Awakening Elementary School System in University

Sun Yu took a deep breath, his expression turning serious again. He looked at Chen Lin and asked, "Chen Lin, could... could you give me some more details? What’s your new company about? If I came over, what would I mainly be responsible for?"

"Of course," Chen Lin nodded and explained. "The company’s business is actually the same service I was offering online before: providing solutions to various mathematical problems for companies or individuals."

"As for your job," Chen Lin looked into Sun Yu’s eyes and said straightforwardly, "it’s basically the same as what you’re doing now. You’ll take the clients’ various needs, abstract and refine them into a pure mathematical problem, and then hand it over to me to solve."

Sun Yu understood instantly.

To be honest, Sun Yu was tempted—very tempted.

He had seen Chen Lin’s miraculous mathematical abilities with his own eyes.

The prices he was charging online were practically charity, in Sun Yu’s opinion.

Now that Chen Lin was serious about starting a company and commercializing this service, making a fortune in the future was practically a guarantee.

More importantly, Sun Yu knew one thing with perfect clarity.

With Chen Lin’s own abilities, he could have easily found someone with a master’s degree or even a PhD—someone with far better math skills than Sun Yu—and they would have been more than qualified for the job.

Yet here was Chen Lin, asking him first.

’This isn’t a job offer,’ he thought. ’He’s doing this because we get along. He’s actively giving me a chance to make it big!’

He had to seize this opportunity, no matter what.

Suppressing his excitement, Sun Yu cautiously asked the most crucial question. "So... Chen Lin, if I take the job, what’s the... compensation package like?"

Chen Lin had already thought this through.

The company was just starting out. Talk of equity incentives and option pools was just fluff, nothing more than empty promises.

For the founding team, tangible rewards were the most effective.

"I’ll make sure you get a full benefits package," Chen Lin said bluntly. "As for salary, how about eight thousand a month, after taxes?"

"Eight... eight thousand?!"

Sun Yu was stunned. His voice jumped an octave, and his eyes went wide.

He never imagined the offer would be this good!

Eight thousand after taxes!

He worked his tail off at the Modu Design Institute, and his take-home pay was just a little over four thousand a month. This was literally double his salary!

He was still on probation at the institute, and his salary would increase significantly once that was over, but this was Jinmen! The cost of living here was far lower than in Modu!

Seeing Sun Yu’s shocked expression, Chen Lin’s heart sank.

’Could it be... he’s not satisfied?’

He frowned. ’That can’t be right,’ he thought.

Before he came, he had specifically checked job sites. In Jinmen, a pre-tax salary of eight thousand was considered a good offer for a recent master’s graduate in applied mathematics.

His offer of eight thousand after taxes would be nearly ten thousand pre-tax—definitely well above the market rate.

"What is it?" Chen Lin probed. "Are you unhappy with the salary?"

"No, no! Absolutely not!"

Sun Yu snapped out of it and shook his head frantically, his face flushing red with excitement.

He wrung his hands, his voice filled with gratitude and disbelief. "I just... I just never thought the terms would be this good! This is amazing! Truly!"

Only after seeing his reaction did Chen Lin relax.

"That’s good."

Sun Yu stood up and gave Chen Lin a deep, formal bow.

"Chen Lin—oh, no, President Chen, thank you for this opportunity! I mean it, thank you so much!" He looked up, his eyes filled with sincerity and resolve. "You can count on me. Once the company is up and running, I’ll work my heart out. I won’t let you down!"

Chen Lin was taken aback for a moment when Sun Yu called him "President Chen." Then it hit him: the guy had accepted his offer and switched into ’employee mode’ at light speed.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Strictly speaking, his company didn’t even exist on paper yet, and Sun Yu was still an employee of the Modu Design Institute. Calling him "President Chen" was more than a little premature.

But seeing Sun Yu’s sincere expression—face flushed with excitement, looking like he was ready to swear fealty on the spot—Chen Lin swallowed the "don’t call me that" he was about to say.

’Oh well, let him be.’

’If I force the issue now, it’ll just make it seem like I don’t trust him, and it would kill the enthusiasm he just found.’

With that in mind, Chen Lin decided not to dwell on the title. Instead, his expression grew serious, and his tone became more formal.

"Sun, for now, this is just between you and me. I still haven’t finalized the details of establishing the company, and I need to discuss your situation with President Peng. So, before you’ve officially gone through the resignation process, please don’t say anything to anyone. Just wait to hear from me."

"Understood! Understood!" Sun Yu nodded eagerly and thumped his chest. "THUMP, THUMP. You can count on me, President Chen! My lips are sealed. I absolutely won’t leak a word!"

Chen Lin nodded in satisfaction. He gave Sun Yu a firm pat on the shoulder, his voice now encouraging. "Alright, it’s a deal then. Do a good job. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to show what you’re made of."

With that, he said no more and turned to leave.

Sun Yu saw him to the door and watched until Chen Lin’s back disappeared around the bend in the staircase before finally closing it.

...

...

「The next afternoon, at five minutes to two.」

As usual, Chen Lin arrived punctually outside Professor Gu Ming’s office.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK."

"Come in, come in!"

The voice from inside seemed even more resonant than the day before, tinged with an irrepressible excitement.

Chen Lin pushed the door open to see Professor Gu Ming already on his feet. The professor’s smile was so radiant it was almost unfamiliar. He strode over to greet him and even pulled out a chair for him.

"You’re here! You’re here! Quick, have a seat!"

Chen Lin felt a little embarrassed by this over-the-top enthusiasm. ’What’s with Professor Gu today?’ he wondered. ’He seems a little too wound up.’

Little did he know that after grading Chen Lin’s three perfect exam papers the day before, Professor Gu had been too excited to sleep well.

All day long, he had been replaying Chen Lin’s problem-solving methods in his mind. The more he thought about them, the more astounded he became, and the more he felt that Yannan University and its School of Mathematics had struck gold.

"Chen Lin," Professor Gu said, personally pouring him a glass of water and offering it with both hands. The look in his eyes made Chen Lin a little nervous. "I finished grading yesterday’s exams. You did an excellent job! Truly excellent!"

He seemed to feel that simply saying "excellent" wasn’t enough to express his feelings, so he didn’t hold back. His voice carried a hint of disbelief. "Three exams, and all of them were perfect scores!"

"Oh, alright." Hearing this, Chen Lin just smiled calmly and nodded.

For him, this result was entirely expected.

After all, in his "Little Mathematician" state, his answers were tantamount to "absolute truth" in the field of mathematics.

If he could still lose points, it could only mean there was a problem with either the exam creator or the official answer key.