13: Chapter 13 Brothers, You Don't Need to Bow Your Head

In the afternoon, Li Xin returned to school and found Yang Hong in the dormitory.

Yang Hong was sitting on his bed with a dilapidated laptop in front of him, its screen dense with lines of code. His fingers were typing rapidly on the keyboard, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Still writing code?" Li Xin sat down opposite him.

"Yeah," Yang Hong said without looking up. "I took on some freelance work, helping someone build a web crawler. Three thousand yuan—enough to pay for next semester's tuition."

"Three thousand yuan? In that case, doing web crawlers is a pretty good side hustle." Li Xin looked at him, somewhat surprised.

Yang Hong was truly skilled. In his past life, after graduating, he went to an internet company and became a technical director within a few years. But because his personality was too blunt and he didn't know how to play the social game, he was ostracized by colleagues and eventually resigned. Now, in his junior year, he had already started earning money through freelance work.

"This isn't easy to deal with either. The amount of data the client needs is quite large, and the code is relatively complex. I've been staying up late for several days now." Yang Hong pushed up his glasses, his tone flat yet tinged with a hint of misery. He stretched his hands upward, loosening his stiff body.

"Normally, the quote for this would be five thousand yuan, but since I don't have a reputation, they drove the price down. If it weren't for next semester's tuition, I wouldn't have taken this job." Yang Hong shook his head helplessly.

"Your skills are so impressive. With this talent, you've charmed quite a few underclassmen at school. It's just that they don't know quality when they see it." Li Xin shook his head with a smile.

"Sigh." Yang Hong shrugged, sighed, and lowered his head to continue coding.

Watching his buddy working so desperately hard on the code, Li Xin couldn't help but recall the day he resigned in his past life. Yang Hong had sent him a message with just one sentence: "I might not be cut out for dealing with people."

Li Xin had been on a train for a business trip at the time. Seeing the message, he had been stunned for a long time, eventually just replying, "It's okay, just find somewhere else to work."

Thinking about it now, he should have said more. Now that he had a chance to do it all over again, he would definitely not let Yang Hong walk the same old path. He spoke up: "Yang Hong, have you ever thought about starting your own business?"

Yang Hong's fingers paused. "I have. But I have no capital and no connections."

He paused, his tone filled with a hint of helplessness. "Starting a business isn't that easy. It's not like writing code. If there's a problem with code, you can debug and fix it bit by bit. But once a business hits a dead end, you lose everything. The cost of trial and error is too high; I just can't afford it."

"If I have the capital and you have the technical skills, could we work on something together?" Li Xin looked at him with burning eyes.

Yang Hong stopped typing and turned his head, pushing up his glasses. His gaze lingered on Li Xin's face for a few seconds, as if trying to discern from his eyes whether he was joking. After a moment of hesitation, he asked in a deep voice: "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely. I'm not joking with you." Li Xin enunciated each word clearly, his eyes full of sincerity, his tone extremely firm.

Yang Hong took a deep breath, sat up straight again, looked at him with burning eyes, and pressed: "Then what direction do you want to pursue?"

"What do you think about the internet?" Li Xin blurted out without hesitation. He smiled and continued: "The internet is the biggest trend right now; opportunities are everywhere. Don't they say that if you stand in the path of a strong wind, even a pig can fly?"

"However, as for what specific project to do, we'll need to research and refine it together later. But I'd bet that with your skills, whether it's building software, platforms, or other projects, as long as you're willing to commit, we can definitely succeed."

Yang Hong was silent for a moment. "Did you just talk to Luo Maifa's dad about an investment?"

"How did you know?"

"I guessed. You've been different since you came back. You didn't talk much before, but now you have a lot of initiative. Plus, your demeanor has changed—you're like someone… who makes decisions."

Li Xin laughed. "Your observation skills are too sharp; it'd be a waste for you to just be a programmer in the future."

"I just like writing code," Yang Hong said. "But if you really want to start a business, I can work with you."

"No rush. Finish the work you have on hand first, and we'll chat in detail later."

Yang Hong nodded and turned back to his coding.

Li Xin watched him and suddenly said: "Yang Hong, if you're short on money, tell me. As long as you need it, your buddy will support you unconditionally."

"No need." Yang Hong paused.

"Don't stand on ceremony with me," Li Xin replied, his face still gentle.

"It's not about standing on ceremony," Yang Hong said without turning his head, his eyes clear yet firm. "I don't like owing others. You helping me is a favor, but I have to rely on myself."

Hearing this, Li Xin didn't try to persuade him further. He understood Yang Hong. This person had strong self-esteem and wouldn't easily accept others' help. But he had a way.

He could give Yang Hong shares when they started the business, allowing him to earn money through his own ability—that would be the best form of help.