From Gu Nianzhi’s expression, Song Jinning could tell that she didn’t understand the risks of this experiment.
She flipped through the raw data in her hands, and a pained expression appeared on Song Jinning’s face. “Nianzhi, do you know why Shaoheng’s uncle rented the safe on the eve of the experiment and put the backup of his will and the raw data in it?”
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes darted around. “Isn’t it because he didn’t want all of his eggs in the same basket so he spread out the risks?”
“Yes.” Song Jinning nodded approvingly. “Huo Guanyuan was a very cautious and careful person. He made a backup of these things in advance and kept them elsewhere because he was fully aware of the risks of this experiment.”
“How dangerous was it? ” Gu Nianzhi was even more curious. “Wasn’t it just an experiment? Isn’t it within the scope of control?”
Song Jinning shook her head. “This is a very cutting-edge experiment… ”
She paused. She remembered that Gu Nianzhi and Huo Shaoheng weren’t on the confidential list for their experiment, and that they couldn’t know the details of the experiment.
Song Jinning looked down and thought about it for a moment, then said, “Nianzhi, do you still remember the explosive remnants we saw in Russia’s Siberian Tunguska region?”
Gu Nianzhi nodded. “Yes, I remember. It was such a huge crater, like a sinkhole. It’s hard to imagine that it was caused by an explosion.”
“The last time our experiment had a major accident, the explosion was similar to Tunguska’s explosion. Of course, the explosion here was much smaller and not as powerful because we didn’t have enough energy to support the explosion to the level of the Tunguska explosion.”
Gu Nianzhi: ” … ”
Song Jinning’s words sounded ambivalent, as if she felt both regretful and relieved.
It was as if she was regretting that they didn’t have that much energy, but also glad that they didn’t have that much energy…
In short, it was a long story.
Gu Nianzhi understood Song Jinning’s ambivalent feelings very well. She stood up and walked over to Song Jinning’s side. She held her hand and comforted her, “Miss Song, with this raw data, I believe that with your ability, you will definitely succeed in the experiment!”
Song Jinning was touched.
Gu Nianzhi continued, ” … Even if it doesn’t succeed, it doesn’t matter. Failure is the mother of success.”
Song Jinning was both amused and exasperated. She reached out and pinched Gu Nianzhi’s delicate and straight nose, then said, “Little Nianzhi, you’re wrong this time. Failure in this kind of experiment will result in destruction and deaths. We can only succeed, and mustn’t fail no matter what.”
Gu Nianzhi’s big and beautiful eyes widened. “What? Isn’t it just an experiment?! Is it really that serious?!”
“What do you think?” Song Jinning looked at the raw data in her hands, then sighed sullenly. “The United States, Japan, Germany, and possibly other countries had been conducting the same experiment for more than a decade. But look at them. Who has ever announced their success? ——They all do so secretly, and we don’t even know how many people have died or gotten injured in the process.”
Her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, Gu Nianzhi blinked. “Then… has anyone ever succeeded in this experiment?”
“Of course.” Song Jinning waved the stack of A4 papers in her hand at Gu Nianzhi. “Your father, Gu Xiangwen, had once succeeded. As far as we know, on the entire Blue Planet, he’s the only person who has ever succeeded.”
Gu Nianzhi gasped. “You’re not exaggerating on purpose, are you?!”
The top ten countries on Blue Planet had never succeeded in an experiment with the entire nations’ resources, but her father, Gu Xiangwen, had succeeded on his own?!
This was too farfetched!
“Why would I exaggerate?” Song Jinning was confused. “Look at the raw data. Everyone who has done this experiment knows that without success, they wouldn’t have been able to get the raw data.”
“Then can’t we just follow the data?” Gu Nianzhi was even more confused. “Since he has succeeded before, is it repeatable?”
“Nianzhi, the repeatability of this kind of experiment is different from other experiments. For other experiments, as long as we present the successful data, everyone can just copy it. But for this experiment, because the experimental conditions are so different, no one can replicate the experimental conditions of others, so it’s impossible to replicate the experiment completely according to other people’s data.”
“But it’s also very important to have a set of successful original data, because it points the way, just like marking the coordinates for you on an unfamiliar road. If you follow the coordinates, you’ll be able to reach the pathway to success. If you don’t have this set of successful original data, you might not even be able to figure out the right pathway.”
Gu Nianzhi nodded thoughtfully. “You mean, my father’s original data helped us find the right pathway. But finding this pathway doesn’t mean we’ve reached the end.”
“Yes, we still have to figure it out on our own. But with this original data, we can greatly reduce the time we need to figure it out.” Song Jinning smiled earnestly.
” … But, how did my father succeed on his own? ” Gu Nianzhi still found it unbelievable. She knew that her father, Gu Xiangwen, was a genius, but she had never expected him to be this talented.
