Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 40 Meeting the Parents

On the first weekend of July, Yu Ying took Zuo Cheng home.

Yu Ying's home was in an old residential area in the eastern part of Huaxia City, a six-story red brick building. Faded community notices were posted in the stairwell, and several towels were hanging on the iron railings at the entrance. Zuo Cheng followed Yu Ying up to the fourth floor. As she took out her keys to open the door, she glanced back at him.

"My dad isn't a talkative person, but he understands everything. Just speak normally, don't be nervous."

"I'm not nervous," Zuo Cheng said.

Yu Ying looked at him for two seconds: "Your palms are sweating."

Zuo Cheng looked down at his hands and silently wiped them on his pants.

The door opened.

The living room wasn't large, but it was very clean. The cushions on the sofa were neatly arranged, a pot of freshly brewed Longjing tea sat on the coffee table, and the bookshelf next to the TV cabinet was crammed with books—Zuo Cheng glanced at the spines and saw that most of them were physics textbooks and supplementary materials, with a few literary magazines interspersed among them.

Yu Ying's father, Yu Jianguo, sat on the sofa, holding a teacup in his hand. He looked to be in his early fifties, with a straight posture, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and had the kind of face of an old teacher who had stood on the podium for more than twenty years—authoritative without being angry.

Yu Ying's mother, Liu Fang, poked her head out of the kitchen, her apron dusted with flour, and said with a smile, "Coming, coming! Come on in, have a seat. We're making dumplings for lunch."

"Hello, Uncle. Hello, Aunt." Zuo Cheng placed the two boxes of tea and the box of fruit he had brought on the coffee table. "It's just a small token of my appreciation."

Yu Jianguo put down his teacup and looked Zuo Cheng up and down for a few seconds.

"sit."

Just one word.

Zuo Cheng sat down on the sofa. Yu Ying sat down next to him and subtly nudged his elbow, meaning "relax."

"Xiao Zuo, Kong Kong said you just graduated this year?" Yu Jianguo asked.

Empty.

Zuo Cheng paused for a moment, then glanced at Yu Ying. Yu Ying's ears turned slightly red.

"Dad, don't call me by my nickname—"

"What do you call me by my nickname at home?" Yu Jianguo's tone remained unchanged as he turned back to Zuo Cheng, "Are you majoring in Information Engineering at Huazhong University?"

"Yes, Uncle."

"You won a provincial award for your graduation thesis?"

"Yes."

"Yu Ying mentioned your thesis topic to me: satellite-to-ground link channel prediction." Yu Jianguo picked up his teacup and took a sip. "Although I teach physics, I also know a little about communications. Can you explain in one sentence what problem your research solves?"

This is an exam. Zuo Cheng immediately realized—it's a physics teacher's professional habit to judge a person by whether they can explain complex things simply.

"The communication signal between satellites and the ground can change due to weather and satellite movement. My research uses an algorithm to predict these changes in advance, allowing the communication system to adjust accordingly and ensuring uninterrupted signal transmission."

Yu Jianguo's expression did not change, but he nodded.

"That's clear." He put down his teacup. "I heard you didn't go to work for Blue Bay Communications and started your own company?"

Yes. Huaxia 402 Technology Co., Ltd. provides communication technology services and embedded software development.

How much is the registered capital?

One million.

"Has the payment been actually made?"

Zuo Cheng hadn't expected a high school physics teacher to ask about actual contributions. He honestly replied, "Three hundred thousand."

Yu Jianguo didn't press the matter. He glanced at Yu Ying, then looked back at Zuo Cheng.

"Xiao Zuo, I have a direct question for you. You don't have to answer, but if you do, it can't be a lie."

"Uncle, please speak."

"How will you support my daughter?"

The living room was silent for two seconds. Yu Ying opened her mouth as if to say something, but her mother reached out from the kitchen and tugged at her sleeve—Liu Fang had appeared at the living room doorway at some point, and shook her head slightly at Yu Ying, meaning "let him answer himself."

Zuo Cheng looked into Yu Jianguo's eyes.

