Chapter 582 This Thing Is a Bug! (Part 2)

"Da Huang!" Lin Ruoxi walked into the living room with a plate. She set it on the coffee table and, without hesitation, gave Da Huang a smack.

THWACK! At the dull sound, everyone froze.

Da Huang’s eyes instantly cleared, and it started letting out coquettish whimpers, turning into a total crybaby.

Gu Muxue gasped, covering her mouth. It was the first time she had ever seen Lin Ruoxi angry.

"Ruoxi, don’t hit him," Gu Muxue pleaded softly.

Xue Rui shook his head. "Muxue, stay out of it. Xixi is doing this for Xiaobu’s own good."

Dogs are very territorial and recognize the hierarchy within a family. If Da Huang didn’t learn its place, it was bound to hurt Xiaobu one day.

So Xue Rui picked up Xiaobu’s paw and used it to swat at Da Huang, while Lin Ruoxi stood to the side, intimidating the dog.

Lin Ruoxi gave it a few nudges with her foot, kicking Da Huang toward Xue Rui. "Go."

Reluctantly, Da Huang got up, trotted over to Xue Rui’s feet, and started wagging its tail, trying to curry favor...

"Da Huang, you have no shame," Xue Rui said, giving it a disgusted nudge with his foot.

Xiaobu was the gentlest cat he had ever met; Da Huang was the weirdest dog.

"Boss, I’m going to head out and look at some properties. Muxue, if you need anything, just let me know." Yu Minlan said this and turned to leave.

"Wait." Xue Rui went after her and asked Yu Minlan in a low voice, "What did you and Xixi talk about?"

’The girl is an open book. All her emotions are written right on her face. Something had clearly upset her just now.’

"Nothing. We just chatted about our ambitions in life," Yu Minlan said sheepishly.

"Don’t let it happen again," Xue Rui said coldly. ’The girl is getting smarter, more sensitive. Talking about life?’

’Looks like I’ll have to do some extra coaxing.’

"PHEW!" Yu Minlan let out a long sigh after she left. The pressure Xue Rui put on her was becoming immense.

...

That afternoon, Gu Muxue had something come up and had to go to campus early. Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi walked out with her, and the three of them stood apart downstairs.

Lin Ruoxi quietly shuffled closer to Xue Rui and asked timidly, "Muxue, do you still need me to go to class with you?"

’Gu Muxue had changed so much. She had been happy every day since Xue Rui returned. Even when she felt down, she bounced back quickly.’

Gu Muxue bit her lip, deeply conflicted.

’If I say no, Lin Ruoxi will go to class with Xue Rui without a second thought.’

"You’ll be back tonight anyway," Gu Muxue said, as much to herself as to them.

"Yeah." Xue Rui nodded slightly.

"Xixi, you need to go find your professor and file for a course waiver today. As class president, I can’t cover for you skipping class anymore."

Lin Ruoxi had skipped a solid month of classes. While most of the professors didn’t care, it was still against the department’s rules.

However, given Lin Ruoxi’s entrance exam scores and her actual abilities, Xue Rui was confident it wouldn’t be too difficult. It would take a day or two at most to get waivers for every subject besides P.E.

"Huh?" Gu Muxue looked at Lin Ruoxi curiously, since Lin Ruoxi never talked about school.

"A course waiver is when you reach a certain level of proficiency, and the professor can unilaterally excuse you from the course. It’s a privilege for academic aces," Xue Rui explained with a sigh.

’I chose software engineering specifically so I could easily skip class. All the assignments are submitted online, making it easy for me to skate by and get my diploma.’

Gu Muxue smiled and nodded. "Ruoxi is so amazing."

Xue Rui smiled and patted Gu Muxue’s head. "You’re amazing, too."

In his past life, Gu Muxue had gotten into a Qingbei-level university through sheer, honest effort. One could only imagine the work she put in.

To him, Gu Muxue seemed more vibrant, more driven.

As for Lin Ruoxi? Xue Rui opted not to comment. He couldn’t comprehend the world of a natural-born genius.

"Hmph. Pat my head too much and I’ll stop growing," Gu Muxue said, standing on her tiptoes to compare her height to Xue Rui’s. Then she reached out, patted his head in return, and hopped into the Land Rover before driving off.

She watched Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi wave at her in the rearview mirror, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly.

’Four years,’ Gu Muxue sighed to herself. ’I hope this life can last forever.’

Four years can feel long, but it can also fly by...

Xue Rui watched the car drive off, then glanced at the Jetta parked nearby. He noticed the girl beside him had lowered her head.

"Mm, I’m too tall. I don’t want to grow anymore," Lin Ruoxi said with a smile.

"No problem." Xue Rui laughed. He knew she was asking him to pat her head.

"Are you upset that I gave your car to Muxue?" Xue Rui asked.

