Chapter 022: Acquaintance

Tang Xiao’s voice wasn’t working, so Su Zhenxin took it upon herself to liven up the group atmosphere. “Hey, you two, don’t just keep your heads down and eat! We’ve been waiting for ages, and finally, we have some new companions. Let’s do introductions so everyone can get to know each other.”

Lin Lu You had wanted to hide in the back, but to her surprise, everyone’s attention landed on her first. With no choice, she straightened up and said, “My name is Lin Lu You. Just call me Youyou.” As long as they didn’t call her “little one,” she didn’t care what they called her.

“I heard from Xu Jia that you’re studying finance at A University?” Tan Fang joined the discussion. “Do you know how to code? Are you good with Excel?”

“I’m okay with Excel, but not so much with programming.”

Although Lin Lu You had participated in a mathematical modeling competition and even won an award, the programming part was mainly handled by another computer science whiz in the team.

Tan Fang’s interest, just sparked, faded a bit at her answer. Sitting nearby, Chen Xu Jia saw clearly what he was thinking and patted Lin Lu You’s shoulder in comfort. “Don’t mind him. He’s always making demands to the data department next door, but can’t win arguments, so he wants to recruit you as backup.”

Lin Lu You felt a little better then, but secretly resolved that she wouldn’t believe she couldn’t teach herself SQL.

Cheng Li noticed everyone was focused on Lin Lu You, leaving her on the sidelines, so she jumped in. “Nice to meet you all, I’m Cheng Li, but you can call me Lily! I took electives in Python, C++, and Java at university, and my programming grades were pretty good.”

Tan Fang’s interest was piqued again. “So, do you know SQL? How about Excel?”

“I think SQL is similar to Python, and I’ve used it before.”

“I remember you’re an international student? In the Maple Country? Have you graduated already?” He Su Zhen’s niece was taking the college entrance exam this year and kept clamoring to study in the Maple Country, so she was especially enthusiastic upon grabbing a ‘native.’

“Yes, I graduated last year.”

“The Maple Country is really nice. Which university did you attend? D University?”

Whenever the Maple Country was mentioned, the first school that came to everyone’s mind was D University, so He Su Zhen asked.

Cheng Li seemed caught off guard by the question, freezing for a moment. She forced a somewhat awkward smile, but didn’t deny it.

Her school wasn’t famous—in fact, it was the kind where admission was guaranteed as long as you paid. It was no match for A University at home.

Being admitted to Max, Cheng Li always felt she’d benefited from people’s ignorance of the local situation.

Seeing He Su Zhen about to ask more, Chen Xu Jia quickly changed the subject. “Alright, alright, you’ll have plenty of time to chat at lunch. Let’s get back to the meeting!”

After this session, Lin Lu You’s understanding of product operations was completely refreshed.

Her worries about getting along with colleagues before starting work seemed unnecessary now, after meeting such easy-going, unpretentious people.

But what awaited her was a mountain of professional problems.

Terms like conversion rate, clicks, repurchase, repeat purchase—she could guess their meaning. But who could explain the English jargon everyone tossed around so casually: ARPU, SKU, SPU, UV...

What did any of this mean? What were the inner logic and relationships?

Wasn’t the threshold for operations supposed to be low? Wasn’t it supposed to be easy to pick up?

Clearly, everything she’d read online was a lie...

Lin Lu You felt a heavy weight descend on her shoulders. She had a long way to go to catch up with her teammates.

She glanced sideways at Cheng Li, only to find her utterly calm, as if everything was second nature.

“Hey, all that stuff they just talked about... do you know what it means?”

“Mm.” Cheng Li glanced at her, vocal cords barely vibrating—a reply, of sorts.

But whether it was her imagination or not, Lin Lu You felt that since the small talk before the meeting, Cheng Li had become much more distant.