49: Is Chapter 49 necessary? Or not?

When he met Huang Yimei, Zhao Yang realized he would experience the world of "the story of rose," but he had not expected it to come so suddenly.

Originally, the plot was supposed to start next year—around April 2001. But now it had advanced by more than half a year; it was only the end of August 2000.

Why on earth was that?

Moreover, the task given by the System was actually "Let Huang Yimei live a happy life."

Did he have to protect her for her whole life? Or find her a good husband?

But who could possibly be worthy of that face favored by the heavens?

"Zhao Yang," Teacher Sun said, seeing him lost in thought, unable to help but ask, "What are you thinking about? Do you have any opinions on the thesis topic we just discussed?"

Zhao Yang was stunned for a moment, a thought flashing through his mind.

Originally, he had planned to stay at the University of Political Science and Law for a while after the semester started to focus on his doctoral thesis. But now that the "Rose's Promise" task had popped up, he decided he should return to the Imperial Capital first. At the very least, he would stop that scumbag Zhou Shihui from harassing Huang Yimei, and hmm... while he was at it, he would let Zhou Shihui's girlfriend, Guan Zhizhi, see his true colors sooner.

Zhao Yang did not answer immediately but remained silent for a moment. "Teacher Sun, I suddenly feel that our previous perspective was too narrow. My thesis shouldn't be limited to Criminal Investigation, nor should it be limited to the University of Political Science and Law. It should be an interdisciplinary topic, and based on this theory, the University of Political Science and Law and Shuimu should jointly establish a specialized laboratory—the Joint Laboratory of Intelligent Investigation."

Teacher Sun wore an expression of surprise. "Do you have a concept?"

"Yes. I have previously conducted some research in the Computer Science and network Domain, and the results can be applied to the field of Criminal Investigation. I think my thesis title should be 'Research on Identification and Early Warning of Cross-Regional Criminal Organizations Based on Complex Network Theory'."

"Hiss..." Teacher Sun gasped. Just hearing the title, he could tell that this project was quite grand. "Tell me about it in detail."

"It's like this..."

At three in the morning, Teacher Sun tossed and turned, too excited to sleep. Zhao Yang's concept for the thesis had shocked him greatly, so he simply got up and started drafting a report to the school.

Zhao Yang, however, was sleeping soundly in the hotel.

He wasn't worried about the thesis at all—that concept was something he only thought of after his Mathematics skill reached Level 5. Although the topic was related to Criminal Investigation, the theory used wasn't profound; the difficult parts were in Mathematics and Computer Science, and both of these were ready-made for him.

Early the next morning, Zhao Yang bid farewell to Teacher Sun and flew to the Imperial Capital—he had originally thought about returning to Jinghai to rest for a few days, but as it turned out, he was back in the Imperial Capital so soon. A busy life.

On the third day back in the Imperial Capital, General Feng's call suddenly arrived.

"Little Zhao, the testing and evaluation of that encryption module of yours are finished. Guess how much it's worth?"

"Conservatively estimated, it saved the country tens of millions of dollars. But it would be good if I got even a tenth of that."

"You brat, quite the appetite, aren't you? Not millions, just 3.5 million!"

"3.5 million USD is not bad either."

"What USD? Dragon currency!" General Feng was a bit annoyed. "Don't have unrealistic fantasies. Even with this, some people wanted to cut it in half."

"How can there be such shameless people in this world?"

"That's what I scolded them back with! That's all the money there is, 3.5 million after tax. The country isn't well-off either, so don't complain that it's too little. It will arrive by tomorrow at the latest."

Hanging up the phone, Zhao Yang smiled. 3.5 million was far beyond his expectations. Old Feng was a decent guy! If he had good stuff in the future, he would still think of him!

With money in his pocket again, under the lingering gaze of the sales Young Miss, Zhao Yang bought a detached villa at the foot of the Western Hills in full.

The house came with a big garden, and standing on the rooftop terrace, one could see the mountain scenery of the Western Hills.

In the Imperial Capital these days, as long as you buy a house, you will absolutely not lose money.

On the third day after getting the keys, Zhao Yang was thinking about the renovation when he suddenly received a call from Jiang Xueqiong: "Teacher Zhao, the auction money is being transferred to you today. I am really sorry, it was delayed for so long because of tax issues."

"It doesn't matter."

"By the way, that day, a girl named Huang Yimei brought your painting and asked us for an appraisal."

Zhao Yang was stunned and asked, "Why did she want an appraisal? Is she short on money?"

"Doesn't seem like it. I offered 300,000, but she didn't sell it and seemed startled. I initially thought she was your girlfriend, but there's no reason for a girl to take a painting given by her boyfriend and ask for its price everywhere. Teacher Zhao, what is your relationship with her? Can you satisfy my curiosity?"

Zhao Yang couldn't help but laugh. "I just thought she had a good image, so I painted it casually. Do you have her phone number?"

"Eh? You actually don't have Huang Yimei's phone number? That's unbelievable!"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"She is such a pretty girl, and you didn't even ask for her contact information."

"She didn't ask me either, so why should I ask her?"

"This... alright, we don't understand the world of you handsome men and beauties." Jiang Xueqiong was amused by her own words, laughed for a while, and then continued, "I'll ask Little Su in a moment; she might have kept the number."

After chatting a few more sentences casually, Zhao Yang hung up the phone.

A moment later, Jiang Xueqiong sent over Huang Yimei's contact information. It was a landline, likely her home phone.

Today happened to be Saturday, and Zhao Yang guessed that Huang Yimei was at home, so he dialed it. "Hello, hello, is this Huang Yimei's home?"

A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end, carrying a hint of wariness. "Hello, may I ask who is calling?"

"You must be Huang Yimei's father? Hello, I'm looking for Huang Yimei."

"Who are you?" Huang Jianzhi's wariness grew heavier.

Zhao Yang couldn't help but chuckle inwardly—Huang Yimei had been surrounded by suitors since she was little, and Huang Jianzhi didn't know how many phone calls from brats he had dismissed.

He didn't beat around the bush. "I am Zhao Yang. I would like to talk to Huang Yimei about that painting."

On the other end of the line, Huang Jianzhi's expression immediately became tense.

Regarding that painting, their whole family saw its collection value and decided to keep it. Currently, the entire Huang family was trying hard to raise money, preparing to send it to Zhao Yang once they had enough.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Yang had actually called their home. He couldn't be wanting the painting back, could he?

Huang Yimei had already come over upon hearing the phone ringing, and seeing Huang Jianzhi's expression was off, she asked in a low voice, "Dad, is it for me? Whose call is it? Why do you have that expression?"

Huang Jianzhi quickly covered the receiver and lowered his voice. "It's Zhao Yang."

Huang Yimei immediately widened her eyes, in disbelief. "Zhao Yang?"

Huang Jianzhi nodded. "He said he is Zhao Yang, the person who gave you the painting."

"Give it to me quickly!" Huang Yimei snatched the receiver. "Hello, hello... Zhao Yang... Teacher, this is Huang Yimei."

"Hello. I heard from the people at Qingting that you went to ask about the price of the painting I gave you. Do you want to sell it?"

"No, no, no!" Huang Yimei quickly said. "I don't want to sell it. I just saw them auctioning your painting that day and wanted to know how much my painting was worth."

"Oh, what Qingting offered is the lowest price. If put into an auction, it could fetch at least 500,000. However, the painting has already been given to you; you can handle it however you like."

"Ah?" Huang Yimei was surprised. "The painting is so expensive, why did you give it to me for free?"

"Is a reason necessary?"

"No... is it not?"