Chapter 258: Ainuo Taking Xiang Chuan Away
Just as Ouyang Yating and Nancy were muttering about Ainuo, Ainuo happened to spot their club president on the bench by the fountain.
“Xiang…”
He took a few steps forward, about to speak, when he suddenly noticed a man sitting at the other end of the bench where Xiang Chuan was seated. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a member of the Eleventh Fleet Pioneer Unit who had been following them right up until they arrived at the small park.
How did these two start chatting again? Why does Xiang Chuan like chatting with this officer so much? Could it be that she has an interest in the Exploration Force? He had never heard her mention it.
While Ainuo was brainstorming guesses in his mind, he quickened his pace to approach.
“…So that means the Eleventh Fleet has a lot of valuable ancient records?”
Xiang Chuan’s excited voice reached Ainuo’s ears.
“Yeah, but those materials are all preserved by the Historical Research Institute. They require approval from the Central Government before they can be viewed, so compared to that, things are much more relaxed on your side.”
Li Wei’s voice also carried over, and compared to when they had been walking together on the path earlier, his tone now carried a bit more ease and comfort.
“That’s such a shame. Over here, I can only see things from before Common Era 2022, but the records collected on your side might cover history from before Common Era 12022 and before Tianyuan 5000. If they can’t be shown to everyone, then how many people will be willing to devote themselves to the history research field?”
Ainuo was very familiar with this tone of Xiang Chuan’s. Every time in the A Bite of China Club Small Restaurant, when she propped her chin with one hand and flipped through the blank light screen while muttering “Ah… this is missing oyster sauce, can’t make it…” or “Glutinous rice… glutinous rice… where can I get some glutinous rice…”, it was this tone full of regret and heartfelt pain.
What surprised Ainuo, however, was that the information turbulence Xiang Chuan had contacted was records from the Common Era era. Even more shocking was that she had told this officer from another fleet without reservation?!
Ainuo couldn’t hold back anymore. Seizing the moment when Li Wei was about to speak, he interjected:
“The Historical Research Institute is a government department, and in general, it’s a relatively leisurely position. So even if there’s nothing to do, there are still many people applying to work in that department. There’s no shortage of people.”
——
“—There’s no shortage of people.”
The voice that suddenly came from behind startled Xiang Chuan so much that she nearly jumped off the bench. She steadied the water bottle that almost fell to the ground, turned her head, and saw that familiar brown-haired, green-eyed face.
“Damn, Ainuo, can’t you greet normally when you come over?” Xiang Chuan patted her little heart, which had sped up considerably. “If this cup spills, I won’t have any fruit milk to drink today.”
This wasn’t Xiang Chuan deliberately picking on Ainuo, but rather because she had been drinking too much fruit milk these past few months. After the bionic robot Da Xing at home did a body check for the family and found some abnormalities, the family strictly limited her to one bottle of fruit milk per day, and she could only drink water otherwise.
This bottle of fruit milk was specially saved for drinking during her evening walk to aid digestion. Xiang Chuan didn’t particularly love fruit milk either. Having been a corporate slave for half her previous life, her drink preferences had long shifted to tea and coffee. Compared to sweet drinks, she preferred the fresh aroma of tea leaves and the rich intensity of coffee.
However, with no roasted tea leaves available now and no ready coffee beans to be found, Xiang Chuan could only use unsweetened fruit milk as a temporary substitute.
“If it spills, it spills. Worst case, I’ll give you mine.”
Ainuo said, shaking the water bottle in his hand. The three words “A Bite of China Club” printed on it made Li Wei, sitting at the other end of the bench, unable to help but look at it a few more times.
After field training ended, the four members of A Bite of China Club had customized a set of insulated water bottles together, filled with their favorite juices or fruit milk. The designs for the water bottles were based on styles from Taobao and JD.com that Xiang Chuan referenced. Hers was similar to a coffee to-go cup, Ainuo and Liang Gong’s were Tundun Barrel shapes but not as large, and Ouyang Yating chose a narrow-top wide-bottom style with a lid that could be used as a cup. Compared to the overly simplistic cylindrical transparent glass designs of modern water bottles, their four bottles were quite unique.
Later, regular customers who frequented the A Bite of China Club Small Restaurant saw these water bottles and expressed hope to buy them by pitching in money. Xiang Chuan had no objections, but she was too lazy to handle the subsequent production work. After getting permission from the Information Turbulence Processing Office, she handed the authority to the three club members to figure out, with Xiang Chuan at most offering opinions on colors and handling contract signing.
As for how the three negotiated the contract with the manufacturer afterward, Xiang Chuan didn’t bother with it.
