Don’t Covet the Beautiful System!! - Chap 75
The light of the setting sun fell on the child and Xiao Mei’s voice echoed in the quiet room.
Pei Qingyuan always felt that he had seen this scene before.
Clouds floating outside the window, the clean light at dusk and the small back.
The dream that was about to be forgotten suddenly came to mind.
It was obviously a different room, a different color and even a different body shape, but he seemed to see the intersection of two worlds. The back of the unfamiliar teenager overlapped with the familiar child.
In fact, Pei Qingyuan didn’t know why he set these two fixed response methods for the jelly bean robot.
An impulse that sank into the depths of his subconscious prompted him to make this decision.
He guessed it was an inspiration he got from the fairytale dream.
If he dreamed of that unknown teenager next time, he must write down all the details of the dream as soon as he woke up instead of just retaining a vague impression.
Pei Qingyuan secretly made up his mind before remembering a question that had never been answered.
Why did he dream again and again about this back that he had never seen in reality?
He thought about it for a long time and finally felt that it might be him imagining Ji Tong, who was about to grow up.
He didn’t know what it was like to be an artificial intelligence but during the Spring Festival holiday with Ji Tong, Fang Hao and Fu Yinyin, it could be seen that they liked the excitement and celebrations that belonged to the human world very much.
The back side of liking excitement was a fear of loneliness.
Even though all the details had gradually been forgotten, Pei Qingyuan still remembered that there was the loneliest and palest room he had ever seen in his room. The transparent glass coldly isolated the outside world. The person in the dream was so close to this colorful and vivid reality, but also so far away.
Was this his brain’s imagination of what these AI systems would be like on a daily basis?
Pei Qingyuan couldn’t be sure.
However, he started to look forward to the next time he entered this dream.
Once the mission was completed and he collected the reward, he would meet the young Ji Tong who appeared in a brand new form.
Would the boy in his dream turn around and have the same face on that day?
As Pei Qingyuan’s thoughts gradually drifted away, Ji Tong looked back at him first.
His eyes were always bright, like the stars that shone at night. They were always filled with innocent joy.
But at this moment, Pei Qingyuan saw crystal clear water in his eyes that quietly soaked the twinkling stars in the dark brown eyes. The stars were flowing through the reflection of himself, who was close at hand.
Ji Tong rubbed his eyes casually and the watery light disappeared. It was as if he just had tears from yawning.
“I’m very happy. Thank you, host,” he said happily. “Previously, I was envious of Aunt Shi because Professor Xiao designed Xiao Ming for her. Now I have Xiao Mei made by the host himself.”
Ji Tong shook his head and sighed in a strange tone. “I turned out to be an artificial intelligence with an artificial intelligence assistant.”
Pei Qingyuan was amused by his tone. “Yes, you are Xiao Mei’s master.”
This was the robot designed by Ji Tong and the name was also given by Ji Tong. He originally wanted to give it to Ji Tong as a gift.
He had the company of Ji Tong and had teachers and friends like other ordinary people. He also had a major that he wanted to strive for in the future.
Compared to him who was free, Ji Tong came entirely to help him grow and might need Xiao Mei more.
Ji Tong took a tissue and wiped the host’s workbench seriously. He tiptoed and carefully put Xiao Mei up, letting it bathe in the light golden glow of the setting sun. He looked at her nostalgically for a long time before turning back to him with a smile.
“Ruan Ruan, shall we go out to eat?”
“Okay.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“What do you want to eat?”
Ji Tong wanted to eat everything.
So during the 20 days when they waited for the score, Ji Tong took advantage of when his child size hadn’t disappeared to take the host to eat several buffets that were free for children under 1.2 meters.
Pei Qingyuan learned to drive during the day and ate at buffets at night. This was the longest and freest holiday in his life and was extremely fulfilling.
It was physical fulfillment.
He learned to drive very quickly and basically got started at once. The theoretical knowledge was almost unforgettable. The amazed teacher immediately booked the exam for him, hoping he could pass all subjects as quickly as possible and get his driver’s license.
