Chapter 70 Patient 14

When I saw Xu Shaoqian again, he was no different from usual.

On the Monday of the second week after receiving the telegram, Xu Shaoqian informed all members: "No one is allowed to interfere with the work of the institute before the arrival of the Dante in Hong Kong." Almost at the same time, the Governor of Hong Kong also received the telegram and sent two teams of soldiers to guard the institute, strictly checking all items and materials brought in and out, and intercepting all letters sent by everyone in the institute to outside Hong Kong.

Before the British ship arrived in Hong Kong, the Institute reached an unprecedented state of chaos.

"Why don't you allow us to send letters to our families?" German doctors Karl and Hoffman angrily questioned the British soldiers more than once. "You have no right to do this!"

"Ask your own people," the British soldier replied with a grin. "We've been informed that any researcher who refuses to be investigated will be handed directly over to the International Court of Justice. If you don't want to be punished by the electric chair, I advise you to refrain from causing trouble."

Regardless of the members' anger and confusion, Xu Shaoqian, with his unchanging gentle and caring attitude, smiled and advised, "Please be patient and wait another week."

Liang Zhang, however, lacked such skill. Despite countless interrogations, he remained silent, his face flushed, huddled in a corner. Even Li Mai, bewildered, asked him, "What are they protecting? Protecting us, or are they guarding against us?"

Liang Zhang was so anxious that he scratched his head, but he remained tight-lipped: "I really don't know! Don't ask me!"

The British in the colonies had always been accustomed to treating people of color harshly. The Chinese and Indians in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore were accustomed to this treatment, but Carl and Hoffman, being white, had never experienced such treatment before and were immediately infuriated by the British soldiers' arrogance and condescension.

The two German doctors repeatedly waved their fists at British patrols to express their displeasure. A few days later, two lieutenants brought a German Shepherd dog and named it "Prussia." As the German doctors passed by, they jokingly called out, "How can that animal understand English? But don't be afraid, Prussia! Your family is here, and they're sure to want to talk to you."

Conflict between whites and people of color erupted within the lab. Unable to bear the mounting torment, Hoffman finally slammed all his research materials onto Xu Shaoqian's desk and roared, "I quit! Can I just go back to Germany?"

Facing the bristling German grizzly bear, Xu Shaoqian smiled calmly and said, "Wait a little longer."

Watching Hoffman's furious outburst in the office, Chandra calmly consoled the German: "The British in the colonies are all like this. You have to get used to it."

Everyone assumed Xu Shaoqian and Liang Zhang were insiders, and naturally excluded Chu Wang from the list. Although it seemed that her life was much easier than Xu Shaoqian and Liang Zhang's, in fact, everything had not even begun, and the lab was falling apart, and Chu Wang was secretly sweating in her heart.

Fortunately, the Dante arrived in Hong Kong soon.

Before they arrived, two teams of British junior soldiers arrived and guarded the institute. Everyone in the institute waited quietly in the office, and everyone was a little restless.

Hoffman stopped Xu Shaoqian and pointed at the group of British people showing off their power downstairs. He asked angrily, "You've stopped the work for so many days, forbidden us from sending letters back, and now you're restricting our personal freedom! We are scientists, not prisoners!"

Xu Shaoqian smiled without answering, then turned and went downstairs.

Hoffman punched the cotton and turned around, roaring in rage, "I want to resign!"

The Governor personally led people to the dock to pick him up. When Xu Shaoqian went downstairs to greet him, Chu Wang couldn't sit still at all and ran to the balcony to watch impatiently.

Two cars drove in slowly.

Chu Wang stared intently at the parked car. The Governor smiled and opened the door. A tall man with long boots and breeches, small glasses, a serious face and a big beard slowly got out of the back seat. This man was wearing a long windbreaker.

The moment Rutherford, in his long trench coat and big beard, got out of the car, Chu Wang, as a die-hard fan, was so excited that he almost fell to his knees.

The noisy researchers around her who were watching with her also fell silent the moment he got off the car. After a moment, she could only hear a mix of exclamations and screams in various languages.

