Chapter 96 - 70: Move In Directly, No Bags Needed
Arriving at the third floor, Sun Yu took out a key, unlocked the door to apartment 302, and stepped aside, gesturing for him to enter.
"We’re here, Chen Lin. This is the place."
Chen Lin, backpack in hand, stepped inside.
The moment he saw it, Chen Lin was a little stunned.
Spacious, bright, and clean.
That was Chen Lin’s first impression.
It was supposed to be a one-bedroom apartment, but the living room alone was already larger than their entire dorm room, 406!
Further in was an open-concept kitchen, a bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, and a balcony with an excellent view. Chen Lin estimated the apartment had to be around eighty square meters.
What was even more incredible was that everything in the apartment was brand new.
The light gray fabric sofa, the natural wood dining table, the 1.8-meter bed in the bedroom covered with sky-blue sheets... all the furniture and appliances were there.
Chen Lin even saw a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a towel—still in their original packaging—on the bathroom counter.
This wasn’t just "move-in ready"—you could move in without bringing a single thing!
He instinctively walked over to the sofa and plopped down.
The soft cushions enveloped him instantly. Chen Lin felt like he was glued to the sofa, never wanting to leave.
He admitted that his standards for living arrangements weren’t particularly high.
But he had just come from his dorm room.
Compared to this place, room 406 was practically a birdcage!
The difference was just too massive!
Chen Lin got up from the sofa and started wandering around the apartment.
He casually opened the refrigerator. It was empty, but its new interior walls and glass shelves were clean and smooth under the LED light.
He then walked into the bedroom and pressed down on the 1.8-meter bed. The mattress was firm but soft, with plenty of spring.
"Sun, isn’t this a bit over the top?" Chen Lin turned to Sun Yu, who had been following him closely, with a wry expression. "Does all this furniture belong to the landlord?"
"Nope." Sun Yu quickly waved his hands, his face beaming with a pride that seemed to be fishing for credit. "This apartment has been vacant for almost two years, and the old furniture and appliances were a wreck. All of this... President Peng had me buy it all new for you last week."
He pointed to the floor-standing air conditioner in the corner of the living room, which still had its tags on. "President Peng also specifically told me last week to hire professional cleaners to do a deep clean of the whole place, inside and out. See? I guarantee it’s cleaner than a hotel!"
Hearing this, Chen Lin was once again struck by how much Peng Yifeng was willing to spend to win him over. The gesture was incredibly generous, and the sincerity was palpable.
However, after a brief moment of feeling moved, Chen Lin’s mind immediately kicked into high gear.
He mulled it over for a moment before looking at Sun Yu and asking seriously, "Sun, how much was the rent for this place, and the cost of all this furniture and the appliances? Do you have the receipts?"
"Huh?" Sun Yu was clearly taken aback. ’Didn’t we already agree the Modu Design Institute would cover it?’
Chen Lin smiled and explained, "It’s best to keep finances clear, even between friends. I appreciate President Peng looking out for me this much, I really do. But I can’t let him pay for this. At the beginning of next month, when I have some more cash on hand, I’ll pay him back in one lump sum."
He silently opened his system panel and glanced at it: [Little Financial Planner (Enhanced): Your net worth increases by 20% each month! (Current Net Worth: 55,719.632) (Time until next increase: 397:49:37)]
The monthly earnings from his "Little Financial Planner" title would be settled at the end of the month.
’If I wait a couple more weeks to pay it back, I can earn a few hundred more in interest.’
Chen Lin insisted on repaying the money because he was about to enter into a formal partnership with Peng Yifeng and start a company.
Favors were favors, and business was business.
Keeping the accounts clear was a sign of respect for himself, as well as for his business partner.
Only then could their future collaboration be long-lasting and stable.
Seeing the serious, unquestionable look on Chen Lin’s face, Sun Yu hesitated for a few seconds before finally nodding. "Alright, I’ll go back, organize the receipts, and send them to you."
His admiration for Chen Lin grew even more.
After looking over the apartment one last time, inside and out, and confirming there were no issues, a satisfied Chen Lin prepared to leave.
Just before heading out, he seemed to remember something and asked casually, "By the way, Sun, do you live in this complex too?"
