Don’t Covet the Beautiful System!! - Chap 33
The news that the 2nd High School had been invited to participate in the exchange activity quickly spread around the campus.
Things hadn’t been completely finalized but many students were starting to think excitedly.
“I heard that Chengde is very big, much bigger than many universities. Riding a bicycle around the school is tiring.”
“My father’s friend’s son went to school there. He got a high score in the high school entrance examination and was attracted by the scholarship. He said that Chengde is stressful but there is nothing to be picky about when it comes to the environment and conditions. In particular, I’ve seen him take photos with the peacocks raised in the school. The school uniform is also very handsome. If I didn’t see the photo, I wouldn’t have believed it…”
“I really want to go. Will the first year of high school have more places?”
The students in the lower grades talked a lot while the senior students were calmer. It was because they estimated that a good thing like this type of public-funded communication wouldn’t fall on them, so they didn’t think about it.
Ji Tong seriously searched for online news about Chengde and looked at it with relish. “Ruan Ruan, this peacock’s pattern is so beautiful. Have you ever taken a photo with them?”
“No.” Pei Qingyuan naturally wouldn’t do such a thing. He looked at the peacock photo displayed on the watch screen and pointed out rigorously, “This photo has been edited. The actual color isn’t so bright.”
“Why is this also photoshopped?” Ji Tong was embarrassed for a while. Then he said excitedly, “How about putting a peacock’s tail on Hua Hua? After opening the screen, he will turn around and there is a red love heart on the butt. It must be fun.”
Pei Qingyuan: “……”
Fortunately, Hua Hua couldn’t hear the bad news.
As a cyber cat with a mysterious origin, Hua Hua was the same as Ji Tong. He could eat casually but there weren’t any other troubles compared to ordinary cats, such as not getting sick or getting worms. He didn’t even shed cat fur and could understand the owner’s instructions. He listened well to Pei Qingyuan’s words and was easy to raise. Not too much energy was required.
As the head of the family, Pei Qingyuan had gradually grasped the essence of establishing healthy family relationships and his attitude was democratic. “Go back at night and ask for Hua Hua’s opinion.”
“Okay.” Ji Tong was very confident as he nodded. “No cat can refuse a colorful peacock tail!”
Pei Qingyuan wisely kept silent.
He was just an ordinary human being who didn’t know very much about a cat’s inner world. It was better not to speak.
The watch kept displaying various pictures of Chengde High School that Ji Tong found. He looked at the campus where the host once lived and was curious. “Host, were you the president of the student union before?”
Ji Tong knew that Pei Qingyuan had good grades in Chengde in the past and was also excellent in other aspects. According to common sense, he should be famous in school and hold an important position such as the president of the student union.
Chengde’s school uniform was much better than the 2nd High School’s uniform. The boy’s school uniform in autumn and winter was textured white shirt and trousers with a light gray suit and tie. It was like a look in movies and cartoons. Combined with this identity and he should be very handsome just imagining it.
He hadn’t seen the host in a suit yet.
He wanted to see it.
Pei Qingyuan shook his head. “No, I wasn’t the president.”
“Why?” Ji Tong became even more curious. “Is it because you didn’t want to be it?”
Pei Qingyuan thought for a moment and didn’t admit nor deny it. He just calmly said, “The environment there isn’t quite the same as here.”
It was as he told Zhou Fang. The students who grew up in a particularly favorable environment had a special sense of collective honor. Most of them had good family conditions and lived in a world that far exceeded the average level of society since childhood. Some people had simple compassion but most of them were infected by the clear attitudes of the people around them and gradually believed that they were the elites of the future who would decide the world.
Pei Qingyuan had belonged to a minority of this group since he was a child and hadn’t really integrated into the surrounding social circle. Perhaps it was because of his grandfather’s influence that he didn’t feel he should be arrogant just because of the family where he was born. Wealth and status were nothing more than good fortune chosen by the times. They could converge into the sea or capsize overnight.
He had always been different from others and didn’t like to participate in the topics of luxury and money. He didn’t show the proper arrogance to people outside the circle, so he didn’t have many friends. In this group with the most peer pressure, it took courage for teenagers to side with the misfit minority.
When Pei Qingyuan was still studying at Chengde, his outstanding talent, ability and wealthy family meant that even if people were dissatisfied with him, they wouldn’t express it personally and would only discuss it in private that they thought he was hypocritical and fake.
Then after the exposure of his life experience, the personality traits that were once regarded as a personal choice immediately became unruliness and stupidity brought about by his blood and kin.
Even though he completely stayed away from that world after leaving the Pei house, he knew the words that circulated along with his name would inevitably be accompanied by contemptuous ridicule.
Ji Tong listened to the host’s simple explanation and immediately became angry for him.
