CH 39

January 1st was New Year's Day; the hotel bookings for the three-day holiday were higher than usual. In the past, when it was busy, Zheng Baozhu would stay at the hotel to take care of things. But today, she went out early with Qu Zhi.

Qu Zhi said he wanted to take her to meet Auntie Xiao, so of course, they had to go see her. Xiao Yu saw them leave together in the morning and immediately sent a message to the group.

Xiao Yu: Breaking news! Miss Baozhu and Mr. Qu are going out together! Looks like they're going on a date!

Liang Huihui: Wow, they're starting the New Year by going out together!

Liang Huihui: They just had breakfast together at the restaurant. I noticed that Qu Zhi always orders the same things as Miss Baozhu!

Wei Zhen: From my observation, their tastes are very similar.

Xiao Yu: As they say, 'if they eat together, they sleep together'!

Meng Yaxin: ? Is that a saying?

Xiao Yu: Yes!

Cen Tongtong woke up from a nap and found hundreds of chat messages in the group. She was startled and sat up in bed, completely awake.

This was a group exclusively for shipping CP, where they could only talk about the CP. No other irrelevant chats were allowed. Today, everyone seemed so excited; it must be because Zheng Baozhu and Qu Zhi were being mischievous again!

After skimming through the chat messages, her eyes were fixed on "sleep together".

Oh my goodness! Zheng Baozhu and Qu Zhi are sleeping together?

She quickly sent a string of question marks to Zheng Baozhu.

By now, Zheng Baozhu was already with Qu Zhi at Auntie Xiao's place, so she didn't check her phone. Auntie Xiao no longer lived on New He Street, Qu Zhi brought her to an ordinary residential complex.

Auntie Xiao lived on the sixth floor. Although the complex wasn't brand new, it had an elevator.

"Auntie Xiao, it's me, Qu Zhi," Qu Zhi knocked on the door and greeted the person inside. The door was quickly opened with Auntie Xiao standing on the other side, smiling in Qu Zhi's direction, "Little Qu, you're here?"

"Mm, and I brought a friend to see you."

On cue, Zheng Baozhu stepped forward and greeted Auntie Xiao, "Hello, Auntie Xiao, I'm Zheng Baozhu."

As soon as Auntie Xiao heard a young voice, her conduct changed instantly, "You're a friend of Little Qu, right? Come, come, have a seat."

Auntie Xiao warmly invited them in, without giving them a chance to explain. The room was neatly arranged with a cozy atmosphere, and there weren't many things cluttering the floor, leaving as much space as possible. Auntie Xiao walked to the sofa and asked them to sit, "Have a seat first; I'll get you some water."

"No need to trouble yourself, Auntie Xiao," Qu Zhi stopped her from getting water, guiding Zheng Baozhu to sit on the sofa, "We came today to visit and also brought you this."

Qu Zhi opened the box he had been holding and took out a smart white cane from it. "This is the latest smart white cane developed by our company. It uses ultrasonic detection to simultaneously detect obstacles in front, on the left, on the right, and above. It then provides feedback through the handle's vibration. Additionally, it has a voice navigation system. After setting the destination, it can start guiding, and it also provides prompts for traffic lights. Moreover, I've added an emergency button. In case of an emergency, pressing the button will send your location to the nearest police station."

"Is it that amazing?" Auntie Xiao slowly explored the smart cane Qu Zhi handed over, looking pleasantly surprised. Zheng Baozhu was also amazed. If Qu Zhi hadn't mentioned it today, she wouldn't have known that canes had advanced to this level.

"Its operation is not complicated; I'll teach you and you'll learn in no time."

"Alright."

Qu Zhi turned on the smart cane and patiently taught Auntie Xiao how to use it. Although Auntie Xiao couldn't see with her eyes, she learned quickly, and after just one explanation from Qu Zhi, she grasped the basic usage, "This is convenient to use. With this, going out will be even easier."

Qu Zhi nodded and said to Auntie Xiao, "When I first developed this smart cane, I hoped it could be a substitute for guide dogs."

The number of guide dogs was limited as it was challenging to train and apply for them. The vast majority of visually impaired individuals still relied on walking canes.

"Technology has indeed advanced. When I first became blind, I used the most basic walking cane. Now, this small cane has so many functions. In the future, guide dogs might even be replaced," Auntie Xiao said with a smile to Qu Zhi.

Qu Zhi replied, "Things will only get better in the future."

"I believe that. With young people like you, we will definitely get better and better," Auntie Xiao spoke with a smile, showing her fondness for Qu Zhi, this young man.

Qu Zhi chatted with Auntie Xiao for a while longer, but then the room's voice reporting the time rang. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Auntie Xiao said to Qu Zhi and Zheng Baozhu, "I still need to go to work in the afternoon. You both came to see me and I didn't even treat you to a meal."

