Bab 6: 005 From Arts to Science, witnessing the deification_1
Bai Lian lazily tilted her head, her left hand grasping her hair faintly revealed a streak of crimson, the smoky haze softly blurring her exquisite and radiant features.
It was a kind of breathtaking beauty.
Yet reflected in the eyes of the man in the white tank top was Bai Lian's quasi-smiling face, and he could no longer harbor any other desires.
He couldn't speak, only shook his head frantically in terror.
"Is that so?"
Bai Lian let go of his hair.
The smell of smoke was not to her liking.
She lazily tossed the cigarette on the ground and stamped it out, "Know how to clean up a scene?"
Her polite demeanor genuinely frightened others.
They nodded obediently.
Bai Lian dusted off her sleeves, glancing at them before leaving, and said lightly, "What are you scared of, it's not like I chopped off your heads."
Her attitude was very laid-back.
Of course, only if she hadn't spoken with the same tone one would use when chopping up cabbages.
Only after she left did the man in the white tank top slump against the corner of the wall, fearfully moving his numb fingertips.
It took his younger brother a long time before he dared to quietly move over, squatting at his feet, and lighting a cigarette to quell the shock, "Why did you provoke her?"
The man in the white tank top: "..."
Fifteen minutes later.
When two patrollers came back around, they stared dumbfounded at the entrance of the small store on Purest Street. The rather troublesome gang leader with some backing was nursing an injury, diligently helping the shopkeeper—
Sweep the floor, move objects around.
The other lackeys were also busily engaged in work.
"What are you looking at?" The man in the white tank top, clutching a cigarette, glanced at the two officers and grumbled irritably, "Damned cops!"
After cursing, he continued moving boxes.
The shopkeeper standing nearby, trembling with fear, was just about to lend a hand.
The man in the white tank top returned the money he owed the shopkeeper for cigarettes, looking fierce and menacing, "Did I ask you to clean up?"
He continued unloading the goods, unable to understand even after a puff on another cigarette.
What, is she crazy??
How can she smile so sweetly and fight so savagely?!
The man in the white tank top thought expressionlessly, she even wanted to chop off his head!
Not far away.
"Hello? Captain." The young officer watched the small shop warily, took out his walkie-talkie with a grave expression, "Yes, request a thorough check on the owner of the small store at 112 Purest Street, no, I'm not joking!!!"
**
It wasn't yet dark when Bai Lian got back, Ji Shaojun was just stepping out to look for her.
He noticed that after a short outing, Bai Lian seemed to be in a better mood again.
Ji Shaojun felt a bit more at ease, knowing life in Xiangcheng Beicheng varied greatly, he truly feared Bai Lian might struggle to adjust.
Bai Lian sat at the stone table, her hand lazily propping up her chin, watching Ji Shaojun make several trips to fill the home's water tanks, then suddenly spoke up, "Uncle."
Ji Shaojun set the water bucket next to the well, startled by Bai Lian's voice, he paused.
Bai Lian had only visited Xiangcheng twice with Ji Mulan before, and this was the first time she had called him uncle.
"Yes," his voice suddenly rose, "what is it?"
Bai Lian blinked her large eyes, looking very docile, "I want to switch to science."
She didn't say I think.
She said I want.
"Ah," Ji Shaojun picked up the rope for drawing water, his thoughts turning over, "Can you tell your uncle why?"
He knew Bai Lian was studying liberal arts. The gap between the liberal arts and science courses was vast. Science was especially brutal with logical reasoning and clearly defined difficulties, where not knowing one thing meant not knowing it entirely.
Bai Lian smiled.
Ji Shaojun and Ji Heng did not talk much, but in their treatment of Bai Lian, there was a distinct sense of caution and probing. This gave her a sense of acceptance and recognition in a strange world.
She didn't dislike it; she even felt a bit of belonging.
Of course, she didn't understand why the original host abandoned such good family members and died in the lake for a few unrelated people.
"No particular reason," Bai Lian titled her head and asked again, "Can't I, uncle?"
Ji Shaojun: "Good, you can... Leave it to me!"
