Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Wang Tiancai Jiang Xiang was stationed in the Student Council tent, enjoying the air-conditioning as he watched the freshmen in military-training uniforms come and go outside. He was waiting for something. Right at that moment, a robot about one and a half meters tall, with a slender build, very fashionable jeans, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a blue cap, ambled into the tent. As soon as it entered, it looked toward Jiang Xiang. The expression on the screen that served as its face changed into a smile, and it held up the package in its hands. “Jiang Xiang, I picked up your delivery for you.” The female school medic beside him had long since gotten used to this. The robot was Hangcheng University's mascot. Its name was Wang Tiancai, and it had been created two years earlier as a graduation project by several Computer Department students. After they graduated, they handed over the right to manage Wang Tiancai to the Computer Department. Each year, one third-year Computer Department student would be responsible for it. This year, it was Jiang Xiang's turn. “Thanks, Senior. Just put it there. You can go back and recharge.” Jiang Xiang waved his hand. The school medic beside him said helplessly, “You're the first person to use Tiancai as a delivery boy. No matter what, it's still your senior.” “If you don't use what's available, what's the point?” It needed three hours to recharge and could run for nine hours, but Wang Tiancai spent most of its time wandering around Hangcheng University. Besides, it could be considered an “artificial idiot.” Not only did it frequently fall over on campus, but sometimes its replies had absolutely nothing to do with what people had said. The senior who had created it claimed that it possessed the ability to learn. In reality, Jiang Xiang felt that its emotional intelligence was only on the level of a six- or seven-year-old child. As for its intelligence… it truly was a genius, equivalent to a walking encyclopedia. Jiang Xiang's grades in the Computer Department were among the very best. The reason he sometimes took first place by a huge margin and sometimes came in second was that the person in first place was Wang Tiancai. When Wang Tiancai walked out, it attracted the attention of quite a few freshmen. Everyone stared at the robot in amazement and gathered around it, pulling out their phones to take pictures. Its student ID was pinned to the clothes Wang Tiancai wore. It had its name on it, along with the administrator's name and phone number. Whenever it fell over on campus or encountered some other difficulty, it would ask the people nearby for help, or tell them to call its administrator and have the administrator come deal with it. Most of the time, though, it functioned perfectly normally. Jiang Xiang rarely had to worry about it, and if it merely fell over, the students nearby could help it back up. “Sorry, please let me through. I'm going home.” The screen on Wang Tiancai's face displayed a sad expression, and everyone around it found the sight adorable. Being able to see a robot at a university—it really broadened their horizons. Outside the crowd, a very pretty girl in a military-training uniform, her hair tied in a ponytail, was standing on tiptoe and trying her hardest to see the robot. She stood too far outside the crowd to see what was happening inside, so she raised her phone and took a picture. Then, looking at the photo on her phone, she zoomed in and saw Wang Tiancai's student ID. Name: Wang Tiancai. Administrator: Jiang Xiang. Administrator's phone number: 17331…… When she saw that name, the girl froze slightly. Another girl beside her reminded her, “Zhiyu, we need to go back. There are only two minutes left before our break ends.” Hearing this, Mu Zhiyu stood on tiptoe again and took one last look at the young man inside the tent. Then she returned to her formation with her roommate. The training ground rang with perfectly synchronized slogans. A breeze carried the scent of summer, the blazing sun shone directly overhead, and the trees all around were filled with the ceaseless cries of cicadas. At that moment, the freshmen were immersed in this unique experience that belonged to them. University military training only became a fond memory after it was over. For the freshmen currently undergoing it, all they could feel was pain. Jiang Xiang had spent the entire day in the tent. Seeing that today's military training was nearly over, he stretched, left the tent, and headed toward the training ground. Since it was already evening, the weather was no longer hot. He walked along the track, casually looking at the freshmen who were still training all around him. Whether one wanted to admit it or not, this year's instructors were quite handsome. The Computer Department's instructor, Liu, was especially so. Not only was he straight-backed and possessed of an outstanding bearing, his upright and handsome face displayed every inch of masculine charm. What was even more dangerous was that he was responsible for the Computer Department's female formation. He had practically been declared the handsomest instructor on the very first day of military training. Looking at the instructor, Jiang Xiang felt that he seemed familiar. He walked over to the front of the Computer Department's female formation and stood behind the instructor. Noticing his arrival, the instructor turned around in confusion. Then he exclaimed in surprise, “You… Jiang Xiang?” “That's right, Instructor Liu. You remember me.” “How could I not remember you?” Liu Wenhui shouted toward the formation in front of him, “Adjust your military posture!” Then he walked over to Jiang Xiang and patted him on the shoulder. When Jiang Xiang was a freshman, Liu Wenhui had also been responsible for the Computer Department's military training. At the time, Jiang Xiang had been the formation's flag bearer. On top of that, Jiang Xiang had been a