Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 41: Liu Xiao’s Bittersweet Moment

“Manager, have we already failed?” Jiang Han looked a bit disheartened; she had never seen anyone negotiate like this before. “It’s as good as over. It’s a shame the Company gave me such limited access to this software.” A hint of regret flashed in Gu Ying’s eyes as she sighed softly; she knew this trip to Gancheng to discuss a partnership had ended in failure. Wang Hao hadn’t agreed to her acquisition offer; he’d even rejected the proposal for a revenue-sharing partnership without a second thought, because the terms offered by Chu Tian at BlackBerry better aligned with his vision. Having made up his mind, he chose BlackBerry and sent a message to Chu Tian. Chu Tian hadn’t gone anywhere that day; he’d been staying at the hotel watching TV, but even that had felt tedious. When Wang Hao’s message came back, he immediately jumped up from the hotel bed in excitement. He had a very clear understanding of this cleaning app. He had personally tested it and found that it could actually resolve long-standing issues with the Android system. The sluggish performance that Android devices typically experience after prolonged use was completely resolved after installing this app. He didn’t just test one device—he brought in all the test phones from his Company. After running the cleaning app on these Android test phones, he felt as though they had just been restored to factory settings—they ran incredibly smoothly. He believed that Android users wouldn’t want to miss out on such a cleaning app, and that it would undoubtedly serve as an opportunity to expand the Blackberry platform’s influence. Therefore, he was eager to secure this partnership and offered a promotional deal that was practically a giveaway. In return, he asked for only one thing: a dedicated entry point to the Blackberry platform within the app. Now that he’s received a definitive response, how could he not be overjoyed? After Wang Hao returned from school, he went straight to his room. Now that Longnao had a new hardware body, there were many more areas that could be optimized. Once he had a clear plan in mind, he didn’t want to be distracted by other matters. Even if he had delayed for a few days, both Blackberry and Qilong would likely have raised their partnership terms, and other manufacturers might have approached him as well. But he didn’t want to waste time on this; it was better to cut through the red tape quickly and spend more time optimizing Xiao Long instead. In the hours that followed, Wang Hao was so immersed in optimizing “Xiao Long” that he even forgot his documentary was scheduled to air that night. It wasn’t until Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan called out to him that he suddenly realized he hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner and had been working nonstop until past seven o’clock. The moment he stopped, a wave of hunger washed over him. If Zhang Xin and Zhang Nan hadn’t seen the news report—which mentioned that his documentary was airing tonight on CCTV’s Documentary Channel—and come to his room to call him, Wang Hao probably wouldn’t have stopped yet. As for the development of Xiao Long, the sheer volume of work involved is unimaginable to outsiders. It took Wang Hao a year of dedicated effort to develop Xiao Long, and now, to further optimize and improve it, the number of staff required is beyond imagination. “Bro, you’re way too into this,” Zhang Xin said, speechless as she watched her brother casually serve himself a plate of food and start eating. He’d been so busy for nine straight hours that he’d forgotten to eat—she now truly understood what it meant to work so hard that one forgets to eat or sleep. “Uh, watching TV,” Wang Hao said, looking a bit embarrassed. Regarding the documentary airing on CCTV, Sun Yan had sent him a text message earlier that morning to fill him in on the details. As 7:40 rolled around, images of Gan City No. 1 High School gradually appeared on the screen, accompanied by a voiceover. Sun Yan—the beautiful reporter he’d met before—stood in front of the camera, speaking eloquently. “Gancheng, the city of the Long March, boasts a history of over 2,200 years since its founding. It has long been a major political, economic, military, and cultural hub in Jiangnan, known as the ‘First City on the Thousand-Li Gan River.’ Today, our protagonist is right here… at Gan City No. 1 High School.” However, just as he had expected, there wasn’t much footage of him. Most of the documentary focused on Gan City No. 1 High School and introductions of his classmates. There were also clips he had taken with his cell phone when he went into the mountains, and only a small portion consisted of Sun Yan’s interview with him. The more he watched, the more peculiar his expression became. Zhang Xin, sitting beside him, found it increasingly difficult to hold back her emotions and eventually burst into tears—leaving him feeling both amused and exasperated. Although he didn’t appear much in the documentary, the narration emotionally recounted his experiences and everything he had done over the past three years. To be honest, the narration did make Wang Hao think of his parents, but the saying that “time is the best healer” really holds true—four years had passed since the incident, and he had long since come to terms with it. But others found it hard to bear. Take Zhang Xin, for example: watching the documentary about Wang Hao’s journey four years later, she realized for the first time just how wrong she’d been to prevent him from entering her home back then. As soon as the documentary aired, it immediately sparked heated discussion among countless people. Those who had previously followed reports on Wang Hao found their eyes stinging after watching it, and the vast majority of women who watched it couldn’t stop crying. “Positive energy—this is exactly the kind of positive energy Hua Guo needs.” “Wang Hao has helped me truly understand what positive energy means. After watching the documentary, I was deeply moved—as a man approaching forty, I almost shed a tear.” “Same here. After my daughter watched this documentary, she went back into full-blown fangirl mode. But this time, I didn’t stop her. I actually encourage her to look up to Wang Hao as a role model—it’s definitely better than those random, flashy young heartthrobs.” “Exactly. I could set Wang Hao as a role model for my son, too...” As the documentary aired online, it sparked an intense wave of discussion, leading to a movement among parents to set Wang Hao as an idol for their children. While middle and high school students have far fewer resources for idol worship compared to adults, they are the ones who pursue their idols with the most fervor. If they can set such a positive role model as their children’s idol, these parents are very supportive. Wang Hao’s academic achievements speak for themselves—he was the top-scoring student in Xijiang Province—and his character is also exemplary. Following a star like him is certainly better than chasing after those “young heartthrobs.” Overnight, a nationwide discussion about Wang Hao erupted. At this moment, the principal of Gan City No. 1 High School was experiencing a mix of pain and joy. Liu Xiao had always been dedicated to developing Gan City No. 1 High School, but he found that after the documentary on the sense of responsibility among Hua Guo’s youth aired, his phone was flooded with calls. There were words of praise from higher-ups and congratulations from friends, but more than anything, other schools were reaching out to Gan City No. 1 High School, eager to learn how the school had managed to produce two consecutive top scorers in Xijiang Province over the past two years, as well as to exchange ideas on character education. How does one raise a young man like Wang Hao, who displays such a strong sense of responsibility at the age of eighteen? Liu Xiao stared at his phone in silence, for the airing of this documentary about Wang Hao had truly thrown him into the thick of it. He had originally worried that Wang Hao—who was usually very low-key at school—might say something unfavorable about Gan City No. 1 High School in the documentary. But after watching it with bated breath just now and heard what Wang Hao had to say about Gan City No. 1 High School, a thought popped into his mind: Is the educational quality at Gan City No. 1 High School really as good as Wang Hao described? But the problem was, as the principal, how come he had no idea that Gan City No. 1 High School was as good as Wang Hao claimed? “That Wang Hao,” Liu Xiao shook his head, a smile spreading across his face—but just then, his phone rang again. As he looked at the caller ID, his expression immediately turned grim. So after the documentary aired, he found himself caught between joy and sorrow. Ever since it aired, countless people had been flooding his phone with calls—some were officials, some were congratulating him, and others were trying to pull strings to get their students into Gan City No. 1 High School.