Chapter 536: Digital Academic Index
"Boss Shan…"
Wen Xiaoqian had been waiting quietly outside the door. After hearing Su Yuanshan finish his call, she hesitated a few times before finally pushing the door open.
"Hmm? What is it?" Su asked.
"You said not to be disturbed… but Engineer Chu from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and Professor Tang have been waiting a long time."
"Ah? Please let them in quickly." Su slapped his forehead, remembering what he'd told Wen earlier. He smiled and added, "You really are too by-the-book. If I'm not asleep, it means I'm free."
"…"
As expected, Chu Zhihong had come to confirm Su Yuanshan's position personally.
Seeing that Professor Tang was present, Su repeated his willingness to work with the expert group on deep collaboration. To further demonstrate his openness, he even called Li Yin'an to join them.
Thus, they held a brief pre-meeting consensus discussion right there in Su Yuanshan's office. The mood was warm, and both sides left satisfied.
…
Half a month later, Su Yuanshan boarded a flight to Silicon Valley.
In addition to his secretaries and security team, he brought along Zhang Xiaolong and his crew from the Internet Center. Zhang's mission was twofold: to discuss continued development of Yuanxin's web platforms with Sony's multimedia division, and to meet with Ye Rudai.
Upon landing, as usual, Tang Wenjie and his fiancée Yang Yiwen came to pick them up.
"You're rolling in with quite the entourage now, huh?"
After exchanging pleasantries, Tang sat in the back with Su while Yang drove. Tang nudged him with a laugh. "Getting too big for a private jet?"
"Barely fits—mostly the fuel can't keep up," Su joked, leaning forward on the backrest, then turned to Yang. "Sister-in-law, when's the wedding?"
"As soon as I get my diploma," Tang interrupted before Yang could speak.
Yang gave him a sideways glare in the mirror and said with a smile, "What, you that eager to move into the villa?"
"Yeah, my wallet's been screaming to go to your place with a red envelope."
Yang laughed. "Don't make me laugh while I'm driving… Oh, by the way, Yezi's still in New York. She said to tell you to wait."
Su put on an exaggerated pout. "There goes my surprise…"
"…"
…
In New York, at the headquarters of Science Publishing Group—the publisher of Science magazine—Ye Rudai was in the middle of a negotiation with Editor-in-Chief Mr. Wolfe, about establishing a digital journal indexing system.
"Mr. Wolfe, our search engine technology is without question the most advanced in the world—bar none."
At the conference table, Ye was dressed completely unlike her usual professional self. Ponytail, glasses, and a casual student outfit—just like her assistant and a few technical leads by her side. All of them looked unmistakably like programmers.
Ye didn't speak much. She kept flipping through a document and glancing at her watch.
It was Larry Page who spoke. Though young, he had a prematurely aged look. "In addition to helping with the digitization of Science, we can also assist you in creating a robust indexing system."
"We already have an index," Wolfe's assistant Kaya said with a smile, casting a glance at Ye. "It's not difficult technology."
Page frowned slightly but continued, "But have you considered that with the rise of the internet—"
Ye let out a soft cough and looked up. Page immediately paused and gave her the floor.
"Mr. Kaya, Mr. Wolfe," she said seriously. "Eso's mission is to ensure users can accurately find what they're looking for. For students and scholars, that often means academic articles and knowledge-based pages."
"They can search through our academic indexing portal. And honestly, if a student or researcher doesn't know about our platform, they're probably not qualified in the first place." Wolfe cut in, a little arrogantly.
But he wasn't wrong. (So… Dr. Zhai of CNKI fame… take notes.)
"There's more than just Science, though," Ye countered. "If users could access all journals from a single search bar with relevant keywords, it would be far more efficient than remembering separate websites."
"And let me reiterate—our search technology is industry-leading." She removed her glasses and looked directly at Wolfe. "That's indisputable."
Her blunt tone left the Science team momentarily stunned. Even their digitization engineer, though visibly unhappy, had no rebuttal.
Because Ye was right.
