Don’t Covet the Beautiful System!! - Chap 77
In the same style as the previous episode, the interview video with only subtitles and a bit of editing was released. After the release of the next episode, the first thing that appeared in the comment area was laughter.
[Reporter Li regaining her composure and quickly asking back questions is so funny. Hahahaha, it is really excellent professionalism!]
[This weird thing can actually dance? It is so strange that I want to see it!![
[…We can’t see it because a password needs to be entered. F*k.]
[What is open sesame? Hahahaha.]
[A one-on-one communication robot. Such an interesting idea. I want it! Waiting for the link!]
[Upstairs, I have searched and there is no similar robot for sale. This must be made by the champion himself. There should be only one. He is really powerful.]
[The only one! Gave it to a friend! Named by a friend! Ahhh, can I sneak a bite here (whispers).]
[Okay, the interview continues! Let’s see how long Reporter Li’s new round of toughness can last in the face of the coldness of the champion!]
[What is the name of this robot? What is the dance? D*mn, I want to know! Ahhh, I suddenly thought that it must be a robot specially designed by the champion according to his friend’s preferences. Is this why it looks unsuitable for him?]
[So the cute dolls piled up on the sofa are also…]
[This year’s netizens are really good at shipping.jpg.]
[I feel that Reporter Li is like us and is very curious about this friend. Hahahahah. She has been trying to bring the topic to this friend.]
Then the laughter gradually disappeared.
[However, the champion answered so simply when the reporter asked about the help and support from his family. He gave such a precious gift to his friend but never mentioned the contributions of his parents. Emmm, it doesn’t feel like he has a conscience. What is the use of being handsome and studying well? He won’t go far without a good moral character.]
[…? He just said a few words. How can you make up so much in your brain? Didn’t he say that his parents aren’t home at this time? If it was me who was the champion of the exam and was interviewed by reporters then my parents and grandparents would definitely be hiding in a corner out of the camera’s reach, wiping away tears and listening.]
[Indeed, there is a picture of it.]
[Has anyone found a detail? In the door-to-door robbing session of the prestigious schools, the head teacher was there to help the champion as a reference… so what about his parents?]
[After watching it, I laughed a lot at first. Then I somehow felt sad later, especially when he said he liked the name that his friend gave to the robot.]
[I don’t know why but the last answer makes me want to cry T^T]
[In the video, the sun is so bright and the furnishings are very warm. But it feels a bit lonely… That friend should be the most important person to the champion. Does he have a normal relationship with his family?]
[There is a feeling of confessing to a friend (?). The luckiest thing in life isn’t becoming the provincial champion but knowing you.]
[No matter what, I will ship it first!!]
[Has anyone who knows the champion revealed who this friend is?] Are they male or female? A classmate? I swear, I am only secretly shipping it in my heart!]
The number of forwards and comments on the video had steadily increased, but it was always maintained at a level that wasn’t exaggerated. According to Li Yayi’s estimation, all the related news combined would eventually reach almost 100 million views.
This topic wasn’t considered a big hit. Compared with the real focused news with billions of views, many netizens hadn’t seen this or cared about it. It mainly spread among user groups dominated by young women, but this was already the hottest report that Li Yayi had ever handled while working the local news.
In the vast majority of events that had a certain popularity, as the content continuously spread, there would be a variety of ‘acquaintances, classmates, friends and relatives’ who would appear and more related news scattered on the Internet would be rediscovered. This interview with the champion was no exception.
[I went to their school forum to look at it again. There are many people discussing the video but a lot of them are whining and also guessing who this friend is. I was confused.]
[After looking through lots of comments, I can basically confirm that there is a problem with the champion’s family environment. They all seem to have tacitly acquiesced to him not mentioning his parents. I see that some people said that the children were switched or something, but it was quickly deleted. Others will also take the initiative to stop the discussion in this regard. It faintly has the meaning of protecting the champion.]
[I don’t know how to say it but I feel that the people of his school really admire him. This is why they are all spontaneously protecting him. So at the very least, it can be seen that the character of the champion is absolutely fine. As for the family, if it is really something like being switched from birth then this isn’t something that he decided on his own.]
[D*m, I found the archives. Most of them have been harmonized but I can still find a little bit. The champion used to be a rich second generation.]
