Chapter 24

Zhong Zhiling was depressed.

He sat alone on a hard bench, feeling utterly uncomfortable.

As an excellent student, he had never set foot in a place like this before, and just a week ago, he still believed he was among those protected.

Who would have thought that now, he seemed to be the target of punishment…

Even so, Zhong Zhiling only said what needed to be said, and had taken full responsibility for the entire matter.

It’s me, it’s me, it’s still me—I take it, I take it, I take it all!

I’m the legal representative, I’m the finance officer, I’m in charge of marketing, I’m the top boss of this company!

As for that major shareholder…

He was misled by me!

I was the one who approached him to invest in my startup project!

Zhong Zhiling seized the position of company boss this way, and when asked about the company’s performance, he deliberately gave vague answers.

“About ten to twenty orders.”

This answer triggered sharp follow-up questions: “Exactly how many? Didn’t you recruit a hundred or two hundred people?”

“The company just started—we haven’t had time to scale yet. I’m surprised we even got this far. We’re just doing a social survey on college students’ romantic relationships,” Zhong Zhiling replied, sticking to this story.

At the same time, he had a rough idea of where things had gone wrong.

The previous internship promotion had indeed generated strong conversions—whether driven by the pursuit of internship certificates, acceptance of the love contract, or herd mentality—the group of college students had maintained a pure, innocent stance.

At that time, Zhong Zhiling had even marveled to his senior, astonished by their behavior.

Now it seemed the college students weren’t just pure—they were also overly enthusiastic!

Someone must have sensed something was off and immediately called to report us…

Sitting on the bench, Zhong Zhiling couldn’t contact the outside world or discuss things with his uncle; his thoughts grew more numerous and tangled. Though he had said all that, his uncles wouldn’t believe him…

If they found out, how would this be classified?

Would I end up in jail…? My family still has a huge pile of investments ready to collapse…

If I go in, will Xiao Ying still wait for me outside?

Senior, senior… has he already fled to another province by now?

Senior was so good to me—he let me be the legal representative, handed me control of the money—good, good…

If senior successfully flees, will he leave something behind for my family?

He’s still a bit better than me in character…

My god, how did I end up sitting here…

The more Zhong Zhiling thought, the more depressed he became; his deep worries and fears intertwined until he felt he might collapse onto the bench—but he never once considered exposing the mastermind.

Even if I implicated my senior, what good would it do? Better to let the capable senior stay outside—then, whether or not he can save me… I won’t have betrayed our brotherhood.

At that moment, Zhong Zhiling heard a knock. He looked up—and his senior walked in, dressed in a white coat.

Zhong Zhiling’s eyes stung; his first thought was: “We’re done! We’ve been completely busted!”

Then came his second thought: “Why is he wearing a white coat?”

Instinctively, Zhong Zhiling sat up straight. Seeing his senior’s calm gaze, he faintly understood the meaning—and gave a barely perceptible shake of his head.

Yu Xing, who had turned himself in, hadn’t expected to see his junior the moment he entered the office. He immediately relaxed—since his junior wasn’t in the special interrogation room, the situation couldn’t be too serious.

When he saw his junior’s faint head shake, his confidence solidified further—they’d probably be able to “go home for the New Year.”

“Hello, I’m Yu Xing. I was called in to explain the situation regarding Guo Ai Net—the one associated with him,” Yu Xing quickly averted his gaze, calmly stating his identity and purpose, then pulled out materials from his backpack. “These are the company’s clients, Uncle. What exactly happened? I just left the lab and got the call.”

The uncle glanced at the student ID on top of the materials, picked it up for a moment, then flipped through the ledger. Seeing the entries, he asked sternly: “Just this much? Where are the rest of the records?”

Yu Xing looked confused. “That’s all. Jin Ling Company hasn’t been registered yet—Zhong Zhiling said we’d start with a trial run.”

“Trial run?” the uncle said sharply. “You recruited so many people during a trial run? Are you the major shareholder? Is this your responsibility?”

He stood up, preparing to take the new materials and the suspect to the next room for questioning.

“Yes, I’m the major shareholder—I invested a little. It’s a trial run. The business license will be issued tomorrow,” Yu Xing looked innocent. “We’re even an outstanding startup project—we’re scheduled for interviews with Sina, NetEase, and Tencent in a couple of days.”

The uncle’s face remained expressionless, but he glanced again at the ledger. He didn’t mention the interviews, instead asking about one specific entry: “You’re an outstanding startup project? This clearly looks like fraud and deception!”

“How is this fraud and deception?” Yu Xing protested. “Zhong Zhiling told me this was a social survey! The interviews by Sina, NetEase, and Tencent are for us to release the ‘China College Student Love Survey Report.’ The trial run is just to collect long-term data!”

He pointed to the materials: “The survey report is right here!”

The uncle flipped further down and indeed found a formal survey report. He saw the projected marriage probability listed: 21%.

“We signed contracts with college couples under the Contract Law. Later, the rose redemption system will collaborate with Yunnan’s domestic roses for promotion,” Yu Xing argued. “Since the probability is low, our system is fully payable!”

“You’re medical students—why are you doing all this nonsense?” the uncle frowned.

