Chapter 57 57 The Whispers of the Forest Once Again Enter the River
After the morning experiment, Xu Aida and Cohen checked the data together and went to a Japanese ramen restaurant for lunch.
Cohen sipped his Coke and casually asked about the recent fall break: "Wasn't Xanadu fun? Why didn't you two post a single photo?"
Xu Aida sent him a few landscape photos from her phone.
She quickly came up with an excuse: "Actually, the most beautiful starry sky is hard to capture in a photo, so I was too lazy to take any."
She had planned to take lots of photos of the mountain scenery during her hike, but unfortunately, she couldn't go out at all that day.
Thinking of that scene, her face flushed again, and she couldn't help but smooth her loose hair.
“The starry sky?” Cohen thought of something and grinned mischievously. “Ada, if Ned were in a place like this and presented you with something sparkly, what would you think?”
He had to inquire about it for his good friend. Ned might have been a bit too hasty during the Seattle incident, but judging from how the two spent time together over the summer, he felt there was a chance.
Xu Aida avoided his gaze and quickly lowered her head to take a big gulp of cola.
“Okay, okay,” Cohen raised his glass, “I was just saying, simply looking at the stars can be romantic.”
Seeing that Xu Aida was still a little uncomfortable, he casually changed the subject: "By the way, did you guys see the Andromeda Galaxy? It's just a small oval patch of light. What we're seeing is light from 2.5 million years ago. How interesting..."
Xu Aida was slightly lost in thought. She hadn't paid special attention to it, but she vaguely remembered that the triangle still shone brightly in the evening during the summer.
Andromeda? 2.5 million years ago? Homo sapiens hadn't appeared yet back then, right?
Cohen was still saying, "Did you know? The Andromeda Galaxy is moving towards the Milky Way, and in 4.5 billion years, the two galaxies will collide..."
The waiter brought over two bowls of ramen. Xu Aida looked up with a smile and said, "Come on, have some noodles. We carbon-based beings shouldn't think about things that far ahead."
Cohen continued jokingly, following her lead: "Do you think there's silicon-based life in the universe?"
“Maybe so.” She picked up the half-cooked egg. “Perhaps ten thousand years from now, they will rule the Earth, and we will all be living in the Matrix.”
That evening, Liang Siyu returned from the medical school and picked her up to go home. As she looked at his profile under the starlight, something in her heart seemed to be softening again.
They are all such tiny and fleeting carbon-based beings, so why should she worry so much?
4.5 billion years from now, the Andromeda Galaxy will collide with the Milky Way.
Even knowing the worst possible outcome, Xu Aida will still wade into the long river of Liang Siyu once again in the torrent of time.
After parking the car, he instinctively reached out to take her hand, but she smiled and shook her head. She walked behind him and tried to jump, but failed.
"Lower yourself a little," she said, pulling on his arm in annoyance.
He realized what was happening, so he immediately knelt down on one knee, turned his head to look at her, and that way she could easily climb onto his back without having to jump.
She pressed herself against him and hugged his neck.
The streetlights cast long shadows of them; his back was broad, and the road home was quiet.
When they arrived at the apartment building, he put her down and held the door open for her to go in first: "What's the story today? Miss Linden wants to grow taller?"
"Ugh." She glared at him. When was he going to stop using that cliché about his height?
They went up the stairs, reached their front door, and she came up with a new plot.
"It's a sequel to an old film. Miss Pigeon has flown out of Skinner's labyrinth and landed on Mr. Linden's branch."
As Liang Siyu opened the door, she laughed and said, "Oh, I remember that episode. Miss Pigeon was very kind-hearted and cute."
He saw her kick off her shoes and simply picked her up: "Want to take a shower?"
This time, Miss Pigeon smiled again, making it impossible to tell whether she agreed or disagreed.
However, Mr. Linden left the bathroom after preparing the hot water for her—he had to strictly adhere to the hormone management plan for the surgery ten days later.
A few days later, Xu Aida received a familiar email and was slightly taken aback.
Applications for the exchange program next semester have begun, with a deadline in mid-December. She scrolled down the page, and sure enough, the University of Göttingen was on the list.
In her past life, she went to Germany for academic research, where she developed a deeper interest in sEMG after exchanging ideas with Professor Fano's team.