Eso.com held two powerful core patents: hyperlink analysis and page ranking. While these weren't conceptually difficult, the issue was—Eso had actually locked down the space. Everyone was using their engine tech now, including all major web portals.
And when it came to journals… well, let's just say Nature and Science were lifelong rivals.
Sensing the growing tension in the room, Ye eased up slightly. She knew one more push and someone would slam the table.
So she continued, "We also have an intelligent system for calculating impact factors. If we work together, it would make impact factor tracking much more efficient. We could even sort search results by impact factor."
"That would benefit SciencePG significantly."
"We can also offer a paid solution based on copyright usage."
With that, she closed her mouth tightly and waited.
Ye was known for her strong execution. After Zhang Xiaolong suggested the idea, she had immediately convened a team meeting. They all agreed—if Eso could break the walls between digital journal systems, it would be a huge contribution to students and scholars alike.
Ye was thinking even further ahead—content analysis to prevent plagiarism.
That dream was still far off. Right now, every journal was running its own closed-off "digital library." They weren't ready for open systems.
To be frank, Eso's idea was just a little ahead of its time.
But Ye was convinced this was the future. The only thing that annoyed her was how incompatible traditional academic publishers were with the values of the internet—openness and sharing.
They wanted to make money—off knowledge, ideally while doing nothing.
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Chapter 537: Deliberately Arranged
Ye Rudai caught a late-night flight back to San Francisco. When she arrived, it was already 11 PM local time.
Thankfully, Su Yuanshan and Tang Wenjie were there waiting for her.
"This is my assistant, Eula."
After stepping off the plane, Ye gestured toward a young, student-like white woman at her side and introduced her to Su and Tang. Then, without another word, she slipped into the back seat of the car and exhaled deeply.
After a full afternoon of negotiations followed by nearly seven hours in the air, she was completely wiped out.
"What's wrong? Didn't go well?" Su turned around in the front seat, leaning on the backrest with a mischievous grin.
"It was alright. They reluctantly agreed. We'll provide the technical support," Ye replied while massaging her temples. "Has Senior Zhang Xiaolong arrived yet?"
"Would he dare not show up if you summoned him?" Su laughed.
"…" Ye gave him a side glance but then couldn't help chuckling. "Still, this whole thing… Yuanxin shouldn't stay out of it. Breaking down academic walls is a big deal. Right, Eula?"
"Absolutely." The young assistant nodded with perfect composure. Her Mandarin was impressively fluent.
Su nodded. "You two started this initiative—I won't get involved. But if you need help, just ask. That said, I need to warn you: the academic and education systems in China may look undeveloped on the surface, but they're complicated underneath. And honestly… I don't think domestic academic journals are worth much at this stage."
"So you're just giving up on China?" Ye raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not," Su replied. "But anything involving the domestic academic and education world… you know Yuanxin has no real influence there. —Here's what we can do: you make some progress on this side, show us a working prototype. Then we'll try the 'export first, import later' approach. Maybe we can create an entirely new paper indexing system for China."
Su wasn't aiming to build some next-gen CNKI, but since Ye was already halfway there, he didn't mind giving her a push.
At the very least, with Yuanxin backing it, future students might not have to pay such outrageous fees just to check for plagiarism.
…
They chatted casually on the way back to Silicon Valley. After dropping Eula off at her hotel, Tang drove the others back to the villa. By now, it was well past midnight.
Everyone else in the house was already asleep. Tang went to shower, and after saying goodnight, he told them to make themselves at home.
Then, in the quiet of the living room, Su and Ye discovered a very serious issue.
There was only one room left.
Not that there were no rooms—just no guest rooms.
"They did this on purpose…" Su said, staring at the only empty room, looking both amused and helpless.
Ye shot him a look.
Su immediately raised his hands in defense. "I swear, this wasn't my doing. You've got to believe me."
"…" Ye bit her lip, took a few deep breaths, and said softly, "Keep your voice down—should I sleep on the couch?"
"Well… we're both adults." Su looked at her flushed face under the soft lighting and stammered, then muttered with some frustration, "This is worse than last time."