[Yes, a private high school + financial entrepreneur.]
[Previously? So he was the child of an ordinary family who mistakenly entered a rich family? Then he was driven away after their identities were exposed? No wonder he seems to have a good temperament and has the leisure to study robots. It turns out that he enjoyed a good life that shouldn’t have belonged to him.]
[The malice in your words is going to rush out of the screen. Being jealous like this…]
[I am from the 2nd High School so I have mustered up the courage to say something. I hope everyone can stop digging into Senior Pei’s family background. He is very good himself. It is hurtful to dig out the past and make wild speculations. This is personal privacy.]
As one of the first batch of people who talked about the bloody storm of switching the child of a wealthy family after Pei Qingyuan transferred, the students of the 2nd High School knew best how everyone would react to this eye-catching, strange story.
When they were part of it, they would be infected by the collective atmosphere and not feel that there was anything wrong with them. They were just eating melons. Then after getting acquainted with the main party and watching another group of people do similar things, they could deeply experience the overwhelming sense of suffocation.
[2nd High School student +1. There are so many advantages to the class monitor. Why bother to stare at the family that he has nothing to do with?]
Fortunately, this was an interview about the top student of the college entrance examination. People had some love for students with outstanding grades and a recognized good character. This could surpass the instinct of curiosity.
Moreover, this type of discussion mixed with malicious speculation wasn’t a good thing for the Pei family, Pei Qingyuan or the platform. Some overly private discussions were quickly dealt with so that they didn’t continue fermenting.
The wind of discussion gradually returned to Pei Qingyuan himself.
[The champion took the exam by himself and wasn’t helped by his parents. Why pick up on other people’s family affairs? Are you so idle? Do you have to pick out thorns out of good things so you can have a special sense of existence?]
[I don’t care about those who are there or not. I just want to write a blood letter asking for the champion’s robot to go on the market! I! Want! To! Buy! A little machine that belongs to me. It is very exciting to think about!]
[Two blood letters! By the way, tell me the name of the robot in the video. Ahhhh!]
[Since those of the 2nd High School are here, can you reveal who the friend of the champion is? Describe them with hundreds of millions of details without exposing the person’s privacy. For example, what they look like and how they interact with the champion on a daily basis.]
[Eating sugar. How wonderful, add me. I want to know the height difference!]
The 2nd High School student, who received many replies to their comment, only reappeared after a long time.
[Okay, don’t poke me. I don’t know. I’m in a different year from Senior Pei and I’m embarrassed to talk to him. We don’t know each other… In fact, the senior usually spends a lot of time alone. We are also curious about how his friend is.]
[D*mn, so it isn’t a classmate? But high school students basically stay in school every day. Is it online dating? What about the one who called out class monitor just now? Are they in the same class?]
[I’m here. He isn’t from our class. The class monitor has a good relationship with everyone, but no one can teach the class monitor many things or help him a lot. It is the other way around for us…It shouldn’t be online dating. Our school doesn’t care about having mobile phones but the class monitor doesn’t take it out very often.]
[Good guy, it is becoming more and more confusing.]
[Ahhh, I found someone who might be a bit familiar with the champion! A friend on the basketball team!]
Fu Chengze was surfing on the Internet when he was startled by the sudden influx of messages.
Fu Chengze received a video from Pei Qingyuan on April’s Fool Day this year. The jelly bean robot in it could talk, play music and gently twist with the music. At that time, he thought it was an April Fool’s joke. Then once he saw the news, he knew it was really a robot made by Pei Qingyuan.
So when he saw the netizens being curious about the jelly bean’s dance, Fu Chengze responded with a ‘it is silly’ comment and was discovered by sharp-eyed netizens.
He posted a lot of basketball-related news and selfies on his account. There was also a photo of him forcibly hooking an arm around Pei Qingyuan’s shoulder when they won the league before.
Under that group photo, many people rushed over excitedly to leave messages.
[Is it you? Is it you? The champion’s friend! So handsome!]
[It is a boy. On the same basketball team + knows that the robot dances in a silly manner. It must be you! You are both adults! Then I am going to start shipping hard!!]
[But this guy doesn’t seem like he likes plush dolls… I feel that the champion’s friend should be very cute.]