"It's okay, Auntie Xiao. I mainly came today to give you the smart cane," Qu Zhi didn't want to trouble her from the beginning, as Auntie Xiao's condition made things difficult for her, "Actually, I wanted to come earlier, but I've been extremely busy lately and didn't find the time until now."

"Don't say that, Little Qu. You've already helped me a lot," Auntie Xiao stood up and tapped the smart cane again, "This thing must be quite expensive, right?"

Qu Zhi said, "It's alright. To make it more affordable for more people, I tried to control the cost."

Auntie Xiao said, "If I give you money, you definitely won't accept it. I have some specialties from my hometown here; you and Little Zheng can take them home and enjoy."

"No need, Auntie."

"Then you don't eat them; give them all to Little Zheng," Auntie Xiao said and grabbed Zheng Baozhu's hand, "When I heard Little Zheng's voice, I knew she must be exceptionally beautiful. To have found such a good girlfriend, you must treat her well."

Qu Zhi pursed his lips slightly, showing a hint of unease. Zheng Baozhu smiled at Auntie Xiao and said, "Auntie Xiao, you misunderstood. Qu Zhi and I are old classmates, we're not dating."

Auntie Xiao was taken aback, then turned her head towards Qu Zhi and said, "So you haven't succeeded in pursuing her yet. You have to put in more effort, Little Qu!"

Qu Zhi: "..."

Since Auntie Xiao had to go to work in the afternoon, they didn't disturb her for too long. When they left, Auntie Xiao insisted on stuffing lots of specialties into Qu Zhi's hands and asked him to help Zheng Baozhu carry them back.

After putting everything into the trunk, Zheng Baozhu curiously asked Qu Zhi, "Where does Auntie Xiao work?"

Qu Zhi replied, "She works at a nearby company as a telephone operator."

"Oh," Zheng Baozhu nodded, opened the car door, and got in. Qu Zhi followed and sat in the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt. As Zheng Baozhu drove, she said to Qu Zhi, "I can see that Auntie Xiao is still very active in her life, that's great."

Qu Zhi said, "Indeed, she has improved a lot. When I first met her, she couldn't accept the fact that she was blind. Moreover, her husband divorced her because of this, which was a double blow to her. Her emotions were very unstable at that time, and I was afraid she might not be able to handle it, but fortunately, she made it through."

Hearing about Auntie Xiao's husband, Zheng Baozhu couldn't hold back, "What kind of husband is he? The first thing he does after his wife becomes blind is to run away? Where's his responsibility? Men really aren't good people!"

"..."

Qu Zhi fell silent for a moment, "I agree that Auntie Xiao's husband isn't a good person, but he doesn't represent all men."

"Yes," Zheng Baozhu nodded, "There's also that scumbag Li Yifan!"

Qu Zhi: "..."

He coughed lightly, looking serious, and said to Zheng Baozhu, "Though there are scumbags, there are still good men in this world."

Zheng Baozhu sneered, "Good men are like ghosts – everyone has heard of them, but no one has seen them."

Qu Zhi: "..."

"I think you have biases against men."

Zheng Baozhu glanced at him, "Oh, right, you are also a man, no wonder you've been defending men."

"..."

Qu Zhi pursed his lips and was amused by her teasing, "Is it not obvious that I'm a man? Should I prove it to you?"

"..."

Zheng Baozhu felt that the conversation was becoming a bit flirtatious and warned him while slightly shifting away, "I'm driving, you better not distract me."

Qu Zhi chuckled, and Zheng Baozhu quickly changed the topic, "Have you been in contact with Auntie Xiao all these years?"

"Yes, but due to my busy studies, we haven't contacted each other frequently."

"Oh..." Zheng Baozhu nodded, "Actually, I'm quite interested in this field. If you hadn't mentioned it today, I wouldn't have known that walking canes have become so advanced now."

Talking about his expertise, Qu Zhi's attention shifted away from 'men': "To replace guide dogs, scientists around the world started researching smart blind canes much earlier. The traditional blind canes can only detect obstacles in front of the road, but in fact, there may also be obstacles in the air. This makes it easy for blind people to bump their heads."

Zheng Baozhu thought for a moment, realizing that it was indeed true.

"Later, electronic blind canes were invented, which expanded the range of detection and took the blind person's head into consideration. With the development of technology in recent years, smart blind canes have been continuously updated and iterated," Qu Zhi looked at the tall buildings outside the window as if he was looking at something beyond them, "Technological development is never independent. Advancements in areas such as artificial satellites, the internet, and artificial intelligence have allowed blind canes to perform more and more functions."

At a red light, Zheng Baozhu stopped the car and looked at Qu Zhi beside her. He had said similar things before, but at that time, she felt that he was just showing off. Today, she realized that when Qu Zhi spoke, he was serious, even devout.

