Chapter 5

The workload in Lin Lu’s senior year noticeably eased up. The school encouraged students to go out for internships or prepare for postgraduate studies, so the course schedule was minimal. Lin Lu only had classes on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday afternoons, and as for the drama club, he automatically resigned from it in his senior year, leaving him with more free time.

Xue Wensong took Lin Lu’s class schedule, but Lin Lu wasn’t too worried about the “work” issue since he could always find an excuse to go out. Occasionally, he could even visit the film and television city, which satisfied him.

Zhang Yihang brought Lin Lu the textbooks he had received, but Lin Lu’s mind wasn’t on studying. He found the morning classes to be incomprehensible, which only reinforced his belief that he and computers had no fate.

After class, Lin Lu and Zhang Yihang went to the cafeteria for lunch. Lin Lu didn’t tell Zhang Yihang that he was married because he didn’t think it was a big deal. However, as they were eating, Lin Lu suddenly heard Xue Wensong’s name from Zhang Yihang’s mouth.

“What did you say?” Lin Lu put down his chopsticks.

“You can see for yourself. The group chat exploded.” Zhang Yihang’s eyes stayed on his phone screen, and most of the rice he picked up with his chopsticks ended up back in his bowl.

Lin Lu quickly took out his phone and checked the WeChat group messages. Just a few minutes ago, Old Tang announced that tomorrow afternoon’s class would be taught by someone else, and the teacher coming to teach was none other than Xue Wensong.

“Our school is amazing, isn’t it?” Zhang Yihang sighed. “They managed to invite the great God Xueshen to teach us.”

Lin Lu found it a bit strange. He pulled out Xue Wensong’s WeChat, which he had added just last night, and sent a message: Are you coming to teach?

Several minutes passed without anyone replying. Lin Lu locked his phone screen, and Zhang Yihang across the table was still lamenting, “I heard that XW competition will also have God Xueshen participating. When was the last time he participated? Five years ago?”

“Six years ago, right?” Lin Lu recalled, “He won first place every year, but then he stopped participating.”

“Yeah, it’s a pity. The great god went into business,” Zhang Yihang lamented, “but the business failed.”

Xue Wensong was a focus in the IT industry, so even ordinary university students had heard a bit about his company.

“But he’s back now,” Lin Lu emphasized.

“It’s hard to say.” Zhang Yihang shook his head. “Even an old man like Lian Po can still fight, but can he still have a meal?”

Lin Lu immediately frowned. “He’s not old.”

Lin Lu completely forgot that he had called the other person an “old pervert” just last night.

“He may not be old, but he might be out of practice, right?” Zhang Yihang still wasn’t very optimistic.

“I’m done eating. I’m going home first.”

Lin Lu picked up his tray and left, leaving Zhang Yihang looking puzzled. Why did he feel like Lin Lu was a little unhappy?

Lin Lu was indeed a little unhappy, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

Xue Wensong was a man who stood at the top of the food chain, and the sudden fall of such a man from grace inevitably elicited some regret. Perhaps it was for this reason that Lin Lu didn’t like hearing others speak ill of him.

But then again, it could also be because of his marriage to Xue Wensong. Xue Wensong had suddenly become “one of his own,” prompting Lin Lu to instinctively defend him in front of his roommate.

However, Lin Lu was very clear that he harbored no admiration for Xue Wensong. He knew that Xue Wensong was the idol of countless young men and women, but his own idol was someone else.

It was also on the day he handed the microphone to Xue Wensong that Lin Lu first met Lu Shaoyang.

That day, he was originally listening to Xue Wensong’s speech when he suddenly received a call from his hometown’s neighborhood committee, informing him of his grandmother’s passing. He booked the earliest train ticket, but the departure time was still in the evening.

Feeling utterly miserable, he left midway and sneaked into a small resting room to cry in private. He ended up falling asleep while crying.

He was eventually awakened by Lu Shaoyang.

Lu Shaoyang’s crew happened to be filming at P University, and during their break, he had sneaked into the AI conference to see what was going on. However, he was recognized by someone, so to avoid causing a commotion, he hid in a small resting room, where he saw Lin Lu sleeping and crying.

Lu Shaoyang comforted Lin Lu with a few words, and it was the first time Lin Lu felt the warmth of a mature man. Lu Shaoyang himself was very handsome, and his gentle demeanor made Lin Lu’s ears turn red.

After Lu Shaoyang left, Lin Lu adjusted his mood and picked up his notebook, intending to leave. At that moment, he noticed a line of text added to the first page of his notebook:

“Life is like an abacus, whether it’s addition or subtraction, it all ends up at zero.”

The font was bold and elegant, and Lin Lu felt like he could see the powerful fingers holding the pen through those words.

Lin Lu was usually a bit slow, but in his current state of mind, he suddenly understood the meaning of this sentence.

Regardless of happiness or sorrow, everything ultimately returns to tranquility. His grandmother had completed her life journey and returned to the starting point, a process everyone would experience, and should be viewed with a calm heart.

Lin Lu’s heart felt as if it had been injected with a dose of cardiac stimulant. He seemed to be able to accept his grandmother’s passing.

Since then, this sentence has become Lin Lu’s life motto. Whenever he encountered unhappy events, he would use this sentence to comfort himself. At the same time, the mature and stable Lu Shaoyang became the guiding light in his life, always pointing him in the right direction.

