New Mission

Qin Ze was too lazy to argue with her, grimacing as he lifted his hospital gown. Crimson blood seeped from the wound. That kick had caused the wound to rupture.

Qin Baobao was afraid of blood. With a cry of dismay, she ran out to call the nurse.

The nurse came over to take a look and reassured him, "It's nothing, just a wound dehiscence. Luckily, the stitches didn't come out, or it would have been troublesome. I'll clean the wound for you."

The nurse used an alcohol swab to dry the blood, applied disinfectant, and warned Qin Ze to pay attention to the wound.

Qin Baobao breathed a sigh of relief and sat by the bed, complaining, "So reckless, moving around with an injury."

Qin Ze said sternly, "Don't mention the wound rupturing. Even if I were stabbed again, I wouldn't let that woman scratch your face."

Qin Baobao spat, "Nonsense."

But a smile bloomed on her face, and her lively, beautiful eyes sparkled with joy.

Qin Baobao was being deliberately difficult, saying, "Is my face that important? I can't get married anyway."

Qin Ze said righteously, "Your face is more important than my life."

Qin Baobao immediately beamed.

Qin Ze was good at coaxing women... at least, he was good at coaxing his sister. Qin Baobao bought him clothes and a phone, and also covered his living expenses. Qin Ze's smooth tongue had definitely made a great contribution. Of course, it was also related to Qin Baobao's complete lack of financial management skills. If she had some spare money, she would think about spending it. If she couldn't spend it herself, she would spend it on her younger brother.

Before going to bed that night, Qin Baobao accompanied her brother to visit Professor Li downstairs. She didn't enter the ward, but waited outside.

Qin Ze politely knocked on the door, pushed it open, and entered. The ward was exquisitely furnished, like a hotel single room, with a desk, bedside table, TV, and a comfortable hospital bed. The walls were painted light blue.

Professor Li was talking to his wife.

His wife complained, "Why weren't you paying attention when you crossed the road? Didn't you see the red light? If the driver hadn't reacted quickly, you would have lost your old life."

Professor Li argued, "That intersection is a two-way road, with two sets of traffic lights. The previous one was still green... never mind, let's not talk about it."

His wife said, "I heard from the teachers at your school that the police came to the school to arrest your student today, right?"

Mentioning this made Professor Li feel even worse. "I took on a job from a private equity firm, you know that. A few days ago, Lao Qin sent his son to me, saying he wanted him to get some experience. We've been colleagues for over a decade, how could I refuse? This kid is also quite clever, works hard, and has a good attitude. Coincidentally, Yang Chen messed up due to drinking, so I got angry and let Lao Qin's son take over the work. But who would have thought that he would hold a grudge and find someone to stab Lao Qin's son? The matter has become quite a big deal, and it's all over the internet."

His wife sighed, "These kids nowadays, they don't think about the consequences of their actions. How is Lao Qin's son?"

"He's in critical condition. I heard that if it had been any deeper, or if it had hit an artery, he might have died."

"Lao Qin only has one son, right? He's going to try to kill you."

"That's why I'm so depressed. I keep thinking about how this could have happened. I wasn't paying attention, and I got hit."

"The way you are, you can't do any work. The school is fine, but how are you going to explain it to the private equity firm? You have to pay a penalty for being late."

Professor Li's face darkened, and he looked worried. "A penalty of 200,000 yuan. The project is almost finished... alas, it's all fate."

His wife said angrily, "Fate, my foot! Half a year's income is all going to be lost. How are we going to live? I'm telling you, our son is getting married at the end of the year."

University professors have high hidden income. Although 200,000 yuan is a lot, it's not like they're completely broke. The key is that the houses in Hu City are incredibly expensive. Seeing that their son was about to buy a wedding house, if this 200,000 yuan was lost...

"I took on the project to save enough for the down payment on the wedding house at the end of the year."

"If it really doesn't work, we'll mortgage the house we live in and borrow some money."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

Qin Ze walked in wearing a hospital gown and smiled, "Professor Li, my dad said you had a car accident and are downstairs, so I came to visit you."

