Cosmic Love Affair

Chapter 5 The Kuiper Belt Five

If you were to ask Cheng Guang whether he would dare to challenge Shen Zhichuan from the depths of his soul when Shen was angry, he would absolutely not dare. Not even if he had a hundred more guts.

But his junior, Xie Li, would dare.

Maybe it's because this kid never thought about the possibility of not graduating, or maybe it's because he's too young and hasn't been beaten down by society yet.

Cheng Guang's fear of Shen Zhichuan is the kind of fear a student has for a boss, while Xie Li's fear of Shen Zhichuan is the kind a son has for his father.

A student definitely wouldn't dare to argue with a boss. But generally, a son would think he could reason with his father.

So when Xie Li felt he had a particularly good point, he would dare to talk back to Shen Zhichuan with conviction.

Like now.

"Love and science are not contradictory. In fact, there is even a certain similarity between them. Both may face the possibility of hitting a wall and both require passion and dedication. Moreover, there are plenty of scientists who keep dating while busy with research," Xie Li counted on his fingers for Shen Zhichuan, "Einstein, Fermi, Schrödinger."

He looked at Shen Zhichuan cautiously, but his eyes were filled with determination: "Teacher, I want to date."

Shen Zhichuan was both angry and amused: "Alright, you think you have a point, don't you? Let me ask you, when you did data for Song Yi, did Song Yi ever mention putting your name on it?"

Xie Li was shocked. He hadn't told anyone about this, and Song Yi had asked him to keep it a secret. How did Shen Zhichuan know?

Shen Zhichuan pulled up at the entrance of Landa, turned off the engine.

He unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned back against the chair, rolled up two cuffs with his hand, and also took off his collar pin.

A bunch of real gold and silver items were all thrown into the storage compartment, making a clear and pleasant sound.

Shen Zhichuan raised his phoenix eyes, his face full of charm, but his smile was insincere: "You ran tests for him on our own server. Do you think no one looks at the logs you left? Import them into k****e and read what you guys have been writing bugs about all day while taking a bath. It's quite interesting."

Xie Li was speechless.

Shen Zhichuan slowly rolled up his sleeves, talking while doing so: "You chase after Song Yi, spend your own time making things for him, did he express his gratitude? The things you made for him could at least be credited as the third author, did he mention it? You take this as love, but he sees you as free labor. Are you still going to dedicate and sacrifice? You dedicate to science, and science rewards you with truth. You dedicate to Song Yi, what does Song Yi reward you with? Is this called dating?"

He saw through it like looking at fire, and pointed it out in one sentence.

Xie Li was young, and once he got excited, he just plunged in, but others could see it clearly.

The good cabbage he raised was being*** a pig, and Shen Zhichuan watched with cold eyes, feeling extremely angry inside.

"I think you're just too idle, that's why you have the mind to mess with these things. I didn't put pressure on you before, nor did I urge you to set a direction. But now, forget it," Shen Zhichuan said, "Starting tomorrow, you'll also join your senior's project and hurry up to get some results. If the paper can be submitted to the exchange conference in Rio in September, I'll pay for you guys to go."

Shen Zhichuan was very good at the skill of giving a sweet date after a slap.

Xie Li had just been scolded until stars were in his eyes, and now he was overjoyed by the unexpected good news, even a little bit not daring to believe. He pursed his lips and confirmed with Shen Zhichuan: "Teacher, are you serious?"

The academic seminar in Rio in September was an extremely prestigious event in the field, with many academic experts showing up at the conference every year.

The big date Shen Zhichuan painted made Xie Li's heart itch, but when he calculated the progress, he felt a bit guilty.

After all, he had just refreshed the algorithm module for Cheng Guang, and there were still more than ten TB of raw data waiting to be processed, and it was already April. What could be done in five months, Xie Li really didn't have confidence.

But Xie Li couldn't resist the temptation. He fantasized for a while, and without considering whether his senior Cheng Guang's hair could withstand the all-nighters, he patted his chest and agreed.

Shen Zhichuan waved his hand, indicating that he had finished speaking and could leave. But before the little apprentice got out of the car, he called him back again: "Wait a minute."

Xie Li had already put one leg out, and pulled it back in.

"There's another thing, the Hou Xue Scholarship, I've signed you up," Shen Zhichuan said nonchalantly.

Xie Li turned around sharply, his mouth wide open: "Ah?"

Shen Zhichuan pointed to the sunroof of the car: "The higher-ups require us to support the event, each mentor has to send at least one student, I had no choice, so it's you. Go back and check the selection requirements on the official website, and get the materials ready as soon as possible."

Xie Li reluctantly replied, "Oh," and prepared to get out of the car.

