Wasn't It Usually a Golden Trio?

"Ahem, well..."

Dean Hu cleared his throat, doing his best to look like a university administrator who had weathered countless storms, rather than a lottery player who had just hit the jackpot.

"CEO Lan, CEO Wang, thank you very much for your trust in us."

"However, we have financial management rules and administrative regulations. Qi Hao has only just started his freshman year, and according to the rules, a first-year undergraduate cannot sign the paperwork and open accounts as the person in charge of a university-enterprise cooperation project worth tens of millions. Otherwise, the people in the planning and finance office and the audit office would wear down the threshold of our School of Mathematics."

CEO Wang laughed. "Dean Hu, we understand that. This isn't our first time working with a university. How about this? You or someone else can serve as the laboratory director in name, and we can give Qi Hao a title like honorary technical adviser or joint project leader."

"What we businesses care about is actual results. As for the administrative procedures your university needs to follow, you can decide those yourselves."

CEO Lan added, "Once this project produces results, Huaji and Dafei will also provide a share of the patent licensing revenue and special bonuses. We definitely won't let your people work for nothing."

With the key people and money taken care of, discussing the specifics followed naturally.

Old Wang spoke up. "CEO Lan, CEO Wang, since we've settled on the general framework, we need clear terms for intellectual property rights and ownership of the results ahead of time. After all, we're a university, and both teachers and students are under pressure to meet academic targets."

He had put it plainly. For the School of Mathematics, results meant more than money; they also represented hard targets for top-journal papers, national awards, and discipline evaluations.

CEO Lan had clearly come prepared. "Rest assured, Professor Wang. Cooperation can only last if the rules are established. Our position is that the School of Mathematics will retain full academic publication rights to all pure mathematical theories, basic algorithms, and proofs produced by the laboratory."

"As long as they don't involve trade secrets such as the physical coordinates of specific base stations or users' private data, you're free to publish SCI papers and apply for research awards."

CEO Wang also stated his position. "That's what we at Dafei want too. Academics are academics, and engineering is engineering. However, when it comes to applying these algorithms in actual engineering projects and implementing them in software code, Huaji and Dafei must have priority commercialization rights."

After several rounds of discussion, several hands clasped tightly above the desk.

Who could have imagined that an inquiry originally concerned only with Qi Hao's paper would ultimately turn into a partnership involving tens of millions in funding, two major enterprises, and the School of Mathematics?

In short, Qi Hao had now become the only student in the university's history to secure a cooperation project worth tens of millions.

While other students were still complaining about serving as free oxen and horses in research groups strapped for funding, major companies were already approaching Qi Hao to seek cooperation.

It was foreseeable that Qi Hao would have nothing to do with the term "free oxen and horses" from now on.

As soon as CEO Lan and CEO Wang left, Dean Hu leaned back in his chair and began planning how to carry out the project with Old Wang.

As it turned out, a project like this didn't begin all at once, but went through a gradual process.

Although Qi Hao didn't know how to carry out a research project, he still listened from the side with great interest.

About a quarter of an hour later, someone knocked on Dean Hu's office door.

Professor Zhou from the Experimental College for Exceptional Talents came in, followed by three people who looked like students.

At the front was a slightly chubby young man, a little over 1.7 meters tall and about the same build as Wang Jun. He wore what looked like a designer jacket and cheerfully surveyed his surroundings.

In the middle was a young woman wearing a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. Her delicate face was somewhat serious.

The last young man stood out the most. He wore a black hoodie, and his gaze was a little cold. After entering, he leaned against the doorway and stayed there.

"Old Hu, I've brought everyone over," Professor Zhou said cheerfully as he walked over and sat on the sofa.

"Old Zhou, you got that done quickly. Are they all from your college?"

Professor Zhou nodded. "Of course."

Then he pointed to the slightly chubby young man. "This is Zhao Ping, a junior. He's pretty good at UI design and won third prize in the National College Student Advertising Art Competition last year."

Zhao Ping greeted the others, but when his gaze fell on Qi Hao, he froze.

"You're Qi Hao? The freshman Qi Hao?"

Qi Hao was a little surprised. "You know me?"

