Reborn not to be a beast of burden, I set the rules.

Ye Ming's eyes lit up.

Coincidentally, I knew that too.

"You want to make an Android smartphone? DIY it yourself?" he asked.

Shen Zhiyi turned her head and looked at Ye Ming with surprise, her beautiful eyes seemingly sparkling with stars.

"You know about Android too? I'm majoring in Information Engineering. Professor Shi from our School of Information Science and Technology asked me to participate in the Southeast University Embedded System Design Competition, and I've already registered."

When she talks about her areas of expertise, she becomes a completely different person.

No longer timid, no longer speaking softly, speaking faster, and with a light in his eyes.

"I've done my research, and Android is the most suitable and also the most challenging direction. But we're stuck now. We need to use the SEP4020 processor, which is too weak to run Android 1.5. If all else fails, we might have to switch to WinCE."

Ye Ming listened attentively.

I couldn't understand her words, but I could tell she was serious.

"Which phone design do you want to imitate?" he asked.

Shen Zhiyi took her phone out of her bag and handed it to him.

"I think this HTC Hero G3 is very beautiful, take a look."

Ye Ming took the phone, looked at it, and shook his head.

"It's alright, but I don't like the design. The chin is sticking out, and there's a trackball; it's not pure enough."

Shen Zhiyi paused for a moment, and the light in her eyes dimmed.

"Don't you like it?"

Ye Ming noticed her disappointment and softened his tone.

It's not that I don't like your ideas, it's that I don't like HTC's design.

If I were to design a phone, I would use a single piece of black tempered glass with no buttons on the front. It would be invisible unless illuminated, and only become visible when illuminated.

When powered on, it's a single, continuous screen; when powered off, it's a single piece of glass.

Anyway, making empty promises doesn't cost money.

As Shen Zhiyi listened, her eyes lit up again.

"Capacitive touch buttons? Like Apple's, but even more refined?"

"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean." Ye Ming nodded. "When it's not turned on, it's a completely black, one-piece design with no openings or buttons, just a seamless whole."

Shen Zhiyi clenched her little fists, her expression extremely serious.

"It sounds even better than an apple... I'll try my best."

But after a few seconds, she felt a little frustrated.

"But the competition requires the SEP4020, which has very poor performance. I want to make a prototype that looks good and works, not just a pretty face."

Ye Ming looked at her dejected expression.

"Then let's modify it drastically."

"Modified?" Shen Zhiyi blinked, not quite understanding.

"Deeply customize Android, cut unnecessary features, optimize your processor, expand memory, and modify hardware. There's always a solution to every problem."

Shen Zhiyi was stunned for a moment, then fell into deep thought.

"We've arrived at our stop. Let's get off." Ye Ming stood up.

Shen Zhiyi was still thinking about the "modification" and didn't notice that she bumped into Ye Ming's back.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Her face turned bright red instantly, and she backed away repeatedly.

The soft touch still lingered on my back.

Not again? Charging someone with the ball?

"It's okay, let's go." His voice was a little dry.

We've arrived at Zhujiang Road.

High-rise buildings line both sides of the road, with Xiongshi Electronics Mall, Buynow, and Huahai Digital Plaza standing side by side.

The loudspeaker blared promotional messages, drawing a large crowd of students assembling computers, merchants buying goods, and passersby.

Ye Ming stood at the intersection.

Shen Zhiyi walked beside him and suddenly straightened her chest.

"Come with me, no one can cheat you."

They seem quite confident.

Ye Ming glanced at her.

She didn't look at him, but her ears turned red again.

The two walked inside side by side.

As they walked, Shen Zhiyi asked him what he needed.

Ye Ming said, "Just make a text-based interactive game that runs smoothly."

Shen Zhiyi asked about the situation in detail, and after getting a better understanding of it, she took him to a shop she was familiar with.

She doesn't talk much, but every time she does, it's to the point.

In a store that mainly sells ThinkPads, Ye Ming took a liking to the SL400, which was priced at 5,200 yuan.

Shen Zhiyi leaned forward to look at the configuration list, then carefully examined the laptop, and frowned.

She didn't say anything, but tugged at Ye Ming's sleeve.

Ye Ming understood and followed her out of the store.

"That's most likely a refurbished machine; the screen isn't original," she whispered.

Ye Ming was taken aback. "How did you figure that out?"

Shen Zhiyi lowered her head, her fingers gripping the bag strap.

"The screen number does not match the machine number."

He paused, then added another sentence.

"I've dismantled many."

After saying that, she quickly looked up at Ye Ming, then lowered her head again.

Ye Ming looked at her.

Her ears were red, like a child waiting for praise.

Okay, you're capable.

"Which one should we go to?" he asked.

