Reality Programming Association

Chapter 21: Chapter 10: Hot Pot, Obituary, Dissenting Vote

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Yu Xian looked at the name she had sent—Shao Yiyi. He was glad he was educated enough to know how to pronounce the rare character in her name, thereby avoiding an awkward situation.

He also learned the Uncertainty Robot’s real name: Wen Xiao. As expected, she was Wen Yu’s biological younger sister, even though their personalities and ages were quite far apart.

He wondered why she had mistaken him for Wen Yu’s blind date yesterday. Did he really look that... mature?

Both girls with the bun hairstyles were JCU students. Wen Xiao was from the School of Artificial Intelligence, and Shao Yiyi was from the School of History.

What was more interesting was that Mr. Su was actually Shao Yiyi’s ”academic uncle.” No wonder they had been chatting with Elder Su for so long just now.

Shi Zuozhou was still chattering excitedly, pressing the two girls about what characters they were actually cosplaying. Yu Xian, on the other hand, was a bit curious about Shao Yiyi’s strange screen name. However, since they had just met, it wasn’t appropriate to pry.

Since Wen Xiao had an evening class, she opened her umbrella and dragged Shao Yiyi away first. Yu Xian and Shi Zuozhou, for once, actually had a rare free evening with no classes to attend.

”Old Yu, when did you sneak into our ACG circle? By the way, what characters were they actually cosplaying?”

Ignoring Shi Zuozhou’s nonsense, Yu Xian checked the time. He planned to make a trip home to grab some things before heading back to his cousin’s place.

”What do you mean, go home? Do you not know what day it is?” Shi Zuozhou grabbed Yu Xian with one hand and waved to Yang Yiyi, who had just dismissed the executive members, with the other. ”It’s the Start of Winter! Of course we have to eat instant-boiled mutton! Plus, since today’s event was such a success, it’s my treat to celebrate! Look, Brother Yi is going too!”

Yu Xian didn’t actually want to go. With the endless rain outside, he just wanted to retreat to his warm bed. Still, not wanting to be a spoilsport, he simply texted Yu Zhengze to say he would be eating out for dinner.

Even though it was only a little past five in the afternoon, the sky was completely dark. The streetlights cast halos of dim yellow light across the waterlogged roads.

The ”Old Copper Pot” restaurant near the South Gate of the university was doing booming business. The moment they stepped inside, they were overwhelmed by the rich aromas of charcoal, sesame paste, and lamb filling the air. It was bustling with noise and excitement, feeling like an entirely different world from the cold, silent, rainy night outside.

Yu Xian’s group of five—which included the three of them and two freshmen from the student union—found a private room and sat down.

The copper pot burned vigorously, its clear broth rolling and boiling. The BUBBLE BUBBLE of the water intertwined with the continuous patter of the rain against the window. Since everyone was young and had just pulled off a successful event, the atmosphere was extremely lively.

”Everyone worked hard today, especially our Brother Yi for coordinating the whole event. I absolutely have to offer a toast!” the male student union member beside them said, raising his glass.

”Insolent! You’re skipping ranks with this toast, kid. Young people need to know their place,” Shi Zuozhou said, feigning dissatisfaction. His act earned him a swift rap on the head from Yang Yiyi.

Another female member sighed in admiration. ”Mr. Su’s popularity is seriously high, and I think what he said makes a lot of sense. Sometimes we just burden ourselves with too much unnecessary baggage.”

Shi Zuozhou chewed a massive mouthful of meat and mumbled unclearly, ”It sounds good in theory, but it’s just nice to hear. If you were actually forced to do Subtraction—like subtracting your CET-6 certificate or your GPA—would you be happy about it?”

”You just have no spiritual insight,” the girl said, rolling her eyes at him. ”He was talking about your mindset. Do you understand what a mindset is?”

The atmosphere was relaxed, and hot steam billowed in the air. After downing a few bottles of beer, their conversation drifted from Su Mingyuan’s speech to gossip about the various schools.

Yu Xian sat in the corner, listening to their noisy chatter and occasionally chiming in. The phone in his pocket buzzed. It was a reply from Yu Zhengze.

”Come back early after you eat. It hasn’t been very safe lately.”

Yu Xian stared at the text for a few seconds. The words ”not very safe” carried a different weight when they came from his cousin, the deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment. Usually, he would just say, ”Stay safe.”

Could there be a new development in the smiling suicide case?

Remembering how his cousin hadn’t come home to sleep all night yesterday, a vague sense of unease washed over him.

Shi Zuozhou picked up a large chopstick-full of freshly boiled mutton and mixed it into his proudly acclaimed ”secret dipping sauce.” Northern-style instant-boiled mutton dipping sauces were always sesame paste-based, combined with a drop of sesame oil, a small piece of fermented tofu, a spoonful of chive flower paste, and then topped off with chopped green onions... and cilantro.

”Old Yu, what are you spacing out for? Is there something on my face?”

Overall, this change in Shi Zuozhou’s habits wasn’t a bad thing. In the past, whenever they ate out, they had to specifically remind the owner not to add cilantro when ordering. Sometimes, if the kitchen was busy and accidentally threw a little in, he would meticulously pick it out piece by piece, or simply refuse to touch the dish entirely. Now things were much simpler. There was no need for extra communication, waste was reduced, and everyone was happy.

”Nothing.” Yu Xian shook his head and dropped a slice of meat into the pot.

The water in the pot had almost boiled away, prompting the server to come over and refill the broth a few times. The glass window was completely fogged up with condensation, smearing the outside world into a mass of blurry silhouettes.

”Holy crap!”

Shi Zuozhou, who was scrolling through his phone, suddenly let out a cry of shock. He nearly slipped out of his chair, staggering slightly.

Yu Xian had already been dwelling on his cousin’s words, and this sudden movement made his heart skip a beat.

Shi Zuozhou sheepishly waved off the stares of the two union members, then shoved his phone screen toward Yu Xian. ”Look! It actually passed!”

On the screen was a news push notification. Below a very long headline was a photo of a conference hall, accompanied by the text:

”The National Major Scientific Work Committee has just announced that the resolution for the Very Large Hadron Collider project has been approved and will commence immediately!”