Chapter Five, The Last Day
Sister, why don't I go back and invite you to register? Yuan Yuan also has an account, and in the future, when we need to discuss issues, we can also set up a three-way video call online
Mother Yang smiled as she approached: "What a coincidence, Xiao Huan's company just happened to send him back on a business trip today. If you had come a couple of days earlier for dinner, you wouldn't have run into him. It's truly better to be lucky than early."
Ah—I'm sorry, Lü Pin said with embarrassment, "I... I haven't heard Yuan Yuan mention it."
It was just the right time for the student question-and-answer session when a bold young woman asked: "I heard that several founders of Memory Network were former college classmates or good friends. May I ask, is your first love now working at Memory Network?"
Professor Zhou said, "I will help you inquire about it." Lv Pin was immensely grateful. The opportunity she had once given up now seemed elusive despite her efforts. From this perspective, her insistence on the naming rights of the asteroid appeared rather unwise. Lv Pin could not help but ask herself, if she had known today, would she have acted differently back then?
The students below were amused to the point of doubling over with laughter by his vivid tone. "My girlfriend is the same. Once, when she got anxious, I said, 'You see, in high school, I had five yuan pocket money every week, and I spent four yuan renting novels for you to read. The remaining one yuan had to be saved for buying you gifts during holidays. In college, I worked part-time, and aside from the money for my meals, I saved everything else for our dates. In summer, I need to cool off, and in winter, I need to keep warm. Tell me, do I love you or not? That classmate, you don’t believe it, right? If you don’t believe it, it means your boyfriend is not doing his job well. This female classmate next to you, are you his girlfriend? Yes, right? Good, you need to educate him well—your girlfriend's endless demands are the greatest motivation for us, fellow citizens, to strive for progress. Now, let’s continue discussing the question from that classmate before entering. Why am I confident in the conditions provided by Memory? Because our benefits are comprehensive, not only including the four insurances and one fund but also covering medical insurance for your spouse and children, which we also purchase additional commercial insurance for. This aligns perfectly with our company culture: your life is our Memory; your Memory is our life. To put it simply, as long as you work hard, we will cover everything else for you! This classmate asked if it’s okay not to have a spouse or girlfriend? Of course not! Why can a wife be accepted but not a girlfriend? This question is unnecessary; it clearly serves as leverage to increase your chances of success in proposing after graduation!"
She laughed hurriedly, and in a moment of panic, even her speech became constrained: "Hmm, yes, yes, there are fragrant grasses everywhere in the world, why must we seek them right beside us"
In addition to his lifelong commitment to celestial mechanics, Qian Haining has another legendary aspect: he has a betrothal arranged since childhood. It is said that the parents of both families made this arrangement when they were young. The reason Lü Pin did not previously connect Qian Haining's name with his person is that Yuan Yuan always referred to Qian Haining as "that one with a child bride" whenever she mentioned him
"It's nothing, it's nothing," Qian Haining said repeatedly, as if recalling something, and added, "What I mean is that this matter has long passed. If it is inappropriate, it is better to part ways early to avoid wasting each other's time."
I broke up with my girlfriend at the beginning of last year The crowd in the multifunctional hall was overwhelming, and the temperature rose, causing Qian Haining's face to flush
In fact, in fact, Qian Haining's face turned bright red, and after a long time, he finally mustered the courage to say loudly, "In fact, this morning, Professor Zhou just approved my pursuit of Senior Sister, and I hope Senior Sister can give me a chance"
Lü Pin was momentarily taken aback, and after a long while, he turned his face and asked, "What did you say?"
The entire multifunctional conference hall fell silent
I know that it is impossible for you to accept me in a short period of time," Qian Haining said as he grasped Lu Pin's arm, as if the crowd in the multifunctional hall gave him immense courage. "I just want to ask you for a chance, to consider a future with me!"
