I met my whole family through Baidu Tieba.

Shen Kang came to the High-tech Zone this time, and made a special trip to Qianmin University. Besides having dinner with Yin Mingyang, one of the reasons was that the "warehouses" had not yet been officially approved.

Yin Mingyang hummed in agreement.

Shen Kang asked, "Are you aware of the specifics?"

Yin Mingyang shook his head: "I don't know much about it. Su Yali did talk to Dean Ding, but Dean Ding only said that he was working on it, without going into details."

Shen Kang thought for a moment and said, "Maybe he feels that even if he says something, you can't help him much."

"That's possible."

"Alright, you've escaped unscathed today. I was hoping to extort dinner from you, but it looks like that won't work now."

As Shen Kang spoke, he took out his own phone and made a call to Ding Zhentao, the dean of the Computer Science Department at Qianmin University.

"Hey, Dean Ding, this is Shen Kang... I have some business to take care of in the High-tech Zone today, and I just happen to be passing by Qianmin University... Now? It's lunchtime, so how about... okay."

After finishing the call, Shen Kang held his phone in his hand, pondering deeply.

Yin Mingyang looked at him enviously, "Old Shen, are you treating us to dinner? Should I invite Su Yali too?"

When Shen Kang last visited Qianmin University, he treated Dean Ding to a meal before leaving, and took him and Su Yali with him.

Shen Kang's hospitality was quite generous, and Yin Mingyang was very satisfied with that meal. Now that Shen Kang seemed to be treating again, he was naturally happy as well.

Shen Kang also came to his senses.

"No need to call her. Dean Ding has something to do tonight and won't have time for dinner."

Upon hearing this, Yin Mingyang was quite disappointed. "Then it seems I still can't escape this fate. I'll still have to treat you to dinner this time. Sigh..."

Inviting Shen Kang to eat at the cafeteria was fine, but he was still disappointed that he couldn't go to that restaurant to mooch a meal from Shen Kang.

Shen Kang had already put away his phone. Upon hearing this, he said, "It's hard to say. Dean Ding is free to see me now, so I need to go over. If we talk for too long, we might miss lunch, so you won't have to treat me to this meal."

Yin Mingyang nodded. "Okay, then you go first." With that, he turned around, grabbed the car door, and was about to get out, but his hand stopped on the door handle.

He turned back to Shen Kang, looking at him hesitantly, and asked, "Old Shen, you know, I was originally thinking that if I decided to pursue Shi Mengting, I would break up with Huang Jing. But then I suddenly thought, could I do this? I wouldn't break up with Huang Jing either, and I could secretly pursue Shi Mengting. If it doesn't work out, I'd still have Huang Jing as a backup."

Shen Kang thought to himself, "This kid really treats me like a brother. He even tells me these kinds of thoughts. Isn't he afraid that I'll expose him?"

Of course, Yin Mingyang might also know himself well and be sure that he wouldn't reveal it, which is why he dared to speak so boldly.

Thinking this through, Shen Kang said, "Have you considered what you'd do if you succeeded and ended up with both of them?"

Yin Mingyang pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Would it be possible to talk to both at the same time?"

"...You're awesome."

Shen Kang gave him a thumbs up and then asked, "Have you ever thought about it? They're both from Qianmin University. What if one day you and Huang Jing are walking hand in hand on campus, and Shi Mengting walks towards you and happens to see Huang Jing feeding you? What would you do then?"

Guo Pinyan talked about two people, but they were from different schools.

Yin Mingyang hadn't really thought about this problem before, and upon hearing it, he began to ponder. After a moment, he looked up at Shen Kang with a clear expression, "Yes, what should we do?"

"..."

Shen Kang was exasperated with this kid and too lazy to waste words with him, so he simply pushed him out, saying, "Alright, alright, think about it yourself. I'm in a hurry to see Dean Ding."

After pushing Yin Mingyang out of the car, Shen Kang also got out. Instead of going to the driver's seat, he stared in the direction Yin Mingyang had left.

After getting off the bus and saying goodbye, Yin Mingyang turned his back and walked towards the cafeteria. He took out his phone and made a call. While on the phone, his voice was gentle: "Jingjing, shall we have dinner together tonight?...

Shen Kang watched silently.

Actually, this was the first time he had ever seen Yin Mingyang like this.

