Chapter 24: Sister, look at him!

"So you really brought your sister along," Wang Can said with a smile as he stepped forward.

Qi Xia blinked mischievously, looking proud. "Well? Do you feel like you've got face? Are you so moved you're about to burst into tears?"

Before the words had even faded, Qi Dong tapped her sister on the forehead. "Don't talk nonsense. The freshman isn't as childish as you make him out to be."

Wang Can was just about to nod in agreement when Qi Dong added, "At most, he just wanted to treat us to a meal."

"..."

Wang Can felt choked. They were sisters, alright; he had let his guard down.

"Freshman, I'll take your silence as consent," Qi Xia struck while the iron was hot, grinning like a triumphant little fox.

"Look at you two. Even if you hadn't come, I would have treated you anyway. But you're being too polite, bringing all these bags."

As he spoke, Wang Can reached out and took the bags from their hands, opening one to take a look. "Oh, so you knew I loved these fruit gummies?"

"Hey! That's my sister's bag for you! This one is for us!" Qi Xia reached out in a hurry to snatch it back.

Wang Can nimbly dodged to the side, shielding the bag behind his back. "Senior, you're joking. Who visits someone and brings their own snacks?"

Unable to grab it, Qi Xia turned to tug on Qi Dong’s arm, whining in a drawn-out tone, "Sis—look at him!"

"Senior—look at her!" Wang Can grabbed Qi Dong’s other arm, mimicking Qi Xia’s tone perfectly.

"Sis, he's copying me!"

"Senior, I'm copying her!"

Caught in the middle, Qi Dong could only press a hand to her forehead and look up at the sky, casting them a helpless roll of her eyes.

After they fooled around for a bit, Qi Dong and Qi Xia left; there were too many boys passing by, and the sisters felt uncomfortable under the constant stares. Before leaving, Wang Can naturally returned the bag with the gummies. He had caught a glimpse of sanitary pads inside and felt it would be inappropriate to keep it.

Once they were gone, the boys who had been surrounding Chen Xiaobei swarmed over, their faces filled with envy. Freshmen just entering university life always harbor infinite longing for what lies ahead, especially for the upperclassmen, carrying a sense of naive admiration. For beauties like Qi Dong and Qi Xia to deliver snacks during the unique experience of military training, right in front of the whole department—it was a scene hard to imagine even in a dream.

Yet, this incredible thing had actually happened right before their eyes.

"Brother Can, teach us! How did you get to know those beautiful seniors?"

"Brother, open a class! I’ll take out a loan just to listen."

"Brother Can, my happiness for the next four years of college depends on you."

Wang Can glanced at the dejected Chen Xiaobei and laughed. "Actually, Dog Bei was right. I did create a persona, but it’s not as deep as his. I just stick to one."

"What persona?"

"Talented and wealthy, a man of exceptional character."

"Damn, can't learn that."

At that moment, students in other classes followed the two sisters with their eyes, whispering.

"Does our school have such top-tier twins?"

"I know them. That’s Qi Dong and Qi Xia from the Art Department. They’re very famous at Shenhai University."

"Damn, I’m dying of envy."

"Who is that guy? He’s got such style."

"No idea, but this is too cool. Just started school and already being taken care of by two seniors."

"I want to be his brother!"

...

In the Economics Class 1 rest area, a boy surrounded by others had witnessed the entire scene of Qi Dong and Qi Xia visiting Wang Can, as well as the students' chatter. He said excitedly, "Quick, Old Huang, find me two seniors like that. Make them bring me stuff in front of the whole field tomorrow afternoon."

"Brother Zhou, this... this is hard to arrange."

"I'll pay more!"

...

Back at the dorm that night, Chen Xiaobei couldn't hold back anymore. He grabbed Wang Can’s arm and pressed, "Old Wang, what are you to those twin seniors?"

"They're my fellow townsfolk," Wang Can said truthfully.

"Really?" Chen Xiaobei probed.

Wang Can nodded.

"I knew it." Chen Xiaobei let out a long breath, reigniting his fighting spirit.

Wang Can was baffled. How come he only asked about their relationship and not how they met?

"Which one do you have your eye on? Can you introduce the other one to me? Let's be brothers-in-law."

"I have my eye on both."

"Damn! Aren't you afraid of choking?"

"Better to choke than to starve."