By late May, a water bottle display case had been added to the corner of A Bite of China Club’s small restaurant, and a water bottle ordering page was added to the light screen menu. After customers placed orders, they would be collected and sent uniformly to the manufacturer before the end of the month. Three days later, the water bottles would arrive at the A Bite of China Club warehouse for delivery to customers.
——
What Ainuo was carrying now was his Tundun Barrel-shaped water bottle. Compared to the glass cup water bottles others carried, it was really quite eye-catching.
Xiang Chuan looked at his water bottle with disdain and said:
“I don’t want to drink it. You even add sugar to juice—it’s too sweet.”
“That’s because apple juice and orange juice are too sour. I never add sugar when I drink pear juice!”
“Because pears are sweet to begin with! No, you’ve derailed the topic again…” Xiang Chuan shook her head lightly and looked back at Ainuo. “Why are you here looking for me? It can’t be that your crazy pursuer wants to ask me about those things, right? We’re innocent.”
“Sasha? She went back to her own class ages ago. I’m here to get you to come back. By the way, didn’t Chou Manman come with you? How did she leave you here alone?”
Ainuo glanced around.
“There was some emergency at the Drama Club, so Man Man went to handle it. And I’m not alone either. This… uh, this military officer has been keeping me company chatting for quite a while.”
After talking for a while, Xiang Chuan suddenly couldn’t remember Li Wei’s name and switched back to her earlier form of address.
Come to think of it, what was this officer’s name again? It seemed like his blond superior had mentioned it during lunch? Li Ming? Li Wei? Xiang Chuan brainstormed in her mind.
“Leaving you to chat with a stranger is still leaving you alone here.” Ainuo retorted. As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Li Wei.
Li Wei, sitting upright at the other end of the bench, was wearing a blue military uniform. This uniform, which had once inspired admiration in many high school boys including Ainuo, now seemed overly conspicuous to him. He openly sized up Li Wei’s appearance: black hair, brown eyes, a clean and easygoing temperament, but under the military uniform, it added a touch of maturity and authority.
Remembering his sister at home fangirling over the blue military uniforms of the Exploration Force while watching official military department videos introducing various troops, Ainuo’s inner displeasure grew.
Li Wei naturally noticed Ainuo’s scrutinizing gaze and the overly obvious dissatisfaction on his face, which puzzled him greatly: He hadn’t said a single word to this male classmate from beginning to end, right? What had he done to offend him?
As an adult, Li Wei felt he should take the initiative to clear up any unnecessary misunderstandings. He stood up from the bench, walked over to Ainuo, extended his right hand, and said: “Hello, classmate. I’m Li Wei, team leader of the detection squad in the Third Fleet of the Eleventh Fleet Pioneer Unit. I might be staying with the Third Fleet for a while.”
Ainuo narrowed his eyes. He didn’t really want to engage with this officer he had no favorable impression of, but if his parents found out he had been rude to an officer while out, he didn’t know how he’d be lectured when he got back. So he extended his right hand, gave Li Wei’s hand a light shake, and said:
“Instructor Li Wei, hello. I’m Ainuo Li, a first-year high school student in Class Eight at the Agricultural University Affiliated High School of the Third Fleet, a club member of this guy.” As he spoke, Ainuo pointed at Xiang Chuan, who was sitting on the bench biting her straw.
Ainuo Li? Li Wei’s brow twitched. This name structure was clearly the naming convention used by nobles, meaning the boy in front of him was very likely from a noble family of the Third Fleet. This guess made a trace of retreat arise in Li Wei’s heart.
Ainuo noticed the odd emotion in the young officer before him, but he couldn’t be bothered with it and turned to walk toward Xiang Chuan instead.
He directly grabbed the back of Xiang Chuan’s collar, hoisted her entire body onto his shoulder before she could protest, and conveniently caught the water bottle she hadn’t held steady.
“Instructor Li Wei, our other club members are looking for Xiang Chuan. I’ll take her away first. Feel free to carry on.”
Ainuo’s right hand firmly gripped Xiang Chuan’s waist to prevent her from struggling, nodded slightly to Li Wei as if it were nothing, and left the bench by the fountain under Li Wei’s dumbfounded gaze, heading toward the distressed-looking Ouyang Yating and Nancy in the distance.
Li Wei: …? How is this different from the noble young masters and ladies in my impression? Are the nobles of the Third Fleet all this style now?
Ouyang Yating and Nancy: No, it’s not. Only this guy’s style is like this!
This week’s GQX got me so hyped aaaah, good thing I finished this chapter early, otherwise my head would be full of beyond the time
