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

The thought only flashed through her mind, and she quickly shook her head.

The competition still requires SEP4020; it's too early to think about these things now.

But she still remembered what that Nokia phone looked like: a silver slider with a chipped top right corner and half the screen broken.

"That game of yours," she changed the subject, her voice still soft, "what is it about?"

Ye Ming paused for a moment: "A word game, a life simulation. Players choose attributes, trigger events, and finally generate a life summary."

Shen Zhiyi nodded, her eyes brightening slightly: "Then... what attributes can players choose? How are the events triggered?"

She asked very seriously, not as a polite remark, but because she genuinely wanted to know.

Ye Ming glanced at her and gave a brief explanation.

Appearance, intelligence, physique, and family background are each allocated 20 points. Events are affected by these attributes, leading to different outcomes.

Shen Zhiyi listened, nodding occasionally.

After he finished speaking, she whispered, "That sounds... quite interesting. That sense of randomness will make players want to play it repeatedly."

Ye Ming hummed in agreement.

Shen Zhiyi added, "I don't actually play games much, but this... I'd like to give it a try."

After she finished speaking, her ears turned a little redder.

They all love to try new things.

Once the game is released, I'll ask you guys to be my free promoters!

Ye Ming glanced at her but didn't say anything, his expression suggesting he was considering something.

After a few seconds of silence, Shen Zhiyi spoke again: "So...from now on, you'll only be making games?"

Ye Ming paused for a moment: "No. This is just the first step."

Shen Zhiyi blinked, waiting for him to continue.

Ye Ming lowered his head, took a bite of rice, and said firmly, "I want to use the money I make from games to do something else. Smartphones and smart devices are more interesting areas."

Shen Zhiyi was stunned for a moment.

cell phone?

She remembered that day on the bus when he talked about what future cell phones would look like.

It's a single piece of black tempered glass with no buttons on the front. When the device is on, it's a single screen, and when it's off, it's a single piece of glass.

At the time, she thought he was just saying it casually.

"You remember..." she whispered, "the cell phone you mentioned on the bus that day?"

Ye Ming nodded.

Of course I remember.

"That idea is excellent."

She said her voice was still soft, but more serious than usual: "The current mobile phone architecture actually has a lot of room for optimization. Although Android is open source, to run smoothly on specific hardware, a lot of customization and adaptation of the underlying layers is required."

Ye Ming looked up at her.

She didn't notice his gaze and continued speaking, as if lost in her own world:

"I've been researching ARM architecture processors recently. The SEP4020 used at Southeast University has too low a clock speed, making it too difficult to run Android. But if we choose a more powerful chip, redesign the PCB board, improve the peripheral circuitry, and then deeply customize the system, it's actually possible to make it work."

She paused, then said, "I've designed several PCBs myself, from the schematic to the routing. The first prototype I got back had interference on the power layer, so I revised it, and now that board is working."

Ye Ming listened intently.

He knew Shen Zhiyi was from the School of Information Science and Technology, but he didn't expect her to have reached this level, drawing PCBs, designing circuits, and debugging them herself.

"Do you usually spend your time in the lab?" he asked.

Shen Zhiyi nodded, then shook her head: "I spend most of my time in the lab, working on some projects with Professor Shi. Occasionally, I'll tinker with some things on my own."

She suddenly realized she had said too much, lowered her head, and her ears turned red again.

Ye Ming looked at her and his lips twitched slightly.

This girl has quite a contrasting personality.

"The School of Information Science and Technology at Southeast University... is very strong in embedded systems?" he asked.

Shen Zhiyi thought for a moment and answered seriously, "They're quite strong. Professor Shi Xinglong was among the first group of people in China to work on ARM processors, and the National ASIC Center is located in our college. They made SEP3203 and SEP4020. Although they are still far from commercial use, they have accumulated a lot of technical expertise."

She glanced at Ye Ming and added, "Professor Ling is giving a lecture recently on the development trends of embedded systems. If you're interested, you can go and listen."

