Changing the World

"Priceless!"

Qiao Mingyuan had spent a full three hours just barely finishing the material. His heart was in turmoil, like a raging sea.

The material gave a detailed introduction to an entirely new kind of high-frequency signal. Not only was this signal incredibly stable, it could also travel a long distance, with extremely little loss. It was practically perfect.

"If this material got out, it could completely transform the traditional wireless communications field. This is a discovery that belongs to a new era, worthy of a Nobel Prize!"

Qiao Mingyuan marveled inwardly.

When Su Yuan had first told him what he was researching, Qiao Mingyuan had been a little overwhelmed.

A wireless communications network covering every location on the planet, with stable signals that couldn't be hacked or tapped...

Could something like this really be researched and developed in this century?

But now, after seeing the material, Qiao Mingyuan realized that perhaps the wireless communications network Su Yuan wanted really could be achieved.

The deeper one delved into wireless communications, the more one realized how important this material was.

"Who exactly is the boss..."

Qiao Mingyuan steadied himself. More unbelievable than the material itself was the fact that Su Yuan had produced it and sent it to him.

Then there was how Su Yuan had rescued him from the Truth Society's pursuit without breaking a sweat, and revealed so many secrets about the Truth Society...

Qiao Mingyuan had a vague feeling that even the legendary Truth Society, which dominated powerful nations and claimed to be omnipotent, seemed somewhat insignificant compared with the boss?

Basement of Villa 66.

After sending the material to Qiao Mingyuan, Su Yuan paid no further attention to it.

He already knew everything about Qiao Mingyuan's many reactions and thoughts after seeing the material, having learned it all through the Grey Mirror.

"Hm?"

Just then, Su Yuan's phone vibrated, and a notification appeared.

"The semester's already started..."

Su Yuan glanced at the message on his phone and immediately understood.

Before he knew it, summer vacation had ended, and school had started again. The message he'd received was from his dorm group chat.

"Xiao Lan, is the leave-of-absence application ready?" Su Yuan asked.

Ever since he had crossed over and taken control of the Grey Mirror, Su Yuan had known that he couldn't continue living his predecessor's life.

Given his current circumstances, there was no need for him to keep going to school. It would be a complete waste of time.

So he had planned to take a leave of absence for a long time.

Why take a leave instead of simply not going to school?

If Su Yuan disappeared without notifying anyone, it would lead to all sorts of consequences and complications.

Two days after the semester started, his counselor would discover that Su Yuan hadn't registered. If there were still no news after three days...

The counselor would call the police.

After the report, the police would issue a missing-person notice and begin searching for Su Yuan.

Then, a year and two months later, they would find Su Yuan's fingerprints and iris scans at Jinshan Villa District.

Taking a leave through the proper channels would avoid these consequences and possibilities.

After all, once Su Yuan was on leave, he wouldn't have disappeared without explanation, and there would be no reason for the counselor to call the police.

This was also the best choice Su Yuan had made based on the Grey Mirror's answer.

"Master, it's ready," Xiao Lan replied at once.

"Imitate my voice and manner of speaking. Call my counselor, explain why I'm taking leave, and send her this application..."

Su Yuan gave his instructions.

Then he told Xiao Lan the script and talking points he had prepared in advance, telling her to repeat them to the counselor.

These talking points would definitely convince the counselor to approve Su Yuan's application.

Taking a leave of absence wasn't a trivial matter. Without a good enough reason, the school wouldn't approve it.

"Understood..." Xiao Lan immediately followed Su Yuan's instructions.

"Zhao Xixi..."

Su Yuan's thoughts drifted to her.

It was because of Zhao Xixi that his predecessor hadn't even had enough money to buy the medication that could have saved his life. Then his heart condition had flared up again, and he had died in his dorm room.

Su Yuan had already learned everything about Zhao Xixi through the Grey Mirror.

Although Zhao Xixi had behaved in an utterly immoral way and had indirectly caused his predecessor's death, she had developed a cancerous tumor in her stomach.

Of course, Zhao Xixi didn't know she had stomach cancer yet. As a result, she would miss the best window for treatment, and her tumor would rapidly worsen within a year, reaching its late stage.

In the end, unable to endure the pain of chemotherapy, Zhao Xixi would jump to her death a year and a half later.

That was the fate of Zhao Xixi the Grey Mirror had told Su Yuan about.

After learning her fate, Su Yuan hadn't given her another thought.

In an office.

A middle-aged woman wearing glasses answered a call.

"Is that Su Yuan?"

"You want to take a leave of absence? Did something happen at home? Tell your counselor..."

"Oh, I see. All right, Su Yuan, I've received your application. I'll submit it through the school's procedures. If you run into any difficulties in the future, you can come to me."

The middle-aged woman with glasses hung up and sighed.

The news of Su Yuan taking a leave of absence didn't cause much of a stir. It spread briefly among a small group before things soon settled down.

In the class group chat, the class monitor was the first to hear from the counselor that Su Yuan was taking a leave. She discussed it with a few classmates.

"Su Yuan's taking a leave?"

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure. The counselor told me. It must be something serious, or they wouldn't have approved a leave so easily..."

A few girls chattered about it for a while, then moved on to another topic.

Su Yuan had never been very noticeable in class, and he didn't stand out in any way. If the class monitor hadn't mentioned it, they might not even have noticed someone was missing.

In the girls' dorm.

Zhao Xixi was putting on makeup in front of a mirror.

Just then, her roommate leaned closer and said quietly, "Xixi, what was the name of that guy who was chasing you? Su Yuan, right, Su Yuan. I heard he's taking a leave..."

"I'm not close to him. What do you mean, chasing me..."

Zhao Xixi felt a little guilty and wondered to herself, Could he have taken it badly after I deleted him?

But then she thought, What does it have to do with me? He was always bothering me, even though he had no money. Why shouldn't I delete him?

That thought immediately put Zhao Xixi at ease.

After finishing her makeup, Zhao Xixi suddenly rubbed her stomach. "Did I eat something bad recently? My stomach keeps hurting."

In the dorm.

Su Yuan's roommates were discussing his withdrawal from school too.

"What do you think A-Yuan will do after dropping out?"

"Who knows? A-Yuan even deactivated his WeChat account, and his phone number doesn't work anymore."

"I bet it's because of that Zhao Xixi. We told A-Yuan ages ago that she was no good, but he insisted on throwing himself at her."

The five roommates each shared their opinions. But after talking about it for a few days, the subject of Su Yuan quickly faded away and eventually disappeared.

It was as if he had never been in the dorm at all.

No one knew that Su Yuan, the unremarkable person they barely even bothered to talk about—

Was destined to change the world.