ATPnovel Chapter 613: The Scholar Dai Bo
Chapter 613: The Scholar Dai Bo
"Professor Yuan, this is my thesis."Dai Bo set down the USB drive in his hand, and Yuan Ling took it while nodding: "Good, just leave it here for now."
Then he said to Xiao He on the other end of the phone: "I'll send you a few people later. Take a look yourself, and if any of them interests you, I'll ask around for you."
"Okay, thank you, Professor Yuan."
After hanging up, Yuan Ling plugged in the USB drive, ready to start reviewing the documents before him. But before he did, he remembered something else, pushed up his glasses, and asked Dai Bo: "By the way, about what I asked you before - have you made up your mind?"
Dai Bo took a deep breath, then bowed deeply to Yuan Ling with guilt written all over his face: "I'm terribly sorry, Professor Yuan."
"Hey hey, it's fine, it's fine."
Yuan Ling quickly helped him up, then let out a sigh: "You're the most satisfying student I've ever had, and I wanted to see you develop even further. But since you're unwilling to continue with a doctorate, I won't force you."
"Degrees are depreciating pretty fast these days anyway. Going out to work early and gaining more years of experience might actually serve you better than sticking around this old man."
Yuan Ling deliberately cracked a few jokes to ease the somewhat heavy atmosphere.
Dai Bo clenched his fists tightly, and could only apologize to Yuan Ling once more: "I'm sorry, Professor Yuan."
"Hey, this kid, why are you still butting heads with me?" Yuan Ling waved his hand helplessly. "Don't worry, I'm really not angry. But as my student, even after graduation, you absolutely must have a good place to go - otherwise, it'd be a blow to my reputation. I need to think of a good arrangement for you—"
Although little Dai wasn't going for a PhD, he had already worked with their team many times and participated in code development for several important projects. So in terms of ability and experience, there was absolutely no issue. Now he just needed to consider Dai Bo's main direction and figure out where to place him that would be most suitable - he absolutely couldn't let such talent go to waste or be delayed...
Actually, thinking about it, many of the teams they'd collaborated with had indeed been asking about Dai Bo's future work situation. Especially with that last project - the person in charge had even called higher-ups specifically, wanting to poach Dai Bo directly.
If it weren't for Dai Bo's thesis still being held up with him, this student would probably have been snatched away by others long ago.
But somehow, Yuan Ling suddenly thought of Xiao He, who had just called asking him for people.
So, Yuan Ling joked with a smile: "You guys, always coming to me for help day in and day out. You might not know this yet, but that brat Xiao He is also planning to start an AI tech company and was asking me for people."
"Xiao He is starting a company too?" Dai Bo was also quite shocked. "Isn't he in the entertainment industry?"
Having been buried in his thesis until he couldn't see straight, Dai Bo had no idea what big moves Xiao He had been making.
"Pfft, who knows what that kid wants to do next. One day east, the next west - he never focuses on anything."
Yuan Ling was roasting Xiao He, but from the smile in his eyes, it was clear he wasn't angry with Xiao He - if anything, he was quite satisfied.
"Why don't you just go try his company? You young folks - I remember you all get along well, right?"
Yuan Ling said it casually, but quickly contradicted himself: "No, that won't do either. Going to his new company would just be a waste of time. He has nothing going on there. You'd just be throwing yourself away. I can't let him hold back your development."
Yuan Ling wanted to find Dai Bo a team where he could jump into projects and start working immediately. Besides, Dai Bo had no shortage of options - the moment news of his availability got out, people would come knocking.
As for Xiao He's new company, it sounded like a spur-of-the-moment idea. Not only did it not even have a name, but there wasn't even a detailed company plan. And from the sound of it, the staffing was pitifully sparse. Yuan Ling couldn't bear to let his prized student waste his time there.
But Yuan Ling's casual remark made Dai Bo take notice: "Then let me go ask him first. If he needs help, I can go take a look too."
