Chapter Twenty: I Understand—Do I Need to Pay Extra?

The invention of the condom is both discreet and essential. Its inception marked a significant advancement in human civilization, especially in our increasingly open modern era, where all manner of diseases spread and proliferate globally. In China, condoms are distributed as vital family planning supplies, sometimes even provided free of charge to couples of childbearing age.

"Condoms are truly one of the greatest inventions in human history. At least, that’s what I believe."

Arriving at the nearest high-speed internet café, Huo Qitai habitually paid for an overnight session and began searching for information on the subject.

"The number of condoms consumed in China over the last few years has surpassed ten billion, increasing at a rate of 8% annually. Based on a population of nine hundred million people of childbearing age, that averages ten condoms per person per year..."

"This figure stands at nearly thirty billion worldwide, also growing at a rapid rate of 10%, with a market scale of around eight billion dollars..."

After a brief browse through the data on the condom market and manufacturing, Huo Qitai began to write down the patent details and principles for his "color-changing condom," drawing from his memories. In truth, there was no real technical difficulty in the principle of these "color-changing condoms" capable of detecting various diseases. The key was that, until now, no one had thought to combine these technologies. Otherwise, how could a group of British high school students have independently come up with such an invention?

"Green for chlamydia, yellow for herpes, purple for HPV, blue for syphilis. I can add an antibody test for HIV—red for HIV—and that should cover it all..."

After some effort, Huo Qitai refined the concept beyond what those high school students had originally created. Two hours later, he had completed the preliminary patent application documents. After grabbing a bite to eat, he logged onto QQ, intending to contact Chen Jingyi, a close friend of Sister Hui.

*Ding-ding...*
*Ding-ding... Ding-ding...*

Having not logged in for a week, a flood of messages popped up. Ignoring the group chats, there were dozens of private message windows waiting. In particular, the "Milk-Scented Little Sister" had sent hundreds of messages, begging Huo Qitai to explain their relationship and asking the "Funeral Love Family" to stop stirring the pot. Many members of the Funeral Love Family, noticing Huo Qitai was lurking in the group again, sent private messages looking for credit or attention.

There were also messages from his reader group; many readers who had Huo Qitai on their friends list were firing off messages, cursing him for being a "eunuch" (a slang term for an author who stops updating their story). Huo Qitai merely smiled at these—he had no time to reply to them.

He searched for the QQ number, sent a friend request to "Stopping Motion with Stillness," and added the note: "I am Lin Sihui's younger brother."

Within two minutes, the request was accepted.

*Ding-ding...*
[Stopping Motion with Stillness]: "What is it?"

Chen Jingyi asked directly. She was close with Lin Sihui, but that didn't mean she was familiar with Huo Qitai.

[Huo Without Peer]: "Hello, Sister Jing. I’ve made an invention in my spare time and would like to entrust you with the agency to apply for the relevant patents and trademarks."

Huo Qitai, well-acquainted with Chen Jingyi’s temperament, didn't try to get overly familiar and stated his needs directly.

[Stopping Motion with Stillness]: "Aren't you a high school student? You can invent things on your own? Though, I suspect you don't even know the proper format for a patent application, do you?"

On the other end of the computer, Chen Jingyi was replying while processing company documents, not taking him very seriously. After all, what kind of impressive invention could an eighteen-year-old kid from a small city possibly come up with? It was likely just some toy car or a simple mechanical aid—the kind of invention that looks useful but is actually more trouble than it's worth. Many elementary school students in the capital could apply for a stack of such useless patents with their parents' help.

Faced with Chen Jingyi’s dismissal, Huo Qitai simply transferred the patent document he had just written and "slapped it onto her face."

[Huo Without Peer]: "Here is the patent document."

"He actually knows how to write a patent? A condom? One that changes color? Hiss... are high school students these days this intense?"

Chen Jingyi, who had been feeling bored while looking over documents, suddenly perked up. She clicked on the file, and her eyes widened. "A regular condom combined with antibody testing to allow for quick and direct disease detection? It turns it into a much safer, essential tool."

Her eyes lit up as she immediately grasped the business potential. Although she had never used such things herself, she had plenty of girlfriends who spoke in "wild and woolly" terms; how could she not know that the market for this was vast?

[Stopping Motion with Stillness]: "Is this really your invention?"
[Stopping Motion with Stillness]: "Have you verified the detection principles and results mentioned here?"
[Stopping Motion with Stillness]: "As a high school student, how did you even think of inventing this?"

*Ding-ding! Ding-ding...*

Suddenly, Chen Jingyi became incredibly curious about Huo Qitai, firing off a flurry of messages.

[Huo Without Peer]: "I'll be a college student soon. Sister Jing, can you help me apply for domestic and international patents? I need it to be expedited."

[Stopping Motion with Stillness]: "Ordinary invention patents have a long approval time, usually two to three years. What you have could count as a utility model patent, which could shorten the approval time to six to twelve months. As for the international patent application, my suggestion is to route it through Hong Kong; the fastest it would take is about a year."

Hearing Chen Jingyi’s standard and professional response, Huo Qitai nodded. He knew, however, that Chen Jingyi had access to some special channels.

[Huo Without Peer]: "Sister Jing, I want it to be even faster. Please think of a way for me. Also, help me register the trademark. For the Chinese trademark, I want to use 'Bihu'—a pun on 'avoiding calamity' and 'providing shelter.' For the English trademark, I want to use 'Avoid,' which means the same thing."

[Stopping Motion with Stillness]: "Those are decent trademarks, but it also depends on whether someone else has already registered the same trademark in this category. That also takes time."

Chen Jingyi didn't answer his request directly. Using her family’s connections to shorten the time for patent approval and trademark registration wasn't something she could just offer to anyone. Usually, she reserved those favors for important clients or companies, charging them exorbitant fees or trading them for personal favors to get things expedited. Even though she thought Huo Qitai’s patent had great prospects, she wouldn't pull those strings for a mere "indirect relation" like her friend's younger brother.

However, by not explicitly refusing him, she left a door open to see if this interesting high schooler would catch on. Having known Chen Jingyi’s principles of conduct in his past life, Huo Qitai caught the hint immediately.

[Huo Without Peer]: "Sister Jing, I understand that to speed things up, I need to pay more, right?"