Chapter 115: Cloud (6)
115 – Cloud (6)
Lin Xun woke up on his own in the morning. Though it wasn’t exactly morning—while the room was still dim, the faint light seeping through the curtains suggested it was already quite late.
He had prepared himself for the fact that Dong Jun had likely already left for work.
—Then he felt a slight pressure around his waist.
Lin Xun looked down.
Lin Xun turned over.
And was promptly pulled into a firm embrace.
Lin Xun couldn’t stop smiling, though he couldn’t quite explain why. His fingers curled against Dong Jun’s shoulder as he said, “Boss, you’re going to be late.”
The boss was perfectly calm.
The boss replied, “Then I won’t go.”
“That won’t do.” Lin Xun’s voice sounded a bit hoarse and soft, probably because he had just woken up. “…Aren’t you busy these days?”
Dong Jun pinched his nose—perhaps this was the price for being sarcastic.
Lin Xun hummed, “I was wrong.”
Then he heard Dong Jun say, “You’re busy too.”
That “you” sent a shiver down Lin Xun’s spine.
No, no—anyone else could use that word, but not Dong Jun. Being addressed like that would shave at least ten years off his lifespan.
He protested, “I’m not busy. At most, I’m busy keeping you company.”
“Hmm,” Dong Jun hummed. “Then who has the preliminary selection tomorrow?”
Lin Xun jolted upright in bed.
But as soon as he felt a chill, realizing he wasn’t wearing much, he quickly ducked back under the covers. Anxiously, he kicked at the blanket a few times, almost biting the corner of it in frustration.
He had been so caught up in the past few days that he had nearly forgotten about the important matters at hand. The date for the on-site preliminary selection of the Technology Expo had arrived—only after passing the preliminary round could he advance to the finals.
The Technology Expo had a long and storied history. Originally, it wasn’t even called by that name—it was simply an international competition where young students in computer-related fields submitted their projects to gain attention and investment from the industry. Later, with the support of tech giants like Galaxy and Eagle, as well as growing investor interest, its scope gradually expanded. It became a platform for all entrepreneurs and developers to showcase their work, eventually evolving into a major event in the IT world. Such a grand occasion naturally drew attention from all sectors, offering a rare opportunity for publicity. Driven by their profit-seeking nature, major companies no longer stayed behind the scenes but instead pushed their own projects onto the stage, using the event as a prelude to their product launches. These projects, being the “favored children,” were guaranteed direct entry into the finals. As for small, independent groups like Lin Xun’s, they had no choice but to dutifully submit their materials, participate in the preliminary selection, and let the judges decide whether they would make it to the final round.
Lin Xun said, “I’m a little nervous.”
Dong Jun reassured him, “The preliminary selection won’t be a problem.”
Lin Xun retorted, “You’re not one of the judges.”
Dong Jun raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to be a judge?”
“No need to waste your precious time.” Lin Xun burrowed deeper under the covers. “I’ll do my best not to embarrass you.”
Waking up in his idol’s bed every morning was one thing, but striving to make his project the best on his own was another. He was no less capable than anyone else.
“Good.” Dong Jun wrapped an arm around his shoulders from behind. “It starts at nine tomorrow morning, with no fixed end time. It’s in Exhibition Hall 7. Goddess of the Luo River is seventeenth in line. The PPT presentation is limited to ten minutes, followed by five minutes of Q&A with the judges.”
Lin Xun replied, “I know.”
“If I make it to the finals,” he asked, “will you come watch me?”
He knew that Galaxy was one of the sponsors of the Technology Expo, or possibly the largest sponsor. There was always a seat reserved for Galaxy in the guest section, though in previous years, that seat had been occupied by others.
Dong Jun’s tone was firm: “I will.”
Lin Xun turned to look at him but said nothing.
Dong Jun’s voice was gentle as he said, “When you win first place, I’ll present you with the award.”
