Chapter 006: Future Trends

However, there’s a story behind why Lin Luyou chose her major.

Zhen Hao, who often came over to bum meals at the Lin household with Lin Qingheng, at some point began to rest his gaze more frequently on Lin Luyou as she started to grow up. Lin Luming, holding fast to the belief that only he could tease his own little sister, couldn’t help but warn Zhen Hao to keep his distance whenever he caught him looking at her for more than three seconds. Otherwise, he threatened, they’d have to settle it with a fight—showing off the muscles on his own arms as he spoke.

This went on until Lin Luming left for military school.

When it came time for Lin Luyou to choose a college after the college entrance exams, the whole family was thrown into confusion: Military school was out of the question; sending her far from home would make it hard to take care of her; but choosing a nearby school seemed a waste of the high marks she had earned, far above the cutoff for the best universities.

It was Zhen Hao who offered a suggestion: since Lin Luyou was a science student with strong logical thinking skills, why not study finance? The finance program at A University was among the best in the country. Besides, he was in the same department and could look out for her.

Lin Luming thought this was perfect—having his buddy close by meant there’d be no need to worry about anyone bullying his sister. But then he realized it would also give Zhen Hao plenty of opportunities to make a move on his somewhat clueless sister. For a brief moment, he was annoyed at the school’s rule that students had to file a report before leaving campus.

But glancing at his silly, naïve little sister, he figured she’d need another lifetime before she ever caught on.

With that, his anxious heart finally settled down.

Seeing her brother agree, and knowing A University’s solid reputation, Lin Luyou’s parents, though reluctant to let her go, ultimately gave their blessing as well.

As Lin Luyou would later describe it: her four years of university passed in a blur—she muddled her way into A University’s finance department, muddled through three years of finance courses, muddled into earning a pile of certificates, and even muddled her way into being confessed to by Zhen Hao. That was how time slipped by.

So, in her final year, she resolved not to drift along anymore. Choosing to apply to Masse was her first deliberate move.

Perhaps because neither of them brought up “defining their relationship,” the atmosphere between them remained harmonious at first.

While waiting for their food, Lin Luyou and Zhen Hao started chatting idly again.

“How have things been at school lately? It must be recruitment season now.”

“Mm, not bad…” Lin Luyou replied, sipping her sea buckthorn juice and sticking to the facts.

Afraid that Zhen Hao would ask where she’d sent her resumes, she quickly changed the subject: “Your business trip this time seemed pretty long.”

“It was, actually,” Zhen Hao nodded after a moment’s calculation. “But I was away for over half a month and you never called me once. Heartless as ever.”

“Hehe.” Lin Luyou smiled awkwardly, avoiding the topic.

She had no answer for that.

“I mainly went to Yuhang this time. Probably stayed longer because I had too many companies to visit.”

Zhen Hao understood Lin Luyou’s nature—if she didn’t want to talk about something, no one could make her. Since she was playing dumb, he’d let it be for now.

“Yuhang?” Lin Luyou was puzzled. “Isn’t most of the domestic finance industry centered in Huating? Why did you go to Yuhang?”

“Buried yourself in your books, huh!” Zhen Hao pretended he was about to flick her forehead. “Look, Yuhang just hosted the World Internet Symposium two weeks ago, and our company holds shares in quite a few of the companies represented by participants at the event.”

Lin Luyou nodded in agreement as she scrolled through the news reports on her phone. “Seems like the internet’s developing faster than ever. With its growing reach and all the new ‘Internet Plus’ initiatives, it’s not impossible for the market value of these tech firms to double twice over in the short term.”

Though she said this, her mind was on Masse. Riding the wave of the internet, e-commerce was bound to be the trend of the future. She just hoped she’d get through the interview this time…

Zhen Hao picked up on her thread: “Exactly. Attending these symposiums is the only way to really deepen your understanding of the internet industry. After hearing those big shots speak, you get a clearer sense of which companies are the real deal and which are just pretenders.”

Lin Luyou only half-listened to what he said after that, nodding along absentmindedly.