In the future, she will probably have no connection with the entire CE program and can only remain at the university to engage in purely theoretical research. T University is already a very good choice on this path. Coming out of Professor Zhou's small office, she saw Qian Haining stretching his neck to look over, hesitantly asking: "Senior sister... do you have plans for dinner tonight? If not... I would like to treat you to a meal, as I have disturbed you quite a bit these past few days..."
Building No. 3 was teeming with people, and the multifunctional lecture hall was filled to capacity, even the aisles were crowded. Every year at this time, many companies come to T University to hold recruitment presentations, especially in recent years, IT companies have excelled at conducting tours across universities nationwide. The speakers are usually high-level executives with good appearances and charisma, but the most critical factor is their ability to engage the audience, effortlessly using humor and anecdotes to create a lively atmosphere, exuding a bold confidence as if they have all the heroes of the world at their command. Yuan Yuan once shared a speech by a foreign executive known as a mentor to domestic university students, whose eloquence was truly remarkable, leaving Lü Pin feeling quite inferior—after all, they were both engaged in research, so why was there such a disparity? Many people, after submitting their resumes, were reluctant to leave, likely due to their admiration for the speaker's charisma. Lü Pin and Qian Haining managed to squeeze their way to the resume collection table, and upon looking up, they saw a man in a deep brown trench coat on the podium.
The man in the dark brown trench coat chuckled awkwardly on stage and said, "Classmates, I assure you with my integrity, this is not a hired actor from our company"
Just before entering, a classmate pulled me aside to ask a question. He said that your company is relatively new, and new companies have a certain issue, which is that they are unreliable. He pointed out that while your salary appears to be high on the surface, the benefits may not be adequate, and it cannot compare to state-owned enterprises or well-established foreign companies. He mentioned that a salary of 2,000 in a state-owned enterprise surpasses 20,000 in a private company! He also said that you often depict how broad your prospects are, but in the end, it just amounts to drawing a big pie for us—something we can see but cannot eat.
On the last day of the annual meeting, Lv Pin finally found the time to discuss her postdoctoral issues in detail with Professor Zhou. To her surprise, after just a few exchanges, she learned that he had already developed the intention to resign from his position as department head. Lv Pin felt puzzled and did not dare to ask too many questions. As for her returning to do her postdoctoral work, that was not an easy matter. Lv Pin had previously applied for a project fund at the S City Astronomical Observatory, which included an additional clause requiring her to serve in S City for five years. Although she had been dismissed from the observatory, her position still remained in S City, so it did not constitute a violation. If she were to be brought back now, Professor Zhou would inevitably offend the S City Astronomical Observatory, which would reduce the job opportunities for his junior colleagues in the future.
Lu Pin was surprised and said that it was inconvenient to go to the airport from here. After refusing again, Qian Haining hesitated for a long time, and Lu Pin did not understand the reason. This was because he had previously made an appointment with Yang's mother to visit her and was preparing to return to the hotel to quickly pack his luggage to head to the east of the city. Suddenly, Professor Zhou came out of his small office: "Lu Pin, could you please deliver a resume to the multifunctional hall in Building 3 for me? I almost forgot the time." It turned out that Professor Zhou's son would graduate next year, majoring in computer science, and it was the right time for him to attend various recruitment presentations and submit resumes. Coincidentally, his son had another written test and had to ask someone else to submit the resume.
Lu Pin was overwhelmed with a sense of pressure, standing there to face the curious and scrutinizing gazes coming from all directions.
Laughter erupted from the audience once again, and Lü Pin could not help but let out a snort.
This question, "the man in the deep brown trench coat smiled meaningfully," if you find a suitable position at Memory, you are welcome to ask me this question again at that time
If it is inappropriate, it is better to break up early to avoid wasting each other's time—this is actually a very clichéd statement. However, at this moment, at this moment, Lu Pin feels that there has never been a time when she feels this statement is such a profound truth more than at this very moment
"Alright, it seems that Qian Haining is quite enthusiastic in his introduction," Lu Pin couldn't help but tease, "It looks like you and your family's child bride often use this to strengthen your relationship, huh?"
