Sensor (Part 2)

After a full day of recovery and preparation, Xie Junping had completely tossed aside his drunken, dispirited, muddled appearance. At that moment, he was every bit the sunny young man—cheerful and carefree.

He caught up in a few strides. He had originally wanted to go for a hug or something, but seeing that Ronan had no such intention, he could only shake his hand. Even then, he refused to let go, pumping it vigorously.

"Nan Di, it's all thanks to you. All thanks to you."

Ronan could not stand his enthusiasm and pulled his hand free, then took the opportunity to introduce Xue Lei and Xie Junping to each other.

Xie Junping took Xue Lei to be Ronan's good friend and was equally enthusiastic toward him. After greeting him, he asked, "What were you here to take care of again? Is it settled?"

Xue Lei had also seen Xie Junping once at the club presentation fair. Back then, he had not remembered Ronan, but he did recognize Xie Junping, one of the main speakers.

Without thinking much about it, he answered honestly, "It's about the club. The deadline's coming up, and Advisor Li was urging us."

"The club? Advisor Li? Nan Di, you joined one?"

Xie Junping was startled and quickly looked around.

Puzzled by his reaction, Ronan shook his head. "Not yet..."

Li Mingde had been watching by the elevator for some time. Seeing that Xie Junping's attitude was off, he wanted to slip into the elevator. However, he was getting on in years and was not quite nimble enough; in the end, Xie Junping caught sight of him from the corner of his eye.

"Hey, Uncle Li. I was in such a rush just now that I didn't see you. Don't take offense, don't take offense."

Xie Junping drew out his words as he called loudly.

Li Mingde forced a smile. He had only just reprimanded Ronan, and seeing the exchange between Xie and Ronan, he could not help feeling guilty. After answering, he waved his hand, intending to make his escape.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. You two carry on talking. I have something to do, so I'll be leaving first."

"Wait, don't we still need to talk to you about the club?"

As soon as Xie Junping said this, Li Mingde hesitated for quite a while. He eventually sauntered back, his smile kindly while his heart was thoroughly uneasy.

Though Xie Junping called him "Uncle Li" with apparent familiarity, Li Mingde himself knew that his title as a year advisor meant nothing in the other man's eyes. Setting aside his family background, Xie Junping's division of authority and responsibilities in the Student Union and the Honorary Association happened to keep him completely in check.

If this advisor still wanted to continue enjoying his position, the eldest young master of the Xie family was someone he absolutely had to please.

After finally making his way back, he relied on his age and began smiling before he spoke. "Junping, you know each other?"

"Uncle Li, you had no idea, did you? This is my benefactor—my lifesaving benefactor!"

Xie Junping wore a playful grin, but there was such seriousness in his words that no one could misunderstand him. "Uncle Li, did you hear about what happened in the Research Zone yesterday?"

"Uh, I did."

"But what you don't know is that when it happened, by rotten luck, I was right up on the overpass beside it. The moment that 'earthquake' hit, I went headfirst over the edge. If Nan Di hadn't risked himself to grab hold of me, I'd probably be a meat patty by now."

"Oh my, that was dangerous." The more Li Mingde heard, the more nervous he became. Naturally, he was nervous about himself... yet he still had to maintain a concerned expression. It was truly miserable.

By then, Xie Junping had already sidled up to him. "Uncle Li, that was an act of courage—saving a life. We don't really go in for banners and certificates here, so how about giving him a little consideration with his credits? Surely my worthless life, Xie Junping's life, is worth more than two or three credits?"

Li Mingde's mouth twitched. He did not even know how to respond.

Several seconds later, Xie Junping was the first to "come to a realization." "Right, applying for bonus credits at our institute is a huge hassle. I didn't think it through. Uncle Li, how about this? Let's put some effort into the club instead. No matter what, we can't let my benefactor be slighted, can we?"

Between his words, his needling, and a dash of young-master temper, Li Mingde felt like dough, left for Xie Junping to knead as he pleased. Yet he still wanted to preserve what little dignity he had before the students, so for the moment, all he could do was mumble agreement.

"...Then it's settled!"

Only after forcing Li Mingde to promise quite a few benefits did Xie Junping send him into the elevator with a smile, waving goodbye. Turning back, he winked at Ronan and Xue Lei. "Done. Old Immortal Mingde is actually pretty easy to talk to."

Ronan and Xue Lei exchanged a look, both wearing bitter smiles.

Xue Lei was straightforward by nature, but he was not stupid. Seeing Xie Junping rush over, he knew the man must have business with Ronan, so he did not intrude. After chatting with Xie Junping for a few more moments and expressing his thanks, he said that he was going with his girlfriend to prepare for that evening's gathering and took his leave first.

Ronan also wanted to leave, but on second thought, he decided it would be better to get things clear today. At the very least, he needed to find out where Xie Junping's enthusiasm was coming from.

With no one else around, Xie Junping spoke even more freely. Leaning closer, he asked, "Li Mingde was acting strangely just now. Did he give you a hard time earlier?"

Ronan smiled but said nothing.

"I knew that old bastard was unreliable. It's not like this is the first day he's been making money off the clubs. But that definitely won't happen again. There are two types of teachers at the Zhi Xing Institute: teaching types and nanny types. Li Mingde is the latter—naturally, a paid one. Now that he knows our relationship, he'll have plenty of chances to be 'meticulous' in his care."

Xie Junping unconsciously put on the air of a young master, but he quickly remembered Ronan's Dark Hero-like moral standards and grew a little embarrassed.

"Just listen to me, junior. That's reality..."

"I understand." Ronan did not want to discuss the matter any further.

Xie Junping followed the cue and began making grand promises. "I know Nan Di, you don't like wasting your thoughts on this sort of thing. That's easy—yesterday, you saved my life and protected my reputation. Calling it a debt equal to giving me a second life wouldn't be an exaggeration. From now on, your business is my business. Forget anything else—building connections at school and throwing money around in society are my specialties. If there's ever something you need handled at school, or expenses you have outside, just say the word. If I so much as blink, may I be no better than a beast!"

Most of his words came rushing out, and there was sincerity in them, but he said too many extravagant things, making it hard for anyone to trust him. For all anyone knew, he might simply have been carried away and talking nonsense. If it came down to it, it might only leave both sides embarrassed.

Ronan knew how to judge the situation. His attitude toward Xie Junping remained no different from before. "You're overstating it, senior."

Xie Junping leaned closer again and revealed a mysterious smile. "Nan Di, empty words of thanks aren't my style. How about this? I'll take you somewhere..."

"Senior..."

"Don't misunderstand. We're talking serious business. I came here today to express my gratitude properly. I'm completely serious about it, so junior, you have to give me some face."

Xie Junping grabbed Ronan's arm with an attitude of refusing to let him go. "It's not even six yet, and club activity hours aren't over. Junior, just spare me a little time. When it's six, if you're not satisfied, you can turn around and leave. I absolutely won't stop you."

Ronan lowered his head to check the time displayed on his wristband, only to find the screen completely black. He tapped it again. The screen showed a low-battery warning, then immediately entered low-power standby mode.

The battery was draining a little too fast...

Ronan remembered that his wristband had at least Half Electricity remaining. Normally, that would last for a month without any problem. This situation was clearly abnormal.

While he paused to consider it, Xie Junping had already forcibly dragged him toward the elevator.