“But if I don’t win first place and someone else does, you can’t go give them the award either,” Lin Xun said softly. “Let someone else do it.”
Dong Jun simply smiled faintly.
Lin Xun felt he was being a bit unreasonable and was about to find a way to back down when he heard Dong Jun say, “Alright.”
After a pause, Dong Jun added, “If you don’t win first place, I’ll give you an award at home instead.”
Who could withstand this? It wasn’t like having a boyfriend—it was more like having a parent. But even parents would expect their children to achieve good results. He needed to add a modifier: an excessively doting parent. Lin Xun actually began to feel grateful that he had met Dong Jun now, rather than during his school days or when he had just started working on Goddess of the Luo River. Otherwise, being spoiled like this, he probably wouldn’t have accomplished anything.
He and Dong Jun locked eyes.
In Dong Jun’s eyes was a gentle galaxy.
He thought his idol must have been bewitched by something strange; otherwise, why would he look at someone so intently?
Perhaps men in love were blind.
He needed to interrupt Dong Jun’s blind state with a serious topic.
He blinked: “How would you present it?”
“However you want.” After saying this, Dong Jun leaned down to kiss him, deeply—and such deep kisses usually stirred up something else.
This proved that men in love were not only blind but also relentless.
As they lingered in each other’s embrace, Lin Xun thought it would be nice if time could just stop here.
But time always flows forward, just as people must always move ahead.
Lin Xun’s forward movement for the day was being picked up by Wang Anquan and Zhao Jiagou in the afternoon and taken back to Chaoyang District. They would rehearse and familiarize themselves with the PPT together that evening and set off together the next day. A closely-knit team should operate this way. If Lin Xun had stayed at Dong Jun’s place, it would have been inconvenient in many ways.
In the car, Lin Xun was deep in thought about how to explain his cultivation level to Old Man Huo and the other seniors once he returned to Chaoyang District. After all, reaching the Nascent Soul stage was already hard to imagine, and the Soul Division stage was even more extraordinary—then he heard Jia Gou and Zhi Zhen fighting again.
Lin Xun said, “Don’t always provoke it.”
Jia Gou replied, “It’s provoking me. This cat gets restless if it doesn’t hit someone.”
Lin Xun: “Maybe it just doesn’t like you.”
Jia Gou: “Tsk, nothing is as likable as our algorithm.”
Lin Xun ignored him.
Wang Anquan, sitting in the passenger seat, grumbled: “This expo is too ridiculous. I sent you the list. Look at these names—so flashy, you’d think we were in the 22nd century. Take this ‘3D Holographic Projection Electronic Pet Cat and Dog’—if I want to pet a cat, it’s for the fur. What’s the point of a 3D image?”
Lin Xun said expressionlessly, “That’s just how the preliminary rounds are.”
Wang Anquan: “I bet our Lo will crush them.”
Lin Xun stated flatly, “Lo isn’t perfect yet. I think we should keep our expectations low.”
Wang Anquan: “What do you think would be the best approach? Should we upgrade again before the finals?”
Lin Xun stated the facts: “It depends. I’ve been thinking about it lately.”
“I’m talking about the algorithm,” Wang Anquan’s tone suddenly took on a meaningful note.
Lin Xun looked up: “Hmm?”
Wang Anquan: “Is this how you usually talk to Dong Jun?”
Wang Anquan: “So Dong Jun is into this kind of thing.”
Wang Anquan: “Interesting.”
Lin Xun: “…?”
He replied coldly: “No.”
“The algorithm can freely switch between two personalities. We’ve known that for a long time, Anquan,” Jia Gou said to Wang Anquan while still fighting.
Wang Anquan: “True, he’s always been like this.”
Lin Xun said sincerely: “That wasn’t my intention. Really, I actually love you all, I just don’t know how to express it.”
Zhao Jiagou laughed, while Jiang Lian remained silent behind the steering wheel.
Wang Anquan: “Just shut up.”