Ever since the "Nancheng Couple" first hit the trending searches, topics related to the two of them had never left the charts.
Yesterday, Onion Live’s first live-streamed variety show had just topped the rankings. Today, the robot volunteers donated by Nanyuan Technology occupied half of the top ten trending spots. Even a previously unnoticed news report from Nancheng’s official media about the donation was unearthed, surpassing ten thousand shares in an instant.
After a week of testing, the batch of small robots donated by Nanyuan Technology had finally officially begun their shifts. The vast majority of netizens woke up to find their feeds flooded with videos of people interacting with the little robots. The airport and the high-speed rail station had become Nancheng’s newest "internet-famous" check-in spots.
Among those posts, the one with the highest engagement was a short video posted by a blogger named Wu Renyue.
She had taken an early morning flight that arrived at Nancheng International Airport. Since the first subway line hadn't started running yet, she and her boyfriend were killing time at the exit. While recording a vlog, they happened to encounter a patrolling robot.
In the video, Wu Renyue let out a cry of surprise: "Eh? It’s a robot!"
The little robot turned its head toward her, its display screen showing a smiling face: [Hello, Ms. Li. Welcome to Nancheng. Is there anything I can help you with?]
Wu Renyue squatted down to look at it, astonished. "How do you know my last name is Li?"
The little robot replied: [We have a facial scanning system that can match the information of all passengers for the day in real-time.]
Intrigued, Wu Renyue continued chatting with it. "Really? Then what’s his last name?" She pointed toward the camera, presumably asking about the person filming.
The little robot nodded in greeting: [Hello, Mr. Fang.]
"Wow!" Wu Renyue was convinced. "Then can I ask when the first subway starts?"
The little robot smiled: [Where would you like to go?]
Wu Renyue: "Nanyang Station."
The little robot answered her quickly: [You can take Subway Line 1, which begins operations at 6:00 AM, then transfer to Line 3 at Binxi Station to reach Nanyang Station. If you need to purchase a ticket, you can download the Nancheng Subway App and scan the code to enter the station.]
"It’s exactly the same as the guide I looked up." Just as Wu Renyue finished her sentence excitedly, she suddenly clutched her stomach and slumped to the ground, her face turning pale.
"A-Yue! What’s wrong?" The person filming ran over in a panic, haphazardly setting the phone on the ground, which happened to capture what followed.
The little robot spoke urgently: [Calling 021, calling 021. A passenger has fallen ill at Domestic Exit 3. Please come for support immediately.]
Wu Renyue leaned into her boyfriend’s arms, her voice trembling with tears. "My stomach hurts so much..."
The little robot immediately stepped forward to comfort her: [Don't be afraid, miss. My partners are on their way.]
As it spoke, two more little robots arrived carrying a stretcher. One of them, wearing a nurse’s cap, stood before Wu Renyue and said softly: [Miss, I need to perform a simple check-up now. Please bear with it for a moment.]
A ray of light appeared on the robot’s display screen, scanning up and down near Wu Renyue’s abdominal cavity twice before it spoke: [Do not worry, it is an intestinal spasm. Sir, please lift this lady onto the stretcher. We need to take her to the medical room for abdominal heat therapy.]
Mr. Fang hurriedly placed her on the stretcher, and the two little robots briskly lifted it, heading toward the medical room.
The robots were fast, yet the stretcher remained incredibly steady. Mr. Fang could only chase after them with his phone. The original robot that had provided the consultation even thoughtfully brought their suitcases along.
The video ended there, but Wu Renyue wrote about the aftermath on Weibo.
After reaching the medical room and being examined by the doctor on duty, it was confirmed to be an intestinal spasm, likely caused by her craving and eating an ice cream right after getting off the plane.
Once the pain subsided, the robot performed another full-body check-up for her. Only after confirming all her vitals were normal did they let her leave.
Wu Renyue tagged Nancheng International Airport, Nanyuan Technology, and the Nancheng Municipal Government’s official accounts to express her gratitude.
The comment section was buzzing.
【Confirming once again, I’m not watching a sci-fi movie, right???】
【So that robot with the nurse cap actually gave an accurate diagnosis???】
【Holy crap! It just scanned her like that... did it even take a minute???】
【Mama... can someone tell me where these robots came from??】
【I saw the blogger tagged Nanyuan Technology...】
【Look closely at the robots, they all have the Nanyuan Technology logo!】
【I saw the news next door; Nanyuan Technology donated a hundred robots to the Nancheng district government...】
【Doesn't their company sell domestic housekeeping robots?】
【So I want to ask, is this thing for sale?!!!】
A massive wave of netizens swarmed Nanyuan Technology’s official Weibo to inquire. Taking advantage of this free publicity, Shen Qinian had the PR department pin a pre-prepared advertisement for the home-use medical robot to the top of the page.
The advertisement provided a comprehensive introduction to all the functions the robot currently possessed, including health monitoring, emergency response, real-time data transmission, and even nutritional planning and traditional Chinese massage therapy.