"Hmm? Last time?" Ye looked puzzled.
"Nothing… just grumbling," Su sighed. In his past life, things between them had been far less awkward. On the night before he left the country, things had progressed quite naturally…
"Let's go in. I bet someone's listening to us right now."
"…"
…
Sure enough, upstairs, Tang Wenjie was tiptoeing onto the bed with his phone in hand, using its dim light.
In the faint glow, Yang Yiwen was wide-eyed, silently demanding an update with her expression.
"They're hopeless," Tang chuckled and extended his arm under her pillow. She instinctively laid her head on it.
"What did they say?"
"Something about staying up all night to discuss algorithms… Seriously, is this how kids flirt these days?"
"…" Yiwen blinked, then sighed after a moment. "Definitely new school."
Of course, Su and Ye didn't stay up all night discussing anything.
Su, accustomed to jet lag, could've pulled an all-nighter. But Ye couldn't. And neither of them ended up on the couch—instead, they lay down fully dressed, side by side. Ye drifted off quickly, softly murmuring "mm-hmm" to his occasional words before falling asleep…
Though by morning, Su's arm had gone completely numb from the weight of her head.
**
The next afternoon, Su Yuanshan arrived punctually at Xinghai's headquarters. After a brief meeting with Carrie, he headed straight to a quiet section of the campus.
Ever since Su had "acquired" Lin Benjian's team, they'd been set up here under a partnership arrangement. While officially guests, thanks to Xinghai's relationship with Yuanxin, they had never been treated as outsiders.
In fact, based on some subtle hints from Carrie, Su suspected she might've even wanted to fully absorb Lin's team into Xinghai.
That, of course, was never going to happen.
"Uncle Lin." Su greeted the kindly old man with a warm smile.
"Boss Shan." Lin stood up respectfully and welcomed him into the office.
After a few simple pleasantries and checking how the team had been doing, Su got to the point.
"Uncle Lin, have you ever considered moving into a fab directly?" Su placed down his coffee and sat up straight. "As an expert in this field, you must already know where the semiconductor industry and its supporting equipment are heading."
"Oh, no, I wouldn't dare claim to be an expert…" Lin waved his hands modestly, but the moment Su mentioned industry trends, he grew serious.
He had been in optics for decades. Of course he understood: semiconductor equipment—especially lithography—was no longer simple.
Thirty years ago, lithography wasn't seen as "high-tech." Lens assemblies were often salvaged from cameras.
Now? Just the light source systems alone would've been unimaginable back then.
Such was the magic of technological progress.
"Moving forward, everything will become more specialized. Even if your team only provides support solutions now, you'll still need tight integration with current technologies. Eventually, you'll need to embed directly within fabs or lithography companies. Otherwise, you won't survive."
Su had phrased it gently.
The truth? Teams like Lin's—which offered "know-how" and optimization services—were becoming obsolete. Many senior engineers formed such companies after retirement to monetize their expertise or build retirement funds. Especially in Taiwan, this was common.
But in the future, survival would be dictated by product results. Not advice. Not experience.
Lin's light source group was progressing slowly. They were still stuck in the "solution provider" mindset.
It wasn't going to work.
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Chapter 538: A Lifelong Lover
Lin Benjian accepted Su Yuanshan's assessment without resistance. While Su hadn't pressed for progress directly, it was obvious to both of them that Yuanxin wasn't funding this research for charity—return on investment was expected.
Even Lin, who had always maintained a calm demeanor, was beginning to feel the pressure. Facing the technical and patent barriers thrown up by international competitors, he was starting to recognize his own limitations. Age was catching up with him. The further they went, the harder the road became.
"So what exactly are you proposing, Boss Shan?"
Su lowered his head and thought for a few seconds before lifting his eyes to meet Lin's. "Uncle Lin, come back to Deyuan."
"Back to Shanghai?"
Su nodded. "You know Dr. Zhang Rujin at Deyuan Semiconductor."
Lin smiled faintly. "This industry is small. Everyone knows everyone."
"Exactly—there's no bad blood between you two, is there?"