"Rutherford? Ernest Rutherford! Oh my God!"

Before anyone could absorb the shock from Rutherford, a bald man with a mustache and a young Jewish man got out of the car behind Rutherford.

Chu Wang immediately heard another scream——

"Is that Rutherford's assistant, Wilson?"

Another man grabbed his face and yelled frantically, "Yes! That's him! Thomson Wilson, the inventor of the mist chamber who won the Nobel Prize with Compton last year!"

…

Among all the people, only Chu Wang took the time to carefully identify the Jewish young man behind the two men.

—Is this Oppenheimer?

Is it the 24-year-old Oppenheimer who had just left Bonn and was just starting out?

Xu Shaoqian and Rutherford were walking in front and talking intimately. The Jewish young man stared at the two of them coldly, his eyes full of jealousy.

Chu Wang thought: Oh, that's right, it's him - he was rejected by Rutherford four years ago, and three years later he followed wherever Rutherford went. There was no one else except Oppenheimer.

Rutherford and Xu Shaoqian hugged each other, exchanged a few words, and then headed straight for their business, heading upstairs side by side. The crowd watching from above quickly dispersed, returning to their desks and sitting quietly. Chu Wang, engrossed in the beauty of the young Oppenheimer, came to his senses and was about to run when Xu Shaoqian caught him red-handed.

"Come here." Xu Shaoqian waved at her with a smile.

Chu Wang trotted over. The group turned and entered a closed office and closed the door.

Xu Shaoqian introduced her to Rutherford, "Professor Rutherford, my teacher; Lin Zhi, my student."

Chu Wang flattered him obediently: "Professor Rutherford, I admire you very much."

Isn’t it admirable? Your Rutherford model has been with me throughout my student days!

Rutherford looked at her with the admiration of a promising young person.

This glance made Chu Wang almost faint on the ground: Rutherford looked at me, this is enough for my life!

Then he said to Xu Shaoqian, "That's right. I didn't want you to leave Cambridge at first, but now it seems that your choice may be the right one. It's only been four years, and you've already produced many talented people under you."

Chu Wang thought: You're the one with students all over the world. And not just you, but many of your students will be around the world, too—like this assistant named Wilson standing next to you, and that student behind you with a bad temper, who never appreciated others and even turned others away—he's the leader of Manhattan, the future father of the atomic bomb!

As she was thinking about this, the bad-tempered and unappreciated young man Oppenheimer snorted disdainfully.

Rutherford then introduced him to Xu Shaoqian: "Robert. You met him the year you left Cambridge."

Oppenheimer automatically shook hands with Xu Shaoqian and said coldly, "Xu, I've met you too. The year you left school, I tried to become his student, but he rejected me countless times. People often say I hold a grudge against him, so no matter where he goes, once I find out, I will follow him. There's a rumor in famous European laboratories that Oppenheimer never had the chance to be Rutherford's student, so he holds a grudge against all of Rutherford's students. Xu, you better be careful."

Rutherford smiled. "I don't know why I brought him along. But before I left, I couldn't resist sending him a telegram, inviting him to come on the same ship. Three days after I sent the telegram, he showed up. When did ships from the Netherlands to England become so fast?"

As everyone laughed, Chu Wang roared in his heart: "Boss! Your sixth sense is correct. You didn't misjudge this guy—he's incredible!"

After laughing for a while, Rutherford calmed down and said, "In a few weeks, when the British envoy's ship arrives in Hong Kong and all the contracts are finalized with your government, I will write to the University of Rome, the Leiden Laboratory, and the Paris Institute of Physics and Chemistry to invite several more important people—in the name of the publication of your article 'Compact Stars'."

"Please invite Enrique and the Joliot couple?" Xu Shaoqian asked.

Rutherford nodded.

After a while, he said earnestly, "I've always wondered: What future will this place have for you? I was afraid it would only bury you. But I didn't expect you to achieve it."

Xu Shaoqian smiled and said, "But I still encountered troubles—serious ones, for all mankind."

