Can't afford to pay for the takeout? Stunning CEO: Then pay with your body!

Six o'clock in the morning, on the top floor of the City Tower.

The first ray of sunlight pierced through the floor-to-ceiling windows and fell on the large mahogany desk.

Nie Qingcheng held the forty-page document, "Improvement Plan for Thermal Management and Mass Production of New Solid-State Batteries," in her hand. She was completely stunned, remaining in one position for a full ten minutes.

This plan was something Zhang Yan "did tinker with" for an hour last night.

As a top trader in the industry, she was well aware of the value of this document.

If the stuff the PhDs in the technical department produced was a "barely usable" unfinished house, then Zhang Yan's work was a nuclear weapon that could directly crush those international giants.

From optimizing the electrolyte ratio to that ingenious honeycomb heat dissipation structure, every piece of data was incredibly precise, even reducing mass production costs by 30%.

"This...how is this possible..."

Nie Qingcheng muttered to herself, looking up at the sofa.

It's empty now.

Only a sticky note was tucked under her water glass, the handwriting bold and vigorous, exuding a nonchalant elegance:

[The plan is finished. Remember to eat breakfast. I have Professor Yan's "Fundamentals of Industrial Design" class this morning. If you're late, you'll fail. I'm heading out now. Don't worry about me.]

Nie Qingcheng held the note in her hand and then looked at the proposal worth at least 10 billion.

How to avoid failing the course?

Why would someone abandon a business worth tens of billions to attend some lousy basic course?

"Zhang Yan..."

Nie Qingcheng bit her lip, her eyes filled with love that was almost overflowing, but in the end it turned into a helpless yet sweet laugh.

"You... spendthrift man."

……

Jiangzhou University, Lecture Hall 404, Science and Technology Building.

The air was as oppressive as a fishpond before a downpour.

On the podium, an old professor with gray hair and thick-rimmed glasses had a dark expression on his face, and the pointer in his hand was banging on the blackboard with a "snap snap".

Yen Cheng-hua, the "mountain-guarding tyrant" of the Industrial Design Department at National Chiang University, is also a notorious failure-killer.

No one dared to skip his classes, let alone slack off.

"Is this the assignment you handed in?"

Yan Zhenghua casually picked up a design drawing, didn't even glance at it, and threw it back onto the desk of the boy in the first row like trash.

"We're designing charging stations for new energy vehicles, not disco balls for nightclubs!"

"Why are there so many RGB light strips? Are they so car owners can dance while charging? And what's the base made of? Polyethylene? Do you think the flame isn't strong enough while charging?"

The boy was so embarrassed by the scolding that he shrank back and didn't dare to say a word.

The entire class of over seventy students was completely silent.

Wang Hao huddled in the last row, hiding his face with a book. He nudged Zhang Yan next to him with his elbow and whispered, "We're doomed, Lao Yan's gone crazy today."

"Yan-ge, did you bring your homework?"

"If we didn't bring it, let's quickly think of an excuse to pee."

Zhang Yan was looking down at his phone. On the screen was a series of "kiss" emojis from Nie Qingcheng, along with a transfer message: [Pocket money, take it to buy candy.]

The amount is 500,000.

He replied "Received," then put away his phone and calmly glanced at the podium: "I brought it."

"It's good that you brought it, it's good that you brought it."

Wang Hao breathed a sigh of relief. "I stayed up all night last night to work on a streamlined concept design. It's not very technically advanced, but it looks good, so it should pass muster."

At this moment, Yan Zhenghua's gaze swept across the entire room like a searchlight.

"Who's next?"

No one dared to make a move.

The miserable state of that "disco ball guy" was still fresh in everyone's mind, and nobody wanted to go up and risk getting into trouble.

"Nobody here, right? If nobody's here, I'll call out names!"

Yan Zhenghua opened the roll call list, ran his finger across it, and finally stopped on a name.

"Zhang Yan".

A murmur of commotion instantly rose in the classroom.

All eyes were drawn to the back corner.

Zhang Yan has been incredibly popular at school lately—dunking, playing the piano, slapping rich kids in the face—his legends could fill a book.

But this is a professional course, a place where hard skills matter, and being handsome alone is useless.

"I heard he skipped a week of classes, how can he possibly finish this assignment?"

"It's a close call. Old Yan hates students who aren't focused on their studies. I bet he'll make an example of him today to set an example."

Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Yan stood up, his hands empty, with neither a USB drive nor blueprints.

He walked onto the podium empty-handed.

Yan Zhenghua frowned, his gaze behind his glasses sharp as a knife: "Where's your design proposal? Didn't you bring it?"

"Not printed."

Zhang Yan walked to the blackboard, casually picked up a piece of chalk, tossed it lightly, and caught it.

"Just draw it directly, it'll be faster."

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Hand-drawn?

Such precise industrial design drawings, just those complex dimensions and perspective relationships, would take half a day to draw using computer CAD, but he had to draw them on the blackboard.

Yan Zhenghua's expression darkened further: "Zhang Yan, this is a classroom, not a place for you to show off."

Do you know the consequences of wasting everyone's time?

Five minutes.

Zhang Yan didn't explain; he simply turned to face the blackboard.

next second.

His wrist moved.

"Swish—swish—"

The sound of chalk rubbing against the blackboard created a strange sense of rhythm in the quiet classroom.