"Haha, of course not." Lin shook his head, then after a moment's silence, added, "But even if I'm willing to go, my team may not be. You know… nearly all of them have settled down here."
"No problem. If they've built lives here, we'll help them rebuild over there. And, forgive me for being blunt, Uncle Lin: as long as you're willing to return, whether the rest of the team comes or not doesn't matter."
Su looked around the room, half-joking: "No bugs on the walls, right?"
"Haha! None!" Lin chuckled. Even though he knew Su was teasing, he still felt warm inside. "But I can't take full credit for our progress. Without the team, I'd be just an empty figurehead. I wouldn't be of much use."
"Then it's up to you to convince them," Su smiled. "Here's what I can offer: we'll double their current salaries and handle their relocation with care."
"Also, for those who move, I can promise them a share of original stock options."
Upon hearing those words—stock options, and doubled pay—Lin's face finally changed.
He weighed it carefully and eventually nodded. "If those are the conditions, I'll try convincing them."
"Great. But even if you can't bring them all, my bottom line stays the same. You must come back—I'll assemble a new team for you if needed."
…
The next day, Su Yuanshan boarded a plane to Seattle with Ye Rudai, Qin Si, and Fu Zhenhua's security team.
Unlike Silicon Valley, Mr. Gates still preferred to stay at Microsoft's headquarters in Seattle.
After checking into their hotel, Su showered and changed. Qin Si handed him a freshly pressed suit. "Try this on."
"Come on, it's just a casual gathering, not a formal banquet," Su said, amused as he looked at the plain, tagless, tailor-made suit. He could tell someone had ordered it just for him—his measurements were too perfect a fit.
"If I wear a suit, won't Yezi and you have to put on formal dresses too?" He glanced at Ye, who was dressed in jeans, a denim jacket, a baseball cap, sneakers, and headphones around her neck. She looked effortlessly youthful, the way someone her age should look.
"Huh? I'm not wearing a gown," Ye said, fiddling with her MP3 player. "You mean like a wedding dress?"
"Yes!" Su nodded dramatically.
"That's way too much hassle!"
Qin Si rolled her eyes. But looking at these two young people—full of energy, dressed casually, laughing freely—she felt a sudden wave of envy.
She had once been this young.
Now, in a blink, she was nearing thirty.
"Alright, alright, no formalwear. But I'm going to call Gates and let him know, just so he doesn't show up all dressed up while you two look like college kids."
"Don't worry, Qin Si-jie. I bet Mr. Gates hates suits more than I do."
…
A car arranged by Qin Si picked them up from the hotel and drove into a high-end coastal villa district.
This villa had been purchased by Qin Si as part of an investment and was used as a local meeting point for the Xinghai Fund.
Once inside, she gave them a quick tour. It was the kind of opulent luxury that even made someone like Fu Zhenhua uncomfortable. As Su's chief of security, he immediately scanned every angle of the house with a threat-assessment mindset—thinking, "If the FBI comes for us, which window is the best escape route?"
"So extravagant," Ye murmured. It was her first time seeing such lavish decor, but she wasn't exactly unused to wealth. Aside from a quick comment, she took it in stride.
Su Yuanshan, on the other hand, whispered constantly as they walked through the halls: "Qin Si-jie, can we tone it down a little? This is kind of… too flashy, don't you think?"
Qin Si smiled. "We're not just meeting Gates. And not just you, either. Truth is, many Americans eat this kind of thing up."
"True. This is exactly what they mean by the decadence of capitalism…" Su sighed dramatically, checking the time on his watch.
"Alright, Yezi. Time to go greet our guest."
"Okay." Ye stood up and subtly checked her reflection in the gold-framed column beside her, adjusting her hair and checking her MP3. Though she appeared casual, her outfit had been carefully chosen to reflect both youth and professionalism.
She wasn't just representing herself as Su's girlfriend today—she was also representing the next generation of software developers. No matter how relaxed she acted, meeting someone like Bill Gates still came with pressure.
Behind the wrought-iron gates of the villa, a silver Volvo pulled up quietly.