Originally, he didn’t want his host to communicate with his past, but now he especially wanted to see those groups of annoying guys who were restricted by the cumbersome hospitality rules and didn’t dare to mess around.
No matter how uncomfortable they were, they could only hold back!
Anger them to death!
“Ruan Ruan, do you think Chengde will agree to those requests?” Ji Tong was impatient.
Pei Qingyuan’s tone was determined. “I guess.”
“Why?”
He closed the self-study outline book in his hand and explained calmly, “People who are accustomed to giving orders rarely think about being rejected.”
In the beginning, some people thought of asking the 2nd High School to the exchange in order to target him. Then after the 2nd High School made these requests, the nature changed.
Ever since the establishment of the school, Chengde had been famous and didn’t pay attention to other high schools in the city or even the province. How could they bear the rejection of a second-rate high school?
There was no need for others to fan the flames. The school itself would hold its breath and want to make this happen.
Who let the news spread already?
After being called by Zhou Fang in the morning, Pei Qingyuan had searched Chengde’s official website and found that the list of exchange schools for this month had been published on it. There was the 2nd High School included.
They didn’t think about other reactions at all.
The arrogance that had been taken for granted became a very good handle.
Under Ji Tong’s reminder, Pei Qingyuan pushed the boat along the water and made the suggestions to Zhou Fang.
They were reasonable requests and they weren’t beyond Chengde’s ability. It was just putting proper etiquette on paper. Out of the need to protect their reputation, there was no reason for Chengde not to agree.
Pei Qingyuan couldn’t help thinking that this was what it meant to ride a tiger.
He fastened the cap of the ballpoint pen and put it back in his pencil case.
Ji Tong seemed to have a tacit connection with him. The little robot with a vivid appearance on the screen made a cute grimace. He took out a whip and swung it at the tiger next to him. The moment the tiger ran, the clown riding on his body fell down sharply.
Robot, tiger, clown and whip.
What a combination of strange ideas.
Pei Qingyuan couldn’t help smiling.
The moment the break came, Lin Zihai in the front row turned his head to look back. He saw the class monitor finally put away the book in his hand and his expression seemed to relax.
Therefore, Lin Zihai took the book full of wrong questions that he had accumulated for the last two days and walked over.
However, once he reached Pei Qingyuan’s desk, Lin Zihai didn’t know how to open his mouth.
Once he came here, the surrounding students occasionally looked over. Their eyes that contained completely different meanings made him think of the cruel words he swore before.
So embarrassing.
Lin Zihai tried to let his strong desire for knowledge overcome this embarrassment.
“Class monitor, there are a few questions I can’t understand.” Lin Zihai lowered his head with slight embarrassment as he looked at Pei Qingyuan. “Do you have time to help me take a look? Thank you.”
He lowered his head and waited nervously for the class monitor’s reaction. Therefore, he didn’t see Pei Qingyuan’s expression stiffen for a moment before he reached out to take the wrong questions book. “I’ll take a look.”
Pei Qingyuan had seen a carefully recorded high-definition video on his watch screen.
“I was kind enough to help you mark out the key points. You are really ignorant of the hearts of good people…”
“Forget it, just wait for the day of the exam results to cry!”
The clear sound quality in his mind precisely captured Lin Zihai’s proud and annoyed expression. This was accompanied by a brutal slow close-up.
Ji Tong proudly claimed the credit. “This is the first video in the album of ‘Black History of Ruthless Words.’ I didn’t expect to use it so quickly. Ruan Ruan, did I record it well? I also added a BGM that is often used to convey sadness, suggesting that this scene will be met with a hard slap to the face in the near future.”
…Very good.
It was so good that he was embarrassed for Lin Zihai.
His system’s understanding and usage of background music had reached a height beyond the reach of human beings.
Pei Qingyuan was forced to hastily take the wrong questions book from Lin Zihai’s hand, trying to use complex mathematical formulas to overwhelm the very brainwashing, sad music in his mind.
“This theorem is used incorrectly. It should be used…”
Lin Zihai raised his head in surprise. He saw that the class monitor, who seemed unkind in the past, was helping him with the topic in an extremely serious manner.
His heart was shocked and he was immediately overwhelmed with shame and guilt.
He hadn’t expected the class monitor to help him so easily after being targeted like that.
He felt that if it was him, he might not be so tolerant and magnanimous.
“I’m sorry, class monitor.” Lin Zihai clenched his fists and sincerely apologized again. “I was too hateful before. Not only did I want to isolate you without knowing the truth, but I didn’t appreciate it when you kindly helped me point out the wrong question. I was really excessive.”
At the end of his reflection, he even said with high spirits, “In the future, I will definitely cooperate with all the arrangements of the class monitor and strive to make our class’ grades reach a higher level. I will clean the toilet for the next clean up duty!”
Pei Qingyuan: “……”
This wasn’t the case.
He wanted to explain but he really couldn’t say anything.
