The gloom of Wang Xiufen's departure did not seem to have completely dissipated from the family compound, but the No. 17 courtyard was immersed in a peculiar "study" atmosphere.
The radio's booming voice was the constant background noise, while Howard's deep, patient reading and Mingzhao's increasingly clear but difficult follow-up reading intertwined to create a unique symphony.
Howard even got his hands on a first-grade elementary school Chinese textbook and started teaching her to recognize characters from the simplest "a, o, e".
Mingzhao's learning speed surprised Howard.
She could usually master the rhythm of those complex pronunciations by listening to them a few times and then imitating them a few times with difficulty.
Her ability to recognize characters is even more terrifying—a kind of graphic memory. She can look at a Chinese character a few times and then draw it crookedly on paper. Although the stroke order is wrong, the structure is generally correct.
She is like a sponge that can never absorb water, showing an extraordinary thirst and understanding of "sound" and "symbols".
However, Howard never truly let his guard down.
As he taught, he observed her every subtle expression and reaction with his keenest perception.
Her focus was pure and unpretentious, but her indifference to human relationships was also genuine. She seemed only interested in the "information input" itself, showing no feedback whatsoever to his efforts and emotions as her "teacher."
This often left him feeling frustrated and even more confused.
That afternoon, Howard was teaching Mingzhao to write the word "airplane" when there was a knock on the gate. The knocking was steady and rhythmic.
Howard's heart skipped a beat. This way of knocking was Jiang Feng's.
He gestured for Mingzhao to continue practicing on the paper, then got up to open the door.
Jiang Feng stood outside the door, his face expressionless, but his eyes were deeper than usual, and he held a thin brown paper document bag in his hand.
"Captain Jiang." Howard stepped aside to let him in and closed the door behind him.
Jiang Feng's gaze swept across the room. Ming Zhao was looking down, intently tracing the two characters for "airplane" on an old newspaper. His handwriting was childish yet exceptionally neat, as if he had drawn it with a ruler.
There was no response to the person who came in; news about industrial construction was playing on the radio.
"Studying?" Jiang Feng's voice was devoid of emotion.
"Yes, teach her to read and speak." Howard pointed to Mingzhao, his tone carrying a subtle, complex emotion—was it pride? Or doting?
Jiang Feng nodded without saying anything more. He walked to the table, placed the brown paper document bag on it, and it made a slight sound.
Mingzhao was finally startled by the sound. She raised her head, her clear gaze falling on the file bag with a hint of pure curiosity. Then she lowered her head again to continue tracing her words, as if the file bag was far less important than the two words "airplane".
Howard's heart skipped a beat.
He knew that it must contain the investigation results about that formula.
Jiang Feng pulled out a chair and sat down, gesturing for Howard to sit as well. He opened his file folder, pulled out several sheets of paper with complex charts and English annotations printed on them.
“Old Huo,” Jiang Feng got straight to the point, his voice low, “that thing your wife drew… I’ve searched everywhere I could. Several senior experts at the military research institute shook their heads after looking at it, saying that the structure was frighteningly ingenious, but they couldn’t understand its core logic at all, and it didn’t seem like… a mathematical formula from any currently known system.”
Howard's heart sank. Just as he expected…
Jiang Feng paused, his gaze sharpening as he looked at Huo Hua, then glanced at Ming Zhao, who was still absorbed in the word "airplane," and continued, "I wasn't giving up. I pulled some strings and found an old friend who studied abroad in his early years and is now a professor at the Capital Medical College. I've omitted the sensitive information about your wife, but I've given her a general overview: long-term severe abuse has led to aphasia and social withdrawal, but she exhibits an extraordinary understanding and...creativity regarding specific graphics and information?"
He picked up a piece of paper, which appeared to be photocopies of some medical notes, and pointed to a few lines of English and Chinese annotations: “My old friend spent many years at a top medical school abroad. He said that there are similar, rare case reports in the fields of psychiatry and neurology abroad. They call it ‘Savant Syndrome’—or, more colloquially, ‘genius syndrome’. It was first discovered in 1944.”
“Genius syndrome?” Howard frowned, repeating the unfamiliar term.
“Yes,” Jiang Feng nodded, his tone still calm. “Patients with this condition often have significant intellectual or social deficiencies, such as autism, aphasia, or emotional detachment, but they possess extraordinary talent in specific areas, such as art, music, calculation, or… spatial imagination and rote memory! This talent is unrelated to learning and training; it’s more like the brain being ‘shut down’ in some areas and ‘super-activated’ in others after suffering a major trauma or having a congenital defect.”
Howard was shocked! He looked up at Mingzhao! She was carefully sketching the last stroke of the character "飞" (fei, meaning "fly") with a pencil, her profile was quiet, and her eyes were so focused that it seemed as if the whole world had shrunk to just this one character.
Long-term abuse, aphasia, isolation, a terrifying understanding of graphics and machines, emotional detachment... Every characteristic Jiang Feng described was like a precise carving knife, depicting Mingzhao's current state!
"You mean... Mingzhao, she..." Howard's voice was a little hoarse.
“My old friend speculated,” Jiang Feng put down the documents, his gaze falling on Ming Zhao with unprecedented scrutiny and… a hint of barely perceptible astonishment.
"Your wife is very likely in this situation! Huang Weiguo's long-term abuse of Li Hongmei caused her enormous psychological trauma, resulting in impaired language function and emotional withdrawal, making her like a 'mute' or a 'wooden person.' But at the same time, the areas of her brain responsible for spatial structure, logical reasoning, and graphic memory may have been abnormally activated! That's why she can 'understand' complex blueprints and even draw formulas that are beyond our comprehension! That's not the result of spy training; it's more like... a distorted 'talent' eruption produced by the brain under extreme pressure!"
“Genius syndrome…” Howard murmured to himself, his gaze towards Mingzhao extremely complicated.
Shock, realization, heartache, and a sense of relief... So that's how it is!
The inexplicable contradictions and the extraordinary abilities she possessed may have stemmed from the inhuman suffering she endured!
The brilliance of this "genius" was actually nurtured by endless darkness!
“But this is just speculation,” Jiang Feng said, changing the subject and regaining the composure befitting the captain of the National Security team.
"There's very little literature about it abroad, and it's unheard of domestically. It's impossible to make a diagnosis. Moreover, even if it is 'genius syndrome,' her 'talent' is just too... astonishing. That formula is so profound that even top experts can only understand the surface and are deeply impressed. This represents enormous potential value for the country, but it could also be... a potential risk."
Howard instantly understood Jiang Feng's subtext. Mingzhao's value, if this speculation was true, would be strategic! But her condition—aphasia, isolation, and inability to communicate—made this value difficult to control.
Risks and opportunities coexist.
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