Taking Mianmian and Cola to stay with him every weekend was Rong Shi’s habit, and this weekend was no exception.

The competition with Zhou En was on Sunday night. He wasn’t comfortable with the two little rascals being in the dorm, so he arranged to meet online directly.

In the living room, Mianmian and Cola were nestled together watching cartoons. Rong Shi walked over, carrying fruit and snacks.

“Go to bed voluntarily by eight o’clock.”

“Gege, what kind of competition is it tonight?” Mianmian asked, scrambling down the sofa. His short legs dangled in the air for a long time but couldn’t reach the ground. He couldn’t touch the ground on this side, and his hands lost strength on the other, so he couldn’t hold on. His body went limp, he slid to the floor, and for a long time, he couldn’t get up.

Cola heard the commotion and crawled over to look: “Mianmian, is it cool on the floor? I want to go down too.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Rong Shi casually sat on the rug in front of the sofa. With a large scoop, he placed his younger brother in front of him and casually handed him a slice of apple.

“A mech design competition.”

Mianmian gnawed on the apple, looking up at Rong Shi, his long eyelashes fluttering, his cheeks puffed out like a little squirrel.

“Mech?”

There was still half an hour until the competition, and since he was idle, Rong Shi explained what a mech was in the simplest possible terms.

As he spoke, a little monkey climbed onto him.

Cola completely treated Rong Shi like a tree to climb, stepping on his thighs, hooking his short legs onto Rong Shi’s arm, using the leverage to flip up, then climbing from one shoulder to his back, hanging there, and then to the other shoulder, using both hands and feet.

Rong Shi reached out, grabbed this overly energetic silly apprentice, pulled him in front of him, and tossed him next to Mianmian.

With the “tree” gone, Cola’s attention immediately turned to the apple in Mianmian’s hand.

“I want some too.”

Mianmian offered it to his mouth: “It’s very sweet.”

Cola bit a large chunk, his eyes lighting up: “Delicious!”

The two little ones ate happily, taking turns, while Rong Shi’s face grew darker and darker.

Rong Shi: “…”

The little wolf cub was getting bolder and bolder.

Five minutes before the competition, there was a knock at the door, and Song Yu arrived fashionably late.

He casually snatched the strawberry from Cola’s hand and popped it into his mouth, then leaned back against the sofa, sitting on the rug.

“My strawberry!” Cola glared angrily, running over to defend his strawberry with his tiny fists.

Rong Shi walked over and sat down again: “Any news from the clinic?”

Song Yu teased Cola with one hand: “Ye Zhiyang can’t sit still anymore.”

Ye Zhiyang was the owner of that clinic.

After the incident at the collection point’s lab, Song Yu deliberately had someone stage a serious car accident where a car crashed into a patrolling AI, causing a short circuit and explosion. The explosion then caused a large fire, burning down most of the collection point. Now, the East District security team has sealed off the entire area.

With the stronghold destroyed, Ye Zhiyang had been restless all day since receiving the news. Now, all his movements and network activities were under surveillance. They just needed to wait patiently and follow the trail.

Seeing that he couldn’t beat Song Yu, Cola pouted and turned to Mianmian for help: “Mianmian, he just bullies me.”

Mianmian calmly took a strawberry from the plate and handed it to him: “This one’s bigger.”

Cola bit the tip of the strawberry and was happy: “So sweet.”

Rong Shi: “…”

He really shouldn’t have agreed to let the wolf cub sleep with Mianmian.

The evening’s competition would last at least five hours; it would be early morning by the time it finished, and the two little ones wouldn’t be able to stay up that late.

“Let’s get into the game.” Seeing that it was almost time, Song Yu opened his terminal. “Did you register your account?”

Rong Shi: “Yes.”

Logging into the game, the two met at the designated location.

Thinking that tonight was the night of disillusionment, Rong Shi felt an inner resistance.

While waiting for the other person, his mind kept replaying “Online dating carries risks, meeting in person requires caution, fleeting joy in love, getting exposed leads to a crematorium.”

“What are you doing? Let’s go, create the room.”

