Chapter 108: Puzzled and Perplexed

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“Have you and Zhang Ya...?” Li Changtian swallowed, hesitated for a moment, then changed his approach and asked more tactfully, “Xiwen, you see, although you’re just a fifteen-year-old student, you’re much more mature than other kids. So you should be able to tell the difference between vague feelings and true love, right?”

“Principal,” Jiang Xiwen’s lips curled slightly into a puzzled smile, “What do you mean? I really don’t quite understand.”

He knew perfectly well what Li Changtian was trying to broach, but he found it odd that the subject of early romance was being brought up again. Li Changtian, who was skilled at beating around the bush, wouldn’t trouble him without reason.

Moreover, as the relationship between the Zhang and Jiang families became more widely known, Fang Sixiang’s mindset could no longer cling to this issue. Apart from Fang Sixiang and his wife, no one else would waste energy on such trivial matters! What was going on?

Jiang Xiwen feigned ignorance to probe Li Changtian’s true intentions.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Look at this photo.” Li Changtian pulled a picture from his drawer and handed it to Jiang Xiwen, adjusting his expression to appear kindly as he smiled gently. “Xiwen, I don’t know who left this photo on my desk, but I put it away as soon as I saw it. Of course, such a photo doesn’t prove anything, but I thought I’d call you in to remind you—there might be some ill-intentioned people around.”

Jiang Xiwen took the photo and glanced at it. It was a candid shot of him walking down the school’s flower path with Zhang Ya. His hand was resting on Zhang Ya’s shoulder, as if something had fallen onto her and he was brushing it off.

Such a clumsy attempt at framing was quite amusing to Jiang Xiwen. Before seeing the photo, he had been pondering the matter but now found no reason to take it seriously. Li Changtian calling him in was just a comical interlude amid work.

Since it was a joke, he decided to prolong the fun by teasing Li Changtian.

Jiang Xiwen expressionlessly tossed the photo onto the desk, then looked up at Li Changtian. After a few seconds, he chuckled.

Li Changtian didn’t understand why Jiang Xiwen was laughing and awkwardly joined in. But after a few laughs, Jiang suddenly stood up, wiped the smile off his face, and said, “Principal Li, is there anything else? If not, I’ll be going.”

Li Changtian felt embarrassed; his smile froze, and he gave a forced chuckle. Pointing at Jiang Xiwen, he said, “Xiwen, don’t worry. I won’t let such trivial matters bother you again. Ha ha…”

“Thank you, Principal Li!” This time, Jiang Xiwen gave a perfect student smile—so genuine it could qualify for ISO 9001 certification. After smiling, he left the office.

Jiang Xiwen’s ambiguous, inscrutable manner had completely flustered Li Changtian, whose mastery of evasive tactics was rendered ineffective. Thinking of Li’s earlier expression, Jiang couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

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Li Changtian’s intent in calling him was clear: he wanted to offer something to Jiang Xiwen. His status now was vastly different from before; many influential people in the school were eager to curry favor with him, so he no longer needed to expend energy on petty matters.

Now, he had to focus on developing PS software compatible with the IN5 system, which was far more complex than the Tianxing Computer School’s lab management system.

The development cycle would be much longer. Although he understood IN5’s core—since he had studied it during his spare time as a programmer—it hadn’t been released yet, so he could only work on it theoretically, which was much more troublesome.

He estimated that the one million yuan funding allocated for QQ’s development would be exhausted within one to two years. Therefore, time was tight. He needed to collaborate with Kingsoft to launch a new generation of PS software alongside IN5’s release, competing head-to-head with ORD.

Leaving the principal’s office, Jiang Xiwen decided not to go to class; attending was a waste of time for him. Even if Tan Yutou didn’t cover for him now, the principal wouldn’t bother.

As he pushed open the office door, he saw a desk piled with various game software. Sitting among them was a chubby man with a broad face—Qi Huanchang.

Most of these games came from well-known companies in Taiwan. Qi the Fatty was quick; Jiang had asked him early that morning to buy all imaginable games regardless of quality, and it seemed he had completed the task.

“Fatty, from now on, we’ll leave each other alone. You play your games; I’ll work on my programming,” Jiang said seriously. “But don’t just play randomly. Compare each game’s strengths and weaknesses, summarize what makes the popular games successful, and write your thoughts into a structured document. Think about what kind of game we should develop first—something that can run smoothly on current hardware while using minimal resources but winning great acclaim. We have to make a name for ourselves.”

Qi Huanchang listened attentively and nodded vigorously at the end. “Don’t worry, Comrade Xiwen, I won’t stop until I’m sick of it!”

With that, he pulled out the latest “Xuan Yuan Sword II” and dove in.

Jiang could tell Qi was thrilled to turn gaming into work. The first game Qi chose was his favorite from the Xuan Yuan Sword series.

Qi’s enthusiasm allowed Jiang to predict exactly how he’d look in a week—playing until exhaustion. For a professional game developer, playing to the point of nausea wasn’t an exaggeration.

Now, Jiang’s goal was to integrate Qi Huanchang quickly into the role of a game content planner.

By mid-afternoon, Qi’s stomach growled. He looked at Jiang, who had been sitting motionless at the computer for hours, only his fingers tapping on the keyboard intermittently.

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“Xiwen, take a break. Don’t overwork yourself. I’ll go buy some food. Want anything? After we eat, we continue our battle,” Qi said, patting Jiang on the shoulder as he stood.

“Hmm, anything’s fine, thanks,” Jiang replied simply, eyes still fixed on the screen, brows slightly furrowed. He had entered a state of deep immersion in programming, something Qi had never seen before.

Previously, no matter what Jiang wrote, Qi always thought he made it look easy.

After Wang Xunfei left, Jiang had instructed Qi not to interfere until Wang voluntarily joined them. But now, seeing Jiang so focused, Qi’s curiosity was piqued. He couldn’t resist leaning in to look at the code on Jiang’s screen.

Jiang ignored him and let him watch. Qi’s expression grew increasingly amazed.

“You’re writing word processing software? What are you trying to do—compete with PS?” Qi asked three questions in a row before remembering Jiang’s instructions and falling silent.

Just as Jiang finished a DLL module, he finally exhaled, stretched, and glanced at Qi’s astonished face, casually replying, “It doesn’t matter. I can tell you—I’m writing PS software. When you have time, help me find the address and phone number of Qiu Bojun, CEO of Kingsoft. I’ll need it.”

Hearing this, Qi felt a surge of passionate excitement. This passion awakened a long-lost fervor within him.

They talked about starting a business and future plans, but Qi had never truly felt a difference—until now. Jiang’s mention of Kingsoft and Qiu Bojun, the most renowned company and entrepreneur in China’s software industry, ignited something inside him.

Could this mean they were about to contact the industry giants?! Qi’s heart raced with excitement.

“Stop daydreaming! I’m starving—let’s go eat!” Jiang stood up. A walk would do him good; sitting still for so long wasn’t healthy. He couldn’t afford to be as unlucky as before if he reincarnated again—he might even end up in the age of dinosaurs.

Only after Jiang left did Qi snap back to reality. He hurried to follow him.

“Xiwen, you told me not to ask questions, but why are you telling me now?” Qi asked.

“This has nothing to do with Wang Xunfei for now, so it’s okay for you to know,” Jiang answered casually.

Qi’s curiosity surged uncontrollably. He smiled sheepishly. “How exactly do you plan to convince Xunfei?”