But after she returned from her three-month study abroad visit, her life was turned upside down, and she decided to suspend her studies and embark on a completely different path.
"Ding!" A new email notification popped up on the screen, from her advisor, Professor Hart: "Ada, please consider the visiting scholar program. Professor Fano at the University of Göttingen has a research area that is very compatible with yours..."
She found herself clicking on Professor Fano's homepage again, staring blankly at the application notification.
"Ada, let's go have lunch." Liang Siyu came over and gently patted her shoulder.
She quickly recovered and said, "Oh, of course."
The autumn sun shines warmly, and the golden and brownish-green autumn leaves reflect on the red brick building. On the slightly yellowed lawn, there are many fallen leaves, which rustle when you step on them.
Thinking about the page he had just seen, Liang Siyu felt a little uneasy and wanted to reach out and hold her hand.
She was playing with the red maple leaves on the ground, her steps light and graceful, like a nimble white dove, hopping around.
He lowered his raised arm, smiled, and followed her into the cafeteria.
As they sat down with their trays, she made a discovery: "Classic Coke?" He doesn't even drink much Coke Zero.
His gaze sharpened slightly, but his movements were fluid as he opened the container, took a sip, and said, "Hmm, I kind of miss the taste from my childhood."
After a simple lunch, they walked back hand in hand.
Liang Siyu finally made up his mind: "Ada, are you considering a visiting scholar program? If you want to go, just apply. You're only a third-year student..."
Although he was a little worried about her feelings, her recent treatment was going very well, and he couldn't deceive himself by using this excuse to keep her by his side.
It's just a short-term project; three or four months will pass quickly. However, he has many animal experiments to do next semester, and Professor Brooke will definitely not let him go.
Xu Aida looked up in surprise. She wondered why he was suddenly drinking classic Coke. She thought he was a little nervous because the surgery was approaching.
“Wait, who said I wanted to go?” Xu Aida interrupted him.
"Huh? Weren't you looking at project materials? University of Göttingen..."
Professor Fano is one of the leading figures in sEMG research. Many of their experimental designs reference his papers. Being able to exchange ideas with him there would be beneficial to her academic development.
She interrupted him again: "Can't I just take a look? Who says I have to apply to look?"
He smiled gently despite being rebuffed: "Really? Just looking?"
A hint of expectation flickered in his eyes, like a thin spider silk, slightly sticky.
She suddenly let go, bent down to pick up a maple leaf, and looked at the veins against the sun: "Let's see how it goes. The deadline is still a long way off, and maybe I'll change my mind."
He paused, then tickled her: "You little rascal, why are you being naughty again?"
There was a small grove of trees next to them, and she quickly slipped behind an oak tree: "Don't come any closer!"
They looked at each other across the tree and couldn't help but laugh together.
He came over and helped her up: "Stop making a fuss, stop making a fuss, we just finished eating."
She leaned against him: "Then why are you tickling me? You're the real bad guy."
The warm autumn sun shone through the leaves, casting a warm dappled light. Liang Siyu leaned against the oak tree, put his arm around her shoulder, and looked up at the clouds.
After a long pause, he said, "Ada, go if you want. I can come see you during spring break."
She hugged his waist tightly: "Are you trying to get rid of me? No way!"
He sighed helplessly, "I'm afraid you'll regret it. Three or four months isn't a long time, it's not like it's a year or two."
"Hmph, you abandoned me for two and a half years," she thought angrily, and pinched him hard.
"Ouch!" he gasped in pain. "Ada! What happened to you?"
She walked straight back, saying, "Since you're so supportive, I'll email Professor Hart right away to thank him for his suggestion. Going on an exchange program should be very interesting, and the University of Göttingen is a wise choice."
He hurriedly caught up with him: "Did Professor Hart also suggest you go out?"
I spoke with such righteous indignation just now, but now I feel a bit conflicted and reluctant.
"Ada, are you feeling uncomfortable on a plane right now? The flight to Germany is nine hours long, right? If you really want to go, I'll take a day off and fly with you, okay?"
She suddenly stopped and turned around, almost hitting him, before coming to a halt.