Hearing the strange yet familiar voice, Rong Shi looked up, and instantly felt speechless.

It wasn’t the familiar little white cat he knew, but Song Yu himself.

That’s right, a virtual image exactly identical to his real self.

Rong Shi: “…”

“You really are an old-timer; I guessed you’d use your own face.” Song Yu scrutinized him, scoffing.

Rong Shi: “…The feeling’s mutual.”

Out of a certain ostrich mentality, Rong Shi created a new alt account, too lazy to customize the face, so he just used his own. He didn’t expect the other party to also make an alt account.

Rong Shi created the room and pulled in the others, telling them to temporarily change their nicknames back to their real names.

For a competition, using the military academy’s simulation system would be more suitable. However, this was an unofficial competition, and permission for the simulation system was difficult to obtain. As a last resort, they could only use Star Wars.

Although Star Wars primarily focused on combat, it also had a mech design module, divided into many difficulty levels based on the number of parts and assembly complexity.

Rong Shi chose a medium difficulty, with parts numbering within 500, and the game AI’s intelligent assistance reduced to 20%.

Shortly after the room opened, the number of spectators soared, all military academy students who had found their way in through unknown channels.

“Old Salty Fish knows mech design? Why do I not believe it?”

“I think even if he does, he’d be too lazy to do it. Otherwise, why call him an Old Salty Fish?”

“Damn! The two partners Zhou En found are in the top twenty of their grade for mech design! How can they even compete?”

“Ahhhhhh! Old Salty Fish isn’t going to get overthrown, is he?!”

“How should I put this? Although I don’t think he can, he looks like he can?”

“I’m so afraid he’ll say later, ‘That’s right, I’m just here to mess around.'”

The competition hadn’t even started, and the comment section was already in full swing. The game AI was broadcasting the rules of the competition. Wu Han walked to Rong Shi’s side and whispered: “I will do my best to assist you!”

Whether he withdrew from the student council was secondary; the important thing was that Chairman Rong had helped him so much, so no matter what, they had to win this competition.

Rong Shi looked at him: “I think you’ve got it wrong. In this competition, you are the protagonist.”

Wu Han: “?”

Audience: “??”

Rong Shi’s eyes were calm, stating matter-of-factly: “If I knew how, why would I drag you into it?”

Wu Han: “…”

Is it really okay to be so blunt?

The comment section was filled with laughter—

“I knew it would be like this, hahahahaha. As expected of you, you never disappoint, hahahaha”

“Rong Shi: Can’t do it means can’t do it.”

“Are you truly unable or just lazy? Be clear!”

“Every time you say that, you win first place.”

“A spicy stick reward for whoever can ignite the chairman’s fighting spirit?”

“Whoever has the ability to steal his wife should have the fighting spirit.”

Zhou En’s face was grim, and his gaze was very disdainful: “What do you two think mechs are?! This competition today isn’t a game!”

Seeing Rong Shi remain silent, Wu Han, fearing he was angry, whispered an apology: “Senior has been particularly obsessed with mechs since he was young. He despises people who aren’t serious about mechs.”

Rong Shi didn’t take those words to heart. In his opinion, Zhou En seemed somewhat deranged now, as if all his emotions were heightened to the extreme. Was this also the influence of those pheromones?

After the AI finished broadcasting, it announced the theme for tonight’s competition: “Original Intention.”

“Who is this theme mocking?” Zhou En scoffed at Wu Han, “Just with these two words, I’ve already won.”

Wu Han’s face turned pale, and his hands, hanging at his sides, clenched.

Both teams entered the mech design room, where all the tools for drawing and producing the finished product were available.

Wu Han’s lips were a tight line. He looked at Rong Shi: “I’m sorry, I still want to withdraw—”

“You have to get up where you fall. You can’t just lie on the ground because it hurts.”

Rong Shi lightly traced with his finger, and the drawing tablet flew to Wu Han’s hand: “Tonight, whatever you draw, we’ll make. I’ll listen to you.”

Wu Han covered his eyes in anguish, squatting on the ground: “But I can’t do it!”