Ye stood beside Su, while Qin Si positioned herself just behind him to the side.
The car door opened, and Gates stepped out first. He immediately turned to open the back door for his companion.
Out stepped an elegant woman in a long dress.
Su Yuanshan blinked.
Ye glanced at her, then leaned toward Su and whispered, "Isn't she supposed to be younger than him? Why does she look older?"
"…That's not his wife," Qin Si murmured from behind.
Su knew too. This woman was the legendary—Gates's lifelong lover.
"Bill, this is my girlfriend, Ye Rudai. You can call her Yezi. Or Dale, either works."
"Oh, Ms. Dale—I've heard your name more than once," Gates said with warmth, shaking her hand. He then stepped aside, gesturing to the smiling, intelligent-looking woman beside him.
"Let me introduce—this is Ann. Ann Winbright. My…"
As Gates searched for the right word, Su Yuanshan stepped forward with perfect timing, smiled, and extended his hand to the woman.
"Ms. Winbright, it's truly an honor to meet you today."
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Chapter 539: The Road to the Future
Although the villa had a grand dining room large enough to resemble a conference hall, for the sake of maintaining a relaxed and homey atmosphere, dinner was served in a smaller parlor.
Su Yuanshan and Ye Rudai sat on one side of the table, across from Gates and his companion. Qin Si, meanwhile, quietly occupied one end, playing the role of a temporary housekeeper.
Wimbrette gently put down her knife, dabbed at the corner of her lips with a napkin, then placed her hands neatly on her lap and turned with a graceful smile to gaze at the unceremonious Bill Gates beside her.
The look in her eyes was so gentle it sparked an inexplicable wave of jealousy in Su Yuanshan.
—Even Ye Rudai, sitting beside him, had never looked at him like that.
He turned toward Ye Rudai. At that exact moment, she turned to look at him. Their eyes met—Ye saw envy in Su's eyes, and Su saw admiration in hers.
Across the table, Qin Si noticed the small exchange and smiled subtly. The fact that Gates had brought his lover tonight was, frankly, fascinating.
Anyone in the IT world knew who Wimbrette was. Nine years older than Gates, yet so brilliant and elegant that the once-young Bill Gates had been utterly captivated by her — and notably, it was she who remained passive in the relationship.
They had spent countless years together, and at one point even hoped to marry. But due to Gates' mother's firm opposition, the two eventually chose to remain "soulmates."
According to rumor, when Gates decided to marry Melinda, he first sought Wimbrette's blessing—and only after receiving it did he proceed. One of the conditions of that marriage was that Gates would retain the right to see Wimbrette and maintain their friendship, including spending one full week together every year.
Of course, as a veteran of Wall Street and Silicon Valley, Qin Si knew even more private details. Mr. Gates had never exactly been synonymous with the word "faithful." Calling him consistent might be a stretch, but "long-lasting" was close enough.
Before long, the group finished dinner and moved up to the second-floor terrace. There, under the starry sky, coffee was brewing.
…
"Dale, I heard you're in talks with SciencePG?"
Wimbrette, Ye Rudai, and Qin Si sat together. After some light small talk, Wimbrette turned to Ye with a smile and asked casually.
"Yes, we're planning to collaborate with global academic publishers to create a comprehensive database," Ye replied quickly. "More precisely, we aim to consolidate journal data through advanced search technology."
She was young and perhaps a bit inexperienced socially, but Qin Si was not. Just before coming upstairs, she had already briefed Ye on the unspoken intention behind Wimbrette's presence tonight.
Gates didn't bring Wimbrette just to show off his impressive lover. He wanted her to act as his representative in the Xinghai Fund.
Now that eso was trying to integrate global academic publishers, it would need more than just technical prowess. Capital and connections were indispensable.
"May I take a closer look?" Wimbrette asked with a smile, her eyes glancing toward Su Yuanshan before carefully masking the admiration and intrigue in her gaze.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the terrace, Su Yuanshan and Gates were having a much more casual and relaxed conversation. With their legs crossed, they began by chatting about recent movies, then shifted to discussions about graphene progress, and finally ended up on Ye Rudai's MP3.
