Chapter 27: Applying for the On-Campus Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Base

Li Ya looked up to see the Second Master standing in the courtyard, leaning on his cane. Though his posture was slightly hunched, he appeared full of vigor. A kind and amiable smile beamed from his face as he gazed at her with warmth.

Li Ya nodded obediently and said with a smile, "Alright, Second Master, I’m afraid I’ll be imposing on you again this year."

"Listen to this child," the Second Master replied, shaking his head slightly, his smile deepening. "How could this ever be a bother? It’s just an extra pair of chopsticks; having another person around only makes the house more lively." His words were simple and sincere.

After a grueling hour of jolting and swaying along winding mountain roads, the bus finally arrived at the county seat. For Li Ping'an, however, the journey back to school had only just begun. Upon disembarking, he didn't dare pause, heading straight to the ticket window to purchase a seat on the bus to the city. The ticket was inexpensive—only ten yuan—but the real challenge lay in the four transfers required to get from his hometown back to campus, compounded by an overnight train ride. It was a miserable experience once he finally collapsed into a seat.

After a full day and night of travel, Li Ping'an returned to school with his laptop bag on his back and his suitcase in tow. As he pushed open the dormitory door, the warmth of the heating system rushed out to greet him. Perhaps because the other three guys in the dorm lived closer to home, they had already arrived. As soon as the door swung open, all three looked over simultaneously. Seeing it was Li Ping'an, the room erupted in a chorus of monkey-like howls.

"Son, you’re finally back!"

"Quick, tell your fathers: how did you manage to build a piece of software with millions of users over a single winter break?"

The software Li Ping'an developed, *Pet Elf*, had garnered a user base of millions in such a short time—a rare feat even at Tsinghua University. Furthermore, with a platform of that scale, perhaps only Li Ping'an knew the exact number of users. With a single set of character skins priced at eighteen yuan, even if only one-tenth of the users made a purchase, the sum was staggering. While the families of the other three guys in Room 602 could certainly afford such an amount, earning it oneself was an entirely different matter. They knew that without relying on family connections or resources, they could never have achieved it.

Facing his roommates' curious and probing gazes, Li Ping'an calmly closed the door behind him. He shrugged slightly, wearing a modest yet humorous smile.

"Hey, how should I put this? I just got lucky," he said. "They say that when luck strikes, even a pig can be blown into the sky; I guess I just caught a lucky breeze. Of course, the main reason was that 'Boss' gave me a lot of advice and even went through the trouble of helping me register the company. You could say my success is thanks to his full support."

As he spoke, Li Ping'an cast a look of genuine gratitude toward Zhao Peng.

Zhao Peng, who was lounging on his chair with his legs crossed, shook his head gently with a faint smile. "It’s not as exaggerated as you make it sound. These days, registering a company is easy enough if you just pay an agency to handle it. I just happened to have some free time during that period and helped our 'Fourth Brother' run a few errands. It’s no big deal."

Hearing this, Li Ping'an laughed and said, "How about this: dinner is on me tonight. Hot pot and KTV, here we come!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the dormitory exploded. Cheers and catcalls intermingled with another round of "monkey howls."

"Son... no, Godfather!" his roommate Chen Hao shouted theatrically. "Please, accept this bow from your child!"

His comical behavior and playful words sent everyone into fits of laughter, and the entire room was immersed in a joyous atmosphere.

By Monday, all the students at Tsinghua University had returned to their routines. After finishing his two afternoon classes, Li Ping'an grabbed his backpack and the application materials he had prepared for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Base, heading straight to his counselor's office.

In university, counselors typically follow the same class of students until they graduate. The counselor for Li Ping'an's class, Wang Jingwen, was not very old—barely thirty—and was an alumna of the school herself. She was quite surprised to see Li Ping'an arrive. In her memory, this was the first time he had ever come to see her voluntarily; usually, it was she who called him in, mostly regarding financial aid for underprivileged students.

"Li Ping'an?"

"Ms. Wang."

Li Ping'an handed over the application and supporting documents. "Ms. Wang, I’d like to apply for a space in the university's innovation and entrepreneurship incubation base."

Wang Jingwen took the documents and asked in surprise, "You’re planning to start a business? Is this why you turned down the professor’s recommendation for graduate school?" She hesitated before adding, "As your counselor, I don't want to discourage you, but given your family background, I feel I must tell you: entrepreneurship is not easy, and only a few succeed."

Li Ping'an rubbed his nose and said quietly, "Ms. Wang, my venture has already seen some initial success. You’ll see it once you look through the materials I brought."

Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, Wang Jingwen began to flip through the application. When she saw that the software Li Ping'an developed had over five million active users, she briefly wondered if her eyesight was failing. After confirming she had read it correctly, she didn't immediately question him. At other schools, a teacher's first reaction might be to call it a lie and scold the student. But this was Tsinghua University—nothing was impossible here, especially within the Computer Science and Technology department.

Wang Jingwen’s first instinct was to pull out her phone, open the Huawei App Market, and search for *Pet Elf*. It was the very first result. Tapping on it, she saw 2.3 million downloads and a high rating of 4.8. What truly convinced her that Li Ping'an wasn't lying was that the developer information field clearly listed his name.

In an instant, a bright, radiant smile bloomed on Wang Jingwen's face. She felt an irrepressible surge of excitement and couldn't wait to share the good news with the other counselors. Was it showing off? No, it was simply sharing in the joy.

"Ms. Wang, I desperately need a space. I plan to purchase a batch of servers in the next two days. If there’s nowhere suitable to house them, I’ll be forced to rent a place outside," Li Ping'an said, appearing quite helpless.

"Rent a place? What for!" Wang Jingwen exclaimed without hesitation. "Go back and wait for my good news. I’m going to find the Dean right now!"