Watching Ji Shaojun's retreating back as he went to find Ji Heng, Bai Lian withdrew her docile gaze and smiled lazily with her chin propped up.
Being alive, seemed not too bad after all.
**
"That's your reason for agreeing?" Ji Heng held a bolt of fabric, looking at Ji Shaojun, his deeply lined face showing a look of incomprehension.
There weren't many people in the courtyard, besides the kitchen to the left, there was also a small storeroom, filled with brightly colored fabric despite being somewhat aged.
Ji Shaojun would help Ji Heng clean whenever he had time.
He let out a sheepish laugh, adjusted a dust cover, and muttered quietly, "But she called me uncle."
"Nonsense," Ji Heng's face tightened with sternness, his authority undiminished, "She's in her third year of high school and knows no better, do you not? Switching from liberal arts to science at this stage, is that a joke?"
Switching subjects in the senior year of high school was quite an absurdity indeed.
His son was highly intelligent, so why be so muddled on this matter?
Ji Shaojun was also puzzled by Bai Lian's sudden change of heart. She had been out, came back in a good mood, and then suddenly wanted to switch subjects.
He silently continued with the task at hand, then suddenly recalling something, he hesitantly spoke up, "The two illegitimate sons from the Bai family, aren't they all studying science?"
Bai Shaoke became the top scholar in the city last year and was admitted to Jiangjing University. The Bai family had made quite a stir online, even here in Xiangcheng the news spread, and people said the illegitimate daughter was exceptionally good in the sciences.
As Ji Heng caressed a piece of fine satin, he heard this but didn't immediately respond.
His hands were already lined with deep, rugged wrinkles. After a long while, he said, "Her temperament..."
"Dad," Ji Shaojun had some regrets about bringing it up, "I think Alian has become more sensible this time, she's thoughtful, a late bloomer. You should give her a chance, let her retake the exam next year, she might still achieve an ideal score."
Of course, he was just casually mentioning it.
He knew what his niece was like; if she could quietly finish her senior year, that would be quite an achievement. Their family didn't expect her to come back with any top scholar honours for them. If she was happy, then they would let her be.
Whether she studied literature or science didn't matter.
Ji Heng turned around and cautiously pulled out a small oil paper package from the cabinet behind him. He then opened the package and drew out a slender needle.
He didn't argue any further.
Ji Shaojun could tell he had agreed when he saw this. As he put away the fabric, he looked at Ji Heng with the needle in hand, "Shall I help you bring out the embroidery frame?"
Ji Heng did not immediately answer.
After a good while, he gave a nearly imperceptible nod, "Go ahead."
Ji Shaojun's eyes lit up, "OK! I'll go right now."
It was already dark; Ji Shaojun called Shen Qing to say he'd be home late and stayed to help Ji Heng tidy up the warehouse. They took out things like the embroidery frame, cleaned them, and then set them out to dry in the courtyard.
He hummed a tune as he wiped down the dark-colored embroidery frame.
The light in Bai Lian's room was also on; he could see her reflection in the window, reading at her desk.
Bai Lian was different, Ji Shaojun felt it. Even today, when she stepped into the dark water on the cobblestones, she didn't frown at all.
She was different from her mother.
Suddenly, Ji Shaojun felt that Bai Lian being sent back by the Bai family might not be such a bad thing after all.
**
Ji Shaojun was helping Bai Lian contact schools and teachers.
Additionally, there was the matter of her household registration, which needed to be transferred to the Ji Family.
These past days, Bai Lian had been in the library; the astonishments of this era were not just limited to mobile phones and computers, but included the library too.
She had never seen a library with such an extensive collection that was also open to the public.
This really was a wonderful era.
There was just one problem—
Bai Lian looked down at the physics book beside her, then at the physics problems. After writing a couple questions, she put down her pen and murmured softly, "Now... am I finally going to start tarnishing my teacher's reputation?"
She wouldn't dare to claim a deep mastery over the refined arts and sciences expected of a scholar as in the past, but at least she had become proficient.
As for the knowledge in the modern era of rapid technological advancement, the original owner of the body had a mind completely empty of information. She had been reading books in the library for a few days now, and could understand most of it.
She felt the books she was reading were not necessarily difficult, but...
