Chapter 6: 006 Treating Everyone Equally, Jiang Fuli

"Huh?"

Bai Lian was amused to the point of laughter.

She finally figured out who the person on the other end was.

She pressed down on Jiang He’s head. So, this Song fellow thought she had grown jealous of Bai Shaoqi and had deliberately taken the apprenticeship letter?

"First of all, you need to get one thing straight: that apprenticeship letter was left to me by my mother," Bai Lian said as she walked out of the library. She looked toward the bubble tea shop across the street, her dark, deep eyes narrowed, a faint, cold, and rebellious air hidden beneath her clean, aloof appearance. "And as for my things, let alone taking them—"

"Even if I burned them, what could you possibly do about it?"

Song Min, on the other end of the phone, was stunned.

Bai Lian lowered her head indifferently and hung up with a sharp "click."

After a moment’s thought, she blocked him.

Song Min had reminded her; they still had an engagement, and she needed to find an opportunity to break it off.

How annoying.

Jiang He tugged at the corner of her shirt.

Bai Lian looked down and lazily pinched his cheek with her long, slender fingers, which were as cool and smooth as jade. "You’re the cute one. Tell me, what do you want to drink?"

Two minutes later.

Bai Lian was queuing at the bubble tea shop across the street. It was the only one in the area, and since it was the time when people were getting off work and school, the line was quite long.

Jiang He didn't like crowded places, so he squatted by the side of the road to wait for her.

He was facing a dilemma for the first time in his life.

His good friend wanted to buy him bubble tea.

Of course, as a condition—

Jiang He tapped the black watch on his right wrist, and a thin, translucent 3D plane immediately appeared in the air.

He opened WeChat, hesitated for a long time, typed out a line, and sent it

【How to learn physics quickly】

**

Xiangcheng Center.

A standalone Chinese-style manor.

Several people were waiting by the roadside opposite.

"Dr. Gao, I didn't expect you to come to Xiangcheng. I only received the news yesterday." An elderly man dressed in exquisite attire looked at the young man, his attitude exceptionally polite.

If anyone else from Xiangcheng were here, they would be shocked, for this old man was Ren Qian, the administrator of Xiangcheng, who frequently appeared on the local news.

Dr. Gao was very young, not tall, with glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

Hearing this, he seemed to be waiting for something. He only glanced at Ren Qian, gave a curt "Mm," and said nothing more.

He was sought after wherever he went; such looks of admiration from people like Ren Qian were the norm for him.

Ren Qian had heard of Dr. Gao's itinerary today and had rushed over specifically to see him. "Dr. Gao, I’ve set up a table at Wanhe Tower for this evening. Do you think you might have the time?"

"We'll see." Dr. Gao frowned.

"Very well, just let your teaching assistant know if you have time," Ren Qian said, his response within expectations; he had only come today to make his presence felt. "Then, Dr. Gao, we shall take our leave..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

*Screech—*

A black car pulled up at the entrance of the manor across the street.

Seeing the young man in a black T-shirt step out of the car, Dr. Gao suddenly perked up. He straightened his posture and strode toward the other side.

Seeing Dr. Gao’s attitude, Ren Qian was stunned and looked across the street.

Who could possibly make Dr. Gao wait for two hours?

Across the way, Dr. Gao, still in his lab coat, squeezed to the manor gate. He followed the young man in the black T-shirt inside, carrying the pride befitting his age: "Young Master Jiang, you accepted other countries into CRFS but rejected Country R simply because you don't like the people there. Don't you think it's too childish to let personal emotions interfere with international cooperation?"

The assistant had just handed some letters to Jiang Fuli and, upon hearing this, looked at this reckless warrior in shock.

Jiang Fuli took the letters and ignored him.

He continued walking forward, his bodyguards blocking Dr. Gao.

Taking advantage of a moment of negligence by the bodyguards, Dr. Gao broke free. He opened his mouth wide, and the assistant felt a darkness wash over his eyes, sensing something bad was about to happen and wanting to stop him!

However, Dr. Gao’s next sentence was already out, laced with cold sarcasm and anger: "Do you not remember that our school motto is that scientific research knows no borders? You have long forgotten your original intention!"

Silence fell, as if the scene had been plunged into a snow-capped mountain at an altitude of 6,000 meters; the air pressure was heavy, and the cold wind whistled bone-chillingly!

Jiang Fuli finally stopped. He raised a hand to stop his men and looked down at the man with calm composure: "Who are you?"

He asked.

Dr. Gao had been a genius since childhood, skipping grades all the way. At 26, he had returned from studying abroad in Country R and was involved in several global research projects simultaneously. His mentor had just been elected an academician last year; describing him as a top-tier figure in the academic circle was no exaggeration.

His resume was well-known even at Jiangjing University, and the various deans at the school had to give him some face.

