Old Wai returned to his desk and sat down.

  Now, he already couldn’t really do much in the IT aspect of the platform. Many of the employees that Hucheng had newly employed as technicians had undergone professional training before, also having accrued a certain level of work experience as their abilities had surpassed his.

  More of the time, his job was just to implement the plans that Xu Tingsheng had decided on as well as supervise their work. This was really humiliating to a former programming geek like him, causing him to feel greatly pained.

  Xu Tingsheng had discussed this problem with him before, asking him to make use of his ‘not having anything to do at all’ as a chance to learn things and thus charge his batteries. This was indeed what Old Wai had done, having clarified what he couldn’t understand with the employees below him in an unquenchable thirst as he frenziedly strove to improve himself every day.

  Who knew that the usually very reliable Xu Tingsheng would suddenly pull something like this.

  Old Wai gazed nervously at the doorway. The usually conscientious Li Linlin who was habitually the first to arrive at the office every morning had still yet to show up today.

  The previous night, in the midst of sending Li Linlin back to her dormitory after work, Old Wai had forcibly pulled her into a dimly lit small clearing. Beneath her wary gaze, he had taken out the gift box that Xu Tingsheng had prepared for him.

  “This is for you,” Old Wai said.

  “Something else you got from Bro Xu again?”


  Li Linlin had already received presents Old Wai had gotten from Xu Tingsheng’s travels several times now. Thus, she inevitably felt it rather strange that Old Wai suddenly seemed so solemn.

  Remembering Xu Tingsheng’s advice, Old Wai shook his head, “No, it’s not from Bro Xu this time. I specially picked it for you myself. I spent a few days choosing it. This……the significance is different. I hope you like it.”


  “Thank you.”


  Li Linlin’s personality was such that she wasn’t very concerned about such things. Still, she felt rather touched. She was touched by the fact that while Old Wai had suddenly risen greatly in status, he still remembered these little details. Thus, after saying ‘thank you’, Li Linlin leaned in and kissed Old Wai lightly.

  Actually, in Li Linlin’s initial conception of things, this relationship between her and Old Wai was likely to be like just any normal schoolyard romance, elapsing for four years before they finally broke up during graduation, both going their separate ways into the distant horizon……thus, she had always been carefully protecting herself.

  However, because of Old Wai’s actions in that previous incident as well as the shares which they shared in Hucheng, their futures had suddenly turned bright because of Xu Tingsheng. They would continue being together, next graduating, getting married and remaining in Hucheng, accompanying and helping Xu Tingsheng in forging a future that they never would have thought possible at the start.

  This being a rare show of Li Linlin’s affections, Old Wai felt very grateful towards Xu Tingsheng, feeling that he was indeed an expert. No wonder Apple, and also Lu Zhixin……

  “Well then, we should be going,” Li Linlin said.

  “About that, why don’t you open it and have a look?” Old Wai was actually feeling very curious himself, not having opened the box beforehand due to trusting in Xu Tingsheng too much and also because the box was really too pretty.

  “Now?”


  “Yeah, open it and see.”


  “Alright,” Li Linlin’s curiosity was also hooked.

  With some effort, Li Linlin finally managed to lift up one end of the box, extending a hand within……and pulling out……a small piece of cloth……

  “This is……?” Li Linlin was rather puzzled.

  Old Wai was not puzzled. As a new generation university student who had watched so many X-rated movies before, he certainly knew what this was. He had recognised it with a single glance. It was due to this that he felt like he had suddenly been struck by a thunderbolt, suddenly feeling that……this world had suddenly become such an unfamiliar place.

  “Bro Xu……swindled me? So warmly, so sincerely, patting me concernedly on the shoulder and talking about helping to improve our relationship, not forgetting to coax my girlfriend due to spending too much time on work……then, it turned out like this? He wasn’t like this originally!”


  “Huh?” Lu Zhixin tilted her head to the side and uttered a sound of puzzlement as she saw Old Wai’s strange expression.

  “Oh……this is……a face mask. Right, a new product, a new type of face mask.”


  Old Wai reached out, wanting to snatch the box from Li Linlin’s hands.