The problem was this—
The knowledge and examples she studied: [1+1=]
The questions she was doing: [Prove e(iπ) + 1 = 0]
Bai Lian idly pondered—
Would the teachers forgive her for disgracing them in the modern world if she burnt a few more incense sticks for them when she returned?
The library had a vast collection of books, but there were shortcomings.
For instance, the depth of knowledge and the volume of problem sets were lacking.
She hadn't come across them.
Hearing her sigh, the child next to her with a paintbrush turned his head, looking at her with big, clear, sparkling eyes.
"Choose C."
He suddenly spoke.
Bai Lian paused, she flipped to the answer key; C was correct.
So she turned to him, "Mental calculation?"
On her first day at the library, she had seen this kid, a little friend who had followed her from the train station to the city gates since her arrival in Xiangcheng, quite a fate.
In the days following, both of them would appear right on time at eight o'clock when the library opened. They studied and read together, not much for talking.
The little brat shook his head.
After a pause, he explained, "My brother created a rapid recollection model for these kinds of questions, using a special algorithm."
Whose ordinary kid memorizes rapid recollection models?
Yet Bai Lian accepted this readily, "Really? Do you want some milk tea?"
"No..."
Bai Lian didn't give him a chance to object. She leaned on the desk with a smile light as spring rain, "Oh by the way, I've always considered you a good friend—"
She hesitated for a moment, "What's your name?"
Jiang He: "..."
"Jiang He, as in the crane that leaves for the lone mountain and has yet to return."
"Ah, Jiang He, I've always considered you a good friend." Bai Lian crumpled the piece of paper in her hand and threw it casually behind her, tapping his head, "Come on, let's go outside."
The two left their seats.
The paper ball smoothly landed in a red hollowed-out wastebasket in the corner.
A ring came from the mobile phone in her pocket; an unlisted number. Bai Lian casually answered, "Hello?"
The person on the other end hadn't expected her voice to be so calm; there was a pause before the dispassionate voice said, "It's me."
"Who?" Bai Lian wasn't very patient.
"Bai Lian, I have more in common with Bai Shaoqi. Even without her, our relationship wouldn't change," on the other end of the phone, Song Min didn't believe that Bai Lian didn't have his number, he just thought she was pretending. Pressing the center of his forehead, his voice was cold and exasperated, "You think it's very childish to take the master's token to Xiangcheng because of this?"
Bab 7: 006 Treats Everyone Equally Jiang Fulai_1
Huh?
Bai Lian was so angered she laughed.
She had figured out who the person opposite her was.
Clutching Jiang He's head, did this Song person think she had become jealous of Bai Shaoqi, and that's why she deliberately took away the apprenticeship token?
"First of all, you need to understand one thing, the apprenticeship token was left to me by my mother," Bai Lian stepped out of the library, glancing at the milk tea shop across the road with her slightly squinted eyes that were pitch-black and deep. There was a shallow defiance hiding within her clean and cold beauty, " and another thing, as for my belongings, it's not just about me taking them away—"
"Even if I burned them, what could you do about it?"
There was a pause at the other end of the phone where Song Min was.
Bai Lian indifferently lowered her head and with a "click" hung up the call.
After a moment of thought, she blocked the caller.
Song Min had reminded her, there was still a marriage arrangement between them, it was time to find an opportunity to break it off.
How inauspicious.
Jiang He tugged at the hem of her clothes.
Bai Lian looked down, lazily pinching his cheek with her slender fingers, cool and clear as jade: "You're the cutie here, now tell me, what do you want to drink?"
Two minutes later.
Bai Lian was queuing at the milk tea shop across the street. It was the only milk tea shop in the area, and it was rush hour for people getting off work and leaving classes, so there was a decent-sized queue.
Jiang He didn't like crowded places, so he squatted by the side of the road waiting for her.
It was his first time encountering a problem in life.
A good friend of his offered to buy him milk tea.
Of course, there was a condition—
Jiang He poked his black wristwatch on his right hand, which immediately displayed a floating lightweight three-dimensional interface.
He opened WeChat, hesitated for a long time, and finally sent a message—
[How to quickly learn physics]
**
In the center of Xiangcheng.