During the time when Pei Qingyuan practiced driving, Ji Tong would turn into a small porcelain cat ornament to accompany him. The ornament was designed in the form of the cat called Mushroom and there was a black love heart on the back. The smile was cute and the head and paws would shake with the movement of the car.
The coach wasn’t surprised when he saw this car ornament that Pei Qingyuan brought with him every time he came. He thought it was used to relieve tension and had seen many such magical items in many students.
However, a tall boy with a ceramic cat always made people feel strange yet cute.
“The cat ornament is quite cute. Is it a lucky cat?” The teacher poked the cat’s paw and thought deeply. “You learned to drive so quickly. Is it related to the good luck it brings? Where did you buy it? I also want to buy one.”
After he asked, the ceramic cat’s paws shook even more vigorously.
Pei Qingyuan: “……”
Ji Tong was clearly here to help him increase the difficulty.
If he could resist looking at this cute cat in front of him who always shook his head and paws then he probably wouldn’t be distracted by anything when he officially drove on the road in the future.
Moreover, it wasn’t an ordinary lucky cat.
Pei Qingyuan carefully observed the cat’s left paw where ‘No 1 scholar’ was inconspicuously written while ‘100 million’ was written on the right paw and ‘must be okay’ was written at the back of the ears.
The moment he drove, the cat’s warm head and paws shook up and down like a small windmill, occasionally entering his eyes. This made him quickly form a conditioned and precise association of ‘the number 1 scholar must be okay to reach 100 million.’
This was a cat with Ji Tong’s characteristics.
In the midst of the swaying and calling of the cat, the day of the results being released arrived.
Pei Qingyuan had a system and knew that he was 1st in the college entrance examination one step ahead of everyone.
The moment Ji Tong saw the brilliant green light flashing on the mission panel, he immediately reported it excitedly to the host. “Ruan Ruan, the mission panel is lit up!”
The panel lights lit up to indicate that the mission was on track.
The interview hadn’t begun so it was self-evident what this progress meant.
It was really the case.
The moment the scoring system was opened, Ji Tong couldn’t wait to access the information and he quickly read the data in the system.
142 points in language, 150 points in mathematics, 149 points in English and 296 points in comprehensive science.
The total score was 737 points.
Ji Tong happily circled around him and walked non-stop, calming down the excitement in his heart. “737 points, so high!”
He couldn’t help calculating it with his fingers. “If only there were the extra 20 points from the Olympiad this year. If you got 757 points, it would be higher than the full score. I think this explosive score alone can get 100 million views…”
Pei Qingyuan quietly looked at the screen displaying the score while Ji Tong’s voice happily chatted in his ears. In his dazed state where dreams came true, his phone started ringing one after another.
The first one to call him was the head teacher Zhou Fang.
The moment it connected, her excited voice that was a bit hoarse gushed out enthusiastically. “Xiao Pei, you are the champion of the college entrance examination!”
“It isn’t just the champion of our city but the champion of our province! No, I dare say that this is the highest raw score this year nationally.”
The originally noisy atmosphere on the other end of the phone calmed down at this sentence and Zhou Fang even sounded choked up.
He seemed to have over-fulfilled the mission.
In the dazzling afternoon sunlight, everything in front of him was vividly and clearly engraved in his eyes.
Pei Qingyuan saw Ji Tong stop walking around. Ji Tong’s eyes widened slightly before the corners of his mouth curled up and he showed a pure and bright smile.
“Host, you are really powerful.”
He heard a serious, golden voice.
More voices filled with admiration came one after another.
All the classmates and friends that Pei Qingyuan knew expressed their congratulations to him in different forms. Professor Xiao called, Pei Huaishan called and even Luo Xiuyun sent a long text message because she didn’t dare call directly.
The admissions teachers of several top schools in the city, who had been waiting for the number one student, arrived downstairs at Pei Qingyuan’s house two hours after the score was released. They were brought upstairs by the bright Zhou Fang, who specially rushed over to take the position of a parent and to help her student as a staff member.