"You idiot, you're so annoying! I told you I'm not going! Why do you keep talking to yourself!"
He hugged her tightly and gently stroked her back: "I'm sorry, Babe, I'm so sorry."
Both of them fell silent.
Several minutes later, Liang Siyu spoke again: "Ada, do you remember those first few days after you moved?"
She nodded in his arms. Of course, she wasn't feeling well those few days; she had a low-grade fever and cried, saying she wanted to go home. Oh, right, it was actually a misunderstanding, and she hadn't explained it to him yet.
He kissed the top of her head: "To be honest, I regretted it so much those few days. I shouldn't have put so much pressure on you during the summer vacation, which made you decide not to renew your lease."
"What do you mean?" She leaned against him, her voice muffled. "I'm an adult. Who can force me to do something I don't want to do?"
"Okay, let's not discuss this." He sighed. This girl, despite being as soft-hearted as a marshmallow, always thought of herself as stainless steel.
"Let's talk about the exchange first. Don't make an impulsive decision. Whether you go or not, I support you. You need to know that, okay?"
"I understand." She looked up. "I don't want to go next semester. I might go if there's a suitable opportunity later, but not now."
In fact, she always knew in her heart that what broke this relationship was not his career change, but the gradual disappearance of honesty and the desire to share.
But such a major event as a failed marriage needs a plausible reason. His career change became that reasonable and undeniable "origin of error."
This way of attributing the cause would make her feel better, reduce her resentment towards him, and stop her from being too hard on herself.
If she could do it all over again, she would realize that in her previous life, things went too smoothly at the beginning. Later, when problems arose, they always tried to pretend that everything was still perfect. In the end, they both wore thick masks.
However, she has let go of the past now; she did her best. Perhaps, in places she couldn't see, he did his best too? It doesn't matter anymore, it's not important.
She stayed not to prove a different answer, but simply to be true to herself.
Looking into her clear and firm gaze, Liang Siyu seemed to see the most dazzling starlight in her eyes.
He cupped her face in his hands, and couldn't help but move closer to her, caressing her lips and gently pecking at them.
Gradually, he reached out and picked her up, bringing them closer together.
Once Xu Aida was back on the ground and had caught her breath, she couldn't help but complain, "What happened to your hormone management plan? Weren't we only allowed to hug for the past week?"
He tried to calm the heat in his body, but still couldn't bear to let go: "I practiced quite well on the frozen specimens yesterday, don't worry, it's not a big problem."
He knew he was deceiving himself, which would obviously cause fluctuations in testosterone levels.
She glanced at him and said, "I'm going back now. I have an experiment this afternoon."
He slowly released her grip. She took two steps, then turned back and smiled, "I don't think mindfulness meditation is very effective for you. Why don't you go to the ergometer to release your excess energy?"
When Liang Siyu got home that evening, she remembered something else: "By the way, how are you going to reply to Professor Hart? Are you going to say that you have a lot of projects on hand and don't want to delay the progress?"
She leaned back on the sofa, sipping her jujube tea, and said calmly, "No rush. I said I'm considering it. I'll check with Alvin next month to see what's going on with the GANs, and then we'll think about what to say."
He realized: "You want to use this to attract Professor Hart's attention and make him think you have a more important project to stay and finish?"
So, in her mind, GANs are rated that highly? Professor Hart would think so too?
He sat down: "Ada, let's talk about GANs after the surgery."
He wanted to understand her better and be more in sync with her.
"You don't understand mathematical principles, so don't worry about it." As soon as she said it, she was a little annoyed that she had spoken too bluntly; he was probably jealous again.
She hugged his arm. "I swear, talking to Alvin feels like reading a research paper. You're the only one in my heart."
He ruffled her hair helplessly: "What are you thinking about? Didn't you say you wanted me to think about how to deal with reviewers with medical backgrounds? What? You're planning to write this part yourself?"
"Great! Of course you should write it."
As she spoke, she leaned in and kissed him, like a drunken little bee, "Ned, Ned, that's wonderful."
His mind was buzzing, and he quickly held her down to stop her from going any further.
“Sweetie, you are not playing fair.” He was breathing heavily, his voice low and hoarse. “If you keep doing this, I won’t be soft-hearted after the surgery.”
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