A standalone Chinese-style manor.
Several people were waiting across the road.
"Dr. Gao, I didn't expect you to visit Xiangcheng; I just received the news yesterday," said a well-dressed elderly man, looking at the young man with exceptional politeness.
If other residents of Xiangcheng were there, they would have been greatly surprised, for this elderly man was Ren Qian, a frequent figure in Xiangcheng news, and one of the city's administrators.
Dr. Gao was quite young and not tall, with glasses perched on his nose.
Upon hearing, as if waiting for something, he glanced at Ren Qian and grunted an acknowledgment without saying much more.
He was accustomed to being the center of attention wherever he was; Ren Qian's admiring gaze was the norm for him.
Ren Qian knew of Dr. Gao's schedule today and came specially to meet him, "Dr. Gao, I've organized a dinner at Wanhe Building for tonight, do you think you'll have time?"
"We'll see," Dr. Gao frowned slightly.
"Alright, just let the teaching assistant know if you find the time," his answer was within Ren Qian's expectations; he was there today just to make his presence felt, "Then, Dr. Gao, we'll be off first—"
Before he finished speaking.
"Zzzzt—" There was a sound.
A black car stopped at the entrance of the manor across the street.
Seeing the young man in a black T-shirt stepping down from the car, Dr. Gao suddenly perked up, stood up straight, and strode towards the other side.
Seeing Dr. Gao's reaction, Ren Qian was taken aback and looked over.
Who could make Dr. Gao wait here for two hours?
On the other side, Dr. Gao was wearing his lab coat, squeezing his way to the entrance of the manor. Following the young man in the black T-shirt inside, he carried with him the pride of his age: "Mr. Jiang, you accepted other countries into CRFS but rejected R Country, merely because you dislike its people. Don't you think it frivolous to let personal feelings interfere with international cooperation?"
As the assistant handed over the letter to Jiang Fulai, he was shocked at the forthright challenge.
Jiang Fulai took the letter, ignoring him.
Continuing to walk, bodyguards blocked Dr. Gao.
Dr. Gao took advantage of a momentary lapse in the guards' attention to break free. As he opened his mouth wide, the assistant, sensing danger, was about to intervene!
However, Dr. Gao's next words were already out, tinged with scorn and anger: "Have you forgotten our university's motto that before scientific research there are no borders? You've long forgotten your original aspiration!"
There was a dead silence!
The atmosphere was as if they had suddenly been plunged into a snowy mountain at 6,000 meters above sea level, the pressure heavy, the icy wind howling and piercing!
Jiang Fulai finally stopped, raising his hand to stop his subordinates and looked down at the other man with an unflappable air: "Who are you?"
He asked.
Dr. Gao had been a genius from a young age, skipping grades and returning from studies in R Country at 26, participating in several global research projects. Just last year, his teacher was elected an academician. Describing him as a top-tier academic force was not an exaggeration.
His resume at Jiangjing University was well-regarded, and all the deans paid him some respect.
Yet in front of Jiang Fulai, he was nameless.
Opening his mouth, almost humiliated, he said, "Gao Jiachen."
"Gao Jiachen," Jiang Fulai nodded, he had particularly pale eyes that emitted a cool mist, and his lips were also pale. He asked calmly in return, "And why would you think I need to explain myself to you?"
Bab 8: 006 Treats Everyone Equally Jiang Fulai_2
"I..." Gao Jiachen swallowed, taken aback as he, who had always been the center of attention, stammered in confusion, "But, you... it's hard for me to trust you like this..."
Jiang Fulai cut him off, "Do you think your trust means a lot to me?"
Gao Jiachen was stunned, completely unprepared for this side of the legendary Jiang Fulai, "You..."
"But you do have a point; discriminating against them alone is not right," Jiang Fulai methodically folded the letter in his hand and then bent down to elegantly slip it into Gao Jiachen's pocket, his eyes slightly downcast, cool and detached, "The envelope has the International Alliance's contact information; feel free to lodge a complaint."
He stood up straight, his black clothes gave him a lonely and unapproachable air as he strode back into the house, "Take down his name; he's permanently blacklisted from my projects from now on."