Although the price of this line was higher than the housekeeping robots due to production costs, the pre-sale channel was sold out within a mere four hours of opening.
Shen Qinian called his CEO in a state of excitement, only to find that the other man’s phone was turned off.
When Xie Chengnan woke up, Jiang Yuan was still asleep. The youth was turned on his side, slightly curled up, with half his body draped over Xie Chengnan like a small animal huddling for warmth in winter. It was a sight that made one's heart soften.
The sliver of light leaking from the edge of the blackout curtains announced that it was a bright, sunny day—and also indicated that CEO Xie was likely late again.
Xie Chengnan frowned slightly. Ever since Jason had interrupted their "morning exercise" last time, he had disabled the robot’s morning wake-up service and switched to a phone alarm. But today, the alarm had clearly never gone off.
Carefully placing Jiang Yuan back on the bed and tucking him in, Professor Xie searched the nightstand and his suit pockets, only then confirming that neither of their phones had been brought back to the bedroom last night. They were most likely left in the car.
Donning his dressing gown, Xie Chengnan headed downstairs, only to see the two phones lying on the coffee table, resting atop the suit Jiang Yuan had worn yesterday.
Xie Chengnan: "..."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Xie..." Xiong Zhipeng and Sun Zheng stood up from the sofa to greet him, their expressions somewhat subtle.
Only then did Xie Chengnan remember that since hiring bodyguards, someone checked the condition of the vehicles in the garage every day to ensure there were no safety hazards.
Looking at their expressions, it was clear they had already seen the "disastrous scene" at the site of the incident.
Old man Xie’s face flushed slightly with embarrassment.
It was Xiong Zhipeng who broke the silence first: "We’ve already inspected the car. Does it need to be sent to the shop for detailing?"
"Ahem." Xie Chengnan pressed a fist to his lips and gave an unnatural cough. "No need... thank you both for your hard work..."
Xiong Zhipeng said calmly, "It’s what we should do." Cleaning up after the employer was considered a part of a bodyguard’s comprehensive service.
Xie Chengnan handed the clothes to Jason for laundering and took the two phones back to the bedroom to charge.
Jiang Yuan woke up in a daze. Seeing no one beside him, he called out in a soft, sleepy voice, "Xie Chengnan..."
Hearing the voice, the older man immediately returned to the bedside, pulling him into a half-embrace and asking in a low tone, "Do you want to shower? Or have some warm water first?"
Jiang Yuan rubbed his face against Xie's chest and mumbled, "Shower..."
Cool strands of hair brushed against Xie Chengnan's skin, feeling slightly itchy and inexplicably provocative.
Xie Chengnan carried him into the bathroom. Seeing his young boyfriend looking so sleepy he could barely stand, he could only suppress the heat in his heart and dutifully gave him a proper bath.
Once the phone was plugged in, it soon powered on automatically. A dense barrage of message notifications chimed one after another, creating a duet in the bedroom.
While blow-drying the hair of his boyfriend, who was catching up on sleep in his lap, Xie Chengnan returned Shen Qinian’s call. "Something wrong?"
"Yo, you finally turned it on." One could hear the high spirits in Vice President Shen’s voice. Noticing the noise on the other end, he asked curiously, "Where are you? Why is there such a loud wind sound?"
CEO Xie said with a lilt in his voice, "I'm drying A-Yuan's hair."
Shen Qinian: "..." Was that boastful tone really necessary?
"If you have business, say it. If not, I'm hanging up." The man who had skipped work spoke with total confidence, devoid of any guilt.
Vice President Shen rolled his eyes on the other end of the line, reporting with an expression of phantom toothache: "The first batch of medical robots is completely sold out. Also, three hospital chains and two high-end nursing homes have contacted me privately wanting to place bulk orders for customized models. So, my dear CEO Xie, Professor Xie, when will you have time to meet with the representatives? Whether we can take these orders depends on your word."
Xie Chengnan felt the dry strands of hair in his hand and said casually, "You arrange it."
"OK, then we'll meet one tomorrow." Having received the answer he wanted, Shen Qinian was finally satisfied. Before hanging up, he offered a friendly reminder to his old friend: "You're at an age where you should take it easy. If you get drained dry by that little devil, where am I going to find someone to take your place?"
The "at an age" CEO Xie kept a wooden face. "...You can get lost now." Without waiting for a retort, he reached out and hung up.
Young Master Jiang yawned as he came to his senses, asking curiously, "What happened?"
"Nothing." Xie Chengnan set the hairdryer aside. "Shen Qinian was just asking for a scolding."
Jiang Yuan gave a low laugh, leaning lazily against his boyfriend. Just as he was about to agree, his phone rang. The caller ID showed Elder Zhang.
"Grandfather." Jiang Yuan sat up a bit straighter and began chatting with the old man.
...
"I'm up, just about to eat."
...
"Really?" Young Master Jiang’s eyes lit up at whatever he heard. "Then I'll buy a plane ticket and fly over today."
...
"Sure, if he's willing, he can come with me."
...
"Mhm, okay. Goodbye, Grandfather."