After leaving the cafeteria, Lin Lu returned home. Since Xue Wensong hadn’t replied to his messages, he was afraid Xue Wensong might be napping. So he tiptoed into the house, but as soon as he entered, he was met with three unfamiliar pairs of eyes.

Lin Lu froze for a moment, then quickly retreated, saying, “Sorry, wrong door.”

The door slammed shut, and Xue Wensong, who was facing away from the door, sighed helplessly to the three people on the couch, “That’s my silly wife.”

Lin Lu double-checked the door number and was about to re-enter when he heard laughter coming from inside.

He timidly walked back in, and Xue Wensong put down his laptop, turning to Lin Lu, “Come here.”

Seeing a familiar face, Lin Lu finally breathed a sigh of relief. He walked over to the single couch where Xue Wensong was sitting, and then he noticed that all four people in the living room were holding laptops.

Xue Wensong naturally said, “Let me introduce you. This is my wife, Lin Lu, a senior student majoring in computer science at P University.”

The word “wife” made Lin Lu’s ears heat up a bit. He hadn’t fully grasped the reality of his marriage to Xue Wensong, so being introduced as his spouse in front of friends still felt a bit uncomfortable.

Xue Wensong continued, “And here are my team members, from left to right, Xiao Luo, Xiao Tan, and Xiao Song.”

The guy with curly chestnut hair, spitting blood, said, “Boss, isn’t this introduction too perfunctory? And when did you ever call me Xiao Luo?”

Xue Wensong lazily replied, “I can’t remember so many names.”

The girl sitting in the middle, who didn’t look very old, rolled her eyes, “He’s just too lazy to introduce us properly, just wants to show off his wife.”

The other guy, with a crew cut, didn’t even lift his head, “I agree.”

Xue Wensong chuckled lightly and turned to Lin Lu, “They all followed me from Future Wisdom.”

Xiao Luo interjected, “Gave up a million yuan salary.”

Xiao Tan followed, “Violated industry competition restrictions and faced hefty penalties for breach of contract.”

Xiao Song pointed out, “Luckily, Qin Ge Group settled it.”

Lin Lu was stunned. He hadn’t expected this. Curiously, he asked, “Why did Qin Ge Group settle it?”

“Tai Ge and Xu are mortal enemies.” Xiao Luo said, “Only Tai Ge can afford that kind of breach of contract fee.”

Xiao Tan added, “But Boss can afford it too, right?”

“Is the code finished?” Xue Wensong suddenly spoke up, interrupting the conversation that was getting lively among the three.

The three immediately fell silent, their eyes returning to their screens.

Xue Wensong looked at Lin Lu, “How was class?”

Lin Lu casually nodded, “It was okay.”

Xue Wensong continued, “What did you learn?”

“Huh?” Lin Lu hadn’t expected Xue Wensong to ask such a specific question, and he suddenly felt as nervous as if he were being checked by a parent. He struggled to recall the content of today’s class and then squeezed out a few terms.

Xiao Luo suddenly laughed, “Haha, isn’t that just basic stuff?”

Lin Lu’s face flushed red. Although Xiao Luo looked only slightly older than him, if he could catch Xue Wensong’s attention, he must be quite capable.

Xue Wensong glanced coldly at Xiao Luo, “Is the framework ready?”

Xiao Luo immediately shrunk into himself.

Xue Wensong gently patted Lin Lu’s lower back, “We still have work to do, let’s go do our own things.”

Lin Lu immediately nodded. As a bottom student, being with a group of top students was too torturous.

Lin Lu changed into his home clothes in the bathroom and then crawled into bed for a nap.

Xue Wensong occasionally glanced at the little guy sleeping so honestly. Xiao Tan couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “Boss, have you never mentioned your wife before?”

“Just met him, why would I mention him?” Xue Wensong replied without looking up from his computer.

“Really just met him?” Xiao Luo rubbed his chin, “Why doesn’t it seem like it?”

Xue Wensong couldn’t be bothered to deal with them.

After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Song spoke up, “Boss, has Ji-ge come to find you?”

Xue Wensong’s fingers suddenly stopped. After a few seconds, he began typing on the keyboard again, “Why would he come to find me?”

“He just felt like you guys were good back then, and you even gave up shares for him…”

Xiao Tan quickly coughed, interrupting Xiao Song’s words.

“Just treat it as soliciting funds,” Xue Wensong said indifferently, “I don’t owe him, and he doesn’t owe me.”

Xue Wensong’s tone was light, but the three familiar with him knew how resolute his words were.

“But sister-in-law seems nice,” Xiao Luo tactfully changed the subject, “He looks like a beauty.”

The sound of typing abruptly stopped, and the temperature in the living room plummeted to zero.

Xue Wensong looked coldly at Xiao Luo, “What did you say?”

“I-I-I was just joking,” Xiao Luo quickly shrank his neck, explaining, “Didn’t we used to joke about you and Ji-ge too…”

Xiao Luo was right; their team consisted mostly of men, so they often shared some off-color jokes. According to the previous atmosphere, Xue Wensong would probably respond indifferently with something like, “Then you go ask Ji Xingye if he’ll let you have a go.”

Xue Wensong seemed to realize this as well. He softened his intimidating gaze and casually remarked, “He’s different, still a kid.”

Xiao Tan raised an eyebrow slightly, discreetly switched to another interface, and sent a message in their private discussion group with just the three of them: “So the boss has protective instincts too?”

 

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