Let Me Meet You chapter 14
A Friend Calls
They walked back together and when they reached the entrance of the complex, Sheng Min asked Li Xuan to wait a moment, then turned and went into the nearby convenience store. He came out holding two pillows.
“Why are you buying pillows?”
After thinking for a moment, Sheng Min quietly said, “Don’t you think it’s a little strange for us to share one pillow?”
Li Xuan didn’t think it was strange—he just thought Sheng Min was overly particular. He reached out and took one of the pillows, then heard Sheng Min ask, “Or should I get another bed?”
“Can you fit two beds in your room?”
They could put it in the study, Sheng Min thought but didn’t say.
“Are my sleeping habits that bad?” Li Xuan saw the hesitation in Sheng Min’s expression. “I’m not really used to sharing a bed either, so don’t act like you’re making such a big sacrifice.”
“It’s not that.” Sheng Min shook his head, sighed silently, and pressed the elevator button, ending the topic there.
The rain poured heavily, and even with an umbrella, both their clothes and hair were soaked. They hadn’t noticed much on the way back, but once inside, they felt the chill. After showering and changing, Sheng Min sat on the sofa, browsing takeout options.
“Anything you want to eat or prefer to avoid?” he asked, not having decided yet. Li Xuan, hair half-dry, emerged from the bathroom.
“Anything is fine, just keep it light. No celery.”
Sheng Min nodded, pointing to Li Xuan’s phone on the table. “You got a call earlier.”
The call was from Qi Boyuan. As Li Xuan toweled his hair, he casually called back. “Hello?” he greeted.
“Who’s this? Where’s Li Xuan?” Qi Boyuan sounded confused.
“Hold on,” Li Xuan realized quickly, passing the phone to Sheng Min to answer. Sheng Min reluctantly took it.
“Who was that just now?” Qi Boyuan asked curiously. “Why’s your phone with someone else?”
Sheng Min glanced at Li Xuan, who was pulling his laptop from his bag. But when he tried to power it on, there was no response; it was probably damaged in the car accident. Frowning, Li Xuan mouthed to Sheng Min, asking if there was a computer in the house.
Sheng Min pointed toward the study and resumed speaking to Qi Boyuan on the call. “A friend. I was busy, so I asked him to pick up for me.”
“Huh?” Qi Boyuan seemed surprised.
Not knowing who Qi Boyuan was or his relationship with Li Xuan, Sheng Min kept it brief to avoid mistakes. “I’ve got something to do, so I’ll call you back later.”
Without waiting for a response, he hung up, heading into the study where he found Li Xuan adjusting a voice-changing software.
“Come here and say a few words,” Li Xuan said from behind the desk, adjusting the settings with a focused expression, never looking up. “I need to test it.”
Sheng Min nodded, grabbing an extra headset for him. It was Li Xuan’s first time using this software, and after about half an hour of setup, he managed to get the voice sounding about 80% accurate. Converting the file format, he transferred it to his phone. When he called back, Qi Boyuan was already on another call.
“Let’s eat first,” Sheng Min suggested, noticing the takeout had arrived.
Dinner was Suzhou-style dishes. Sheng Min plated the food, and they had barely started when the phone rang again.
“Hello?” Li Xuan answered.
“Li Xuan?” Qi Boyuan asked cautiously.
“Yeah, it’s me. Why are you acting so suspicious over a call?”
“I wanted to be sure it was really you. Your voice sounded off—I almost thought it was someone else. Are you not at school today? Your dorm mate said you hadn’t returned. By the way, who was that before? Never heard of them.”
“No one. Just had some stuff to take care of outside,” Li Xuan replied nonchalantly. “Are you done with your business, or are you just that idle?”
Qi Boyuan chuckled. “I’m just curious.”
His curiosity was understandable. They’d known each other since freshman year, and had been working on freelance web projects together for over two years. Despite Li Xuan’s sociable demeanor, he kept people at arm’s length. Qi Boyuan often joked that Li Xuan had paranoia and felt that he could only manage to be close with Li Xuan because he was thick-skinned and bold. So, it was quite surprising for him to hear that Li Xuan had a friend who was familiar enough to help pick up the phone for him.
“You don’t know him,” Li Xuan casually said. “Just someone I picked up off the street.”
Sheng Min instinctively looked up when he heard that, but Li Xuan didn’t glance at him, instead getting up and walking to the balcony with his phone.
“Have you changed careers to scavenging?” Qi Boyuan asked teasingly.
“Stop joking around. Let’s get to business.” Li Xuan cut him off before he could continue. “Did you finish the handover with Xinyue?”
Xinyue was the pharmaceutical company they had just completed a website for.
