Going home for the Chinese New Year with a year-end bonus of 100 million

Time flies, and another month has passed.

Mid-April, lecture hall of the School of Computer Science, Industrial University.

The audience was packed with people—students, professors, and teams from other universities.

On stage, the host is announcing the results of this year's East China ICPC Collegiate Programming Contest.

"Third place: Jiaotong University's Deep Blue Heart team!"

applause.

"Second place: The Algorithm Hunter Team from Passenger Aircraft University!"

Even more enthusiastic applause.

The host paused, then raised his voice:

"First Place – Xinghai Intelligent Team from the University of Technology! Congratulations!"

"boom--"

The entire venue erupted in cheers.

The spotlight shone on three boys on stage—Chen Mo, Li Hao, and Wang Tao. They were wearing simple team T-shirts with the "Xinghai Intelligent" logo printed on them, and they were excitedly hugging each other.

Zhou Jin sat in the front row of the audience, clapping enthusiastically, his face full of pride.

After the award ceremony, the three of them walked off the stage with their trophies and certificates, and were immediately surrounded by their classmates.

"Old Chen is awesome!"

"Li Hao, how did you come up with that dynamic programming problem?"

"Wang Tao, that last optimization was crucial!"

Chen Mo smiled and responded to the congratulations, but his gaze fell on Zhou Jin, and he nodded vigorously.

Zhou Jin understood the meaning behind that look—without that investment, without sufficient computing power to support their model training and algorithm optimization, they could not have won.

This is more than just a competition trophy.

This is validation, this is confidence.

……

Evening, dormitory 307.

The trophy was placed in the center of the table, and three boys surrounded it, looking at it again and again.

"That was fucking awesome." Li Hao couldn't help but swear.

"Those guys from Jiaotong University called us a 'shoddy' team before the competition, and now they've been proven wrong!"

Wang Tao touched the trophy: "The key is that the code completion model we used really helped in the competition."

"Old Chen, did you see that? For the last question, I was only halfway through typing when the model suggested the optimal solution."

Chen Mo nodded, his eyes shining: "This shows that we are on the right track. Code models for vertical domains do have practical value."

Just then, there was a knock on the dormitory door.

"Please come in."

The door opened, and counselor Teacher Wang poked her head in:

"Chen Mo, Li Hao, and Wang Tao, are they all here?"

"Principal Lin is looking for you. Go to her office now."

"Principal Lin?" The three of them were taken aback.

Lin Qingyue, the president of the university, is a legendary figure at the school—she graduated with a doctorate at the age of 30, was promoted to professor at the age of 32, became vice president at the age of 35, and was promoted to president just last year.

Not only is she academically gifted, but she is also exceptionally beautiful, making her the goddess in the eyes of all the male students in the school.

"Yes, Principal Lin watched the live broadcast of the competition and specifically asked me to come and call you," Teacher Wang said with a smile.

"Go quickly, don't keep the principal waiting."

The three of them quickly tidied themselves up and changed into relatively formal clothes—although they were still wearing T-shirts and jeans, at least they were clean.

Walking towards the administration building, Li Hao lowered his voice:

"The principal called us... could it be because he thinks we used some illegal methods in the competition?"

"What are you thinking?" Chen Mo shook his head. "If it were against the rules, it would have been canceled long ago. It should be a good thing."

Wang Tao rubbed his hands together: "I heard Principal Lin is exceptionally beautiful, is that true?"

Zhou Jin, who was standing next to him, laughed when he heard this: "Really. I saw her at last year's opening ceremony, she was like a celebrity."

As they were talking, they arrived at the fifth floor of the administration building, outside the principal's office.

Teacher Wang knocked on the door: "Principal Lin, Chen Mo and the others are here."

"Please come in." A cool female voice came from inside.

Push the door open and go inside.

The office is large and decorated in a simple and modern style.

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, a woman in a beige suit skirt was standing with her back to them, looking out the window.

Hearing footsteps, she turned around.

At that moment, all three boys were stunned.

Zhou Jin was right—Lin Qingyue was indeed unbelievably beautiful.

She looked to be in her early thirties, with fair skin and exquisitely sculpted features.

Her long hair was styled into an elegant bun at the back of her head, revealing her slender neck.

She was tall and had a cool and aloof demeanor, but when she looked over, her eyes carried an intellectual gentleness.

The most striking thing is that the suit she wore today was impeccably tailored, exuding both professionalism and feminine charm.

"Please sit down," Lin Qingyue said gently, gesturing to the sofa.

The four of them sat down awkwardly.

Lin Qingyue walked over and sat down on the single sofa opposite them, crossing her legs with an elegant posture.

"First of all, congratulations." She began, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"I watched the live broadcast of today's game, and the performance was outstanding. They brought honor to our school."

Chen Mo quickly said, "Thank you, Principal. It's what we should do."

"It's not just about the competition." Lin Qingyue paused.

"I'm familiar with your team—you're working on large AI models, specifically for code generation and testing, right?"

The three of them were startled.

The principal even knows this?

Lin Qingyue noticed their surprise and smiled:

"As the principal, I naturally have to pay attention to the outstanding students and programs in the school."

"Moreover, your direction has great potential."

She leaned forward slightly:

"I've called you here today for two reasons: first, to congratulate you, and second, to ask how the project is progressing?"

"Are you facing any difficulties? How can the school help you?"

That's a sincere statement.

Chen Mo, Li Hao, and Wang Tao exchanged glances, and finally Chen Mo spoke:

"Thank you for your concern, Principal. Our project... is progressing smoothly at present."

"The most difficult phase is over—the main issue was funding."

"But now, that problem is solved."

Lin Qingyue raised an eyebrow: "Solved? How was it solved?"

Chen Mo glanced at Zhou Jin, who then continued the conversation:

"Principal, it's like this. I know someone who invested in our project."

"Investment?" Lin Qingyue was somewhat surprised. "An investor from outside the school?"

"Yes." Zhou Jin nodded. "The older brother is a very good person. He believed in our skills and invested."

Lin Qingyue became interested: "How much did you invest? Is it convenient to tell me?"

Chen Mo hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth:

"One and a half million. It will be paid in three installments. The first installment of five hundred thousand has already been received."

"How much?" Lin Qingyue thought she had misheard.

"One and a half million, RMB." Chen Mo repeated.

The office was silent for a few seconds.

Lin Qingyue looked at the four boys in front of her, who were at most twenty-two or twenty-three years old, with disbelief flashing in her eyes.

1.5 million yuan, invested in a student team working on AI?

This is quite a gesture...

"Who are the investors?" she asked. "Can you tell me? Which institution? Or an individual?"

Zhou Jin replied, "It's a person, my neighbor, an older brother."

"Your neighbor?" Lin Qingyue was even more surprised:

"What do you do? That's...impressive?"

Zhou Jin scratched his head: "Big brother is quite young, not even thirty years old."

"He also started his own business, opening a hot pot restaurant, and he also invested in my e-sports hotel project—that was an investment of three million."

"Three million?" Lin Qingyue sat up straight this time.

Another three million invested in an e-sports hotel?

Adding this 1.5 million, that makes 4.5 million.

These are just the two projects Zhou Jin mentioned.

"Your older brother..." Lin Qingyue carefully chose her words, "is he still investing in other projects?"

Zhou Jin nodded: "I'm investing."

"My older brother has been looking for suitable investment projects recently. He is willing to invest in any project that is reliable and has potential."

He paused, then added, "Other people at our school have also received investment."

"There's a girl in the design school who's a beauty blogger, and her older brother invested 200,000 yuan in her."

"I heard from Xiaoya that she is also helping her older brother find projects."