Among them, the teachers of the admissions office of Jiangyuan College had the most wonderful mood.
“This is the fourth time we’ve seen this name.”
The teacher looked at the colleague next to him emotionally.
“Yes, the first time was on the recommendation list reported by Chengde Private High School. The second time was when this was canceled. The third time was when Professor Xiao came to ask and then he was recommended by the 2nd High School, successfully passing the exam.”
His colleague carefully recalled what happened every time he heard the name in the past and finally let out a long sigh.
“For the fourth time, he became the top student in the province for the college entrance examination.”
A big red banner was quickly hung at the entrance of the 2nd High School to celebrate the birth of the first city and provincial champion of this school. Once the other teachers and students learned the great news, they also followed the honor and happily told the people they knew.
It was because this time, it wasn’t only Pei Qingyuan who had a remarkably high score. There were many other students of the 2nd High School who performed exceptionally well. This year’s 2nd High School was likely to catch up with several schools that were ranked ahead of them in previous years. Quite a few parents of middle school students were discussing this high school that suddenly developed this year.
The school leaders soon announced that they would award a high scholarship to the provincial champion who brought unlimited glory to the school. Several prestigious colleges vying for the champion rushed to promise favorable conditions.
People around him were talking about rewards and halos with great relish. This caused the local media to reach out to the new provincial champion to request an exclusive interview.
Pei Qingyuan agreed in a normal tone.
He had been waiting for this interview for a long time.
Ever since the day he learned about this mission, Pei Qingyuan had been thinking about a problem.
What type of things did people like to spread?
After reading many professional books on communication and psychology and studying many cases that had become popular overnight on the Internet in recent years, Pei Qingyuan came to his own conclusion.
In the ordinary life that followed the rules most of the time, novel and contrasting things attracted people’s attention the most.
At the same time, the new thing that broke conventional understanding must be discovered by them with their own keen eyes, rather than being deliberately stuffed into their vision.
As pioneers who discovered mysterious treasures, they instinctively had the urge to spread it.
This conclusion applied to ordinary netizens who would never know each other across the Internet, as well as the reporter who was about to talk to him face-to-face.
Therefore, Pei Qingyuan’s preparation for the second half of the mission didn’t have to be done specifically.
One of the most special and strange things he had ever seen were the days he was currently experiencing.
After Ji Tong appeared, the days were quietly reshaped by countless fragments.
As Li Yayi and her partner carrying the camera walked out of the elevator, she had already drawn up the framework and draft of this report in her heart.
The fact that the city had produced a provincial champion with a rare high score was definitely worth reporting on, but most people who would pay attention to this report were silent middle school students and parents. It was difficult to cause a sensation that could emerge from the circle.
Moreover, all reports on the top scorer in the college entrance examination were very similar. They centered on the talent and hard work of the protagonist, mentioned the ups and downs or help brought about by their family environment and then wrote about the hobbies. The point was to emphasize that their score was amazing in the history of the city. It was either the highest raw score, the highest total score or a perfect score in a single subject etc.
Li Yayi thought about how the team next door had snatched up an unbelievable and bizarre case and her eyes showed envy.
She also wanted to do that type of topical news.
Before the visit, Li Yayi had done some preliminary research on the forums and social networking sites of the 2nd High School. She knew that the provincial champion was very powerful and handsome in the eyes of the students.
It was a pity that the champion being handsome was complete nonsense. His outstanding appearance shouldn’t become the focus of the report but should be weakened as much as possible, so as to not inadvertently evolve the wrong ideas in the process of disseminating the news.
In short, this would probably be another ordinary article that couldn’t be distinguished by name and would be hidden in the reports of other champions.
Li Yayi couldn’t help sighing when thinking of this.
After finding the door of the provincial champion’s house, she controlled her thoughts, sorted out her manners and knocked lightly on the door when she was ready.
In any case, she should do the interview first.
The door opened. Even though Li Yayi expected it, she still felt her eyes brighten.
The quasi-college student in front of her had lost his feeling of youth. He was much taller than her and looked handsome. However, there was no expression on his face and it gave a sense of alienation and coldness.