He hadn't expected that Jiang Fuli wouldn't even know his name.

He opened his mouth, feeling almost humiliated: "Gao Jiachen."

"Gao Jiachen," Jiang Fuli nodded. He possessed exceptionally pale eyes, misted with coldness, and his lips were also pale. He calmly retorted: "Why do you think I need to explain myself to you?"

"I..." Gao Jiachen’s throat moved. Having always been the center of attention, he was completely dumbfounded. "But, you, you being like this makes it hard for me to be convinced..."

Jiang Fuli interrupted him: "Do you think your conviction is important to me?"

Gao Jiachen was stunned, never having expected the legendary Jiang Fuli to have such a personality. "You..."

"However, you have a point; discriminating against them individually is wrong." Jiang Fuli slowly folded the letter in his hand, then bent down and elegantly tucked it into Gao Jiachen’s pocket. His lowered brows and eyes were clear, aloof, and cold: "The envelope has the contact information for the International Alliance. You are welcome to file a complaint."

He stood up straight, his black-clad figure lonely and unapproachable, and strode toward the house: "Note his name. From now on, whenever I have a project, blacklist him forever."

The phone in his pocket chimed.

Jiang Fuli lowered his eyes. Someone who never sent messages had sent him one—

【How to learn physics quickly】

Jiang Fuli casually found an image and sent it over, then tilted his head: "What is Jiang He doing?"

His subordinate, who kept constant track of Jiang He, replied: "The young master is at the library, Mr. Ming is following him."

Jiang Fuli tapped his phone screen absentmindedly. His nails were trimmed clean and symmetrical, and the back of his hand showed a sickly pallor, through which faint blue veins could be seen.

He nodded and said nothing more.

Behind him, Gao Jiachen looked at Jiang Fuli’s retreating back in horror. This time, he was truly panicked: "Young Master Jiang! Jiang..."

He wanted to chase after Jiang Fuli, but if the bodyguards let him succeed even once, they wouldn't need to show their faces in front of Jiang Fuli tomorrow.

Gao Jiachen was dragged away by the bodyguards, his mouth covered.

The assistant, unfazed, noted down the man's name.

**

Outside.

Ren Qian and the Secretary-General were still by the roadside. He watched Dr. Gao enter the manor, only to be thrown out by the people inside shortly after.

"Get in the car." Ren Qian turned away before seeing Dr. Gao.

"Old Ren, who was that?" The Secretary-General opened the car door for Ren Qian. He looked at the ancient building across the way, stunned and clicking his tongue, having only barely caught Dr. Gao’s mention of "Young Master Jiang."

CRFS was a project for a dark matter collaboration group.

Jiangjing had chosen to build the research institute based on old air-raid shelters left behind in Xiangcheng, 2,900 meters underground—the deepest dark matter research institute in the world. It was currently undergoing evaluation and acceptance for its supporting facilities.

The level of secrecy was high; as the highest administrator of Xiangcheng, even Ren Qian didn't know the specific internal list.

He had only managed to contact Dr. Gao’s teaching assistant through an acquaintance.

"I don't know. The content of the CRFS project is highly classified, and the person inside..." Ren Qian pondered for a moment. "His surname..."

"Dr. Gao called him Young Master Jiang, his surname is Jiang..." The Secretary-General stopped halfway, his eyes widening.

No wonder.

Ren Qian looked out the car window, his voice distant: "Contact Dr. Gao’s assistant again tomorrow. I hope he didn't see us."

The Secretary-General wasn't sure if Dr. Gao had seen them.

If Dr. Gao found out they had seen him in such a sorry state, the possibility of building a relationship would be an unknown.

"We'll see," Ren Qian sighed lightly, then remembered something else. "Why did Shao Rong suddenly ask for leave? He didn't even have time to meet Dr. Gao with me today."

"He went home," the Secretary-General said, looking down at the schedule in his notebook. "Mr. Ji said he was taking Miss Wanxuan to see her grandfather."

Hearing this, Ren Qian didn't offer an opinion.

He wasn't clear about the Ji family's affairs; the Ji family had only appeared at his daughter's wedding once. He only cared about one thing: "Why go back at this hour?"

Usually, they only went back during holidays.

Ji Shaorong was an intellectual, and he had originally thought of bringing him along to interact with Dr. Gao, but who knew he would ask for leave today.

Ren Qian was already dissatisfied with him, and his expression grew even more indifferent.

"It seems I heard a niece has returned."

"Mm." Ren Qian didn't ask further; he had no interest in the Ji family's affairs.

In their eyes, the Ji family was far too ordinary.

The Secretary-General smiled.

Back then, when Ren Qian’s only daughter, Ren Jiawei, had taken a fancy to the poor boy Ji Shaorong, not a single person in the Ren family had agreed; the difference in status was too great.

However, twenty years had passed, and the Ji family had always kept to themselves.

