Chapter 43: The Business Incubator

Across the table, Qin Yang smiled and set down his teacup. "Lin Bai, right? If you were in my shoes and a young man you were meeting for the first time asked to borrow two million, what would you do?"

"I cannot put myself in your position; everyone thinks differently and faces different circumstances. I can only tell you that I am one hundred percent certain I can make a profit." Lin Bai paused. "How about this: for two million, I will return 2.2 million to you in one week. We can put it in writing."

Qin Yang said nothing, looking at Lin Bai intently, as if trying to discern something profound in his eyes.

After a dozen seconds, he spoke. "One million. I don't even want the interest; consider it an investment in my precious daughter. Take it or leave it; if not, Ruowei, show him the door."

Since Qin Yang had put it that way, Lin Bai knew better than to be greedy. After a moment of thought, he nodded in agreement.

"Very well! I have a suggestion for you, Uncle Qin: buy Huaxing Yunkai!"

Qin Yang chuckled. "Oh? How much?"

"Buy as much as you can. Put every penny you have into it!"

Qin Yang was stunned, as was Qin Ruowei. Then, Qin Yang shook his head with a smile and began the transfer on his phone.

...

Ten minutes later, upon receiving the funds, Lin Bai immediately transferred the money into his account and bought Huaxing Yunkai. Qin Ruowei, watching from beside him, felt a twinge of worry seeing Lin Bai invest the entire million without the slightest hesitation.

"Honey..."

Lin Bai's focus was entirely on the stock price of Huaxing Yunkai; compared to yesterday, it had actually dipped slightly. But this did not shake his trust in the system in the slightest.

Once he confirmed the purchase, Lin Bai let out a long breath, pulled Qin Ruowei close, and planted a firm kiss on her cheek.

"Oh my..."

Qin Ruowei scurried away, glancing around in a panic, relieved to see no one had noticed.

"You really are getting bolder, you know!" Qin Ruowei teased, poking the tip of Lin Bai's nose with a squint of her eyes.

While the two were flirting, in the tea room, Qin Yang was staring at his phone screen, which displayed his stock trading software and the price of Huaxing Yunkai.

"It dropped even lower than yesterday. Is it really as miraculous as this kid says? Should I buy some to test it out?"

With that thought, Qin Yang reflexively topped up his account with ten thousand and bought Huaxing Yunkai.

At noon, the housekeeper finished preparing lunch, and Qin Ruowei’s mother returned from work. Seeing Lin Bai upon entering, Wang Xuanming beamed with a gentle smile, changed into her slippers, and walked toward him, looking him up and down.

"Really quite impressive..."

"Hello, Auntie."

"Hello, sit down, let's eat. Don't be formal; treat this like your own home." Wang Xuanming beckoned Lin Bai to sit, then took her place beside Qin Yang.

Qin Ruowei kept her head down, poking at her food with her chopsticks, her ears burning.

Wang Xuanming glanced at Qin Yang, then turned to Lin Bai. "Lin Bai, is it? I hear Ruowei mention you often. You are an exceptional young man."

"You flatter me, Auntie. I'm just an ordinary college student."

The meal passed in a peaceful and comfortable atmosphere. Qin Yang and Wang Xuanming didn't grill Lin Bai with questions as he had feared; they mostly chatted about daily life, which made Lin Bai feel at ease.

After the meal, Qin Ruowei packed a week's worth of clothes, and they set out together.

"Uncle, Auntie, we're heading back to school."

Lin Bai and Qin Ruowei waved goodbye and stepped into the elevator. Once they were gone, Wang Xuanming looked at Qin Yang with a gentle smile.

"So, what do you think?"

Qin Yang turned back into the room. "Not bad. He’s more mature than most his age. I can't quite see through the boy yet."

Hearing her husband's assessment, Wang Xuanming raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That’s the first time I’ve heard you say that about a college student."

...

Qin Ruowei didn't take her car. After they left the Fenglin Town residential area, Lin Bai booked a hotel on his phone and drove straight there.

Qin Ruowei caught a glimpse of his phone screen and turned to look out the window. Her cheeks flushed red, but she didn't say a word.

Once they arrived at the hotel, the moment they entered the room, Lin Bai swept her up into his arms. Amidst her startled cry, the room was soon filled with intimacy.

...

The entire afternoon slipped away. As the sky began to darken, they left the hotel and returned to school. After dropping Qin Ruowei off at her dormitory, Lin Bai intended to head to his own, but while passing the cafeteria, he caught sight of a familiar figure in the distance.

Pale but clean-fitting jeans, a white t-shirt, shoulder-length hair dancing in the light breeze...

It was Xu Youmeng!

Though he couldn't see her face, Lin Bai was certain it was her. Carrying a light blue backpack, she was walking with a hurried gait. Driven by curiosity, Lin Bai followed.

Along the way, he truly understood what it meant to be the campus beauty. Every man and woman they passed cast looks of awe in her direction.

They say that if a man thinks you're pretty, he might just be after your body, but if a woman thinks another girl is pretty, then she really is beautiful. Xu Youmeng perfectly embodied this truth.

Lin Bai stayed about ten steps behind her, keeping a distance that was neither too far nor too close, observing her closely. After a few minutes of fast-paced walking, Xu Youmeng turned into a courtyard.

Lin Bai reached the gate, looked up at the sign beside it, and saw the words: "Jiangcheng University Entrepreneurship Park."

This was his first time at the park, and perhaps because it was the weekend, there were quite a few students coming and going. In his moment of distraction, he lost sight of Xu Youmeng.

Driven by curiosity, Lin Bai walked into the park. It was quite spacious, covering roughly a thousand square meters, primarily composed of a circle of red, two-story buildings.

The buildings contained many rooms that looked like classrooms. Lin Bai walked slowly, his gaze scanning the doors.

"Xingya Software Development Technology Co., Ltd., Alien Media Co., Ltd., Yanji Photography Studio..."

Each room was a startup company, and through the windows, he could vaguely see busy figures inside.

Seeing these people, Lin Bai felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of shame.

They were all college students, yet some spent their days chasing romance or wasting time on video games, while these people were already striving to build their own careers!

Even though nine out of ten of these ventures would likely fail on the path ahead, at least they had tried; they were doing something meaningful!

And he... he hadn't done anything meaningful at all.

[Beep! Side quest triggered!]

[Quest objective: Create your own startup. Time limit: 1 hour. Countdown starting: 59'59"...]

[Reward: S-rank gaming talent.]

[Penalty for failure: Impotence for three months.]

The system seemed to have heard his inner thoughts and immediately triggered the quest.

Looking at the countdown ticking away before him, Lin Bai’s mouth hung open wide enough to swallow an egg.

"System! You can't be serious! One hour???"

[Beep! Yes, you heard me right!]

"But—but can we change the penalty for failure?"

[Beep! No. If I were you, I wouldn't be wasting time here talking.]