The visit to apologize to Zhao Guowei went much faster than Zhu Yun had anticipated. The rumors swirling online didn’t appear to have affected the professor in any meaningful way.
Zhao Guowei said to her: “You should learn to have Li Xun’s steadiness.”
“Professor Zhao…”
“You let yourself get preoccupied with everything,” Zhao Guowei said, “and in the end, nothing gets through.”
“I never imagined they’d go this far.”
“I’m not a young woman anymore — I’ve seen every kind of monster there is. In my younger days, I could fight with far more ferocity than they ever could.”
“…”
“Since I agreed to help you, I went in with my eyes open. Don’t be afraid. Keep your head down and do good work. Time has a way of setting things right in the end. My husband was right — you’ve had a hard path, both of you. And especially you. You have to stay strong.”
After hearing Zhao Guowei’s words, the sore at the corner of Zhu Yun’s mouth gradually faded.
Under Fang Zhijing’s sustained campaign, Invincible Warrior took a real hit — downloads and new user registrations fell sharply, and the energy among Fei Yang’s staff was noticeably diminished compared to launch day.
Of all the signals Zhu Yun was picking up, the most telling didn’t come from the loudest voice in the room. It wasn’t Zhang Fang with his daily outbursts — it was the quiet, easygoing Zhao Teng who gave her pause.
Zhao Teng wasn’t complaining. But technical people have their own way of communicating, and Zhu Yun could read his mood in his code.
After some deliberation, she decided to have a talk with him.
One afternoon, Zhao Teng slipped into the stairwell for a smoke. Zhu Yun followed. He spotted her and grinned. “What — are you burned out too? Thinking about picking up smoking?”
“I was already smoking,” Zhu Yun said, “when you were still in primary school.”
Zhao Teng blinked and gave her a second look. He clicked his tongue. “You really have been hiding a lot. Please tell me you don’t also have tattoos.”
“I don’t, actually.”
“Did you quit smoking?”
“Yes.”
“How come?”
“I’d like to live a little longer.”
Zhao Teng made a dismissive sound and lit up. Zhu Yun leaned against the wall beside him. “Your code quality has been dropping lately.”
Zhao Teng groaned. “We’re outside the office. Can we not talk about work?”
“Then I’ll wait until you’re done smoking.”
“…”
His attempt at getting out of it failed, and Zhao Teng finally gave in with the air of someone surrendering to their fate. Zhu Yun smiled, then said: “Come on, stay focused.”
Zhao Teng’s expression was listless. “What’s the point? You’ve seen the situation yourself.” He glanced at Zhu Yun. “Do you know which company’s been giving us trouble?”
“Which?” she said.
“Ji Li.”
“How did you find out?”
“I have a friend who works there. He tipped me off.” He took a long drag. “Want to know what he told me? He said they already held their planning meeting, and they’ve decided to make a copycat game. They’ll have it ready to launch in about a month.” He leaned against the windowsill and laughed bitterly. “All the smear campaigns right now are just pre-launch groundwork — why else would they bother spending money on this stuff?” He threw his cigarette to the ground. “They have the platform, they have the resources. One internal push alone and their numbers would crush ours. What’s even the point of continuing?!”
The outburst came out, and Zhao Teng seemed to realize he’d let his emotions get away from him. He fanned his face with his hand. Zhu Yun said nothing. Sensing the awkward silence, Zhao Teng muttered, “I’ll head back.”
“Zhao Teng.”
He was almost out the door when Zhu Yun stopped him. Zhao Teng assumed she was about to offer some pep talk, and braced himself.
Instead, Zhu Yun said: “I’m not going to give you any empty speeches. I’m going to be straight with you.”
Unexpected opening. Zhao Teng looked confused. “Straight about what?”
“I have a personal score to settle with that company,” Zhu Yun said.
“What?”
Zhu Yun paused, then said: “More precisely — Li Xun and I. We both have a personal score to settle with that company.”
Zhao Teng stared at her blankly.
“That company?”
“Ji Li.”
“A personal score?”
“Yes.”
He stared at her, puzzled.
Zhu Yun spoke in an even tone. “The two people at the top of Ji Li — one of them was a university classmate of mine and Li Xun’s. We started a business together — that was Ji Li Technology — and Li Xun was the driving force behind it. But early on, he got into trouble. You know he’s done time — well, the reason he went in was because he blinded one of Ji Li’s other founders in one eye.”
Zhao Teng’s mouth slowly fell open.
“You’ve been wondering why I ended up at this company,” Zhu Yun said. “When Li Xun got out, things led to this being where he started over. And I’ve always been on his side. That’s the whole story.”
Zhao Teng remained dumbstruck. Zhu Yun looked at him. “I’m telling you all this to say: we are not going to give up.”
Zhao Teng closed his mouth partway.