  “Oh? There’s still more inside.”


  “Don’t, don’t look.”


  Old Wai had already grabbed the box, but it was already too late. Li Linlin pulled out even more pieces of cloth, and……looking at them, thinking for a bit, she finally understood what these were.

  “Old Wai……”


  “No, this is……Bro Xu gave it to me, he swindled me.”


  “Blaming it on Bro Xu? Bro Xu isn’t someone like you! Moreover, didn’t you just say earlier that you specially picked it yourself? Even spending a few days choosing.”


  “No, I, no……it hurts, it hurts!”
……

  When Xu Tingsheng was waiting for the train at the train station, his handphone rang non-stop. Xu Tingsheng didn’t pick it up. Old Wai switched to sending texts, one text after another coming:

  “Bro, do you know how moved, how grateful I was yesterday? I felt that you were just so good to me. Do you know how loving and emotional a scene it was when I gave that to Linlin yesterday night? I even coaxed her to open it in front of me, and then……”


  “Bro, I’m crippled now. Come, pick up the phone and let’s talk. How exactly did I offend you?”


  “Sigh, honestly speaking, it actually looked quite nice.”


  “Bro, Linlin’s come to work, but she’s bought a knife and brought it along with her. I wanted to go over and explain just now, but she pulled out the knife and slammed it on the table.”


  “Xu Tingsheng……when you’ve returned, let’s fight to the death. I’ve can’t stand it any longer.”


  After half an hour of this, as Li Linlin was about to leave for the training institute with Lu Zhixin, she halted for a moment beside Old Wai and said softly, “Relax, I’m already yours……but I’ll feel scared if you’re like this.”


  After saying this, Li Linlin left the room.

  Old Wai thought for a while before enlightenment suddenly dawned.

  Seeing Old Wai’s texts suddenly going from ‘I can’t stand it any longer’ to ‘Thank you, Bro Xu’, Xu Tingsheng felt rather bewildered by it, not understanding what was currently going on at all. Then, he just ignored the matter completely, because Xiang Ning’s information had sprung up on the screen.

  “Uncle, I’ll be back in a few days.”


  Xiang Ning had scored third in class for her end-of-semester examinations. A joyful Mr and Mrs Xiang had thus brought her to her aunt’s place in Beijing to play for around two weeks. Every day, she would report where she had gone and what she had seen that day to Xu Tingsheng.

  As for upon her return, Xu Tingsheng had already long since agreed with Mr and Mrs Xiang that because of the rather substantial time over the summer holidays and the fact that Xiang Ning would soon be in ninth grade, Xiang Ning would be attending lessons at Hucheng Training Institute over the summer holidays.

  The reason for Xu Tingsheng working so hard over this period of time was that he wanted to get things done quickly. Then, when Xiang Ning had returned, he would have the time to conduct a class over the summer holidays, giving her lessons.

  After he had replied to Xiang Ning, the station crew began checking the tickets.

  “Bro Xu, we can get on now,” His employee beside him said.

  “Alright. Let’s make good use of our time and try to get things done within two days,” Xu Tingsheng stood up and hurried to the ticket checking area.

  Xu Tingsheng would be going to Shenghai this time, going to take a look at and discuss things with a new training institute that was looking for someone to cooperate with in the areas of management and recruiting students. Due to the unique nature of Shenghai City, Xu Tingsheng had actually always attached great importance to it. If possible, he hoped that Hucheng’s second training institute could be established in this city.

  Of course, this also entailed greater investment and greater competition.

  After the train had reached the station, Xu Tingsheng and the others went for a simple lunch at a nearby fast food restaurant before hurrying over to this Dexin Training Institute. Other things aside, training institutes which could operate in Shenghai City were naturally of a greater scale.

  Just standing at the school gate and looking around for a moment, Xu Tingsheng could not help but feel rather envious.

  Then, Xu Tingsheng unexpectedly saw a familiar face amongst the Dexin employees who had come out to receive him. It was Zhang Xingke.

  Xu Tingsheng had just been about to call out to Zhang Xingke in greeting when the latter shook his head.