Chapter 21-Part 1: My old enemy has a girlfriend

Tong An’yu found there were definite advantages to teaming up with teammates who weren’t as strong in specialized knowledge.

She had personally witnessed instances where teams of fellow students, due to incompatible ideas, illogical thinking, or uneven distribution of labor, would argue fiercely, even to the point of never speaking to each other again.

In contrast, her team only had her and Lin Huaixu occasionally debating a certain issue, while the other three listened in silence, expressing no opinions and daring not to take sides easily; once she and Lin Huaixu reached an agreement, they fully accepted the tasks assigned.

Among them, Yuan Qing worked the hardest, even attending online meetings from overseas, adjusting to China’s time zone.

Kong Jiashu, though he understood nothing, was at least diligent in running errands, constantly bringing food and livening the atmosphere with his humor, making his presence fully felt.

Only Feng Junda was particularly awkward; on one hand, he hoped the team would perform well in the competition, but on the other, he couldn’t help but constantly bicker with Lin Huaixu.

In mid-May, Tong An’yu and Lin Huaixu submitted their paper through the competition system, and before summer vacation, the preliminary results were announced: they won first prize, sharing the 100,000 yuan prize money with two other domestic teams.

At the same time, the Qinglan Cup (China) organizing committee recommended them to participate in the Qinglan Cup International Modeling Competition, which would take place in the first week of August and include an in-person defense.

“Awesome, awesome, awesome! You’re incredible, Tong-jie! No wonder Xu-ge said your math is even better than his.”

Kong Jiashu’s eyes disappeared when he smiled, making him look like a perfectly round dough ball.

He massaged Tong An’yu’s back, not even playing on his phone, providing full emotional support.

Tong An’yu had grown up surrounded by three older brothers, so she was already used to playing with boys; she didn’t think much of it, and instead, while Lin Huaixu was on the phone, she declared rather arrogantly, “In terms of math, your Tong-jie is indeed just a tiny bit stronger than him.”

She pinched her fingers, forming an orchid-like gesture, to show Kong Jiashu “just a tiny bit.”

Taking advantage of Lin Huaixu’s distance, Kong Jiashu whispered, “Absolutely!”

Lin Huaixu watched them laughing and chatting, patting backs and kneading shoulders, and pondered whether to have Kong Jiashu visit Jing City less often before the finals began.

The person on the other end of the phone noticed no response and asked uncertainly, – “Student Lin, are you there?”

Lin Huaixu felt a slight awkwardness, turned his back, and calmly said, – “Apologies, the signal was poor just now.”

– “Okay, we’ve reviewed your resume, including your achievements in vulnerability research and your CTF competition results, and we think you’re quite excellent. You’ve also addressed the age issue and the discrepancy with your major, so we’d like you to bring supporting documents for an in-person interview at our firm this Saturday at 9 AM.”

– “Understood. May I ask if the interviewers are HR or senior management?”

Lin Huaixu asked in great detail, which helped him gauge the other party’s attitude; if it was just an HR interview, it wouldn’t be much different from a phone interview, and the subsequent process might be quite long, or perhaps he was just a candidate HR used to meet KPIs.

– The experienced HR understood his meaning: “The interview will be with the head of our IT department, who is also a Business Partner at our PhiloLex Law Firm’s China office.”

– “Could you please tell me the approximate interview process?”

– “It will last about two hours; you might need to undergo an impromptu cybersecurity test, and then the interviewer will take it from there. It shouldn’t be too long. This is the final interview.”

– “Are the intern salary and working hours consistent with what’s stated on the official website?”

– “It’s a summer internship, five days a week, not counting overtime, with a monthly salary of nine thousand. If you pass the interview, we hope you can start as soon as possible.”

– “I have no further questions, thank you.”

Lin Huaixu waited for the other party to hang up first.

The reason he chose the cybersecurity position at a law firm was because their interview requirements were more flexible, not exclusively accepting computer science majors.

After agreeing on the interview time, Lin Huaixu casually contacted a real estate agent, then told Kong Jiashu, “If you’re free, come with me to Jiandong Road.”

Kong Jiashu quickly abandoned Tong An’yu and scurried over, “Sure, what are we going to do?”

Lin Huaixu: “Look for a place.”

Kong Jiashu: “Huh?”

Lin Huaixu: “Short-term summer rental.”

Kong Jiashu was bewildered: “Wait, Xu-ge, can’t you stay in the dorms?”

Lin Huaixu: “Yes, but it’s a two-and-a-half-hour commute, a waste of time.”

Tong An’yu no longer cared about being arrogant, and stood up, patting her backside: “You haven’t even passed the interview yet, have you?”

Normally, one should only start looking for a rental after passing the interview.

Lin Huaixu retorted, “Do you think I won’t pass?”

‘Tsk tsk, this is the highest level of arrogance.’

‘But is it really okay to be that arrogant?’

Tong An’yu, eyes sparkling, grabbed his arm: “I’ll go too! I’ve never rented a place before!”

Lin Huaixu glanced at her hand on his arm, then at her face filled with genuine eagerness, and frowned: “Don’t go.”

‘She wouldn’t want to go; she’s probably never seen the other side of this city, the dusty, struggling side, which is also the side he has no choice but to face.’

‘He wished she would always remain radiant and never have to understand the indignities of the lower strata, waiting until he could straighten his clothes, stand tall, and tell her he could give her a much better life.’

“Why not?”

‘Has the competition temporarily ended, and now he doesn’t need her, so she’s become an outsider?’

Kong Jiashu: “Yeah, why not let Tong-jie come? Tong-jie is one of us now.”

Lin Huaixu asked her somewhat coldly, “Don’t you have anything to do?”

She originally did have something—an elective course had a field trip to the film museum—but Tong An’yu defiantly said, “No!”

Lin Huaixu remained silent for a long time, having made it perfectly clear he didn’t want Tong An’yu to come along.

Kong Jiashu didn’t understand why he was suddenly like this, scratching his head awkwardly, unsure whether to help Lin Huaixu persuade

Tong An’yu or to comfort Tong An’yu not to mind Lin Huaixu.

Tong An’yu heard the refusal in his silence, and her heart felt as if it had been steeped in ice water, unpleasantly cold.

But having taken a stand, she refused to back down.

Seeing her eyes begin to redden, Lin Huaixu sighed and finally said, “Let’s go.”