In his previous life, after graduating, Yin Mingyang found an office job in a medium-sized company and climbed the ranks step by step. Before Shen Kang died, Yin Mingyang had also become a team leader, neither high nor low, just an ordinary person.

As for relationships, Yin Mingyang started going on blind dates through family introductions a few years after graduation. He was quite lucky and got together with his partner on his first blind date.

Yin Mingyang's wife is an ordinary-looking woman, but she has a very good personality. She is good at managing the household and is also gentle and considerate. The couple has always been very loving.

Therefore, in Shen Kang's memory, his old friend was, to a large extent, a "good, honest man" in the traditional sense.

Unexpectedly, this rebirth allowed her to see another side of Yin Mingyang.

The reborn butterfly within me has flapped its wings, and the impact is growing ever larger...

After watching silently for a while, Shen Kang got into the car and drove towards the teaching building area.

After arriving at the destination and parking the car, Shen Kang went up to Ding Zhentao's office.

Ding Zhentao was already waiting inside.

Upon seeing Shen Kang enter, Ding Zhentao even stood up, said "Please sit wherever you like," and then personally poured Shen Kang a cup of tea.

It seems things aren't looking good. Shen Kang thought silently, thanked Ding Zhentao for the tea, and then sat down with him on the guest sofa on one side of the office.

The two sat facing each other, with a small coffee table between them.

Ding Zhentao picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, looked at Shen Kang, thought for a moment, and then said, "Little Shen, I know why you came to see me today, so I won't waste any more words and will just tell you the current situation."

"After that last time, I started pushing for those shops, but the situation is not good."

"It seems you won't be able to acquire those shops you wanted. And that's not even the worst part. What's worse is that even if you stop focusing on those shops, you might not be able to open shops in other parts of the Qianmin University campus."

At this point, Ding Zhentao looked guilty and gave a bitter smile—he had made a solemn promise back then, but ended up messing up a junior's job, making him feel utterly ashamed.

The people who approached him originally wanted those shops. His interference only made things worse; he didn't get the shops, and instead blocked their path to Qianmin University. It was truly shameful, and he felt he had let them down.

Ding Zhentao guessed that Shen Kang must be very resentful of him right now, but upon closer inspection, Shen Kang's expression was very calm.

"He's very composed," Ding Zhentao thought to himself.

Shen Kang smiled and asked, "So, Dean Ding, what exactly happened?"

Ding Zhentao hesitated for a moment.

He didn't want to talk about this, but since he had messed things up, he had to give people an explanation, so he had no choice but to tell them.

"The school approves of and is happy to promote the public welfare project that your Xianyu.com and Nuanyang Society are collaborating on. However, there's a slight disagreement regarding the offline store project..."

Shen Kang listened quietly.

Ding Zhentao's statement was rather subtle.

However, he still understood what was going on:

A student at Chien Min University also started a campus forum business. Through Ding Zhentao, Chien Min University learned about Shen Kang's "online-offline closed-loop" model for campus forums. Therefore, they decided that Beiming Forum could be included, as the university couldn't control what websites students visited. However, physical stores fell under the university's jurisdiction and were not allowed.

In addition, you can also participate in the public welfare projects that Xianyu.com and Nuanyang Society collaborate on.

In short, Qianmin University wants both: they want the public welfare project of Xianyu.com and Nuanyang Society, and they also want to protect the campus forum entrepreneurship project of Qianmin University students.

Local protectionism?

Shen Kang was a little surprised.

However, upon closer reflection, it doesn't seem entirely unexpected: He recalled that in 2021, the State Council issued the "Guiding Opinions of the General Office on Further Supporting College Students' Innovation and Entrepreneurship," which explicitly required "promoting the development and sharing of innovation and entrepreneurship resources" and emphasized that universities should "break down school-level barriers" rather than setting up protectionist thresholds.

Guess why such guidelines were specifically issued? There's a reason, of course.

Thinking this through, Shen Kang asked, "Protecting the school's projects?"

Ding Zhentao denied this title, saying, "To be precise, the school does not exclude similar projects from other schools. Everything is based on objectivity, fairness, and non-school affiliation. However, specific situations need to be analyzed specifically. For example, when the school opens up shop resources, it also needs to consider the limitations of resource carrying capacity. If similar business formats, such as milk tea shops, have already reached their carrying capacity limit, then the school will not open up access to milk tea shops."

"There are also requirements for project quality and compliance, as well as guarantees of procedural justice..."