Rutherford added, "I'm afraid you'll have a very difficult time handling this matter. Therefore, as soon as I received your letter, I quickly asked the Queen to grant me an informal official role to maintain the physicist's contact with the British administrative department and supervise the British envoys who had already departed from the UK. In addition, I often heard that the tempers of British officials and soldiers in the colonies are always very bad. Therefore, I am worried that you will have a very difficult time handling this matter. Therefore, I rushed here as quickly as possible."

Xu Shaoqian nodded. "Everyone here is now in the laboratory next door—they have been waiting for many days."

Rutherford nodded. Xu Shaoqian pushed the door open, and the group walked out into the corridor.

Rutherford glanced into the laboratory and Xu Shaoqian made a "please" gesture.

Rutherford walked into the laboratory with a few words. Everyone sat in their seats, watching him walk in and waiting quietly for him to speak.

Chu Wang also quickly ran to his seat and sat down obediently.

After a pause, he got straight to the point:

"You may be very curious about why I came here.

I come here in an unofficial capacity, begging you to join me in guarding a great secret. But unfortunately, I don't have the right to tell you what this secret is, or what we will fight for.

But I believe that some of us will soon guess what this secret is. Therefore, all of us will pay a corresponding price for it;

Once the official agreement is negotiated, the plan will officially begin. From that moment on, we will all lose some of our freedom, our right to communication, and our right to privacy: every outgoing call and every outgoing letter may be monitored, surveilled, scrutinized, or even confiscated; even our every move will be tracked and monitored; and every wrong decision made by any of us could be brought to justice in an international court.

Science has no borders. It should be a treasure belonging to all humanity. But I believe that when it threatens the lives of all humanity, scientists should be the first to bear the brunt of it and devote themselves to it.

If you feel uncomfortable or scared about this, please leave now and go back to where you belong. Then you have nothing to do with this secret.

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked around the laboratory with sixty people.

The lab remained very quiet. Many people looked at each other, and what surprised everyone was:

No one chose to leave.

He asked again: "It's not too late to leave now."

One second, two seconds... time slowly passed.

Everyone stayed seated, no one left.

At this moment, Chandra suddenly turned around and asked, "Hoffman! Didn't you say you wanted to resign this morning?"

"What! I actually said such a thing?"

Rutherford asked, "So what are your thoughts now?"

Hoffman blushed and scratched his hair, then stood up and asked shyly, "Professor Rutherford, I just have one question."

"Excuse me."

"If I write a letter to my wife in Germany, does it also have to go through layers of censorship?"

"If the content is embarrassing, I would sincerely suggest that you write more and send it out within this week... Later, maybe we can bring your wife to China for you.

Amidst the roar of laughter from the crowd, Chu Wang was inexplicably shocked.

When scientific progress endangers the lives and safety of all mankind, scientists should be the first to bear the brunt and devote themselves to it.

So no one chose to leave.

Very good.

——

Before her personal freedom was more comprehensively restricted, Mia's scheduled engagement ceremony provided her with a good opportunity to go out and get some fresh air.

A week later, Yuen Long Town.

It was a very nice day. It was rare to have such a sunny day in the misty winter.

Although the Garden Villa is located in Yuen Long Town, it is also located on the hillside of Yuen Long. Many key figures who do not want to walk drive directly to the top of the mountain from the back. First-time visitors often prefer to climb the mountain from the front to see the scenery, but the car can only reach halfway up the mountain.

Yuen Long Town was a bit more backward. From this point, one could take a bamboo sedan chair or walk up the mountain. The mountain was previously sparsely populated, but after getting off the car midway up, a group of sedan chair bearers suddenly began to huddle around the group of young ladies, startling everyone. Some of the girls, some of them white and returning from abroad, were quite curious and started looking for sedan chairs. Chu Wang spotted Xue Zhenzhen from a distance, following behind Mrs. Qiao. She was wearing a light yellow Chinese dress, her eyes shining as she stared at the sedan chair, as if eager to make a move.

Mrs. Qiao saw what she was thinking and probably felt that it would be disgraceful for her own daughter to ride in a sedan chair so happily at the engagement party of her cheap relative. So she glared at her to make her give up the idea.