“Yes, everything’s set, and they paid the final amount. I’ll transfer it to you later.” Talking business, Qi Boyuan’s tone became serious. “I checked on the company registration status this afternoon—they said no more paperwork is needed, and it should be processed by next Monday. However, a clothing manufacturer just called and wanted us to develop some new features. You mentioned last time that once the Xinyue project was done, we wouldn’t take on more outsourced work… but the price for this one is decent. Our game company’s registration is about to finish, but we still don’t have an account open yet, and the office space in the software park won’t be available until next month. The current landlord said he’d let us use his equipment, but after trying it out, it’s not good enough, so we’ll need to buy some ourselves. The progress definitely won’t be fast, so if we take this project, it can wait. Just let me know your thoughts.”
Li Xuan pressed a hand to his forehead, momentarily distracted as he looked across the street at the streetlight, his thoughts unusually scattered.
A month ago, he’d informed Qi Boyuan of his decision to stop taking freelance work after the Xinyue project and focus on starting a game development studio. He’d asked if Qi Boyuan wanted to join.
It wasn’t a surprise, given Li Xuan’s long-term interest in starting a company. Although they’d taken on small projects over the years, he hadn’t expected him to register a company so soon, even before graduation. After a night’s thought, Qi Boyuan called back the next day, saying he’d made up his mind—not pursuing graduate school, he was in.
Since then, Li Xuan had been finalizing Xinyue’s project, while Qi Boyuan secured office space and completed the registration process. Things had been progressing well.
A week ago, even yesterday, he would’ve answered without hesitation. But now, looking down at the small mole on his wrist, he paused. “I remember you were the top in your department. Are you really sure you don’t want to pursue grad school?”
“Huh?” Qi Boyuan hadn’t expected the question and joked, “Hey, come on. As a Computer Science major, I got beaten by you, a Physics major, in every programming competition! First place twice—one time with you as a teammate, and once because you didn’t enter. I’d be embarrassed to continue studying at this point. What’s this, though? You feeling generous, gonna give me a raise?
Li Xuan did not smile, and his tone was more serious: “Have you thought it through?”
“What’s wrong with you today?” Qi Boyuan asked, somewhat puzzled. “We’ve known each other for so long; I trust your abilities and am used to collaborating with you. I think starting a business with you is more suitable for me than continuing my studies. I thought we had settled this issue last time. You wouldn’t doubt me, would you? Am I supposed to be a person who talks about starting a business with you while secretly preparing to go abroad? I admit my skills aren’t as good as yours, but you wouldn’t question my character, right?”
“Of course not.” Li Xuan pressed his brow, not knowing how to explain the current situation. After a moment, he said, “It’s just that I have some matters to deal with lately, and I’ll be a bit busy. There may be many things in the company I won’t be able to manage, and you’ll have to take care of them.”
“That’s fine; I can handle it…”
“You don’t understand what I mean.” Li Xuan raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “What I mean is, I might not be around for a while. In the future, for various matters like opening accounts, recruitment, or even when we officially start operations, I probably won’t be able to come to the company. Of course, if you need to reach me, you can call. I can answer anytime.”
Qi Boyuan was truly taken aback. After a long pause, he said, “Wait, what’s wrong? Did something happen to you? Are you under some sort of restriction?”
“No,” Li Xuan interrupted him.
“Then why? If something’s really wrong, just say it; we can figure it out together.”
Li Xuan thought that if he could say it, it would be fine, but in the current situation, he didn’t even understand what was happening himself. He showed no sign of it on his face: “I can’t explain it clearly right now, so please don’t ask. I just need to clarify with you the things you’ll face if we continue with the company.”
On the other end, Qi Boyuan hesitated and asked, “How long is ‘a while’?”
Li Xuan candidly replied, “I’m not sure; it could be a week, a year, or even longer. So I need you to think it over.”
Qi Boyuan was silent for a while. Through the phone, Li Xuan felt he could almost see Qi Boyuan pulling his hair in confusion. After a while, Qi Boyuan asked, “What can you do during this time?”
“I can work on planning proposals and writing code; there’s no problem with the programming side. But as I said, I can’t really come to the office, and you’ll have to handle communication with the others. If there are meetings, they will have to be online.” Li Xuan thought for a moment, “I have the initial funds; you know that. If we need to attract more investment later, you’ll have to talk to the investors.”
Qi Boyuan rarely swore, “What the fuck is going on with you? Is it about your family again…?”
Qi Boyuan didn’t really understand Li Xuan’s family situation. He only knew that Li Xuan was extremely talented in computers but chose to study physics, seemingly forced by his family, and didn’t know any more than that.
“None of that; stop guessing.” Li Xuan said, “This is the situation. Just tell me what you think.”