"Uncle, 402 is indeed still in its early stages. But we just delivered the first milestone of the Blue Bay Communications Sky Dome project last month, with a total contract value of 980,000, and we have cash flow in the account. I'm also pursuing my doctorate in engineering, so my academic pursuits haven't stopped. I can't guarantee everything will go smoothly in the future, but I can guarantee two things—first, I won't stop; second, Yu Ying will always be my top priority."

Yu Jianguo stared at him for about five seconds.

Then he picked up the teapot and poured Zuo Cheng a cup of tea.

"Have some tea."

Yu Ying's shoulders visibly relaxed.

Liu Fang clapped her hands with a smile: "Alright, alright, don't just sit there, come and help make dumplings."

The atmosphere became much more relaxed while making dumplings. Liu Fang was very talkative, pulling Zuo Cheng aside to ask him all sorts of questions—where he was from, what his parents did for a living, and whether he had any siblings. Zuo Cheng answered each question, and Liu Fang nodded frequently after listening, clearly indicating that Yu Ying had done her homework beforehand.

Yu Jianguo didn't talk much. He sat to the side rolling out dumpling wrappers, his movements as nimble as if he'd been doing it all his life.

Yu Ying was making dumplings next to Zuo Cheng, and her technique was much more skillful than his. The dumplings Zuo Cheng made were crooked and uneven, and Yu Ying couldn't help but laugh when she saw them.

"You're such a good coder, but you're making dumplings like a primary school student."

"Everyone has their own expertise." Zuo Cheng placed a strange-looking dumpling onto a plate without changing his expression.

Liu Fang joked from the side, "It's okay, it's okay, you'll get the hang of it after a few more tries."

The meaning of "come a few more times" is very clear. Zuo Cheng glanced at Yu Jianguo. The old man didn't look up, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

After finishing the dumplings, Liu Fang pulled Yu Jianguo to the kitchen to wash the dishes, leaving the living room to the two young people. Yu Ying poured Zuo Cheng a cup of tea and whispered, "You answered my dad's question very well. He just gave my mom a wink, meaning 'This kid's alright.'"

How did you know?

"I've lived in this house for twenty-two years; I deciphered their code long ago."

Zuo Cheng smiled. Then he remembered something.

"Empty?"

Yu Ying's face turned red instantly.

"Don't shout—"

Why is it called "Kongkong"?

Yu Ying pursed her lips and lowered her head to stir the tea leaves in her teacup.

"When I was little, I loved to daydream. I'd sit there for hours, eyes glazed over. My mom said I looked completely empty. That's how that nickname stuck." She glared at Zuo Cheng. "Only my parents call me that. You're not allowed to."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Yu Ying paused, "because it doesn't sound good."

"I think it sounds pretty good," Zuo Cheng said earnestly, "Kongkong."

Yu Ying's ears turned red to her earlobes. She turned her face away to look at the window, her voice muffled: "Then you can only call out when no one else is around."

"OK."

Yu Ying was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly whispered, "Then I'll change it too."

"Change what?"

"From now on, I'll call you brother."

Zuo Cheng was stunned for a moment.

"Although I'm a grade above you, I'm actually five months younger than you," Yu Ying's voice trailed off. "And... 'brother' and 'Cheng-ge' are different. When others call you 'Cheng-ge' it's polite, but when I call you 'brother' it's because..."

Before she could finish speaking, she picked up her teacup and covered half of her face.

Zuo Cheng looked at her reddened ear tips and felt a warm feeling well up in his heart.

"Okay," he said.

It was already evening when we left Yu Ying's house. Yu Jianguo stood at the door and said, "Drive carefully," his tone much more relaxed than when we had met at noon. Liu Fang stuffed a bag of homemade frozen dumplings into Zuo Cheng's hand, telling him to take it home and eat it slowly.

On the way downstairs, Yu Ying was walking ahead when she suddenly stopped and turned around.

"elder brother."

Zuo Cheng looked up at her. The setting sun shone through the window in the hallway, bathing her in a warm glow.

Thank you for coming today.

"You're welcome." Zuo Cheng walked up two steps to meet her gaze. "Come every weekend from now on."

Yu Ying smiled, turned around and continued downstairs, her ponytail swaying gently behind her.

Zuo Cheng followed behind, carrying a bag of frozen dumplings, thinking that this was probably the most fulfilling summer of his two lifetimes combined.