The day before the All-Round Competition finals, he took out his favorite blueprint, which he had repeatedly revised for years, pouring countless hours into it, only to be ridiculed. Those people said he was trash, like the blueprint, talentless, intentionally dragging Zhou En down, and disrespecting the competition.

After withdrawing from the competition that time, he found that he could no longer draw any designs. No matter what he drew, the mocking voices of those people lingered in his ears.

Rong Shi patted his shoulder: “This is your chance to prove yourself. Whether you seize it or not is up to you.”

Song Yu had no interest in their conversation. He browsed the room with great interest, picking up various mech parts for the game AI to identify. The AI would automatically sort out several assembly forms for each part.

Seeing Rong Shi walk over, Song Yu waved him off: “You two do your thing; I’ll do mine.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Rong Shi: “What are you even here for?”

Song Yu played with the parts in his hand, a casual smile on his face: “You’re right, if the ring is too big, it can only be worn in a place where it can’t be seen. It’s better to send something else.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Song Yu snapped his fingers, and a drawing pad flew to his hand.

“How about I make a mech for him? What do you think?”

Rong Shi: “…”

Then, he watched with wide eyes as Song Yu sketched a rabbit in two or three strokes.

Rong Shi: “Your mech looks like that?”

Comment section—

“The two rooms are completely different styles!”

“Their blueprints are almost done; what are you doing?! Drawing a rabbit?!”

“It’s over, it’s over! Chairman’s team is going to lose! Nooooo!”

“First love, cheer up!”

“The goddess’s rabbit is surprisingly cute.”

“And very familiar. I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.”

After the rabbit’s outline was complete, Song Yu began drawing the assembly details. Since the AI provided backup options, he only needed to select one from the alternatives and modify it.

Rong Shi watched him expressionlessly as he equipped the rabbit mech with a bubble gun, his gaze growing increasingly subtle.

“Chairman,” Wu Han walked over, “I want to try.”

Even if it wasn’t for himself, he couldn’t waste the opportunity the chairman had fought for him.

Rong Shi wasn’t surprised at all. He simply raised his chin: “Go draw the blueprint. I’ll help you complete it.”

Wu Han’s eyes widened slightly, his gaze firm: “Okay!”

Wu Han drew the blueprint quickly. This design was etched in his heart; he knew every screw, every wire connection, perfectly.

Rong Shi, true to his word, only helped as an assistant. He handled whatever Wu Han asked him to, otherwise, he didn’t intervene.

A medium-difficulty mech had a maximum of 500 parts, and Wu Han’s design had 499. The assembly time was very tight.

Wu Han: “Chairman, could I trouble you to help me assemble the left arm? I’ve circled the difficult points, and you can follow the AI’s guidance to complete it.”

Once in work mode, Wu Han’s overwhelming sense of inferiority disappeared. He handled the complex areas like the cockpit and power himself, leaving the simpler parts for Rong Shi to help with.

Rong Shi observed his state, his hands quickly and skillfully connecting wires, assembling the left arm, without even glancing at the AI.

The comment section, previously filled with cries of despair, suddenly shifted—

“I bet a hundred credits, the Chairman can do it!”

“Holy crap, he’s assembling too fast?! He doesn’t even need to look at the blueprint?”

“Ahhhhh! I’m getting excited! What else can’t he do?!”

“Awwwww! The Chairman looks so handsome making a mech!”

“Wu Han is also amazing! He knows so much even though he just started school!”

“Am I the only one paying attention to the goddess? He seems to be having a blast.”

Two hours later, Rong Shi had finished his tasks. The remaining core areas had enough time for Wu Han to complete, so he didn’t plan to intervene further.

He vaguely saw Song Yu sitting on the ground, playing with something.

Since he had nothing to do, Rong Shi walked over to him.

On the ground in front of Song Yu lay a pile of messy parts, and a stack of snow-white mech shells was beside him—these were generated by the game AI based on Song Yu’s drawings.

He was using a tool to connect the wires on a rabbit leg. In just two minutes, Rong Shi watched him break three wires, connect two incorrectly, and bend a metal piece.

