Chapter 32: Two Hours a Session, Two Sessions a Morning

Lying on her dormitory bed, Zhang Ting felt absolutely miserable about her internship search for her senior year. Opportunities for internships on campus or in the surrounding area were incredibly scarce. Most ordinary companies were generally hesitant to hire an accounting intern with zero work experience. To make matters worse, she lacked the connections and resources to secure a position, leaving her deeply anxious about her future.

Out of sheer boredom, Zhang Ting began browsing the school’s bulletin board, hoping to find any relevant information. That was when she stumbled upon a recruitment post that Li Ping'an had published just moments earlier, which had only a handful of comments.

"Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Base?"
"Smart Cube Technology Co., Ltd."

Zhang Ting’s eyes lit up. Instead of sharing the news with her roommates, she quietly got up, opened her laptop, and began preparing her resume. Even though the post mentioned a direct interview, having a resume was certainly better than having none at all. As for her professional skills, she figured that a new company run by fellow students couldn’t possibly have that high a volume of transactions; handling their bookkeeping would be a piece of cake. Such a golden opportunity would be impossible to find once she stepped outside the campus gates!

***

"Boss, I’ve checked. This 'Pet Spirit' software is a product developed by a new company based at the Shuimu University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Base."

"For student startups like this, capital is what they lack the most. I guarantee that with just 100,000 yuan, we can buy their splash screen advertising space. With millions of active users, 100,000 yuan for ad space is an absolute steal."

In a bright office, a young man in a suit spoke passionately to his boss, who stood by the window holding a cup of coffee and gazing out at the scenery. After the young man finished, the boss, who was in his early thirties but carried himself with calm, steady composure, spoke abruptly.

"Are you done?"

The boss turned around, looked at the sales manager who hadn't been with the company for long, and sighed. "Don't assume everyone else is as foolish as you, unable to distinguish between pros and cons."

"If you had even a shred of common sense and sat down to run the numbers, you wouldn't be spouting such nonsense about a 100,000 yuan ad fee. They charge 18 yuan for a single skin—do you have any idea how much revenue Pet Spirit is pulling in? 100,000 yuan wouldn't even cover a fraction of the splash screen ad value." He shook his head. "Next time you have such a 'brilliant' suggestion, report it to your team leader first."

With that, the boss waved his hand, signaling the sales manager—whose face had turned the color of pig liver—to leave. If it weren't for the fact that fresh graduates only cost 3,000 yuan a month, the boss would have fired him on the spot.

***

After the sales manager left, the boss called in the team leader. "Find a way to contact this Smart Cube Technology behind Pet Spirit. Ask them how much they want for a splash screen ad. As long as it's under 3 million, close the deal."

"Understood."

A day later, outside room 201 of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Base, Li Bo stared at the tightly shut door of Smart Cube Technology, feeling somewhat bewildered. A company with millions of active users just keeps its doors locked? He had gone through the trouble of booking a campus visit to Shuimu University a day in advance, only to find no one there. What was he supposed to do?

Just then, Li Ping'an, who was walking over with his backpack, noticed the man standing outside 201 and immediately eyed him with suspicion. "Who are you looking for?"

Hearing the voice, Li Bo turned around and replied with a smile, "Hello there, classmate. I'm here to seek a partnership with Smart Cube Technology. Do you happen to know anyone from the company?"

"Seeking a partnership?" Li Ping'an asked, surprised. "What kind of partnership?"

Li Bo was a top-tier salesperson, and judging by Li Ping'an's tone and expression, it was obvious he was someone from within the company. As for his exact role, that remained to be seen. "Hello, classmate. It’s like this: our company would like to purchase a splash screen pop-up ad slot on Pet Spirit."

"A splash screen ad..."

Upon hearing those words, Li Ping'an lost all interest in continuing the conversation. Among all the behaviors that annoy users, splash screen ads definitely ranked in the top three. Destroying the user experience and potentially losing users just for a bit of ad revenue was a short-sighted trade-off. Besides, his company wasn't short on cash, so Li Ping'an had no intention of doing anything that would alienate his users. If he really needed money, selling a new skin would be much faster. It was no joke—the amount of money games like *Honor of Kings* raked in every year just from skins was staggering.

Li Ping'an refused directly: "Thanks, but I'm sorry, our company does not run any advertisements."

The instant refusal caught Li Bo off guard. "Uh... and you are...?"

"I am the founder of the company."

"Oh, nice to meet you! Our company is willing to offer 2 million for the ad space."

Li Ping'an frowned at the man, hesitant to be rude. After all, the company was just starting out and couldn't afford to make enemies. Li Ping'an said very politely, "I’m truly sorry. It’s not about the ad fee; it's because, from the very moment we defined our product, we decided that Pet Spirit would not feature any advertisements."

Realizing there was no hope, Li Bo didn't push further but handed his business card to Li Ping'an. "Well, classmate, if you have any interest in the future, please feel free to contact me."

Li Ping'an nodded as he took the card. After watching the man leave, he finally pulled out his key to open the door.

Time flowed like sand through one's fingers, and in the blink of an eye, it was Friday. That afternoon, the sunlight was still casting a warm glow over every corner of the campus. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, creating an atmosphere of leisure and comfort. After lunch, Li Ping'an headed straight to the incubation base. In room 201, he sat alone in front of his computer, immersed in the world of code.

Elsewhere, in the girls' dormitory, roommates were calling for Zhang Ting to go shopping. "Zhang Ting, are you coming?"

"You guys go ahead. I’m going to try my luck this afternoon to see if I can find an internship company near the school."

Once she confirmed her roommates had left the dorm building, Zhang Ting, who had been standing on the balcony looking out, returned inside and began to carefully groom and apply makeup. For an interview, image was still very important.

Before she knew it, it was 3:30 PM. Hearing the bell ring for the end of class, Li Ya rushed out with her backpack. After retrieving her phone from her homeroom teacher's office, her first move upon turning it on was to call her older brother. To her surprise, he picked up immediately.

"Big Brother, I'm on break! Didn't you have class this afternoon?"

Li Ping'an, who had been coding all afternoon, stretched his back and laughed. "No classes. You study hard—once you get to university, you'll have it easy. You'll have at most four classes a day."

Li Ping'an didn't tell his sister that while it was true that university students had at most four classes during the day, he didn't mention that a single university class lasted two hours, meaning two classes took up an entire morning. And in the freshman year, there were still night study sessions.