“Look at Ji Shi Jia Yuan, the famous matchmaking website. Its founder was a graduate student who noticed classmates struggling to find partners, so he started the business—and now it’s nearly going public.”

“We’re conducting a social phenomenon survey. Later, we’ll launch a matchmaking service too—it’s the same thing, not nonsense.”

Yu Xing then smiled a little shyly. “The thing is, our business license won’t be issued until tomorrow. We just wanted to do a trial run these few days.”

The uncle looked at the white coat, then again at the survey report and materials. “If your license isn’t issued yet, you can’t operate. Can’t you wait a few days?”

Yu Xing nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes—I realized my mistake the moment I got the call. I was in a hurry because I wanted to compare romantic trends between college students here and those in Xiangjiang.”

“This isn’t about being in a hurry—it’s about following the law and regulations,” the uncle said, setting aside other materials and flipping through the ledger. “Is this all?”

Yu Xing turned to Zhong Zhiling. “I don’t know. Zhong Zhiling, take a look—are these all of them?”

Zhong Zhiling, impressed by his senior’s composure, stepped forward and quietly examined the ledger—the very document that might soon become official.

He softly murmured each name, striving to confirm them honestly.

After a moment, Zhong Zhiling replied: “Yes, that’s all. We haven’t finalized deals with the Tourism College yet…”

“Sit over there. We’ll call your school later to verify the details,” the uncle glanced at both of them. Considering they were college students, and given the amount involved and potential impact, he decided to check with the school.

Zhong Zhiling’s heart sank—what could the school possibly verify…?

Yu Xing nodded calmly and added: “I’ve kept my student ID, and the survey report, Uncle. Don’t leak this to the public—let us break the data first during the interviews.”

The uncle said nothing, letting the white-coated man return the materials to his bag.

“Senior, how did you get here?” Zhong Zhiling asked the moment he sat back down, whispering urgently.

Yu Xing shook his head, signaling him to stay quiet.

Zhong Zhiling fell silent, but his mood had changed completely.

Yu Xing reflected on their earlier conversation and his call to his advisor on the way—he was certain the situation wouldn’t escalate. No matter what others did, Liu Laoshi would definitely come.

He quietly considered the implications and how to accelerate future operations, when suddenly he noticed the uncle leaning forward, massaging his lower back.

“If your back’s uncomfortable, try glute bridges and dead bugs at home,” Yu Xing spoke up.

The uncle glanced at him, and it suddenly struck him—these two were medical students.

He pressed harder on his back. “I went to the hospital—the doctor said I needed to do something called… Xiao Yan…”

Yu Xing finished: “Xiao Yan Fei.”

The uncle nodded. “Yes, yes—that’s it.”

“If that’s uncomfortable, you can skip it for now,” Yu Xing thought for a moment. “Glute bridges and dead bugs are safer.”

The uncle frowned. “But the doctor said to do that one—and even told me to memorize the movements.”

Yu Xing smiled. “Knowledge sometimes lags behind. It needs updating. After all, the patient knows their own body best—whether an exercise feels comfortable should be obvious.”

The uncle fell silent. He realized he’d always found that exercise uncomfortable.

“Can I get a glass of water?” Yu Xing asked softly.

The uncle pointed. “Help yourself.”

Yu Xing poured a glass, walked a few steps back, and handed it to his junior, who sat stiffly upright, then poured one for himself.

After pouring, he didn’t sit down. Instead, he sipped while explaining the correct movements to the uncle and sharing related knowledge.

The uncle listened carefully, then suddenly asked: “You’re studying medicine well—why start a company?”

“Not everyone in medicine makes it,” Yu Xing chuckled. “I’m currently in pathology research. If I become a pathologist later, I’ll probably earn five or six thousand a month.”

“My daughter’s in her final year of high school. What do you think of her studying medicine?” the uncle asked.

“Most medical departments require night shifts. Can she handle that? And the studies are pretty dull,” Yu Xing replied seriously.

“She wants to study finance. I think medicine is better,” the uncle explained.

“Finance? Hmph,” Yu Xing sighed. “That requires family connections… hmm…”

The uncle thought for a moment. “What about computer science?”

“Computer science is good—but be ready for long overtime hours,” Yu Xing smiled.

“Any suggestions?”

“Don’t study medicine. Finance needs connections. Computer science demands overtime. Avoid chemistry, biology, environmental science, and materials. Journalism is boring,” Yu Xing counted off on his fingers, paused, then added: “What’s your daughter’s personality like? If she can get into Nanhang, studying aerospace manufacturing would be great.”

“Why?” the uncle asked sincerely.

“Hmm, let me give you my number—I’ll ask my friends at Nanhang later,” Yu Xing pulled out his phone and began detailing the pros and cons of the major he’d just mentioned.

Sitting across, Zhong Zhiling stared in disbelief as his senior rapidly shifted into a warm, animated conversation with the previously stern uncle.

When the office door knocked again, Liu Jingrong, who had come to retrieve them with heavy heart, saw his senior and the uncle chatting cheerfully. He nearly thought he’d walked into the wrong room—wasn’t this supposed to be Yu Zong turning into Yu Mou?

Liu Jingrong glared fiercely at the other student on the bench—look at Yu Zong, then look at you, Zhong Mou. Both of you were involved in fraud and deception—why is your treatment so different?!