"OK—where did you buy it?" Gates asked.
"At the airport. Got it as soon as I landed."
"You read slowly, then." Gates laughed. "You haven't gotten to the surprise at the end."
"Oh? There's a surprise?"
"Yes. The Road Ahead was heavily inspired by you." Gates looked at him seriously, almost sentimentally. "And I'm amazed to see that your company is running the fastest on that very road."
Su smiled faintly, saying nothing in return.
Truthfully, he hadn't yet finished reading The Road Ahead in this life—though the book had been published late last year and was now everywhere in airport bookstores. He'd picked it up, but hadn't made time to read it.
But in his past life, Su had read it.
At the time, he'd thought Gates was incredibly visionary. Back then, Su had been just an ordinary person going with the flow of the times.
(And by the way, The Road Ahead, written by Gates in 1996, is a must-read to understand why Su is so keen on recruiting him…)
"We just took a few more steps than usual, dared to imagine, and dared to act," Su said with a chuckle. "In that sense, you're still the pioneer—I learned it all from you."
Gates smiled and shook his head. "You're braver than I am."
Su took a sip of coffee and raised an eyebrow. "You mean because Yuanxin is based in mainland China?"
Gates nodded. "Exactly—I mean no offense to your country. But I still believe that if you focused entirely on Silicon Valley, you'd have access to more resources and greater achievements."
"I've heard that from many people," Su said, laughing. "Including Mr. Sanders, who said he'd sic his dog on me if I ever showed up at AMD."
That had been a joke from the grumpy old man, of course—a colorful way of expressing displeasure over Su's "betrayal" after their alliance had fractured. While Intel remained undefeated, their supposed "alliance" was already crumbling.
"I'll admit—if I had stayed here, things would've been much smoother."
Su looked at the three women chatting across the terrace and smiled. "But the challenge would have been less meaningful."
Gates could only chuckle helplessly.
This guy really did prefer to play on hard mode.
"But on the technical side, we've hit some difficulties," Su admitted, his tone turning serious.
Across the table, Qin Si picked up on the cue. She waved subtly to Wen Xiaoqian, who walked over with Su's document bag.
At the same time, the terrace lights slowly brightened.
Su took the bag, pulled out a document, and handed it to Gates.
"This is my vision for 64-bit chips and systems."
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Chapter 540: Preparing to Seize the Market
Su Yuanshan had never expected to pull Microsoft away from Intel during the 32-bit era. The Wintel alliance was simply too entrenched—both in compatibility and user habit—for anyone to break easily.
To put it bluntly, given the current market presence of the Tenglong processor series, Yuanxin wasn't even qualified to play the role of the "mistress," let alone replace the legitimate partner.
But in the future… the story could be different.
Su wasn't sure whether Intel would stubbornly stick to the Itanium path. If they did, it would be like manna from heaven. He swore to himself he'd beat Intel down so hard they wouldn't know what hit them. But if Intel pivoted early, then Su's only move would be to strike first—build rapport with Microsoft, and secure a place in the upcoming 64-bit ecosystem.
This would be Yuanxin's best—and likely only—opportunity to replace Intel in the X86-Windows ecosystem.
Gates, now holding the proposal in hand, was too curious to care about the setting. He began reading it on the spot.
After all, this was a man who could happily spend a weekend reading a hundred-page white paper. Su's draft offered more than just a proposed 64-bit processor architecture—it laid out a vision for future CPUs and operating systems. The conclusion was bold and clear: not only were 64-bit systems inevitable, they needed to be realized sooner rather than later.
Because technology doesn't wait until you're ready to need it—it must always move ahead of demand.
As the night breeze swept across the terrace, Su looked up at the stars while Gates read in silence. A faint meteor streaked across the sky.
Though not a superstitious man, Su silently made a wish:
—Just give me a little more time.
…
"What were you three talking about so happily?"
Gates and Wimbrette didn't stay overnight. Deep into the night, they got in their car and left. Of course, Su had already arranged for someone to drive them.
