After Zhuang Li left, the living room was silent and the game of guessing could no longer be played.
He knew every guest's profession intimately. He could decipher clothing designs, pharmaceutical formulas, and English lesson plans. He could instantly identify a piece of music with just a flick of his fingertips on the table, demonstrating his mastery of piano playing.
He understood French and English; he could tell the make and model of a car's engine by the sound it gave him.
Everything he showed bore no resemblance to the description Han Kun had given him in his blog post. He looked nothing like an orphan without parents, a semi-illiterate man who hadn't even graduated from high school, or someone at the bottom of society, forced to carry bricks on a construction site.
If the bottom layer is like this, what is the top layer like? Wan Annie really can't imagine it.
She looked around at everyone and sighed, "Why do I feel like my IQ has been crushed?"
Chang Jinbo stared at the stairwell, his mood fluctuating. Just now, he had seen a dazzling light on Zhuang Li, and his heartbeat quickened.
Is it an illusion?
This must be an illusion! How could someone like Zhuang Li be worthy of love? Wasn't Han Kun's money the reason he has the taste and connotation he has today?
Thinking of this, Chang Jinbo suppressed the throbbing in his heart.
Meng Lan pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Why didn't Zhuang Li tell us his occupation? What do you think he does?"
Chang Jinbo curled his lips, trying to make a sarcastic expression, but for some reason he suddenly lowered his head and avoided the cameraman's follow-up.
He felt a little sad for Zhuang Li. He could see that Zhuang Li was actually quite clever. If he hadn't taken the wrong path, he could have become someone like Ou Lu or Zhou Banxia.
Meng Lan just stared at Chang Jinbo, hoping that he would be the first to criticize Zhuang Li. She could sense that this man hated Zhuang Li very much and was willing to say anything.
She asked everyone to guess Zhuang Li's occupation. Chang Jinbo would probably mention Zhuang Li's past of being kept by someone, which would be interesting.
In fact, she didn't dislike Zhuang Li, because she never thought there was anything wrong with sucking other people's blood to make a living. However, if suppressing the other party could gain her more popularity and more shots, then she would spare no effort.
She just wanted to fully exploit Zhuang Li's value.
But Chang Jinbo's silence exceeded her expectations. He didn't say a single word to belittle Zhuang Li.
What made Meng Lan even more unbelievable was that everyone had forgotten the rumors and criticisms on the Internet and started to glorify Zhuang Li.
Zhou Banxia said confidently, "I guess Zhuang Li is a pharmacist."
Xu Jingjing raised her hand like a schoolboy. "I guess he's a musician."
Wan Annie pondered and said, "He has dabbled in everything. He must be a scholar."
Ou Lu stroked the frame of his glasses and analyzed, "Putting aside the online rumors, if I were to judge Zhuang Li based on his words, actions, and demeanor, I would think he's more like an investor.
"When he observes others, he naturally reveals an extremely sharp gaze, as if he wants to see through you from the inside out. When I first went to meet investors at an angel fund with my business proposal, they looked at me with this same look."
Meng Lan: “…”
Where's the struggle session she'd promised? This wasn't the plot she'd planned! How could that F guy, Zhuang Li, be a pharmacist, musician, scholar, and investor? He's just a loser!
The director clapped his hands softly, "The guests we invited this time really lived up to their high education, high IQ, and high EQ."
The assistant director lamented, "People who have achieved great success in their respective fields certainly don't blindly follow the crowd, nor do they lack the ability to think independently. Look, Han Kun's blog post went viral, and so many netizens criticized Mr. Zhuang, but our guests weren't misled and quickly made their own judgments."
"Only Meng Lan is not good enough." A director shook his head. "She is only 21 years old and just graduated from college. She is still too young."
"Chang Jinbo's performance is not very good. He is used to relying on his father for support, and he speaks and acts without thinking." Another director commented.
Xiao Liu raised his hand and reminded, "Director, it seems like our production team paid Han Kun to get his blog post on trending."
Everyone: “…”
At this moment, the cold wind invaded the entire monitoring room.
Chief Director: "Quickly remove the trending search!"
However, it was too late. The hot search had already been automatically removed from the list, and the desired publicity effect had been achieved.
---
Zhuang Li lay on the bed holding his computer and watching Xi Ming's game video. He would replay the wonderful shots over and over again, enjoying them tirelessly.
