All These Years at This Time

Zhou Yi spent two consecutive days busy with interviews at Huanyu, and by the weekend evening, the first round of interviews was finally completed.

This time, over fifty people were retained, with a relatively low elimination rate.

Many others online still wanted to join Huanyu, so after discussing with Jiang Ruolan, Zhou Yi decided to continue recruiting.

Since Huanyu was now an investment company, most positions were related to investment. However, Zhou Yi wanted to hire a separate team dedicated to developing a short-video platform.

Given that the company had just been established, Zhou Yi didn’t plan to create a separate studio. Instead, he would form a software development department within the existing company.

Jiang Ruolan was hearing this novel concept for the first time.

"Short videos?"

"Yes. Trust me, this platform will explode in popularity in the future."

Seeing Zhou Yi’s unwavering confidence, Jiang Ruolan simply nodded.

Zhou Yi’s foresight had always surpassed hers—she just needed to follow his lead and do her job well.

So Jiang Ruolan reopened the recruitment process, and this time, the number of resumes received tripled compared to the last round.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ruolan presented some promising projects she had identified for Zhou Yi’s review.

Zhou Yi skimmed through them—most were finance-related, a field he wasn’t well-versed in—so he said,

"These are your expertise. If you think they’re worth investing in, go ahead. Additionally, I plan to focus on the entertainment industry—films, TV dramas, and web series."

Jiang Ruolan was first moved by Zhou Yi’s trust, deepening her loyalty to him.

But there was one thing she didn’t quite understand: "Boss Zhou, what’s a web series?"

Zhou Yi paused. This world didn’t have web series yet—another untapped opportunity.

He waved it off without elaborating, simply saying, "It’s part of the company’s future plans. I’ll explain in detail when I have time. For now, keep an eye out for films seeking investment and have them bring their scripts to the company to meet me."

"Understood, Boss Zhou."

Jiang Ruolan could tell Zhou Yi had grand ambitions. He wasn’t the type to chase trends just because others profited from them.

He aimed to be an industry pioneer.

She believed Huanyu’s future would undoubtedly be bright.

......

On Monday, Zhou Yi returned to school.

The weekend had been eventful—by now, almost everyone at Huai University knew Zhou Yi.

As soon as he entered the classroom, he once again drew numerous gazes.

Zhang Wu eagerly pulled out his anti-defamation records to show Zhou Yi.

"Yi-ge, look! I’ve become a certified die-hard fan—that’s what they’re calling me!"

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, took Zhang Wu’s phone, and scrolled through the logs of his online trolling. He couldn’t help but laugh.

With a simple compliment, Zhou Yi said, "Not bad."

The people Zhang Wu had provoked were furious, calling him Zhou Yi’s brainless fan—but he took it as a badge of honor. What kind of logic was that?

They threw punches, only for their enemy to lie back and enjoy it?

Zhang Wu’s unshakable attitude infuriated the haters, leading to heated back-and-forth exchanges. Soon, Zhang Wu became infamous among Zhou Yi’s fanbase.

Many fans mistook him for a girl and even hailed him as Zhou Yi’s top supporter, praising his efforts.

Zhang Wu had never experienced the thrill of being showered with compliments by female fans—he was over the moon.

He vowed to dedicate himself to defending Zhou Yi’s honor!

"Yi-ge, you know what? Yesterday, so many of your fans praised me—I was actually blushing."

Zhang Wu now addressed Zhou Yi as "Yi-ge" at every turn, a complete reversal from his past demeanor. Naturally, rumors started circulating in class.

What kind of rumors?

During lunch, Zhou Yi accidentally overheard them.

"Don’t you think Zhang Wu has a crush on Zhou Yi? The way he beams around him—it’s like he’s head over heels."

"Right? And he keeps calling him ‘Yi-ge.’ Zhang Wu used to have such a strong ego, but now he acts like a simp around Zhou Yi."

"Wasn’t he hostile toward Zhou Yi before?"

"Oh, Little Lan, you don’t get it. Some people bully the ones they like. Maybe he had unrequited feelings for Zhou Yi before, and now that Zhou Yi’s become so outstanding, he’s switched tactics."

"Do you think Zhou Yi knows?"

Zhou Yi, mid-bite, choked on his food.

The table behind him happened to be occupied by a few fujoshi (fangirls of BL) from his class.

His lunch companions burst into laughter.

They were students Zhou Yi had met during the provincial competition, here to cheer him on before his upcoming national math modeling contest.

"Yi-shen, the honor of Huai University rests on your shoulders."

"Exactly! But honestly, winning a national award should be a breeze for you."

"Don’t mind the online noise—they’re just a bunch of ignorant frogs. You’ll shut them up soon enough!"

Grateful for their encouragement, Zhou Yi smiled and said, "Thanks for believing in me. I won’t let you down."

With his system, no problem was unsolvable.

Zhou Yi had zero concerns.

Then, someone shared insider information they’d gathered.

"Yi-ge, I heard this year’s national contest has a lot of judges from A University. Do you think they’ll favor their own students?"

"Yeah. Most provinces send teams from different schools, but in A Province, nine out of ten participants are from A University. They’ll probably stick together."

Each province sent ten contestants—A University alone accounted for nine, and with most judges also being A University faculty, the outcome was uncertain.

If they inflated their own students’ scores, Zhou Yi might face an uphill battle.

But in a subject like math, where answers were absolute, bias couldn’t alter results unless scores were tampered with.

Zhou Yi remained unfazed. With calm confidence, he said, "No worries. Even with favoritism, absolute skill can’t be overshadowed."

He would still score full marks.

Zhou Yi’s participation in the math modeling contest had drawn significant attention.

After trending over the weekend, public interest in his performance surged—fans rooted for him, while haters (including paid trolls) eagerly awaited his failure.

Huanyu’s rise had unsettled competitors, with many employees growing dissatisfied with their own companies.

Some had even secretly applied to Huanyu, while others outright resigned, citing a move to Zhou Yi’s company as their reason. This was unacceptable to their employers.

Wang Can, the boss of Longcan Company, was one of the direct victims of Huanyu’s recruitment drive.

"What!? Another resignation? Don’t tell me—they’re going to Huanyu?"

"Yes, Boss Wang. Maybe we should revise company policies, like letting them leave earlier? Morale is at an all-time low."

"No! Huanyu is disrupting the market. The industry has operated this way for years—who is Zhou Yi to change it? If we give in now, employees will keep demanding ‘Huanyu standards,’ and profits will plummet. How will the company grow then?"

"This... President Wang, the overtime hours for employees have indeed been increasing, and there's no overtime pay either..."

"Increasing overtime? Where's the increase? The hours have been the same for years, okay? Stop making baseless accusations. Running a company is tough—maybe you should reflect on yourself. Have your salaries gone up over the years? Have you been putting in the effort? The hours haven’t changed, and honestly, I’m about to lose it."