There was no ruler, no compass.

But every straight line he drew was as straight as if it had been laser-calibrated.

Every arc is so precise it's mind-boggling.

At first, the students in the audience had expressions of watching a show.

But as time went on, the mockery slowly turned into surprise, and finally into utter astonishment.

On the blackboard, a futuristic yet mechanically aesthetically pleasing diagram of a charging station is taking shape at a visible speed.

This is not a simple appearance drawing.

This is a cross-sectional view!

He drew every detail clearly, including the internal circuit layout, heat dissipation ducts, and the interlocking structure of the telescopic robotic arm. He even marked the material parameters and stress analysis in key parts.

Yen Cheng-hua had his arms crossed, ready to start cursing.

But as he watched, he lowered his arm.

He unconsciously took two steps forward, took off his reading glasses to wipe them, put them back on, and stared wide-eyed at the design on the blackboard called "Liquid-cooled Temperature Control - Adaptive Retractable Charging Pile".

As a veteran expert who had dedicated his life to industrial design, he immediately recognized the terrifying aspect of this design.

What is the biggest pain point of charging stations now?

The cable is too heavy for female car owners to tow; high-power charging generates a lot of heat and is prone to frequency reduction.

And this one drawn by Zhang Yan...

"alright."

Zhang Yan threw away the remaining half of the chalk in his hand and patted the dust off his hands.

Exactly five minutes.

On the blackboard, an industrial design drawing that could be described as a work of art was quietly displayed in front of everyone.

"This is my solution."

Zhang Yan turned around, his tone as calm as if he were asking what to eat for dinner, "It adopts a dual-cycle liquid cooling structure and can support 800V high-voltage fast charging."

"In addition, the gun head has been made lightweight, and with the adaptive telescopic arm at the bottom, even girls with less strength can operate it with one hand."

The classroom was deathly silent.

Several seconds passed before someone swallowed.

"Holy crap... this drawing skill, is it like a printer that came to life?"

"Forget about the artwork, look at that heat dissipation structure, it seems even more advanced than Tesla's Superchargers to me!"

Yan Zhenghua stood in front of the blackboard, looking up as if he were admiring a masterpiece.

He stretched out a trembling hand, pointed to an inconspicuous parameter label in the lower left corner of the drawing, and asked in a somewhat hoarse voice, "How did you calculate this coolant flow rate setting?"

"Based on the second law of thermodynamics and Bernoulli's equation in fluid mechanics."

Zhang Yan casually recited two formulas, then added, "Considering the nonlinear growth of copper loss and magnetic loss under high current, this flow rate is a critical value. Any higher and cavitation will occur; any lower and... the heat dissipation efficiency will be insufficient."

Yan Zhenghua suddenly turned his head and stared at Zhang Yan.

That look in his eyes was like that of a bachelor who had been single for fifty years seeing a stunningly beautiful woman.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Old Man Yan said "good" three times in a row, his face beaming with excitement.

"This is design! This is the kind of talent we need to cultivate!"

He slammed his hand on the podium, pointed at the group of students below who were still in shock, and spat as he spoke: "Look at this! Open your eyes wide and take a good look! This is what you call a design that uses your brain! Compared to this, what are your drawings? All garbage!"

"Disco spheres? Streamlined designs? What's the point! The core of industrial design is problem-solving, not creating light pollution!"

The "disco ball guy" just now buried his head in his crotch.

Wang Hao stared wide-eyed at his roommate on stage, who seemed to be glowing, and felt his knees go weak.

"Brother Yan... what kind of high-tech training did you receive at that rich woman's house?"

After scolding the other students, Yan Zhenghua turned to face Zhang Yan and his expression instantly changed, his tone becoming as gentle as a kind old grandfather.

"Zhang Yan, do you have any plans to apply for a patent for this design?"

"without."

Zhang Yan shook his head. "It's just a quick sketch for homework."

"What a waste! This is a complete waste!"

Yan Zhenghua was heartbroken, but then, as if remembering something, his eyes lit up. "Oh, right, don't leave after class. Come to my office."

"Professor Yan, I still need to go to the cafeteria..."

"Forget the cafeteria! I'll treat you to a meal!"

Yan Zhenghua waved his hand dismissively, "Perfect timing. I have a few old friends working on a national-level 'Blue Flame' research project, which is also about new energy supporting facilities. They've been stuck on a few key structural issues."

At this point, Yan Zhenghua lowered his voice and spoke in an almost seductive tone that only the two of them could hear:

"The project leader is Academician Li from the Chinese Academy of Sciences."

"Show him this picture, and I guarantee you'll get straight into the team, and after your bachelor's degree, you can go straight to a combined master's and doctoral program. How about that?"

Zhang Yan was stunned for a moment.

A combined Master's and PhD program?

That's unnecessary. After all, with his current net worth, his education is just icing on the cake.

but……

He seemed to have seen the "Blue Flame" project in Nie Qingcheng's pile of documents; it was a key project that Qingcheng Group wanted to bid on next.

If I could get into this project team...

A playful smile curved Zhang Yan's lips.

If you thoroughly understand the client's bid for your wife, wouldn't that be considered a different kind of "living off her"?

"OK."

Zhang Yan nodded and picked up his schoolbag.

"Then I'll trouble Professor Yan to lead the way."