At around eight o'clock in the evening, a staff member carefully knocked on his door and asked him to go to the living room downstairs to receive an invitation card.
"What invitation card?" He put his hands in his pockets and walked down the spiral staircase slowly.
"We will give each of you a blank invitation card. You can fill in the name of the guest you want to invite and then hand it to the other party. If the other party reaches out to take your card, it means that he has accepted your invitation, and you can take him on a date tomorrow." The staff explained in detail.
When the two went down to the first floor, everyone received their own cards, then hid in the corner and filled them out secretly.
Chang Jinbo and Meng Lan sat side by side on the carpet in the living room, their heads close together, each holding an invitation card in their hands, staring at a laptop computer intently.
Zhuang Li picked up the only blank invitation card still on the table and walked towards Chang Jinbo.
He stood behind the two of them, watching quietly, only to see a video of Chang Jinbo racing on the computer screen. A few minutes later, the race was over, and Chang Jinbo raised the runner-up trophy, smiling brightly amid the spray of champagne foam.
"In the last lap, you have a chance to overtake. If you do it, you will reach the finish line 2 seconds faster than the champion." Zhuang Li suddenly spoke.
Chang Jinbo didn't notice that Zhuang Li had arrived and was startled by his voice.
Meng Lan had already sensed Zhuang Li's approach from the system's notification tone, but she pretended to be fascinated, then pretended to be frightened, bumping her head against Chang Jinbo's forehead and hugging his arm.
Chang Jinbo gasped in pain.
Meng Lan covered her head and whimpered like a puppy.
Chang Jinbo was amused by her embarrassed yet cute appearance. After coming back to his senses, he looked at Zhuang Li and asked, "Where do you think I can overtake?"
"Here." Zhuang Li held the mouse and rewound the video.
Chang Jinbo took a closer look and flatly denied it: "It's impossible to overtake with this width."
"Look carefully, at this second, the car in front is a little unstable, and the driver turned the steering wheel outward, causing the car body to shift five degrees. See, he didn't get stuck in the overtaking lane. For you, this second is an opportunity. This width is enough to overtake. If you seize the opportunity, you can win." Zhuang Li froze the video at that precise second.
Chang Jinbo stared at the width left by the car in front and had to admit that Zhuang Li was right: at this second, he could indeed overtake and win the championship.
However, he laughed sarcastically: "Impossible! The human eye can't grasp this split-second opportunity! How precise judgment and agile on-the-spot adaptability does this require? The human brain is not a computer; it can't calculate to this exact degree. One second later, I win; but the champion and I will both die in the collision. Only a madman would drive like that!"
"I can." Zhuang Li said in a light tone.
Chang Jinbo crossed his arms and sneered, "Who doesn't know how to brag?"
Zhuang Li glanced at the invitation card from Meng Lan in his hand and said calmly, "If I do this, you return Meng Lan's invitation card and go on a date with me tomorrow."
Chang Jinbo: "..." For some reason, looking at Zhuang Li's particularly serious expression, his heartbeat actually accelerated, and he even felt flattered.
Is Zhuang Li launching an offensive against him?
"What are you going to do? Find a racing team to recreate the actual scene at this second? That's impossible. Every race is unique." Chang Jinbo poured a bucket of cold water on him.
Zhuang Li leaned forward slightly, staring into his eyes, and said, "What others can't do, I can do; what others can't copy, I can replicate. Just tell me, do you agree to return Meng Lan's invitation card?"
This was the first time Chang Jinbo had felt Zhuang Li's dominance up close. He knew clearly that the man standing in front of him was nothing, yet at this moment, the other party existed in a very real way, oppressing him in a very real way.
The air around him was scorched by his breath. He was so irresistible.
His heartbeat was getting faster and faster, and his throat felt dry. Chang Jinbo blushed. He rolled his Adam's apple and involuntarily agreed: "Okay, I'll go on a date with you."
He didn't even mention any restrictions, as if he was willing to follow Zhuang Li anywhere even if Zhuang Li couldn't do what he boasted about.
Meng Lan complained: "But we have already exchanged invitation cards!"
The staff standing by and watching the fun immediately added the rules: "Invitation cards can be returned. This is a dating show. You can compete with each other. As long as it's not the last episode, everyone has a chance."