Mrs. Ge was staying with Chu Wang. Seeing her eyes drifting toward Mrs. Qiao, she followed her gaze. After watching for a while, she felt amused. She took a few steps forward, put her arm around Zhenzhen's shoulder, and led her away, saying to Mrs. Qiao with a smile, "Mrs. Qiao, Miya is so worried about this girl. We travelers shouldn't keep the guests waiting too long. It's faster to go up in a sedan chair than to walk, so Sir Xie will feel better too. What do you think?"

"Mrs. Ge has personally invited me, so why shouldn't I go? Zhenzhen, learn how to be a good person from Mrs. Ge." Mrs. Qiao's face was full of smiles, but she must have been gritting her teeth in hatred. Chu Wang smiled and greeted Mrs. Qiao. Mrs. Qiao glanced at her and added, "Look at Chu Wang, she is generous and neat, and she is becoming more and more outstanding."

Chu Wang naturally didn't want to be an eyesore in her presence. He politely greeted her and then leisurely walked at the back with Sui Xi and Mi Qiu. Because the area was sparsely populated, the dense thicket of tall and short trees hid phoenix tails. Under the sun, the air was fragrant and dusty, and the air was desolate. Looking down into the valley, there was an occasional rustling sound—some animal or bird passing by, perhaps even woodcutters.

A little further up, a dark wooden house appeared. The doorplate had been removed, but a red and yellow Indian turban was drying on the wire mesh outside. Chu Wang was just looking at it curiously when someone suddenly appeared beside him and announced, "This is the police station."

Chu Wang turned sideways and looked up, then smiled, "Ah, is it Mr. Xie's colleague?"

"Yes, we are. But the police here are Indians."

Chu Wang nodded, thinking to himself: After all, they are all admirable police officers. Walking slowly forward, Chu Wang asked again, "Why don't you go up the mountain from the back with your family?"

Xie Zeyi said calmly, "Because I know the Third Miss is coming to the front mountain."

Chu Wang suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and continued to tease him with a smile, "Could it be that Sir Xie is still mad at you?"

Xie Zeyi smiled, "Yeah. My family's hosting dinner, and no one informed me. They asked me to come uninvited." He then stopped and showed her the collar of his gray suit. "I have to ask someone to make my own suit. Isn't that sad?"

Chu Wang was so happy that he leaned over to look at the workmanship of the suit. He saw a line of embroidery below the collar and thought it looked familiar. He suddenly exclaimed, "Do you know Mr. Saumier?"

"Sommier?" Xie Zeyi stared at her and thought for a moment, "But I have heard of Frank Luca."

Hearing this name, Chu Wang's eyes widened slightly. After a pause, she asked, "This Mr. Luca..."

"He was a respected major in the British Army who tragically passed away ten years ago."

"Died in World War I?"

"No. He even survived the Battle of Verdun."

Survived the Verdun meat grinder?!

"And what happened next?"

"He had no time to enjoy the joy of victory, nor did he receive any honors or rewards for his outstanding military achievements. While receiving treatment at an army hospital, he was accused of a crime and died on the road to exile with shrapnel all over his body."

After listening to Xie Zeyi's extremely calm narration, Chu Wang fell silent.

Xie Zeyi also followed her silently without saying much.

After a while, she asked, "What kind of crime would warrant such cruel treatment of a meritorious official?"

Xie Zeyi thought for a moment and said, "Although everyone in Britain knew about this twenty years ago, if you really want to know, perhaps you should ask... uh, that French tailor. See if he's willing to tell you in person."

In the 1860s, Britain abolished the death penalty for homosexuality by hanging and replaced it with castration and exile.

In fact, even without Xie Zeyi saying anything, Chu Wang had probably guessed it. But because she had guessed it, and thought about Mr. Somier and the photo, she felt even more desolate and sad, with mixed emotions.

