Counterattack starts with controlling probability

That day, Li Hao was immersed in researching a new trading model when Professor Hall walked in. While looking at the documents in his hand, he said, "Li, a new scholar will be collaborating with you today. Her research direction is very consistent with yours, and I hope you can work together well."

Li Hao raised his head and asked casually, "Which professor recommended it?"

"She's from China. After graduating from Peking University and Tsinghua University, she studied in Europe for a while. You might know her." Professor Hall paused and added, "Her name is An Ran."

Hearing the name, Li Hao's hand froze for a moment, then he looked up at the door.

Sure enough, a familiar figure was pushing the door open with a gentle smile on his face.

"Li Hao, long time no see." An Ran smiled slightly, with a familiar and friendly tone in her voice.

"An Ran..." Li Hao was stunned for two seconds before slowly standing up. "Why are you here?"

"I was invited to participate in Professor Hall's project. I didn't expect to meet you." An Ran looked at Li Hao with some complicated emotions in her eyes.

Professor Hall nodded with satisfaction. "It seems you two do know each other. That makes things easier. Li, you'll be responsible for helping her familiarize herself with the project details."

Li Hao responded helplessly, watching An Ran approach, as if a torrent of memories suddenly flooded into his heart.

A few days later, Liu Xia ran into Li Hao by chance in the library.

She was about to talk to him when she saw Li Hao standing with a woman with long flowing hair.

The two talked in low voices, and the atmosphere seemed very harmonious.

"Brother Hao, who is this?" Liu Xia smiled slightly and walked forward to break the silence.

Li Hao turned his head slightly embarrassedly and explained, "This is An Ran. She recently joined our project team. We... uh, met in China before."

"An Ran, this is Liu Xia, my classmate and also...friend." Li Hao paused, seeming to be at a loss for words.

An Ran smiled generously: "Hello, Miss Liu, I've heard of you. Brother Hao's performance in Berkeley over the past two years has been truly impressive."

"Brother Hao?" Liu Xia keenly caught the name, and a strange feeling flashed through her mind.

But she still kept a smile on her face: "Miss An, you are too polite. Brother Hao is indeed very powerful, but it is also thanks to the help of the people around him."

The two of them were polite on the surface, but they were testing each other with their words.

Late one night, Li Hao was working overtime in the laboratory when An Ran walked in with two cups of coffee.

"You still haven't changed your habit of working overtime." An Ran said softly, placing a cup of coffee in front of him.

Li Hao looked up at her, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Thank you."

"Brother Hao, do you still remember when you were in Peking University and Tsinghua University? We often stayed up late like this to finish our papers." An Ran sat next to him, with a hint of nostalgia in her tone.

Li Hao smiled and whispered, "Of course I remember."

An Ran's eyes moved slightly, and her tone became more tentative: "After you left the country, I thought we might never meet again."

"I didn't expect to meet you here." Li Hao's tone was flat, but seemed a little distant.

An Ran lowered her head and took a sip of coffee, then asked softly, "When you suddenly left the country without even saying goodbye...was it because of me?"

Li Hao was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "An Ran, let's not talk about the past."

An Ran looked at him, with a hint of complicated emotions in her eyes: "But have you really let go of some things?"

Li Hao didn't respond. He lowered his head and continued to fiddle with the data model in his hand, as if he didn't hear her words.

These days, Liu Xia has been feeling inexplicably irritable.

She often saw Li Hao and An Ran appearing together in the laboratory or conference room, talking about professional terms that she could not understand.

She knew that An Ran was very successful academically and seemed to have a close relationship with Li Hao, which made her feel a little uncomfortable.

One night, she couldn't help but ask Li Hao, "Brother Hao, what is your relationship with An Ran?"

Li Hao was sorting through data with his head down when he heard this and was stunned for a moment: "She is my partner and also... an old friend."

"Just friends?" Liu Xia looked at him with a scrutinizing look in her eyes. "Why do I feel like you treat her differently?"

"Xiaoxia, you're overthinking it." Li Hao waved his hand, his tone somewhat helpless. "She's just helping me with the project."

"Then why does she call you 'Brother Hao'?" Liu Xia continued to ask.

Li Hao paused, as if a sore spot had been touched, and reluctantly explained: "Maybe it's an old habit."

"Oh, it's a habit..." Liu Xia sneered and turned to leave the laboratory.

After Liu Xia left, Li Hao sat in the laboratory in a daze for a long time.

He understood that An Ran's appearance had disrupted the originally peaceful relationship between him and Liu Xia.

"Li Hao, Li Hao, what do you want?" he asked himself in his heart.

On the other side, Liu Xia was sitting in the library, and she had not written for a long time.

She looked out the window, feeling complicated.

"Li Hao, if she is really that important, should I quit?"

Liu Xia whispered to herself, but couldn't convince herself.

Although Liu Xia appeared to be indifferent to An Ran's appearance, she felt like a thorn in her heart.

An Ran is a doctoral student and I am an MBA, so there is not much overlap between our courses and research projects.

But she always felt that An Ran's elusive attitude reminded her all the time: Li Hao and she had a past, while she was just in the present.

