Chapter 63

"Yale," Judy finally answered after a moment of silence.

Li Xu immediately let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "That's great, as long as it's not MIT."

"MIT?" Judy was a bit puzzled.

"MIT, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, they're arch-rivals with Harvard," Li Xu explained.

"Arch-rivals? Why?" Judy was even more curious.

"MIT and Harvard are separated by the Charles River. MIT leads in science and technology, while Harvard excels in the humanities, so they look down on each other. They've pulled many pranks on each other," Li Xu said confidently. "For example, in 1982, the Harvard Crimson and Yale..."

"Wait, you mean 1982?" Judy敏锐地抓住了一个漏洞。

"Uh..." Li Xu looked embarrassed, "Of... of course not, it should be 1882... Well, at that time, there wasn't... Damn, I forgot the exact year..."

"Then you should think before you speak," Judy's expression was serious, but her shoulders were trembling, and she was struggling to keep a straight face.

"Alright, let's change the topic," Li Xu waved his hand irritably, "On the Charles River, MIT students have to cross a bridge to get to Boston, and this bridge is called the Harvard Bridge. MIT students were unhappy with the name, so they sent engineers to inspect the bridge. They announced that the bridge was unstable and might collapse soon, which indeed fits Harvard's name."

Pfft, Judy burst out laughing but quickly regained her serious face. "Then what happened?"

"Of course, it collapsed five years later due to increased traffic. The current Harvard Bridge has been rebuilt," Li Xu shrugged.

"So, if you go to MIT, it would be convenient for me to visit you, but as a Harvard student, it would be a bit awkward. Yale is much better. Although it's a bit far, it's not a problem," he said, suddenly reaching out and gently sliding his hand across Judy's cheek.

Judy, who had been smiling, immediately tensed up, her eyes widened, and an angry expression appeared on her face.

"No more of that!" she growled.

"Why not?" Li Xu asked, puzzled and even a bit hurt, "You were so proactive back then..."

"No more of that!" Judy growled again, her eyes almost glaring.

Li Xu sighed helplessly, looking at her with a melancholic gaze. Judy took several deep breaths to control her emotions before saying resentfully, "You even mentioned Ms. Chilis's party? Who chased me, grabbed me, and pinned me down..."

At this point, her face turned red, and she stopped speaking.

"First, you stood me up; second, that knee was really heavy," Li Xu said, counting on his fingers.

Judy instinctively covered her face, then lowered her hands after a while. "Can we not do this, Edward?"

"The problem is, you always try to run away from me," Li Xu shrugged.

"Are you saying it's my fault?" Judy was about to lose her temper again.

"Alright, I'm at fault too. I shouldn't have teased you so much," Li Xu raised his hands.

After a moment, Judy pursed her lips and sighed, "I don't want to date you, Edward, although... although... our relationship is too strange, too messy, too entangled... Damn, I don't even know what to say!"

She waved her arms and then let them fall, her hands twisting together, looking very troubled.

"At least we can still be friends, right?" Li Xu sighed again.

Judy Foster looked at him, her beautiful gray-blue eyes filled with complex emotions. After a while, she said hesitantly, "If... if you don't... do that to me anymore..."

Li Xu pinched the bridge of his nose and blurted out, "Judy, are you more attracted to women?"

It was as if he had hit her with a stick, making her eyes widen in shock. "What are you saying!"

Although her tone was harsh, her reaction looked... guilty?

Before Li Xu could answer, she stood up abruptly, her hands moving unconsciously. "I don't want to talk to you anymore, Edward. Enough, I'm leaving, I don't want to see you anymore!"

"Hey, wait, Judy, what's going on?" Li Xu called out, standing up but not chasing after her.

Watching Judy's figure disappear into the crowd, he sat back down under the gazes of those around him, then sighed melancholically, as if deeply regretful.

Then, a guy who had disappeared earlier reappeared. "Wow, it seems not telling Judy we knew each other was the right move. I now believe she really did splash water on your face."

"Shut up, Adam," Li Xu rolled his eyes.