A little further up the mountain, taller branches clung to the path, nearly poking Xie Zeyi in the forehead several times—perhaps the workers repairing the path hadn't considered the climbing experience of someone of Xie Zeyi's height. The further up the mountain they went, the more villas appeared. The one in the sedan chair in front left first, and Sui Xi and Mi Qiu, walking behind, kept a distance so as not to interrupt their conversation. Chu Wang thought, it was really hard for him, with his long arms and legs, to keep a slow pace and follow her.

Just as he was about to praise him for his gentlemanly behavior, a small, plump, happy dog ​​suddenly burst out of a villa, barking at Chu Wang with its teeth barked. He smiled and waved at the dog, but it barked even louder, threatening to charge at him. Dogs always read people's expressions. The less you fear it, the more afraid it becomes of you. It's impossible for it to become more aggressive.

She was just wondering, and turned her head in the direction of the dog's growling gaze. Xie Zeyi, who had just stood beside her, had walked three or four meters away. He was trying to appear calm and elegant, but he was about to run away.

At this time, a Catholic nun with pale hair and clear blue eyes ran out of the villa with a smile on her face. She said, "Mr. Xie, I was just asking Sir Xie about you. I heard you were awarded a title in England and I haven't seen you for a long time... Louis XVIII, go away! Go away! Don't scare our lieutenant." She smiled at Xie Zeyi and said, "Mr. Xie, don't be afraid. It never bites."

Xie Zeyi: “…”

Xie Zeyi: "I'm not afraid of dogs."

As she chased the dogs away, she chuckled and said, "Before the Indian patrol came, we were afraid that the mountain would be uneasy, so every family kept a dog. When the Lord brought you to the mountain as a child, you cried all the way from the foot of the mountain to the top. Such a beautiful child, crying so miserably, it made all of us sisters feel so sorry for you. Tsk, tsk, you were such a poor little thing."

Xie Zeyi: "...Thanks to you, I'm not afraid anymore."

Chu Wang walked upstairs with a smile on his face. The nun continued, "Further up, there are several dogs in Les and Jiménez's house. Everyone has gone to the engagement party, so there's no one watching. Please follow me. I'll take you up from the back."

Chu Wang smiled and asked, "Mr. Xie? Do you still want to go up the mountain with me?"

Xie Zeyi forced out an awkward smile and coughed twice, "Well, I'll apologize to you later."

Hong Kong is a relatively small place these days. Counting from the Governor down, you'd have Sir Tse, and then these renowned nuns. Everywhere you look, you're surrounded by acquaintances. A casual romance would be known to the whole of Hong Kong within the next day. If she were Tse Ze-yi, she probably wouldn't be willing to bring a girlfriend home casually, or else it would be big news.

After watching Xie Zeyi and the nun walk away, Chu Wang slowly wandered up the mountain. Reaching the top, he looked back over lush green, interspersed with white mountains, with a faint glimpse of Yuen Long Town. Looking ahead, the azure sky met the turquoise sea, surrounding the shrimp-gray city of Hong Kong.

Suixi and Mrs. Ge went to the ceremony first. Miqiu stayed behind to wait for her. She asked with a little surprise, "Miss, why is Mr. Xie gone?"

Before Chu Wang could even begin to mock Xie Zeyi, Zhenzhen jumped out from behind two papaya trees, put her arms around her waist, and demanded, "Tell me! When did you hook up with that Mr. Xie?"

"What do you mean by hooking up? He's not from a brothel."

Zhenzhen laughed, "Oh, our Chu Wang is so powerful now. He knows everything about the company commander San Tangzi."

When Suixi saw the two young ladies playing together, she tactfully walked away.

After Sui Xi walked away, Chu Wang held her face and asked viciously, "I should ask you, what's going on between you and Ye Wenyu?"

"Mrs. Ge just scolded me, and you're doing it again!" Zhenzhen kept whimpering, "Let go first!"

Chu Wang pinched her twice more and reluctantly let her go. "If you confess, I will treat you leniently. If you resist, I will treat you severely."