Shen Zhichuan called out again from behind: "Prepare well, if you dare to embarrass me, don't come back to see me."

Xie Li returned to the office and checked the official website on his computer, and was stunned.

Because there was a part of the Hou Xue Award competition that required giving a speech and answering questions in English.

After having lunch, Cheng Guang came back and saw his junior squatting in the corner of the office, scratching his arm and muttering to himself.

Cheng Guang rolled up his sleeves and went over: "Who are you cursing at, take me with you. I've been annoyed with that golden lion king in the next group for a long time, why is it that everyone is pursuing a Ph.D., but he doesn't go bald!"

Xie Li wiped away his tears and told Cheng Guang about the scholarship. Cheng Guang stroked his chin: "In my opinion, the boss is determined to promote you." He affectionately patted Xie Li's head, "Li, it's a good thing that the boss wants to lift you up. After all, the teacher's grace is like flowing water, enjoy it as long as you can. Besides, your English really needs to be improved, otherwise it will be a problem in the future. You should take this opportunity to work on it."

Xie Li wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't. He stood up silently and walked back to his seat.

There are some things that really can't be spoken out.

For example, why he is afraid of furry animals, why he doesn't eat eggs, why he dares not speak English in front of others.

If you really talk about it, the reasons seem trivial - because when he was a child, a furry rodent crawled across the bed, because he used to have to eat an egg every day even if he didn't want to, because he was once ridiculed for speaking English with a "Run Tu" accent.

Xie Li naively asked the other person at that time what "Run Tu" meant.

Because the reasons are too trivial, the listeners can hardly understand.

- Afraid of furry things? But they are little kittens, how cute little kittens are.

- Who didn't eat eggs every day when they were young.

- Not daring to speak English, after all, it's just a matter of not practicing enough, just practice more.

After experiencing this a few times, Xie Li understood.

The so-called "difficulty" is to wrap the trouble in one's own clothes and not let others see.

His poor English was known to Shen Zhichuan and Cheng Guang. Because during the initial direct Ph.D. examination, he almost failed due to his poor English oral test score.

Among the more than six hundred students who participated in the re-examination that year, he was the only one with an oral score of only ten points. And the median score of the English oral test that year was thirty-two points.

Although Shen Zhichuan cared about him, he could not truly understand and empathize with why someone would be unable to speak English due to nervousness - they are all languages, how come one can speak Chinese fluently but not English?

Xie Li sighed, looked at the time, stood up and began to pack up.

Cheng Guang heard the noise and turned his head: "Are you going to Teacher Fang's place today?"

Xie Li replied while putting things into his backpack: "Teacher Fang asked me to come early today. The editor sent the revision comments last week, and after making a few more changes, we can submit the manuscript completely."

Cheng Guang nodded with his back to him: "Teacher Fang is not easy, she still insists on finishing the book even in such a situation.

By the way, how is she now? Is she better?"

Xie Li shook his head: "It seems that the rehabilitation effect is not very ideal, after all, the joint was injured. That hand is still very inflexible."

At the beginning of the year, Cheng Guang found a side job for Xie Li to earn some extra money, which was to be an assistant for a teacher who was bedridden in the neighboring university.

The teacher's surname is Fang, who is engaged in observation. At the beginning of the year, while conducting research at the Dian Nan Observatory, she accidentally injured her forearm. Due to her limited mobility, she needed someone who understands astronomy to help her complete the revision of a popular science book manuscript.

Cheng Guang had cooperated with this teacher before and was very familiar with her. Seeing that the remuneration was good, he recommended Xie Li.

Before leaving, Xie Li suddenly remembered the matter that Shen Zhichuan had instructed, so he came back and leaned against the office door: "Senior, I have something to tell you."

Cheng Guang had an ominous premonition and turned his head vigilantly: "What is it?"

Xie Li blinked his eyes and smiled brightly: "The teacher said he would take us to the Rio exchange conference in September, and the teacher would pay for it."

Based on his understanding of Shen Zhichuan, Cheng Guang immediately sensed that there was a trick, and narrowed his eyes: "What is the condition?"

Xie Li scratched the back of his hand, his round eyes curved with a smile, and unconsciously elongated his voice: "The condition is that we two complete that evolution simulation and publish a conference paper."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Guang's face changed, and he suddenly stood up: "What? Just five months?"

Seeing his senior about to go berserk, Xie Li ran away, leaving Cheng Guang alone in the office roaring: "If I endure a little longer, I can go to the lighting!!"

The whole area of Falin Street is filled with old houses, with no high-rise buildings to block the sunlight, so the lighting is very good. The temperature in April is already sufficient for the climbing vines to sprout and grow, noisily occupying the entire street wall.