Military Training Exemplary Trainee that year. The two of them had gotten along very well, so Liu Wenhui's impression of him had naturally been especially deep. “Aren't you about to graduate?” Actually, Liu Wenhui had also been the Computer Department's instructor the previous year, but Jiang Xiang hadn't paid attention to that. “I’m a third-year now. What about you?” “I’m about to leave the military. This should be the last class I train.” As he spoke, Liu Wenhui glanced at the female formation in the distance and smiled slightly. “These girls are pretty tough. There may not be many girls in your Computer Department, but every one of them is a crack soldier.” The two of them were not far from the formation. Several girls in the front row could even hear what they were saying, so one by one they straightened their shoulders and stood at attention with even greater effort. Among the formation, a very beautiful girl with bright eyes stared unabashedly at Jiang Xiang, who stood beside Liu Wenhui. I didn't expect… him and the instructor know each other. At that moment, most of the girls in the formation were watching Liu Wenhui and Jiang Xiang, their curious gazes sweeping back and forth between the two. Suddenly— “Liu Wenhui!” The sharp shout made Liu Wenhui instinctively snap to attention. When he saw who had arrived, his face tensed as he called out, “Present!” “Military training isn't over yet. What are you doing?” “Reporting! I was chatting!” Liu Wenhui said through gritted teeth. He knew that if he didn't tell the truth, the commander would only give him an even harsher punishment. “Fine, at least you're honest. Look at the time. How much longer until military training ends?” “Reporting! Five minutes.” “Say that again?” “Reporting! Fifty minutes remaining!” “Get back to training.” The battalion commander left, leaving Liu Wenhui looking utterly miserable as he stared gloomily at Jiang Xiang. “How is that my fault?” Jiang Xiang hadn't expected the commander to be so strict. But when he thought about it, it made sense. Military training had only just begun—today was the first day—and this was when the instructors were at their strictest. If they didn't establish their authority at the beginning, they would have no way to train the students afterward. One after another, the other formations left the training ground, leaving only the Computer Department's female formation behind for extra training. This was a bit troublesome. To be honest, Jiang Xiang wanted to make a run for it. His stomach was already starting to growl. But the junior sisters were being punished with extra training partly because of him, and leaving just like that… no matter how he thought about it, it didn't seem appropriate. Fortunately, the commander hadn't been entirely serious. Ten minutes after the other formations had left, Liu Wenhui received word and dismissed his formation. “They said you'd be doing fifty minutes of extra training. You're just leaving like this? Aren't you going back to take the punishment yourself?” “It was my fault in the first place. If I don't take responsibility, who will?” Liu Wenhui could only answer helplessly. Jiang Xiang didn't know what kind of punishment Liu Wenhui would receive after returning, but punishment for an active-duty soldier probably wasn't something one could take lightly. During military training the next day, Liu Wenhui was much stricter than he had been the day before. The girls in the formation completely ignored his good looks. With their faces full of misery, they began military training amid complaints and groans. Jiang Xiang wasn't in the tent today. He had gone out to deliver food. With his business venture about to begin, all he wanted now was to earn more money, and food delivery was undoubtedly the fastest way to make money. Although he wasn't a formal employee, he had still bought a yellow uniform. He looked like he had blended perfectly into the food-delivery industry. At that moment, Jiang Xiang arrived at a braised chicken rice shop and picked up an order headed for Hangcheng University. He was a student at Hangcheng University, so he delivered in this area. Naturally, there were more delivery orders for the university as well. At the entrance to the women's dormitory building at Hangcheng University, Jiang Xiang waited for the customer. Before long, a girl came running over in a flurry and took the delivery from his hands. “Thank you.” After saying that, the girl raised her head and saw Jiang Xiang's face. She immediately froze slightly. How could he be so delicate-looking? He looked very young, and he was even rather handsome. As Jiang Xiang left, the girl secretly took a picture of his profile, then carried her food back to the dormitory. “The food in the cafeteria is seriously awful. This is much better.” Although they were forced to eat in the cafeteria during military training, she only took a few bites each time. Her name was Li Tian, and she was Mu Zhiyu's university roommate. She had never suffered when it came to food. “By the way, that delivery guy just now was pretty good-looking.” Hearing this, another girl joked, “Girl, don't tell me you're the type who falls for delinquents in middle school and instructors during military training. How did you manage to fall for a delivery guy just by ordering some food?” “Shut up. I’m a pure, unmarried maiden, all right? But that delivery guy really was pretty handsome.” As she spoke, Li Tian took out the photo she had just snapped. When she saw the figure in the picture, her other roommate, Su Yuting, gave it some thought. Then realization dawned on her. “Isn't that Senior Jiang Xiang? He was chatting with our instructor yesterday.” “What?” Li Tian was stunned. She looked carefully at the photo on the phone, then recalled the figure from the day before. She immediately said, “Why is Senior Jiang Xiang delivering food?” Mu Zhiyu and their other roommate were still eating in the cafeteria and were not in the dormitory.