Rong Shi: “…”

So clumsy, yet he talks about giving a mech as a gift?

Song Yu was working very seriously, oblivious to Rong Shi’s approach. After spending three minutes on one circuit, he grew increasingly agitated, angrily pulling off the wire he had soldered incorrectly and starting with a new one.

Rong Shi: “If you work like that, you won’t finish by next year.”

Song Yu: “This wire just has it out for me.”

Rong Shi: “…”

After watching for ten minutes, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He pointed to a spot on the circuit board: “Wrong, connect it here.”

Song Yu turned his head to glance at him, said nothing, and silently switched the wire.

Rong Shi: “Still wrong, connect it above.”

Song Yu: “Damn it, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“Are you blind? Can’t tell colors apart?”

“You’re the one who’s damn blind.”

Rong Shi pointed and complained, while Song Yu grumbled, but he obediently corrected every mistake Rong Shi pointed out. After over an hour, one rabbit leg was finally assembled. Connected to the simulation device, the rabbit leg moved according to the commands.

“Alright!” Song Yu’s eyes lit up, and he smiled at Rong Shi, “The circuit’s connected!”

He originally wanted to complain about the difficulty, taking almost two hours to assemble one leg, what was there to be happy about? But seeing the smile on Song Yu’s face, the words on Rong Shi’s tongue suddenly swallowed back. Song Yu’s smiles were often accompanied by mockery, but this smile in front of him only held pure happiness.

Rong Shi felt like there was definitely something wrong with his brain. For a moment, Song Yu’s face actually overlapped with the kitten’s.

The comment section went wild—

“Holy smokes! Goddess is stunning!”

“So beautiful, ahhhhhhh”

“Oh no, that’s the feeling of my heart fluttering.”

“I, in the spectator area, was hit by that smile. I just want to know how the Chairman felt when he was directly hit?”

“Even making a mech can lead to a mouthful of dog food. I’m impressed.”

“I am the lemon myself.”

The wiring for the limbs was relatively simple. When it came to assembling the core area, Rong Shi couldn’t stand watching anymore. So clumsy, definitely not his kitten.

“You can’t connect it like this here.”

Rong Shi watched, growing anxious. Without thinking, he squatted behind him, took his hands, and taught him hand-to-hand. “If this were a real mech, this chip would already be ruined by you,” Rong Shi complained while operating. “The wiring here is dense; your hand must be steady.”

Song Yu focused on the wiring, and Rong Shi focused on teaching this troublesome student. Neither of them noticed how close they were.

The audience, however, was going wild—

“You two, can you get any closer?!”

“Dog food is being thrown directly at our faces.”

“I want to be taught while being held by the Chairman too~”

“Is this content I can watch for free?”

“The scene is too beautiful.”

“I don’t even want to watch the competition anymore. Please play this scene for me all night, thank you.”

After finishing the wiring for that area, Rong Shi only belatedly realized something was off. He let go of Song Yu’s hand as if he’d been shocked.

Song Yu pondered the wiring Rong Shi had done, not noticing his abnormality: “So, should I connect this side in the same way?”

“Mhm.” Rong Shi subtly got up, his voice a bit tight, “Just follow that.”

Song Yu tried to connect it himself and indeed completed it on the first try, proudly showing Rong Shi: “It’s very simple, actually.”

Rong Shi shifted his gaze: “It was simple to begin with; you’re just too clumsy.”

Song Yu was in a good mood and didn’t argue with him, continuing to connect the wires: “Do you think he’ll like it?”

Rong Shi: “…”

His gaze wandered around the room for a while, then he whispered: “Probably… he will.”

__

Author’s Note:

Song Cat: I’m making a mech for my beloved bunny.

Rong Bunny: …With your clumsiness, can you even do it? [Disgusted on the outside, a billion points happy on the inside]

Rong Bunny: So clumsy, definitely not my little cat!

Complaining while paying attention, paying attention while getting anxious.

One minute later—

Rong Bunny: Fine, I’ll help you.