Professor Li was lying in the hospital bed with his leg in traction, his right hand in a cast, and multiple lacerations on his face, looking somewhat listless. His wife sat by the bed, a middle-aged woman in her fifties, well-maintained, with fine crow's feet at the corners of her eyes. At first glance, she looked like a gentle housewife.

Professor Li seemed very happy, but not surprised. He knew that Qin Ze also lived in this hospital.

"Qin Ze, is your health much better?"

"I'm fine. The doctor said I can go home to recuperate after the stitches are removed."

"I have to apologize to you for this matter." Professor Li sighed, "Yang Chen is just too narrow-minded. I knew this, but I didn't expect him to be so impulsive."

Qin Ze sneered, "If the heart is not right, evil thoughts are easily born."

Professor Li nodded, "That's the truth. He will be punished by law."

"I'm also following your case. If you go to court, you have a good chance of winning. Although you also injured someone, it was in response to prior harm and constitutes self-defense."

"My dad said the same thing." Qin Ze sat down on the sofa, waved his hand, and refused the banana that Professor Li's wife offered, "Auntie, the doctor told me to eat as little as possible."

The two chatted for a while, and Professor Li became sleepy. Qin Ze planned to say goodbye, remembering one thing, "By the way, Professor Li, you're lying in the hospital, what about the modeling Mission?"

This was one of the purposes of his visit, to sound out Professor Li and think about how to take over the modeling task, but he was also afraid that Professor Li would think he was too young to handle the responsibility.

Professor Li's wife was full of resentment, "What can we do? In his condition, do you expect him to get up and work? Just pay the compensation."

"How much compensation?"

Professor Li sighed, "When we signed the contract, it was written as 200,000."

Qin Ze clicked his tongue. 200,000 yuan was not a small amount. In a third-tier city, it was enough for a down payment.

"Professor Li, how about this? My injury is basically fine. If you trust me, how about you hand it over to me?" Qin Ze asked tentatively.

He had the confidence to say this. After all, he had exchanged knowledge in this area. Completing a complex mathematical modeling independently was not a problem, at most it would take time, and this project was nearing completion, so he could completely handle it independently.

Professor Li looked at him, his heart stirred, "Okay, whether it works or not, it's always good to try."

Saying that, he asked his wife to give the USB drive in his briefcase to Qin Ze.

Qin Ze took the USB drive and left.

In the ward, Professor Li let out a long breath, as if he had released a heavy stone in his heart.

His wife frowned, "Why did you give him the thing? What if he messes it up or breaks it?"

"Since we have to pay compensation anyway, what does it matter if it's broken?" Professor Li glared at her and smiled, "You don't know, I wasn't counting on him, I was counting on Lao Qin. A college student doesn't even know the basics, but Lao Qin knows it clearly. Giving him the thing is smarter than directly asking Lao Qin for help. Lao Qin has been running around these days, and it's useless for me to ask him. But if his son takes on the job, he will grit his teeth and complete it."

"There are only a few professors in the Finance Department, and it's the end of the semester, everyone is busy, and they may not be willing to help me. And time is limited, it takes time just to understand it."

"Then Lao Qin can understand it?"

"His level is higher than mine. He also helped his son as a ghostwriter some time ago. He probably knows what I'm doing and will understand it in a day or two."

Qin Ze and his sister returned to the ward. It was raining heavily outside, pattering on the windows. The rain blurred the vision, and the halo of neon lights illuminated dense curtains of water droplets. The world was filled with the sound of rain.

Qin Baobao originally wanted to go home, take a shower, and change into pajamas before coming back to keep him company at night, but seeing the heavy rain, she was unhappy to go back. She asked the nurse for a thin blanket and a set of clean hospital gowns and took a shower in the bathroom of the ward.

Qin Ze was alone in the hospital, very lonely, and said hypocritically, "Why don't you go back, I'll be fine alone."

Qin Baobao was, after all, concerned for her younger brother. Considering the irrationality of that middle-aged couple, she worried they might return in the night to cause trouble, and her sick brother couldn't withstand the turmoil. So she said, "It's okay, it's just for one night."

Qin Ze lay in the hospital bed, listening to the rushing water in the bathroom and the sound of the heavy rain beating against the window. He opened his laptop, plugged in the USB drive, and after opening the folder, first looked at the abstract—a numerical model construction graphic spanning dozens of pages.