The cellphone in his pocket rang.
Jiang Fulai lowered his gaze; it was a message from someone who never texts him—
[How to Learn Physics Quickly]
Jiang Fulai casually sent back an image and turned his head, "What is Jiang He up to?"
His subordinate, who was always informed of Jiang He's whereabouts, said, "The young master is in the library, with Mr. Ming following him."
Jiang Fulai tapped on his phone screen unconsciously, his nails neatly trimmed and his hands showing a pathologically pale hue through which faint blue veins were visible.
He nodded and then fell silent.
Behind him, Gao Jiachen watched Jiang Fulai's retreating figure in alarm; this time, he was truly panicked, "Jiang's young master! Jiang..."
He wanted to catch up with Jiang Fulai, but if his bodyguards let him succeed again, they wouldn't need to show their faces before Jiang Fulai tomorrow.
Gao Jiachen was muffled and dragged away by the bodyguard.
The assistant nonchalantly took note of this person's name.
**
Outside.
Ren Qian and the Secretary-General were still by the roadside; he watched Dr. Gao enter the manor and then get thrown out shortly afterward.
"Get in the car," Ren Qian turned to leave before he saw Dr. Gao.
"Mr. Ren, who was that?" the Secretary-General opened the car door for Ren Qian to enter, he looked across at the old building, astonished, barely catching Dr. Gao's reference to "Jiang's young master."
CRFS is an engineering project by a dark matter cooperative group.
Jiangjing chose old bomb shelters left in Xiangcheng to build the research institute, located 2900 meters underground, making it the deepest dark matter research institute in the world, currently undergoing evaluation and acceptance of its associated projects.
Due to its high level of secrecy, even Ren Qian, as the highest administrator in Xiangcheng, didn't know the specific interior list.
He had gotten in touch with Dr. Gao, a teaching assistant, through someone he knew.
"I don't know; the CRFS project is highly confidential, and that person inside..." Ren Qian pondered for a moment, "His surname..."
"Dr. Gao called him Jiang's young master, so his surname is Jiang..." The Secretary-General began, but suddenly his eyes widened in realization.
No wonder.
Ren Qian looked out the car window, his voice distant, "Contact Dr. Gao's teaching assistant again tomorrow, and hope he didn't see us."
The Secretary-General wasn't sure if Dr. Gao had seen them.
If Dr. Gao knew they had seen him in such a disheveled state, befriending him would become an uncertain prospect.
"We'll see," Ren Qian sighed lightly, recalling another issue, "Why did Shaorong suddenly take leave? He didn't even meet with Dr. Gao with me today."
"He went home," the Secretary-General looked down at the schedule in his notebook, "Mr. Ji said he went to pick up Miss Wanxuan to visit her grandfather."
Upon hearing this, Ren Qian expressed no opinion.
He wasn't familiar with the Ji Family affairs. The Ji family had only appeared once at his daughter's wedding, and he only cared about one thing, "Why go back at this time?"
He usually only returned home for holidays and festivals.
Shaorong was also an intellectual, and Ren Qian had intended to take him along to converse with Dr. Gao. However, he had taken a leave today.
Ren Qian was already dissatisfied with him, and now his expression grew even more indifferent.
"It seems he heard that a niece has returned."
"Hmm," Ren Qian no longer inquired; he had little interest in the Ji family's affairs.
To them, the Ji family was simply too ordinary.
The Secretary-General chuckled.
When the Ren Family's only daughter, Ren Jiawei, had taken a fancy to the poor young man Ji Shaorong back then, not a single person in the Ren Family had agreed given the vast difference in their social status.
However, twenty years had passed, and the Ji Family had been quietly compliant.
In all of Xiangcheng, hardly anyone knew that the ordinary poor kid from Purest Street, Ji Shaorong, had successfully married into the Ren Family.
Low-profile, well-behaved.
Uncompetitive, yet without much presence.
**
On Jiang He's side.
He squatted at the edge of the road.
Jiang Fulai's reply was prompt: [Image.JPG]
Only one image.
Jiang He opened it—
The cover of a physics book from Jiangjing University that someone had helped to write.
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