...
So that evening, when Xiao He got Dai Bo's call, he was still a bit shocked: "Huh, Old Dai, you're about to graduate?"
"Yeah, that's right—"
Xiao He slapped his forehead hard: "Old Dai is graduating with his master's this year!"
Holy crap, time had flown by so fast! It felt like they hadn't even graduated that long ago, and Dai Bo had only started his master's a few days back. How had it already come around to him preparing his thesis and getting ready to graduate?!
To be fair, it wasn't that Xiao He had forgotten about Dai Bo - it was just that everyone had been busy with their own things lately. Dai Bo had always been the top student, the one everyone looked up to, and they were usually too embarrassed to interrupt his academic grind.
- Yes, in the eyes of Chinese people, studying is always more important than working.
Xiao He had always figured that Dai Bo, as a graduate student, would keep climbing the ladder, doing research, diving into academia - someone on a completely different path from them.
But now that he thought about it, wasn't that exactly the kind of talent he needed?
"But Old Dai, aren't you going for a PhD?"
Xiao He asked with some concern.
Dai Bo had been the true scholar in their dorm, a top-tier academic throughout the whole department. And with his stellar grades and good relationship with his advisor Yuan Ling, he could easily stay on for research work if he wanted a doctorate.
Xiao He had assumed he'd keep studying all the way through, eventually landing an offer from some important research institute.
"Uh—" Dai Bo scratched his head. "I mainly just want to get a job."
"Why would you want to work..."
Xiao He thought about Dai Bo's family situation and fell silent.
Although Dai Bo was close with all of them, Xiao He knew that his family circumstances were probably the toughest among the dormmates.
Zhai Zhipeng didn't need much explanation - his old man ran a company, making him the wealthiest. He Junhao's family wasn't rich, but they were very open-minded and had supported him early on in becoming a content creator, which already put them ahead of most ordinary families.
And Xiao He himself - both his parents were working-class. They weren't filthy rich, but they were extremely stable. Years of hard work had given them a comfortable life, with no worries about food or money. If he wanted something, he could usually get it. He was one of those kids with parents backing him up.
Dai Bo was different. His family was based in Shanghai, but he was the middle child of five. His parents had slaved away to stay in Shanghai, burdened with sky-high mortgages that they'd spent almost their entire lives paying off. Raising five kids had crushed them under an unbearable weight.
As the middle child, Dai Bo had an older sister and brother above him, and a younger sister and brother below who needed care. Sandwiched in between, it wasn't easy for him to get much attention. But thankfully, even though life was a bit tight, they never lacked for school fees. There was never a situation where someone had to sacrifice their future for another.
And Dai Bo himself had been determined. He'd always excelled academically since childhood. Between scholarships, various subsidies, and the meager but consistent allowance from home, he'd never had to suffer through working during summer or winter breaks. In college, he'd directly joined some seniors in software development, saving up a decent sum along the way. So even through his university years, he'd never had to worry about money.
That money was enough to see him through his master's.
But if he kept going for a doctorate, there would inevitably be some pressure.
And that pressure might not just be financial - it could be about life in general too.
With all these factors combined, Dai Bo choosing to give up on a PhD and go for a job instead was simply unavoidable.
Xiao He didn't know what to say. He could only advise Dai Bo: "This is way too important a decision. You should think it over carefully! If you need any help, we'll definitely be there for you."
"And besides, my company hasn't even launched yet. There aren't many projects right now either... Ahem, maybe you should listen to Professor Yuan's advice."
If Yuan Ling was worried about this, Xiao He was too. He was genuinely afraid that if he lured Dai Bo into his company, he'd end up holding back his development instead.
Dai Bo thought about it for a moment, then said: "I'm still busy with my thesis anyway, and there's still a long time before graduation. How about you get the company sorted first, and we'll talk then? When can you come back to Shanghai? We'll discuss it face to face."
"Sure."
Xiao He agreed readily.