Chapter 44
Recently, the two hottest topics in global politics were, one, that the head of state of country F, Florence, who had been seriously ill and had not made a formal appearance for a month, had suddenly become as robust as a bear after a secret trip to the Hua nation. When attending domestic and international events, he looked a dozen years younger. Not only was he glowing with health, but even the wrinkles on his face seemed to have faded.
The second hotly debated topic was that an economic trade agreement between country F and the Hua nation, which had been in drafting for years but had been stalled due to details, was suddenly signed with rocket-like speed—a meeting in the morning, a signing in the afternoon. Moreover, after the agreement was announced, many countries were stunned. It could be said that the Hua nation had gained a considerable advantage in this agreement; country F had conceded a lot. Even so, when the representative of country F signed it, he was beaming, not as if he had lost out, but as if he had won some grand prize.
The parliament of country A had been in session for a whole day because of this, arguing from the history of the Hua nation and country F all the way to the trade agreement, just short of cursing them out for being a den of snakes. It ended with the classic conclusion: “The Hua nation’s ambition to dominate the world and suppress Country A can no longer be hidden! The Hua nation is Country F’s greatest political rival!”
After the meeting, the head of state of country A, Kaelen, rubbed his temples and had a meal with his two trusted council members.
Kaelen was drinking coffee with a dark face. The two confidants exchanged a glance. One of them said sheepishly, “You don’t need to worry about the trade agreement signed by the Hua nation and country F. It’s just land trade; it won’t affect our country’s economy at all.”
“What’s there to worry about with a small trade agreement?” Kaelen snorted. “What I’m curious about is how that fellow Florence suddenly became so healthy.”
He put down his coffee and asked, “Has it been confirmed that he became like this after returning from the Hua nation?”
His confidant said with certainty, “Yes. Our agents have been secretly lurking in country F. Florence’s physical condition took a sharp downturn a month ago. But five days ago, he secretly went to the Hua nation. He left a day later, and this is how he is now.”
The other council member also nodded and said cautiously, “It’s just that our agents lost track of him after he entered Hua nation territory. We don’t know what exactly happened there.”
Kaelen sneered. “I’ve heard that the Hua nation believes in some ghosts and gods, especially when it comes to medicine, where there is not a shred of science. Perhaps this unorthodox method just happened to work by a fluke.”
Country A, from top to bottom, had always looked down on the Hua nation and regarded it as a thorn in their side. Now that country F and the Hua nation were as thick as thieves, the old men in the parliament were so anxious they couldn’t sleep at night. Kaelen also had a headache over this. But at this time, he had not yet thought, or rather, did not believe at all, that the Hua nation could have some high-tech medical technology that could cure all diseases in a single day. After much thought, he felt the most likely possibility was that Florence was just having a final burst of energy, just putting on a brave front. It would take some time to know if he was truly better or just faking it.
The two council members also chimed in with a few words of agreement.
Halfway through lunch, Kaelen’s secretary suddenly received a call. After hanging up, his expression was very strange, as if he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
“What is it?” Kaelen asked.
“A call from Minister Tillis. The latest news from our agents in country F. Professor Gacy of country F boarded a private plane at eleven o’clock today and flew to the Hua nation.”
Clang!
Kaelen dropped his fork, his face turning black as iron. “Find out what’s going on!”
.
On the internet in country A, the government had adopted a cold-shoulder attitude towards this series of political moves by the Hua nation and country F, suppressing the hype. So, there was not much movement on their social media. But the netizens of the Hua nation were already in a heated discussion about this series of joyous yet somewhat bizarre events.
.
Ren Yi had woken up and successfully awakened his psychic power. The entire production team was overjoyed. Yu Xue and Wu Sicheng, in particular, were now incredibly curious about him. They pestered him to go to a secluded spot on a nearby mountain to demonstrate his psychic power for them. The others, also in high spirits, all tagged along.
The only ones left in the house were Director Huang, Master Guo, and Xia Anran, who was sitting under the grape trellis, enjoying the breeze.
Recently, with the addition of many young people to the production team, especially Jiang Tianyang who had visited a couple of days ago, his chaotic, out-of-the-box ideas had dealt a heavy blow to Director Huang. Was he really getting old? Could he no longer keep up with the thinking of the younger generation? Looking at Ji Minghui, who was already on the verge of surpassing him, Director Huang felt a long-lost sense of crisis. Recently, whenever he had free time, he would stay in his room, studying the new ideas of the youth and the current popular styles. It left the sixty-year-old director drenched in sweat, making him even more doubtful that he could keep up.
Master Guo, on the other hand, was preparing for tonight’s celebration banquet. Ren Yi’s safe recovery was a joyous occasion. The moment he heard the news, he had started preparing ingredients, happily bustling about in the kitchen. Xia Anran had wanted to help but was shooed out by him. In his words, if she ate a little less when the food was ready, that would be a great help to him.
Xia Anran: …
So, she could only browse her phone in the yard and read the news.