The small building with gray walls and white tiles falls into the tranquility of the afternoon, with only the occasional low murmur of people coming from the study on the second floor.

The printer in the study clacks away, spitting out sheets of paper.

Xie Li picked up the freshly printed draft and handed it to the woman lying half-reclined next to him, her arm unnaturally curled up against her side.

"Teacher Fang, I've made all the changes you mentioned. Please take another look," Xie Li dragged a chair over and sat down next to Professor Fang. The back of his hand itched, and he unconsciously scratched it a couple of times.

Professor Fang noticed his action and looked up, "Xiao Xie, what's wrong with your hand? So many red rashes?"

The red rashes had appeared at some point and had already spread across the back of his hand. Xie Li didn't know what was going on and was wondering if it was an allergic reaction.

Professor Fang took his hand and examined it carefully, "I don't think this looks like an allergic reaction."

As they were talking, suddenly someone opened the door and entered on the first floor below, and from the noise, it seemed to be more than one person.

Xie Li had been assisting Professor Fang for two months, coming once a week, and apart from the housekeeper, he hadn't seen anyone else. He had always thought that the professor lived alone.

Professor Fang also seemed surprised and called out to ask who it was.

The person downstairs responded, it was the housekeeper. The housekeeper added that the old man had arrived.

Professor Fang's expression instantly darkened.

She put down the manuscript and apologized slightly, "Sorry, I have unexpected visitors. Let's stop here for today and meet again at this time next week. Thank you for your hard work today."

Xie Li quickly shook his head and said it was no problem. He got up to tidy up, putting the table and chairs back in place. After saying goodbye to Professor Fang, he went downstairs with his backpack.

Before Xie Li had descended a few steps, he heard the people downstairs talking.

The speaker seemed to be an old man, but his voice was shrill and harsh, quite noisy.

He turned the corner of the stairs and saw an old man leaning on a cane standing in the living room on the first floor, talking to the housekeeper. His voice was loud and incessant.

"...It's just bad luck, marrying someone who never stays at home, running around all day, always crawling into the wild woods. Look, this time she got into trouble for it."

The old man's words were very unpleasant to hear, and the housekeeper stood by, looking very embarrassed.

Xie Li listened for a moment, and it seemed that the old man was scolding Professor Fang lying upstairs. He looked back upstairs, and the study door was wide open; it was unknown how much the person inside had heard.

Xie Li had been with Professor Fang for two months and genuinely liked this female professor who had a gentle character and was dedicated to astronomy popularization, insisting on completing her commissioned work even while ill.

He became upset at the moment, walked down the stairs with a stern face, and made a clattering sound.

The housekeeper recognized him and greeted him.

Xie Li nodded, quietly said "Goodbye, Auntie" to the housekeeper, and then went to the entrance to change his shoes.

He had just put on one shoe when he heard the person in the living room start to make a scene again.

"What was that young man just now?" the old man shouted.

The housekeeper quickly explained in a low voice that he was Professor Fang's assistant.

"What assistant? Why bring a man into the house? How long has he been here? Why wasn't I told?" The old man became more and more agitated, and regardless, he shouted upstairs, "You bring young men into the house, don't you have any shame?!"

Xie Li had already finished putting on his shoes and was about to open the door. Hearing the noise and scolding inside, he hesitated for two seconds with his hand on the already turned doorknob, but still turned back and walked into the living room.

The housekeeper was blocking the old man from rushing upstairs and looked up to see Xie Li return. She desperately signaled to him to leave.

Xie Li didn't see it and went up to block the old man himself, his face cold and serious: "I am a Ph.D. student from the School of Physics at Landa University. Professor Fang invited me to help her complete the manuscript. I can show you my student ID. You can't just scold people at will like this."

The old man, already in a fit of rage, became even angrier when he was pulled back. He raised the cane in his hand and swung it at Xie Li: "I scold my own wife, what does it have to do with you, an outsider?"

Tan Ke stood at the door, hearing the commotion inside, and only then realized that the door was slightly ajar.

He frowned and entered, but before he could call out "Auntie," he saw the scene unfold.

The boy he had met at the hotel at noon was standing in the center of his aunt's living room, struggling with his aunt's senile grandfather-in-law over an old man's cane.

The housekeeper stood by, unable to stop either of them.

His aunt was at the study door, about to come downstairs.

The room was in an uproar.

The boy was still holding onto the cane, fierce like a little lion, his eyes bright and filled with anger: "At your age, bullying others with power! Relying on your old age to act shamelessly! Shameless! If you scold one more word, you will live one hour less, one hour less!"

Tan Ke couldn't say why, but he suddenly felt like laughing.

In the past two days, he had encountered this young man three times, and each time it was a chaotic scene.