"It's nothing." Zhenzhen rubbed her face, pulled her behind the papaya tree, and said harshly, "That Deputy Director Shen of the Shanghai Maritime Bureau was just a local official in Kangping, Fengtian. Last year, the Northeast came to Nanjing, and Deputy Director Shen curried favor with people everywhere and got the position of Deputy Director of the Maritime Bureau. Suddenly, his whole family was promoted. The only daughter, Shen Yueying, went to Shanghai and entered the Chinese and Western Girls' School. She barely managed to gain a reputation among the rich girls. Others only respectfully called her a lady of honor because of her father. With her rustic manners, she really thinks she is a big shot. She is just a country girl, does she really think anyone respects her?"

Chu Wang pondered for a while, "Ye Wenyu's family likes him and wants to arrange a marriage for him. Whether he likes it or not doesn't count."

"If he refuses to get married, what can his family do to him? Are they going to chase him to Hong Kong and bring him back to sign a marriage agreement?"

"What if it really comes?"

"It really came..." Zhenzhen was furious, "At worst, we can just talk it out!"

"What if his family refuses?"

"Why wouldn't he agree? His family is nothing! They're not even royal relatives."

Chu Wang sighed. Although he wasn't a royal relative, he still had his own territory and needed to expand his territory.

Then he asked again: "What did my aunt say?"

"Mr. Jiang invited Ye Wenyu here today. She said she would capture Ye Wenyu and interrogate him. If she felt he was trustworthy, she told me not to make a big fuss and she would help me make a decision."

Of course, there was a second half to Mrs. Ge's words: If he is unreliable, you should let him go as soon as possible.

But the way she looked at Zhenzhen, it seemed as if she had simply ignored the second half of the sentence.

Zhenzhen hummed angrily. "Anyway, after graduation, I'm going back to Shanghai. If things really don't work out, I'll go study abroad with him. America, England, Belgium, anywhere in the world. His family won't be able to catch him back, right?"

Chu Wang stared at her for a while, then just smiled when words came to his lips.

Instead, he asked, "Let's go to the ceremony?"

Zhenzhen was also a heartless person. All her previous grievances were quickly forgotten. She smiled and said, "Miya just told me that the engagement party was full of old-fashioned people, all doing the same old ritual of bowing and saluting. It was boring. She told us not to go and told me to take you to the orchard next door to wait for her—don't bother looking at those ugly people."

Chu Wang was still staring at the half-ripe papayas on the tree when Zhenzhen grabbed her and ran. Past rows of elegant villas with green and pink walls, there was a staircase of Qianxun stone. Ascending it, they found a lush orchard, each tree neatly arranged. A small path led directly to a large, dark house; the house was made of wood, covered in dense green vines.

Outside the mansion stood a cluster of red and yellow flowers. A short, dark-skinned gardener in silk trousers was watering the flowers with a copper kettle. As the three of them met, Zhenzhen asked, "Is this Mr. Ajin? Miya asked us to wait for her here."

Ah Jin smiled at the two of them, a jagged smile that showed his gold-rimmed teeth blackened and yellowed by smoke, and opened the door for them while holding a kettle.

The room was pitch black. Ajin turned on a low lamp, and both of them exclaimed in surprise - all four walls of the room, from the floor to the ceiling, were piled with books; right under the lamp, there was a simple stage.

Zhenzhen exclaimed, pacing back and forth in the room, muttering, "We were just talking about the Changsan Hall, and how come Miya is taking us to a place that looks like a bookstore?"

Mr. Akin looked at her, shook his head, and left the two of them in the room while he went straight out the door.

The only table in the room was placed in a corner of the bookshelf, with a deck of dominoes spread out on it. They both leaned over and stared at each other.

"Can you?"

"How would I know this?"

Zhenzhen curled her lips and was about to touch the dominoes when Mr. Jin came in with a bowl of fruit and placed it on the table for the two of them. It contained some winter tropical fruits: papaya, guava, banana...

Zhenzhen's attention wasn't on the fruit. She just asked, "Mr. Jin, how do we play with this?"

Mr. Ajin peeled a banana and handed it to Chu Wang. He then lowered his head to shuffle the cards, arranging them in a long line. He then pushed them down and gestured to Zhenzhen to do the same. Zhenzhen, perhaps amused, followed his instructions and arranged the tiles in a long line. Then, Mr. Ajin closed his eyes and made a palm-clasp gesture towards her, which Zhenzhen followed.

