Chapter 1.1 Divorce and Proposal: How come he's ten years younger? ...
[Hangzhou, China, 2024]
When Ada entered the law firm, Ned was already sitting inside. He had lost at least seven or eight pounds in the month since she last saw him.
He is of mixed Chinese and American descent, and his features were already deep-set. Now that he's so thin, he's practically emaciated.
She gripped her bag strap tightly and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't the conditions on set bad?"
Hengdian is fine, and besides, he's not the kind of person who's picky about work. Sometimes, when shooting on location, we end up in the middle of nowhere, and there's really no other way.
He forced a smile: "Being thinner will make the photos look better."
He does look better on camera now, but he also knows that he looks a bit too thin and gaunt, which isn't good, just like his life right now.
The lawyer brought him the contract and reminded him of a new clause regarding shares in a tech startup.
"Ms. Xu promised that if the company goes public or is acquired within five years, she will compensate you with 20% of the increase in the value of your shares."
Liang Siyu glanced at it, her brows furrowing. "No need, just delete it."
He didn't dare look at her, only staring at the lawyer.
During the first negotiation, she insisted on not accepting the jewelry that her maternal grandmother Vivi had designated to be left to her, and only took a few pieces as souvenirs.
He explicitly stated that her shares in her startup didn't need to be divided. Why bother with some kind of compensation for increased profits? Since birth, what has he lacked?
She only spoke to the lawyer: "He used the motion control algorithm we wrote together back then, he deserves it."
That was their first year of marriage, when they were both pursuing their doctorates and conducting research on neuroprosthetics at Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
Although she later rewrote the algorithm, she still used some of the original basic parameters.
He deserves it.
Liang Siyu closed his eyes, suddenly deciding he didn't want to argue anymore.
Yes, he deserves what he got—divorce and losing her.
Over the past decade, Ada has given his wife everything she could, but he has not kept any of the promises he made to her.
When they got married, he promised to be her best research partner, her most sincere friend, and her most loving husband until the end of his life.
But after a little over a year, he changed careers, leaving her alone in the lab.
He actually had his reasons. He was young and proud at the time and refused to tell her, and later he had no way to bring it up.
He traveled from Los Angeles to China in search of more filming opportunities.
She endured the most difficult graduation year alone, and sometimes she couldn't contact him for a whole week due to time differences or filming.
After graduating with her doctorate, she moved to Hangzhou to adapt to the new environment, but because of his work, they were still often in a long-distance relationship.
On one occasion, she even broke her arm, and by the time he returned after filming wrapped, the brace was almost removed.
Even though their relatives and friends are all in the United States, back in China, he is the only person she is truly close to.
In the past two years, the look in her eyes has become increasingly lost. He knows she's searching, and he himself doesn't know how much he still resembles his former self.
After signing, his fingers trembled slightly, and he only managed to put the pen cap back on on the second attempt.
"Ada, have I... disappointed you?"
She paused, but didn't look up, continuing to sign her name: "It's not important anymore, Siyu."
On the contrary, she couldn't control her expectations, which is why she couldn't continue.
Initially, they were very close and could talk about anything, but somehow, the invisible wall between them grew thicker and thicker, and taboo topics became more and more frequent.
She didn't dare mention scientific research to him, afraid he would think she was showing off; he refused to talk to her about acting, afraid she would think he was shallow.
Actually, they are both movie lovers, and she found several of his previous roles quite interesting.
However, his transitional film received poor reviews, and he was disappointed for a long time. It seemed that he gave up his pursuit of acting and only focused on commercial value.
She even thought that if she could be completely disappointed and accept the status quo, she wouldn't have so much inner conflict.
However, having witnessed the best of love, she was still easily moved by him. Unable to bear the torment of repeated expectations and disappointments, she could only advise herself to let go.
His eyes darkened as he gently turned the wedding ring. When did she stop calling him "Ned" and start calling him "Siyu" instead?
These two names separated two phases of his life: one of passionate intimacy with her, and the other of silent estrangement. He himself didn't particularly like the latter.
Xu Aida boarded the plane; she was going to Seattle to attend a brain-computer interface conference and, incidentally, to Las Vegas for a short stay to complete the legal divorce proceedings.
The engine roared, she gently pressed her ear, and her fingers brushed against her cheek, leaving it damp.
It's okay, I can let it go. Just stay away from him, and I'll be able to let it go eventually. She kept reassuring herself.
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[Seattle, USA, 2014]
When Liang Siyu woke up, it was already 10 a.m., which was not his usual biological clock, but it was the first day of the Christmas holiday, so he could indulge himself.
Besides, the battle was fierce last night, and his suit jacket was left at the door.
He could only be thankful that there was nothing important inside, such as the engagement ring—that little velvet box was still safely hidden in a corner of his suitcase.
Meanwhile, his girlfriend Ada, his beloved, was still sleeping peacefully in bed.
In the morning light, her skin glowed softly, her small lips were soft and lovely, and her long, black hair fell down his arm.
After just a few more glances at her, his throat began to feel dry again, and he wanted to hold her tightly in his arms.
In the most open-minded New York, no one would believe that someone like Liang Siyu would only have their first relationship at the age of 25.