[No stereotypes allowed!]
[! I bet on the wrong height. It turns out that the friend is taller!]
Fu Chengze returned to the subject of his height first.
He was very dissatisfied with the fact that Pei Qingyuan’s height had gradually surpassed him but facts were facts.
[This was a photo taken before. Brother Pei has grown taller and is one centimeter taller than me.]
Without waiting for the excited netizens to reply to this matter, Fu Chengze replied again.
[It isn’t me. I don’t know what the name of the robot is. I have just seen the robot video that Brother Pei sent me.]
He was as curious as the netizens about this. He had specially asked Pei Qingyuan and got the same answer as Li Yayi.
[…My smile suddenly froze.]
]Wu wu wu, you call him Brother Pei. You must be very familiar! Handsome guy, do you know who this friend is? Please, this is important to us QAQ.]
Fu Chengze thought about it. He was indeed familiar with Pei Qingyuan and had participated in Pei Qingyuan’s 18th birthday party. He often went to the bakery where Pei Qingyuan worked to eat some new products and would chat and come out to play on the rest days when they weren’t in class.
But he never found such a person.
For him and his friends on the basketball team, the only one he had seen who was by Pei Qingyuan’s side from time to time was Ji Tong.
But this was just a three year old naive child.
No matter how he thought about it, this didn’t fit the description of being very lucky to meet him.
[I don’t know. I have no clue.]
The netizens were struggling.
[Handsome guy, do you want to think again? We think it must be a cute boy or girl. Their features must be super distinct!]
Fu Chengze was also curious about this mysterious friend and tried to cooperate.
[The child that Brother Pei tutors is very cute.]
[!! There is something. How old? Is it a middle school student? Or a freshman or sophomore in high school?]
[Three years old.]
[…Wu wu wu, that’s okay. Next one.]
[I don’t know anyone else.]
Fu Chengze finished answering and was about to close the page when he saw the latest comments that appeared and frowned.
[Ah, I asked acquaintances and they said there was no such person. So the champion is lying… help.]
[His answers were very vague when he talked about it. He was asked what role this friend played and he didn’t say it clearly. It felt like he was hiding it.]
[According to the answering style of the entire interview, he also indirectly avoided any questions about his parents. So when it comes to his friend, he is either lying or it isn’t convenient for him to say.]
[What is inconvenient about talking about a friend he has a good relationship with? It seems that he can only be lying.]
Even if he had no clue, Fu Chengze didn’t think Pei Qingyuan would lie about this type of thing.
[I just said I don’t know. I didn’t say that there isn’t such a person. Don’t spread rumors.]
Once he snapped back, he still didn’t understand it. He stared at the negative comments and was about to say something else when his body trembled.
Due to a certain habit of thinking, from the beginning, Fu Chengze considered people close to Pei Qingyuan from the beginning and who met the conventional definition of a friend.
He had been ignoring a ‘person.’
[I didn’t think about it before, but Brother Pei does have a very cute friend around him who stays with him every day.]
[But it can’t be considered a ‘person.’]
At the question marks from the netizens, Fu Chengze typed a long reply only to suddenly feel a bit sad.
[It is very cute and smart. It has small flowers and ribbons on its body and greets and talks to us. It tells cold jokes, is very good at praise and sometimes speaks the truth in a serious manner. It has a yellow duck seat and this should be considered a friend… but it is actually just a smartwatch that Brother Pei wears on his wrist every day.]
This sentence was like a seemingly ordinary pebble falling into the water, setting off unexpected waves in the rapidly changing ocean.
From this moment on, the popularity of the interview started to grow wildly.
However, these turbulent voices were very far away from Pei Qingyuan.
He didn’t have time to care about the online buzz because he had more important things to do right now.
The third main mission was finally completed and he could claim the reward.
It was the long-awaited reward.
On the way to Xingyue Bakery, Pei Qingyuan heard Ji Tong’s broadcast. “Now there isn’t a single hahaha in the comment area. It is all crying. Ruan Ruan, do you want to hear me read the comments?”
“…No need.”
After the last episode of the video was broadcasted the day before yesterday, Ji Tong enthusiastically read to him with great interest the content of many netizens praising the champion. This made Pei Qingyuan feel overwhelmed.
