51: Chapter 51 Singularity Expansion: Blue Whale Colleagues Join Us

"Ding-dong—"

Zhou Yurou's computer notification sounds chimed one after another. Rubbing her temples, she turned the screen toward Zhang Fan. "This is already the three hundred and twenty-sixth resume today. If this continues, we'll have to hire an HR person first."

Zhang Fan stood up and poured a glass of warm water for Zhou Yurou. His gaze swept past the window—in the corridor of the Incubator Park, several groups of people were peeking into their studio. One didn't even need to think to know they were here for job interviews.

All of this stemmed from a rumor that had suddenly gone viral three days ago. Someone had dug up the grievances between Zhang Fan and Blue Whale in exhaustive detail: from Chang Yuan stealing projects and Gu Feifei's betrayal, to Allen welshing on debts, and finally Zhang Fan using technical and legal means to force them into bankruptcy...

Embellished versions of the story were spreading like wildfire in industry groups, and the final takeaway became "Zhang Fan's technical skills are god-like; he overturned a listed company single-handedly."

Consequently, Singularity Technology's recruitment information was pushed to the top of the industry's trending searches.

"How about we call Old Gu over?" Zhang Fan suggested. "He's had absolutely nothing to do lately. He'll definitely be happy to come if we call him."

Zhou Yurou raised an eyebrow. "He is the eldest young master of the Gu Group, after all. He can't keep coming here to serve as free labor for us, can he?"

"Don't worry, he'd love to." Zhang Fan pulled out his phone and dialed, his tone certain. "Lately, Aunt Tang has been arranging blind dates for him—three a day. He shivers now whenever he sees the opposite sex."

The call was answered almost instantly, and Gu Jingshen's loud voice exploded from the receiver. "Fan Zi! Is there work? Is it an emergency? I can't talk, I'm stuck here—"

Zhang Fan held the phone and froze for three seconds, then said into the receiver with a bewildered expression, "I haven't even said anything yet!"

"Then say it quickly!" Gu Jingshen's voice suddenly dropped, mixed with the faint sound of a woman's voice in the distance. "My mom arranged another blind date for me. She's sitting right across from me in the cafe. Quick, think of a way to save me!"

"How about you tell my mom? Just say it's a dire emergency on your end?"

Zhang Fan rolled his eyes at the phone. "You bastard, so you're putting on a one-man show?"

"Big brother, I'm begging you!" Gu Jingshen's voice carried a hint of a sob. "If I have to go on another blind date, I'll perform a live coffee cup swallowing on the spot!"

"Fine." Zhang Fan suppressed a laugh. "Put Aunt Tang on the phone."

A rustling sound came from the receiver, likely Gu Jingshen frantically covering the microphone to negotiate with his mother. A few seconds later, a gentle yet somewhat scrutinizing voice spoke: "Xiao Fan, is that you?"

"Hello, Aunt Tang." Zhang Fan cleared his throat, his tone solemn. "I'm not intentionally looking for an excuse, but I really need Jingshen's help with something. As you know, our studio just started making a profit, and the number of applicants is about to burst our inbox. I really can't handle it all by myself."

"If you can't handle it, then hire more people." Tang Wanqing's voice was filled with a smile. "Didn't Jingshen say you guys made several million? Are you still short on that bit of labor cost?"

"It's not that; we just don't have the manpower to screen the resumes!" Zhang Fan followed her lead. "Jingshen is much better at this than I am. Let him come and help me keep an eye on things for a day, and we'll be able to filter everyone out by tonight."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds before Tang Wanqing's voice softened. "Alright, I'll let him head over. But let's get this straight—you can't lie to me. I know you two are close, so don't team up to fool me."

"Aunt Tang, I swear!" Zhang Fan raised three fingers and gestured at the air. "I'm definitely not lying to you. Tonight, I'll have Jingshen take a video of the studio for you to guarantee he's buried in work!"

"That's more like it." Tang Wanqing laughed. "Tell him to get lost and get over there quickly, so he stops being an eyesore here."

As soon as the call hung up, a message from Gu Jingshen popped up: [Brother, words cannot express my gratitude! I'll treat you to a great meal tonight!]

Zhang Fan shook his head with a smile and turned to call out to Zhou Yurou, "Old Gu, the reinforcement, will be here soon. The three of us can make some headway in screening these resumes tonight."