The provincial champion was also the champion in terms of appearance.
Aloofness was a very common attribute among academic masters and study gods. This was what Li Yayi thought.
Despite his cold demeanor, the other person’s tone was quite polite. “Please come in. The slippers are here.”
Li Yayi and her cameraman followed him into the house and took a rough look at the surrounding environment. The bedroom door was closed and the living room was warmly furnished. There were cute knick-knacks scattered everywhere and this made people feel happy just looking at it.
The house was quiet and no one else seemed to be there. Li Yayi asked curiously, “What about your parents?”
Pei Qingyuan said calmly, “They aren’t at home.”
Li Yayi was a bit surprised. Once the colleague carrying the camera touched her with his elbow, she smiled and followed.
Why were there Spring Festival couplets with such strange content stuck on the kitchen door?
It was completely incompatible with this rather cold-looking learning god.
Li Yayi thought that the Spring Festival couplets were particularly interesting. Unfortunately, it belonged to the privacy of life that had nothing to do with results and it was inconvenient to take photos.
However, combined with the overly cute arrangements in the house, did it mean there was an unknown side to the champion in front of her? Was there actually a silly side under the cold surface?
There was a brief communication with Pei Qingyuan before Li Yayi took out her notebook and signaled for her colleague to turn on the computer and prepare to start work.
Originally, she wanted to do a text interview with photos. However, now she felt that she could take some preparatory video material.
Li Yayi started the interview with renewed hope.
“Student Pei, you set a record for our city’s college entrance examination score,” she said with a smile. “Can you talk about your current mood?”
Student Pei replied indifferently, “I am very happy.”
Li Yayi nodded and waited for him to continue, but the air seemed to freeze and there was no sound.
It wasn’t until the interviewee looked at her with slight surprise that Li Yayi realized that the other person had answered her question.
“Cough. Then is it convenient to reveal which college you chose in the end?”
“Jiangyuan College.”
“I heard that you obtained the recommendation qualification of Jiangyuan College before taking the college entrance examination. I thought you insisted on taking the college entrance examination because you wanted to choose other famous schools. Can you tell me why you still chose Jiangyuan?”
“It is the most suitable place.”
“Where is it suitable?”
“Everywhere.”
“…So that is the case. Let’s talk about some light topics first. What else do you do in addition to studying?”
“Play basketball and read books.”
“It is indeed necessary to combine work and rest. What type of books does Student Pei read?”
“A lot.”
“……”
After several questions, Li Yayi finally recognized a cruel truth.
There weren’t the cold jokes that she imagined. This provincial champion was just as cold and quiet as he appeared on the surface.
Once again, she looked around at the furnishings and felt that this wasn’t always the case.
The expressionless, cold boy lived in a warm and cute home all day and didn’t seem to feel anything strange about it.
This sense of contradiction thoroughly aroused her curiosity.
With the keen intuition of a journalist, Li Yayi felt that she must’ve overlooked something.
Her cameraman colleague felt the same way. During the break time that Li Yayi called to organize her thoughts, he looked at the living room with extra serious eyes.
Then his gaze swept over what looked like a desk and suddenly stopped in surprise.
In the corner of the workbench was a toy with a unique appearance. Judging from the shape of its limbs, it could be a robot or a toy imitating a robot.
There were so many decorations in this house that she had ignored this corner.
The thing on the desk was obviously important to the student.
“Is that a model?” Under the reminder of her colleague, Li Yayi inexplicably felt that this would be a breakthrough point. She immediately asked Pei Qingyuan, “Can I take a closer look?”
She received the other person’s nod of agreement and the two people walked toward the strange desk together.
Her cameraman colleague carried the camera that was still recording and whispered to Li Yayi next to him, “What do you think this thing is?”
Li Yayi was also curious. Before she could speak, the strange toy with a pair of mechanical long legs in front of her suddenly flashed. This was followed by a female mechanical voice that politely said, “Hello, are you calling me?”
The two of them were caught off guard by the question. Their faces showed panic and they took a big step back in unison.
