184: Chapter 184 First Meeting with Xu Yi, Founder of Bilibili

The wind by the lake was cooler than in the city, blowing against the body with a bit of a chill. Qiao Linlin wasn't wearing very thick clothes and couldn't help but shiver.

"Cold?" Chen Fan looked at Qiao Linlin.

"I'm okay, not cold." Qiao Linlin smiled.

Seeing this, Chen Fan took off his jacket and handed it to Qiao Linlin.

"Put this on."

Qiao Linlin took the jacket, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes.

"Boss."

"Hmm?"

"Don't you think you look just like a domineering CEO from a novel right now? In the dead of night, by the West Lake, the female lead says she's cold, and the male lead hands over his jacket without a word."

Before Chen Fan could say anything, Qiao Linlin's smile faded slightly, and her tone softened: "Too bad, I'm not the female lead."

Qiao Linlin's words momentarily stunned Chen Fan, but he understood her meaning instantly.

Qiao Linlin always knew her place. She was an assistant, the woman by his side, but she wasn't his "girlfriend."

There was a subtle yet clear boundary between those roles. She could wrap her arms around his neck and call him "Hubby" in the middle of the night, act spoiled, be willful, and wear the clothes he liked when they were alone, but the moment she stepped out that door, she reverted to being the sensible and proper Assistant Qiao.

He simply reached out and gently rubbed her head.

Qiao Linlin's body stiffened slightly, then relaxed again. She closed her eyes like a cat being stroked, unconsciously nuzzling into his palm.

The two of them remained silent like that for a while.

The lake breeze blew past, carrying away the fleeting glimmer of moisture in her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, that familiar, carefree smile was back on her face.

"Boss, your technique isn't great; you've messed up my hair." She smoothed her hair, turned to look at him, her tone as light as if nothing had happened.

Chen Fan withdrew his hand, shoved it into his pocket, and looked at her: "Didn't you say you wanted to be the female lead?"

Qiao Linlin paused, then laughed, "I think being your little assistant is just fine."

"Alright, let's head back to the hotel."

...

Early the next morning, as the sky was just starting to turn gray, Chen Fan woke up.

He opened his eyes; Qiao Linlin was still asleep beside him, her hair scattered across the pillow, one hand resting on his chest, her breathing light and steady.

Chen Fan picked up his phone and checked the time: 7:10 AM.

There was still over an hour until their appointment; that was plenty of time.

He put down his phone and gently patted Qiao Linlin on the back.

"What time is it?" Her voice was raspy with morning grogginess.

"Seven-ten," Chen Fan said. "Time to get up. We have business today."

Hearing this, Qiao Linlin propped herself up and rubbed her eyes.

She let out a yawn and then began to get dressed.

Over forty minutes later, both were ready and headed out.

Qiao Linlin was dressed very appropriately today in a simple dark suit, her hair tied in a low ponytail, and her makeup was elegant. She looked beautiful with a hint of capability—not as exquisite as she usually was at the office, but with a bit more of the crispness of a career woman.

After leaving the hotel entrance, Chen Fan stood by the roadside and hailed a taxi.

The two got in, and Qiao Linlin gave the address: an old residential area over in Cuiyuan, Xihu District.

The car pulled away from the hotel and merged into the morning rush hour traffic.

Twenty minutes later, the taxi turned into an old part of town where the roads grew narrower and the buildings on both sides appeared increasingly aged.

The driver slowed down, looked around, and turned back to say: "The road ahead is narrow, it's hard to drive the car in. You guys should get off here."

"Just stop here." Chen Fan opened his eyes and pushed the door open to get out.

She looked around—old residential buildings, six or seven stories high, with exterior walls painted pale yellow. The color had mostly faded, leaving behind patches of varying shades.

She looked down at the address on her phone, then up at the apartment building in front of her. After confirming the unit number, she nodded: "This is it."

"Which floor?" Chen Fan asked.

"Fifth floor."

Chen Fan didn't say anything and stepped into the building entrance.

As they climbed to the fourth floor, different sounds began to emerge from the stairwell. The sound of keyboard clicking drifted down from upstairs.

Interspersed were a few lines of dialogue, spoken rapidly, as if arguing over some technical issue.

Chen Fan slowed his pace and listened intently. He vaguely heard words like "interface," "latency," and "concurrency," then continued upward.

Reaching the fifth floor, Chen Fan stopped and looked at the security door in front of him.

The door was dark green, the paint showing its age, with white primer exposed at the corners.

Qiao Linlin stood behind him, glanced at the stickers, then looked down to confirm the address on her phone and nodded: "It's this unit."

Chen Fan raised his hand and knocked three times.

Knock, knock, knock.

A few seconds later, the sound of a chair moving came from inside, followed by the pitter-patter of slippers on the floor, getting clearer as they approached.

The sound of a key turning was crisp and loud, the latch clicked open, and the door was pushed wide.

The young man standing inside appeared to be about twenty-five, wearing a crumpled plaid shirt.

He looked like the most ordinary kind of STEM student you'd find at a university.

Xu Yi.

Although he had only occasionally seen his photos on the internet in his past life, Chen Fan recognized him at a glance.

Xu Yi's gaze quickly swept between Chen Fan and Qiao Linlin, finally landing on Qiao Linlin's face.

"Hello, are you Assistant Qiao from Fanyu Technology?" he asked with some uncertainty.

"Hello, President Xu, I am Qiao Linlin." Qiao Linlin smiled slightly, her voice neither humble nor arrogant. "We had an appointment yesterday. This is my boss, Chen Fan, President Chen."

Seeing that Qiao Linlin was actually such a beautiful girl, a hint of awkwardness appeared on Xu Yi's face.

However, he quickly recovered and looked at Chen Fan and Qiao Linlin, saying: "Hello, President Chen, hello, Assistant Qiao. Please come in, come in quickly."

He hurriedly opened the door wider and stepped aside to make room.

Chen Fan stepped inside, with Qiao Linlin following behind.

The air was a mix of instant noodle smell, cigarette smoke, and the peculiar dampness of an old house. It wasn't exactly pleasant, but it wasn't pungent either.

The room wasn't large and was mostly taken up by several computer desks pushed together.

There were three monitors on the desks, all of them lit up.

Besides the monitors, the tabletops were cluttered with all sorts of things—keyboards, mice, data cables, chargers, several empty beverage bottles, a bag of opened potato chips, and an uncovered instant noodle cup. The noodles had long since gone cold, with oil congealed into a white film floating on the soup.

Seeing this scene, Chen Fan was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that Bilibili, which was so famous in his past life, was actually born in this cluttered room.

Xu Yi invited them into the room, hurriedly clearing clutter off the sofa while stealing a couple of glances at Chen Fan.

The light had been dim at the door just now, so he hadn't seen clearly. Now that they were inside, he realized this "President Chen" looked much younger than he had imagined.

With that face, people would believe he was a college student, looking twenty at most.