Zhou Yurou looked at his phone screen and couldn't help but tease, "You're not looking for a helper; you're clearly opening a sanctuary for the young master of the Gu family."

"It's mutually beneficial." Zhang Fan raised an eyebrow. "He helps us work, we help him dodge blind dates. It's a win-win."

Half an hour later, Gu Jingshen rushed into the studio in a flurry, sweat still on his forehead from running. "Quick, find me something to do. I need to take a photo to send to my mom."

The three of them gathered around the computer, and as soon as they clicked on the first resume, they were stunned.

"Holy crap, this resume says 'proficient in the entire Office Suite' and he dares to apply for Technical Manager with a requested monthly salary of fifty thousand?" Gu Jingshen laughed so hard he slapped the table. "Does he think Excel in Office can write code?"

Zhou Yurou flipped to the next one, her brow twitching. "This one is even more extreme. The work experience says 'formerly served as a chef, salesman, and kindergarten teacher,' and the applied position is HR Director. The reason is 'good at dealing with all kinds of people'."

Zhang Fan almost sprayed a mouthful of water onto the screen. "Why didn't he just apply for CEO? At least he could manage the three of us."

Joking aside, there were quite a few familiar faces mixed in the resumes—mostly former Blue Whale employees.

"This is practically becoming a Blue Whale branch." Zhou Yurou scrolled with the mouse, her tone subtle. "Does this count as us poaching from them?"

Gu Jingshen sneered and leaned back in his chair. "What's wrong with poaching? We're providing a way out for brothers who once shared the same trenches and classrooms! Besides, those Blue Whale executives have all run away, leaving the people below to suffer. What's wrong with us taking them in?"

Zhang Fan and Zhou Yurou looked at each other and said in unison, "Cringe."

While they were joking around, Gu Jingshen suddenly pointed at the screen. "Hey, isn't this Big Old Wang?"

Zhang Fan leaned in to look, and the three characters "Wang Chengsi" were clearly on the screen.

Memories instantly flooded back—Wang Chengsi was a senior from Jiang University. Back then, it was he who had guided Zhang Fan, who had just joined Blue Whale, through the environment, teaching him how to deal with the difficult testing team and dragging him to the hole-in-the-wall eatery downstairs for a bowl of beef noodles during lunch breaks.

At that time, Wang Chengsi would always say, "Xiao Fan, for us techies, our skills must be solid, and our friends must be true."

When Zhang Fan first entered Blue Whale, the project team was full of factions. It was Wang Chengsi who pulled him into his own small circle, taking him to street stalls to drink on weekends, calling it "networking."

Later, when Zhang Fan was with Gu Feifei, his time and money were "drained" by love, so he gradually withdrew from that drinking circle. Their relationship had faded a bit, but that care was always remembered.

"Why is he submitting a resume too?" Gu Jingshen scratched his head. "I remember he worked at Blue Whale for nearly ten years; he's considered a veteran."

"After the Blue Whale collapse, he was the only one who stood up to speak for me." Zhang Fan spoke suddenly, his voice softening. "He probably got purged by Blue Whale."

Gu Jingshen gave an "oh" and didn't ask further. Zhou Yurou tapped the table. "How are his technical skills? Can he handle a core position?"

"His skills aren't top-tier, but they are incredibly stable." Zhang Fan recalled. "In the past, the messiest disasters in the project team were all straightened out by him little by little."

Gu Jingshen rubbed his chin. "How about... let him be the technical director?"

Zhang Fan nodded. "Let him be responsible for basic code review and version control. This work is tedious, but it's what he's best at."

Zhang Fan looked up at Zhou Yurou, his eyes filled with inquiry.

Zhou Yurou was flipping through Wang Chengsi's resume. "I don't understand technology; if you guys think it's appropriate, then it's fine. However..." She changed the subject and looked at Zhang Fan. "It's better to be safe. Let's have him start as the Assistant Technical Manager first."

Gu Jingshen smacked his lips on the side. "Sister Zhou is still the most thoughtful. This is called a probationary period assessment. Reasonable, reasonable."

Zhang Fan nodded with a smile. "We'll do as Sister Zhou says." Saying that, he picked up his phone and dialed Wang Chengsi's number.