Shen Zhiyi raised her head, a glint of light flashing in her eyes.

"Go straight ahead, there's an old shop next to the Lion Electronics City that I recognize."

That shop is really honest.

The boss was a man in his fifties who smiled when he saw Shen Zhiyi.

"Little girl, you're here again? What are you buying today?"

Shen Zhiyi shook her head and pointed at Ye Ming.

"He bought a computer, a T series, in good condition."

The boss glanced at Ye Ming, then at Shen Zhiyi, his eyes holding a meaningful look.

What are you looking at?

"Okay, I'll look for it for you."

He rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a ThinkPad T400, handing it to Ye Ming.

"Take a look at this, the T series, durable and with good heat dissipation."

Shen Zhiyi leaned closer and examined the screen and keyboard carefully.

Then he whispered to Ye Ming.

"This one is good, better than the previous one."

Ye Ming nodded.

"How much?"

The boss held up a hand.

"Five thousand, fixed price."

Shen Zhiyi glanced at Ye Ming.

Ye Ming didn't say anything, but took out his wallet.

Shen Zhiyi said softly.

"It's two hundred cheaper than the previous one."

After saying that, she pursed her lips, looking a little smug.

After paying, Ye Ming picked up his laptop and walked out.

He turned around after leaving the store.

"Thank you."

Shen Zhiyi shook her head.

"It's nothing...you saved me yesterday."

The two walked side by side down the street.

The sun was shining brightly, but Zhujiang Road was still as noisy as ever.

But Ye Ming felt that it wasn't so noisy anymore.

The two continued walking forward.

A person is walking towards me.

It was Lin Zhixia, the class's life committee member. She fainted from heatstroke during military training, and Ye Ming helped her call the counselor.

She also came to browse the electronics market, holding several price lists in her hand.

Upon seeing Ye Ming, she paused for a moment, about to greet him, but her gaze fell on Shen Zhiyi.

The girl was wearing a light blue dress, her skin was so white it seemed to glow, and she stood quietly next to Ye Ming, like moonlight.

Lin Zhixia paused for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"Ye Ming, what a coincidence."

Ye Ming nodded: "Here to buy something?"

"Hmm, let's take a look at the accessories." Lin Zhixia glanced at Shen Zhiyi, then at Ye Ming.

She didn't ask any further questions, just smiled. "Then you go ahead with your business, I'll go shopping now."

After taking a few steps, I couldn't help but look back again.

The two had walked away side by side, the girl's skirt swaying gently in the wind.

Lin Zhixia withdrew her gaze and gently shook her head.

At another stall, Wang Chao was helping a relative choose a computer.

He looked up and saw Ye Ming and Shen Zhiyi walking side by side.

Shen Zhiyi's profile fell into his eyes; her cool eyebrows and fair skin were like moonlight.

Wang Chao stared wide-eyed.

He only came to his senses after everyone had walked away.

A surge of inexplicable jealousy welled up inside me.

Why would someone like Ye Ming have such beautiful girls around him?

But then he thought about it again.

A bird in the hand is worth more than a hundred birds in the forest.

That kind of girl is obviously hard to pursue. Ye Ming is probably just wasting his time and will definitely fail.

That laptop is obviously for girls; it's a waste of money, you can't even hold hands with her.

Su Qing is more reliable. At least she didn't resist when I touched her hand. I need to hurry up and win her over.

He stared at Ye Ming's back for a few seconds, a hint of resentment and envy flashing in his eyes, before turning back to continue helping his relative choose a computer.

It was almost midnight by the time I finished shopping at the electronics market.

Shen Zhiyi stood by the roadside.

Are you still shopping this afternoon?

Ye Ming shook his head: "I have something to do when I go back to school this afternoon."

Shen Zhiyi said "Oh".

She paused, then whispered.

"Well... I still have some components to buy, you should go back to school first."

Ye Ming nodded, then thought for a moment and added, "Take the main roads as much as possible, and get back before dark."

Shen Zhiyi nodded obediently, turned to leave, but turned back after taking two steps.

"You, that, that game of yours, if you have any questions... you can ask me."

Ye Ming looked at her.

Her ears turned red again.

"I mean... a technical issue."

This girl is quite helpful.

Ye Ming nodded.

"it is good."

Shen Zhiyi pursed her lips, turned around and left.

After taking a few steps, he looked back again.

Ye Ming was still standing in the same spot.

She quickly turned back, her pace quickening.

The light blue skirt swayed gently in the wind, and the white canvas shoes made a soft sound as they stepped on the ground.

Ye Ming watched her figure disappear into the crowd, recalling how her eyes lit up when she talked about Android on the bus.

He looked down at the computer he had just bought.

Smartphones are such a great direction, it's just a shame I don't have enough money.