The Boss Who Respects Talent the Most

To be honest, Xia Lin always had a penchant for zoning out during Youth League Committee meetings.

These meetings were bored to death—pure formalities where paying attention made zero difference.

Anyone who could keep their mind from wandering was practically a saint.

With her high EQ, Xia Lin had long since mastered the art of slacking off undetected. Usually, her thoughts were on mundane matters, but today, she was thinking about Su Bai. She was so engrossed that her colleagues actually noticed.

The teacher presiding over the meeting didn't scold her, merely cracking a few jokes at her expense.

Still, it made Xia Lin's cheeks burn—a rare loss of composure for her.

Seeing this, her colleagues couldn't help but whisper among themselves. Was this "Flower on the High Peak" finally in love?

It certainly seemed possible. Rumor had it she was busier than usual lately, but not with scientific research—probably dating a boyfriend.

Sigh, who was the lucky guy who got to win Xia Lin's heart?

They figured whoever chased her down must have put in massive effort and spent a fortune. After all, Xia Lin clearly came from a top-tier family. With her spending habits, a regular salaryman probably couldn't afford a single date.

People have a strong desire to imagine things, but their actual imagination is often limited.

As the saying goes, people cannot imagine what they haven't seen.

If they knew that Su Bai hadn't spent much effort at all—and that Xia Lin was actually the one pursuing him—they would probably have a mental breakdown.

Also on the verge of a breakdown were the "Local" and the "Shanghai Lord," that pair of arch-rivals.

This morning's exam was Programming, running for two hours from ten to twelve.

Su Bai arrived at the exam hall on time and shot the breeze with Wang Haoran until the test began.

It was a computer-based exam: multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blanks first to test basic knowledge, followed by a coding test. You had to write code based on requirements and submit it for on-site testing, knowing immediately if your program passed.

It was pretty intense. For most students, it was their first time taking an exam in this format.

It really tested one's psychological fortitude.

Su Bai had completely slacked off during programming classes, coasting by while feeling up Chen Yusheng's thigh. Consequently, the System naturally instilled a full set of knowledge into him as a form of "Indulgence Cashback."

He breezed through the questions at a ridiculous speed. For a two-hour exam, Su Bai finished and left in just over forty minutes.

But when he got outside, he found Wang Haoran already playing mobile games in the hallway.

"Holy crap, how were you so fast?" Su Bai was shocked.

"Eh, it was alright. The test was super watered-down, especially the coding part at the end. It was kindergarten level... I seriously question if this exam can actually differentiate skill levels."

"Well... I think it can," Su Bai speculated maliciously. "Let's just wait and see the looks on Old Xue and Old Chu's faces when they come out."

"Can't really say that. Those two are at the bottom of the barrel; they wouldn't reflect the test's differentiation anyway."

"..."

Wang Haoran was actually quite blunt, but he wasn't stupid. There were some things you could only say to real friends.

Su Bai quickly made peace with Wang Haoran's miraculous speed. The kid genuinely loved writing code. As everyone knows, passion is the best teacher. In reality, many Computer Science students didn't actually like it that much; they just chose a hot major for the sake of their future careers.

In contrast, the two arch-rivals of Dorm 510 were in a completely different boat.

At that moment, they were scratching their heads in the computer lab.

The curriculum at Jiangcheng University's CS department was generally very scientifically structured, and to be honest, the programming problems weren't hard.

The problem was Xue Tao's poor foundation. Since school started, he had been busy dating and posturing. Writing code?

To Xue Tao, that seemed like a distant concern, yet on this bright and sunny morning, reality gave him a rude awakening.

Chu Mingzhe was in a similar state.

The kid had actually spent some time reviewing. He heard from a senior that for Computer Science, you had to read the original English textbooks because the domestic ones were trash and would only confuse you more.

So, Chu Mingzhe took a different path and tried to gnaw through the original English texts.

He figured that with his Shanghai-student English level, it would be a piece of cake.

But once he started, he realized the damn things were actually hard to understand. The key issue was that they were boring and dry, completely clashing with his vibe as a long-haired artsy guy.

So, every time he took those massive English tomes to the café to study, it was just for show.

The bulk of his energy was spent chatting with his girlfriend, Leilei.

Speaking of whom, Leilei had exams coming up too, and her mood swings were intense, requiring daily comforting.

And so, unsurprisingly, the Shanghai Lord and the Local flunked another subject together.

Students finished and left the exam hall one after another.

By the time the two-hour limit was up, there weren't many people left in the room.

"Motherf*cker..."

Xue Tao stood up, cursing under his breath, his back soaked with sweat.

You might not believe it, but he hadn't passed a single program check...

Subconsciously, he glanced at Chu Mingzhe nearby. The latter's face didn't look too good either.

"How'd it go?"

"Heh."

"What does 'heh' mean?"

"It was a bit dicey, but I managed to get it done. Sigh, my form was off today; otherwise, I could have handed it in at least half an hour early," Chu Mingzhe lied through his teeth. "Old Xue, don't tell me you didn't finish?"

Hearing this, Xue Tao's expression darkened, but he stubbornly lied as well: "Haha, I just finished too."

"That's good. I remember you saying you wanted a guaranteed postgraduate recommendation. Grades are pretty important for that."

"Indeed."

Postgraduate recommendation?

Recommend my ass. The urgent priority now was figuring out how not to fail the course... Xue Tao knew exactly how poorly he'd performed on the exams he'd taken so far.

No amount of stubborn talk could warp reality.

...

Noon.

[Lu Yuning: Boss, here is a set of preliminary concept drafts I drew. What do you think?]

Su Bai was lying like a corpse on his bed when the message from the designer lady arrived.

Wait, isn't that a bit too fast?

It's only been a day and a half, and she already has concept drafts?

Was Lu Yuning truly a genius whose performance had been stifled by a mediocre work environment in the past?

Su Bai hurriedly opened the file to take a look, and his eyes immediately heated up.

Just looking at the clothing concept art made him feel a faint surge of heat.

[Crispy Big White Goose: Very good.]

[Crispy Big White Goose: (Sticker: Big White Goose spiraling into the sky with a thumbs up)]

[Crispy Big White Goose: Once I get the supply chain acquisition sorted out, I'll set you up. Please produce the detailed designs as soon as possible.]

[Crispy Big White Goose: Oh wait, no need to rush. Just work at a pace you're comfortable with. I'll reiterate: there's no hurry, really no hurry. Just unleash your talent, and I'll foot the bill for everything!]

Su Bai always treated true talent with the utmost respect.

After all, he didn't really have any talent himself; he was just an ordinary guy with a bit of diligence and a bit of luck.