Ji Tong’s happy voice was heard in his mind again. “Ruan Ruan, I have created another album. It is called ‘Reformed Idiot who can Hatch Chickens’.”
He laughed as he spoke, sounding extra happy.
…Forget it, let them do whatever they wanted.
In the end, Pei Qingyuan calmly agreed and continued to help Lin Zihai with the questions. However, the strange image of the study committee member changing his ways and hatching chickens inexplicably lingered in his mind.
The classmates curiously talking next to them heard these words and were quiet for a moment. Then they seemed infected by the frankness and fighting spirit. Some of the people chatting just now consciously stopped talking.
The class monitor was 1st in the grade while the study committee member was 10th in the grade. Not only did they win glory for the class in the monthly examination but they also raised the average score of the class as a whole, obtaining a good ranking that had never happened before. This made the teachers impressed with the third class in the past two days and the teachers even praised their class when giving lectures.
They usually felt that the exam results were just a matter for themselves. If they wanted to learn then they would learn. If they didn’t want to learn then don’t learn. Then after these two days, they found that it would be really cool if they could be like the class monitor and single-handedly raise the ranking of the entire class, leaving the second place far behind.
When everyone looked at the class monitor now, they just wished that they could be as powerful.
There was no jealousy. There was just pure envy due to the honor.
Most people didn’t have the courage to frankly admit their mistakes like Lin Zihai. There was just a burst of apology in their hearts as they silently opened the exercise book.
The class monitor and study committee member with such good grades were continuing to work hard. How dare they slack off?
Don’t wait until the first in the year was in their class while everyone else’s grades were still a mess.
It would be too shameful.
When staying in their comfort zone, they felt that the teacher’s praise belonged to the top students and had nothing to do with them. But after experiencing the dazzling aura brought about by the study god, they realized they enjoyed this feeling very much. No one wanted to be the one to drag the class back.
When Zhou Fang walked into the classroom with the lesson plan in her arms, she unexpectedly found that the learning atmosphere of the class today was extremely strong. Most people were reading books and answering questions with their heads down, which made her feel a bit flattered.
She looked around the classroom with relief. Then once her eyes fell on Pei Qingyuan, she showed a bright smile and quietly gave him a thumbs up.
Pei Qingyuan keenly understood the meaning of the head teacher.
Chengde had agreed.
Amidst Ji Tong’s cheers of ‘Wear a suit! Look at the peacocks!’, he shifted his gaze out the window. There were no more disgusting moths at the security booth of the school gate in the distance. There were only serious and responsible security guards patrolling the campus, stepping on the crisp fallen leaves.
This autumn was a brilliant, golden yellow.
The cultural exchange week was arranged for the end of the month. Before that, apart from his usual classes and weekend part-time job, Pei Qingyuan had one more thing to do.
The city-level basketball league had begun.
On Saturday morning, before Coach Xu’s call could come, Pei Qingyuan had already woken up early. He prepared three breakfasts, two toast and fried eggs that belonged to him and Ji Tong and cat food for Hua Hua.
At Ji Tong’s request, breakfast was eaten on the large open balcony. In the warm morning sun, one person and one cat finished breakfast comfortably.
The short little friend led the snow-white cat wagging his tail and waved goodbye to him.
“Goodbye, Ruan Ruan. Jiayou for the game!”
“Meow meow meow!”
Pei Qingyuan responded. He closed the door of this very ceremonial scene and left with his bag on his back.
The moment he went out, the originally dark watch on his wrist lit up.
“The navigation target is the 1st High School. The best route is being planned for you. There are still 4.7 kilometers to the destination…”
Ji Tong kept his promise. From the moment he left the house, he started to seriously play Xiao Mei.
He must not be a stumbling block on the way for the host to do the main task and make friends.
Today’s match was at the 1st High School. As Coach Xu wished, when the group stage was drawn, they really picked the 1st High School that narrowly beat them last year. The first match in Group A was the match between the 1st High School and 2nd High School and the venue for the match was the gymnasium of the 1st High School.
Half of the team members at that time were now in their third year of high school and wouldn’t participate this year. The remaining team members were either high school freshmen or sophomores, or those like Fu Chengze who wanted to rely on his sports talent to make it into college. Pei Qingyuan was one of the exceptions.
Half of the team members might’ve changed but the fighting spirit aroused when facing the 1st High School hadn’t changed at all. After the group of people met on campus, they looked at the passing 1st High School basketball team members with raging fighting spirit.
Coach Xu was serious today. He had an intimidating aura as he led the group of players into the gymnasium.
There were more spectators gathering. They were students of the school and some parents of the students. Seeing so many unfamiliar faces, there was a lot of pressure on the away team.
