Question 1

Zhang Yan was frantically organizing documents and materials, as what happened today was quite sudden for her.

Amidst her busyness, her phone rang.

"Hello, Master."

...

"This time, I really wasn't reckless. I've already learned from last time."

...

"That guy discovered we installed a surveillance camera."

...

"We were very careful. Old Mo disguised himself as a cleaner and personally placed it. You know his skill, don't you?"

...

"So this guy clearly has been trained; his anti-reconnaissance awareness is extremely strong."

...

"I also know that we've alerted the enemy now, so we can only bite the bullet and proceed."

---

"We meet again." This was Zhang Yan's first sentence after sitting down opposite Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan showed her his bound hands and feet, "Is this really necessary?"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yan said to the two guards beside Lin Yuan, "Get closer to him. Be careful not to let him bite his tongue and harm himself."

"What the hell? Why would I harm myself?"

In fact, the security measures Zhang Yan took for Lin Yuan were not excessively high. On the covert front, sometimes even a plastic bag could cause trouble, but Lin Yuan's danger level ultimately hadn't reached that point, otherwise his entire body, from shoulders to limbs, would be restrained.

"We won't start with the old routine of 'name, age,'" Zhang Yan opened a file bag in front of her and pulled out a stack of documents, "Let's briefly review your crime process first."

Although Lin Yuan really wanted to argue, he was also very curious about how he appeared in those case files.

"Lin Yuan, native of Netherlands, rural household registration, ordinary family background. Graduated from Tangcheng Institute of Technology with a computer major in 2023."

Hearing this beginning, Lin Yuan unconsciously tilted his head.

Zhang Yan noticed his body language, "You seem to have an opinion."

"I have no opinion. I'm just curious about your definition of 'ordinary family background.'"

"What do you want to say?"

"I want to say, my family background is not ordinary at all. My family's situation is called 'poor.' Also, my undergraduate major was not computer science; I studied software engineering. There's a difference between these two majors."

With a bang, Zhang Yan slammed the table, "Be honest."

An older police officer accompanying Zhang Yan gently patted her shoulder, signaling her to calm down, then looked at Lin Yuan, "We highly recognize your intelligence. You don't need to prove that point to us."

"Continue."

Zhang Yan then elaborated on the case file, "After graduation, you worked in software-related fields for nearly four months, then resigned to deliver food, continuing until early August 2024, when you were detained by us for forging fake documents.

Afterward, you worked at Good Group's Purple Gold branch and officially enrolled in early September. You have been studying and working simultaneously until now.

Do you have any comments on the above statement?"

"No. Can I make a call?"

"Not at the moment. Answer our questions first."

"How is my girlfriend?"

"Which one is your girlfriend?" Zhang Yan picked up another case file, flipping through it as she asked.

"The stupid one."

Lin Yuan's straightforward reply made Zhang Yan suddenly look up. Although she hadn't been working for long, she instinctively felt Lin Yuan's arrogance. To be so unbothered after being caught red-handed, his mental fortitude truly impressed her.

"How do I know which one is stupid?" The case files in Zhang Yan's hand only had photos of Song Xiaoxiao and Xia Ye, without any personality analysis.

"The one who acts a bit silly when questioned is her."

Zhang Yan was about to say something else, but the old police officer beside her had already pointed at Xia Ye's photo with his hand, "This one."

"Old Mo, how do you know he's talking about this one?"

The old police officer named Old Mo simply replied faintly, "By experience." Then he said to Lin Yuan, "We won't wrong a good person. Please answer your questions properly first."

"Alright." Lin Yuan shrugged, indicating acceptance.

So Zhang Yan switched back to Lin Yuan's case file, "The prospects and salary of software development are far superior to delivering food. Why did you give up your major and choose to work in the food delivery industry?"

Lin Yuan found it somewhat amusing, "What makes you think that the prospects and salary of software development are far superior to delivering food?"

Zhang Yan had an expression as if her intelligence had been insulted, "Isn't that common sense?"

Lin Yuan quipped, "Where did you get that common sense?"

"Watch your attitude." Zhang Yan was just short of slamming the table again.

"Comrade, I am merely calmly asking my question, not intentionally provoking you."

"Alright. According to last year's industry salary statistics, the average salary in the software industry exceeds 150,000, which is far more than a food delivery driver's salary. And..."

Lin Yuan suddenly leaned forward, "Why don't you also mention what the average salary of a food delivery driver is?"

"You..." Zhang Yan didn't say it because it really wasn't in the case file.

Suppressing her anger, Zhang Yan then continued, "Don't talk nonsense with me about such common-sense questions."

"How is it nonsense? If I average myself with Jack Ma, I'm still a billionaire. Do you know what kind of work I do? It's outsourcing. Do you know what software outsourcing is?"

Although Lin Yuan's tone was calm, his momentum was not weak at all. He dared to speak this way, relying on the fact that his mentor and Dean Li would know he was here sooner or later.

Furthermore, Lin Yuan was somewhat annoyed by the questions asked by the person in front of him, because these questions revealed a lack of understanding of the common people's lives.

"What's wrong with software outsourcing? We checked your salary, 7,000 yuan a month. With that income, why would you go deliver food? Is it because you had other intentions?"

"Is 7,000 yuan a lot?"

"Just graduated and working, how much more do you want? I'm only..."

Cough, cough~~, Old Mo's cough stopped Zhang Yan's unrestrained remarks.

"Do you know that 7,000 yuan is pre-tax salary? After deducting the five social insurances and one housing fund, plus rent and food, how much do I have left each month? Oh, right, with that money, I still have to... haha."

"Still have to what?"

"It goes over five thousand, you know."

Zhang Yan stared blankly at Old Mo beside her. Old Mo motioned for her to calm down, then said to Lin Yuan, "You continue."

"I'm not trying to argue. I just want to tell you, with evidence, that software outsourcing is just grunt work. It's completely different from the employees of first- and second-tier internet giants in high-end office buildings. It's like the difference between a Huolala driver and a high-speed train driver."

Lin Yuan had a lot to say about this, because he had gone from software outsourcing to food delivery, and then to a senior engineer at a major internet company today.

If software outsourcing was a promising job, why would he bother with postgraduate studies?

But this content was clearly a blind spot in Zhang Yan's knowledge.

"Even if you still have to pay for rent and food, that money is enough for you to live well. You could completely accumulate work experience in the software industry. You still haven't answered why you switched to food delivery. Was it to facilitate your development of personnel and organization?"

Lin Yuan was somewhat speechless, "I've said so much, why do you still think software outsourcing belongs to the high-end IT industry? Do you think a Huolala driver can drive a high-speed train later by working hard?"

"But 7,000 yuan a month is better than delivering food, no matter what."

"Do you know how much the rent is per month near convenient subway stations in Zijin City, where we are right now? How much does food cost per month? Also, is the biggest problem with delivering food that you can't earn seven or eight thousand a month?"

Lin Yuan originally retorted casually, but he actually left Zhang Yan speechless.

Lin Yuan pondered for a moment, then relaxed. He shrugged, looking very at ease, "Alright. Then let's skip this question."

"What do you mean?" Lin Yuan's actions successfully angered Zhang Yan.

"Nothing. You lack a basic understanding of society, so there's nothing good to discuss about this question."