He had given Lin Ruoxi’s new car to Gu Muxue to use. After all, Yu Minlan’s Jetta didn’t suit Gu Muxue’s status at all. Anyone who didn’t know better would think her family had gone bankrupt.

"No. As long as you’re by my side, any car is fine," Lin Ruoxi said softly.

Xue Rui reached out to pat Lin Ruoxi’s head, and at that exact moment, the phone in his pocket rang.

Xue Rui took out his phone and saw it was a call from Yang Xing.

"Xue Rui, you’ve really done it now! I saw everything!" Yang Xing’s indignant voice came from the phone.

A chill ran down Xue Rui’s spine. He had forgotten that Yang Xing also lived in this complex. He instinctively pulled his hand back from Lin Ruoxi’s head and scanned his surroundings.

"What did you see?" Xue Rui asked, feeling a pang of guilt. ’Did Yang Xing see me patting Lin Ruoxi’s head?’

’Am I screwed?’

"I ran into Muxue at the complex gate. You found a new driver for her?" Yang Xing’s surprised voice came through.

Xue Rui smiled faintly. ’So he was calling to chew me out?’

He raised his voice and said, "So what if I did? I specifically picked a female driver. You’re a guy..."

"That’s great! Now that I don’t have to be on call to drive, I can drink! You brat, you’d better buy me that drink you owe me, and soon."

"..." Xue Rui was momentarily speechless. He had actually thought Yang Xing felt threatened.

Xue Rui said slowly, "Didn’t Muxue tell you? We switched drivers. From now on, you’ll be driving for me."

"Huh? She didn’t say that," Yang Xing’s confused voice came through.

"Oh, she’ll tell you in a bit. Go have your drink. I’ll usually give you a day or two’s notice when I need you," Xue Rui said bluntly.

Yang Xing thought for a moment. "Hmm... I guess that works."

"Hanging up now," Xue Rui said with a laugh.

’What’s Gu Muxue’s is his. Trading a Land Rover for a Maybach is a win no matter how you look at it.’

Lin Ruoxi kept her head down, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her shirt. When Xue Rui had snatched his hand away, her heart had suddenly sunk with disappointment.

’But she was also afraid of being found out. She was his girlfriend, too, yet she couldn’t even hug him out in the open.’

"Rui, I... I want to make a piece of software. Can I have some money for it?" Lin Ruoxi asked, looking up.

’Lin Ruoxi didn’t know what the future held, but she had promised she would earn money to support Xue Rui. If she had her own business, maybe he would pay more attention to her.’

Xue Rui paused for a second, then nodded and murmured, "You can. But what do you want to make?"

"Generative artificial intelligence. I thought of it when I was trying to merge photos earlier. It might not make money in the short term..." Lin Ruoxi laid out her idea.

’Many familiar products flashed through Xue Rui’s mind, but they had all needed hardware advancements before they could really take off. What could possibly be made with the hardware available now?’

"Go for it. As long as you’re happy," Xue Rui said with a nod.

’He’d already been reborn once. What was the point if he didn’t take a big gamble?’

The main thing was, Lin Ruoxi’s growth was astonishingly fast. She could crank out code as fast as he could trash-talk teammates in a video game...

’Besides, the girl didn’t even need to attend class. She had nothing but free time.’

"What’s your dream?" Xue Rui asked, getting into the passenger seat and stroking Lin Ruoxi’s hair.

Lin Ruoxi loved all kinds of digital gadgets, always buying various tools and instruments. He couldn’t even read their instruction manuals. He was curious what a STEM girl’s dream would be.

"Your dream is my dream," Lin Ruoxi said without hesitation.

Xue Rui pinched Lin Ruoxi’s cheek. "Xixi, you’re being tricky. Try again."

’The way this girl flirted... she was nothing like a typical STEM girl.’

"Umm..." Lin Ruoxi stared blankly ahead, out the front of the car.

Her dream used to be to give her grandmother a better life. Then, after she met Xue Rui, it was to get into the same university as him. She had never made any long-term plans for the future.

Even now, Lin Ruoxi still couldn’t see her future.

"Umm..."

’If she had to say what she wanted most, it would be to eat with Xue Rui, sleep with Xue Rui, and have children with Xue Rui. That was what all their elders wanted to see, too.’

But saying it out loud would put Xue Rui in a difficult position. Lin Ruoxi slowly shook her head. "I don’t have a dream."

Xue Rui felt like he’d been played. ’She drags it out with a long, drawn-out hum, and then says she doesn’t have a dream?’

"Well, what’s your dream? I’ll help you achieve it," Lin Ruoxi asked, tilting her head.

"Me?" Xue Rui was caught off guard by the question. What great ambitions did he have?

"To contribute to global environmental protection, to conserve freshwater resources..."

Xue Rui decided to bluff his way through.

"How do you do that, specifically?" Lin Ruoxi felt his answer was too vague.

"Ahem... In layman’s terms, it means taking a bath with you and Muxue."