Chapter 78 (1/2)

Translator: _Min_ Editor: Lis_

“Do you… like me?”

Jiang Chen recalled the conversation backstage as he scratched his nose with a troubled smile.

“Why am I so charming?” he said to himself with a c.o.c.ky flair before becoming overwhelmed by embarra.s.sment again. He turned the car radio on in an attempt to drown his awkwardness in the noise.

Xia s.h.i.+yu was the type to be shy, easily embarra.s.sed by anything. Even with her emotionless face, she was cold only on the outside, warm on the inside.

The atmosphere had been intimate. Her mouth half-open, she had been completely at a loss with the situation. Just at that moment, however, an untimely phone call with an explosive ringtone broke the delicate closeness. Jiang Chen, realizing it was his phone, was about to hang up when Xia s.h.i.+yu quickly gathered her wits and then fled the room with her head buried.

[…Fine. Perhaps that phone call had perfect timing.]

Or else he wouldn’t have had a clue on how to disengage from that awkward situation. He wasn’t sure about his att.i.tude towards her either. He used to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e to her image long ago for quite some time, but he hadn’t had such thoughts for a while now.

Perhaps his mentality had changed?

Shaking his head, he had tried to push away the strange thoughts in his mind.

And then his phone rang once more.

He thought for a second, the same troubled smile crossing his face.

There was no point in hanging up again. He sighed and connected the call with his Bluetooth headphones.

The voice from the other side had made him fall into a deep contemplation again.

w.a.n.g Zhiyong?

Jiang Chen was now on his way to the home of w.a.n.g Dehai, the general secretary of w.a.n.ghai City. The elder wished to invite him over for dinner to express his sincere grat.i.tude for saving his life.

But the phone call had been too timely, coming not long after ending the press conference. It felt unnatural to Jiang Chen, yet it was the general secretary’s invitation. And he had saved his life, so it probably wouldn’t be anything too terrible. After a moment’s hesitation, he began his drive over.

It was a serene community without seeming too luxurious, but the amount of vegetation here was rare to see in the entire w.a.n.ghai City. The security at the door seemed to be retired soldiers. He could feel the bloodl.u.s.t from several meters away. These guys must have come from a border conflict.

All of the residents in this community had to be influential in some way. Even with money, not everyone could be the general secretary’s neighbor.

He parked the car in the building before walking up to knock on the door.

The door opened momentarily, revealing a cheerful face before him.

“You’re here. Come in, my mom wants to thank you personally.” w.a.n.g Xinran grinned at Jiang Chen.

“Hmmm? Don’t you live on campus?” Jiang Chen was surprised to see her.

“It’s Sat.u.r.day. Is President Jiang Chen so busy that he forgot the date?” She playfully poked her tongue out.

[Hmm, now that I don’t work, it’s hard to keep track.]

As soon as he entered, he was greeted with warmth. He was surprised by the generosity and welcoming gestures, making him feel slightly ashamed since he had his own motives in saving people. But regardless of the reason, he did fight off death and save w.a.n.g Dehai.

He most mostly taken aback by the fact that w.a.n.g Dehai was not like other grim politicians who acted fiercely. Instead, he lacked the daunting vibe, seeming instead like a kind elderly man. Seeing Jiang Chen, he warmly called out Little Jiang (little is a common way to refer to younger people). Aware of the situation, Jiang Chen responded by calling him Uncle w.a.n.g.

w.a.n.g Dehai’s wife was a grandma with kind features who consistently served Jiang Chen food. It certainly gave Jiang Chen, who had been venturing outside, a sense of home.

w.a.n.g Zhiyong was an interesting person as well. He kept trying to drink with Jiang Chen, but his weak alcohol tolerance put him under the table first. When he started spouting gibberish, his sister stuck him back in his room as he snored.

Jiang Chen always viewed straightforward people in a positive light.

As for w.a.n.g Xinran, she maintained her usual level of energy as she pestered him with questions about Future 1.0. She also informed him that she became the top member of the distinguished alumni at w.a.n.ghai University—the youngest to ever take the spot.

Unfortunately, the list only circulated within the school and didn’t hold much influence since few students held an interest in the school newspaper anymore.

As for her questions, Jiang Chen didn’t disclose anything outside of the norm. Everything he said was consistent with his stance at the press conference.

As he spoke with w.a.n.g Xinran, he kept most of his attention on w.a.n.g Dehai for his reaction.

What did this powerful politician think about Future 1.0?

Support? Or more reserved?

－

After dinner, w.a.n.g Dehai called Jiang Chen into his office.

“Feel free to sit. Don’t be nervous, I just want to chat with you.” w.a.n.g Dehai saw Jiang Chen was nervous and smiled warmly as he invited him to take a seat.

“Haha, Uncle w.a.n.g, I’ll make myself comfortable then.” Jiang Chen settled himself onto the sofa across from him.

He didn’t dare to pretend to be an “ancient remedy doctor” anymore. In Hua, all of the intelligent people were politicians, particularly a powerful one like w.a.n.g Dehai. The difficulty in convincing him on a story was nearly impossible. Even the finest acting would have its flaws.

Say as little as possible.

But Jiang Chen had clearly overthought the matter.

w.a.n.g Dehai didn’t pry into the matter of how he cured rabies. Instead, he started talking about his childhood anecdotes.

“My rabies was probably from the sixties. I was young, my dad was being punished, and I got bit by the dogs of those crazy politicians. I remember the bite was about this big on my leg. I initially didn’t think it would be a problem after so many years, but it still turned out to be worse. Haha.”

w.a.n.g Dehai used his hand to show the size of the scar. Jiang Chen smiled, but didn’t respond.

He knew it was better to listen since elders enjoyed telling young people their stories. They didn’t need comfort or praise, only an audience that was willing to hear them out.

Although he didn’t know what w.a.n.g Dehai was planning, since he treated Jiang Chen as one of the younger generation instead of as a subordinate, Jiang Chen’s impression of him was not too bad.

He heard many stories from w.a.n.g Dehai.

Until the end.

“Now, we are finally powerful. Good, good, good!” In a nostalgic tone, w.a.n.g Dehai repeated “good” three times as he looked in Jiang Chen’s direction with a look full of hidden meanings.

The show had finally started.

Jiang Chen’s focused as he waited for this powerful politician to speak.

“Little Jiang, is it feasible for artificial intelligence to be used in the military?” w.a.n.g Dehai casually asked as he sipped his tea.

“Of course,” Jiang Chen responded without hesitation before sternly saying, “It would be a disaster to the country and even the world.”

“Oh?” w.a.n.g Dehai was quite interested by Jiang Chen’s response and waited for the context.

“Artificial intelligence is not human. If the life and death of a human is given to a program to oversee, it would only take a programming error to cause a catastrophic disaster. In the end, the law cannot regulate lines of code.”

“Oh? But if artificial intelligence soldiers could replace human soldiers going into war, could it not eliminate the need for bloodshed?”

“No, there will only be more casualties.” A troubled smile appeared on Jiang Chen’s face.