The restaurant was a cozy place - not too fancy, but not too casual either. They found a table by the window and ordered a few dishes.
As they ate, the conversation flowed naturally.
"Teacher," Lin Feng said between bites, "you didn't strike me as someone who drinks alcohol."
Liu Mei set down her chopsticks.
"Please don't be so formal with me," she said. "And... I'm not really into it, to be honest."
She looked down at her plate.
"It's just that all the staff were going, and I felt obligated to join them." She sighed quietly. "I definitely won't be making that mistake again."
She looked up at him, her expression shifting.
"Say, about..."
Before she could finish, Lin Feng reached across the table and gently placed his hand over hers.
"Don't think about it," he said softly. "Don't talk about it."
He smiled.
"Today, it's just you and me."
Liu Mei's composure that she had been struggling to maintain this entire time finally cracked.
Her face flushed red.
"Just you and me?" she murmured quietly.
...
They continued talking and eating as the evening wore on. The atmosphere between them had shifted - lighter now and more relaxed.
But eventually, Lin Feng glanced at the time.
His eyes widened.
The campus gates.
He definitely did not want to sleep in the office again.
He quickly signaled for the bill, paid it before Liu Mei could protest, and stood up.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go," he said. "The gates close soon."
She nodded, still looking slightly flustered. "Of course. Go ahead."
He gave her a small wave and hurried out of the restaurant.
...
Lin Feng made it back to the dorm just in time.
He collapsed onto his bed with a sigh of relief.
A few minutes later, his phone lit up.
Teacher Liu: It felt like you were the one treating me tonight. I didn't get the chance to properly express my gratitude. How about dinner at my place this weekend?
Lin Feng stared at the message.
This girl is a little hard to handle.
He had treated her to dinner specifically to make her forget about the whole "dinner at her place" thing. But it seemed she wasn't willing to budge.
Then again, it wasn't good to keep avoiding her either. He needed their relationship to be solid for his plan to work.
He exhaled deeply and stared at the ceiling.
Why is life so hard?
…
Friday, October 2nd.
[Infinite Money System]
[Total System Balance: ¥1,840.00]
[Available System Balance: ¥1,840.00]
[Personal Balance: ¥8,666.00]
Lin Feng observed the system with a satisfied expression.
The real advantages were finally showing themselves. After raising his system balance this high, even without working, if he spent money, he could easily recover it in a day or two. The 3,500 yuan he had spent on shopping had almost completely recovered in just two days.
He looked at the balance again.
It hasn't hit ten thousand yet, right?
He always seemed to spend before it did. This time, he decided to let it be. It would probably cross that threshold this evening after he withdrew the available balance. He just had to avoid spending too much throughout the day.
He looked up from the system and dismissed it with a thought.
"What's the report?" he asked. "Zhang Wei, you first."
Zhang Wei pushed his laptop aside slightly.
"The new app is coming along," he said. "I've run into a few minor issues - mostly compatibility stuff - but nothing I can't handle."
He paused, organizing his thoughts.
"By tomorrow, I should have a somewhat working demo. Just the barebones functionality. After that, I can start polishing it."
Lin Feng nodded approvingly.
"Good. You focus on the basic functionality first," he said. "Chen Ming and I will research what features we need. Once we have a list, we'll let you know."
Zhang Wei nodded. "Got it."
Lin Feng turned to Chen Ming. "Your turn."
Chen Ming straightened up.
"Our popularity is steadily rising," he reported. "More and more people are using our services." He paused. "I also noticed some upperclassmen showing interest lately. Though... I'm not entirely sure about them."
Lin Feng fell into thought.
The incubator program might be looking into us.
Or they could just be normal customers. Hard to tell.
He sighed.
"Just treat them like normal customers," he said. "Though I admit, having to deliver to other dorms could delay our services even more."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Well, it doesn't matter. This is just for the holiday. I already have a solution in mind."
He looked at Chen Ming.
"Speaking of, how did that thing go?"
Chen Ming's expression brightened.
"I enquired about hiring part-timers," he said. "Most of the people I asked were from our customer group, and they showed interest."
He pulled out his phone and glanced at his notes.
"The requirements aren't much. Most of them basically agreed on the usual hourly rate for students - about 15 yuan."
Lin Feng nodded slowly, processing the information.
For this, he had his own ideas.
He turned to Li Jun. "And you?"
Li Jun pulled out his phone.
"Here's yesterday's data," he said. "Total orders: 48. Items sold: 63. Revenue: 700 yuan. Cost of goods sold: 440 yuan."
He swiped to another screen.
"Cash on hand: 1,898 yuan. Remaining inventory valued at 3,633 yuan at cost."
He set down his phone.
"It's actually a slight dip from the day before," he admitted. "But this can be attributed to people adjusting to the holiday rhythm. I believe we should peak again around Saturday."
Lin Feng nodded at this assessment.
Then he cleared his throat.
"Since we're planning to take on part-timers after registering," he began, "here's what I've come up with."
The others gave him their full attention.
"First, let me clarify - we'll be taking them on as independent contractors, not employees."
He paused.
"We might also need health certificates for each of them, depending on how packaged goods are classified. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure if what we're doing falls under 'food handling' or just 'logistics.' We're not preparing food - we're just delivering sealed packages."
He shrugged.
"In the future, we'll need to discuss how to handle this properly. Some of the goods we sell could lean either way."
He looked around at the group.
"Now, onto the main point. I've developed two systems."