In all of Xiangcheng, no one even knew that the ordinary, poor boy from Qingshui Street, Ji Shaorong, had successfully married into the Ren family.

Low-key, content.

They didn't fight or compete, but they also had no presence.

**

On Jiang He’s side.

He was squatting by the side of the road.

Jiang Fuli’s reply came quite quickly: 【Image.JPG】

It was just an image.

Jiang He opened it—

It was the cover of a physics textbook for Jiangjing University, which someone had participated in writing.

"..."

When Bai Lian returned, she saw the blue fluorescent 3D image displayed on Jiang He’s watch and handed him the bubble tea: "What is that?"

She had bought an extra-large cup, and Jiang He couldn't hold it with one hand, so he hugged it with both.

Bai Lian lowered her eyes and saw the cover of a book...

《Physics of Jiangjing University》.

"This book," Jiang He said slowly, his expression somewhat reluctant, "is quite impressive."

Bai Lian nodded and took out her phone, wanting to take a picture of the cover, but when she opened the camera, she couldn't see the image on the child's watch.

What kind of black technology was this??

The two were silent for a few seconds, then added each other on WeChat.

Jiang He’s phone finally had a seventh person on it.

The two sat by the roadside, staring intently at the passing cars.

"It's truly amazing," Bai Lian said, her hands resting on her knees, her fingertips tapping rhythmically, her other long leg bent casually. "I looked at the vehicle's electrical system. The book says that after electricity is applied, the magnetic field of the rotor can make the stator generate alternating current, but it's still amazing..."

Bai Lian was interested in everything modern; she could imagine the electrical system just by closing her eyes.

But she didn't know the principles.

For the past two days, after finishing their studies, the two would sit by the roadside and watch the cars.

Jiang He hugged his bubble tea and tilted his head to look at her.

"Alright," Bai Lian checked her WeChat; her grandfather was asking when she would be back. She inserted the straw into Jiang He’s bubble tea, stood up, and patted his head. "I'm heading back. See you tomorrow."

She boarded the No. 12 bus.

Jiang He squatted where he was, hugging the bubble tea with both hands, drinking while looking up as the No. 12 bus wobbled away.

A car pulled up silently in front of him.

The door opened, and a man with a buzz cut stepped out from the driver's seat. Jiang He climbed into the back seat, and as the man fastened his seatbelt, he spoke: "Uncle Ming."

Ming Dongheng hadn't expected him to take the initiative to speak. His tough-guy face couldn't muster any gentleness: "What is it?"

Jiang He said slowly: "Can I go back with Sister Bai?"

Ming Dongheng: "?"

He said expressionlessly: "...I will ask the Young Master for you."

The problem is, if I take you back, wouldn't it scare her parents to death?

She was kind enough to take you out to play, why are you returning kindness with ingratitude?

**

Qingshui Street, Ji Heng’s house.

A middle-aged man stood in the courtyard, looking down at a brown, rustic embroidery frame.

"Dad, you've been looking at that for half an hour," said a girl wearing a Xiangcheng Middle School uniform, sitting at a stone table and playing with her phone, looking very bored. "When are we going home?"

The man was wearing a black suit. Hearing this, he didn't turn his head: "Wait for your cousin to come back."

"Don't I only have one cousin?" Ren Wanxuan asked, surprised.

She had only been to the Ji house a few times since she was a child and wasn't clear about the Ji family's affairs, but she remembered only having one uncle and one cousin.

"Mm, you also have an aunt." Ji Shaorong said concisely.

As the two were talking.

Ji Heng came out from inside and handed a small gift box to Ren Wanxuan.

"Thank you, Grandpa." Ren Wanxuan gave a sweet smile. She reached out to take the gift box and then casually placed it on the stone table.

She didn't care about it in her heart.

Her daily necessities were all custom-made by the Ren family. As the only daughter of the Ren family, every piece of clothing was from a well-known brand, but every time she came here, Ji Heng would make clothes for her.

Ren Wanxuan naturally looked down on them; when she took these clothes back, her mother would have them put in the warehouse, and she had never worn them once.

"Is there still no news of Little Sister?" Ji Shaorong withdrew his gaze from the embroidery frame.

He frowned. He didn't know much about Ji Mulan; she had been arrogant since childhood and didn't get along well with him.

Ji Heng picked up his tobacco pipe: "No."

"I heard from Big Brother that her daughter is transferring here?" Ji Shaorong stopped asking about Ji Mulan.

"..."

Ren Wanxuan listened to the two talk half-heartedly, catching the gist of it.

This relative was two years older than her and was currently in her third year of high school.

She listened a little, didn't pay much attention, picked up her phone, and chatted with a friend for a while, her eyebrows arching—

【Senior, do you think... she wants to transfer here because she heard my grandfather is Ren Qian?】

She typed the question.

Sleep early after reading this, goodnight~