After they left, Su and Ye Rudai wandered the estate's vast lawn, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
"Oh, just some girl talk," Ye replied, clasping her hands behind her back as she strolled, gently swaying side to side. Being on the West Coast meant fewer mosquitoes—otherwise, with her in short sleeves, they would've lifted her off the ground by now.
"We also discussed eso's long-term goals. Xiao Shan-ge, that Wimbrette… she's incredible, isn't she?"
Su gave her a knowing smile. "If a woman can captivate a man like Gates, do you think 'incredible' even begins to describe her?"
"Yeah… she's brilliant, elegant, articulate, and even her smallest gestures feel warm and gentle. She's like a…"
"A perfect lover?" Su offered, finishing her sentence.
"Yes! A perfect lover!" Ye agreed with a firm nod, then turned to look directly at him. "Is that what you want too?"
"Me?" Su blinked, then broke into a helpless grin. "Why's this about me now?"
"Just answer." Ye locked eyes with him, her expression playful yet penetrating—like she could read him through and through.
Su sighed theatrically, then straightened up and spoke with mock gravity, "Actually, I've been meaning to tell you—I have two lovers."
Ye blinked. Her brow hadn't even fully furrowed before she realized something was off.
This bastard was messing with her.
Sure enough, she caught the playful glint in his eyes—and the anticipation of her reaction.
"Let me guess," she said with a smirk, narrowing her eyes like a mischievous moon goddess. "Miss De and Miss Sai? Or rather, Miss Democracy and Miss Science?"
"Wrong!" Su burst out laughing. "It's Miss Science and Miss Technology."
Because for Su Yuanshan, science and technology were his true lifelong companions.
…
Back in the room, while Ye rested, Su pulled out the autographed copy of The Road Ahead that Gates had signed for him and began to read it in earnest.
It was similar to what he'd read in his past life. In it, Gates boldly envisioned the future—a world of interconnected devices, handheld terminals with PC-level capabilities, and a new type of "smartphone."
Clearly, this version had been influenced by Su himself.
He flipped to the final pages and saw his own name mentioned in the acknowledgements. Gates had credited Su as one of the inspirations behind the book.
Su smiled.
In his past life, the book had made little impact in China. But internationally, as Gates became the world's richest man, and the semiconductor industry entered a rapid expansion, the book became a kind of industry gospel. It gave the IT world tremendous confidence—so much so that it helped inflate the tech bubble at a breathtaking pace.
(A side note: Musk's manipulation of crypto markets really taught me a lesson—no, I didn't buy in, but I did realize just how terrifying personal financial influence can be.)
In the study next door, Su found Qin Si, who was finishing her meeting notes from the day.
"Sister Qin Si, I think it's time we started scooping up shares in internet companies. Short-term holdings, two-year window."
"Huh? I thought you didn't like the stock market," Qin Si asked, puzzled.
Starsea Fund had always preferred long-term investments. Compared to the ups and downs of the stock market, that approach had a more controlled and systematic risk model.
"I don't—but seeing easy money and not taking it… feels wrong. And we do have a lot of cash, right?"
"Plenty, but we'd need to liquidate some assets."
"Then do it. Take what we can while the bubble's still inflating. You've probably already made moves on NASDAQ, haven't you?"
Qin Si gave a small smile. "I may be modestly wealthy, but you're right. Tech stocks right now are like a money grab. It's hard to sit still and not get in."
"Exactly. Let's rake in what we can before the bubble bursts. We'll need that capital later."
She froze.
In that moment, seeing Su Yuanshan's expression—calm, but unusually sincere—she understood that this wasn't just a prediction.
He had seen it coming.
The bubble was going to burst.
And since taking charge of Su's investment division, she had studied his thinking more deeply than she'd studied the market itself.
Every analysis. Every instruction. Every subtle lean in Yuanxin's or Xinghai's strategy.
The deeper she studied, the more she realized—Su Yuanshan had never once been wrong.
Many people sensed the internet bubble was forming. But no one—not even Wall Street's top analysts—could say exactly when it would pop.
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