Chapter 520 - 347: Lin Ruoxi’s Rank

In the blink of an eye, it was the afternoon of September 30th, the day before the National Day holiday.

North Gate of the University of Posts and Telecommunications.

Xue Rui paced back and forth behind the bus stop at the North Gate. He was waiting for Lin Ruoxi to pick him up so they could go see Gu Muxue.

The promise that girl had made was just too tempting; he’d even dreamed about it these past few days...

The days leading up to the holiday break felt like an eternity!

"Class President, why are you fidgeting? Got ADHD or something?" Du Miaomiao joked.

"Something like that," Xue Rui said, rubbing his chin.

College students these days had a lot of freedom—any time outside of class was practically a vacation. His class had just come from the computer lab, and it seemed half of them had already packed their bags to leave. Some were heading home to visit family, while others were traveling with classmates. By sheer coincidence, they were all now standing at the bus stop...

"Does anyone have a power bank I can borrow? I had my phone plugged into a computer in the lab for two whole class periods, and it barely charged," Cai Huazhou said, looking completely exasperated.

"Charging from a computer is always slow. It’s so weird," Du Miaomiao chimed in.

’It’s funny how little these computer science students know about actual computer hardware,’ Xue Rui thought.

’If Lin Ruoxi were here, she would have definitely explained it to them.’

’Too bad the girl’s so busy...’

Xue Rui cleared his throat twice to get everyone’s attention. He began to explain, "A USB 2.0 port only has a 2.5-watt output. If you keep using your phone while it’s charging, it’ll never fill up. Next time, don’t plug it into the front of the case. Use the USB 3.0 port on the back; its output is closer to 5 watts."

Jiang Yuan’s eyes widened slightly. ’Xue Rui skips class all the time, yet he knows more than I do, and I’m a diligent student...’

"There won’t be a next time. I’m out of battery *now*..." Cai Huazhou sighed. He’d waited a bit, but no one had offered to lend him one. It was probably because he didn’t get along well with the guys from other dorms, and he didn’t know any of the female students well.

"Don’t look at me. My phone’s dead too," Zhao Chaojie said with a shrug.

Xue Rui scanned the shops near the gate, looking for a location that carried his shared power banks. Suddenly, he spotted a worker in a "Monster Charge" vest driving a tricycle onto campus.

He held up a hand to stop the man on the trike. "Hey buddy, hold on a sec. Are the power banks on your trike charged?"

"Scan the code and get it yourself. That’s not my problem," the man said impatiently. His job was just to restock and transport them, and he’d been extremely busy lately.

Xue Rui smiled and offered him a cigarette. "Have a smoke, take a break. I’ll just give your Manager Li a call. It won’t take more than a few minutes."

’He was the owner of Monster Charge, but the frontline workers wouldn’t recognize him. There was no need to give a hardworking employee a hard time.’

"Okay." The delivery guy took the cigarette. He was very curious about this "Manager Li" that Xue Rui mentioned, wondering what position Xue Rui held...

Xue Rui dialed Li Ruihao’s number. Li Ruihao was in charge of the shared power bank business in Chang’an, which meant all the regional employees reported to him.

BEEP... After one ring, Li Ruihao’s eager voice came through the phone. "Hello, Boss! What can I do for you?"

Xue Rui’s eyebrow twitched. He could practically picture the scene through the phone—Li Ruihao standing before him, fawning obsequiously...

"Xiaoli, I need to take some power banks here at the University of Posts and Telecommunications. Could you talk to the guy for this area for me?" Xue Rui said, then handed the phone to the delivery guy.

’Xiaoli?’ The delivery guy was shocked. ’This college kid just called my boss Xiaoli?’

’Could he be the boss’s boss?’

He skeptically pressed the phone to his ear and heard a familiar voice say, "Give President Xue as many as he wants. If you don’t have enough, go get more. This is a personal matter for me, you get it?"

"You got it!" The delivery guy’s face lit up with a grin. ’My supervisor actually owes me a favor now?’

He returned the phone to Xue Rui with both hands, then lifted a box of fully charged power banks out of his tricycle. "President Xue, where would you like these delivered?"

The students of Software Engineering 141 had been watching their "class president in name only."

’They noticed the power bank guy actually called Xue Rui "President Xue"?’

The crowd started whispering amongst themselves:

"I think Xue Rui was behind that campus app. These power banks are his too?"

"Damn, our class president is such a badass..."

"No wonder he skips class all the time. He’s got so many businesses to manage."

...

Xue Rui listened for a moment with his back to them, then turned around and called out:

"Anyone from Software Engineering 141 who left without a power bank, come get one from me before you head out on your trip. Just bring it back when school starts."

Once disconnected from the system, these were just regular power banks. They even had a built-in cable design. From a purely industrial design standpoint, they were actually much better than most retail products on the market.

It was the middle of the National Day holiday, and Chang’an was one of the country’s top tourist cities. Xue Rui had already arranged for a large batch of power banks to be placed near tourist attractions and stations, planning to leverage the tens of millions of visitors to boost his brand’s influence.

After all, the people most terrified of a dead phone battery are travelers. Their firsthand experience would be the best kind of living advertisement...

"Long live the Class President!" Du Miaomiao shouted cheerfully, skipping over to grab a power bank.

"Old Xue, you’re the man!" Cai Huazhou, moved by the unexpected kindness, gave Xue Rui a thumbs-up. ’You can always count on your roommate.’

Hearing the girls playfully call him Class President filled Xue Rui with a sense of satisfaction. He gestured with a downward press of his hand. "If you didn’t bring one, grab one quick. The bus is coming, so stop dawdling."

"Yuanyuan, I grabbed one for you too. This power bank charges even faster than the charger that comes with your phone. Its only drawback is that it’s expensive."

Du Miaomiao, happy to get something for free, handed a power bank to Jiang Yuan as well.

Xue Rui reached out and flicked Du Miaomiao on the head. "Of course it is. It uses the latest charging protocol."