Qian Haining was quite disappointed, and after a slight hesitation, asked: "Then... how about I take you to the airport tonight?"
As soon as the topic of girlfriends came up, the students below began to laugh again. "The male fellow citizens present should have some experience with this. It's this girlfriend who always likes to ask questions! Do you love me? Do you really love me? How much do you love me? What exactly do you love about me? In what ways do you show your love for me?"
A large stack of resumes was handed over, which included several classmates of Professor Zhou's son. Lu Pin agreed. Just as he walked out of the physics building, he heard Qian Haining's voice from behind: "Senior! I also have CS classmates who want to submit their resumes, shall we do it together?"
Lu Pin will definitely go to see Yang Huan's mother and have a meal with her upon returning. He politely declined, saying: "I need to visit my godmother, and I have a flight to catch tonight to return. Next time, I will treat you to a meal."
They chatted casually along the way, and Lv Pin learned that the presentation being held today in the multifunctional hall of Building 3 was for a new SNS website called Memory. The Memory website is similar to Facebook abroad, but its features are more aligned with the preferences of young people in China. Qian Haining introduced it all the way, and it sounded very appealing, stating that all daily activities could be recorded online—such as writing book reviews, watching movies, and marking locations on a map to write travel guides after outings. Lv Pin is the type of person who even uses his real name for his QQ friend list and has all his friends noted with their real names, remaining invisible for years. He has a general lack of interest in going online, occasionally playing a small game but too lazy to register. According to Qian Haining, this kind of website is tailor-made for someone like Lv Pin, as Memory initially started out with casual online games.
When Lv Pin arrived at the Yang residence, Yang Huan was sitting boldly on the sofa, frantically pressing the remote control at a rate of one press every three seconds. As Lv Pin squatted at the door to change his shoes, he glanced up and caught sight of the deep brown long coat hanging behind the door. Recalling Yang Huan's words from the earlier presentation, Lv Pin couldn't help but chuckle to himself—indeed, people need to be packaged: after soaking in the culturally rich ivory tower of T University for two years and then spending another two years in California absorbing Western knowledge, Yang Huan was surprisingly described by journalists as an "IT nouveau riche with a rebellious exterior yet profound inner qualities," which did seem somewhat fitting! But who would have thought that beneath that facade, he was just this kind of person at home?
Many of the students below began to laugh, prompting the speaker to pause slightly. After the laughter subsided, he smiled and said: "That is a good question. Please do not laugh. Asking this question shows that the students of T University are very down-to-earth. I am also a graduate of T University, and my first love was also a graduate of T University"
Qian Haining's smile faltered, and he chuckled twice without responding. Lu Pin again held the resume and asked Qian Haining why so many people were applying to this company. Qian Haining explained that Memory is not very large; it was said to be just a small team of a dozen people in the first two years. At the beginning of this year, they received a round of startup funding, and their popularity has been rising steadily, expanding to over a hundred people. Furthermore, it is said that the industry has high hopes for this website, as it is currently not listed and has very promising prospects for future development. If one can squeeze in now and obtain original shares, the potential for success upon future listing is immense—young millionaires in the IT industry are countless.
Lv Pin wished she could immediately find a hole to burrow into, as hundreds of gazes suddenly turned towards her and Qian Haining's position. Even the man in the dark brown coat on the podium looked over. Without saying a word, Lv Pin grabbed Qian Haining's arm and rushed towards the door, shouting "Excuse me, thank you, excuse me, thank you," in an attempt to carve out a path through the crowd
The audience was laughing uproariously, while Lü Pinyin was so focused on listening to the speech that he nearly stumbled due to being jostled by the people behind him. Fortunately, he was caught by Qian Haining, who pulled him to a corner and then whispered, "That girlfriend... has already broken up since early last year."