Ye Ming nodded and silently made a mental note of it.

He didn't know much about hardware in his previous life, but now that he's been reborn, since he wants to make mobile phones, he has to make up for it sooner or later.

"What kind of projects do you usually work on?" he asked.

Shen Zhiyi thought for a moment: "Professor Shi's projects are mainly embedded system design competition projects. Last year, there were projects on electronic tour guides, campus intelligent energy-saving systems, and English learning machines."

She paused, a little embarrassed, "These aren't anything fancy. Using a low-end chip like the SEP4020, you can't achieve very good results."

Ye Ming looked at her: "What about the one you participated in?"

Shen Zhiyi whispered, "What I want to do is modify Android and make it run on the SEP4020. Everyone says I'm crazy; that chip struggles even with WinCE, let alone running Android."

As she spoke, her eyes shone brightly: "But I've tried. By cutting some system services and optimizing memory management, Android can barely run on SEP4020 now, but it only lasts for three minutes at most."

Ye Ming was taken aback: "You've tried it?"

Shen Zhiyi nodded, a hint of barely concealed smugness in her voice: "Yes."

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and added softly, "Of course, if we can really make the kind of phone you described, we'll definitely win the grand prize in this competition."

Ye Ming looked at her.

Sunlight fell on her profile, and her eyelashes trembled gently in the light and shadow.

When she talked about these things, she was completely different from the timid Shen Zhiyi she usually was.

"That's already amazing," he said.

Shen Zhiyi paused for a moment, then looked up.

Ye Ming had already lowered his head and continued eating, as if he hadn't said those words earlier.

But she heard it.

She lowered her head, and a slight smile curved her lips.

The two remained silent for a while.

Ye Ming suddenly asked, "If we were to make the kind of phone you described in the future, what kind of hardware would we need?"

Shen Zhiyi thought for a moment and answered seriously, "A more powerful processor, at least ARM11 or higher. The screen driver needs to be redesigned, and a suitable touch IC needs to be chosen. Also, power management is too power-consuming with the current solution..."

As she was talking, she suddenly realized something.

The sound faded.

"Are you... interested in this?"

She asked tentatively, her voice soft, carrying a hint of uncertainty and a cautious anticipation.

Ye Ming glanced at her.

She didn't look at him, her head was down, her ears were red, and her fingers were twisting together under the table.

"Of course," he said.

Being interested is useless; let's get "Rebirth Simulator" online first.

Shen Zhiyi paused for a moment, then looked up.

Ye Ming had already lowered his head and continued eating, as if he hadn't said those words earlier.

But she saw it; he had a smile in his eyes.

She lowered her head and continued eating.

The sunlight fell warmly on the table between the two of them.

She didn't ask anything more, but she had already silently made a mental note of it.

He was interested.

He was interested in this.

Then she...

She bit her lip, stopping herself from thinking about it any further.

After finishing his meal, Ye Ming stood up and said, "I'll take you home."

Shen Zhiyi shook her head: "No need, I can walk by myself."

She stood up, glanced at him, then lowered her head again: "Thank you... for treating me to dinner."

Ye Ming hummed in agreement.

Shen Zhiyi turned and walked out.

After walking a few steps, she stopped again and looked back at him.

Ye Ming was still standing in the same spot.

She looked away and walked away quickly.

The soft sound of small, round-toed black leather shoes on the ground faded into the distance.

Ye Ming watched her figure disappear at the cafeteria entrance, then glanced down at the ointment in his hand.

In his past life, no one had ever cared for him like this.

My colleagues at the office and my ex-wife whom I met through a blind date—everyone got what they wanted, and we were all very polite to each other.

She is different.

bah bah bah!

How did I come up with this flag?

This is insane, absolutely insane.

However, this girl is indeed beautiful.

Another devil trying to ruin my career!

He put the ointment in his pocket and walked towards the computer room.

The sunlight fell on my shoulders, feeling warm and cozy.