Chen Xiaobei rolled his eyes and stopped talking, picking up his phone to "shake" for a match.

Wang Can took his laptop and started searching for information on recommendation algorithms. The framework for the chicken cutlet shop was already set up, and it was time to prepare for his second venture. If he waited until he could use the full 500 million to start, he might miss some unexpected opportunities.

In 2012, there was very little information on recommendation systems on the internet. Wang Can spent nearly an hour digging through a mess of information before finding a useful lead.

"Practical Recommendation Systems: The Value and Real-World Applications."

"Author: Jiang Yixue, Associate Professor at the School of Applied Mathematics, Shenhai University."

"Only 26 years old???"

Wang Can was shocked. It was extremely rare to become an associate professor at that age; some of her graduate students might even be older than her. Most importantly, she taught right here at Shenhai University.

Wang Can quickly searched for Jiang Yixue’s background. Unfortunately, he only found a few lines: admitted to Fudan University’s Gifted Youth Program for Mathematics at 15, Ph.D. from Shenhai Jiaotong University at 24, and promoted to associate professor at Shenhai University at 26. No photos, just these few words recording her fast-tracked life.

Wang Can memorized the name "Jiang Yixue, School of Applied Mathematics" and decided to find a way to meet this professor once military training ended.

Closing the laptop, he picked up his phone and opened the chat with Xia Kewe.

"How is the chicken cutlet shop coming along? Can we open smoothly next Monday?"

He did a quick mental calculation: Saturday morning was the school's military inspection, the afternoon was for interviewing new hires, and Sunday was already booked for a visit to Xia Kewe’s home. It seemed opening on Monday was the only option.

The phone vibrated quickly, and Xia Kewe’s reply appeared: "The kitchen equipment will be in by Saturday afternoon, and the chicken cutlet chef we poached has confirmed he can start on Monday."

Wang Can sent a quick "OK" emoji and followed up: "After deducting the first three months' supply costs and expenses, how much of the first batch of funds is left?"

"About 2.8 million," Xia Kewe replied concisely.

Wang Can stared at the number, lost in thought, his knuckles tapping the desk.

A moment later, he typed quickly: "In the name of Canxing Venture Capital, help me acquire an existing live-streaming website architecture within a 500,000 budget."

He planned to start his first internet project with live streaming. In 2012, the industry was still in its infancy, with only YY and 9158 dominating the market; the capital market hadn't yet smelled the massive potential in this blue ocean. However, this seemingly simple project had hidden barriers—the bandwidth costs alone to keep the video stream smooth were staggering. Rumor had it that 9158 spent 4 million USD per month on bandwidth.

That was why Wang Can, holding his capital, dared to start with live streaming.

Acquiring an existing technical framework would not only avoid a long development cycle but also save precious time. Even an experienced technical team would take at least six months to a year to build a site from scratch, let alone a student team with no practical experience. In this critical period where mobile internet was about to explode, time was the greatest cost. Falling behind by one step could mean never catching up to the market.

Xia Kewe replied shortly: "Should I also acquire the technical team?"

Wang Can replied immediately: "See what the bundled price is first."

"Also, help me research the cost comparison between self-built cloud servers and leasing servers."

After settling these matters, Wang Can noticed a message from the woman he’d matched with, named "Jiang Xue."

"Student Chen Xiaobei, can I ask you a question?"

Wang Can's lips curled up involuntarily, his fingers tapping lightly on the screen: "You can, but you already have."

Jiang Xue reacted quickly: "Then can I ask two?"

Wang Can used the same tactic: "You can, but you already have."

The chat showed the other party typing, then pausing for a few seconds before sending an ellipsis: "..."

Then another message popped up: "Then can I ask you four questions?"

Wang Can directly copied and pasted: "You can, but you already have."

Jiang Xue: "!!! When did I ask you the fourth question?"

Wang Can: "Just now."

In a room on the 11th floor of the Shenhai University faculty apartments, a woman wearing red silk pajamas threw her phone onto the sofa in a huff, her chest heaving.

About five minutes later, she picked up her phone with slender fingers and dialed a number.

"Hello, Professor Li?"

The woman's voice had returned to its usual softness. "I'm so sorry to bother you, but could you do me a favor? Could you swap my Advanced Mathematics class with Professor Xu’s Economics class?"