The top trending topic right now was marked with a “BOOM” tag: [Hua Nation and F Nation Sign Land Trade Agreement].
The second trending topic was: [F Nation Head of State Florence Rejuvenated].
The first one was fine, but the second one was truly a bit comical.
Xia Anran first went to read the official news. The government’s official account had released the news of the signing this afternoon, along with a video of the signing ceremony.
[Wow! Great news!]
[Excellent! Our Hua nation and country F have really been walking hand in hand in recent years.]
[It’s really been all good news lately. Hehe, so happy! Our Hua nation is getting better and better!]
[A good thing that benefits the country and the people!]
[Let me explain this agreement to everyone. It relaxes the restrictions on trade between the two sides and on private trade. And country F even made concessions!]
[A genuine policy that benefits the people!]
[It’s stormy outside, but under the protection of old Hua, we’re enjoying sunny days!]
[I recommend pairing this with the ‘Florence Rejuvenated’ trending topic for double the happiness.]
[This is really too bizarre. Old man Florence hadn’t attended a public event in over a month. The last time he appeared, he looked like he was about to faint at any moment.]
[Well, his age is there. He’s over eighty. It’s normal that he can’t work anymore.]
[A while ago, I was worried that if Florence suddenly passed, the hard-won partnership between our countries would collapse again. Right now, he’s the only firm pro-Hua faction in country F. The other guy who wants to take over feels like he could defect to Country A any minute.]
[The current pro-Hua policy in Country F is basically being pushed forward by Florence’s personal ability and influence. If he’s gone, no one else has the means or the courage and determination to continue it.]
[I don’t really get it, but compared to that old coot Kaelen, Florence is practically a beautiful angel.]
[So Florence standing up again is a critical hit to Country A, hahahaha!]
[Smart netizens are already climbing the firewall to go watch the drama in Country A.]
[Hahaha, the brother above knows how to have fun.]
[Report! Not much movement on the foreign internet. They’re clearly suppressing the hype.]
[They’re only like this when they’re really scared. Look at how they usually have to criticize every little thing about the Hua nation. Now they’re being quiet [doge]]
[Look, they’re getting anxious again.]
Xia Anran was having a blast reading and crazily ‘liking’ the comments. The system, on the table beside her, was vibrating nonstop.
She found it too chatty, but was also worried she would miss an important message, so she just tossed it aside and ignored it. All it could do was vibrate anyway.
After vibrating for a long time and realizing she really wasn’t going to pay attention to it, the system was so angry it nearly fainted.
Xia Anran was swinging on the rocking chair, browsing her phone. The phone on the table suddenly moved twice, and then a soulless, AI electronic voice came out.
[“Mo Xicheng pinned her hands and pressed her tightly against the wall. His burning chest was pressed against her delicate face, and his unique scent of agarwood surrounded her. ‘Woman, you can’t escape.'”]
“…”
Xia Anran shot up and grabbed the phone, frantically pressing the volume button.
Master Guo poked his head out of the kitchen. “Little Xia, what did you just say?”
“Nothing! I was just watching a TV show. The volume was too loud.”
Master Guo said “Oh” and closed the window.
Xia Anran took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, “What are you doing?”
[Who told you to ignore me! Why won’t you chat with me!]
[I didn’t play anything else. Isn’t this just a novel you read before?]
“…”
Hadn’t she formatted this phone a long time ago?!
The system seemed to understand what she was thinking and said smugly, “Hmph, formatting is useless against me. I know everything that’s ever happened on your phone~”
[So don’t ignore me! Chat with me!]
This time, it was Xia Anran’s turn to nearly faint. What’s the difference between this and it holding evidence of her committing a murder?!
What was there to chat about? This damn system couldn’t be allowed to live for another day. She had to kill it!
When Ren Yi and the others came back, they saw Xia Anran staring fiercely at the livestream phone, her arms crossed, as if she were trying to burn a hole through it with her gaze.
The system was trembling, not daring to make a sound.
“What’s wrong?” Ren Yi asked, walking over.
Xia Anran snorted. “Nothing. I’m teaching it how to be a person.”
Ren Yi now knew about the awakened system on her phone. He raised an eyebrow. “So what are the results of your teaching?”
The moment he finished speaking, the phone screen lit up, and then quickly went dark again, like a wronged little wife who didn’t dare to speak.
“This is the first lesson I’m teaching it. When adults are talking, children shouldn’t interrupt.”
Ren Yi chuckled. He didn’t know what these two were up to now.
During dinner, everyone gathered together to happily congratulate Ren Yi. Xia Anran casually turned on the TV for some background noise. Director Huang, on the side, watched for a long time, and finally, after careful consideration, spoke up. “Little Xia, you should usually watch some well-filmed productions. The things you young people like to watch now, like the ‘overbearing CEO’ and ‘unwed mother’ genres, are still not very maturely filmed.”
Xia Anran: “…”
This damn system. It’s dead.