Chapter 117: Overwhelming Victory
After parking the car, An Tong went straight to Ling Qi’s residence.
It wasn’t entirely surprising—after all, a girl pursuing a combined master’s and doctoral program, who claimed to work part-time to support herself, actually lived in the stacked villa district of the Yue Mansion.
Ling Qi probably found it unusual too. While changing her shoes, she voluntarily confessed, “Madam, this house... was lent to me by the boss.”
“Ninth Brother?” An Tong was momentarily taken aback.
Ling Qi nodded hurriedly. “Yes, yes. The boss was worried you’d feel unfamiliar in Zhanzhou, so he arranged for me to live nearby to keep you company when I’m free.”
This excuse was nearly perfect; even Ling Qi almost believed it herself after making it up.
An Tong regarded her calmly. Before she could speak, Ling Qi quickly added, “Madam, please don’t misunderstand—I have no relationship with the boss at all. I paid for this house myself...”
Ling Qi was terrified.
She regretted bringing An Tong here; if this caused any misunderstanding, the boss would surely fire her.
An Tong didn’t misunderstand; she was just surprised at how much Rong Shen had arranged behind her back.
Although some things seemed unusual, she was too indifferent to speculate or argue.
Firstly, she trusted Ling Qi’s character; secondly, she firmly believed Rong Shen had his reasons for everything he did.
An Tong didn’t pursue the topic further. She followed Ling Qi into the living room and immediately noticed the distinct decoration style.
It resembled a battle-damaged aesthetic—simply put, shabby.
An Tong assumed it was Ling Qi’s unique taste. After a brief glance, she proceeded to the study.
In the simply furnished study, Ling Qi opened the desktop computer and logged into the coding page. She pointed to a line of small text. “Right here. No matter how I write it, the final tested program always has problems.”
An Tong leaned on the desk with one hand, grabbed the mouse, and scrolled up and down. “There’s nothing wrong with this code. Have you tested the algorithms it applies?”
Ling Qi widened her eyes in confusion. “Algorithm instructions aren’t my responsibility... and I don’t know how.”
She said the last four words with complete confidence.
An Tong was both amused and exasperated.
“Madam, you can... apply algorithms?”
An Tong said she knew a bit.
Ling Qi immediately stood up and gestured to the chair invitingly. “Please, you take over.”
An Tong sat down, placing her hands on the keyboard, and asked calmly, “Could you get me a cup of coffee?”
“Of course. Instant coffee okay?”
“That’ll do, thank you.”
Ling Qi dashed to the kitchen, phone in hand, beginning to report to Rong Shen.
After sending the message successfully, she paced back and forth, deeply shocked.
To Ling Qi, applying algorithms and coding were entirely different matters.
Algorithm design was far more difficult, requiring multiple steps and logical judgment.
Despite three or four years of study, she still couldn’t grasp the logical thinking and layered steps in algorithms.
But for Madam, it was as easy as picking something out of a bag.
At the other end, Rong Shen had already returned to the Yue Mansion villa.
Seeing Ling Qi’s report, he raised an eyebrow, a trace of contemplation flickering in his eyes.
It wasn’t strange that An Tong could code—she was interested in it and likely influenced by her father, An Xianghuai.
But how had she learned to apply algorithms?
Even though Rong Corporation Technology employed countless technical talents, algorithm engineer positions remained scarce.
An Tong actually knew how?
Rong Shen pondered for a moment, then directly called Yi Ke.
The man got straight to the point. “When you studied with An Tong back then, apart from piano, did she have any other specialties?”
Yi Ke was busy with something; the background noise was loud.
He found a quiet corner, phone wedged between shoulder and ear, and thoughtfully replied, “Quite a few, I think. Why do you ask?”
“What are they? Tell me.”
Yi Ke paused for two seconds, then chuckled teasingly, “Why don’t you ask little An Tong yourself? Did you two have a fight?”
Silence fell over the call.
“Ninth Brother, you’re hopeless,” Yi Ke lamented, forcing a smile. “Honestly, I don’t know much. I only know she studied piano because she was interested. Don’t underestimate her age—her learning ability is really impressive. I heard from the teacher that from a young age, they had someone specially teaching the siblings all kinds of knowledge...”
Yi Ke’s mouth went dry. After a sip of water, he added, “But if you ask me what she’s good at, I couldn’t say immediately because she’s interested in many fields. I don’t know if she’s truly skilled or just has surface knowledge.”
“Many fields?”
Rong Shen repeated the words thoughtfully. Yi Ke nodded earnestly to himself. “Yes, really many. In languages alone, by fourteen she was fluent in English and Italian. You know why she learned Italian? She said it was to make skiing trips there easier—if she knew the language, she wouldn’t need a translator...”
The man rubbed his fingertips together, eyes gleaming with interest. “Anything remarkable in computer science?”
“She assembled her own computer as a teenager, took apart the motherboard, then installed it again... does that count?”
After ending the call, seven or eight minutes had passed.
Rong Shen put down his phone and walked to the window, gazing at the darkening horizon, a sigh escaping his lips.
He always knew An Tong wasn’t as fragile or pale as she appeared, but after getting to know her deeply, he still felt he had underestimated her true strength and upbringing.
Whether she concealed it deliberately or naturally, Rong Shen thought, he had likely found a treasure.
...
After six-thirty, An Tong walked home from Ling Qi’s villa.
Upon entering, the scent of tea greeted her. She bypassed the foyer and saw the man in a white shirt sitting at the tea table, handling porcelain.
An Tong approached and shared proactively, “I found a part-time job.”
Rong Shen held her fingers gently, stroking them as he softly asked, “What kind of job?”
“A data organizer,” An Tong smiled, clearly in good spirits. “Three days a week; the company is near Zhanzhou Tower.”
“What time do you finish work?”
Without prying into other details, he was concerned about her finishing time.
“Around five o’clock.” An Tong suggested intuitively, “Then... I could wait for you to finish work so we can go home together.”
The phrase “go home together” seemed to hold a kind of magic; the moment she said it, they both seemed to envision themselves walking home hand in hand.
An Tong shared two cups of tea with Rong Shen, then went upstairs to change.
The man sat quietly for a moment, picked up his cigarette pack, and stepped out.
When Ling Qi received the call, she answered dazedly. Before the other party spoke, she sounded defeated: “Boss, what kind of genius is Madam? She solved my three-month project in the time it took to make a cup of coffee...”
She should have been happy—after all, the next three months would be easy.
But Ling Qi couldn’t bring herself to feel joy; her proud technical skills had been mercilessly crushed by Madam.