Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 40: Fang Bing’s Instant Humiliation

After leaving the principal’s office at Gan City No. 1 High School, Wang Hao returned to the classroom. The college application process was very different now compared to before. With the advancement of the internet, most tasks could be handled online, and applications could be submitted directly on a computer. After completing his application on Teacher Zhou’s computer, he said goodbye to Teacher Zhou and left. He had received a call from the Qilong Platform scheduling a meeting with one of their representatives. Many students had already left after submitting their applications, so Teacher Zhou naturally didn’t stop him. Even when Fang Bing’s parents notified the school, Fang Bing didn’t show up—instead, he continued streaming. Teacher Zhou didn’t stop him. The only entry Wang Hao submitted on his online application form was Yan’da University. She knew this was Wang Hao’s choice and quietly recorded the information. She was required by the school to collect all students’ application forms and enter them into the school’s records. Ring, ring, ring Wang Hao had just left the school and found a coffee shop nearby to sit down, where he sent a text message to the people from the Qilong Platform. “10:00 a. m. Check in on Fang Bing’s livestream.” Wang Hao glanced around idly; the representative from the Qilong Platform hadn’t arrived yet. He took out his phone to see how Fang Bing was doing—Fang Bing should still be livestreaming, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to contact him directly. “Quite a few viewers.” Wang Hao searched for the livestream and saw that the number of followers had increased again, and there were quite a few viewers watching. The viewership was on par with last night’s numbers, but since this wasn’t prime time, having this many people at this hour was already quite impressive. Plus, considering Fang Bing had only just started yesterday, gaining this much popularity so quickly was already a great achievement. “Brother Bing, who exactly is this ‘Hao Ge’ you keep talking about? Bring him out so we can meet him.” “That’s right, Master Fang. You’re always going on about ‘Hao Ge… Hao Ge.’ Let’s meet the real person.” As soon as Wang Hao walked in, he saw the viewers engaged in a heated discussion—and it seemed he was the Center of it all. A moment later, a look of both amusement and exasperation flashed across his face. It turned out that Fang Bing had sold him out while bragging—painting him in such exaggerated terms that he could seemingly do anything under the sun, leaving Wang Hao with a rather peculiar expression. “If you want to meet ‘Hao Ge,’ each of you better buy eight or ten drones first.” Fang Bing chuckled, paused briefly, then continued, “Speaking of which, ‘Master Bing’ is about to say goodbye to this deep mountain and all of you. See you next time on our livestream. To be honest, I’ll actually miss this deep mountain—deserted and uninhabited, it’s such a peaceful place...” Fang Bing suddenly fell silent. Wang Hao looked at his phone screen with a smile, but to his surprise, a figure had appeared in the live stream—a burly middle-aged man in his forties. At that moment, Fang Bing looked utterly embarrassed and could only chuckle awkwardly. “6666! The streamer said it was deserted, but he got called out instantly. Seeing the awkward look on his face makes me inexplicably happy...” “Host, be honest—is this the hill behind your house? Did you let a wild boar in there yourself?” “Come on, everyone saw that the streamer encountered a real wild boar yesterday—it was totally feral.” Wang Hao shook his head and watched with a wry smile. He knew exactly where Fang Bing was streaming from—it wasn’t far from Lanjia Village—and he recognized the man who’d appeared on screen as a villager from Lanjia Village. “Fang Bing, what are you doing here?” Since he often accompanied Wang Hao into Lanjia Village, the villagers all recognized Fang Bing, the man who went into the mountains with “Teacher Wang.” “Uncle Tian, I’m just getting a taste of life out here.” Fang Bing gave a wry smile. This spot wasn’t exactly close to Lanjia Village, but it wasn’t far either—he hadn’t expected to run into someone from Lanjia Village here. “Did you run into a wild boar?” Uncle Tian glanced around and spotted the dead wild boar. His expression immediately changed, and he said nervously, “You silly boy, what are you doing spending the night out here in the mountains? Even we wouldn’t dare spend the night out here. Let Uncle Tian check if you’re hurt.” In Uncle Tian’s heart, Wang Hao was his benefactor. As one reaches middle age, one naturally has certain hopes—most of which revolve around seeing one’s children succeed. Therefore, Wang Hao held immeasurable significance in Uncle Tian’s eyes and in the hearts of the people of Lanjia Village. Since Fang Bing often went into the mountains with Wang Hao, the villagers had come to remember him as well. “Uncle Tian, I’m fine,” Fang Bing said, shaking his head at Uncle Tian. He then turned to the drone and said, “My phone’s battery is almost dead. Don’t miss me too much, everyone. See you next time on the live stream.” He then pulled out his phone, ended the livestream, and guided the drone down to ease the awkwardness he felt. He never would have imagined running into people from Lanjia Village right here—truly, man proposes, but God disposes. “That was a great move, streamer. Awesome.” “Batting out of the game because the phone’s dying? I’ve got to hand it to you, Master Fang.” The people watching Fang Bing’s livestream now were all longtime viewers from last night. The harrowing struggle with the wild boar was no joke—the viewers had seen it all with their own eyes. Even though this place wasn’t far from civilization, the wild boar was very real. The raw ferocity it displayed sent a chill down the spines of everyone watching at the time. Wang Hao watched as the live stream screen went slightly dark, indicating the streamer was offline. Suddenly, he heard a sound beside him, looked up, and immediately noticed a strikingly mature beauty standing not far away, watching him. Her jet-black hair was meticulously combed and styled, her eyebrows carefully defined, giving her a subtle air of shrewdness. Her thin lips glistened under the café’s lighting. Standing beside her was another beautiful woman with striking features, dressed in a business skirt suit. Judging by their positioning—one in front, one behind—Wang Hao surmised she must be a secretary or something similar. “Hello, are you from the Qilong Platform?” Wang Hao looked at the two women, recalling the clear, feminine voice he’d heard on the phone, and stood up to speak. “Hello, Mr. Wang. I really never expected that the person who developed such a cleaning app would actually be a high school student—and the top student in Xijiang Province.” Gu Ying was taken aback when she first saw Wang Hao. Moments earlier, he had been engrossed in watching Fang Bing’s livestream, but after taking a closer look, she realized he bore a striking resemblance to the Wang Hao featured in today’s newspaper. She even took out her phone to compare the photos—it was definitely the same person. She never imagined that the developer of the program that had astounded the Company’s technical department was a student who had just finished the college entrance exams. What surprised her even more was that he was the same young man whose story had touched her heart when she’d seen the news earlier. Thinking of the software developer, Mr. Wang, whom she’d been trying to contact, and glancing around the nearly empty coffee shop, it immediately occurred to her that Wang Hao might be the developer she was looking for. “Please have a seat. What’s your name?” Wang Hao didn’t seem to care much about his growing reputation; perhaps his focus lay elsewhere. So, instead of responding to her greeting, he simply said “Gu Ying. This is my assistant, Jiang Han.” Gu Ying nodded slightly.