He pushed the deck of cards up in a pile, lit a stick of incense, and drew out a card that read: Middle or Lower.

The two repeated this three times, and the results were: middle-low, up-up, and down-down.

Zhenzhen immediately flipped through the thread-bound book on interpreting the hexagrams, and the corresponding answer was: There will be no disadvantage in gaining it, but don't be happy, it's just a castle in the air.

Chu Wang turned his head to look and asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhenzhen didn't answer. She turned around, threw the book away, and walked away.

Mr. Ajin patted Chu Wang again, signaling her to come. She smiled and waved her hand, "I don't believe this."

After Mr. Ajin insisted again and again, she thought about it and decided that if she wanted to pray for the future of the country, she must believe in science and not be superstitious. So why not try praying for a good marriage?

Thinking of this, she followed Mr. Akin's instructions and pushed the dominoes three more times.

Very bad, medium bad, very bad.

Except for the second time which was medium-low, both times were low.

Mr. Ajin also shook his head and shuffled the tiles. Chu Wang smiled and flipped through the thread-bound book. It read: Water Hexagram. Carrying and riding, will lead to the arrival of the enemy.

She then asked Zhenzhen, "What does this mean?"

Zhenzhen glanced at him and said, "It's already two o'clock, and you're still flipping through that book. It's not nice."

Zhenzhen was completely bored by the divination and retreated to the side to flip through the book. Chu Wang thought to himself: Speaking of this divination, I don't know whose it is.

I smiled and started eating the papaya. The orange-red papaya was unexpectedly sweet.

I had just finished eating a papaya when I heard Miya's laughter from afar - "Mr. Ajin, are they here?"

Then, Miya stepped into the room: her makeup and hair were exquisite, she wore a fox fur coat over her short light red gauze skirt, and underneath she wore white stockings and white satin high heels.

Chu Wang laughed and said, "Why doesn't the bride-to-be stay at the banquet and entertain the guests?"

Miya rolled her eyes. "You say it's my engagement party, but you're here just to mingle with the crowd—after all, it's none of my business. I'd be like a decorative object sitting there, only to be in the way and annoying everyone. Let Mr. Jiang handle the gossipmongering. I'm not in the mood—I'm starving. I've been on an empty stomach all morning just to wear this dress, grinning at everyone I see. Chu Wang, could you peel a banana for me?"

As she ate her banana, she finally recovered. She tilted her head to look at the jumbled pile of dominoes and said, "Did Mr. Jin count the dominoes for you? When I was a kid, he did it, and he said I had to find someone twenty years older than me—and Mr. Jiang was thirty-seven. And he was right."

After hearing this, Zhenzhen's face turned even darker. She just sat there reading silently without saying a word.

Chu Wang smiled at her, and Miya immediately understood. She said with a smile, "There used to be an old man living here. Mr. Ajin was his housekeeper—he was mute and couldn't speak. After the old man passed away, he has been looking after this garden and growing fruit. I've grown up in Hong Kong for so many years, but I've never tasted fruit anywhere else that tastes as good as here."

Seeing Zhenzhen still had a sullen look on her face, she continued, "Most of the mothers at home are superstitious about this. This thing isn't Chinese or Western, but it just happened to please them, so we can't completely believe it. You know, when Mr. Ajin told my brother about it, he said he was destined to live out his life in solitude—he's had so many girlfriends in his life, and he's still going to live out his life in solitude. Who would believe that?"

Zhenzhen burst out laughing in the corner, finally feeling a little happier. Mr. Ajin brought a glass of white wine. Zhenzhen took a sip and exclaimed, "So sweet."

Miya added, "If you come here in the summer, the grapes here are especially delicious; but now, you can drink some grape juice... It's brewed using the German method, called feather wine. When it's first brewed in the summer, it's sweet but not intoxicating. It's been cellared for several months, and now it can barely be considered wine."