He is 189 cm tall, loves sports, rowed in high school and was a member of the school team. He has a delicate face and his good looks have been recognized by talent scouts.
Liang Siyu hadn't cared before and didn't have any special feelings for the girl.
He has a bachelor’s degree in biology and is currently pursuing an MD/PhD (Medical Doctor and Cognitive Neuroscience Joint Program) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
He insists that physiological impulses are merely a remnant of the sluggish evolution of the ancient brain, and that humanity will eventually enter a more civilized era.
Of course, this doesn't mean he's the kind of low-EQ, STEM nerd. He's actually quite emotionally sensitive for a man, occasionally reads philosophy and fine literature, loves old movies, and prefers soft science fiction to hard science fiction—which even earned him a laugh from Cohen.
Cohen was his best friend and best partner in the lab, once upon a time.
Now, Ada has taken that position, even though they've only worked together for three and a half months and dated for two.
Liang Siyu's phone vibrated slightly, and a message from Cohen popped up.
[Ned, are you really planning to propose tonight? You're going for it harder than those brats fighting over free pizzas.]
It's a bit fast; he even thought he was against marriage before.
But as it turns out, the instincts that have survived through long evolution have generated a driving force far exceeding the control of his prefrontal cortex.
He first saw Ada at her mentor's welcome party. They had joined JHU's MIRA Lab (Morphology Research Center) from UC Berkeley.
During the few minutes she was introducing herself, he kept looking at her lips as she spoke.
In the afternoon, she moved into the lab, her workstation located diagonally opposite his. She focused intently on coding, while he stared blankly for over ten minutes before realizing a pile of data awaited his processing.
They belong to different disciplines—he works in neuroscience, and she works in algorithms—but they have an amazing rapport, often able to pick up on half of each other's sentences when discussing research.
His good friend, Cohen, who worked in hardware materials, once suspected that Chinese people might possess some ancient magic and be able to communicate via brainwaves.
He was afraid of appearing too eager, so he waited for almost a month before officially confessing his feelings. Then he discovered that they were not only compatible in the lab, but also at home.
This has caused them to fall slightly behind in their experimental progress recently, just a little bit.
There's absolutely no need to hesitate; it's this Christmas holiday season.
He no longer needed to observe, wait, or think; no one could give him such a feeling—Ada was his beginning and his end.
He smiled and replied, "Wish me luck, bro."
Cohen replied instantly: [I'm sending my blessings to Ada, ladies first.]
Liang Siyu smiled and shook his head, then put down his phone.
Ada was still asleep. He brushed her dark hair aside and pulled her into his arms.
May God be with him, and from tonight onward, he may call her "Mrs. Liang." An old-fashioned phrase, but bubbly with sweetness, like a can of cola chug down a mountaintop.
He grinned foolishly, like an envelope that had been torn open, completely lacking the aloof elegance he usually possessed at the medical school.
But the person in his arms suddenly trembled, his teeth chattering, making an unsettling grinding sound.
"Ada?" He shook her quickly. "Wake up! Wake up!"
What kind of nightmare is so terrifying? Ada isn't the kind of girl who's easily scared; she can even comment on the special effects in horror movies.
Xu Aida woke up in a state of overwhelming suffocation and weightlessness. The nightmare he had just had felt incredibly real—no, it didn't feel like a dream at all.
The plane was shaking, the oxygen mask had fallen off, my ears hurt, and my head hurt.
She barely managed to open her eyes. Her usually calm and meticulous mind was now like a malfunctioning screen, with flickering images and erratic signals.
She couldn't help but shiver again, and a large hand gently wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
"Why are you so scared? What did you dream about?"
She froze.
What? What happened?
The person quickly changed their tune: "Oh, don't think about it, forget about the nightmare. I'm here, it's okay."
Xu Aida turned his neck, as if a robot had just finished debugging.
This wasn't the room she was familiar with, and the person holding her was Liang Siyu, who was ten years younger than her!
Of course she wouldn't mistake him; his eyes, expression, and muscle mass were completely different.
Perhaps the plane did have an accident, but didn't crash? She was just injured and is currently under post-operative anesthesia? And Liang Siyu flew in to visit her?
She hasn't changed the emergency contact on her phone, the divorce proceedings aren't finished, and they are still legally married.
His appearance was likely a temporary hallucination she experienced while still under anesthesia.
Xu Aida closed her eyes, then opened them again, hoping to see the white walls of the ward and the figure of the doctor.
Unfortunately, no.
She was still in the same room, in perfect physical condition, with no signs of anesthesia or pain.
Okay, the first assumption is basically ruled out.
"Are you feeling better?" He looked down at her, his forehead almost touching hers.
The young, bright face of Liang Siyu magnified before her eyes.
She stared blankly for a few seconds, then abruptly turned her head away, almost bursting into tears. For so long, she hadn't dared to think about what he looked like when he was young.
They were once as sweet as candy, but later their hearts turned as bitter as if crawling with ants—candy, no matter where it is, will attract ants.
Her marriage was like an ant colony, small but not to be ignored.
She finally let go of him and decided to end the torment of unrequited love.
So, what exactly is going on?
Is it a highly realistic visual simulation? Or a time-traveling, reloaded save?
Whichever it is, why did it happen to her? He was clearly the one who set everything off!
A note from the author:
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