He genuinely wanted to improve people's lives through technology.

He might genuinely care about the country.

"The light is green, why aren't you going?" Qu Zhi turned to look at Zheng Baozhu. She quickly withdrew her gaze as if she had been caught doing something wrong and nonchalantly drove the car forward.

Afraid that Qu Zhi would notice she was just looking at him, she cleverly followed his words and continued the conversation, "It sounds impressive, but implementing a robot guide must be much more challenging, right? How does the robot recognize if someone is blind? How does it know who to serve?"

Qu Zhi explained, "We have indeed considered this issue. Currently, the most feasible method is to use facial recognition technology."

"Facial recognition?"

"Yes, as long as someone is registered with the Disabled Persons' Federation as visually impaired, the system can record their information. Then, through facial recognition, the robot can identify the target."

"Oh! I see!" Zheng Baozhu sighed, "But I heard that this technology might be exploited by bad people."

Qu Zhi replied, "We will definitely take measures to protect the information. The technology itself is not to blame; it's the human intentions that can be bad."

"Oh... Can I ask what other technologies are mainly used in the robot guide?"

"The core technologies include environmental monitoring, positioning and navigation, as well as human-robot interaction. Besides that, the mobility of the robot is also crucial," Qu Zhi finished and looked at Zheng Baozhu with a curious expression, "Why are you suddenly so interested in these things today?"

"No, just... casual conversation," Zheng Baozhu pretended to be nonchalant when her phone, placed on the side, started ringing.

The screen showed an incoming call from Tan Yao.

Qu Zhi looked at the name and lightly snorted. Zheng Baozhu glanced at him and put on her earphones, answering the call, "Tan Yao, what's up?"

"Didn't we agree to meet up for a date on New Year's Day?"

"..." Zheng Baozhu raised an eyebrow, "Did we? I don't recall."

Tan Yao's voice came through the earphones, "Don't think I don't know. I heard from the hotel staff that you went out early in the morning with Qu Zhi! Where did you go?"

"We met a friend. What does it have to do with you?"

"How could it not have anything to do with me? I can tell he has ulterior motives toward you!"

Zheng Baozhu glanced at Qu Zhi beside her and denied Tan Yao's assumption, "I think you are overthinking things."

Tan Yao clicked his tongue and said, "Then where are you now? I'll come to find you, and we can have lunch together."

"Lunch?"

As Zheng Baozhu was about to say those two words, Qu Zhi, who was sitting next to her, interjected, "Why are you using your phone while driving? Driving improperly will lead to tears for your loved ones."

Zheng Baozhu: "..."

Since he said it loudly, Tan Yao on the other end heard it as well and exclaimed, "I heard Qu Zhi's voice! You are still with him! It's too dangerous! This man clearly has bad intentions!"

"..."

Zheng Baozhu paused for a moment, "You're acting like you have pure intentions."

Tan Yao: "..."

What's wrong with him? He just wants to pursue Zheng Baozhu, what bad intentions does he have!

"I can't return for the time being, so don't wait for me. Since it's a rare day off, you can go have fun with your friends. I'm driving, so I won't talk anymore," Zheng Baozhu hung up the phone after saying what she had to say.

After seeing Zheng Baozhu hang up, Qu Zhi looked at her and said, "Do you remember what you just said? Men are not good people, Tan Yao is one of them."

"..."

Zheng Baozhu's eyelid twitched, "And what about you?"

"Of course, I belong to the category of good men."

"Hahaha," Zheng Baozhu exaggeratedly laughed a few times, "Thanks, I got a good laugh from that."

Qu Zhi: "..."

He silently pursed his lips, pointing ahead at the Starlight Department Store, "Let's park there."

Zheng Baozhu asked, "Why? Do you want to buy something?"

Qu Zhi said, "Let's eat lunch outside first before going back."

He wanted to avoid the situation of meeting that 0-4 guy back in the hotel.

Zheng Baozhu didn't mind and thought it was about time for lunch anyway, so she nodded and drove over, "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine, you choose," Qu Zhi glanced at her, "Today, I'll treat you. Consider it a thank-you gift for coming with me to see Auntie Xiao."

Zheng Baozhu glanced at him but didn't refuse, "Sure, then let's go for barbecue?"

"Alright."

"And you're in charge of grilling."

"..."

Lily BBQ in the Starlight Department Store was always crowded, and today, being New Year's Day, it was even more packed. Fortunately, Zheng Baozhu and Qu Zhi arrived relatively early, so they didn't have to endure the long queue.

"It's usually not this crowded at lunchtime. I didn't expect it to be so full today," Zheng Baozhu sat at the booth and started scanning the QR code to order, "Since you're treating me, I'll order a bit more."

"Okay..."

Zheng Baozhu happily placed the order when suddenly a voice from the side said, "Isn't this Qu Zhi? You're back from overseas?"