“I’d like to know that, too,” Song Jinning said eagerly while pressing the stack of A4 papers to her chest. “If I ever get the chance to meet your father, I would definitely ask him a lot of questions about physics.”
Gu Nianzhi gazed at Song Jinning silently while imagining her father and Miss Song discussing famous physics problems. She suddenly felt that the scene would be too beautiful for her to look at…
Huo Shaoheng didn’t speak until Song Jinning was about to take the stack of A4 paper to make a copy. Huo Shaoheng reached out and said, “I’ll make a copy. Take a look at this letter. ”
He pointed at the letter that Huo Guanyuan had specially written for Song Jinning.
Song Jinning pursed her lips and reluctantly put the stack of A4 paper back into Huo Shaoheng’s hands. She warned him, “You have to be careful! Don’t be too forceful with your hands. You can’t tear it even a little.”
Gu Nianzhi: ” … ”
Huo Shaoheng took the A4 paper and turned around to leave. He went to the copy room next to Song Jinning’s office to make copies.
Gu Nianzhi pulled Song Jinning to sit down and smiled. “Miss Song, you’re not going to read this letter, are you?”
Song Jinning sighed and whispered, “Shaoheng was here just now, so I was too embarrassed to say anything. ——Can you read this letter for me? If it has nothing to do with the experiment, I won’t read it.”
Gu Nianzhi knew what Song Jinning was worried about, so she whispered, “Miss. Song, I don’t think that’s a good idea. No matter what, Uncle Huo has been dead for so many years. Why don’t you take it as the last thing you do for the war hero and read his letter?”
Gu Nianzhi’s words made sense to Song Jinning.
Besides, what did she need to avoid suspicion for?
She had already divorced Huo Guanchen, so how could she still think of herself as Huo Guanchen’s wife and Huo Guanyuan’s sister-in-law?
Ha ha, she was overthinking things.
When Song Jinning realized this, she no longer refused.
She picked up the letter that Huo Guanyuan had left behind and tore open the seal without hesitation.
Gu Nianzhi grew nervous as well and looked at Song Jinning intently.
Song Jinning took out a thin letter from the envelope.
It was a pure white letter with only a pencil drawing of Song Jinning.
She sat at her desk in the classroom with one hand on her head and the other holding a pen. She bit the other end of the pen in her mouth and looked in the direction of the door with a smile.
There was no signature or title. It was just a simple black-and-white pencil drawing with a simple expression. However, one could feel the infinite affection of the person who drew it.
Song Jinning looked at the pencil sketch in a daze and suddenly said, ” … This is what I looked like when I graduated from college at the age of seventeen. ”
That was the year that Huo Guanchen confessed to her. She accepted him and officially became his girlfriend.
Later, she went to the United States to study abroad for three years. After she returned from studying abroad, she married Huo Guanchen.
The two of them had many beautiful memories, but they were changed beyond recognition by time.
Song Jinning no longer had any feelings for Huo Guanchen, and she had already laid out the rest of her life. She had so many research projects lined up that she had no time to think about personal matters.
As for Huo Guanyuan, she never expected that he started having feelings for her so early on.
This person had hidden his feelings and thoughts too deeply.
Song Jinning sighed slowly and put the pencil sketch back into the envelope. “I like this drawing very much. Nianzhi, tell Shaoheng that I will keep this letter.
She turned aournd and left the lab to head back to her dormitory.
Gu Nianzhi didn’t chase after her. Instead, she stared at Song Jinning’s back in understanding.
She knew that Huo Guanyuan had used his own death to elevate his feelings for Song Jinning.
Whether Song Jinning loved Huo Guanyuan or not, she would never be able to forget the things that Huo Guanyuan had done for her in silence.
Huo Shaoheng returned with the photocopied data but saw that Song Jinning was no longer in the office. He frowned and asked Gu Nianzhi, ” … Where’s Miss Song?”
Gu Nianzhi pointed in the direction Song Jinning had left in. “She must have gone back to the dormitory. By the way, Ms. Song said that she liked the sketch very much, so she kept it.”
“What sketch? ” Huo Shaoheng was a little taken aback. “Could it be that there was a sketch in the letter?”
Gu Nianzhi nodded. “Your uncle could draw?——He drew a pencil sketch for Miss Song, and it was really good… ”
Huo Shaoheng: ” … ”
He understood Song Jinning’s feelings, but as her son, his feelings about it were ambivalent.
Huo Shaoheng picked up the phone and called Song Jinning.
“Miss Song, I’ve placed the photocopied data in the safe in your office,” Huo Shaoheng said to Song Jinning as he opened the safe.
Song Jinning stood in front of the window with her phone in her hand and nodded. “Okay, the password of my safe is… ”
“No need, I’ve already opened it.”
With a thud, the safe in Song Jinning’s office opened.
Song Jinning: ” … ”
Gu Nuanzhi: ” ! ! ! ”
How could she have forgotten that Huo Shaoheng had another trick up his sleeve — opening other people’s safes!