Today was Miya's day, and Chu Wang had also poured some wine, sharing several drinks with her. While the alcohol content wasn't particularly high, Miya's good mood made her feel intoxicated, and after a while, her cheeks flushed. She sighed, "Graduation is almost here!" She walked over and patted Zhenzhen's shoulder, "Come, sing a song with me."

Before Zhenzhen could react, she climbed up the steps of the stage. Under the dim light, the light red gauze skirt made her cheeks look even more rosy and her eyes sparkled.

Mr. Ajin brought out an accordion at some point and sat on the steps, waiting for Miya to start singing.

"What shall I sing?" she thought, smiling, as she stood there. "Your name alone is my enemy; and even if you were not named Montague, you would still be the same."

The accordion tune slowly began to play, and Chu Wang responded by clapping his hands.

Zhenzhen said with a smile, "Romeo Jiang is still entertaining your guests in the garden next door. Do you want me to invite him over to perform with you?"

"Don't let him come. Zhenzhen, I know you can sing, come and sing with me."

"I can sing Peking opera and Yue opera, but I can't sing Shakespeare."

"If Romeo had another name, maybe it would be Liang Shanbo?" Miya blinked.

Zhenzhen immediately understood, smiled, and slowly walked onto the stage. "My surname is Zhu, my name is Yingtai, and I'm from Zhujia Village, Shangyu. May I ask who the young lady is..."

Mia continued singing in English, "I am Juliet of the Capulet family in Verona. Tell me, how did you get here? The garden wall is so high. If my family saw you here, they would kill you."

…

The two used English and Yue Opera singing styles, scrambling and interweaving the lines of the original play. Most of the time, they were able to sing in unison. Chu Wang, the only audience member, laughed heartily and marveled at the sound. She didn't notice that another person had walked into the room. She stood behind her for who knows how long, chuckling softly, "Oh? 'Juliet and...'?"

"...With Zhu Yingtai," Chu Wang looked up at him and said with a smile, "Thank you, Mr.

"Hello, Third Miss." Xie Zeyi looked down at a book on the table and suddenly couldn't help laughing. "Very bad, medium bad, very bad. Who is so miserable?"

"It's me." Chu Wang said with a smile.

"Although I'm deeply sorry about this, it seems to be better than the one I told you back then," Xie Zeyi sighed with some regret. "I wonder if this comforts you?"

"I didn't take it to heart. But... after hearing what Mr. Xie said, I felt really sorry."

"I don't believe this. Even if I really die alone, it doesn't seem too bad." Xie Zeyi peeled the guava, took a bite, and said indifferently.

The accordion sound stopped abruptly. Miya, holding her skirt, stepped down from the stage with a smile and ran over to hold Xie Zeyi's arm, "Brother—why are you here!"

"You sing well," he said. "I came here specially to see Miss San."

"Oh?" Mia was quite curious.

Xie Zeyi narrowed his eyes slightly, felt in his pocket, and pulled out an old tin lighter. It clicked, but there was no fire.

He turned to Chu Wang and said, "This one is broken... I want to find someone to make a new one. I suddenly remembered that I saw your boyfriend's mechanical lighter on the boat to the island before, and I was very envious. That French gentleman told me you have a good idea. So I thought maybe I should ask you where I can order it."

"Ah, that one... I won't have it anymore," Chu Wang said with a slightly apologetic smile, "but if you like, I can give you Mr. Du Peng's contact address. Maybe there are some other ones you might like."

"Then I'll trouble you, Miss Third." Xie Zeyi patted Chu Wang's waist, tasted the papaya again, and commented: "This year's guava is a bit bitter, but the papaya is not bad."

"The feather wine is extra sweet this year!" Miya said with a smile. "Would you like to have dinner at Mr. Ajin's place later, or go back to the nuns' place?"

"I'm on the boat back to Shanghai at 8:35. I came to see you, and I'm going down the mountain now—I won't eat. Have fun with my friends."

After Xie Zeyi finished speaking, he left as fast as the wind. In the blink of an eye, when he looked out of the garden again—there was no one there.

Chu Wang thought to himself: "What a cool walk! If I go down the mountain by myself, aren't I afraid of being chased by dogs all over the mountain?"