The last episode of the video was released last night. After the short life turmoil, half of the netizens were looking for the champion’s friend and the other half were waiting for the mass production of weird robots. This way, the total number of views successfully reached the goal of 100 million. The mission was officially completed and Pei Qingyuan no longer cared about the news.
Ji Tong groaned in disappointment and said with lightning speed, “The champion is too miserable. Wu wu wu, I cried so loudly.”
Pei Qingyuan: “……”
He couldn’t get angry so he reached out and rubbed the child’s head.
Ji Tong held his hair that was a bird’s nest and observed the host’s expression. Then he kindly decided not to read any further.
He paused and revisited the two videos in his head. Then he contentedly followed the host into the bakery.
Ji Tong quietly placed the two videos in the core of the system code data and treasured them.
His appearance was the luckiest thing for the host. Ji Tong was especially happy when he heard this. Unfortunately, he was an emotionless black and white ceramic cat at the time and could only obediently lie on the sofa, not daring to move.
From the moment he heard it until now, his human soul that was placed on endless data seemed to be surrounded by a warm spring breeze. It was like being soaked in a glass of never-ending gassy Cola that couldn’t be drunk.
Ji Tong didn’t know why he was so happy.
Perhaps it was because of a supreme acknowledgment of his value as a system.
The bakery was still busy but He Shiwen held his phone in a daze. Once he saw them appear, he suddenly stood up with a surprised face.
Today, Ji Tong came to bid farewell to He Shiwen.
Ji Tong beckoned to him. “Uncle He, good morning. I’m going to follow my mother abroad.”
He Shiwen’s eyes were already slightly red. After hearing him say this, He Shiwen looked even sadder.
Ji Tong was also a bit sad but he still smiled.
It had been stated in the system work manual that when the human form of the system was greatly upgraded and was extremely different from the original form, to avoid uncontrollable bugs and due to the special identity of the system, people who knew the original form would gradually forget him except for the host.
After all, he was a ‘person’ who would never appear again.
People would slowly forget passersby in their life but the rules of the world would make them forget the person played by the system even faster, leaving only a vague impression.
However, Ji Tong still decided to say goodbye to these acquaintances one by one. In the face of irresistible oblivion, he wanted them to at least know where their little friend went.
Later, the host would take him to find Fu Chengze and the others.
He Shiwen was stunned for a long time before finally sighing in a restrained manner. “I really can’t bear it.”
Pei Qingyuan was admitted to college. Even if it was the same city, he would no longer pass by the bakery every day after school. the child who often stayed by his side would go to a far away foreign country and they might never see each other again.
A time he loved was coming to an end.
He Shiwen responded to this ending with the sweetest food in the world.
Pei Qingyuan’s hands were full of bread and snacks for him and Ji Tong when they left the bakery. Ji Tong was also holding a cute-looking cream cake.
It was made by He Shiwen, who squeezed next to the busy pastry chef.
The cake was decorated with flowers and had a small blue and white dinosaur.
The child holding the small dinosaur cake smiled with crooked eyes.
“Goodbye, Uncle He!”
He would come back to this bakery with a new look.
Ji Tong quietly added in his heart.
“Goodbye, Tong Tong!”
He Shiwen pretended to be affected by the sunlight and took off his glasses to rub his eyes.
“Xiao Pei, if you have time after going to college then bring your new friends to play! I’ll take you to eat delicious food!”
Seeing the two backs getting further and further away from him, he suddenly couldn’t help calling out loudly.
Time seemed to go back to a certain night long ago when he called out to stop the teenager who was always riding his bicycle and wandering outside the glass window.
In the crowd, Pei Qingyuan looked back at him and replied, “I will, Uncle He.”
Distant voices crossed long distances.
Friends.
Ji Tong felt that He Shiwen, who had red eyes just now, was probably reading the news.
His appearance alone was enough to attract people’s attention to the provincial college entrance examination champion. Then he had a cold personality, a bumpy life experience, a warmly furnished home, the talent to make intelligent robots with his own hands and a friend who was extremely important in his heart.
This originally wasn’t a very surprising story.
Then it turned out that the friend people had been guessing about for a long time was also an intelligent robot.