"I do," Sun Yu replied immediately. "I live in Building 7 over there. It’s just two buildings away, a two-minute walk. If you ever need anything, just give me a call, and I can be right over."
Chen Lin nodded. That was indeed very convenient.
The two went downstairs and walked to the south gate of the complex.
"I’m going to head back to school and grab my stuff," Chen Lin said to Sun Yu.
"Want me to help?" Sun Yu immediately offered enthusiastically. "My apartment is about the same size as this one, and I usually live there alone, so it’s pretty empty. If you don’t mind, you could crash at my place for a night and move tomorrow."
"No, no, it’s fine. I don’t have much stuff, I can handle it myself." Chen Lin smiled and waved his hand, politely declining the offer.
Seeing Chen Lin’s insistence, Sun Yu didn’t press the issue. He took a key card and a set of keys from his pocket and handed them to Chen Lin.
"Alright then, Chen Lin. Be safe on your way. Here are the key card and keys."
"Okay, thanks, Sun. You should get some rest too."
After saying goodbye to Sun Yu, Chen Lin turned and walked toward the subway station.
On the subway back to school, the car was a bit crowded. Chen Lin found a corner to stand in, holding onto a handrail, his thoughts already miles away.
’Sun Yu’s technical skills might be average, but his execution is solid, and he’s not naive when it comes to dealing with people. I’ve been in contact with him for a while now, and I guess I’ve helped him out a bit, so we have a pretty good relationship.’
A thought popped into Chen Lin’s head: ’Once my company is officially established, should I try to poach Sun Yu from the Modu Design Institute?’
’My tech consulting firm will have to deal with all sorts of clients and a wide variety of requests in the future.’
’And my current knowledge is focused on artificial intelligence, and a very basic level at that.’
’I know basically nothing about other industries.’
’This means I’ll need a "translator" between me and the clients.’
’This role would require someone with specific industry knowledge who can accurately understand client needs, then transform those complex, vague problems into clear, purely mathematical ones.’
’Which they would then hand off to me to find the final solution.’
’Sun Yu has a master’s in applied mathematics and has worked at the design institute for several years. Both his professional background and industry experience make him a perfect fit for this position.’
’Besides, making it happen wouldn’t be too difficult.’
’Since President Peng is investing in my company, if I have an open and honest conversation with him about poaching one of his employees, he probably won’t refuse.’
However, while thinking about this "translator" role, another person inevitably came to mind.
Shen Yan.
If it came down to sheer mathematical talent and comprehension, Shen Yan was undoubtedly the best candidate.
But there were two problems.
First, he hadn’t mentioned his plans to start a company to Shen Yan yet.
Chen Lin planned to wait until the team arranged by Principal Chang Kai had connected with President Peng’s side and everything was more or less settled before finding the right time to tell her.
Right now, nothing was set in stone. It would be inappropriate to say anything too soon.
Second, and most importantly, Shen Yan had told him explicitly before that her future plans were to pursue a path of pure academic research.
Chen Lin wanted to respect Shen Yan’s wishes.
So, if he could secure Sun Yu for his company first, then regardless of whether Shen Yan joined, Chen Lin could ensure that once the company was launched and clients came for consultations, they would be able to take on the jobs.
Just as Chen Lin was thinking this, a WeChat notification popped up on his phone.
Chen Lin opened WeChat and saw a message in the long-silent "406 Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons" group chat:
Fatty Zhao: Holy shit, Brother Lin, you’re a legend!
Chen Lin: [?]
Wang Tao: [?]
Li the Monkey: [?]
Fatty Zhao: [[Forum Link]]
Fatty Zhao: [[Video Link]]
The first link was to the campus forum. The original poster, "LZH," had started a live-update thread. Chen Lin was certain "LZH" was Li Zihan.
The thread was a live broadcast of the modeling competition. Yunqing had probably seen this same post.
Chen Lin didn’t even need to look to know how the Yannan University students would react, so he skipped it.
The second link was to a video on a popular streaming site. Chen Lin clicked on it and saw a long title: "Modeling Competition: I Wanted to Film the Math Department’s Genius Beauty, But Ended Up Recording a God-Tier Student Acting Like a Badass!"