—?
Soon, a photo came through: a hand holding a glass jar with a black lid, filled with fine white crystals.
Lu: “Salt. I added it for you. Try it, see if the taste is just right.”
He Xiaoyuan burst out laughing at the phone. He put down the shaker and picked up the phone again: “But I’m too weak, can’t reach the spiritual understanding level.”
Lu: “No, you can. Believe in yourself.”
He Xiaoyuan: “Little dinosaur meditating.jpg”
Lu: “Big dinosaur pats little dinosaur on the head.jpg”
He Xiaoyuan: “Ding! I can taste it now, a little light. Lu Ge, how’s it?”
Lu: “A bit light, add some more.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed so hard, quickly sprinkling salt into the noodles, leaning in to check the phone so he wouldn’t miss a single word from Lu Ge.
On the other end, Lu Chen put the salt back and, leaning against the countertop, brought the phone close to his face. After thinking a moment, he dialed a voice call.
He Xiaoyuan had just sat down with the noodles when he saw the incoming call and pressed to answer.
“Lu Ge?”
He was surprised, his tone showing it. He wondered if Lu had called for some particular reason.
He Xiaoyuan added: “What’s up?”
Lu Chen’s calm, magnetic voice came: “Nothing, just thought chatting like this would be more convenient.”
“Oh,” He Xiaoyuan replied, putting the phone on speaker, adjusting his seat, and picking up his chopsticks.
Lu: “Eating now?” His voice carried a teasing tone. “Not secretly added salt again, have you?”
He Xiaoyuan, having just taken a bite, laughed: “Caught by you.”
Lu Chen joked: “Not too salty?”
He Xiaoyuan, cheerful: “Not at all. Just right, really tasty.”
Though the audio had slight distortion over the line, Lu Chen could clearly hear the boy’s pure, clean voice.
He Xiaoyuan continued: “And the beef is my own braised batch from last night, tastes pretty good. Just no fridge, can’t keep much, so didn’t cook a lot.”
Lu Chen: “Mm, have the company provide one.”
He Xiaoyuan, eating, marveled: “The company’s benefits are amazing! I thought just having single dorm rooms and shuttle buses was great, but I can even request a fridge.”
Clearly comfortable with Lu Chen, even on their first call, he spoke freely.
Lu Chen didn’t return to the living room, still leaning on the counter with the phone on speaker: “Anything else you need besides a fridge?”
He Xiaoyuan, eating casually: “Not really… just some small appliances.”
Lu: “Those are fine, I can get them.”
He Xiaoyuan, wide-eyed: “Small appliances too? Request through admin?”
Lu Chen paused: “Anything you need, tell me directly. I’ll apply for it and have the company deliver it to your dorm.”
He Xiaoyuan, incredulous: “They really can provide it?!”
Lu Chen laughed: “No, regular employees can’t. But I can.”
From this, He Xiaoyuan deduced: one, Lu Ge isn’t a regular employee; two, the company would accommodate him because of Lu. So he’d benefit just by being associated with Lu Ge.
For work stuff, fine. But for small appliances—not expensive, not worth bothering anyone.
He Xiaoyuan: “Thanks, Lu Ge, I’ll buy them myself.”
Lu Chen didn’t argue, changing the topic: “Finished eating, continue studying?”
He Xiaoyuan: “Yeah.” He paused: “By the way, our management trainee program announced a 400,000 reward for first place.”
Lu: “Mm, heard about it. Going to compete?”
He Xiaoyuan, blowing on his noodles, replied: “Yes, I want to try. 400,000… that’s a lot of money.”
Leaning against the counter, Lu Chen paused briefly. No one knew, but he felt a pang of concern hearing the boy say “so much money” with that clear, bright voice. If the timing were right, he would have wanted to comfort him more directly.
Just then, He Xiaoyuan exhaled contentedly: “All done, so full.”
Then with renewed determination: “Alright! Back to work!”
Lu Chen’s mood softened, and he quietly smiled.