In the eyes of netizens, the current host was a lonely, abandoned young man who could only be accompanied by AI. He was a genius but also strange. He would even create an AI for another AI.
But in a sense, it was true.
No one knew that a human soul was carried in the smartwatch, not even Pei Qingyuan himself.
He really regarded meeting an AI system as the luckiest thing in his life.
It was also true that another artificial intelligence called Xiao Mei was created for an artificial intelligence called Ji Tong.
The host was accompanied by a system while he possessed Xiao Mei again.
Ji Tong hugged the cream cake hard. The host beside him slowed his steps to match the speed of the child’s walking.
In the future, the host wouldn’t need to walk so slowly.
“The Tong Tong they know is the happiest child in the world,” Ji Tong said with a smile. “But from tonight, I am the new Ji Tong.”
This time, Ji Tong had the appearance of an adult and would generate an identity information that could be found. It was a type that could have a legal ID card and he could live in this society as an ordinary person. Thus, it was best that his appearance could be traced.
In light of the fact that he would be inseparable from Pei Qingyuan in the future, he needed an encounter with the host.
It was like the cat called Mushroom who came in from outside the campus wall and ran all the way to the host.
“What about the street boy picked up on the side of the road?” Ji Tong suggested. “Sister Yinyin said that this is the most trouble-free method. It can be set to be selective amnesia so I don’t remember a lot of past events.”
“You kindly took me in and took me to the police station. They found my identity information after checking my fingerprints. Unfortunately, I am an orphan with no family. I was put in an orphanage when I was very young, so I have a household registration.”
This arrangement meant he didn’t have to fill the gap in his family.
‘Okay.” Pei Qingyuan had no objections. “Is the name still Ji Tong?”
Then he heard that Ji Tong had even thought of the details and made up a story completely.
“Yes, it is probably because there is a big paulownia tree in the orphanage.”
Pei Qingyuan remembered saying this to Ji Tong a long time ago and he still thought so. “The paulownia flowers in spring are beautiful.”
“Where should I find you?”
Ji Tong, who was originally speaking clearly and logically, got stuck for a moment. “Let me think about it.”
He thought for a long time before whispering, “It is just… the side of the road?”
From this inexplicably lighter voice, Pei Qingyuan guessed that his system had started to become tense again.
He still remembered the first time Ji Tong restored his robot shape. He hid behind the door and didn’t dare to come out completely.
At that time, Pei Qingyuan didn’t speak immediately. The little robot maintained the posture of carefully sticking out his head from behind the door and he asked nervously, “Is the host afraid?”
He wasn’t afraid.
No matter whether it was a cold mechanical shell or a new human appearance.
“I’ll find you.”
The long day passed and night arrived.
In the middle of summer at the end of June, the evening breeze carrying the heat wave blew through the flapping corners of his clothes.
The bicycle drove on the familiar streets and the scenery he had seen many times came into view.
His hands holding the handlebar slightly oozed sweat. At this moment, Pei Qingyuan was actually nervous.
On which street would Ji Tong appear and what was he doing? In addition, what would he become?
Could he recognize the grown up Ji Tong?
Pei Qingyuan moved alone through the lonely streets late at night while complicated questions swirled in his mind. His eyes swept over the colorful scenery, distinguishing every strange face. He looked for the homeless boy who was destined to be discovered by him.
Once he saw the back of the figure standing in front of the bakery, Pei Qingyuan realized he didn’t need to look for it.
After closing, the store was dark. Beautiful and delicate cake models were displayed in the moonlit windows.
The boy of unknown origin was looking at them intently. Moonlight followed his line of sight and diffused over his fair face and clear eyes, vaguely outlining his thin figure.
Maybe he was even looking at the model and thinking of the dinosaur cake he ate during the day.
The bicycle slowly stopped and Pei Qingyuan suddenly thought that this was Ji Tong.
He always stared through the transparent glass at the grand world behind the glass that seemed to be within reach.
Pei Qingyuan walked toward this strange yet familiar back. He completed the task of taking in the homeless teenager as planned.
As he got closer, the strong evening breeze blew in his ears. Out-of-control branches and leaves grew in the originally determined story.
It was on this night when the moon was bright like a butterfly was about to fly away.
The world was clearly silent but he heard his own pounding heartbeat.