The players chatted quietly to relieve their tension. As a veteran player who had been part of the basketball team for three years, the current captain Fu Chengze was still angry when he spoke. “At that time, if they hadn’t fouled and the referee hadn’t judged against us, it would’ve been us who had won…”
“A teammate was injured during that match. After going back, he had to recuperate for a long time. Fortunately, there were no side effects but we couldn’t hold them accountable. I was really angry.”
Ji Tong, who was forced to be silent for a long time, suddenly found his place to act. He comforted them in a mechanical tone. “Xiao Mei has a video recording function and can prevent similar situations from happening again.”
Fu Chengze sighed. “There are cameras in the venue. If the appeal after the match is unsuccessful then it is useless.”
“Xiao Mei’s functions are more powerful.” The mechanical tone rose slightly.
Pei Qingyuan immediately remembered the 360 degree surround display, the smug expression of Lin Zihai, which was extremely clear, and the background music that sounded particularly sad.
…He wanted to forget it.
“For example?” Fu Chengze and the rest of the team became curious.
Ji Tong started to talk nonsense seriously. “For example, the intelligent lock tracking function for dynamic faces. Xiao Mei can recognize some distinctive facial expressions and body postures, mark them as dangerous and continue to track and record the objects. At the same time, Xiao Mei will analyze and compare a large amount of similar data stored in the database, predicting possible dangers and giving timely reminders.”
The translation was that he would never let go of any opponent who made intentional fouls. He could give advance warning and stop it.
After all, the host was still on the field and he needed to ensure the safety of the host.
In any case, he was a powerful system and could carry out a multi-threaded analysis while focusing on the situation on the basketball court.
Under the shocked eyes of Fu Chengze and the others, Ji Tong became more and more excited. Pei Qingyuan was dumbfounded when he heard it, but let it go
For smart watches that were generally in the stages of dumb artificial intelligences on the market, these functions were obviously exaggerated to an outrageous degree.
However, it was enough to bluff high school students who were nervous. Ji Tong could say the above words that were pure fiction and his most powerful function was actually talking nonsense.
“Wow, it sounds awesome, like a secret agent.” Fu Chengze clicked his tongue. “Brother Pei, is it really impossible to buy this watch?”
Pei Qingyuan shook his head and the little robot on the dial also shook his head.
“You can’t buy it.” Ji Tong emphasized. “Xiao Mei is unique.”
“D*mn, I really want it.”
“I don’t want running shoes for my birthday this year. I am willing to use 5 centimeters of the captain’s height to buy Xiao Mei before I turn 20…”
“Get lost!”
After being interrupted by Ji Tong, the nervousness of the team members had faded away a lot. They inexplicably felt that there was a powerful artificial intelligence supporting them.
Before entering the rest area of the gymnasium, Coach Xu turned around, patted the players on the shoulders one by one and encouraged them. “I hope you can all give it your best, but remember that safety is the most important thing!”
Everyone immediately responded loudly in unison and even Xiao Mei secretly mingled in and shouted it.
Ji Tong quietly recorded this passage. At the very center of the picture was the host’s exceptionally bright eyes.
It was nice to be an energetic high school student.
A type of unadorned vigor filled the air. It might be a competition but the parents of the surrounding students couldn’t help laughing.
However, the reaction of one of them was a bit special.
A middle-aged man wearing square-framed glasses, who had a thin figure and bright eyes, stared at the place where the members of the 2nd High School had just been, his expression thoughtful.
“Did you hear that?” He asked his companions his own age, his tone full of incredulity.
“It is so noisy. What can I hear?” His companion took out his phone, glanced at the time and urged the other person. “It is time to enter the field. Old Xiao, where is your son? Has he already changed his clothes?”
“There are two matches today, right? Is there a team coming this afternoon? Do you want to watch that match? The laboratory is so busy. Do you want to rush back at noon?”
Xiao Jianping ignored the nagging of the impatient colleague next to him. He carefully recalled the words he just heard and was completely immersed in his own world.”
“The specific content wasn’t clear but I haven’t seen An AI with such great response speed and smoothness of voice interaction… No, I haven’t heard of any team that has made this type of breakthrough.”
His colleague rolled his eyes. He knew that Xiao Jianping’s occupational disease had occurred again. “Don’t think about it. You must’ve misheard. You took a child’s voice as an AI last time. The best talents are here. If you can’t do it, can others come up with something of this level? If you don’t leave and miss the highlights of your son, don’t blame me if you are scolded by your wife when you go back later.”
Hearing these words, Xiao Jianping woke up and had to follow his colleagues into the gymnasium. Still, he couldn’t help looking back at the open space just now from time to time. He was always looking at the place where the group of students had been gathered.
Seeing this, his colleague patted his head in a depressed manner, full of helplessness for this old friend who only had research and his wife in his heart. He forcibly turned Xiao Jianping’s head in the right direction.
“Hey, your son is from the 1st High School. Why are you always looking at the teams of other schools?!”
