Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 33

Outside, the girls’ conversation, which had started in hushed tones, grew louder until it was clearly audible inside when Cui Xiaoniang and Ah Zhi began to argue directly.

Wang Xinzhi looked annoyed. He recognized one of the voices as Xing Yuanzhi’s, while the other sounded very familiar, though he couldn’t immediately place it.

The worst part was, the argument seemed to be about jealousy.

Combining this with Wanrou’s favorable view of Cheng Jinyang, it was easy to draw a conclusion:

This man is not simple.

Damn, if only Wanrou would listen to me, I wouldn’t have to watch her lower herself, competing with other women for this scheming man!

Thinking of this, Wang Xinzhi’s expression turned hostile.

Yang Siping, on the other hand, didn’t think too much about it. The snippets of the argument he heard, like “stop thinking about him” and “keep your distance from him,” clearly indicated a quarrel.

This patriarch of the Cheng family, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, turns out to be a scumbag… Wait, my sister is in this Cheng family’s territory. Could she be at risk from him?

But Wangshu is only fourteen; he shouldn’t be that much of a beast, right? This isn’t ancient times when the average life expectancy was thirty. Early marriages and pregnancies are laughed at for being overly eager.

But… better safe than sorry!

In a flash, Yang Siping’s gaze towards Cheng Jinyang was filled with scrutiny and suspicion.

“Sorry.” Cheng Jinyang closed the door and turned back with a smile, “It’s nothing now.”

“Jinyang,” Wang Xinzhi said with a smile (though it was a fake smile with seventy percent of Miss Wang’s skill), “Is the household unsettled? Already desiring Shu after obtaining Long, you may find your temples turning grey.”

This roundabout comment referred to a story from the Eastern Han dynasty’s Cen Peng, originally saying, “People suffer from not knowing contentment. After pacifying Long, they desire Shu. Every time they mobilize, their hair turns grey.” The unsaid part was a jab at Cheng Jinyang’s lack of contentment and excessive romance.

Cheng Jinyang: ?

Yang Siping, on the side, understood and laughed heartily:

“Brother Xinzhi, who doesn’t envy such a blessing? Appetite and lust are human nature, no need to criticize.”

With these few words, he defended Cheng Jinyang playfully, suggesting “there’s no crime in being lustful,” while secretly observing Cheng Jinyang’s reaction to see if he was indeed a lecherous man. If he took it in stride, feeling no shame or guilt, it would prove his lack of virtue, and Yang Wangshu couldn’t stay here any longer.

However, Yang Siping’s probing joke made Wang Xinzhi’s face darken. He thought Yang Siping didn’t recognize the voices outside, mistakenly believing the quarrel involved Cheng Jinyang’s concubines, hence joking about his “blessing.”

But the fact is, my sister Wanrou also likes him! By defending him, aren’t you indirectly calling my sister one of his concubines?

So he tapped the table lightly and said seriously:

“Siping, too much is as bad as too little.”

Yang Siping: ???

What? Too much is as bad as too little? All I said was he had a blessing, how is that too much? Are you pretending to be righteous, can’t stand people marrying concubines, and won’t even let us talk about it?

He was baffled, while Cheng Jinyang quickly smoothed things over:

“Brother Xinzhi, I’ve learned my lesson. Currently, my family affairs are busy and exhausting, leaving me no time for romance.”

In other words, I don’t plan to date anytime soon, and I won’t make a move on Miss Wang. Brother-in-law, rest assured.

Wang Xinzhi understood his point and was satisfied with his tactfulness. Although Yang Siping was still somewhat annoyed, he was somewhat relieved to hear Cheng Jinyang’s statement.

After a few more polite exchanges, they bid farewell to Cheng Jinyang and left the clan’s territory. Once outside, Wang Xinzhi immediately dropped his smile and turned to Yang Siping.

Yang Siping said nothing and hurriedly got into the driver’s car, leaving without a word.

This visit to the Cheng family estate had been disappointing: his sister was indifferent, and when he tested Cheng Jinyang, he was inexplicably rebuked by Wang Xinzhi. Did the children of the Hongnong Yang family have no dignity?

Wang Xinzhi watched him leave, sensing some misunderstanding on his part, but couldn’t be bothered to explain. He sneered a few times inwardly, then got in his car and left as well.

Having been perfunctorily dismissed by Miss Wang, and still dealing with Cheng Jinyang’s disdain, his mood was naturally not great. As for offending Yang Siping of the Hongnong Yang family, he considered it a minor issue not worth his attention.

The next day, the Shendu Cheng family received tea from both of them: one named “Shushan New Needle” and the other “Post-Rain Konghou,” both famous teas costing several thousand yuan per box.

Cheng Jinyang looked at them for a long time but couldn’t figure out why they had sent him tea, so he casually left them on the desk in the patriarch’s office.

Later, Cheng Yuexian came by to report work, glanced at them, and upon understanding the situation, held a meeting with the reception department heads and silently increased the budget for business receptions for the next month.

…

In Taicheng, Zhongshu Yu Yuangui had dinner and then hurried to attend the ministerial meeting to hear reports.

The current state of readiness in Jiankang City had significantly deteriorated compared to before they faced Wang Chuzhong.

The strongest spear, the patriarch of the third-grade Lu family, had his legs broken in the previous sortie operation. If he were a high-level demon, he could regrow his legs using demonic power, but since he didn’t have limb regeneration abilities, he was now confined to a wheelchair and had essentially lost his combat capability.

The strongest shield, the patriarch of the third-grade Zheng family, suffered a severe decline in cognitive power due to abnormal brain signals while defending against the Jingwei-class mothership. Diagnosed by the Imperial Hospital, he was still recuperating and likely unable to participate in the upcoming war.

“Has the diagnosis report from the Imperial Hospital come out?” Yu Yuangui interrupted Assistant Minister Chu’s report.

“It has,” Chu Jiye said awkwardly, as he was just about to address this. “Lord Zheng… It seems that while he was maintaining the shield in the cultivation chamber, he suddenly experienced a chain collapse of his equations, leading to algorithmic memory disorder in his brain.”

“Massive equation collapse?” Yu Yuangui frowned. “Why did this happen? Was there a problem with his calculations?”

“No,” Chu Jiye said cautiously. “Judging by the timing, it should be… because the final iron giant soldier threw a spear that destroyed the city shield from within, causing severe algorithmic collapse.”

Yu Yuangui fell silent.

The so-called “chain collapse of equations” is akin to a computer blue screen. Supernatural abilities are known for their complex equations, so supernaturals must develop their brains extensively to manage nearly countless equations, encapsulating them for ready use.

High-level supernaturals can have their encapsulated equations automatically learn and reconstruct based on environmental input variables, saving them the trouble of frequent adjustments. However, this also presents a risk: if the environmental input is too extreme, the entire algorithm can break down.

An imperfect analogy would be a publicly available AI chatbot that initially communicates normally, but gradually starts spouting obscene language, the result of being corrupted by countless unsavory inputs.

In this case, the algorithm of a third-grade supernatural was collapsed by the iron giant soldier that appeared in the Jiangning District. Its attack power far exceeded what the psychic shield equations could handle.

Yu Yuangui lowered his gaze, nodding slightly to indicate that Chu Jiye should continue his report.

In a place unseen by others, his eyes held an ambiguous glint.

An iron giant soldier…