You Chose Your Male Best Friend, So Why Are You Crying After I Let Go? - Chapter 10:

Chapter 10: The Project Brought by Director Yang

A complete person is a culmination of all the books they’ve read, the paths they’ve walked, the people they’ve loved, and the experiences they’ve had.

At this moment, Gu Zhe gave Yang Yan a feeling that she couldn’t quite describe.

He seemed to possess both the youthful energy and innocence of a second-year university student, as well as a maturity and weariness far beyond his age.

After dazing for a moment, Yang Yan curled her lips, “Alright, enough with the big talk. Show me your real skills! You really don’t feel bitter about those two unfinished projects from your freshman year?”

To be honest, if it were the Gu Zhe from his previous life, he did often think about it.

If he had won a provincial or even national award back in his first year, his professional path might have started from a much higher platform.

But now, for the current Gu Zhe, those things no longer mattered.

“Teacher Yang, I—”

Unexpectedly, Yang Yan had no intention of listening to his answer.

“Alright, I know. After your freshman year, your focus wasn’t on studying or your future development. Including what just happened, all these things…”

Yang Yan paused slightly, hinting a warning, “Gu Zhe, you’re incredibly gifted, and your abilities are outstanding. We’ll set this incident aside for now, but I hope… there won’t be a next time.”

Gu Zhe smiled in relief, “Don’t worry, Teacher Yang. I’ve come to understand that some things are better cut off early when the outcome is already doomed. I can’t possibly trade my entire youth, or even my whole life, for someone else’s maybe.”

Yang Yan, who was already in her thirties, could basically guess what had happened just by looking at Gu Zhe’s expression.

She sighed silently in her heart, but still showed a bright smile.

“Gu Zhe, I’m glad you’ve thought it through. Coincidentally, I have a task for you—there’s a project from the School of Media and Arts that’s already passed the city-level preliminary review. It has a lot of potential.”

“But if it’s to go further, it’ll need help from our Computer Science department.”

School of Media and Arts?

If he remembered correctly, Lin Nuo’er studied Digital Media Technology in that school.

Back then, when Gu Zhe learned about her major, in his ignorance, he even teased her about it—saying it was like Zhang Fei doing embroidery—and naturally, that earned him a well-deserved beating from Lin Nuo’er.

Gu Zhe accepted the stack of documents from Yang Yan and flipped through them casually, showing little interest.

It was a UI design for a mobile app. Compared to common designs on the market at the time, it had notable improvements in interactivity and usability. It was definitely commendable.

However, the leap wasn’t big. It was more like small-scale tinkering. For university students, it was decent. But for someone like Gu Zhe, with several years of experience in major tech companies and exposure to serious challenges, it wasn’t even a splash in the pond.

Gu Zhe also knew what Yang Yan meant by “help.”

Most so-called innovation projects in universities focus more on participation—letting students experience planning and teamwork.

As for whether a finished product was required, the standards weren’t high.

But since this media arts project had passed the city-level review, if they wanted to move on to the provincial level, they’d at least need something functional.

That was the task Yang Yan assigned to Gu Zhe.

He was just about to decline when he heard Yang Yan’s encouraging words.

“Gu Zhe, I know your progress was delayed last year by other matters. For this project, there’s no need to feel pressured—it’s about participation. More than the outcome, I hope you’ll do what you just said… rediscover that unstoppable, motivated version of yourself.”

Seeing the sincere hope on Yang Yan’s face, Gu Zhe suddenly didn’t have the heart to turn her down.

Maybe for him now, he could easily whip up ten better designs and programs than this.

But looking at it another way, Yang Yan was basically handing him a provincial-level participation award—or even better—on a silver platter.

Many students work hard for four years and leave with little more than a campus-level record—sometimes even a disciplinary one.

Yang Yan giving him this project was already a huge gesture of care.

In the end, even if he turned out average, would a teacher like Director Yang truly be disappointed?

He faintly remembered that, in his previous life, at his wedding, Yang Yan attended despite her greying hair and excitedly shared photos from their university days with the guests.

Perhaps, seeing their students live well and be happy brought kind teachers more joy than seeing them become so-called big shots.

Yang Yan in front of him was still young, her long black hair graceful and flowing.

Fine then—let her grow one less white hair.

Gu Zhe swallowed the words he was about to say and asked teasingly, “Director Yang, if I bring back a National Gold Award, will you get a bonus?”

Yang Yan couldn’t help but laugh behind her hand, “Gu Zhe, you still don’t understand what a National Award means, do you?”

That’s a real competition, where you face off against top-tier universities like Huaqing, T9, 985s, and more.

Just being selected to represent the province in the national competition was already a tremendous honor.

The National Gold Award—also known as First Prize—was the highest recognition, aside from the rarely granted Special Award.

“If you really bring back a national award, I could start preparing my speech for the year-end meeting at the college!”

Gu Zhe smiled, neatly organized the documents, and raised them slightly.

“Then you better start preparing your speech!”

After saying goodbye to Gu Zhe, Yang Yan stared at his departing figure in silence for a while.

Then, she shook her head with a bitter smile.

“Sigh… I thought our Software Engineering Department’s golden couple would stay within the family.”

As she spoke, Yang Yan opened her computer and pulled up an old military training photo stored on the hard drive.

The boy looked sharp and masculine, the girl gentle and beautiful.

Even dressed in simple camouflage uniforms, they looked like a perfect match made in heaven.

“Looks like I won’t get to use this photo as an excuse to skip giving a wedding gift at your wedding anymore…”

…

At the same time, in Dorm Room 3-402 of the School of Media and Arts, where Lin Nuo’er lived, a small chat group had already formed—one that excluded her.

“You guys think… why did Gu Zhe suddenly become so warm toward Nuo’er?”

“Must’ve finally come to his senses. Nuo’er’s so pretty—what guy wouldn’t be moved?”

“No way! Nuo’er used to be so proactive, and all he ever saw was that Song Yihan from his major. I think something fishy is going on here!”

“I know the reason! Look at the project we submitted for the provincial competition!”

“That bastard Gu Zhe!”

“He—he’s trying to live off Nuo’er!”