Gou Yurong paused for a moment, her eyes darting around, her mouth muttering, trying to hide her unease.
"Speak!" Howard snapped.
Gou Yurong trembled in fright and shouted with her eyes closed, "Because of Wang Xiufen, I was close to her, and you drove her away. I... I did this to get revenge for her!"
Howard felt a lump in his throat, his heart clenching. Just because of this?
He didn't reach for the 10 yuan, but simply spoke, his voice devoid of emotion: "Put the money on the table. Take the bowl away. From now on, stay away from Mingzhao. If I find out you're up to something again..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the chilling threat in his unspoken words sent a shiver down Gou Yurong's spine!
"I won't do it again! I'll never do it again!"
Gou Yurong felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She hurriedly put the money on the bedside table, and then, as if she were being chased by a ghost, she grabbed the two enamel bowls that had made her heart pound, and scrambled out of the ward, forgetting to even close the door.
The ward fell silent again. Only the crisp ten-yuan bill on the bedside table silently testified to what had just happened.
Howard looked at the bill, the pent-up anger in his chest had not completely dissipated, but instead had been replaced by a sense of absurd weariness.
Just because of some gossipy neighbor that he was driven away?
Just for a paltry five yuan? Would an adult really betray their conscience and send an innocent little girl days' worth of filthy food? Such human nature…
He wearily pinched his brow, and the pain in his left shoulder seemed to become more pronounced.
Mingzhao, who had been quietly reading by the small bed, put down her book at this moment.
She walked to the bedside table, picked up the ten-dollar bill, looked at it, and then walked to Howard's bedside, calmly stuffing the money into the breast pocket of his hospital gown.
The movements were natural, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Howard was taken aback, looking at her calm and expressionless face, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. She seemed completely unaffected by the farce that had just happened, and showed no reaction to his efforts to seek justice for her.
She simply... gave him back what belonged to him.
This absolute, detached calm allowed Howard's inexplicable sense of loss to quietly resurface.
Just then.
"Commander Huo! Mingzhao! Great news! Incredibly great news!"
A woman's voice, filled with immense joy and excitement, even cracking slightly, rushed into the ward from afar, accompanied by hurried footsteps!
It was Liu Wenjun!
She ran breathlessly, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and her eyes sparkled like stars, completely devoid of the dejection and despair she had shown in the dean's office!
"Commander Huo! Mingzhao! It's done! It's done!" Liu Wenjun rushed to Huo Hua's bedside, her hands gripping the edge of the bed, her chest heaving, her voice trembling with excitement, "Dean Zhang! Dean Zhang has agreed!"
Howard was somewhat bewildered by her sudden burst of joy: "Engineer Liu? What do you mean you agreed? Speak slowly."
Mingzhao also turned her head and looked calmly at Liu Wenjun.
"Mingzhao! It's Mingzhao!" Liu Wenjun was so excited that she couldn't speak coherently. She grabbed Mingzhao's hand and shook it vigorously.
"Dean Zhang has approved your entry into the research institute! As a temporary staff member! You can apply to use the institute's materials! Do what you want to do! Jiang Feng's leg... there's hope! There really is hope!"
This news struck Howard like a thunderbolt from a clear sky!
He sat bolt upright, ignoring the aggravation of his wound, his sharp gaze instantly fixed on Liu Wenjun's face: "What did you say? Dean Zhang Mingyuan agreed? How could he suddenly change his mind?"
He knew all too well the old scholar's stubbornness!
Liu Wenjun nodded excitedly, her eyes shining brightly: "It's Mingzhao! It's Mingzhao's 'Night Owl'! I smashed it on the dean's desk! That thing... that thing is amazing! The dean saw the images it projected with his own eyes, saw Jiang Feng... saw Jiang Feng's projection 'walking'! He was completely dumbfounded! He was utterly convinced!"
She excitedly described how shocked the dean was, how he lost his composure, and how he overturned his previous conclusions.
Howard listened, his heart churning with emotion, his gaze towards Mingzhao filled with complex emotions. This little girl always managed to break through all the "impossibilities" in the most unexpected ways.
"That's great!" Howard was genuinely happy for Mingzhao and also excited that Jiang Feng had seen hope.
“However…” Liu Wenjun’s excited speech slowed down slightly, and a hint of hesitation appeared on her face. She looked at Mingzhao and said in a consultative tone, “Mingzhao, Dean Zhang… has another condition.”
Conditions? Howard's heart sank slightly, and a sense of vigilance instantly rose.
Liu Wenjun licked her slightly dry lips and said cautiously, "The dean said... he agrees to let you use the institute's resources, but... he wants... he wants the detailed blueprints of that 'Night Owl' visualization drone."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Mingzhao with some nervousness.
She knew what Mingzhao's blueprints meant; they were technological treasures far ahead of their time!
Dean Zhang's request, to put it nicely, is for study and research; to put it bluntly... it has a hint of taking advantage of someone's misfortune.
The ward fell silent instantly.
Howard's brow furrowed deeply. Detailed blueprints? That request was far too sensitive!
Mingzhao's technological origins are of immense value. Handing over these blueprints would carry incalculable risks!
He instinctively wanted to speak up and refuse on Mingzhao's behalf.
However, before Howard could speak...
Mingzhao, who had been listening quietly, suddenly moved.
She didn't look at Liu Wenjun or Huo Hua, but turned around, walked to her small cot, bent down and pulled out a worn canvas tool bag with the words "Serve the People" printed on it from under the bed.
She unzipped the zipper, rummaged around inside for a bit, and then pulled out a thick stack of things wrapped in old newspapers.
She took the stack of things, walked back to Liu Wenjun, and handed them over very calmly.
The movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
Liu Wenjun was stunned, and subconsciously caught it. It was heavy in her hands; it was a thick stack of drawings.
"Here you go." Mingzhao's voice remained flat, as if he were handing over an unimportant assignment.
"This...this is?" Liu Wenjun was somewhat incredulous.
“The blueprints for Night Owl 0.1,” Mingzhao replied calmly. “Detailed.”
Liu Wenjun and Huo Hua were both stunned! They hadn't expected Mingzhao to agree so readily!
So exhilarating... I was completely caught off guard!
"Mingzhao! Are...are you sure?"
Liu Wenjun held the stack of blueprints, feeling as if they weighed a thousand pounds, yet also as if they were burning hot.
She looked at Howard, her eyes filled with inquiry and a hint of unease.
Howard also stared intently at Mingzhao, trying to read something from her calm and expressionless eyes.
Is it naivety? Lack of worldly experience? Or... something else entirely?
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