This was a numerical model analysis for a fund investment.

The Old Man was a Finance Department professor, and Qin Ze also studied finance. Influenced by his environment, he had a good understanding of some private equity firms in society. Private equity firms of a certain size have their own professionals to build numerical models and analyze investment projects. They don't need to find outside help. From this, it was clear that the private equity firm Professor Li contacted was definitely not large, or it was a newly established fledgling.

Time passed, and he spent half an hour finally figuring it out completely.

The bathroom door opened, and Qin Baobao, wearing a hospital gown and Qin Ze's cotton slippers, walked out while drying her hair.

"I thought you were giving birth in the bathroom," Qin Ze glanced at her.

Taking a bath for half an hour? He could finish a shower in ten minutes.

"Giving birth to whose child? Yours?" Qin Baobao rolled her eyes, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and continued to dry her hair, complaining, "There's no hair dryer."

"Use hair dryers less, it's bad for your hair."

"Are you annoying or what? You said the same thing when I dyed my hair."

"Too lazy to talk to you."

"By the way, how do you know how to play basketball? I saw a video on Lazy Cat a few days ago, and the guy in it was you, right?" Qin Baobao turned her face to look at him, her pointed oval face, bright and clear phoenix eyes, and wet, slightly messy hair, her beauty was outrageously high. "I almost forgot, tell me what's going on."

"What's going on? Didn't you see it? What's wrong with knowing how to play basketball? Which boy doesn't know how to play basketball?" Qin Ze typed rapidly on the keyboard.

"But your level isn't normal. How much do you weigh? Don't I know?" Qin Baobao curled her lips. "You even dunked? Can you jump that high? You've been a waste in sports since you were little."

"Even a waste has dignity, and even a salted fish can turn over." Qin Ze turned his head and glared at his sister. "Qin Baobao, don't always look down on me. You were able to enter Star Arts thanks to my efforts."

"Oh, you mentioning it reminded me, what's the deal with writing songs? Did you really write them?"

Qin Ze's heart skipped a beat, thinking, Is it really because the changes recently have been too great?

You have a thousand and one reasons to deceive friends, but you can never deceive the people closest to you. Because they know you like the back of their hand.

"In another ten days or half a month, you'll be able to participate in music variety shows. If you succeed, you'll be a star. Wouldn't such a huge transformation be even more astonishing? Compared to that, what's it matter if I write a few songs?"

When Qin Baobao heard this, she felt much better and said with a smile, "That's true."

He had successfully fooled her.

The two chatted on and off, and when they had nothing to say, Qin Baobao lowered her head to play with her phone, while Qin Ze sat on the bed building the model. Outside the window, the rain fell wildly. Inside, the TV played an ancient costume romance.

At ten thirty in the evening, Qin Baobao rubbed her eyes, feeling drowsy.

"You go to sleep first, you have to go to work tomorrow. I'll sleep later."

Qin Baobao "Oh"ed and wrapped herself in the blanket, lying down on the sofa to sleep.

At eleven thirty late night, Qin Ze turned off the computer. Before going to sleep, he relieved his bladder. When he came back, he found that Qin Baobao had taken over his bed.

"What are you doing lying on my bed? Go sleep on your sofa."

"Hey, hey, don't play dead, believe it or not, I'll pick you up and throw you out the window."

Qin Baobao pulled the blanket over her head and acted spoiled, "The sofa isn't comfortable, I can't sleep."

"I'm the one who's sick. Not resting well will affect my wound recovery."

Qin Baobao patted the empty space beside her, "This bed can sleep two people."

Qin Ze's hospital bed was similar to a single bed in a hotel. It wouldn't be a problem for two people to squeeze in.

"Then bring your own blanket over," Qin Ze compromised helplessly.

Qin Baobao protested, "That blanket has a smell. It hasn't been washed in a long time. I don't want it."

After all, his sister had come to keep him company for the night, and she had a slight obsession with cleanliness. Qin Ze thought about it. Anyway, the bed was quite large, and he could make do for one night. He lifted the blanket and lay down.