Shen Kang understood that Qianmin University wasn't explicitly saying, "We don't allow your offline stores to come in." On the contrary, Qianmin University was very tolerant.

However, each of his three physical stores had some conflict with the school's on-campus business policies, which is why they couldn't be brought in.

It's just a coincidence.

Shen Kang thought for a moment, then cut to the chase and asked another question: "Dean Ding, this seems a bit complicated. With all this fuss, does that student have some kind of background?"

Ding Zhentao hesitated for a moment, then softly hummed in agreement.

Shen Kang asked again, "Very big? The kind where all the school's top officials are all in one place?"

Ding Zhentao immediately shook his head, "It's not that bad. I'd say just one."

After asking a few more questions, Shen Kang had a better understanding of the situation.

If the other party has already connected the entire area, then he really needs to consider whether to withdraw from the Qianmin Market. Although he still has some ways to force things, those methods are too forceful and will strain relations with the school, which would be counterproductive.

However, judging from what Ding Zhentao said, there was only one opponent who overpowered him, while the others were neutral. So there is still a lot of room for maneuver.

At this moment, Ding Zhentao sighed again and said, "It's also my fault. If I hadn't spoken up, even if you couldn't take those shops, you could have sneaked in quietly. But things aren't settled yet, I'll try again."

Shen Kang laughed and comforted Ding Zhentao instead: "Dean Ding, what does this have to do with you? Since the other side can do this now, even if you don't mention it, they will find out if we really get in. Then they will still have various ways to keep us out."

Ding Zhentao was somewhat surprised and glanced at Shen Kang a few more times.

He understood this principle, but he didn't intend to tell Shen Kang. He knew that even if he did, Shen Kang might not believe him, and it would seem as if he were making excuses. He wouldn't be able to appease Shen Kang, and he would be unnecessarily lowering his stance. Ding Zhentao also had his own pride, so he simply didn't bother to say anything.

Unexpectedly, Shen Kang was able to figure it out on his own.

Ding Zhentao nodded silently, then asked, "So what are your plans next?"

Shen Kang grinned. "What should we do? It's already past five o'clock, so of course we should have dinner first. Let's go, Dean Ding, it's on me."

Ding Zhentao was taken aback, then chuckled and shook his head repeatedly, "I've met quite a few optimists, but someone as optimistic as you, Xiao Shen, is truly rare. You have the kind of spirit that says, 'Even if the sky falls, I'll use it as a blanket.'"

Influenced by Shen Kang, Ding Zhentao's gloomy mood improved considerably, and he grew to like and appreciate Lao Xiao's adopted son more and more.

"But I won't be eating dinner."

Ding Zhentao simply didn't have the face to go back to dinner.

Shen Kang glanced at Ding Zhentao's face and didn't press the matter. "Alright, then I'll owe you this meal for now. I'll treat you to a meal when my three stores open."

Ding Zhentao laughed heartily and said generously, "If your three stores open here, don't worry about inviting me, I'll do it!"

Shen Kang pondered for a moment; Dean Ding seemed to harbor some resentment. However, it wasn't directed at him, but rather at someone else.

His gossipy nature was reignited.

However, it wasn't appropriate to ask directly, so he beat around the bush, putting on a friendly front, and asked, "Dean Ding, how does your school discuss and decide on such matters? I'm fine. Of course, if it's inconvenient, then forget it."

Ding Zhentao shook his head. "There's nothing inconvenient about it, and it's not a secret. You'll find out easily if you ever get involved in university administration."

"This kind of matter, because it involves those shops and there's a possibility of state-owned assets being lost, falls under the 'major issues requiring a special meeting to discuss.' As the dean, I have the right to propose it, but not the right to make the decision. The decision-making power belongs to a few other people..."

After listening intently for a while, Shen Kang finally understood.

Simply put, Ding Zhentao was only allowed to give reports during meetings and had no other authority, so he was constantly being criticized by someone, which naturally made him feel aggrieved. And this happened not just once, but twice.

Dean Ding did put in some effort, but it was simply a matter of insufficient strength, not a failure in battle. Shen Kang thought to himself.

Having heard all the gossip, Ding Zhentao didn't go for dinner, and Shen Kang took his leave as well.

As I went downstairs, I was thinking about how to resolve this matter.

When he reached the first-floor corridor, he was still clueless, but suddenly Shen Kang felt a jolt in his heart. He sensed that someone was watching him, so he looked up.