Chapter 45: Exclusive Assignment

Night had fallen, and the cool breeze of early autumn drifted in quietly.

The pedestrian street near Shenhai University was bustling, with couples of student lovers strolling about. Along the storefronts, various interactive games for couples were on dazzling display, the most popular being a row of claw machines flashing with colorful lights.

The attraction of fluffy plush toys to young girls seemed to be innate.

Xia Kewei remained completely indifferent to these dolls, but Wang Can was acting as if he were bewitched. The moment he laid eyes on a claw machine, he couldn't tear himself away, and was now fully absorbed in manipulating the joystick.

For an ordinary person, trying a few times and failing to catch anything would be the end of it. Today, however, Wang Can seemed determined to pick a fight with the machine; Xia Kewei had lost count of how many coins he had poured in.

Inside the glass case, the mechanical claw descended time and time again, only to return empty-handed every single time.

"Can you not be so childish? If you like the plushies, just go buy one."

Xia Kewei frowned slightly. The time wasted here was already enough for her to draft all the registration documents for her company.

Wang Can didn't answer, his entire focus locked onto the swaying mechanical claw.

Without them noticing, quite a few students had gathered around, casting sideways glances at Xia Kewei from time to time. A few male students were already eager to step up, dying to tell Wang Can, "Bro, if you can't do it, let me."

"If you're going to keep playing, I'm leaving."

Although Xia Kewei was already accustomed to being the center of attention, being surrounded and watched like this still felt rather uncomfortable.

Just then, Wang Can, who had been staring unblinkingly at the claw, let out a long sigh of relief. "Stop rushing me. Why don't you give it a try?"

"Me? I'd never play such childish things," Xia Kewei said, curling her lips.

"Just try it once and then we'll leave. I want to see if the problem is really with me," Wang Can insisted.

"I give up on you."

Massaging her temple with a slight headache, Xia Kewei walked over to the machine on her long legs, intending to just go through the motions perfunctorily so they could leave quickly.

Yet the moment her fingers touched the cold joystick, her expression instinctively turned serious.

Her gaze swept across the pile of colorful plush toys, finally locking onto a furry monkey with a cheeky, mischievous grin.

With a sharp *click*, Xia Kewei pressed the button.

The moment the mechanical claw slowly descended, a trace of unexpected anticipation welled up inside her.

It actually... seemed quite fun indeed...

To everyone's surprise, the claw gripped unusually firmly this time, steadily hoisting the plush toy all the way to the chute.

Xia Kewei froze, seemingly unprepared for her success on the very first try.

"Damn, you actually caught it?" Wang Can feigned astonishment beside her.

In truth, the gripping force of a claw machine's crane operated on a three-tier gear system, and ninety percent of the machines on the market switched between them randomly. However, equipment from this era wasn't smart enough yet; with careful observation, one could figure out the pattern of the high-strength claw.

All his repeated attempts earlier were simply to wait for the exact moment of the high-strength claw.

A woman like Xia Kewei obviously wouldn't feel happy just because you won a doll for her. But making her succeed in winning one herself might be a different story altogether.

"Here."

Xia Kewei scooped up the plush toy and shoved it into Wang Can's arms, putting on an unbothered expression like an overbearing CEO. Yet the slightly upturned corners of her mouth betrayed the smugness in her heart.

When they reached the entrance of the residential complex, Wang Can handed the monkey back to her.

"What are you giving this to me for?"

"How inappropriate would it be for a grown man to carry a plush toy back to the dorms?"

"Childish."

After Wang Can left, Xia Kewei lowered her head and examined the grinning monkey in her hands.

"Coming out for a walk once in a while doesn't seem so bad after all."

......

The next morning, early.

Wang Can received a message from Xia Kewei stating that Xinghuo Technology had already been registered, so in the end, they went with the sprout concept. Having a physical object would also make it easier to design a trademark later on.

As soon as the first class of the morning ended, Wang Can headed straight for Jiang Yixue's office.

*Knock, knock.* Wang Can softly tapped on the office door.

"Come in," Jiang Yixue's gentle voice came from inside.