Adam still had a playful smile. "By the way, how did you and Judy have a conflict, and... have you already..."

He raised his eyebrows suggestively, making a "you know what I mean" face. Scott, who was nearby, didn't say anything but perked up his ears.

"How did you two meet?" Li Xu asked instead of answering.

"Adam saw Judy and went to chat her up, then invited her for a drink," Scott immediately betrayed Adam completely.

Adam glared at him, then shrugged. "I just thought I'd give it a try, didn't expect her to agree."

"Really?" Li Xu stroked his chin thoughtfully. "What did you talk about?"

"What else, movies, 'Taxi Driver,' Martin Scorsese. I wanted to talk about personal stuff, but she skillfully deflected every time. She's a smart girl," Adam continued to shrug.

"Indeed," Li Xu nodded.

"So, Eddie, tell us, what's your relationship with her?" Adam grinned and brought up the topic again, with Scott also perking up his ears.

"To be honest, I don't know," Li Xu sighed. "It's a mess right now."

This time, he wasn't lying. When talking about the rivalry between Harvard and MIT, the slip of the tongue, the melancholic and helpless act, were all put on. Facing such a cute and straightforward Judy Foster, he didn't mind teasing her a bit—after all, if he didn't, he might not have the chance by April next year.

However, the 1982 part was indeed a slip of the tongue. He spoke too fast and picked a random anecdote from his memory, not realizing it was something that would happen two years later. It was a low-probability event, after all; his brain wasn't a computer.

But the relationship with Judy Foster was indeed a mess. They had been to bed together twice, but the first time was an accident due to multiple factors, and the second time was more coercive, even after some coaxing.

As a result, Judy Foster was both angry and helpless with him, so she avoided him—though that was just on the surface.

In reality, Li Xu didn't know what was going on. Logically, a straightforward girl like her, who hadn't been completely tainted by Hollywood, would either like or dislike someone, not be so hesitant and indecisive.

Unless, she had awakened her "yuri soul," Li Xu couldn't think of any other reason for her to be so flustered around him.

But from her reaction tonight, the possibility was quite high. So... was she naturally inclined that way, or had she become that way later? It was confusing.

Putting that aside, after meeting Barry Diller and Michael Eisner at Harrison Ford's party, Li Xu spent two more days in Los Angeles with Adam and Scott before returning to San Francisco to continue his business.

For example, Intel planned to send a formal team to Taiwan in August to discuss the wafer fab, so Old Edward asked Li Xu to join if he had time.

"Texas Instruments will also send someone," Old Edward said in his office.

His holding company was just a few floors above, and whenever he was in San Francisco, he could take the elevator up.

"Both sides have agreed?" Li Xu raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, who's leading the TI team?"

"An obvious choice," Old Edward smiled. "Although we haven't made it clear, that smart person has already guessed something."

"He'll agree," Li Xu shrugged. "He's already at the top in America. The Chinese have a saying: 'Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.'"

"Second, you know, I don't understand," Old Edward said bluntly.

"Alright, simply put, the chance to become the president of a world-class semiconductor manufacturing company is too good to pass up, even if the technical level is lower than that of Intel or TI," Li Xu said, not caring. "Besides, his conflicts with TI's upper management are not public, but they can't be hidden from you directors."

Pausing, he asked, "Have you explained the foundry model to him?"

"I've explained it to many people. Although it's simple, they quickly filled in the gaps and were very interested. Otherwise, I couldn't have convinced Intel to do the initial investigation," Old Edward said calmly. "Of course, the Japanese dumping semiconductors at low prices also played a role. Both TI and Intel have complained to me."

"So, shifting the industry is inevitable," Li Xu responded equally calmly, as if he didn't understand the implications in his father's words.

That's right, such matters should be discussed with Mom, not me. Can I make Sony or Toshiba listen?

"Then, should I meet him in advance?" Li Xu asked.

"That's not necessary. You can talk to him when you go," Old Edward shook his head. "However, Second, I want to remind you, this is your first large-scale investment."

"I'll be careful," Li Xu nodded. "But I also hope you can be patient, Dad."