Algorithm system

Daily life in XiaoyaneiZhang Yan’s terrible biological clock ensured she would always wait for Lin Yuan downstairs at his dorm building at the same time every day.

Sometimes, when Lin Yuan was lazy and wanted to sleep in a bit longer, she would call him to wake him up.

”What kind of scion doesn’t even sleep in like you?”

”My routine has been like this since I was little, following my grandparents. And the final exams are coming up soon; I’m supervising you.”

After that, Lin Yuan had a shadow constantly trailing him.

Except for when he went to the restroom, they were together at all other times: eating together, studying together, and exercising together. Oh, right, and they weren’t together when they slept.

”Zhang Yan, I spend more time with you every day now than I do with my wife.”

”Hmm~, what are you trying to say?”

”I don’t know, I just feel like this isn’t right. But you’re like a plaster, impossible to shake off.”

”Why do you want to shake me off?”

”Because men and women should keep their distance, right?”

”Then you go get a surgery, and I’ll call you Senior Sister?”

”Damn it! Why isn’t it you who gets the surgery?”

”I haven’t had enough of being a girl yet.”

”Well, I haven’t had enough of being a man yet.”

”Senior Brother, what do you like about Xia Ye? What’s good about a girl who just cries all the time?”

”Eh~, it’s good for girls to cry all the time.”

”Then you don’t need to think too much. I definitely won’t learn to cry.”

”That’s true. How about you come to my house for a meal sometime?”

”Ah?” Zhang Yan was surprised. ”Aren’t you always afraid that Xia Ye will find out that you and I are together all the time?”

”Since we’re open and above board, we shouldn’t hide. I’ll just say you were a police auxiliary before, and now you’ve resigned to come study.”

”Then it’s a deal.” Zhang Yan, of course, wasn’t afraid of making a big deal out of it. She immediately took Lin Yuan’s hand and hooked pinkies with him.

—

Good Group’s publicity arrived like a sudden thunderclap in June.

[Raise delivery riders Wages] This was the slogan Good Group used for this wave of advertising.

Lin Yuan paid attention to the food delivery groups every day.

At first, the various food delivery masters in the group were sarcastic, but after experiencing the actual benefits, more and more people became spontaneous promoters.

These delivery riderss, who usually used all sorts of profanity in the group, seemed to have low quality, but if they were given tangible benefits, they wouldn’t overthink it; they would only give back with actual word-of-mouth. Essentially, they were actually very simple.

Zhang Yan found it difficult to agree with Lin Yuan’s evaluation of the delivery riders group as ”simple.”

Out of curiosity, she would also lean next to Lin Yuan and look at the chat in his phone’s food delivery group.

For her, this was a completely new world. She even wanted Lin Yuan to add her, but Lin Yuan obviously wouldn’t agree to her.

”They’re really good at cursing, you know.” This was Zhang Yan’s impression of the delivery riderss. ”They’re also very good at self-deprecation.”

Lin Yuan wouldn’t let her see all the chat records in the group.

”Senior Brother, why don’t you let me see?”

”Because it’s not suitable for minors.”

”I’m already an adult.”

The more Lin Yuan didn’t let her see, the more eager she became.

But Lin Yuan’s grip was not as strong as Zhang Yan’s.

When Zhang Yan pried open Lin Yuan’s hand and curiously clicked on a short video in a chat record, her whole body froze.

”You still say they’re simple. I think everyone in the group is a bad person. The people twisting and turning in that video are also bad people. I hate these kinds of videos the most; when I receive popular pushes, I block every single one I see.” Zhang Yan was referring to her previous online work; when she received popular video pushes from the internal system, she had deleted countless suggestive videos.

”What are good girls doing twisting and turning online?”

”How do I explain this to you?” Lin Yuan rubbed his head. ”Being refined doesn’t mean someone is simple. Being full of profanity doesn’t mean someone is malicious. How much clothing they wear also has nothing to do with it.”

Lin Yuan couldn’t help but think of Da Zhang. ”Let’s just talk about one of my delivery riders friends. Last time Xia Ye and I went to his house, he spoke very bluntly, and at the time, I found it quite jarring. But then I thought about it carefully, the difference between him and others is just that he’s straightforward and says what he thinks, while many people just know how to express themselves more subtly.

This process of packaging is called ’courtesy.’

Courtesy is, of course, very important, just like children like to eat candy; it’s an exclusive candy for adults. Or, more accurately, it’s called emotional value.

But what exactly is the definition of simple? Does it refer to the understanding and application of courtesy, or the way one responds to situations?

If simple is defined by behavior, then look at these Riders; aren’t they all quite simple?

They curse when they’re oppressed by the food delivery platform, and they praise it when the food delivery platform treats them a little better.

Although they might talk about some conspiracy theories, they don’t delve deep into them; their behavior is very predictable.

Since their behavior is very predictable, then aren’t they simple?”

Zhang Yan blinked and thought for a long time, then suddenly stared at Lin Yuan and asked, ”Then, Senior Brother, are you simple?”

”Senior Brother is not simple, not at all simple.”

”Where are you not simple? You just said simple is linked to behavior, so have you done something bad?”

”Hmm~, I don’t know if it counts as bad, maybe you’ll find out I’m a bad person in the future.”

”Even if you’re a bad person, but you’re my Senior Brother, you won’t be bad to me, right?”

Lin Yuan could only smile and skip the topic.

Letting Zhang Yan read more of the food delivery group’s chat logs was beneficial.

The more she read, the more she gradually understood: that ten yuan could only buy such food; that some people would run red lights for a potential fine of tens of yuan; that some people, without any possessions, relied on food delivery to make a living; that behind food delivery pricing lay extremely complex algorithms... It turned out that many places in this world were self-contained small worlds.

—

While Good Group was raising delivery riders wages, its food delivery algorithm, after thorough testing, was rolled out across Zijin City overnight.

The market initially generally believed that this was Good Group being forced by pressure from above to increase delivery cost investment, thereby improving delivery riders treatment and achieving the goal of stabilizing social employment. And once this was done, Good Group’s operating costs would increase.

Thus, a strange scene appeared: Good Group had just made its move, and its stock price actually fell a little further.

This also made Lin Yuan determined to stay away from the stock market in the future, because the stock market was simply unreasonable.

He had originally thought that once Good Group made a move, its stock price would rise against the trend. But the fact was, the stock market always had a lag.

When Good Group’s reputation in Zijin City was subtly on the verge of exploding, its stock price in HK was still like a dead fish.

Lin Yuan discovered how the stock price and actual value often inverted in the short term.

”Senior Brother, you said Good Group’s stock price would skyrocket. Now what? You haven’t lost a lot, have you?”

”Senior Brother doesn’t know either. How would I know there’s a bottom after eighteen levels? But it should be about time now; Good Group’s stock price is like dry tinder and raging fire, just missing a spark. Senior Brother will be able to return your one million soon.”

”You don’t need to return it to me; keep it as my meal money.”

”What do you eat that costs a million in meal money?”

”Didn’t you say you’d take me home for a meal? How about you just set an extra bowl and chopsticks at your house from now on, and I’ll come over for free meals often?”

”Are you also hoping Xia Ye calls you Little Aunt?”

”That would be the best; you might as well be my older brother.”