"Whoa, damn! Aren't you that academic ace who managed to publish a Q2 SCI paper as a freshman?"

"I was lucky and came across a relatively new topic. It was nothing much."

"That was just luck? How come I'm not that lucky?" Zhao Ping muttered.

Professor Zhou looked a little embarrassed. Holding his teacup, he cleared his throat and took over the conversation. "Here, let me continue. This is Wu Xue, a junior majoring in computer science. She won first prize in the China Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modeling and ranks in the top three in her major."

Qi Hao was a little surprised. He hadn't expected this young woman to be an academic ace too. He praised her without holding back. "First prize in a national competition, and you're in the top three in computer science? That's amazing. Please take good care of me from now on, Senior!"

Wu Xue hadn't expected Qi Hao to compliment her so directly. Being shy, she nodded and glanced at the cool guy by the door without saying anything.

Wait, could there be something going on between these two?

Qi Hao's gossip radar went off, and he looked at the two of them suspiciously.

Only then did Professor Zhou point to the cool guy by the door. "This is Zheng Qiang, a software engineering major in his second year of graduate study. He's a special case. He worked with me on industry-sponsored projects as an undergraduate and helped build an internal management system for a bank. His practical experience is among the best of any student."

After Professor Zhou finished the introductions, Zheng Qiang showed little reaction, and Qi Hao didn't go out of his way to greet him either.

Dean Hu nodded repeatedly as he listened. "As expected of the Experimental College for Exceptional Talents. Every one of them is outstanding."

"Of course. Old Hu, our university is determined to win the Microsoft Imagine Cup this time. When the president came to me, I told him that if we were going to do it, we'd aim for the grand finals."

Listening from the side, Qi Hao gradually began to grasp what was going on.

It looked like all three of them had come to team up with him for the Imagine Cup.

Wait, wasn't a golden team usually a trio?

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura made three in Naruto, and the core of the main group in Digimon was also three. He didn't seem to have ever seen a main group of four gathered around a table. Were they here to play mahjong?

At that moment, Zheng Qiang, who hadn't spoken until now, suddenly spoke up.

"Professor Zhou."

"Hmm? What is it, Xiao Zheng?"

Zheng Qiang's tone was flat, with no discernible emotion. "I have an idea. A competition like this is fast-paced and intense. How well a team works together is more important than any individual ability."

"The people in our college are usually trained differently from those in other colleges, with an emphasis on teamwork. The communication costs of forming teams for coursework are practically zero."

"If everyone on the team came from our college, everything from coding standards to workflow to the way we write requirements documents would follow the same system. Our efficiency would be much higher."

He paused, his gaze brushing almost imperceptibly over Qi Hao. "Cooperation across colleges isn't impossible, but it would take longer to get in sync. We need to submit the project one month after registration. That means we register in January and have to submit it in February. All told, we only have a little over two months."

His words were very carefully chosen. He hadn't mentioned Qi Hao once, but his meaning was clear: Qi Hao wasn't from their college, and if he joined, he would slow them down.

Professor Zhou was an old hand. How could he not know what Zheng Qiang meant? He glanced at him and said, "Zheng Qiang, you're getting hung up on a narrow point. I know the three of you. Each of you is better at coding than the last, but when it comes to writing, I was revising your last project report until two in the morning. Wu Xue, your writing is logical, but the prose is too dry. And Xiao Zhao, don't even get me started on you. If you can avoid writing, you will."

Zhao Ping gave an embarrassed laugh. The other two didn't dare say anything.

"The Microsoft Imagine Cup isn't just about making things. You also have to write technical documentation, prepare a PowerPoint for the presentation and defense, and submit a project report. Qi Hao was able to publish a Q2 SCI paper in his freshman year, so his writing and logical expression are strong. He can take charge of the paper, and each of you can handle your own strengths. Isn't that a good arrangement?"

Zheng Qiang's stiff expression barely changed. Clearly, he still didn't think much of Qi Hao. He said, "As long as he doesn't hold the team back or drag anyone else down, that's fine."

That remark was already less than polite.

Before Qi Hao could speak, Old Wang suddenly spoke up in a quiet voice from the side.