The moment he pushed the door open and stepped in, Wang Can's gaze was instantly drawn to an entire wall of bookcases.

The shelves were densely packed with all kinds of academic books, the spines of some turning yellowish, clearly indicating frequent consultation. In the middle of the room sat two log-colored desks placed facing each other, with several pots of green dill resting on the windowsill, breathing vitality into the room.

Associate professors at Shanghai University were standardly assigned double offices, but at the moment, only Jiang Yixue was inside.

Hearing the door open, Jiang Yixue raised her head. Sunlight filtered through the window blinds, dancing across her shoulder-length short hair and casting a soft halo around her.

"Professor Jiang," Wang Can greeted her.

A flash of teasing amusement crossed the depths of Jiang Yixue's eyes. "You're still missing the word 'associate'. Don't go promoting me of your own accord."

Wang Can had encountered this type of person for the first time who insisted on adding "associate" before her professional title, so he had no choice but to restate, "Associate Professor Jiang."

Only then did Jiang Yixue nod in satisfaction, though she didn't gesture for him to sit down.

She gently laid her fountain pen down on a document and looked at the student before her with poised leisure. "Student Wang Can, you are the last class representative out of the four classes to come see me. I thought you were going to desert at the last minute."

"You flatter me, Professor."

Wang Can pulled out a chair and sat down with effortless familiarity. "I came by yesterday afternoon, but unfortunately you weren't in."

Jiang Yixue glanced at the move he had made to seat himself without permission. "Because of that, your classmates lost a whole evening to prepare their assignment."

"Every single student in our class is talented and speaks so eloquently; they won't miss this one evening," Wang Can said with a cheerful smile.

"You really do have a way with words."

Jiang Yixue nudged the computer mouse on her desk. "Add my QQ first; I'll send the assignment to you. Make sure to notify every single student today, as I will be spot-checking on Friday's class."

"Mission guaranteed."

Wang Can pulled out his phone and quickly found the QQ account named "Jiang Yixue."

With a roll of his eyes, he suggested, "Professor Jiang, how about we add each other on WeChat as well? It'll be more convenient to stay in touch."

He still wanted to verify whether Jiang Xue truly was Jiang Yixue.

"Associate," Jiang Yixue reminded.

"Associate Professor Jiang," Wang Can complied smoothly.

The corners of Jiang Yixue's lips curved upward. "Same account."

She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, her casual movement carrying a trace of elegance.

Wang Can swiftly copied the QQ number into the WeChat search bar. The profile picture that popped up was a front-facing photo of Jiang Yixue standing at a lectern, and the username was unmistakably "Jiang Yixue" as well.

So it really wasn't her.

Just as Wang Can prepared to get down to business, Jiang Yixue sent another document. "This is the exclusive assignment for the class representative. Remember to complete it on time."

"This is the exclusive assignment for the class representative. Take it back and do it."

"There's an exclusive assignment for the class representative too?"

Wang Can widened his eyes in sheer disbelief. "Even though I've never been a class representative, this is just too..."

"Of course."

Jiang Yixue interrupted him, folding her hands and resting them on the desktop. "The class representative represents my storefront, after all. It's only reasonable for the teacher to show a little special care."

Wang Can scrutinized her suspiciously. "You aren't deliberately targeting me, are you?"

"What kind of talk is that?"

Jiang Yixue feigned annoyance while her eyes crinkled with smiles. "Why would a dignified university associate professor target a student? I am clearly doing this for your own good, lest you fail your final exam."

"......"

Wang Can was momentarily speechless. He distinctly felt that Jiang Yixue was targeting him, yet he could find no evidence.

*Fine whatever. I'll make Zhang... no, Fang Fei do it. Surely it's reasonable for me to show concern for my employee's advanced mathematics grade.*

Composing his mood, Wang Can stopped beating around the bush and directly drew a form from his bag. "Associate Professor Jiang, there's a favor I'd like to ask of you."

"What is it?" Jiang Yixue leaned forward slightly, wearing an inquiring expression.

"I'd like to invite you to be my entrepreneurship mentor."