“Are you getting impatient?” Qi Boyuan scolded him, hesitating for a moment. “So, do you want to continue?”
Li Xuan was silent for a moment. He didn’t want to disrupt the plan casually, and although he liked having full control, his past life experiences told him that in situations beyond control, the mindset of ‘there’s always a way when the time comes’ might be more practical.
If there was no path, he would carve one out; he had to keep moving forward. Li Xuan lightly flicked the rainwater off the railing but didn’t have a habit of dragging others into risk. So he had to clarify things with Qi Boyuan.
“I want to,” he said firmly, “but if you can’t accept this arrangement, then I can only pause this matter for now. I really can’t manage things right now, and I’m not comfortable leaving it to someone else.”
Qi Boyuan didn’t respond for a while. Li Xuan didn’t rush him, and after some time, he finally heard Qi Boyuan sigh: “Alright, let’s do it this way.”
“What way?”
“Let’s continue pushing forward. As long as you can handle the planning and coding, it’ll be fine. It’s pretty much the same now; once you finish the project, if there’s urgency and we lack manpower, I’ll pull someone in. Communication will also be my responsibility; after all, a genius like you only needs to think.”
“I’m also the one putting in the money,” Li Xuan said.
“Fuck you.” Qi Boyuan laughed after cursing.
“Thank you,” Li Xuan also smiled. Now that things were clear, he quickly made a decision: “We won’t take on any new projects. Let’s focus on pushing this game. You don’t have to transfer the remaining payment to me for now; just take whatever you need from it. When you run out, find me; you don’t need to worry about the money right now.”
“What project… oh, your thought process changes way too quickly.” Qi Boyuan realized, “Alright, got it.”
“When the paperwork is done, you can start preparing to recruit people. Everything else is not urgent; we need to find an artist quickly. I have a game demo here, and I’ll send it to you shortly. Try it out when you have time. If you have any ideas, we can revise it. Once it’s finalized and we’ve recruited an artist, we can move forward quickly.”
“You even made a demo?” Qi Boyuan was taken aback for a moment, but then thought about Li Xuan’s style, and it seemed reasonable that he would plan ahead.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be used,” Li Xuan said nonchalantly. “I just happened to have one ready; it saves some trouble if it’s usable.”
“The one you made that in your sophomore year?” Qi Boyuan suddenly recalled, “Oh, I remember now.”
In his sophomore year, Li Xuan created a mobile game that won an award in a game planning competition hosted by a well-known gaming company.
It was from that game that Qi Boyuan truly felt the gap between him and Li Xuan.
Creating a game demo wasn’t too difficult, but independently completing a 3D game demo was undoubtedly a tremendous workload. From when Qi Boyuan first learned about Li Xuan until he submitted the game for the competition, it took less than a month, and the completeness far exceeded the demonstration requirements. The most surprising part was that Li Xuan was also handling a freelance project simultaneously. Qi Boyuan had no idea how he found the time to do it.
The game company wanted to buy it, offering a high price, but Li Xuan didn’t sell it. Over the past few years, Qi Boyuan occasionally saw Li Xuan continuing to improve it.
“Yes that one,” Li Xuan replied with an acknowledgment. “I’m also working on other planning proposals, but they’re not as mature, so take a look at this demo first.”
“Alright, I’ll review it and get back to you. As for hiring, I’ll handle it as soon as I can.” Qi Boyuan readily agreed, then suddenly remembered something else, “Actually, I’m not quite clear on your current situation. You mentioned you wouldn’t be around much, but you still have classes, right? Has your major coursework ended?”
“No,” Li Xuan frowned as he checked the class schedule. Most of his courses had indeed finished mid-semester, but he still had one class on statistical mechanics that Friday.
“Then aren’t you going to attend? Are you skipping exams too? Even if you’re starting a business, your grades are still important. You still need your graduation certificate, right?”
“I’ll handle it,” Li Xuan replied evasively.
“Fine then,” Qi Boyuan sighed. “If you really won’t say, I won’t pry. You’ve always had things under control.”
“Thanks,” Li Xuan repeated. That was one of Qi Boyuan’s good qualities; he didn’t dig deeper.
“Don’t mention it. Let’s leave it at that for now. Jia Jia is about to finish her evening class. I’m going to pick her up for a late-night snack and see if she knows anyone in visual communication at her school.”
Zhou Jia was his girlfriend, studying cello at a nearby art academy.
“Okay. I’ll hang up now.”
“You really should attend your classes,” Qi Boyuan advised.
Li Xuan casually hummed in response before ending the call.
Author’s Note:
Qi Boyuan appeared in Chapter One. For those who may not remember, you can look back.