Meng Lan: “…”
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Zhuang Li went upstairs, got his laptop, opened it, imported the race video into a racing game he had developed, and said to Chang Jinbo, "Can I borrow your game controller?"
"Are you planning to use a computer program to simulate the match just now?" Chang Jinbo gradually realized his idea and questioned, "Can the data be restored 100%?"
"Of course it can be restored 100%." Zhuang Li clicked the start button. In the first few laps, the computer program restored Chang Jinbo's operations in the competition 100%.
Meng Lan also asked herself, "Can the program Zhuang Li developed really recreate that match?"
The system said: "Wait a minute, I'll hack into his computer and see."
A few seconds later, the system's voice sounded in confusion: "Strange, I can't even hack into this computer! Is there something wrong with my program again? Wait a minute, I'll scan it."
Then it disappeared.
"System, system, system?" Meng Lan shouted several times, but there was no response in her mind, so she had to stare at the computer screen nervously.
On the final lap, Zhuang Li pressed the handle and took control. He chased the car ahead along the track, and when he reached the second he had mentioned, he stepped on the accelerator and passed it at lightning speed.
Chang Jinbo didn't even see how the two cars passed each other.
Zhuang Li reached the finish line and won first place, finishing two seconds ahead of the runner-up. This result was exactly as he had predicted.
He put down the handle and looked at Chang Jinbo.
Chang Jinbo gritted his teeth and said, "I don't believe it! This must be set by you!"
"Then you try it." Zhuang Li handed the handle to Chang Jinbo.
The game quickly reached its final lap. Chang Jinbo switched into the operating system, hoping to overtake in the same split second, but he simply couldn't grasp the fleeting opportunity. To Zhuang Li, that second was as slow as a frozen frame; to the average person, it was as fast as a photon passing through the universe.
On the computer screen, two cars collided and burst into flames.
Chang Jinbo said unyieldingly: "I'll try again!"
After operating it himself, he was shocked to find that the game developed by Zhuang Li could really restore the event 100%, and made very accurate deductions based on this.
No matter how the player controls the game, he can get the most realistic competition experience.
Once the modules and data are loaded, this game will be indistinguishable from real racing. Every ordinary person can realize their racing dreams through this game, without the arduous training and the cost of their lives! Its commercial value is limitless!
Chang Jinbo tried again and again, and crashed again and again. He looked at Zhuang Li with more and more surprise.
"This racing game is so realistic, I've never seen it before. Did you develop it yourself?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes." Zhuang Li nodded lightly.
Chang Jinbo tried one last time, but still crashed into the car in front, so he had to give up.
"Try again." He handed the handle to Zhuang Li.
Zhuang Li tried again, overtook in one second, and won the championship perfectly.
Chang Jinbo blinked and urged desperately: "One more time."
Zhuang Li did it again, overtaking in that split second. Victory came so easily to him.
"Do your eyes have a slow-motion function?" Chang Jinbo guessed.
Zhuang Li didn't answer but asked, "Can you go on a date with me now?"
Chang Jinbo's doubts vanished, and a blush crept up his cheeks, making him too embarrassed to speak. His heart couldn't stop pounding at being pursued by someone so smart, so strong, and so beautiful.
Zhuang Li picked up the pen on the table and quickly wrote Chang Jinbo's name on the invitation card. He said calmly, "Tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, don't be late."
Chang Jinbo quickly threw Meng Lan's invitation card aside, took Zhuang Li's invitation card with both hands, and replied in a hoarse voice: "Okay, I will definitely not be late. I will get up early to make breakfast for you."
Zhuang Li had already walked up the stairs and didn't hear these polite words at all.
Meng Lan: “…”
How did this F-man Zhuang Li snatch away the prey she was about to catch? How did this happen?
The director, squatting in the monitoring room, pointed at the screen and said, "See, everyone? The scariest thing isn't that rich people work harder or smarter than you, but that they're hardworking, smart, and incredibly charming! A blind date like Mr. Zhuang is simply the best! I'm even thinking of finding a backdoor and letting my nephew be male guest number five; he's also gay!"
"Director, please open a back door for my daughter. I think I should let her see the world. I really don't like the man she brought home recently. He is very poor in all aspects." The assistant director whispered.
Xiao Liu immediately warned: "Don't do that! Be careful, your daughter's standards are too high, she'll never get married!"
Assistant Director: “!!!” Shit, this kind of tragedy could really happen!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