"Why does she always like to call him 'Brother Hao'? Doesn't she know that I'm the only woman who can call him that?"

Liu Xia stared at the textbook in her hand, her mind already drifting away.

She started working harder than usual.

In class, every time she spoke, she was clear and logical;

At the project discussion meeting, her logic was so rigorous that even the professor nodded repeatedly.

"Liu Xia, you've been doing great lately." When the professor praised her after class, she just smiled slightly, but in her heart she was secretly competing:

"Excellence is my bottom line. I just want everyone to know that I am no worse than her."

One day, Liu Xia happened to pass by the laboratory and saw An Ran and Li Hao standing together and talking.

While An Ran was saying something, she glanced at Liu Xia casually with a meaningful smile on her lips.

A few days later, Liu Xia finally ran into An Ran at a party.

It was a social event jointly organized by MBA and doctoral students. The atmosphere was relaxed, but Liu Xia still felt a little uneasy.

An Ran came over with a glass of red wine, her tone gentle but with a hint of thorns: "Xiao Xia, you are really amazing. I heard that your MBA program is very busy, and you can still take care of so many topics. I really admire you."

Liu Xia heard the hidden meaning behind the words, but remained calm. "It's not that bad. MBA courses do have a lot of subjects, but fortunately, there are methods, so balancing them isn't too difficult."

An Ran took a sip of wine and said with a half-smile, "Li Hao seems to be quite caring towards you. He's always been very good to his friends, especially...important friends."

Liu Xia's heart sank slightly, but she didn't let herself show her fear. "Yes, Brother Hao is really good. Unlike some people who always live in the past and can't grasp the happiness of the present."

An Ran was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Xiao Xia, you are really sharp-tongued. I like people who are straightforward. I hope you can always be so confident."

There were hidden daggers in the two people's words, but the atmosphere remained calm on the surface.

A few days later, Li Hao was working overtime in the office alone. An Ran pushed the door open and walked in with two cups of coffee in her hands.

"Brother Hao, working so late is really your usual style." An Ran put the coffee on his desk, with a hint of kindness in her tone.

"Thank you." Li Hao responded simply without taking his eyes off the screen.

"You're still so cold." An Ran pulled out a chair and sat down. "You were like this when we were at Peking University and Tsinghua University. But I didn't expect that even after not seeing each other for so long, you still treat me like this."

Li Hao stopped what he was doing and looked up at her: "An Ran, we have all changed."

"So your heart has changed too?" An Ran's eyes showed a hint of anticipation. "I know you've always been very rational, but can feelings be rational? When you left, I thought... I thought we still had a chance."

"An Ran, I'm sorry." Li Hao sighed, his tone firm, "What happened in the past is in the past. I have my own life, and now, I also have someone I like."

An Ran's eyes dimmed, but she soon smiled again: "Really? Then I hope she can cherish you."

Liu Xia has been feeling something is wrong these days.

Especially after seeing An Ran always "ran into" Li Hao in the lab, she couldn't help but mutter inwardly, "What on earth does she want? If she wants to get close to Brother Hao, just say it directly. It's really annoying to beat around the bush."

One night, Liu Xia couldn't help but ask Li Hao directly, "Brother Hao, what is your relationship with An Ran?"

Li Hao was typing code. When he heard this, he was stunned for a moment: "She was my former classmate."

"Is it that simple?" Liu Xia looked up at him with a scrutinizing look in her eyes.

"Yes, it's that simple." Li Hao stopped what he was doing and looked at her seriously. "Xiaoxia, you don't think there's anything going on between me and her, do you?"

"Then why does she call you 'Brother Hao'?" Liu Xia asked.

Li Hao sighed helplessly: "Maybe it's just an old habit, but you have to know that my habit has changed. Now only you can call me that."

Liu Xia was slightly startled, her ears burning, but she pretended to be calm and said, "That's good, otherwise I wouldn't let her take advantage of me."

Li Hao laughed: "Your imagination is really impressive."

At a team gathering a few days later, Li Hao stood in front of everyone, holding a glass of wine and saying, "Thank you all for your hard work during this period. The smooth progress of the project is inseparable from everyone's contribution."

An Ran raised her glass with a smile: "Brother Hao, what about your special thanks? Is there anything you want to say?"

Li Hao paused and looked at Liu Xia: "Of course. My most special thanks goes to the person who has always supported me - Xiaoxia."

The whole audience was silent, and everyone looked at Liu Xia.

Liu Xia was stunned for a moment, then her ears turned red: "Brother Hao, stop talking nonsense."

"I'm not talking nonsense." Li Hao put down his wine glass, walked up to her, and said in a firm and sincere voice: "Xiaoxia, I want you to know that no matter what others think, the person I care about most is you."

Liu Xia's eyes were slightly moist, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up: "Brother Hao, is this a confession?"

"Okay." Li Hao nodded seriously, "And I mean it."

The audience applauded and cheered, and Liu Xia's smile gradually widened. "Okay, then I'll reluctantly agree to your request."

Li Hao breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes full of smiles: "Then from now on, you are not allowed to be jealous anymore."